Page 21 - HUDCO DESIGN AWARDS

SUBLIME ORDINARINESS – HOUSING AT VASIND, MAHARASHTRA

Significance and Impact
The exploration in this project lay in reorganizing the standard layout for affordable housing at both the apartment and
the building level. In high density housing such as this, the semi-open and non-programmatic in between spaces become
critical as multi-use areas to absorb the overflows. The layout of the apartment allows for this flexibility, as do the
corridor, otla, and staircase spaces in the buildings.
Our studies of the housing over two years of post-occupancy suggest that the flexibility of the internal apartment
layout has been critical in allowing the residents to customize the space to their needs. For example, the multifunctional
lobby like space is used in a number of ways such as to hold an extra cot for sleeping, as a dining space, a space for
studying, as an ancillary living space to the main space or by women to do their sewing. It also becomes a buffer
between the outside and the very private inside rooms so that the main doors are often left open.
At the building level these spaces become extensions to the activities of the home. We can see the residents using
them as had been envisioned in the design. The play of solidity to openness in the corridor has enabled the residents
to use the corridor as a sit-out during all times of the day. The location and open form of the staircase makes is it a
point of interaction. The organization of buildings on site and careful scaling of the central courtyard weaves together a
community with both intended and chance encounters. The significance of this project then lies in the successful
orchestration of public, semi-public and private spaces at the apartment, building and cluster levels courtyard to
achieve a genuine sense of community.

Multipurpose Room Room 1 Kitchen