Type and space phenomena
Location: Mulund
Mulund is a suburb in the northeast of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is nestled alongside the foothills of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, with easy access to the Eastern Express Highway and Navi Mumbai through the Mulund-Airoli bridge. It also marks the end of Mumbai city.
A Brief History of Mulund:
The history of Mulund is said to be dated back to the time of the Mauryan Empire. Referred to at that time as Muchalind, its name changed to Mul-Kund, which then modified to its present name.
It was home to a large number of industrial factories and engineering companies but they have shifted out of Mulund. Their locations have been converted into shopping malls and residential areas. Mulund is also said to be one of the earliest planned neighborhoods of Mumbai city.
In 1922, a zamindar(landlord) named Jhaverbhai, who owned Jhaverbhai Narottamdas Company, gave architects Crown and Carter the permission to design Mulund. Crown and Carter used a Gridiron plan- one where streets are at right angles to each other- which extends from present-day Mulund railway to Paanch Rasta in Mulund west.
Paanch Rasta is a well known landmark in Mulund . A road that bifurcates from the Paanch Rasta is presently known as Devidayal road, which is marked in red is the road on which my site is located.
The whole stretch of the road that bifurcates from Paanch Rasta, that is the Devidayal road and the area around it was owned by an industrialist named Bawa Pradumansingh around seventy years ago. There were numerous small clusters of settlements on the area he owned. The various marked places in yellow, on the left hand side map are the cluster of settlements that existed 70 years ago.
History of settlement:
These clusters of settlements have now been developed into tall building complexes and retail shops. The rectangular area marked in red is a settlement, built 70 years ago, and is still the same. This area is my Site.
The road and area around it are now the government's property except the red box. This area is still owned by the Industrialist (who died a few years ago, so now his sons have inherited the property.)
Below shown are a few pictures of the settlement to help you acquire an insight of how this settlement is, and how have people inhabited this space:-
Image 1: Entrance to the settlement
(As you enter to counter as 9 feet long Bungalow which is not a private property but a part of the settlement.)
Image 2: Cluster no. 1
This is a cluster of houses one encounters when you pass the Bungalow.
Image 3: water well
Just at the end of this cluster a water well is located.
Image 4: Cluster no. 2
The other side of the water well there is another cluster of 4 houses with is located perpendicular to the previous cluster and a foliage of vegetation in front of it.
Image 5: Bunglow
This image shows the other side of the bungalow that you see on the entrance.
Site Morphology
The Type of this settlement is a Baithi Chawl.
This settlement consists of a Bungalow, a linear settlement of 4 houses and two such clusters situated perpendicular to each other. This settlement is situated adjacent to the main road and a number of tall residential buildings surround it. Due to the growing population and construction, a compound wall has been wrapped around the settlement and confined it in, which segregates the ambience of this settlement and the outside world.
Years ago when this settlement was built the main road was a kachha rasta and there was less population with no residential buildings in the surrounding areas due to which there was no need for compound walls back then. Hence the area of the settlement was inhabited quite differently. It was more open and accessible and instead of tall brick walls, beautiful shady trees and a range of vegetation surrounded the settlement.
The soil undulation and vegetation contribute as an important factor. These act as the small forces that help to form the quintessence of this space. The water well used to be a freshwater well until 30 years ago. The water was so fresh that it was drinkable and the people in that settlements used it to do their daily chores. Presently, the well has been contaminated and the water level in it has dropped considerably over years. It has been covered with a metal grill that limits the exposure and accessibility of this well. The tree just on the edge of this well is a 90 years old peepul tree. It is older than the settlement and it holds a spiritual significance for the people living here. The marked area in red is the cluster of houses I chose for my study.
This cluster of houses is further explained in detail below.
CLUSTER MORPHOLOGY
The drawing displayed is an axonometric view of the cluster under study. It comprises of four houses out of which one has been recently (21 years ago) converted into a Cyber Café. The Bungalow, compound walls and the location of water well, all shape the mobility of different elements in this area; the wind movement, permeability of Sunlight, growth of vegetation and the variability soil texture. All these factors also unknowingly determine the accessibility limit for the people living there. Spaces with too much vegetation or unmaintained growth of vegetation and heavy and pebbly soil are the places that are not frequently accessed.
