Building the lowest level of housing, for slum dwellers, is a challenge that is not usually posed to the professional architect, the argument being, that not much can be done for one or two room dwelling units. To meet this daunting challenge of building one thousand units for CIDCO, in Navi Mumbai, we have avoided the typical repetitive units of the tenement blocks and built up a vocabulary of design where the building blocks are conceived as molecules which can be attached to each other, to form elements of design for a variety of spatial enclosures. By this method of place making, the process of standardization and rationalisation is enlarged to cover humane considerations.
The design for large numbers of dwelling units is fragmented into smaller aggregations enclosing a variety of spaces which can be cohesively arranged and strung together with pedestrian pathways. A similar attempt has been developed to provide for the middle class housing in the Asian Games Village. The theme has been to design cluster formations based on differing space standards, to create micro-climate and social gathering places within the National Institute of Immunology Campus also. The design for different types of units is developed to include private courtyards and roof terraces.
The process of design is carried through in British High Commission Housing, New Delhi, where a private garden and roof terraces is an important feature of each individual unit.