INCREMENTAL HOUSING, BELAPUR

CHARLES CORREA’S POETRY IN CONCRETE

 LOCATION

•2 kms from Railway

Station

•40 kms from Airport

 BRIEF INTRODUCTION
• Belapur incremental housing project -
a proposal for mass affordable
housing in New Bombay(Navi
Mumbai), which demonstrated how
high densities could be achieved
with low-rise courtyard homes,
built with simple materials at a
human scale.
• Based on clusters of between seven
and 12 pairs of houses arranged
around communal courtyards, the
buildings did not share party walls
– allowing each family to extend
and adapt their own house
independently.

• 550 families were planned for in a 6-

acre area limitation.
 PLANNING SPACES
• The project is generated by a
hierarchy of spaces. The first FORMATION OF MODULES
is the private courtyard of
single dwelling used as a
space for outdoor activities
during most of the year.
• Subsequently, seven units
are grouped to form a small
courtyard town of about 8m
x 8m.
• Three of these groups form a
module of twenty-one homes
that describes the collective space
of the next scale (approximately
12m x 12m).
3X3X1X7
• Correa discussed housing and
the importance of people to
be involved in determining its
design and use.
• Additionally, he also
emphasized incremental
housing as a centerpiece to
any solution that was
proposed for a place like
Dharavi
• The footprint of each plan
varies little in size (from 45 sq.
m to 70 sq. m), maintaining
equity (fairness) in the
community
• Scheme caters wide range
from the lowest budgets of Rs
20000, Middle income groups
Rs 30000-50000 and Upper
income Rs 180000.
TYPE A TYPE B
The 7-house unit

Service line
indication
 MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
• TECHNOLOGY: external walls of
brick; roof structure covered with wooden
shingles.
• MATERIALS: brick, plaster of white color,
colorful wooden fixtures, outdoor paving
stone blocks.
• Individual houses rely on simple floor plans
and building methods, enabling local
masons and craftspeople to construct them.
• The village was produced with the idea that
the residents were going to alter it in many
ways, making it truly their own, therefore
homes are freestanding, so residents can
add on to them as their families grow; and
differently priced plans appeal to a wide
variety of income levels
 THE CURRENT SCENARIO

• Many of the original buildings are

demolished and now replaced with
much bigger concrete houses by
the aspiring middle classes.
• Yet the courtyards and the hierarchy of
community spaces remains intact: it is
a strong piece of city-making that has
lasted beyond the individual dwellings.
• Some of the original houses still
standing, but most of them look
different. The trees had grown up and
shrouded the whole complex in shade
in growth. There was a range of
housing there. Upon an informal count,
it was found that roughly one third of
the original homes had been torn
down and completely rebuilt.
Type-A house
Unmaintained central courtyard space