Embedded Files
COMPARTMENT S4 - Labor's housing analysis
Location: Parth Industries, Narol, Ahmedabad.
The site of intervention for Labours housing done by the NGO Compartment S4 is a part of the Textile factory focusing particularly on dying fabrics and garments . The factory thus consists of a boiler which operates throughout the day for 24 hours. The steam from the boiler is used to dye various fabrics . The labor housing thus, has to be on site for the operation to take place in shifts. The design intervention for these boiler workers' housing tries to look at the aspect of on-site housing by promoting a dignified place to live in with a social aspect of a workers everyday life.
Actor's Network : Promoters , Providers , Maintainers
Here we analyze the housing module of the boiler workers in Parth Industries which is designed by the NGO/ architectural firm Compartment S4. The below network maps classifies these actors as promoters , providers and maintainers , by which we can better understand the hierarchy of these roles and their dependencies on each other . We see two network maps forming here , the first diagram is the case after the labor’s housing was promoted ,in which one sees how most of the initiatives are taken by the NGOs while the contractors come into play only at the providing stage where they are covering the financial expenses. The maintainers are partly the NGO’s and developers who ensure the given provisions are running smoothly while the laborers also play a role in maintaining these spaces.
Whereas here in the below diagram , we see the networks before the housing was proposed by the NGOs. The dependencies between the developer/ employer were more direct with the laborers. In this case the employers used to provide the daily wage workers with raw materials and a plot of land (usually around the work site) for housing. Thus the type of housing becomes self-constructed and some ownership of the way the clusters are formed and which labor inhabits what space goes to the labor. Often in these cases workers are exploited by not being provided dignified housing as seen in Parth Industries.
Materiality & Economics : Climatic Factors, Services, Sanitation, Feasibility
Creche forming in-between clusters
MS box section & SS net door
MS corrugated sheet + tetra pack
Mosquito net jali, plywood shelves
The whole framework of this housing is in MS hollow box sections and Corrugated sheets layered with a oil paint finished tetra pack sheet. All the doors and windows are a framework of MS box sections , construction rods and stainless steel mosquito nets. There are 4 family units and 1 larger dormitory unit for single male migrant workers. The verandah which is at the front of the units sits on a 2ft PCC plinth. The sloping corrugated roof supported by MS box section truss has a slit in between its two slopes to accommodate SS net ventilators.
The washroom block made of brick is situated away from the housing units. We further analyze this materiality through understanding the worker's pattern of habitations. The section below shows how the layout of fenestrations was intended for the light hot air formed due to cooking to escape by the cross ventilation between the veranda and living quarters. We also see the form accommodating storage spaces through overhangs in sections which is achievable through the structural framework of MS box sections and corrugated sheets.
Veranda space used for cooking and socializing
Fenestrations closed inside the units for privacy
But when looking at how workers occupy a living unit we notice how the fenestrations inside their rooms are always closed ,because for them the idea of having privacy when sleeping or spending time with family is of greater importance than circulation of air. Thus the section above annotates how due to the closed environment of the living quarters there is minimal inlet/outlet for air and this also blocks the cross ventilation intended between the veranda making it filled with hot air.
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