The side walls (which are also adjacent walls, as the adjacent houses share walls due to this type of Baithi Chawl) are made of brick and wooden rafters are adjusted/ fixed in those walls at specific intervals, and the walls are coated with a layer of cement, which is then paint over.
HOUSE TYPE:
The House type is same for the whole settlement. The Grey spaces are the front spaces of the house, then each strip shares a same plinth level otla, then there are the rooms and Bathrooms. The first room as you enter the house is usually used as a utility room and then comes the Kitchen and the bathroom.
These houses have an adjacent wall, due to which, in this strip of four houses the house in the middle usually don’t have any windows, so the if they don’t have a backdoor, the ventilation is quite restricted. The plan shown is a detailed plan of house number two (mentioned in the Analysis page.)
ANALYSIS
Image 1:
Layout of the original layout of the cluster plan.
Image 2:
Addition of objects (in 3D axonometeric) to understand the occupied space'
Image 3:
Addition of human figures to show how this space is being inhabited.
House number 1: It belongs to an electric technician. He lives there alone. His house is mostly used as a storage space as the majority of the space there is used for storage and to sleep.
House number 2: It belongs to a family of 4, which includes an old lady, her son and daughter-in-law and a child. They run a small scale business of making and selling Papads and pickles. The son works in an electronic shop.
House number 3: It is a locked-up house. No family lives here currently.
House number 4: It was a house that has been converted into a Cyber Cafe. The owner of this Cybercafe lives in the chawl. It opens from 10 am to 9 pm.
Design
Scoping_ What is the contemporary home?
As observed in the Analysis, people living in this settlement follow a work-live culture. The idea is to design a home where the customer and owner interaction can happen without intimidating their family lifestyle.
Whereas for the Cyber Café, the idea is to merge the deserted house and play with the concept of open and closed spaces.
The cluster plan of the design:
The new plans and sections of the developed design are arranged according to the house number:
House Number 1:
This house is converted into a shop that also consists of a workshop. 1 and 2 are the front porch (including the otla) and the multi-purpose room, respectively. The customer-owner interaction can happen there_ mostly restricted to 1.
3, 5 and 6 are inhabited as a residing space. Since the bedroom is just above the kitchen and has been railed on one side, it also gives the owner a view down to his workshop.
While design, the spatial configuration of storage space was done cautiously. The design also talks about the increased space for ventilation which makes sure that the storage confined space doesn't get too intimidating.
House Number 2:
The customer-retailer interaction is restricted to the front porch. But the house is modified in a way that their small-scale business-related chores can be done conveniently. The attic space is extended and made into an open-roofed space that can be used for drying papads, drying spices and storing pickles. The roof has been vertically extended to provide a comfortable headspace. The Stairs added also have storage space beneath them. The back porch is modified into a small garden with sitting space.
House Number 3 and 4:
House number 4 which is a Cyber Cafe has been extended into House number 3. The front porch of house 3 becomes a counter space that opens inside the Cyber Cafe as well as to the outside. In order to play with the open spaces and make the space more fluid the solid outer walls of house number 4 were replaced by circular pillars and doors. The sitting space was designed in accordance with the columns, and this formation creates a very interesting space in the Cybercafe. A small garden is added on the inside and a cafeteria space which also includes stairs leading to the first floor. The first-floor space is railed on one side and it has a fluid seating arrangement. The same material of the table bends and extends to turn into a chair, table, etc.
Design Logic.
The red line is dividing the workspace and residence area. The commonality in this type is that the shop/ shop owner and customer interaction happens in the front space and the idea was to restrict this interaction till there. The type of this settlement played an important role, if this settlement did not follow this type and the same modifications were to be done to them as individual projects, the changes made would be drastically different.
About:
This was a module project of Semester 3, C2. School of Environment and Architecture.
By A20-29.