Contemporary Indian Architects In The Context Of Housing.docx

CONTEMPORARY INDIAN ARCHITECTS IN THE CONTEXT OF HOUSING

ABSTRACT Architecture is the main life-stream of any city. Western world is known for its rich Architectural heritage owing to different Architectural Era’s that world has seen indeed. The five fathers of Architecture so as to say; (FLW, LIK, LS, LC, MVDR) all belong to this western world & results in present date is quite obvious. This is the fact that Architecture precisely Contemporary Architecture was born in this western surroundings & owing to the passion, awareness & dedication to this field of Creativity, each & every era/style/projection is carried by this very western world. History tells us everything starting from classical & up to the birth of modernism; western world has started & ceased it all. The birth of Post-Modernism, International Style, Bauhaus’s, Art-Nouveau style, expressionism, brutalism, sustainable architecture & the latest high-tech Architecture of the 21st century together with some obvious environment friendly techniques/styles (vertical Greens, bionic Architecture etc) are have been carried forward by the western world to other parts of the globe. India is a vast country having incomparable diversity in each & everything including resources for built form & hence, Architecture. We are fortunate enough to have witnessed the works of modern Greats like Le-Corbusier, Louis I. Kahn in India which are just exceptional (e.g. Chandigarh, Ahmadabad ) & great source of Imbibing for Indian Contemporary ones. But, as I said earlier vastness & diversity of India come up with different challenges & offer differing contexts throughout the length & breadth of the country. Though Country has seen all the styles as mention above in bits & pieces & may be the delayed versions of the same, with some success as well; still solution lie somewhere else & being sought out through this paper. The paper shall focus on the legible developments of the 21st century India & future of hightech (glass façade) universal skyscrapers in vastly populated & diversified India. The focus shall also be thrown upon the different resources of built form styles present in the country with related examples from the past & methodology shall be sought in order to utilize them for the future of Diversified India & unique Indian vernacular architecture in which I strongly Believe in. INTRODUCTION Contemporary Architecture is not simply anti-vernacular but also architecture that can have a number of influences but still tries to be aspirational, visionary, risky and uses new materials in an innovative way. Contemporary Architects attempt to push at the boundaries of materials and technology, and, especially in recent decades, geometry. ‘Modern Architecture’ refers

only to the architecture of the Modern Movement where ‘form follows function’ and the ‘house is a machine for living in’. But Modernism was such a significant movement, (and such a change in thinking at that time) and influenced all architects since, that it is not simply an architectural style like ‘Arts and Crafts’ or ‘High Tec’. Almost every contemporary architect has been influenced by the Modern Movement. The architect Le Corbusier was for many the principal influence with his modern architecture of white walls, fenetre longuer, pilotis and architectural promenade. He described not only a vision of future cities with master planning sketches and models, but a form of ‘programme’ and ‘narrative’ for all buildings, but especially modern houses. He had a series of wealthy Clients and was successful in pushing boundaries in almost every building he worked on. OBJECTIVE  To study about the various project with architect ideology and his perspective on the housing development in India. PROJECT 1 ARANYA TOWNSHIP,INDORE The Indore housing in India, designed at B. V. Doshi's Vastu-Shilpa, represents in many ways a 'classic' architectural approach to largescale, low-cost dwellings for the poor: the professional designer responded to the public client (IDA) with a concrete project, thoroughly researched and conceived. This proposal searches a middle ground, between a house 'with rooms' (i.e. sites-services) and totally non- t~ participatory, public housing schemes by architects alone. Vastu-Shilpa in conjunction with the Centre for Minimum Cost Housing if McGill University in Canada, has also produced an excellent Human Settlements Training Package for use by persons or groups interested by their present approach. Slides, with individual written comments as well as cassette recordings recount the cultural parameters if domestic spaces

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OBJECTIVES The objective of the scheme is to provide housing, community and commercial facilities, primarily for the economically weaker sections (EWS) but within a socially balanced matrix of middle and higher income groups. Bearing in mind the low level of affordability of the EWS families, the project assumes challenging dimensions in terms of providing an adequate environment at nominal cost. Over the years, Vastu-Shilpa Foundation (VSF) has observed that much of the present urban low-cost housing has generated unpleasant and unbalanced environments resulting from the disregard for the traditional lifestyle of the people, uncomfortable and ill-thought out use of spaces, uneconomical and disorganised use of land, costly or 'inadequate infrastructure, poorly designed housing and the lack of community, recreational and commercial support. Apart from this, there is rarely any provision for flexibility and elasticity of spaces, particularly in the EWS pockets where the dwelling densities tend to be high. Consequently, the subsequent addition of homes merely creates cramped slums of the future. The research conducted by VSF attempts to tackle the above problems as well as make substantial progress towards the reduction of costs of such developments, without sacrificing the standards. The Indore project serves as a backdrop against which the solutions evolved can be evaluated, further sharpened and disseminated to reputable national and international research bodies with whom rapport has been established.

