GROUP NUMBER:

NAME OF THE GROUP COORDINATOR:

CONTACT NUMBER AND NAME:

A. DESCRIPTION
I. Name of the Study Location
- Pol Houses , Central Ahmedabad
II. Building Typology
- Residence ( Row Housing )
III. Chronology and Patron
- 18th Century | Maratha Dynasty
IV. Building Purpose / Function
1. Intended Function : Residence
2. Present Function : Residence
3. Causative Force: Political Force Insecurities during Maratha period led to planning of
pols with the purpose of protecting against communal riots.
4. Form: Row houses with Courtyards for each units with pitched roofs.
V. Basic Architecture
1. Height | Floors – 06- 09 m | 02 - 03 Floors
2. Front – 04 – 06 m
3. Depth – 10 – 15 m
4. Width of Street – 05 - 06 m
5. Geometry – Rectilinear and orthogonal
VI. Architectural Elements, ornamental and Features
1. Openings
2. Structural Supporting System -
3. Columns, Walls ,Arches and Brackets,
4. Balconies and Projections
3. Steps, Plinth Levels and Flooring
4. Roof Type – Multilevel Pitched roof
5. Carvings and ornamentation
(Wooden / Metal / Stone)
VII. Material Used & Colour Palettes
 1. Core Construction - Stone and wood wooden skeleton is filled with stone or mud
masonry
2. Finishing Materials -
3. Exterior - Stone and Wood.
Highly carved wooden façade
• Roofing
• Interiors
• Flooring
VIII. Structural Features
1. Structure Type -Load bearing walls and post-beam construction
2. B. LOCAL NAMES/TERMINOLOGY
3. C. ORTHOGRAPHIC DETAILS
4. D. HIERARCHY of SPACES
5. E. SPATIAL ANALYSIS
I. Space Allocation
Pols are dense housing clusters comprising of families belonging to a particular caste or guild. The
word Pol is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘pratoli’ meaning gate or entrance to an enclosed space.
1. Neighbourhood Level :
• The Streets can be compared to a doubly loaded corridor with contiguous row
housing flanking on either sides of the main axis of the street with a restricted
singular access.
2. Unit Level :
II. Space Distribution
1. The typology of the residential unit is linear with spaces arranged one after the other.
2. The courtyard is punctured right in the middle sometimes seen attached to the shared
wall.
3. The residence is divided into 3 parts with stairs in the 1st and 3rd segments connecting
to the floor above.
4. The private spaces are pushed to the rear side of the building to reserve public space
to the Exterior of the building
III. Anthropology
1. The figure on the left is superimposed with a rectangle of dimensions 1800 mm and
750 mm which is space required for an average person.
2. The grid is positioned with reference to the central chowk
3. The width of Otla is approximately ¾ the height of the grid.
 4. Followed is a common space, Khadki which is 2 times the grid.
5. The Chowk can approximately fit 2 grids in area.
6. Followed by Osri and Parsal with height of 1 grid and Ordo with 2 grids
7. The entire width of the unit can accommodate approximately 3 grids with an extra 1
and half width for Khadki and Otla
8. The smallest rooms which are allocated as utility space can accommodate 1 grid in
area.
9. The Kitchen space, Rasodu is around 1 and half grids in area.
IV. Solid Void Ratio
1. Plan : The approximate area of the ground floor is 50 sq. m.
• Otla – 10 %
• Courtyard – 10 %
• Common space – 40%
• Private space – 20 %
• Kitchen & store - 20 %
2. Section : The frontal volume is lower than the rear volume
6. F. DESIGN ANALYSIS