BELAPUR - HOUSING:

a) PROJECT BRIEF
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 , ranging from LIG to HIG
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b) NEGHBORHOOD PLANNING CONCEPTS : module concept
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.

kitchen
Living area
Services
Private courtyard
Access roads
Kitchen
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Three of these groups form a module of twenty-one homes that describes the
collective space of the next scale (approximately 12m x 12m).

3X1X7

1X7
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Seven units are grouped

of 8x8 meters

3 cluster combine to form a larger module of

21 houses surrounding space of 12x12 metres

Housing cost :
lowest budgets of Rs 20000
Middle income groups Rs 30000-50000
Upper income Rs 180000
3 such modules interlock to define the next scale
Though ratio of costs is 1:5 the variation of of community space approximately 20x20 metres
plot is much smaller , from 45 to 75 square
metres.
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DESIGN PRINCIPLES :
Project demonstrates how high density housing (2150 people in 6
acres) can be achieved in a low-rise typology, while including (open to
sky spaces) and services, like schools, that the community requires .
Incrementality
To give each unit its own site to allow for expansion.

Identity TYPOLOGY A
Units are Malleable so that they can be colonized by occupants, and
modified to their social/cultural/religious needs .

Income generation
Houses constructed simply and can be built by traditional masons and
craftsmen - generating employment for local workers .

Pluralism
several plans exist that cover the social spectrum, from squatters to
upper income families .

Equity (fairness) TYPOLOGY C

The footprint of each plan varies little in size (from 45 sqm to 70 sqm),
maintaining in the community