Index

Location – Belapur Incremental Housing Introduction Planning Spaces The Site The Modules Materials & Construction Services Advantages Drawbacks Inferences References

Location Address: Artist Village, Sector – 8, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

NProximity:2 KM from Railway Station40 KM from Airport

Introduction Belapur Incremental Housing Project – a proposal for mass affordable housing in Navi Mumbai (New Bombay) designed by Ar. Charles Correa in 1983. The houses are low cost and flexible as well as incremental, expandable and adaptable with essence of local vernacular architecture. Cardinal Principles:• Incrementality: Overriding principle to give each unit its own site to allow for

expansion.• Participation: Consequently families do not share walls with neighbours allowing

each to expand his own house.• Income Generation: Simple houses constructed by traditional masons generating

employment for local workers.• Pluralism: Several plans exist covering the social spectrum, from squatters to upper

income families.• Equity: Yet the footprint of each plan varies little in size (45sqm-70sqm) maintaining

fairness in the community. Planning Characteristics: Hierarchy, Cluster arrangement, Private ‘open to sky’

space, Shared Courtyard (communal space), Informal character to pathways. User Group: Originally built for artisans but only a few reside currently and now

there is mixed occupancy.

“Making house is like a bird building its nest. You start with a basic house, but you have to let people change it to their own needs.”

- Charles Correa

Planning Spaces

The project is generated by hierarchy of spaces. The first is the private courtyard of a single dwelling used as a space for outdoor activities during most part of the year.

Subsequently seven units are grouped to form a small courtyard town of about 8m x 8m with living area, services, private courtyard and access roads.

Three of the above groups form a larger module of twenty-one homes that describes the collective space of the next scale.

Typical Module showing the • Living Space• Kitchen Space• Courtyard• Lavatory

The Site

The Belapur Incremental Housing Project demonstrated how high density dwelling clusters can be achieved with low rise courtyard homes, built with simple materials. Based on clusters of 7 to 12 pairs of houses arranged around communal courtyards, the buildings did not share partition walls allowing each family to extend and adapt their own house independently. The site was planned to accommodate 550 families in a 13.3 acre area limitation.

Site PlanOverall Site area: 13.3 Acres

N

The Modules

The Project demonstrates how high density housing (500 people in 2.4 acres) can be achieved in a low rise typology, while including (open to sky spaces) and communal areas.

The footprint of each plan varies little in size (45 sqm-70 sqm) maintaining equity (fairness) in the community.

Scheme caters wide range from the lowest budgets of Rs 20000, Middle Income Groups Rs 30000-50000 and Upper Income Groups Rs 180000, thus appealing to a wide variety of income levels.

Simplest courtyard unit of 7-house modules

Plans & axonometric views of the five types of house modules

Plans & of modules showing necessary areas of the house types

Type A Type B Type C Type D Type E

Materials & Construction

External walls of bricks; roof structure covered with roof tiles and courtyard of paver blocks.

Materials: Brick, plaster of white colour, colourful wooden fixtures, outdoor paving stone blocks.

Simple floor plans and building methods enabled local masons and craftspeople to construct the houses with ease.

The village was produced with the idea that the residents were going to alter it in many ways, making it truly their own, therefore homes are free standing, so residents can add on them as their families grew.

Services Water Supply:

• Each building has its own over-head tank either syntex or R.C.C.

• Separate UGT for some bungalows.• WTP are present.• Timings of water- 2 to 3 hours morning and

evening. Drainage:

• Storm water is drained into the main rivulet (nallah).

• No separate STP.• Chaotic drainage system filled with water during

monsoon or else dry for rest of the year.• Waste water is directly drained into municipal

sewer. Electricity:

• Chaotic electric connection.• Substation and meter room located in

condominium 1.• No gas pipe lines present.• No rain water harvesting system.

The Main Drain

(nallah)

Manhole

Over-head

Water Tanks

Advantages

The housing project offered the quality of life of a village with the sophistication of a city.

Ample amount of open and green spaces provided. The complex allowed people to modify their houses

freely, whether with a paint brush or mortar, something that is never allowed in the type of mass housing.

Each cluster permits the emergence of a local community feeling while integrating each house to the whole settlement at different levels.

The projected prompted employment of local masons because of simple materials and construction methods.

Allowed enhanced interactions which was the essence of the village.

High density dwelling clustered achieved in lesser space.

Drawbacks

Most of the houses have been remodelled or destroyed and rebuilt as some inhabitants said they were very impractical (toilets outside the house).

The concrete houses arose as the result of the changing aspirations of the residents. They no longer wanted a village or a rural backdrops. Modern materials and technologies have thus been employed to a great extent.

Proper spaces were not provided which is one of the major reasons why the artisans sold their houses.

Due to lack of commercial spaces, the houses facing the street transformed into shops, which were illegal.

No proper provisions were made for parking, which required in encroachment of open spaces due to parking.

Cultural Centre made for the artists to exhibit their works remained unused.

No arrangements have been made for fire safety provisions.

Current Scenario

Many of the original buildings are demolished and now replaced with much bigger concrete houses by the aspiring middle classes.

Yet the courtyards and the hierarchy of community spaces remain intact: it is a strong piece of city making that has lasted beyond the individual dwellings.

Some of the original houses still standing, but most of them look different. The trees had grown up and shrouded the whole complex in shade in growth. Roughly one third of the original homes had been torn down and completely rebuilt.

Inferences

• Actual character of the village is lost due to urbanisation.• Dense cluster of dwellings give a sense of security to the inhabitants.• Accommodation of more individuals in a compact area with wise planning technique.• Segregation of each housing unit with functional living spaces.• Lots of green spaces creates a quiet and cool environment.• Promotion of self-employment and utilization of local materials.• Aspect of development of housing units on an individual level. • Such housing societies boast about their ideals of communal relationship among inhabitants

and their sense of togetherness and collectivism; which are rather lost in modern day townships promoting individuality and independence.

References

https://thearchiblog.wordpress.com/tag/housing/  

http://www.architectural-review.com/archive/belapur-housing-in-navi-mumbai-india-by-charles-correa/8684855.fullarticle

  https://archistation.wordpress.com/tag/aranya-housing/

 https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/rithikarockingravishankar/belapur-incremental-housing-a-case-study

Charles Correa – Kenneth Frampton