| My research and design strategies are focused on housing for the economically weakest people in India. I do so with particular interest in those being displaced from informal and squatter settlements by government or private development. I study the informal settlement for its internal logic and then design by following the informal sector's principles coupled with infrastructure, economic plans, etc. Beyond the housing structures, social infrastructure also encourages economic and mental growth.;The site for this investigation runs along the banks of the River Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, India, where the Calico Textile Mill once flourished as part of the lifeblood of the city. It is neighboured by existing squatter settlements, regular residential housing and a commercial and industrial district. Any development must reflect its physical, political and social context.;I aim to design appropriate housing and a settlement armature using architectural parameters as a way of maintaining a high level of social parameters in order to generate a positive living environment. This challenge lies in formally designing something, which by its nature, is informally composed. |
