Yamuna Apartments (Alaknanda)

Location

Accessibility

•Yamuna apartments belong to a group housing society, which has been designed for the lower middle income group.•The site allotted for the housing complex was 4.25 acres , but due to planning regulations , an area measuring 0.5 acres was required to be left as open space, at the north east corner. The intention of this open space being , to form a continuous green space with the adjoining residential complex. The green space has enabled the housing to have a nice playground.•The pedestrian movement is along four radial galis where children can play undisturbed by the vehicular traffic . Plants planted along the side of the gali, present a refreshing contrast to the external walls of the unit.

Introduction

ConceptThe design concept however, distinguishes it from other developments in the city.This society consists of 200 members, most of which came from south indian states of kerala , tamil nadu and andhra pradesh , constituted a fairly cohesive group with specific living requirements. Taking these factors into consideration , the housing was designed as an integral community settlement , where the traditional housing elements were incorporated to create an “urban village “ in a city.

The design concept revolves around a typical indian village , with its lively narrow galis or pedestrian streets , where the womenfolk and children would pull out their charpai onto the gali , so that they were able to share experience and converstaion with each other, while doing their household chores. This has been achieved by a designing a traffic free complex , where the vehicular traffic is restricted to the periphery and in the basement.

Galis converge onto an asymmetrically placed central square , which forms the focus. It is here that the recreational activities have been placed.

The dwelling units comprise of three basic plan types of varying floor area , which are grouped together in a repetitive basis, to form individual housing blocks.

The access staircase leading to the unit takes off from the gali, thus maintaining a continuity and acting as transitional space , between common public areas and private areas of each house. It has also enabled residents to converse with each other and maintain contact with the surroundings while they work.Unlike the west , the indian neighbourhoods are open and privacy is not given much importance. Houses were designed overlooking each others semi private areas. Thus , in addition to sharing experiences while the womenfolk performed the daily chores , it also enabled assistance in the time of an urgency .In the unit plans , the semi private area or the living room of each unit has been consciously designed towards the pedestrian spine to enable communal interaction and acknowledgement of one’s neighbours.The living room has an attached balcony which overlooks the pedestrian spine. This enables the residents to share and exchange social contact at various levles, thereby retaining the lively character of the gali.The private area of the bedrooms are to the rear of the house opening on to a terrace for sleeping.According to the norms of the community , the kitchen is condsidered a holy place and is kept clean, it is for this reason that is has to be kept away form all normal circulation routes within the house. The bathroom and kitchen open onto the internal ventilation and light shaft , on which they are dependent for their light and ventilation.

The recreational activities are grouped around the central square. The club is located on the first floor level forming a bridge across two housing blocks.

A view of the units grouped around the central space. The open air stage is in the foreground.

•There is an integration of traditional design elements as balconies for shading the external wall surface , courtyards and terraces for outdoor sleeping in summer , thus establishing a hierarchy of open and enclosed spaces, private an semi private areas. •The unit plan has opening on two sides , thus enabling a fair amount of cross ventilation.•Each unit is sheltered on the outside by either a balcony or terrace The terrace provides a space for outdoor activities.•Part of the terrace is always open to sky which gives it an added openess . This has been achieved by changing the shape of the terrace from square to rectangular on alternate floors.The elected framework provides considerable variation to the façade and a strong geometric framework.

Built Form • Yamuna apartments are unique in terms of the volumetric

form, owing to the constant staggering and the breaking up of the facade.

• Each made up of 3 types of dwelling units, which are placed over each other in a way that the built mass is non- aligned.

• Such an arrangement provides optimal mutual shading, and cuts off the harsh sun.

Pedestrianised Pathways

• The shape of the built form gives rise to the • walkways between two blocks, which function• as streets within the society.• These `galis’ have been completely pedestrian• ized and function beautifully as community• spaces. • They have been broken into levels, given green• pockets, and are so well shaded that one can• easily interact with people without worrying• about hot summer. • Instead of splitting two blocks apart,• these parks bring the two together by• encouraging people to interact and• make it lively.

Community Spaces/ ‘Chowks’• Since the entire society was designed like a typical village, chowks

form an integral part of this scheme. • Each pedestrian walkway or `gali’ leads to one of these

asymmetrical cores or `chowks’. • They provide an interesting focal point for daily activities to place on

a larger scale. • One such core doubles up to form a badminton court and a mini

stage area for shows to take place, while another is merely a courtyard which is shaded by trees and is broken into levels for people to sit and interact.

• These spaces become pivotal in tying the blocks and paths together.

Green Spaces

• There is one major playground tucked further away into the society.

• A small park is situated in one of the chowks which consists of swings for children and benches to sit.

