FACTORY AS A SYSTEM OF COURTYARDS

The product is Spice Powder and A1 Chetna Masala is a spice making factory situated in a gala in Keshav Industrial Estate located in the Kandivali gaothan (Urban Village). The gaothan is mostly dominated by Catholic community on the west side and fishing community on its east. The factory occupies barely 350 sq. ft., collectively allocating space for spice roasting in the back area, five spice grinding machines and one packing machine in the small area, sales counter and storing of chillies in the front side, drying of chillies is either on the road or on the building’s terrace which caused fragmentation of the tasks to different parts of the building thereby creating an isolated space for workers.

The people working there belong to the gaothan itself and a big boundary divides gaothan and the land of the industrial estate which was once a part of the gaothan. Thus, thinking of the factory as an extension to the gaothan which becomes a place for work and repose both.

The intervention tries to bridge the gap and design a structure which could enhance the activities of the factory and create a homely atmosphere and strong bonding in work place without the feeling of isolation. The factory as a system of courtyards thus looks for spaces of traditional methods of spice making and houses of the gaothan by creating small meandering paths which open up to larger courtyards and affords places for repose and spice making process.

The social fabric of the spaces in our surroundings also plays a very important role in shaping the environment. The environment in its terms is multidisciplinary. This social fabric allows one to think and identify various patterns of living and the interdependencies of these patterns starts creating newer typologies that generate sensitive responses to the interdisciplinary nature of the environment. The idea of the type plays a very important role as these typologies hold potentials to respond to the changing climates and patterns of living.

PROGRAM COLLAGE

The collage shows the idea of factory as a system of courtyards which emerged while surveying the gaothan and the industrial estate.

The program collage shows how the various functions of the factory are interdependent on each other and the these interdependencies generate various relationships thereby creating a social fabric in and around the factory.