Housing at Ramdev Nagar, Ahmedabad

The project is an excercise in identifying essential characteristics of the site and either retaining or modulating them. The first aspect identified is the sense of ground. All social and economic transactions take place on the ground. The street-plinth network is one of the most crucial aspects of the settlement structure. The ground would have to be reimagined, and modulated such that it facilitates interaction across levels and maintains the existing hierarchy. The settlement has a unique definition of family, comfort and privacy, resulting in unit level typologies that serve their purpose in unimaginable ways. The typology is also a result of lack of space. New living spaces would have to respect and maintain the hierarchy of enclosed to open spaces that comprise a unit and yet perhaps rethink the typology when it comes to serving the needs and size of the family occupying it. At the site level, the settlement could benefit from better accessibility to the outside and within itself as well. This could also mean modifying settlement infrastructure to create better access to opportunities and increase and encourage small scale business within the settlement. What would expanding streets to increase access do and creating spaces to facilitate this? what is the impact of vehicular and purely pedestrian zones?