ROW HOUSE

Case study: Lic Housing

 WHAT IS ROW HOUSE?
• A row house can be defined as a single family dwelling unit
arranged in a row with a minimum of three dwelling units
attached to each other by a common wall with only front, rear
and interior open spaces. The first and the last of these houses
are usually larger than the middle ones.

• Common characteristics
• No two row houses share the same stairway
• Row house development has minimum of three dwellings in a
row
• They have uniform plan, fenestration and architectural treatment
• Rainwater harvesting
• Solar power for lighting homes
 Project Name : LIFE INSURANCE
CORPORATION
 HOUSING
 Location : AHMEDABAD,INDIA
 Architect: BALAKRISHNA DOSHI
 Team : VASTUSHILPA CONSULTANTS
 Project Type : MULTIFAMILY
 Project Scope : NEW CONSTRUCTION
 Year Completed : 1973
 Shared by : AYDA AYOBI
 Project Status : BUILT
PRINCIPLES
DOSHI HAS CATEGORIZED 8
PRINCIPLES IN
TRADITIONAL
ARCHITECTURE WHICH HE
BELIEVES
WOULD GREATLY ENRICH
CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE.
 PRINCIPLES
1. DOSHI BELIEF IN THE “mythical sense” OF SPACE IS OFTEN EVIDENT IN
TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE WHICH IS NOT SIMPLY CONFINED TO OPEN OR CLOSED
AREAS. ACCORDING TO HIM,SPACE CAN BE MODIFIED ACCORDING TO THE DESIRE OF
THE PERCEIVER AND IS NEVER STATIC.

2. THE STRUCTURAL AND FORMAL SYSTEMS THAT DOSHI HAS ADOPTED LED HIM TO
ASSIMILATE THE SECOND PRINCIPLE OF VASTU-PURUSHA MANDALA TO ENSURE
MINIMUM STANDARDS OF HEALTH AND HYGIENE IN EACH PROJECT. VASTU
(ENVIRONMENT), PURUSHA (ENERGY), AND MANDALA (ASTROLOGY) ARE COMBINED IN
THE DIAGRAM THAT HAS EVOLVED TO ASSIST BUIL DERS IN DETERMINING PROPER
ORIENTATION. NORTH RELATES TO THE LORD OF WEALTH, SOUTH RELATES TO THE
LORD OF DEATH,EAST TO THE LORD OF LIGHT (THE RISING SUN), AND WEST TO THE
LORD OF WIND.THE CENTER IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE LORD OF THE COSMOS.

3. TRANSFORMATION OF ENERGY BETWEEN THE BUILDING AND PEOPLE USING THE

SPACE FOR FUNCTIONAL USE. THE ENERGY TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THEWALLS ,
COLUMNS AND SPACE OF THE BUILDING. THE NATURAL ENERGY PRODUCES THROUGH
SUN RADIATIONS OR NATURAL ELEMENTS, SURROUNDINGS, SPECIES AROUND IT ETC.
DOSHI PROVIDED IN HIS ARCHITECTURE BY PROVIDING OPENNESS IN BUILDINGS
THROUGH COLONNADES , PERGOLAS, PORTICOS, SKYLIGHTS ETC
4. DOSHI HAS PERSISTED A DEEP BELIEF IN IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN
INSTITUTIONS , JUST AS LOUIS-I-KAHN DID BEFORE HIM. THIS BELIEF, IS AMPURED
BY HIS OWN DEEP CULTURAL EXPERIENCEAND POPULAR EVOLUTION OF NEW
INSTITUTIONS. THE NAME OF HIS OFFICE ITSELF, THE “VASTU-SHILPA FOUNDATION”,
IS A RINGING AFFIRMATION OF DOSHI’S FAITH IN THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN PEOPLE
AND ARCHITECTURE OF WHICH HE SPEAKS AND POWERS OF DIALOGUE TO BRING
ABOUT OLD INTITUTIONS AND CREA TE NEW ONES.

5. A MORE SPECIFIC PRINCIPLE IS TO FOLLOW ‘FLEXIBLE RATHER THAN RIGID

APPROACH TO THE STRUCTURE’. THIS IS HOW TRANSFORMATION OF SPACE FROM
THE MERE STATIC CONTAINER; TO A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE ACTUALLY FEEL A
PSYCHIC INTERCHANGE IS BEST ACHIEVED. HERE DOSHI REFERS TO THE
MULTIPLE MIXED STRUCTURAL SYSYTEMS, OF THE TYPE FOUND IN MADURAI
TEMPLE AND THE CITY OF FATEHPUR SIKRI.

6. THE IDEA OF FLEXIBILITY LEADS HIM TO A PRINCIPLE , OF INCORPORATING

‘SYMBOLISM’.HE BELIEVES THAT IT CAN ONLY BE ACCOMODATED BY MIXTURE OF
STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS. SYMBOLICALLY CHARGED SPACE MUST BE DESIGNED AS
RECEPTACLE FOR HUMAN ACTIVITY.
7. DOSHI ALSO ADVOCATES ‘AMORPHOUS RATHER THAN FINITE FORMS ‘; USED
WITH MULTIPLE STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS SO THAT EXPERIENCE WITH THEM
MAYBE LOOSE MEANDERING AND MULTIPLE .

8. AS AN EIGHTH AND FINAL PRINCIPLE, DOSHI SEEKS ‘TIMELESSNESS’ IN HIS

ARCHITECTURE MUCH AS LOUIS KHAN DID WHEN DESCRIBING HIS QUALITY
IN HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS AS ‘OPEN ENDEDNESS’.
This housing project for the Life Insurance Corporation in Ahmedabad was designed by
architect BV Doshi in 1973. The development, known locally as Bima Nagar, consists of 324
units arranged in a duplex terraced unit scheme on 54 plots.
Site plan of the row house unit
 Site plan of the row house unit
• There are three types of houses

• Single bedroom house with a plot area of 10’x10’

• Double bedroom house with a plot area of 110 sq.yards 16’x60’

• Double bedroom house with 16’x60’ plot size and no split levels

• The houses opening in the public square have a shop in the front for facilities like
groceries and daily needs. The houses are smaller in size and this area acts as mix of
public and private zone, helping to make the place more active and used.
The initial development was focused on efficient provision of sites and services with a phased
plan for growth. The lower units are around 200 square yards and cost 70-80 Lahks, the
second level are 120 sq. yds. And cost 50 Lakhs, and the upper units are 75 sq. yds.
and cost 70-80 Lakhs. This distribution results in a mix of incomes and ownership patterns in
the community.
THANK YOU

NAME: HEM PANDYA

ID NO: 17ARM06