Urban Housing as a Product of Types, Density & Systems

As per the 2011 Census more than 30% of the Indian population now lives in cities. This figure is expected to reach upto 50% by the year 2030. With the ever increasing rate of urbanisation, there has also been a steady growth of slums. At this juncture, around 20% of the Indian urban population lives in slums. Affordable housing, which caters to the needs of EWS and LIG sections, needs maximum attention, as right-to-shelter is one of the fundamental human rights. Housing in general, and urban housing in particular, demands sensitivity from the architect towards basic human values. These values are rooted, primarily, in three key aspects around which societies are organised: the socio-cultural aspects, the topographical aspects and the material-technological aspects. The house-form emerges, first by responding to the intangible needs attached with the socio-cultural aspects; and the tangible aspects related to the material, technology and topography help in materialising the final product. In this design studio, students will address the issue of affordable urban housing by responding to the three criteria mentioned above: House types, density and systems. The idea here is to look at housing as a product, as a system, much in the sense of vernacular architecture.