year 5
Semester 09 | Dissertation This paper studies the concept of ephemerality and temporality with respect to the dwellings of construction labourers witnessed across three different strategies of labour accommodation on construction sites in the current urban context. This study is motivated by the interest to explore the dynamic community and the relationship seen between it and the architecture of these camps, whether created by the labourers or provided for them. Ephemeral settlements are an integral part of our urban skyline, being the fabric that intertwines between the formal builtscape, as explained by Mehrotra et al. Labour camps prove to be an instance where the architecture, however controlled it is from a managerial point of view, is seen as a settlement in the eyes of the resident labourer. These camps develop and diminish over a known period of time, assembling and dismantling depending upon the duration of work on site. The spatial decisions made across different levels of ekistic elements of these camps over time are studied in this paper. The paper attempts at not only assessing the concept of camps as ephemeral settlements, but also its relation with other forms of temporal urbanism seen in a similar context and comparisons between observations seen in these camp strategies and other ephemeral settlements.
01 - Rigid Dynamism The Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) is a Bohri Muslim based organisation that looks after the welfare of their community. The slum of Bhendi Bazaar lies in the heart of Mumbai and the Trust embarked upon its mission to redevelop the slum in 2016, zoning out nine clusters due for redevelopment and re-housing.The project is third among nine clusters being redeveloped. The labour camp at this site has been accommodated within the superstructure of the building. This strategy has been adopted due to the site location, the deadlines set for the project and to curb project costs. The majority of the unskilled labour and skilled labour like electricians, plumbers and steel rebar workers come from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and other states include Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand. The labour camp is located in the car park levels of the superstructure. The camp consists of 191 units in total. It has been split across three levels, beginning on the 4th level and currently terminating on the 6th level.
02 - Contemporary Vernacular The labour camps at Pacifica Aavaas at Changodar, Ahmedabad, are very different from each other, with one being built by the labourers themselves, forming an industrial vernacular fabric in the labour accomodation system. During the early stages of construction, the labourers lived in spaces that they built themselves, highlighting a ‘contemporary vernacular’ fabric. These rooms were built using common elements of construction found on site like corrugated sheets, waste shuttering planks, tarpaulin etc. The major highlight were the extensions beyond the living realm, the liminal spaces which were as simple as a sitout or a charpoy. This vernacular zone of labou accommodation has now reduced, with most of them moving into the new labour camp. Some still live in these clusters, mainly due to the reason that they haven’t been able to adopt LPG into their daily cooking and needs. The shared spaces are very rudimentary and simple. They form the narrow transitional zones between the private living space and the public walking paths.
03 - Ephemeral Communities The new labour camp at Pacifica Aavaas, Changodar was designed by Hatch Workshop, a New Zealand based architectural firm. The new labour camp was completed in May 2018 and was a culmination of third person perspectives towards the state of labour accommodation on site of the owners of the site and of the architects commissioned. The living spaces in the camp are clustered in a compact manner so as to maximise the open and semi-open common spaces. The camp has been designed to accommodate families as well, and aims at providing a clean and safe environment for them. The units are modular in design, and are of two sizes, creating a standardised layout. The smaller module has a floor plate of 3m x 3m, while the bigger module is 3m x 6m. A 3m x 3m unit was planned for 3-4 members, while the 3m x 6m unit for 5-8 members. The smaller units are used mostly by families, while the larger units are ususally occupied by individuals. The labour camp is supported by amenities that are basic requirements for the inhabitants.
Analyses and Conclusions Each camp can be split into a generalised hierarchy of ekistic units (Doxiadis, 1974), which provides for an ‘organised’ approach into analysing the camp as a human settlement. These ekistic units are based loosely upon the scale and number of inhabitants affected, beginning from the settlement level - the village layer of the camp, to as small as the human level - the Anthropos (Doxiadis 1974) layer. An ephemeral settlement, as described earlier, is a human settlement that is strongly influenced by its time-bound nature. These settlements can be as small as transactional spaces like the stall of a street hawker, or as large and complex as the Kumbh Mela, one of the largest urban forms of religious temporalities. Each of these various taxonomies witness and experience time differently. The concept of time, in the case of the labour camps, seems more like a pair of parentheses between which the camps are erected, they grow and then they diminish. Like most planned temporal settlements, the labour camp is designed keeping in mind this expiration date.
