Massing the Houses for Housing the Masses

With the housing shortage figure at nearly 25 million, quantity takes precedence over quality in government policies and market responses. As against such an occurence, living environments are symbols of comfort and reverie. They are symbols of comfort and respective family identities. Within the demands of density, can we conjure built environments that are socio-culturally appropriate, sustainable and aesthetically timeless? This studio was exploratory in nature to evolve humane and interactive neighbourhood with student’s chosen approach with an understanding of integration of nature, interactivity, flexibility for personalisation and growth, humanising vertical living, reinterpreting the vernacular, etc. The studio explored design tools like book reviews, seminars;, site visits, critical analysis,; mind mapping, collage installations;, sketches,; modelmaking and drawings. The proposed learning outcome was that students shall be enabled to organize living spaces at multiple scales ranging from site plan to unit plan. The details of elements they designed reflect the symbiosis between the built and unbuilt and articulate the response to contextual dynamics in the urban setting