MODERN HOUSING COMPLEX

Chandigarh Housing Board

Submitted To-
Submitted By-
L O C AT I O N

Moder n Housing Complex

• Southwest of the town of
Manimajra and on the
• Nor th-easter n edge of the
Chandigarh city
• Site is bordered by the
road V1 connecting to the
National Highway, NH -
22, on the nor th-easter n
edge of the city
Manimajra
MANIMAJRA
Histor y
• 1952 – at the time of the preparation of the or ig inal plan in 1952, Manimajra was a small village and
fell outside the sectoral g r id of Chandigarh
• 1961 – Manimajra was classified as a ‘ Cens us Town’ in the Census Repor t of 1961
• 1976 – in Apr il 1976, 840 acres of land compr ising of Manimajra Town and the adjoining areas was
declared as a Noti fi ed A rea and a Noti fi ed A rea Commi ttee was set up for its planned development.
• 1977 – Manimajra along with Cha ndi ga rh, P a nchkul a , Moha l i were included in the urban area of
the Chandigarh Urban Complex Plan . T he s a me yea r, the D ra ft L a nd Us e P l a n of Ma ni ma j ra was
prepared by the Depar tment of Urban Planning in 1977. However, no action to finalize the Master
Plan was taken.
• 1990 - The Revised Development Plan of Manimajra was prepared in the year 1990 by the
Depar tment of Urban Planning, UT to guide and channelise fur ther development of Manimajra
• 1994 - Vide notification dated 27 th July, 1994, the area of NAC Manimajra was included within the
limits of the Municipal Cor poration, Chandigarh. A s the provi s i ons of the Ca pi ta l of P unj a b
(D evel opment & Regul a ti on) A ct , 1952 ha d been extended t o Ma ni ma j ra , the bui l di ng r ul es of
Cha ndi ga rh beca me a ppl i ca bl e to the a rea .
MANIMAJRA
D evel opment pl a n of Ma ni ma j ra - 1990
The old Manimajra Town was retained as such and
proposed to be encircled by a wide road for easy
movement of traffic.
Under the development plan var ious schemes were
proposed as :
Moder n Housing Complex Phase I, II & III
compr ising of 100 acres of land was developed.
S CH1703 48 Ca t - I I , Ma ni ma j ra Cha ndi ga rh

The Moder n housing complex was planned around

1990, gover ned under the provision of Ha rya na
Hous i ng B oa rd A ct, 1971
MODERN HOUSING COMPLEX
• The Moder n Housing
Complex – one of the
ea rl i es t G roup Hous i ng
S chemes in Chandigarh
• Built in three phases, the
neighbourhood was
planned as a high -density,
• Residential community,
with a range of building
types including midr ise
apar tments in Phase -I and
Phase II
• Independent, ter raced
houses in the Phase -III

Phase III
Phase I & II
Mani majra Town
Green Area
PHASE I & II
• Phase-I and II occupy about 60 acres of land
• It accommodates 2200 dwel l i ng uni ts of var ious categor ies in the for m of four storeyed flats, designed
and constr ucted by the Cha ndi ga rh Hous i ng B oa rd
• Phase I and Phase II are dominated by a
ser ies of four s toreyed a pa rtments, ea ch
bl ock of s i x a pa rtments g rouped around
a central cour tyard.
• All blocks have a unifor m architectural
with exposed concrete and g r it -finished
f açades.
• Categor y I (243 sq m )
480 Unit
• Categor y II (162 sqm )
384 Unit
• Categor y III (122 sqm)
456 Unit
• Categor y IV (90 sqm )
960 Unit
C I R C U L AT I O N & PA R K I N G
In Moder n Housing
Complex the ar ter ial
roads do not inter vene
through the site. Instead,
through the sub-ar ter ial
roads they feed the
collector roads making
the neighbourhood safe
from the heavy flow of
traffic.
C I R C U L AT I O N & PA R K I N G

Col l ector Roa ds : These introduce the traffic from the

main sub-ar ter ial roads into the housing complex.
In Phase I and Phase II the collector roads acts as
r ing roads around the per imeter.