Deshingkar & Start (2003), Seasonal Migration for Livelihoods in India, accessed on 19 July 2018, retrieved from https://www.odi.org/resources/docs/74.pdf Mehrotra (2008), Negotiating the Static and Kinetic Cities- The Emergent Urbanism of Mumbai; Duke University Press (Other Cities, Other Worlds by Andreas Huyssen), accessed on 19 June 2018, retrieved from www.scribd.com Mehrotra, Vera, & Mayoral (2017), Ephemeral Urbanism: Cities in Constant Flux, ARQ Ediciones Rapoport (1969), House Form and Culture, Prentice Hall Inc. Doxiadis (1974), Action for a Better Scientific Approach to the Subject of Human Settlements: the Anthropocosmos model, accessed 22 August 2018, retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/43618469 The Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, accessed on 20 September 2018, retrieved from http://mirror.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/The_Vancouver_Declaration.pdf GSD Urban India Project & Harvard University (2013), KUMBHMELA: Mapping the Ephemeral Mega-City, accessed on 2 November 2018, retrieved from https://mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2013/05/Kumbh-GSDProposal.pdf Mehrotra & Vera (2018), Ephemeral Urbanism: Looking at extreme temporalities, as a part of In the Post-Urban World by Tigran Haas and Hans Westlund
Semester 10 | Thesis
Following a study that looked into the architectural understanding of ephemeral settlements like construction labour camps, attempting to find a rational solution towards labour accommodation was very interesting. There are many precedents, including the case studied for the dissertation (Hatch Workshop, Ahmedabad), and the direction taken here was to create a resolution between the social and structural requirements for such a scheme. This thesis is more of an attempt than a complete solution because the position from which current situation of labour accommodation on concstruction sites in India is viewed at is very architectural and social. Technical flaws are part of the learning process. The aim was to design an accommodation system for labourers on construction sites, which is not only dismantlable. portable and sustainable, but also to provide for a dignified space to live in. The idea of flexibility in terms of expansion, whether horizontal or vertical was also kept in mind. The case studies done for the dissertation help in providing a critical eye towards current systems of labour accommodation as well as the ideas behind spatial reasoning and living expansions which the inhabitants exhibit.
Material
Space
Structure
Deciding on material does not only provide an idea of appearance, stability, reusability etc but it also sets a limit to structural decisions, from where an understanding of spatial requirements also arises. In a project like this, standardisation and replicability is paramount, and design limits were set early on. The material conceptuals were based upon the requirements that vertical expansion were possible, it had to be long-lasting, lightweight, portable and durable.
Since the project was a system of accommodation and not housing, the area given common space was more than private space, hence attention wass given to how the unit would extend into the public realm within such tight area constraints. The installation in reality was assumed to be arbitrary and more of a Lucien Kroll-like expansion, where the inhabitants decide how to treat spaces. The highlight of spaces like common toilets was adapted from the case studies, where the space was functional and social.
After developing spatial and material concepts, a framework for structural concepts was made possible. The main consideration was the flexibility of expansion, whether vertical or horizontal, and the main challenge was how to fit the most within the least, without compromising on habitable space. The structure had to be easy enough to build and unbuild even for unskilled labour, and robust enough to carry variable loads over a different periods of time in as many different contexts and surroundings as possible.
Kosi Flood Rehabilitation, Hunnarshala
Earthquake Shelters, Nepal
Bamboo was considered as a challenge as well as a lightweight, durable and sustainable natural material. A composition of materials were brought about and was influenced by the way the labourers themselves erect homes from material available on site. Inspiration was drawn from their understanding of tectonic and stereotomic using whatever was around them, with little investment of money, time and skill.
Le Petit Cabanon, Le Corbusier
Medical Faculty Housing, Lucien Kroll
Le Corbusier’s Modulor concept helped bring about a logic behind standard measurments and the human scale. Correa’s understanding of maximising use of open spaces was key to extend the living space beyond the unit itself. Lucien Kroll is amongst the very few to have tested out user participation in architecture, and the real dignity in space is when the user can decide and reason with space himself or herself.
01 - Concepts
Tube Housing, Charles Correa
1
Solar panels, satellite dishes and other paraphernalia
02 - Construction Construction Concept
Agricultural sack membrane Channel section which behaves as a gutter
3
Lightweight bamboo furniture which can be used for resting and storage
2
Bracket-like vertical members for cantilevers on upper levels Rear facade panels that provide for ventilation and a space to dry items
Agricultural sack membrane provides for permanent ventilation
Adjustable handscrews for clamping the mundas
12mm thk. shuttering ply inserted in the gap between the beam and the munda framework
Bolts fasten the beams to the columns Beams end in baseplate into which the bolts fasten them
Latching system Billboard flex sheets reused as infill for doors and windows
Joinery detail at column and beam
Panel comprising of 3� thk. crushed bamboo infill, sandwiched by 12mm thick shuttering ply
Door Detail
Entrance Facade Panels as partition or external walls with sack membrane for ventilation
Agricultural sack membrane provides for permanent ventilation Hooks into which the membrane is attached
Bamboo munda framework sandwiched between the beams
Infill panels
Detail of a typical panel
Handscrews to clamp the panel with the channel section frame
Custom cellular beam framework
Details Rear Facade
Exploded Axonometric View
Sectional View of Spatial Reasoning A basic system of spatial understanding, based on the case studies, has been developed. The flow of spaces in this type of accommodation has to be flexible, yet have its own nuances based on typical functions.
