Case Study 1

“Physically an urban dwelling is an integral part of its surroundings tied to a network of pipes, wires, pavements, transportation and services”

Housing: It is a product, a permanent product. Once built it tends to remain in existence for many years frequently long after it has served its usefulness it almost becomes part of the land…. - Glenn H.Beyer

Architects are responsible to the society for finding solutions of housing for different sections of people having diversified customs and ways of living……. Now a days housing units are being reduced to mere shelters, not ‘sweet homes’…

ACC TOWNSHIP, WADI, 1984 -Charles Correa

FOR WHOM, WHERE AND WHEN : 

 

In 1984, the Associated Cement Company, the first Indian supplier of cement and concrete, commissioned Charles Correa two projects in two separate lots to be incorporated in a neighborhood exists (ACC colony), for their workers near the industry itself. This is situated in Wadi, Gulbarga dist of Karnataka. ZONE CLIMATE: Dry climate, characterized by a monsoon season in the summer months and with an average annual temperature between 26 ° and 30, the average rainfall is 750 mm per year.

SITE LAYOUT The units designed are strung along the periphery of the sites, rather like a necklace. There is a progression from the exterior to the interior of the site; from the public and vehicular access domain, to the private internal space of the house itself to a semi-private patio or court, to the large central communal space. 

TYPE B

LAYOUT

The first type of units- TYPE-B- consists of 368 flats, each with an area of 48 sq.m. These 3 structures are arranged in a highly formal manner to form a series of interconnected units, courtyards and gardens. The units decrease on the upper levels to form terraces overlooking the central space.

FLOOR PLANS

GROUND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

VIEW

TYPE J

•The second type – the larger TYPE-J units- are approximately 65 sq.m each. •These consists of 45 courtyard houses, ventilated by internal patios, arranged in tightly-knit clusters. • Each two-storey unit has a barsati (rainy season) room on the terrace

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

ISOMETRIC VIEWS OF TYPE J UNITS

MALABAR CEMENTS TOWNSHIP, KERALA 78-82 - CHARLES CORREA

•The idea of a “company town” often located in remote areas or urban outskirts, is to provide a selfcontained living environment for employees directly connected to the physical production plant. •In this project two houses are grouped or connected with bridges and the neighborhood is generated by clustered of these houses.

SITE PLAN



SITE

•

The site selected for the township is an unusually beautiful one: a heavily wooded promontory jutting out into Walayar Lake. The site plan organizes some 400 housing units grouped in clusters of 12 along an essentially pedestrian spine. Some parts of the spine are bridged to create larger units and delineate public spaces. The township is served by a simple loop road which is also used to reach picnic spots along the edge of the lake.

•

MASTER PLAN

•

AMENITIES The Malabar Cements Corporation proved to be an enlightened client which is recognized the need for lower-income families to supplement en gardens, their income by keeping poultry, having kitchen etc., and insisted that their township should foster such activities. This in 1978 was a viewpoint not shared by most large corporations.

There are a number of public facilities. A small market is located at the bus stop near the entrance gate in order to serve both the township residents as well as general public. There is a school, a club, a guest house and a dormitory for bachelor workers and some community spaces.







The housing units themselves start with a minimum accommodation of 35 sq.m, (A-type) for workers. Each unit has a private open space for at least a kitchen garden- these are grouped in pairs to assist surface drainage and provision of services. A third unit is added at the upper level which has 2 open-to-sky spaces: one at the outdoor terrace at it own level and the other is a kitchen garden on the ground. The larger B-type houses are for foremen and supervisory staff and the C, D and – type houses are for the officers.

