This study surveys and analyses some settlements, by Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi, Charles Correa e Raj Rewal, located inside the Indian territory that differ in scale, geographical position and size, with the goal of offering the reader a vast and complex panorama that describes the issue of residence in India. Cablenagar Township (Kewal Nagar, Kota, 1967), Electronic Corporation of India Ltd Township (Hyderabad, 1968-71), Asian Games Village (New Delhi, 1980-82), Aranya Low-Cost Housing (Indore 1983-86) e Navanagar Township (New Bagalkot, 1985), all examples from the 1970s and 1980s, the urban and architectural choices are inextricably linked and define a range of models and potential solutions that are worth reviewing in the present. In fact, the projects presented show recurring features among settlements, demonstrating strong links with Indian architectural tradition without denying the possibility of progressing beyond it. From the row houses in Cablenagar to the fabric of an entire city planned for Navanagar in New Bagalkot, urban form displays its dependence on the design of public space and manifests priority relationships with residences. In five of the projects studied the community aspect of the street is a distinctive and fundamental factor. Considered a versatile space predisposed to accommodate various functions throughout the day, the street is understood as available surface that can change size depending on the location of the houses, welcoming many activities and promoting the interaction between public space and settled community. The research confirms the importance of this assumption, and despite the differences related to the scale, geographical environment, and social context of the examples studied, it will verify how the role of the street and the public space varies as a function of the relationship between the density of the structures and the height of the buildings. The opportunity to establish direct contact with the ground, or better, to ensure a relationship of proximity between the position of the streets and the position of inhabited domestic terraces corresponds to the most authentic expression of Indian living. In addition, Cablenagar, ECIL, Asian Games Village, Aranya and New Bagalkot explore these dynamics proposing experimental solutions supported by shared methods. In fact, research on residences and urban form seizes the opportunities offered by the commissions, addressed to a large number of residences, manifesting the search for new identities precisely through the design of the single residence or settlement.
Il volume propone la lettura critica di alcuni insediamenti residenziali, di medie e grandi dimensioni, realizzati in India tra la fine degli anni Sessanta e gli anni Ottanta da Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi, Charles Correa e Raj Rewal. I progetti per Cablenagar Township (Kewal Nagar, Kota, 1967), Electronic Corporation of India Ltd Township (Hyderabad, 1968-71), Asian Games Village (New Delhi, 1980-82), Aranya Low-Cost Housing (Indore 1983-86) e Navanagar Township (New Bagalkot, 1985) preservano i caratteri di una tradizione radicata senza rinunciare alla volontà di rinnovamento. La lettura dei progetti presentati mostra infatti caratteristiche ricorrenti tra gli insediamenti e testimonia legami forti con la tradizione architettonica indiana senza negare, tuttavia, la possibilità di un suo superamento. Dal progetto dell’unità abitativa a schiera di Cablenagar fino all’enunciazione del tessuto di una città intera previsto per Navanagar a New Bagalkot, la forma urbana denuncia la sua dipendenza dal disegno dello spazio pubblico e manifesta relazioni prioritarie con gli alloggi. In cinque degli interventi studiati la dimensione collettiva della strada costituisce un fattore distintivo e fondamentale. Considerata luogo versatile e predisposto ad ospitare funzioni flessibili nel corso della giornata, la strada viene intesa come superficie disponibile a dilatarsi in funzione della posizione delle abitazioni, accogliendo molteplici attività e promuovendo l’interazione tra spazio pubblico e comunità insediata. La ricerca conferma l’importanza di tale assunto e, nonostante le differenze legate alla scala, all’ambiente geografico, al contesto sociale degli esempi indagati, intende verificare come il ruolo della strada e dello spazio pubblico vari in funzione del rapporto tra densità Dei tessuti e altezza degli edifici. L’opportunità di stabilire un contatto diretto con il suolo o, ancora, di assicurare una relazione di prossimità tra quota dei percorsi e quota delle terrazze domestiche abitate, corrisponde all’espressione più autentica dell’abitare indiano. Non solo, Cablenagar Township, E.C.I.L. Township, Asian Games Village, Aranya Low-Cost Housing e Navanagar Township, esplorano queste dinamiche proponendo soluzioni sperimentali supportate da metodi condivisi. Le ricerche sull’alloggio e sulla forma urbana colgono infatti le opportunità offerte dalle commissioni, indirizzate a un numero consistente di residenze, per manifestare proprio attraverso il disegno del singolo alloggio o insediamento la ricerca di nuove identità.
Housing in India 1970-80. Correa, Doshi, Rewal
STEFANIA ROSSL
2017
Abstract
This study surveys and analyses some settlements, by Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi, Charles Correa e Raj Rewal, located inside the Indian territory that differ in scale, geographical position and size, with the goal of offering the reader a vast and complex panorama that describes the issue of residence in India. Cablenagar Township (Kewal Nagar, Kota, 1967), Electronic Corporation of India Ltd Township (Hyderabad, 1968-71), Asian Games Village (New Delhi, 1980-82), Aranya Low-Cost Housing (Indore 1983-86) e Navanagar Township (New Bagalkot, 1985), all examples from the 1970s and 1980s, the urban and architectural choices are inextricably linked and define a range of models and potential solutions that are worth reviewing in the present. In fact, the projects presented show recurring features among settlements, demonstrating strong links with Indian architectural tradition without denying the possibility of progressing beyond it. From the row houses in Cablenagar to the fabric of an entire city planned for Navanagar in New Bagalkot, urban form displays its dependence on the design of public space and manifests priority relationships with residences. In five of the projects studied the community aspect of the street is a distinctive and fundamental factor. Considered a versatile space predisposed to accommodate various functions throughout the day, the street is understood as available surface that can change size depending on the location of the houses, welcoming many activities and promoting the interaction between public space and settled community. The research confirms the importance of this assumption, and despite the differences related to the scale, geographical environment, and social context of the examples studied, it will verify how the role of the street and the public space varies as a function of the relationship between the density of the structures and the height of the buildings. The opportunity to establish direct contact with the ground, or better, to ensure a relationship of proximity between the position of the streets and the position of inhabited domestic terraces corresponds to the most authentic expression of Indian living. In addition, Cablenagar, ECIL, Asian Games Village, Aranya and New Bagalkot explore these dynamics proposing experimental solutions supported by shared methods. In fact, research on residences and urban form seizes the opportunities offered by the commissions, addressed to a large number of residences, manifesting the search for new identities precisely through the design of the single residence or settlement.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
