Kumbharwada, Dharavi is occupied by a tightly knit potters' community, migrants mostly from Saurashtra part of Gujarat. This project focusses on mitigating the health hazards caused by the soot produced from burning in kilns by pot makers. Through mass housing, this proposal looks at incorporating variety with unity in the introvert community of Kumbharwada. As it is a live-work community, different housing clusters such as purely residential, commercial and Iive-work are designed which creates a hierarchy and flexibility in spaces at different levels. Retaining the nature of adaptable spaces existing on site, it enhances and elevates the overall living experience.
Site Background and Inferences - i) Pollution from kilns; deteriorating health of residents, ii) easy access to junctions for loading/unloading of raw material, iii) Flexibility needed in units due to space crunch, iv) Existing condition of stairs and v) Lack of open spaces were some of the observations on site.Location A - Live-work clusterThe intent is to have a central courtyard where the pottery work can take place. Also there are shared corridors and common external staircases which enhance the nature of the tight knit community and provides incremental space horizontally on upper levels.Sections showing the corridors and access to the central courtyard.View of the central live-work courtyard with chimneys, kilns and pit for raw material. Location B - Residential clusterThe landing of staircase between two units provides an opportunity for spaces of interaction and communal activities.View of the residential street focussing on how transitional spaces can be used and nature of shared external staircases. Location C - Commercial clusterThe commercial cluster provides retail of pots on the internal edge and city-level commercial on the outer edge. It also creates commercial nodes on the outer edge for attracting people into the neighborhood.
