Mass Inhabitation
Thakkar Bappa Colony, Chembur, Mumbai
with Aashika Thole
Based on the ongoing studies at SEA, the housing shortage question in India cannot be addressed through building new houses. Since the past 20 years, only 10% of the estimated shortage has been achieved in most cities and states and therefore it would take more than 100 years to deal only with the existing shortage. On the other hand, the actual problem established through the housing census is not the absence of housing, but the quality of housing being very low.
This creates a clear context for the need of Repair and Retrofit, as against redevelopment, which is a highly resource-intensive and transforms the lived experience, repair and retrofitting take place through slow, incremental, day-to-day negotiations.
Site Demarcation
The study involved, identifying housing contexts in Mumbai that require Repair and Retrofit – these included the old villages, informal settlements, old housing stock or chawls, and the Co-operative Housing Societies of the 1960s-1980s.
Documented existing practices and existing networks of Repair and Retrofit within these contexts. Orienting to different contexts and types of settlements/housing types and existing practices, introducing various approaches in Repair and Retrofitting, articulating architectural questions in repair and retrofitting, and proposing strategies of intervention in existing fabrics.
Site Transactions
Problems identified
New concrete buildings have raised plinth and some part of the plinth of older houses is now below the ground level and still there are issues with water been entering the houses and settlements. Water absorption is difficult as the concrete road is been built.
Understanding the behavior and absorption of water entering in the settlement.
Program list
Adaptive inhabitations
Leisure
Public spaces
Animal shelters
Conceptual ideas
Raising the community as a whole with them being connected to the ground.
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Movable roof for light and ventilation
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Different levels in plinth to absorb water.
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Trying out different materials.
Design Plans
Site Plan
House Plan
Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Roof Plan
Design Sections
Section AA'
Section BB'
Design Diagrams
Butterfly roof allowing maximum amount of light and air to enter the house.
Summer/ Winter Intervention
During summers or on regular days water body helps not only humans but also other species to drink the water . Since the summers are extremely hot in daman the modulating plinths allows cats, dogs and other species to take nap or rest within this space.
Women can use this space for doing few house chores like cutting vegetables or cleaning grains etc while doing same activities with other women this space helps more interactions between neighbours and more interaction with distinct species .
Children can use this place for playing as their is harsh sunlight during summers on open playgrounds .
Monsoon Intervention
Ground floor allowing water to enter and gets absorbed in the green patches within few hours and water gets stored and can be reused from the waterbody in the ground floor . Inspired by the idea of sharing , storing and using the resources since there were ancient step well used for similar concepts of water storing and reusing and sharing.
Space allowing the engagement of water with humans and other species rather than looking floods as problem .
Loft on the kitchen to increase the interaction between people and one can peep within the living room and also can experience the building structure and materiality which is completely exposed , instead of providing the balconies in every bedroom .
Void above the waterbody on first floor similar to small courtyard allows people in the house to peep down and look at the activities ,interact etc on the ground floor and also there is view of water of waterbody on ground floor.
Materiality
