CHARLES CORREA

COST EFFECTIVE TECHNOLOGY

 Charles Correa
• Charles Correa, in full Charles Mark Correa.
• Born in secundrabad, India in 1930.
• He is an Architect, planner, activist and theoretician, an international lecturer and traveler, particularly noted for his
sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor and for his use of traditional methods and materials.
• Kevin lynch, then in the process of developing his themes for image of the city triggered Correa's interest in urban
issues.
• Correa's work in India shows a careful development, understanding and adaptation of Modernism to a non-western
culture. Correa's early works attempt to explore a local vernacular within a modern environment. Correa's land-use
planning and community projects continually try to go beyond typical solutions to third world problems.
 Principles
• Principles
• Architect, planner, activist and theoretician, an
Few cardinalprinciples in his vast body of work- international lecturer and traveler.
• Incrementality • Correa's work in India shows a carefuldevelopment,
• Identity understanding and adaptation of Modernism to a non-
western culture.
• Pluralism
• Correa's early works attempt to explore a local vernacular
• Income generation within a modern environment.
• Equity • Correa's land-use planning and community projects
• Open-to-sky space continually try to go beyond typical solutions to third
world problems.
• Disaggregation.
• India's first man of architecture has a very simple
philosophy: "Unless you believe in what you do, it
Belapur housing being the one project where he has literally
becomes ... boring,"
used these principals
 Belapur Housing by Charles Correa: A sense of home
and community

• He tried to understand and identify the housing issues of congested regions like
Mumbai. The main problem in Mumbai has always been too many people and
not enough roofs to cover them with. Correa studied and provided apt and
unconventional solutions to this problem. His work in low-cost housing is vast
and exemplary
• One of these projects is the incremental Belapur Housing. Belapur is located in
Thane district, then just on the fringes of Navi Mumbai. It is a node in Nerul,
some two kilometres from the centre of New Bombay.
• The site area of 5.4 hectares was developed to house 500 people (about 100
families) per hectare. Work on the project began in 1983, taking three years to
complete, with the first residents moving in by 1986.
CONCEPT

• The project has a single principle at its roots:an individual plot for each dwelling to
allow for future expansion as and when necessary.
• The scheme was designed to cater to a variety of income groups:lower, middle, and
upper. Though the range of income groups is wide (a ratio of 1:5) the plot sizes vary
less, from 45 sqm to 75 sqm. Initially, Ar. Correa wanted the same plot size for all, but
that had to be modified due to affordability and rules of lending agencies.
• Each house has its own plot and shares no common wall with its neighbour, allowing
for it to have its own small open space. This is beneficialin two ways: a sense of
individuality even in a dense community and for expansion as and how seen fit by the
owners. This was commended as a feature of good contemporary planning.
PLANNING

• The overall development is low-rise high density, in-keeping with most of

Correa’s other low-cost housing projects. There are five types of dwellings
designed according to plot size, the smallest being just a single room with a
toilet, and the most elaborate a two-storeyed tenement. The houses have no
common walls, but the toilets of two neighbouring dwellings do, for ease of
plumbing services.
• Here, too, Charles Correa ingeniously uses his trademark hierarchicalopen
spaces to create a sense of home and community. The smallest open spaceis
the individual yard of each house. Seven dwellings are grouped around an
intimate courtyard of about 8m x 8m.
• Three such clusters come together around a larger space of about 12 m x 12 m.
Three of these clusters combine around the largest community space of 21m x
21 m. The community spaces open out to a seasonal stream (nullah)flowing
through the centre of the site which also carries the stormwater during rains.
PLANNING

• All the units are arranged such that one house can abut the boundaries of two
others. No windows are placed on those sides to maintain the privacy of the
residents. All the units are built in load-bearing masonry, plastered and painted.
The structure was kept simple so that the houses can be constructed even by local
unskilled labourers, giving them employment.
PLANNING
 CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

• -TECHNOLOGY: external walls of brick; roof structure covered with

wooden shingles.

• MATERIALS: brick, plaster of white color,colorful wooden fixtures,

outdoor pavingstone blocks

• Individual houses rely on simple floor plans and building methods,

enabling local masons and craftspeople to construct them.

• The village was produced with the idea that the residents were going to
alter it in many ways, making it truly their own. therefore homes are
freestanding, so residents can add on to them as their families grow; and
differently priced plans appeal to a wide variety of income levels.
PLANNING
AESTHETIC

The overall feel of the settlement is that of a quaint

village, with small close-setwhite-washed houses
topped with Mangalore tiles. The front yards are
paved with Shahabad, the most popular stones used
in angans.
The brilliance of Correa’s planning, especially for
housing, is always that it is easy to understand but
very difficult to come up with. Belapur housing
makes a statement which combines the principles
that Correa believed to be most important in
housing: incrementality, open-to-sky spaces,
equity and a strong sense of community.
The movement within the development is entirely
pedestrian, with parking spaces allotted on the
fringes. The open spaces flow from small court to
large community space with ease.
 THE PROJECT TODAY

• However, the Belapur of today is very different from what it was in

the 80s. it is now a prominent business district. The trend of high-rise
housing schemes has caught up with it. Considering this scenario, the
low-rise dense settlement might seem like it is taking up way too much
space and sheltering not nearly enough people.
• There is hardly any space for car parking in an age where even low-
income families have at least two two-wheelers. Being an incremental
housing scheme, it is expected that the owners would make changes as
needed. However, the requirements increased drastically which led to
many houses being remodelled or rebuilt.
• No one could have visualised the growth spurt that hit Mumbai in the In today’s age of ‘compact’ and ‘space-saving homes’, there are ample
past four decades. The city continues to grow and change. No one can open and green spaces right in the middle of a bustling city. The
really predict how a city is going to be just a decade later. The best the community spirit still prevails in the residents of Belapur incremental
architects and the users, the citizens at large, can do is adapt, and try to housing, despite today’s apartment culture promoting people to be
make their great city also a great place. locked inside their own little boxes.
 Ramkrishna House by Charles Correa

• Charles Correa designed the Ramkrishna House in Shahibag, Ahmedabad for a mill owner.
• The concept of the building was taken from the tube house which was one of the iconic
projects byCharles Correa.
• In 1960, the Gujarat Housing Board held a competition to encourage new ideas for low-
cost housing. The Tube house unit was 18.2 metres long by 3.6 metres (60 ft x 12 ft). The
sloping roof, along with adjustable louvers bythe entrance, used the convectionalflow of
air currents to naturally ventilate the home. As it had an open floor plan, the section of the
house had different levels (without doors) to create pockets of privacy.
• The Ramkrishna House is segregated into four main zones; on the ground floor is the
family living/ entertaining area, the guest room with its own garden, kitchen, and the
service room. Asecond, more private family area, is located on the upper floor, with
additional bedrooms spanning across the main facade overlooking the garden. Giving the
structure a frame are two staircases rising in opposite directions to the upper level.
 Ramkrishna House by Charles Correa

• The Ramkrishna House is segregated into four main zones; on the ground floor is the family
living/ entertaining area, the guest room with its own garden, kitchen, and the service room. A
second, more private family area, is located on the upper floor, with additionalbedrooms
spanning across the main facade overlooking the garden. Giving the structure a frame are two
staircases rising in opposite directions to the upper level.
• It is odd that a base design meant to be a low income housing option served as the inspiration
for a wealthy mill owner's residence. The plan reads as a series of parallel load bearing walls,
punctuated with internal courtyards which are top-lit naturally. This palatial home was
constructed using exposed brick and concrete, the flooring was polished kota stone in a
luminous colour.
Thankyou.