Embedded Files
CONCEPTUAL IDEA
As one approaches the site along the road, one sees the builtform- Bhakti Yog Co-operative Housing society settled along the two main streets: Chandavarkar road and Baburao Paranjape road. One of the sides faces the Don Bosco ground which is towards the left. The typology of the builtform is bar buildings facing the street and two C buildings facing each other with a overlooking courtyard. The space between the bar and C type buildings is used for parking and the community hall sits between ends of both C buildings. The observations made on the site were there is no connection between the buildings as well as there are barriers for internal connection too. The other observation is that there is less interaction among the people and there is restricted entry to the city people. Hence, the main idea evolves around having more shared spaces which will allow more interactions. This idea comes from keeping in mind the future of the society over the next 15-20 years where it becomes a home for the elderly. Their children are in abroad for further education and there is less possibility that they would return back and settle there.
MODEL EXPLORATIONS
CO-WORKING SPACE (REDEVELOPED)
The strategy for the commercial space is since it is a co-working space, there are no cabins or cubicles for a specific work to take place. It is completely a free flowing space where people can arrange spaces for themselves according to their requirements. The ground floor is kept open and the entire builtform invites people from the city. There are balconies and terraces which act as leisure spaces but they can also be used to work or discuss. The two parts of the building get connected through bridges which overlook each other at different levels. The staggering in the working space allows one to look into other spaces and connect with them visually horizontally and vertically. The intent to use different materials like brick jalis, timber, bamboo, glass, etc. for the fenestrations in the front façade is to filter the harsh light coming from the southern and western side.
The zoomed in parts of the co-working spaces talk about the quality of life inside the building. Each space has its own configuration according to requirement of the people working. There are some spaces which are private for meetings.
RESIDENTIAL (RETROFIT AND ADDITON OF NEW FLOORS)
The larger strategy was to experiment with the idea of partial retrofit and partial redevelopment. The C buildings get retrofitted with the addition of new floors to accommodate the bar building tenements. The bar buildings get redeveloped for commercial purposes so that in future the existing tenements can rent out the spaces to city people and they don't face financial issues. The strategies for the residential builform were balconies as an extension to the existing building which are shared among two houses. There is addition of new floors where one part of it extends to the left top corner which has a shared terrace among 3-4 households. The new floors are held together with a new structural system of steel box sections. There is addition of lift to the building. On the parallel sides there is no possibility of extending the builtform due to setbacks. So, the space for each house gets extended in the form of corridors. The community hall gets relocated from the central part to the C building and that space becomes the entrance to the residential building. The tenements from the ground floor gets relocated on the additional floors. The roof is a sloping roof instead of a terrace because it is one of the good strategies in the tropical climate of Mumbai.
SECTION AA
SECTION BB
Each house gets a toilet along with the balcony because in future they will need more open spaces. The corner spaces become the service core for the staircase and the lift blocks which further becomes terrace on the roof level. For the newer two floors, at the centre the typology of the house becomes L - shaped because there’s no possibility to extend on either sides.
The drawing talks about the life of people in the house for the entire day and how the spaces are used in different configurations.
In terms of larger ideas, the design for the kitchen in this project is an open concept with no partitions. The intent behind this is that it always connects with the outside and even while working one can keep a watch outside. Kitchen is often thought of as a closed space which gets separated from the living room. They are thought of in terms of its efficiency and not as a space which is used by women for most of the time. Most of the time they are not naturally lit and ventilated which results in a dark space and there is more use of artificial light resulting in the spike of electricity bills. Shared open spaces are something which need to be thought of because everyone may not be comfortable to share spaces with others. One should be sensible while designing these spaces. The redeveloped projects which developers propose are huge towers with no open space except for the setbacks and parking spaces. In order to accommodate high density, the connection with ground is completely lost. The shared spaces are provided in the form of amenities which are frequently used by the residents. So, the strategy in this project is to have these shared spaces which can be used by all user groups.
MODEL VIEWS SHOWING DIFFERENT SPACES
The connectivity of people with the road and different levels within the building.
Façade with different fenestrations showing materiality in order to filter the harsh light from the southern and western side.
Stepped terraces get formed on the added floors which has more possibility of interaction and can connect people from different spaces inside the house as well as outside spaces.
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