ENTRANCE TO THE UPPER STOREY UNIT

REAR STAIRCASE FROM AN UPPER STOREY UNIT TO A KITCHEN GARDEN

HABITAT 67 •Habitat 67 (standing wave), is a model community and housing complex in Montreal, Canada. •The project was initially designed for Expo 67, the 1967 world’s fair in Montreal, where housing was one of the main themes. It was designed by Moshe Safdie which was originally conceived as his master's thesis in architecture at McGill University. •Habitat 67 comprises 354 identical, prefabricated concrete forms arranged in various combinations, reaching up to 12 storey's in height. Together these units create 146 residences of varying sizes and configurations, each formed from one to eight linked concrete units. •The complex originally contained 158 apartments, but several apartments have since been joined to create larger units, reducing the total number. Each unit is connected to at least one private terrace, which can range from approximately 225 to 1,000 square feet (20 to 90 m2) in size.

Project name: Habitat 67  Total area : 22,160 sqm  Project cost : 17,000,000C$ Type: Cluster Form: Cube Material : Concrete Usage : Permanent Residence Climate : Cold temperature Context : Urban Water Front Units: 354 = 158 houses Sizes : 55.74 sqm – 167.22 sqm There are 18 variations in apartment types o which 15 were built which vary in size and appearance but are all variations of one single modular concrete unit. Exterior measurements of one concrete unit : 5.335m x 11.735m x 3.2m There are 1 -4 bedroom flats available , all accessible through 3 cores and horizontal sheltered pedestrian streets. The elevators stops at every 4 levels. 

LOCATION 2600 AVENUE, PIERRE, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA

•The theme of Expo 67 was "Man and his World", taken from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s memoir Terre des hommes (literally "land of men", though it was published under the title Wind, Sand and Stars). •Housing was also one of the main themes of Expo 67. Habitat 67 then became a thematic pavilion visited by thousands of visitors who came from around the world, and during the expo also served as the temporary residence of the many dignitaries visiting Montreal.

CONCEPT AND DESIGN 

The development was designed to integrate the benefits of suburban homes , namely gardens, fresh air, privacy, and multileveled environments, with the economics and density of a modern urban apartment building.



It was believed to illustrate the new lifestyle people would live in increasingly crowded cities around the world. Safdie's goal for the project to be affordable housing largely failed: demand for the building's units has made them more expensive than originally envisioned. n addition, the existing structure was originally meant to only be the first phase of a much larger complex, but the high per unit cost of approximately C$140,000 prevented that possibility.

Image showing typical FLOOR PLANS AND SECTIONS

Image showing the development of single modular unit.

18 VARIATIONS

•Initially 18 variations of apartment but eventually the number came down to 15 as several units were joined to form a larger unit. •The single unit was combined in order to avoid monotony and provide houses from 1-5 bedrooms and then 15 of the 18 variations were built.

The main factory was on the site. Most of the parts were mass produced and both construction and assembly line took place on site

CONSTRUCTION LINE

FOUNDATION

•The image illustrates the preparation of the site. •Driving plies were added to the soil in order to provide more stability and support for the foundation and structure. •The foundation was poured and the lower-level parking structure were built.

PREFABRICATION 1. Making the box/ preparing the reinforcing panels. 2. Assembling the reinforcing steel cage. 3. Moving the cage into the moulds 4. Placing the inner moulds. 5. Pouring concrete 6. Pouring floor slab 7. Module with its temporary polyethylene roofs is moved to the assembly line.

SUB COMPONENTS VVBVBV FGF

•Both bathroom and kitchen are prefabricated subcomponents . •The bathroom is moulded fiberglass within a box-kitchen as well as bathroom were fitted with all the necessity plumbing and storage in the factory. •Completed boxes were then assembled in the main structure unit on site.

ASSEMBLING

Images showing the assembling of the modular units

In March 2012, Habitat 67 won an online LEGO ARCHITECTURE poll and is a candidate to be added to the list of famous buildings that inspire a special replica Lego set. Lego blocks were actually used in the initial planning for Habitat; according to Safdie's firm, "initial models of the project were built using legos and subsequent iterations were also built with legos”.

---THANK YOU---