The character of these roads is defined by the thick

vegetation and trees along their length. In Phase III,
the Collector Road r uns per pendicular to the
housing units and meets the r ing road of the phase I
& II development.
C I R C U L AT I O N & PA R K I N G
L oca l S treets : The Local Streets are fed from the
Collector Roads and have a var ying r ight of way
from around 7m to 14m.
• They lead to residences and r un along the open
spaces within the housing cluster s.
• At some places the road widths are as nar row as
4m, which become too tight for smooth flow of
two-way traffic & heavy transpor t vehicles do not
get adequate tur ning radius at the junctions.
• In Phase I and Phase II the local streets r un
per pendicular to the housing units.
C I R C U L AT I O N & PA R K I N G
S er vi ce L a nes / P a rki ng S treets : These are the
streets which lead to garages allotted along with the
housing units.
These garages are at a level 2.70m below the road
and the ser vices lanes r un down the ramps from the
Collector Roads and g ive access to the four wheeler
and two wheeler garages.
parking garages are mostly not used as the residents
do not consider their vehicles to be safe in locations
which are neither directly accessible nor visible.
As a result the ser vice lanes / parking streets are
only used as through roads rather than ser ving the
pur pose for they were designed.
C I R C U L AT I O N & PA R K I N G
P ropos ed P a rki ng provi s i ons :
The cur rent issue in Moder n Housing complex is inadequate & inappropr iate parking.
When the Complex was planned in 1989, only one out of four residences owned a car. Thus, the or ig inal
plan provides,
260 car garages for the 480 Categor y I flats
225car garages the 384Categor y II flat
Each of the smaller Categor y III and Categor y IV flats were provided with garages for two wheeler s
C I R C U L AT I O N & PA R K I N G
P res ent P a rki ng provi s i ons :
In present scenar io many residents of Categor y I and Categor y II flats own more than one car
Around 75% and 55% of the residents of Categor y III and Categor y IV respectively own a car in addition
to two-wheeler s.
The result is overcrowding of parking garages and (mis)use of all parks, most of the open spaces, and
roadsides into parking spaces, severely impacting the public realm of the area.
P U B L I C O P E N S PA C E S
Open spaces were considered as areas of
pr ime concer n as their efficient and
appropr iate planning helps to
considerably improve the public realm.
A var iety of Public Open Spaces can be
found in the Moder n Housing Complex.
1. Vacant Land( These are two huge
belts of vacant land that border the
two sides of the neighbourhood, the
N-W edge and the S -W edge reser ved
for commercial/ institutional pur pose
in the future.)
2. Parks
3. Parkettes
4. Under utilized Open Spaces
P U B L I C O P E N S PA C E S
P a rks :
These are the larger rectangular spaces mostly found in the plotted development of the Phase III. These
parks are well maintained and ser ve their pur pose of public interaction within the housing cluster s.
They are lively and active in the evenings and residents view them as safe and pleasant spaces where the
children can play, the young can jog and stroll for physical fitness and the elderly can sit and chat for long
hour s.
P U B L I C O P E N S PA C E S
P a rkettes :
The ‘Parkettes ’ are smaller sized parks, mostly found in the higher-density Phase I and Phase II of the
complex.
These parkettes are central spaces of each cluster four residential tower s. Shape can be octagonal or
tr iangular, depending upon the configuration of the cluster.
Though each cluster has been well conceived to have its own public space, but the connection is
exper ienced via an uncomfor table vehicular and pedestr ian systems.
Today, these parkettes are not being used for their desired pur pose because of poor maintenance and
because of the acute shor tage of parking spaces.
P U B L I C O P E N S PA C E S
Under uti l i z ed S pa ces :
These are the neglected and ill -maintained spaces within a neighbourhood that may have become symbols
of decay and despair, yet provide an oppor tunity for reshaping urban neighbourhoods by putting them to
some potential use.
Their location, size, shape and physical condition deter mine their potential of future use in a
development. The Moder n Housing Complex has a f air percentage of open spaces which have not been
assigned any pur pose.
P U N J A B ( D E V E L O P M E N T & R E G U L A T I O N ) A C T, 1 9 5 2
Planning regulations followed in Moder n Housing Complex are under the Punjab (Development &
Regulation) Act, 1952

Mi ni mum A rea of the Courtya rd –

For inter ior open space for light and
Sl Height of building up Interior open space to be left
ventilation, the whole or par t of one side or
No. to out on all sides (from, rear
one more intended for human habitation
and sides in each plot)
Note. -
(i) No projection shall be allowed within 1 10M 3M
the minimum width of the cour tyard in any
2 15M 5M
direction as mentioned in the table above,
(ii) The table shall also be applicable in case 3 18M 6M
of exter ior open spaces per mitted within 4 21M 7M
the zoning regulations.
5 24M 8M
6 27M 9M
7 30M 10M
P U N J A B ( D E V E L O P M E N T & R E G U L A T I O N ) A C T, 1 9 5 2
Requi rements rega rdi ng provi s i ons of ki tchens, ba ths a nd wa ter cl os ets -
Each residential building intended for the use of one f amily shall in addition to a living -room or rooms,
have at least –
(a) One kitchen
(b) One bathroom and an enclosed or open bathing platfor m
(c) Water bor ne drainage system and a water-closer or any other system approved by the Chief
Administrator
(d)Where a residential building is intended for use of more than one f amily such as a block of flats, the
aforesaid requirements shall be repeated for ever y one f amily.

Mi ni mum s i z e of ha bi ta bl e rooms. -
(a) The minimum size of a habitable room excluding a kitchen shall be 9.3 sq. mts. floor space with a
minimum width of 2.2 meter
(b) A habitable room shall have, for the admission of light and air one or more openings, such as windows
and ventilator s, opening directly to the exter nal air or into an open veranda. The minimum agg regate
area of such opening shall be one tenth of the floor area.
P U N J A B ( D E V E L O P M E N T & R E G U L A T I O N ) A C T, 1 9 5 2

Mi ni mum s i z e of ha bi ta bl e rooms. -
(d)In case light and ventilation is der ived from a verandah then the width of such a verandah shall not be
less than 1.83 metres and depth not more than 3.66 metres.
(e) Where the lighting and ventilation requirements are not met through day lighting and natural
ventilation, the same shall be ensured through ar tificial lighting and mechanical ventilation as per Par t VIII
B ui l di ng S er vi ces S ecti on 1 Lighting and Ventilation of Na ti ona l B ui l di ng Code of I ndi a publ i s hed by the
I ndi a n S ta nda rds I ns ti tuti on.

G a l l ery fl oors a nd mez z a ni ne fl oors. -

Where galler y floor s and mezzanine floor s are built, they shall comply with the following :-
(i) They shall not be built in any room the height of which is less than 4.9 M.
(ii) Galler y floor s shall not cover more than one-third, and mezzanine floor shall not cover more than one-
four th of the floor area of the rooms in which they are built.
(ii) They shall not be lower than 2.28 meter s when measured from the surf ace of the floor to the under
surf ace of the galler y or mezzanine floor.
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