Incremental Upgradation

Incremental Upgradation An approach to revitalize failed housing estates in urban residential contexts Case Study: Kumartuli, Kolkata Author: TRISHA SARKAR Abstract : Slums or ‘squatter settlements’ exist as appendages to metropolitan centres and are associated with similar issues faced by failed housing estates including ownership, occupation, sanitation and maintenance, which are alternatively influenced by the socio-economic and political landscapes.

Yet the socio-economic status of residents and their cultural backgrounds are some of the driving forces determining the living patterns, nature of residential and work spaces, and the resultant organic and intuitively designed habitats of these hybrid clusters.

The growth of small towns and major metropolises have witnessed a subsequent growth and increase in densities in these settlements situated on the outskirts, as a consequence of a marked increase in dependency on service based industries employing residents in these areas. With appreciated land values and issues of availability and affordability of state sponsored housing, incremental upgradation exists as an approach to reintegrate these settlements into urban contexts, avoid relocation and successfully make these micro-environments livable.

This paper will study the documented house form and workshop typology in a slum settlement situated in north Kolkata, India and outline its architectural advantages and drawbacks in an effort to highlight the virtue in mending, conserving and upgrading deteriorating, socio-culturally significant settlements.

Keywords: urban village, habitat, housing typology, squatter settlement, Incremental housing Introduction : The city of Kolkata was created as an accretion of neighbourhoods or ‘tulis’ and ‘paras’ housing settlers and migrants from neighbouring towns engaged in a specific profession or industry. As a result, these residential and work clusters were named after their respective industries for identification, navigation and transactional convenience. These paras or residential neighbourhoods are still surviving but are distinct from squatter settlements in other parts of the country.

The paras of kolkata, ranging from the refurbished and well maintained to the most decaying and dilapidated settlements, house migrant labour and residents engaged primarily in one industry or function. The neighbourhood of Kumartuli differs from other prominent squatter settlements with regards to the specific industry it caters to.

This consequently draws the focus on the work and industrial spaces, which has been prioritized over residential spaces.

Most slums house migrant labour living in low-income, poorly maintained dwellings engaged in a myriad of professions and industries.

Over a period of time, most of the original residents have moved their residence to other parts of the city and expanded their individual workshops.

For those that still remain, it is necessary to provide sufficient services and create livable enclosures, placing the home on an equal footing with respect to the work space in order to maintain this unique house work-shop typology.

In England, housing developments built on the outskirts of cities were isolated, devoid of context and proceed to create introverted ghettos. It is considered an unprofitable venture to invest in the refurbishment, upkeep and maintenance of failed housing developments, or those suffering from neglect and are subject to vandalism. Housing estates in the post-war era exemplified this degree of urban contextual isolation and subsequent neglect and degree of dilapidation. The technical, urban and social shortcomings are not wholly responsible for the failure of housing estates.

In addition, political strategies have often contributed to their fate.

In France and the Netherlands, post-war era housing embodied the failure of immigration policies and isolation from the urban fabric, symbolizing a disconnect in urban society.

The fate of Minrou Yamasatri’s Pruitt-Igoe housing estate in St. Louis, Missouri exemplifies a case where demolition was employed as an approach to addresses the failure of housing estates.

In England, following Margaret Thatcher’s liberalization of the housing market, the attitude towards these housing estates changed considerably. Housing estates are facing demolition, the relocation and rehabilitation of their inhabitants at the cost of causing irreparable damage to the environment and established communities.

Robin Hood Garden estate in London was vandalized by inhabitants prior to its completion. This project too, is facing demolition as a result of neglect and poor maintenance by the local council – The London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The value of refurbishment as an

economical practice for long-term benefits is being pitted against the demolition and reconstruction of unaffordable, unused and postwar housing estates. Solutions have included the replacement of these developments with design incorporating structures with reduced height and densities. The strategy was founded on the argument that refurbishment could be economical, while simultaneously transforming spatial conditions, environmental performance and appearance. Keeping in mind the damage that demolition and relocation could cause to long-standing housing developments despite their dilapidated condition, PLUS, a 2004 study commissioned by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication advocated for minor changes and additions to singular units and collectives that would strategically change the nature and use of space in the housing estates.

