Locating a site
The idea is to locate a probable place of intervention for this proposal, which provides a community of people, strong incremental transformations, which shows the transformations and adaptation by the people to a place. The site should also provide an opportunity for mixed use development, thus sites are identified near the major roads of Ahmedabad which provide for commercial frontage and supportive building regulations.
The identified roads are :-
a) 132ft ring road
b) 120ft ring road
c) C.G. road
d) Ashram road
e) Drive-in road
Vidyanagar Flats was chosen as a site, as it was having units from various economic backgrounds, from MIG to EWS and a higher density with the site area of 26,000 sqm and existing units at 294.
Site analysis
- Universal
- Global
- Local
Universal analysis
The aim with this was to understand the basic functions such as residential, commercial, recreational functions around the site in a 1 sq.km area, to see for any specific needs which could be incorporated in the program.
Global analysis
This analysis consisted of the area just outside the site boundary, it includes.
Road network
Building use
Orientations
Shadows
Local analysis
This analysis consisted of the application of the principles of the theory 'Good City Form' by Kevin Lynch on the settlement of Vidyanagar Flats.
SITE
CLUSTER
UNIT
NEED FOR INTERVENTION
Man has always treated his house as a dwelling i.e. made by himself, made for himself and made sensitively from and for the nature itself. Such, provision have not been available for many of common people throughout the ages, where many relied on low-cost built options to survive. But, with the industrial revolution, the difference Between the urban and rural economy became stark, Which resulted in mass migration of population from Villages to city. Most of whom weren’t fortunate Enough to build their own homes. Therefore, within the economic constraints of survival Mass housing emerged as a possible solution for providing these people a place to stay. As it was a cheaper and easier solution, it quickly gained traction, further accelerated by the rehabilitations and technological boom.
This urbanization was so rapid that it could not inculcate All the constructive inputs it received throughout the time mainly due to cost and other market reasons. The primary victim of this process was the house form which resided the major chunk of urban population, Who in the midst of all, didn’t chose or change the Houses which were available to them. Though, these Houses weren’t what an ideal house was, in any Respective time period, they served their purpose well, that of giving homes to millions. The importance of their dynamics slowly moved to more economic concerns, over those of a “dwelling” in the previous decades. It was then also aided by technology which helped in bringing services and facilities to the doorstep, further isolating the individual units. This, “one size fits all” technique has been quite popular among countries but has also been instrumental in undermining the vernacular practices and approaches of the region