PLANNING OF ARANYA HOUSING Planning of the Service Core In any 'site and service' scheme the service cores (w.c., wash, kitchen / room) form nuclei around which the houses grow and the communities eventually develop. Insensitivity to the social and physical needs of the people in this respect can condemn the whole community to an unpleasant future. Water supply and sanitation constitute the largest cost components of such developments and thus become prime targets for efficient design. Hence the service core and the supporting infrastructure become the critical elements. Planning of the EWS Dwelling In the planning of a new township, the work often commences at the master p:an level and proceeds down to individual dwelling. The clusters and the dwellings are thus locked into the format as residues. To avoid this, dwelling plans and elevations have been prepared alongside the master plan to be fused into the whole. The emphasis has been on the creation of inviting comfortable homes in harmony with the surroundings. Planning at the Street/Cluster Level A well designed street can forge a collection of individual households into an interactive group. To achieve this the street must assume a unique identity on human scale with spaces for group activities. Planning at the Sector Level The impact of the motor-car has yet to be felt on a large scale. People continue to live, work and play within easy walking distances. In essence, an Indian city is no more than a collection of self-contained 'villages'. Therefore, in planning a new town, intertwined 'villages' or sectors have to be designed to gel as viable, almost autonomous, sub-communities. Planning at the Township Level The mere assemblage of various elements covered in the previous section does not make a township. There has to be a higher theme and an overall order within which the components have a meaning. A township needs a focus and a well ordered hierarchy of all amenities in a balanced and cohesive environment. Population Density The gross township area of about 100 hectares, inclusive of the open spaces and the peripheral roads, is designed for an initial population of about 40,000 people which is anticipated to rise to 65,000 eventually. The gross density is, therefore, 400 persons per hectare rising with time to 650 persons per hectare. This compares favourably with densities in the inner cities of India of over 1,000 persons per hectare which are obviously too congested. Studies have shown that housing and infrastructure costs optimise at densities of between 300 to 600 persons per

hectare. The desire to reduce further the density of the Indore project is tempered by the scarcity of urban land combined with the acute shortage of housing. Land use The road area of about 21 % together with pedestrian walkways and square amounting to a further 1.5% of the net planning area, compares very favourably with the target set by the World Bank. Considering that in the EWS areas, high road areas are consumed because of the small plot sizes, the overall efficiency of the road patterns adopted is clearly demonstrated. The open spaces add up to about 8% of the planning area which falls within the planning norms in India of between 8% to 10%. By linking the open spaces together, the feeling of spaciousness will be greater than that suggested by the measured percentages. In Indian towns, commercial areas of between 2% to 4% can be sustained, against which the Indore scheme measures well with an area of about 3.5% distributed along a wide spectrum of economic activity. The overall marketable area is over 68%. It is normally difficult to increase the marketable land beyond 60% . In the VSF scheme this efficiency has been achieved by optimising the road networks and encouraging multiple uses of the open spaces.

CONCLUSION An attempt has been made to come close to the social, physical and aesthetical goals as laid down by VSF within the framework of severe financial constraints of low-cost housing. It is not the intention of the Foundation to produce a rigid scheme which is incapable of evolving with changing circumstances of the future. The stress laid on flexibility and elasticity at all levels of planning should ensure that the proposals put forward can respond dynamically to any feed-back received during the remaining detailing stages, during construction and even after the eventual occupation. It is hoped that the township, when completed and occupied, will be well received by the people of Indore. We feel that this township, a model experiment by the Indore Development Authority, will set a replicable pattern of balanced and harmonious

environment which can be emulated and subsequently improved upon by other organisations engaged in the field of low-cost housing.

PROJECT 2 MAGARPATTA CITY, PUNE ,INDIA BY HAFEEZ CONTRACTOR Magarpatta a privately owned Gated community in the Hadapsar area of Pune, India. Magarpatta is built over 600 acres of land. It is home to a commercial zone, residential neighbourhoods, a multi specialities hospital, a shopping mall, multiple restaurants, a gymkhana and a large 25-acre park which is known as Aditi Garden. It has eco-friendly development and has green spaces that make up for 30 % of the area. Additionally, it is home to two schools: Magarpatta City Public School and Vibgyor School. The Magarpatta City SEZ model is an innovative land-pooling mechanism that made the original landowners the primary stakeholders in the development company, rather than the traditional outright purchase method adopted by most third party developers. The entire development thus became extremely participatory, from decision making, policy development, and actual execution. The landowners remained attached to their land, and upgraded their lives and standards through a continuous profit model. Most landowners shifted from being farmers to entrepreneurs. The term ‘FDI’ thus gathered a new meaning, from “Foreign Direct Investment”, to “Farmers’ Direct Investment” (See ICC; 2011:5). Therefore, certainly this feature itself has a unique identity, where insiders have become primary stakeholders that avoid issues like mass resistance and movements against land- pooling, which are common features in the case of other SEZ’s. MODEL OF GATED COMMUNITY Gated communities and enclaves have been welcomed for reducing the burden on city corporations and the police by being self-sufficient. They also represent an opportunity for planned development that can provide ecologically sustainable living spaces Magarpatta City SEZ is unique, because all its amenities are surrounded inside the wall and the gated community is an urban model.

