By Architect B.V.

Doshi

15
Sumaiya Islam Orny
About
• Architect – Vastu-Shilpa foundation, Balkrishna Doshi
• Client - Indore Development Authority
• Project Associate - Mr. Himanshu Parikh
• Structural Engineer - M/s Stein Doshi & Bhalla, New Delhi
• Project Engineers - Environmental Engineering Consultants, Bombay
• Total Built - up Area -100,000 m2
• Project Cost - Rs. 100 Million
• Year of completion - 1989
• Award - Aga Khan award for Architecture in 1996

16
Indore,e,, Indiaa inn the
he earlylyy 1980
80’s’s was as ffacingg a shortage gge off Housing ng.
gg. ItIt hadd beenn estimatedd that at approximately
p
pp lyy 51,000
51, 0 ffamilies
51 es werere homelessss or
livingg inn illegal
gal
al settlements nts.
ntss. Thee Indore re Development
p nt Authority tyy initiatedd ann affordable
fff le housingg pproject
j ct ffor
or 60
60,0000 ppeople
60, ple that
at wouldd tackle
le this
issuee andd aatt thee samee timee bee affordable
fff e too thee ggovernment nt andd urbann ppoor or. Previouss efforts
or fff ts byy thee ggovernment nt too pprovidee low
ow-
ow
w-cost
st urban
housingg inn India iaa were
ree aimedd atat supplying
ppp y g ready dy-
dyy-builtlt units
its.
its
s. However, r it took
r, ok tooo longg too construct
ct a complete te housesee andd it becameme expensivev for
ve
the
he loww income me groupp andd also soo ate
te upp tooo many nyy resources ess.

Ass a result,t,, ppublicc authoritiess resortedd too twoo neww approaches

pp
pp s too housing
ng.
gg. First,t,, improving
p g andd upgrading
pg
pg g thee slum
m area,a,, and,
d,, secondly,y,
pprovidingg serviceses sites
es ffor
or new w housingg developments
p ntsnts.
s. Aranya
ya Nagar,r a township
r, ip off 866 hectares,
s was
s, as a planned
as edd site,
e service
e, ce andd core
ree units
ts for
or a
new
w housingg development ntt off some
mee 6,500
00 dwellings
gs.
gs

largely
g lyy ffor
or the
he Weakerer Economic
ic Section
on.
n. This
is was
as ann integratedd approachh for
or 'aa sustainable
le society'
y' where
re the
he mix
ix off different
nt economic
ic levels
of society
tyy could
ld stay
ay together
er.
er

17
18
‰ Indore
In re iss located ed 556 56 meters rs above ve Mean an Sea
ea Level
ell (MSL)L).)
‰ Thee major j r climaticc ffactorss affectingfff g thee naturee of builtlt form m aree solarr radiation,
n, ambientnt temperature,e, relative
hhumidity,
yy,, pprevailingngg wind ndd andd rainfall
fall
all.
‰ TThe
he overallll climate tee off Indoreree cana bee termed
an ed ass composite
p ite.
‰ In the
he winter er months hss off December er too Februaryry the
he climate te is
is cool
o - y, whichh changes
ol-dry, es too hot
o - ry duringg the
ot-dry he summer
months
m hs off April
p il too Junenee.
‰ Thehe rainy
nyy season onn begins ns inn July,y, andd continueses untilil September er.

19
‰ Traditional
T al settlements have multiple
p and mixed land use.
‰ Thehe existingg slums, although unplanned and crowded, had certain characteristics and language of
s
settlement.
‰ Therere were clustering of huts with the formation of small neighborhoods and houses extended to the
o
outdoors.
‰ SSmallll shopsp operated
p within the congested
g area.
‰W Wherever e ppossible a tree was planted
er p to create a small public
p space.
p
‰ Streets ts were not merelyy corridors for
f movement but theyy also accommodated various social,
economic and domestic activities and in doing so, they enhanced the quality of the living Then
e
environment.
‰ Thehe ppresence off small shops
p highlighted
g g their relevance in the neighborhood as a means of earningg
a livelihood with minimum investment.
‰ Thehe majorj unsolved pproblem was the utilityy services,, and inadequate
q infrastructure which otherwisee
affected a healthy environment and well being of the community.

20
Now
• The e ur
urban
rban area a of
of Indore
ore
e City
ty iss 21
214
14 squar
1 square
kilometers rs with
w h Aranya a beingg 86 6 square
kilometers
kilometer rs.
rrs
s.
• Most of the recent
rece
ece ent growth has been along the
DelhiBombayy hig highway,
h gh
hway, which runs
run through the
city in thee north
norttth
th-
h-so
south
s outh direction. Aranya Housing
• Arany
Aranya
anyyaa iss loc
located
cated approximately
appr 6km from the
cityy ce
centre
entre eoof Indore.
• Out of the net area of the site, 1.85 hectares has
been set aside to accommodate the ex existing light DelhiBombay
industries on the highway boundary. Highway
• Squ
Square
uaree in planan tthe site measures approximately
1 km by y 1 km m.
N

21
• Delh
Delhi
hi-Mumbai
h i-M
Mumbai highway on the east
• Developing industrial areas on the north, south and
Develo
west.
• Internal city roads to the north,
north
rth
th, south and west.
• Approach
Approa
proa ach through the Delhi
Delh
hii – M
h Mumbai highway
• Thee si
site
te is flat with no major physical features, except a
natural rain
rainwater
ain
nwwater channe
channel that runs diagonally across Aranya Housing
the sout
southth-
tth
h-w
west
estt corner.
• Topographyy de determined
etermined the orientation of the major
infrastructure network and hence influ influenced the overall
spatial
spatia
atial organization of the township.
• Thee si
site
te and the rest of the city has a 2 2-2.5
-2.
2.55-metrethick
-metre
m
top
p strata of evenly y deposited
p black
ack cotton
n soil,
so
o
expansive clay with some organic c contentnt.
nt

22
 Vitality

Imageability

Equity

Efficiency

Feasibility

Flexibility

23
 ‰ Improve
Improv
mprov
mp
p ve e an
and
nd upgrade the existing slum area
‰ Pro
rovide
ovidee se
serviced
erviced sites for new housing
developments instead
nstead of building
bu complete
houses.
‰ Pro
rovide
ovide
e fo
for
or 6,500 residential plots ranging in size
from 35m2 for EWSWS to 475m2
475m for high income
groups.
‰ Create a township with a sense of continuity and
fundamental values of security in a good living
environment.
‰ Achieve a community character by establishing
harmony between the built environment and the
people.
‰ Create a balanced community of various socio-
economic groups to evolve a framework through
design.

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