Incremental housing

INCREMENTAL HOUSING, CBD BELAPUR
- DESIGNED BY AR. CHARLES CORREA
"Making housing is like a bird building its nest. You start with a basic house, but you have to
let people change it to their own needs”.
- Charles Correa
GOOGLE MAP LOCATION

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Belapur incremental housing project - a proposal for mass affordable housing in New Bombay (Navi Mumbai),
which demonstrated how high densities could be achieved with low-rise courtyard homes, built with simple
materials at a human scale.
Based on clusters of between seven and 12 pairs of houses arranged around communal courtyards, the
buildings did not share party walls – allowing each family to extend and adapt their own house
independently. 550 families were planned for in a 6-acre area limitation.
PLANNING SPACES
The project is generated by a hierarchy of spaces. The first is the private courtyard of single dwelling used as a space
for outdoor activities during most of the year. Subsequently, seven units are grouped to form a small courtyard town
of about 8m x 8m.

Three of these groups form a module of twenty-one homes that describes the collective space of the next
scale (approximately 12m x 12m).
Correa discussed housing and the importance of people to be involved in determining its design and use.
Additionally, he also emphasized incremental housing as a centerpiece to any solution that was proposed for
a place like Dharavi. The footprint of each plan varies little in size (from 45 sq. m to 70 sq. m), maintaining
equity (fairness) in the community
Scheme caters wide range from the lowest budgets of Rs 20000, Middle income groups Rs 30000-50000 and
Upper income Rs 180000.

TYPOLOGY A ( THE SIMPLEST UNIT ) TYPOLOGY B
TYPOLOGY C

MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
TECHNOLOGY: External walls of brick; roof structure covered with wooden shingles.
MATERIALS: Brick, plaster of white color, colorful wooden fixtures, outdoor paving stone 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.
THE CURRENT SCENARIO
Many of the original buildings are demolished and now replaced with much
bigger concrete houses by the aspiring middle classes.
Yet the courtyards and the hierarchy of community spaces remains intact: it
is a strong piece of city-making that has lasted beyond the individual
dwellings.
Some of the original houses still standing, but most of them look different.
The trees had grown up and shrouded the whole complex in shade in
growth. There was a range of housing there. Upon an informal count, it was
found that roughly one third of the original homes had been torn down and
completely rebuilt.

ON THE STREETS
The recently constructed RCC bungalows
The dilapidated structures which date back to the 1970s

One of the few original buildings
A Type-A house

Unmaintained central courtyard space
Multi-storey construction as opposed to the original architectural grammar

Parks and garden spaces
The central nallah

Courtyard spaces
Freedom of Modification

THE SHORTCOMINGS
On speaking to some of the residents, there were some drawbacks that were brought to light – One resident we
talked to complained that no provisions were made for the common spaces in the center of each cluster of
houses. No one was in charge of maintaining them. These spaces do not fall under any jurisdiction; not private
nor public.
Most of the houses have been remodeled or destroyed and rebuilt as some inhabitants said they were
impractical (”What was the architect thinking when he put toilets outside the house?”). Some clusters of houses
became “model” mini-gated-communities while others became mini-slums.
The concrete houses arose as a result of the changing aspirations of the residents. They no longer wanted a
‘village’ or a rural backdrop. Modern materials and technologies have thus been employed to a great extent.
CONCLUSION
This housing project offers the quality of life of a village with the sophistication of a city.
Each cluster permits the emergence of a local community feeling, while integrating each house to the whole
settlement at different levels. The hierarchy itself is very organic.
The complex allowed people to modify their houses freely, whether with a paintbrush or mortar - something
that is NEVER allowed in the type of mass housing devastating the urban and psychological landscape of cities
around the world.
"It is really worth a visit. Don’t go to see Charles Correa’s architectural skills or you will be
disappointed. Go instead to see what a genius urban designer can do when he thinks beyond
design."

Incremental housing

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Incremental housing

Similar to Incremental housing (20)

More from Rajat Nainwal

More from Rajat Nainwal (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Incremental housing