GREEN HIERARCHY At the city level, there are distinct hierarchies of usage patterns of green spaces. They vary from more passive roadside plantations that give green cover to pedestrians and enhance the beauty of the road, to cosy tot-lots, which have sheltered children play areas, to sector level play areas for older children and young adults, to open areas for social assembly and merriment for sector citizens, to a larger city level urban park for all the citizens to access, enjoy and rejuvenate themselves. Magarpatta City SEZ maintains and respects this hierarchy; so every citizen has easy access to surrounding greenery and responsive landscaping, that is actually used and appreciated (and hence it is well maintained). Every residential sector has buildings at the periphery overlooking a centralised open space, in an obvious abstraction of the traditional courtyard planning, thus bringing back the trees and lush landscaping in progressively urban lives, enhancing health and well-being. All parks are open for public uses. Road Hierarchy for Reducing Vehicle-Pedestrian Conflict Magarpatta City SEZ has a large network of roads (75 Kms.) that facilitate vehicular movement in a planned hierarchical manner and segregated pedestrian movement corridors alongside the carriageways. Special design emphasis is laid on the design and detailing of the pedestrian corridors and footpaths. Shaded and beautiful landscaping is meant to entice

citizens into rediscovering the joys of walking to nearby places. Well-designed urban signage’s facilitate way finding at 150 the city level. At stipulated activity areas, there are seating zones near pedestrian corridors, for resting and pausing to enjoy the surrounding city life. Junctions are well treated with traffic calming systems to ensure intercity vehicular traffic, which is wary of the pedestrian priority aspect of Magarpatta City SEZ’s planning. Visual corridors are preplanned to ensure high visibility during turning, thus ensuring better predictability on incoming pedestrian / vehicular traffic, and thus reducing the possibility of conflict.

AMENITIES AT MAGARPATTA CITY  Garden City Central Garden of 25 acres along with separate internal gardens for every neighborhood ranging from 0.5 to 2 acres.  Cyber city Hi-tech commercial area for information technology enabled Services.  Shopping convenient shopping & other essential services.  Internal Roads Broad asphalted roads with landscaped footpaths on either sides.  Jogging/Cycle Tracks Extensive network of jogging & cycling tracks throughout Magarpatta City.  Security Round-the-clock Centralized Security System.  Garbage Disposal Eco-Friendly sustainable garbage disposal system.  Property Management Maintenance and upkeep will be looked after by Magarpatta Property Management Division.

CYBERCITY • • • •

Over 6 million Sq.ft of high quality modular space Offering software development enter as well as business center. Including 120 acre garden. Educational and recreational facility. Bordered around 25 acre garden and located in the lush green oxygen zone.

CONCLUSION Magarpatta City SEZ was founded by the native peasant community, who were worried of losing both their homes and livelihood, if the area were to be developed as a part of the city. Magarpatta City differs from the other SEZs in India because of its unique features. Magarpatta City SEZ proved a model of Farmers Direct Investment (FDI), as 123 peasant’s families collectively pooled their land. Thus, the Magarpatta City SEZ is an answer to the forceful land acquisition for the developmental projects like SEZs in India. Each peasant family got the

shares proportional to its landholding and were made an equity shareholder, which is the most impressive quality of this SEZ. Magarpatta City SEZ helps to promote entrepreneurship skill sets among the peasants and these results in the generation of more than 250 entrepreneurs from the native community. Peasant’s families have also managed to move beyond agriculture and into other occupations. This gives them a steady, continuous and lifelong source of income. Magarpatta City SEZ is acknowledged by many thinkers, researchers and institutions, since it carried the traits of inclusiveness, equity, social and economic security without the natives losing their land. PROJECT 3 NAVI MUMBAI Navi Mumbai is a planned township of Mumbai off the west coast of the Indian state of Maharashtra in Konkan division. The city is divided into two parts, North Navi Mumbai and South Navi Mumbai, for the individual development of Panvel Mega City, which includes the area from Kharghar to Uran. Navi Mumbai has a population of 1,119,477[1] as per the 2011 provisional census. The area was mooted in 1971 to be a new urban township of Mumbai by the Government of Maharashtra. For this purpose a new public sector undertaking was established that is the CIDCO. [2] Navi Mumbai is situated across two districts namely Mumbai and Raigad. The city has been ranked 12th among 73 cities surveyed for cleanliness and hygiene by the Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) and Quality Council of India (QCI) as a part of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

• To reduce the growth of population in Mumbai city by creating an attractive urban center which will -

• Absorb the immigrants who will otherwise go to Mumbai • Attract some of Mumbai's present population so that overall population of Greater Mumbaican be contained within a manageable limit

• To support the state-wide industrial location policy which will eventually lead to an efficient and rational distribution of industries over the state and a balanced development of urban centers in the hinterland

• To provide physical and social services, raising the living standards and reducing the disparities in the amenities available to the different sections of the population