• Apart from dedicated greens, the pathways are interspersed with green pockets, planters, trees, shrubs etc. the most prominent trees are frangipans, deodar, mango etc. they provide ample shading and improve the microclimate to a larger extent.

Parking

• Car parking for the houses is limited to the periphery of the housing and no car can come through to the internals of the society. Vehicular movement for every other reason is restricted to the perimeter as well.

Planning Of The Dwelling Units:

• Access staircase.• Each block has a set of external staircases which is used to access the

apartments. The staircase splits into another staircase as it approaches the doors of the apartment. This gives the appearance of almost a personalized staircase for each house, something which is not commonly found in group housing.

Spatial planning

• Each block consists of 2 types of flats, 2 and 3 bedroom respectively. Examples, flat type 1 has 3 bedrooms, whereas, flat type 2 has 2. there is a service entrance from the kitchen, accessed by the same staircase which leads to the guest entry.

• The design of every unit is such that the living room opens into a balcony, which provides a direct visual connection with the house opposite to it.

• Bedrooms opens into a patio/balcony on the backside of the block, and are adjoined by the balconies of the other houses. The patio is then half covered by the patio of the floor above it, which gives it the staggered appearance.

• Service shafts: 2 apartment units share 1 common shaft, which is shared by the living

room, kitchen and the bathroom in one unit.

Critical analysis

• The sense of community is highly emphasized throughout the society due to the kind of spaces created, such as, the open and green spaces at various intervals, placing of the blocks, and the usage of pedestrianization.

• The idea of parking being on the periphery, is very unique, as the whole colony enjoys a terrific free circulation around the colony, however, the demand for parking has increased since the society’s conception, creating a shortage of car space.

• There is no apparent use of the basement, with just an occasional room for various services etc, in a few places, accessed by ramps.

• The external staircase saves a lot of internal space as it cuts down the need for a core, but, proves to be a problem on days with heavy rainfall. The fact that residents can see into each others living rooms creates a sense of safety in times of emergencies but it may seem intrusive for some, who have simply used frosted glass/blinds to crub the issue.

• The placement and the size of the internal shaft by two units not only holds the service lines, but helps in the overall ventilation of a unit. It can be easily accessed from the terrace for maintenance. The way, the façade is free of pipes running on it.

• The pebble-dashed facades are an interesting choice, because they are require little or no maintenance. Extensive greens combined with such a wall finish gives a natural and earthy feel to the complex. As a small housing scheme, the complex is well planned and integrates the concepts of community livings beautifully. Small spaces are used to the best of their potential, creating an atmosphere of friendliness and familiarity.

The open air stage forms a part of the recreational facilities grouped around the central square.

Units on the ground floor have a private courtyard which is partly covered . It forms an important space for outdoor activities , sitting out in summer evenings and on cold wintry days, etc.

The change in the shape of the terrace , from square to rectangular , on alternate floors provides considerable variation to the façade and strong geometric frame work.

The external walls finished with stone aggregate which practically requires no maintenance besides an occasional washing down with water to remove the dust along with reinforced concrete bands at terrace levels provide a refreshing contrast against the landscape.

A typical pedestrian street or gali leading to the central square with entrance to the units . Children can play in the gali undisturbed by vehicular traffic.The access staircase in each block form important design elements . They wind around a central wall panel , but at each half landing an independent flight peels off to lead directly to the entrance of the adjacent unit.

Each unit has a courtyard or terrace for outdoor activities , outdoor sleeping, drying balcony for laundry, etc, which is partly open to sky.

Community spaces like O.A.T, public seating, gardens etc. are provided. Water tank orientation with good use of levels. Neighborhood is maintained. Better use of site’s irregular negative space by providing children’s play area and gardens

there. Landscaping is used as a very important key feature in complete design. Privacy is maintained by providing a small breathing space in every apartment i.e. in

ground floor it is next to main door and in upper floors it is as balconies. Two main, three sub and one service Entries are provided for the better use of spaces. Non- accessible Terrace gardens are provided to enclosure to the outer space and at the

same time they also gives the view of the open sky which merges with the landscaping on the upper terrace gardens.

Merits

Security pipelines are exposed and are running along the window. Basement is not used for any purpose. Parking was not made according to the requirement, cars were parked on the roadside.

Demerits

35 percent of the total area is the built up area. There are large open spaces for public use provided on the periphery of the complex.The built up area is in staggered form and oriented in such a way that they form a sense of enclosure within the complex.Bey balconies have been provided with the built units that add to the aesthetics and functionality to the built form.

65 percent is open space.

The designer has tried to make the open spaces face towards the southern side to avoid direct light entering the area.

The complex gives a sense of enclosure.

There are many buffer zones within the complex which form the space of gathering , social interaction.