aranya community housing

ARANYA COMMUNITY HOUSING

INDORE

OBJECTIVEUntil recently, efforts by the government to provide low cost housing in India were aimed at supplying ready-built dwelling units. This approach was unsuitable as it took too long to build a complete house; the price of a complete house being too high for the lower income people and only a few units could be built with the available resources.

As a result, public authorities resorted to two new approaches to housing. First, improving and upgrading the slum area, and, secondly, providing services sites for new housing developments. Aranya Nagar, a township of 85 hectares, was a planned site, service and core units for a new housing development of some 6,500 dwellings.

Aranya (meaning forest), is a project of Indore Development Authority (IDA) for 60,000 people primarily serving the Economically Weaker Sector (EWS), of the society along with other income groups.

LOCAL ARCHITECTURE• Existing slum settlements in Indore provided an interesting insight into

how the poor build houses for themselves in the face of severe land and resource constraints. Traditional settlements have multiple and mixed land use.

• The existing slums, although unplanned and crowded, had certain characteristics and language of settlement.

• There were clustering of huts with the formation of small neighborhoods and houses extended to the outdoors. Small shops operated within the congested area.

• Wherever possible a tree was planted to create a small public space.• Streets were not merely corridors for movement but they also

accommodated various social, economic and domestic activities and in doing so, they enhanced the quality of the living environment.

• The presence of small shops highlighted their relevance in the neighborhood as a means of earning a livelihood with minimum investment.

• The major unsolved problem was the utility services, and inadequate infrastructure which otherwise affected a healthy environment and well being of the community.

CLIMATE• Indore is located 556 metres above Mean Sea Level

(MSL).• The major climatic factors affecting the nature of

built form are solar radiation, ambient temperature, relative humidity, prevailing wind and rainfall.

• The overall climate of Indore can be termed as composite.

• In the winter months of December to February the climate is cool-dry, which changes to hot-dry during the summer months of April to June.

• The rainy season begins in July, and continues until September.

LOCATION MAP

SITE ANALYSIS• The urban area of Indore City is 214 square

kilometers with Aranya being 85 square kilometers. Most of the recent growth has been along the Delhi-Bombay highway, which runs through the city in the north-south direction.

• Aranya is located approximately 6km from the city centre of Indore.

• Out of the net area of the site, 1.85 hectares has been set aside to accommodate the existing light industries on the highway boundary.

• Square in plan the site measures approximately 1 km by 1 km.

SITE ANALYSIS• The site is flat with no major physical features,

except a natural rainwater channel that runs diagonally across the south-west corner.

• An accurate level survey shows a fall of 9 metres across the site’s width of one kilometer, which gives a gradient of 1 in 110.

• Topography determined the orientation of the major infrastructure network and hence influenced the overall spatial organization of the township.

• The site and the rest of the city has a 2-2.5-metre-thick top strata of evenly deposited black cotton soil, expansive clay with some organic content.

ACCESSIBILITY

PROJECT DETAILS Site: 6 kilometers north of

Indore city.

Client: Indore Development Authority, Indore, India

Architects: Vastu-Shilpa Foundation; B. V. Doshi,

Planner - Himanshu, H. Parikh

Engineers - Muktirajsinhji Chauhan

Consultant Engineers: V.D. Joshi, S.L. Shah, Deepak Kantawala, Dinesh Panchal

Land area: 220 acres (total)

Phase I: 100 hectares

Number of plots: 6500

Population (projected): 40,000 (initial) persons

65,000 (final)

Planning: 1982

PLANNINGPLANNING

TOWNSHIP LEVELTOWNSHIP LEVEL• The design method was approached at different

levels which eventually resulted in the creation of neighborhoods, living areas, working areas, thoroughfares, landscaping, and the public spaces.

• At the township level, the aim was the creation of a central spine with the Central Business District. This was a focus on the six sectors converging with a centrifugal-like force. Conversely, the CBD sent out its tentacles through the staggered open spaces into the sectors.

MASTER PLAN

MASTER PLANMASTER PLAN• The master plan/ structure plan of the township

was informal and emphasized enrichment of spatial quality in the plot layout plan with inter-linked space of cultural context; maintenance of a hierarchy of road, open spaces, and commercial spaces; a central location of basic community services, institutional, commercial, social facilities; and the allowance of growth of population density and house extensions in the context of the Indian lifestyle.

MASTER PLANMASTER PLAN• At the six sector level, the aim was the formation

of a social compatibility of an interactive and integrated income/ social group who have attained a viable community in each socio-economic sector; segregation of pedestrian and vehicular movement and good distribution of land use and infrastructure; and to reflect local, historical characteristic in built form by promoting multiple and overlapping interactive land use, maintaining contact with built and green land.

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

STAGE ONE:

Plan initially prepared by Indore Development Authority which shows a typical rubber stamping attitude without any concern for open space hierarchy, circulation system, climatic orientation or the built form.


STAGE TWO:

Initial stage of proposed plan with distributed open spaces and street hierarchies.


STAGE THREE:

Later stage of development with rectified orientation to minimize heat gain and increase natural shading.


STAGE FOUR:

Proposed master plan with interlinked open spaces, built form variations, distributed amenities, road network hierarchies and climate friendly orientation.


ENVISAGED BUILT FORM:

Essentially a low rise high density development the built form echoes the traditional fabric with continuity of built edge, shared walls, favorable micro climate, house form variations and culturally appropriate settings.

DISTRIBUTION OF SPACESDISTRIBUTION OF SPACES• The master plan was divided into 6 sectors

with a central spine area of commercial and institutional land use.

