Affordable and Sustainable Housing

Company: Shenoy Innovation Studio, Industrial Design Center, IIT Bombay; Client: ACC Pvt. Ltd., January 2011 - July 2013

About the Project: It is an initiaive to bring in aspects of mass production and efficiencies of industrial processes in housing. The design is rooted in how people would love to live. A hub & spoke model combining mass production & local materials has been designed.

For the People: A home that is culturally suitable, socially acceptable, supports their livelihoods & traditional living pattern, pre-fitted with sanitation facility, fits in budget, comfortable in all weather, low maintenance & can grow in future with the family’s needs & capacity.

For the Government: A clustered development of socially relevant housing solution which provides ample open space, in-built smokeless chullah, toilets, water harvesting possibility and can be solar powered.

Design Process: Pan India  ethnographic research; Extensive technological and construction industry research; Collaboration with civil engineers, energy engineers, humanities professionals, finance professionals, architects, industrial designers, etc.

Salient Features:
- Mass production combined with local material sourcing decreases cost & improves time efficiency.  
- Use of local materials leads to use of local skills.  
- A clustered development to house communities or families together.  
- The community has a shared common space and facilities.  
- Communities can be gated to form a secure space outside their homes in the shared space which can be used for keeping cattle, farm equipment, vehicles, etc.
- Fluid spaces gives the beneficiary the opportunity to select his/ her house layout.  
- Choice of layout gives the beneficiary  greater  satisfaction.  
- Climatically suitable
- Incremental growth possible with permission from neighbours
- Lean roof and vertical height aids vertical internal additions.