The transformation of the Tour Bois le Prêtre in the 1960s was designed on the principle of ‘redesign, expand and upgrade between two and three units of comparable size.’ The success of this practice led to the commission of refurbishments across France on a larger scale. The project researched and designed by Druot, Lacaton and Vassal, focused on the transformation of the individual unit, while others including Robin Hood Gardens in London and Ommoord in Rotterdam primarily dealt with the redefinition of public areas.

The concept of incremental upgradation of individual housing units and clusters is an experimantal approach with commendable results, both in India and abroad. The approach has been used in cities such as Bangalore to preserve old residential neighbourhoods, and this research is aimed at exploring the possibilitties of using this approach with respect to slums and squatter settlements in order to dispell notions of parasitic growth of these organic settlements over cities and assist in urban regeneration and integration.

Case Study : KUMARTULI (kumar – tuli) or the potters’ colony nestled in the banks of the Hooghly river in Kolkata is a traditional centre of clay image making (idols) housing more than 500 families of potters and sculptors. These image-magers or sculptors are known as ‘kumars’often taking on the surname Pal. Their work is seasonal and thier workshops are used to create clay idols of dieties. The clay is obtained from the local Hooghly river. Their patrons range from wealthy families, individuals, clubs and businesses who commission this work. In addition, their work is sold on the open market.

Clay idols are created for the annual Hindu festivals of Durga Puja which culminates in the immersion of images in rivers. The tradition of clay idol making in West Bengal originated in a medieval village tradition which was gradually established in the city by the 18th and 19th centuries.

The neighbourhood of Kumartuli is linked with the city network by major arterial nodes like Rabindra Sarani, Strand Bank Road, Circular Railway Network,Shovabazaar Station and Ahiritolla Station. The nearest Metro Station is Shovabazaar.

North South arterial connection: Rabindra Sarani- from Bagbazaar canal(north) to Bentick St.(south) Strand Bank Road (35ft wide), railway track runs to the east, Shovabazaar and Ahiritolla railway stations are close. East West: Durga Charan Banerjee St. connects Strand Bank Rd and Rabindra Sarani. Banomali Sarkar St. is considered as the main street of the image makers of Kumortuli. Owing to commercial activity and early transport facilities offered by the river, warehouses and residential buildings of well-to-do Bengali families were built on the bank of the river. Thus the area was connected with early British Commercial Enterprises.

e workshops areas and residences of the Kumars are inter-linked spatially and functioally. e integration of work and home faciliatates the process of idol making especially with regards to the work schedule of the kumars

Fig. Housing Clusters in the study area showing the ratio of residential to work units.

Roads and Open Spaces : Total Area : 19392.75 sq.m.

Open Space : 4038.9 sq.m. (20%) Built Up : 15353.85 sq.m. (80%)

Fig.

50% of the Open space can be considered as Semi Open. Most of the work space of the workshops have now spilled out onto the narrow streets with temporary ‘chhajjas’ or overhangs; interior of the workshops being used for storing idols still in the process of making.

e area of study - land use, routes and connections with the river and immediate context.

Fig. Hierarchy of access routes connecting the study area with the neighbouring context.

Fig. Housing Clusters in the study area showing the ratio of toilets to residential units.

Documentation of Housing and Workshop Typology Type 1 Storage

A one-storied dwelling type with one workshop and residence, separated by a courtyard.

Toilets and bathing facilities are attached.

Workshop Kitchen / Dining Sleeping Toilet

Fig. Housing and Workshop type 1

Type 2 A two-storied structure with the ground oor incorporating the work space and cooking and eating areas. is area is publicly accessible. e rst oor integrates storage and sleeping areas.

Toilets facilitites exist in the adjoining lane which is used by residents.

Fig. Housing and Workshop type 2

Type 3a e typology includes a cluster of dwelling types including two family residences. e courtyard acts as a threshold between the workshop and the residence.

Families of 3 brothers living in 2 rooms Separate Bath and Toilet

Type 3b A cluster is formed by two workshops connect ed with residences of 6 families. Rooms are arranged around a courtyard with a well in the centre. e well acts as a meeting point . e adjoining toilet and bath is exclusively used by the residents of this cluster. the cook ing area is sepaarted.