6-User / Family Unit
A
3048
2-User / Couple Unit
B
A
3208
B
4-User / Smal Family Unit
B
A
A
3208
B
4- User / Small Family Unit
PUBLIC ZONE
This space behaves as the transition space between the public zone and the living space. Simple furniture that emulates the charpoy has been used as an element of interaction.
3048 3048
Acting as a buffer between the public and the private, this area behaves as a living room, where the charpoy behaves as a seating space, and can be used as a bed later.
A
6416
SEMI- PRIVATE ZONE
B
6-User / Family Unit
PRIVATE ZONE
This space is mainly for sleeping. The bamboo furniture has been arranged so as to demarcate the space within. There is space for a foldable bedroll that can be used for sleeping on the floor.
A
Habitable Modules
3208
0m
2
B
4
6
Three typologies of units, dimensions of which were arrived upon through case studies, conceptual logic and ease of transportation of the dismantled parts.
03 - Modules
Cluster 3
4
6
3048 3048 3048
Staircase
Cluster 1
Cluster 3
3048
Common
2
These comprise of auxilliary spaces designed within the modular frame that support the structure as well as provide for social interaction within the cluster.
Community Kitchen 6 - User
0m
3048
4 - User
Community Modules
Hawkers’ Sponge
2 - User
Cluster 2
This example has been designed to accommodate aggregation in both, the horizontal and vertical direction. The clusters are designed to fit with each other to form an accommodation system for 200 - 250 persons. The ground level has been left for public spaces and community modules.
Cluster 1
Module Aggregation
04 - Common Spaces and Clustering
0m.
2
4
3048 3048
Toilet Module
Section across clusters 2 & 3
Staircase Module
Cluster 2
WC
Bio digester
B’
Level 3 Residences
A
B
A’
Level 2 Residences
C
Labour Camp at Mopa, Goa
C
To Site Entrance and Offices
SITE PLAN 0m.
10
20
30
To test the programme, a hypothetical situation of housing 1000 labourers at the site of the upcoming international airport at Mopa, Goa was undertaken. This test proves the capability of the system for large scale requirements. Macroclusters 1, 2 and 3 are for housing family groups while 4 and 5 are for bachelor and individuals. The layout was brought about to transition to larger open spaces from semi-private community spaces within each cluster.
Level 1 Residences
Public Corridor Creche Section AA’
0
9’
0
9’
Level 3 Residences Level 2 Residences Level 1 Residences
Public Corridor
Section CC’
05 - Application
0
9’
Section BB’
1:50 scale Cluster Models
1:20 scale Dismantlable 2-User Unit Model
year 4
SITE AREA: 10500 sq.m. TOTAL AREA COVERED: 3500 sq.m. GREEN COVERAGE: 35% TOTAL NUMBER OF UNITS: 50 TOTAL BUILT UP AREA: 4000 sq.m.
The elevations and facades were worked upon to highlight the gradient and open terraces across the project
Shared courts and streets are interspersed by the clusters of units.
0m
10m
20m
year 3
Attributes: Peri-urban / Community Project Area: 2000 m2 Studio: Semester 05 Pl[r]ural attempts to provide a space that is easily accessible and purely community oriented for the village-folk of Chopdem, Goa. The essence of the concept is in the sheer rural democratic use of the project, where people decide at a given time what activities should liven the place. The project aims at empowering the residents and fortifying traditional crafts and activities that are key to their sustenance. It behaves as a centre for discussion, performance, rural production etc. without imposing a definite function.
The deliberate white and laterite contrast is a concept that maintains the stone-like solidarity under Salazar’s idea of monumentality (Basilica of Bom Jezu) and the older preservative idea behind lime plaster.
Attributes: Urban / Institutional Project Area: 3500 m2 Studio: Semester 06 The Centre for Indo-Portuguese Cultural Studies is a proposal set within close proximity to the heritage zone of Old Goa. This institute aims to not only provide educational programmes, but also behave as a cultural hotspot or pre-cursory interpretation centre for the monuments ahead. The brief was to design a centre that would showcase the essence of Goan heritage and culture, along contemporary lines. The design is inspired by Louis Kahn’s ideas behind his works like IIM Ahmedabad and Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban where monumentality does not compromise on the human scale and surrounding context.
Santa Monica Church
Se Cathedral View along the main thoroughfare: Ode to the monuments around and the stepped streets in Portuguese urban planning
Milagres Church
Bainguinim
Physical Model
Lower ground entrance
Sketch of the gallery area
The elevation is a subtle commentary on the mellifluosity of monumental icons in Goa. The churches of Old Goa melt into the green foliage on the slopes of Kadamba Plateau. The entrance facade does not intend to impose upon the users directly, but guides their senses as a pre-cursor to entering the institution.
Rahul Nitin Sabnis e-mail: rahul96513@gmail.com mobile: +91 8805706413