The Open Ideas National Competition 2024 – Season IV on Improving Livability of Small Houses organised by Habitat Forum [INHAF] in partnership with Sustainability Initiatives[SI] seeks to engage practising architects, interior designers, planners, engineers and senior students of these faculties; related Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs); Government agencies; Professionals working on slum-upgrading and slum rehabilitation, and others with innovative ideas in developing proposals on Improving the Livability of Small Low-cost Housing. The competition aims to share innovative ideas and solutions with field agencies, both public and private, implementing projects such as PMAY [Pradhan Mantri Aavas Yojna] and other affordable housing schemes with a view to improve the design of the houses being built in our cities.
The Competition also intends covering current and past In-situ Slum Improvements Projects and Slum Rehabilitation Projects to seek ideas on improving project design, planning, financing, and implementation of such projects.
The competition seeks innovative ideas in the challenging domain of designing small houses. It also aims to draw attention and raise awareness that:
1. The inadequate size dictated by affordability constraints could be stretched through innovations in planning, designing, and construction
2. People-centric project planning should include psychological, social, cultural and life-style factors as also the participative/ consultative practice
3. Sustainable aspects of water and energy conservation and waste management should be an integral part of the project design
4. Buildings should add constructively to the larger urban landscape, and
5. Emphasis should also be on the ‘community’ aspects of living
This competition seeks to address the challenges faced in the supply of liveable yet affordable houses in India. Innovations are sought to deliver:
- Better Designed Small Houses
- Better Functioning Buildings with Sustainable Services And Green Building Parameters
- Better Relating Neighbourhoods
- Better Managed Community Spaces To Facilitate Community Living
- Better Functioning Urbanscape
The competition also seeks ideas on making the building bye-laws more realistic and sensitive to the needs of small apartments and low-cost housing. It also asks competition participants to identify and present innovative ideas and solutions created and adopted by residents in their homes to improve liveability. The main emphasis of the competition is on practical, doable, and implementable ideas.
Competition Result 2024
First Place: Revitalization of CIDCO-developed site
Participants: Snehal Santosh Bisoyi, Sanjana Pahade, Siddhi Darakh, Shivani
Bodkhe, Rajeshwari Wadatkar, Aryan Paul, Dev Parmar, Riya Karite
Unique ID: INHAF-20240139
Site Location: Airoli, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
To understand the evolution and current status of sites and services projects, a live study was conducted across key locations in the Mumbai Metropolitan region, including Mulund MHADA Colony, Charkop, Gorai, Malvani, and Arioli. This study selected Sector 3, H-Block initially designed for EWS with Ground +1 structures in Airoli. As employment and amenities improved, buildings expanded to Ground +4 to accommodate growing families, with many homes now rented out, reflecting the area’s dynamic changes. The analysis revealed low liveability due to design flaws, with limited windows, poor ventilation, and disrepair in ducts leading to unhealthy conditions. Encroachments further worsened the environment, creating cramped and poorly lit spaces. After deriving conclusions from the analysis, the study proposed redevelopment from the four aspects it considered, which was retrofitting, redevelopment, sites and services today and contemporary. In response to these challenges, this project focuses on enhancing living conditions through redevelopment of existing houses and the construction of new units with improved infrastructure and amenities.
Second Place (I): The Kalmandhai Co-op
Participant: Kapilan Chandranesan, APC Associates
Unique ID: INHAF-20240195
Site Location:Trichy, Tamil Nadu
The Kalmandhai Tenements, built using a standard block layout by theTamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB), follows template blocks with minimum dimensions allowed by local regulations. This design, however, treats housing as a means to good living, not just as an end in itself. The following strategies are used:
The entire block as an extended house: Given the small unit sizes, common areas and outdoor spaces like mid-level terraces, thinnais (platforms), and partial stilts serve as extended social spaces.
Open Plan: The development is open to the immediate context, physically, by integrating routes and connections and programmatically through commercial and other community hall facilities at the ground floor.
Incrementality and Adaptability: Provisions for user initiated additions and changes as also technical assistance have been made.
Co-op model: The design suggests organizing the community into a co-op model for long term maintenance, growth, and financial welfare. Link to view the design:
Second Place (II): Thakkar Bappa Colony
Participant: Zahra Bagasrawala
Unique ID: INHAF-20240213
Site Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra
For this project, the Participant worked closely with the residents of Thakkar Bappa colony who are migrants from Rajasthan and are a shoemaking community. As a team of 40 students, they documented a total of 117 houses and interviewed over 1,000 residents. House typologies, family demographics, gender patterns, occupation, structural vulnerabilities, sanitation, and light and ventilation conditions were studied for a cluster of 6 houses and a design was proposed by each of the students. For the Participant’s design, she tried to propose social interaction through niches on the ground and interactive openings, and not just that, but gave room for incremental growth. Spatial modifications are then allowed to occur over some time over growing family structures. Over time inhabitants can accommodate their needs by adding overhangs, roofs, windows, and certain rooms which will contribute to their sense of belonging in the city and give dignity to their lives.:
Special Mention (I): PMAY at Jahengirabad
Participant: i-con Architects & Urban Planners
Unique ID: INHAF-20240204
Site Location: Surat, Gujarat
The site is situated in one of the external areas – Jahengirabad- of Surat city in Gujarat. Due to hi-density and no provision of basement parking, the common open areas are occupied with vehicles. The buildings are oriented as per the site’s physicality and not as per climatic conditions.
The design is an attempt at improving the liveability of EWS housing by designing affordable, durable homes with efficient layouts, proper ventilation, and access to essential services. By incorporating sustainable materials and community spaces, housing can enhance quality of life while addressing the needs of economically weaker sections in a cost-effective and scalable manner. The study has taken into consideration social, economic, ecological and site constraints along with legal considerations in evolving the design.
Special Mention (II): Decommodifying People: A Transgressive Approach to
Social Housing in Mumbai
Participant: Vardhan Arora
Unique ID: INHAF-20240184
Site Location: DN Nagar, Andheri, Mumbai, Maharashtra
The chosen slum rehabilitation project seeks to establish a holistic and sustainable model for social housing in slum rehabilitation schemes by adopting a transgressive approach that questions conventional building norms. This prototype would be designed to address the unique challenges associated with slum redevelopment, focusing on the diverse needs of residents. These needs include access to basic amenities, the availability of social spaces, and opportunities for economic activity. By addressing these factors, the framework aims to create housing solutions that are not only functional and aesthetically pleasing but also socially inclusive and contextually appropriate. Another critical aspect of the proposed framework is the emphasis on community participation in the planning and implementation processes. Ensuring that residents’ voices are heard and their needs are met is essential for creating housing that genuinely improves the quality of life for those who live in it.
Jury Panel
Please click here for FAQs. For further queries/clarifications/suggestions etc. please contact the organisers at competition@inhaf.org
Contact Person : Chitrakshi Shirke, +91 9455001026
Media Partner ArchitectureLive!
Please click here for FAQs. For further queries/clarifications/suggestions etc. please contact the organisers at competition@inhaf.org
Contact Person : Chitrakshi Shirke, +91 9455001026
Media Partner ArchitectureLive!