Fig. Housing and Workshop type 3a

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6 Families - 4 families, each occupying one room 2 families - shared between 2 rooms Common toilet and bath facilities

Fig. Housing and Workshop type 3b

Type 4a is type is created by a cluster of workshops which form a public envelope around the residential core centered around a courtyard. e ground oor of the workshops iclude the work space with the rst oors and in some cases, the mezzanine levels used for storage. e residential cluster has attached kitchenettes and shared toilet facilitites. e residents are employed in industrial warehouses and factories located in the neighbouring areas.

Type 4b is dwelling type comprises of 7 rooms holding 5 families with shared toilet and bath facilitites. e residents of this cluster are not employed in the idol making industry and work in industrial warehouses and factories in the viciinity. e workshops which are directly accessible from the street have a rear entrance facing the residential cluster which is primarily used for storage.

Fig. Housing and Workshop type 4a

KEY : Storage Workshop Kitchen / Dining Sleeping Toilet

Fig. Housing and Workshop type 4b

Workspace

Observations and Inferences 1. In most of the housing unit and cluster typologies, the primary observation is that a considerably large area is reserved for storage. erefore, future interventions by architects, designers government or non- government agencies should incorporate a substantial area for the storing of idols in the process of their making.

Idols need to be dried from time to time and in between processes and the use of terraces re ceiving direct sunlight in addition to a recon guration of the house form and the clusters will bene t both residents and the industry.

Storage

Cooking and Eating

Sleeping

Toilet / Bath

2. e second most prominent function utlizing the most amount of oor space as recorded, is the idol making industry. is is followed by space reserved for leisure, sleeping, cooking and eating.

3. e issue of ownership exists as the singular most pressing concern and hindrance in the path of voluntary refurbishment and renovation. e houses in these settleemtns are not privately owned and thik a tenants or middlemen negotiate rents between owners, the state and the residents, leasing out the properties to the tenants.

Services Kitchen Residential Workshop Storage

Fig.Functional distribution with respect to floor area.

Results from on-site surveys Surveys conducted of 1335 families and their residences, determine that 18% of the families occupy less than 60 sq. and 76% of them live in one-room tenements. A cluster of tenements or housing units forming ‘chalis’ or group housing clusters have been generated over a period of time which is the preferred accommodation type.

Most of the workspace occupies the ground oor along with shops and other small commercial enterprises. ese are situated on the periphery of the residential clusters and along the roads. e toilets, baths and work areas using raw materials like hay, clay and water are in need of drainage and water supply facilities.

996 units use a common bath while 1020 units use common toilets. ere is next to no kitchen space for most of these dwellings where the corridors, ancillary spaces and wet areas accommodate temporary and mobile kitchens.

Public Storage Exhibition Space

Storage Workspace

Exhibition Space

Buffer

Communal Cooking and Eating

Circulation and Leisure

Toilet / Bath

Private SLEEPING

Fig.Proposed spatial distribution and functional hierarchy

Conclusion Slums or squatter settlements are home to migrants from neighbouring towns, villages and mofussils. ey are the workforce for hire for construction companies. ey work in factories and belong to the low income group.

A ordable housing is a prime concern for this group and it is imperative that they are provided for in a growing metropolis. e migrants, in due course, replicate the settlement patterns and the style of living that is typical to their native towns forming urban villages. e settlement patterns display organic qualities that are absent in a modern planned housing complex. ey promote the notion of community living and collective gathering spaces. Some dig wells and creating courtyards enclosed by residences.

Fig.Typical Section showing existing site conditions

By improving upon sanitation, providing water supply, introducing the residents to local construction methods and locally available materials, it would be creditable to propose incremental housing schemes that would involve user participation. A kit of parts including toilet blocks, kitchens, staircases and bridges, using local materials could be provided which the users would be free to incorporate in the existing settlement.

A settlement of this nature grows over a period of time and is constantly growing.It is interesting to study the lifestyle of the inhabitants and the logics of spatial organisation with an intention to inform future practice.