Prasad Shetty and Rohit Mujumdar

In the academic year 2024-25, SEA extended its work in Thakkar Bappa Colony with another group of students. This time the focus was to get specific with design and detail. The partners for the project, KVGF, had identified ten households that were interested in retrofitting their houses. Two students worked with one house. The project started with detailed mesure-drawings of each house towards understanding the issues with existing spatialities, physicalities, materials and technologies. Detailed interviews were conducted with each of the households to understand their existing habitation patterns and their aspirations. Detailed analysis was also undertaken about the house-building process involved along with the financial dimensions. Interviews with local contractors were also conducted. Some of the key aspects of the study included:

1. Development of detailed methodology for community and household involvement along with involvement of actors like contractors, etc.
2. Development of detailed methodology for assessing light and ventilation conditions within slum households using basic tools like photography and individual senses. This was then made into diagrams and drawings for better analysis.
3. Detailed case-studies were undertaken of designs that worked with very small spaces to understand strategies utilised.
4. Detailed biography of the house was compiled to understand the contexts and characteristics of specific increments in each of the houses and mobilisation capacities of each of the households. 
5. One of the key understandings during the study was to not treat architectural design and interior design (including furniture and fixtures) as separate aspects of design and focus on how furniture and fixtures can double up to become key structural, enveloping and demarketing components.
6. The students also realised that 3D illustrations and models were more useful for discussing the proposals than orthographic drawings. 

The studio further developed specific and detailed strategies for each of the houses that were identified and studied. Estimates and specifications were also drawn up. Some of the key strategies included:

1. Improvement of light and ventilation through  introduction of features like a light well, modulations in roof and creating / articulating fenestrations towards maximising light and ventilation. In difficult cases, basic mechanical devices like exhaust fans could be useful.
2. Articulation of components like staircases and walls to create storage spaces, shelves, nitches to sit/sleep, etc.
3. Improving sanitation design by aligning all water-supply and sewerage features, addition of individual toilets within houses, etc.
4. Improvement of overall design by altering heights, increasing light and ventilations, rearticulating furniture, using relevant materials, improving access to upper floors, providing spaces for work and living, rationalising sanitation features, etc.