The site is located in Pohegaon, Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state. The client asked us to design a shelter where people could eat and rest for a while. The development of this design began with an understanding of and evaluation of various contemporary ideas for dwellings with multiple activities in the area. As this shelter is designed to give the dwelling a distinct identity, it will be associated with a variety of activities such as storing, packing, and selling goods grown on farmland, cooking facilities, and providing temporary shelter for farm laborers in need of services.
Project name: Assembly and Rural house form
Architect’s Firm: Atelier Shantanu Autade
Project location: Pohegaon, Kopergaon, Maharashtra, India.
Gross Area: 400 sq.ft
Site Area: 600 sq.ft
Project Category: Architecture (House-Farm shed)
Initiation of Project: March 2017
Completion Year: January 2018
Photo credits: Rajeshwar Singh, Tanishq Ostwal
Initially, a survey was conducted to determine the region’s house form. This allowed us to comprehend the evolution of the house form from Dhaba (mud slab) house with verandah to modern gated bungalows (exclusive artifacts) and low-cost shelter typology built in concrete and tin roof. Following this survey of existing houses and their construction technology, we decided to use thin concrete walls with metal pre-fab skeletons lined with galvanized roofs.
Concerning these shelters, they currently consist of a dwelling (to stay) with a semi-open space attached to it. However, there is no connection between the two spaces. As a result, the activities in these houses disintegrated.
The entire design process began with the question,
“What should be the nature of design assembly, that will accommodate a temporal character and occupy a variety of people?”
In the search for a typological prototype, key building elements such as a base (platform), skeleton (metal frame work), roof (corrugated GI sheet), and skin (concrete envelope) are generic materials that function as a design tool and design regulatory principle. While carrying out the concept of dwelling for tomorrow, the envelope is separated from the skin, creating a gap to form a visual and physical connection with the surroundings. The perforated gate, which allows an uninterrupted visual connection, provides security. In the center of the shelter, a utility and cooking area separates the living and resting areas. Where the living space functions as a multiple space that changes with the activities.
This location is influenced by an old regional typology proposed on a land parcel made available by the death of trees. The manifestation began with a proposed block that houses two spaces living and resting-that extends in court with a concrete envelope around it and a pantry in the centre. The evolved design includes a narrow linear space with a verandah that wraps around the living block and connects the farm on both sides. This creates the identity of a house form known as a ‘living -verandah.’