• The town centre in the middle of the spine consisted of four clusters of shopping, residential and office complexes.

• At the end of the spine, two more clusters of social functions were located. This was a mixed-use zone with a five storey building.

COMMUNITY/ STREET LEVEL PLANNING

• At the community/ street level, the aim was to produce a design linking the scale of the built form and the human scale by incorporating a street life with plugged cluster houses, sympathetic and aesthetically complimenting each other and a socio cultural life of community interaction of families in the “otta” (outdoor platform). An important feature of the Indian home, at the service space between house, community spaces and the cul-de-sac. The street corner spaces are formed by the alternating arrangement of the road, the green space, and the pedestrian pathway

HIERARCHY AND DISTRIBUTION OF AMENITY

HIERARCHY OF ROADS

DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME GROUPS• The high income group (HIG – 9%), is along

the periphery of the national highway and part of the south-east border of the arterial road in the south.

• The Middle Income Group (MIG – 14%) is planned along the periphery of arterial roads on the north-west sides and part on the south arterial road along the part of spine.

• The Lower Income Group (LIG – 11%) and the EWS (65%) are located in the middle of all 6 sectors.

DISTRIBUTION & MIXING OF VARIOUS INCOME GROUPS

CIRCULATION NETWORKCIRCULATION NETWORK

CIRCULATION NETWORK

• Vehicular access in the form of rectilinear and formal road in the hierarchy of 4.5 mts wide to 15 mts wide road draw the vehicles outwardly.

• Pedestrian access in the form of informal interlinked open spaces draws people inwardly.

• This achieves a clear and safe segregation of vehicular and pedestrian movements.

PATHS AND LINKAGESPATHS AND LINKAGES

PATHS AND LINKAGES

OPEN SPACE OPEN SPACE TYPOLOGYTYPOLOGY

SECTORIAL GREEN/ PATHWAYS

PUBLIC SQUARES/ NODES

CLUSTERS

SERVICE SLOTS

DWELLING LEVEL PLANNING• At the dwelling level, a service core was

provided with the prime objective that the basic house when complete will be sensitive to the lifestyle of daily needs of individuals with the freedom to integrate indoor and outdoor spaces with privacy within and from outside the homes, by designing optional plans

• Priority was also given to the orientation, light, ventilation and climatic control; to future scope for vertical expansion and the provision of subletting and commercial options; and the use of appropriate utility technology, materials and construction methods

INCREMENTAL HOUSING

EWS HOUSING• For the EWS the options of core housing included-• Site, plinth and service core (latrine and water tap)• Site, plinth and service core (latrine and bath)• Site, plinth and service core (latrine and bath) and 1

room (kitchen).• For other income groups only plots were sold. A

verandah or house extension helped in expanding the small EWS houses and enhanced the space quality.

• A transition zone of 0.5 metres between the street and house was provided. Permissible house extensions such as platforms, porches, and open stairs were built which created an interesting street character.

House form variations; users have the flexibility to choose how they wish to design their spaces.

FLOOR PLAN (3 HOUSES)

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

ARRANGEMENT OF SPACES

• A house plan included 2 rooms and a living area followed by a kitchen and a lavatory was constructed between the front extension and them multi-use courtyard at the back.

• Most houses were provided with an additional access at the back, which allowed access at the back, which allowed for keeping animals, a vehicle or even renting out part of the house to provide income.

• 10 houses formed a cluster that opened into the street. The courtyard at the back opened into the open space of the cluster and was used as a play area and service area; trees and multi-use platforms were added.

Freehand sketches by the architect.

VARIOUS STAGES OF GROWTH

Final stage of incremental housing.

GROWTH ON A LARGER SCALE

BUILDING ELEMENTS

PROJECTIONS

OPENINGS

AREA CALCULATIONSAREA CALCULATIONS

BUILDING DATABUILDING DATA• The net planning area of Aranya Housing Scheme was

around 85 hectares of which 58% was residential use, 23.5% roads, 8.15% open spaces and 6.73% community and commercial facilities.

• The marketable area was 68.16%. There were 6,500 plots divided into eleven types in the scheme depending upon the income level and plot sizes.

• The smallest plots belonging to EWS whose income level ranged from Rs. 200-400 per month was 35.32 sq m. EWS plots accounted for nearly 65 % of total plots and nearly 66% of the entire population. Plot sizes ranged from 35.32 sq m for EWS to 613 sq. m for HIG.

SERVICE INFRASTRUCTURE

The proposed arrangement of service slots allows toilets at back while connecting 18 toilets to one manhole and sewerage lines only on alternative streets. Thus achieving 50% savings. Service slots also become useful play areas for children, neighborly interaction space and visual pause

B As shown in option 1 the conventional method of placing the toilet in front goes against cultural and aesthetic priorities and manages to connect eight toilets to one manhole with sewerage line on every street.

As in option 2, 3 and 4 toilets in the back create maintenance related problems

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY• Conventional and locally available building materials and

construction techniques were adopted. • The structures were constructed with load bearing brick walls.• Walls were plastered and painted.• Floors were cement concrete.• The CRC roof was always constructed at a later stage because

it was a high investment item.• The black cotton soil of the site necessitated pile foundation

even for simple and 2-storey buildings.• Low cost hand made under reamed CRC piles were built for the

core house (latrine, wash room) and the residents were provided with ready built foundations.

• The doors, windows, and grills were made on site by all of the residents who made it their role.

• Railings, parapets and cornices were made to ornament the house.

Presented by:Khushboo SoodB.Arch, 4th Sem

aranya community housing

Design