A sustainable business hub - stimulating upgrading by spatial intervention for the embattled area of Dharavi-Mumbai-India

A sustainable business hub - stimulating upgrading by spatial intervention for the embattled area of Dharavi-Mumbai-India

Cárdenas Begazo, S.

Kilian, A. (mentor)
Van Timmeren, A. (mentor)
Guse, E. (mentor)

Architecture

Architectural Engineering and Building Technology

2009-05-15

Cities all over the world need to respond to the demographic and economic pressure that is causing urban growth1. In this aspect, the Indian government, classified as a developing nation with a fast growing urban economy, is impatient to see big changes that can classify India as a power Nation and Mumbai as the Asian financial Capital. Parts of the government changes include disappearing all decrepit areas to make way for new modern spaces. One of these areas is Dharavi-Mumbai. However, Dharavi is not just an example of how rural population is concentrated chaotically in the suburbs of a coast line city, where the lack of basic infrastructure and government support, trapped one million habitants in the cycle of poverty. Dharavi is also a land of opportunities where the hard working residents are unconsciously trying to break out the social caste system throughout a progressing informal industry. The graduation project formulates an alternative plan to reach the goal that the government wants: a “Sustainable, slum free Dharavi of middle class people”, while: • integrating bottom-up strategies by taking the needs, wishes and foremost the skills of the slum dwellers in the whole design process; • using sustainable design principles from the concept phase till the construction detail. This study used the backcasting2 method as a tool to determine the desired future vision for Dharavi and to stimulate the creative process of adaptation in order to attain this future. The resulting methodology is called urban acupuncture. New elements are put into the city as generators to provoke pre-determined changes. The city will change by itself, and the generators are starting and guiding this change. This previous definition is translated into a concept plan for Dharavi based on a node that will generate positive ripple effects. This concept stimulates independency from the surroundings in basic services (water and energy). The design intervention is called “the master pilot project”. The intervention is going to be the node that intends to introduce quality to the area and connect Dharavi to unused economic potentials. The general intervention concept: to organize the “lucrative artisanal occupations of Dharavi”3 in a way that it can be exposed and accessible to external consumers. The goal is to intensify the commercialization of their products. The three phases of the project summarized: 1.- Macro Phase: reciprocity between the design project and the context. Includes the following elements: . The boulevard: increase connections on city level and on province level. . The Mahim Creek: stimulate new incomes by alternative agriculture such as bamboo plantation. . The Mithi River: improve water quality by introducing water plants (reed and lilies) and increase productivity via floating agriculture and floating market. 2.- Meso Phase: the design proposal The first architectural element proposed is the so-called “the craft tower”. The building will attract new market potentials and will exteriorize its content “craft show room-production “and it gives space to people, animals and plants. The low-tech icon is an eight floors open plan structure conceived as a multilayer building. The layers of the building consist of a climbing plants system, a structural bamboo system and a rammed earth skin. Other aspects such as position of the volume, rainwater collection, night cross ventilation, and replacing the bamboo columns are part of the design principles used. The second architectural element, called “the community centre”, deals with the need that the area has to generate a common space where the community can interact culturally and organizationally. It is organized in two scales depending of its type of activity: the “open air theatre” and the “main hall”. The third architectural component is the integrator feature called the “living bridge”. The main function of the bridge is to introduce consumers into Dharavi in a friendly and captivating way. 3.- Micro Phase: detail level . This phase included the structural analyses of the living bridge. For which a constant interaction was necessary within Bentley GenerativeComponents (GC) program and the finite element analysis program Diana. With the parametric module developed in GC different parameters were established allowing the remodelling of changes more easily and visually. Furthermore, Diana has been used as a technical tool to optimize the bamboo structure. In order to understand the behaviour of bamboo as a building material better a testing experiment was carried out. The goal of this experiment was to know whether structural continuity exists between bamboo and concrete. To test the approach of the proposed module for the living bridge a prototype scale one to one has been built. The prototype concerns one node of the bridge which contains the highest amount of connections between bamboo elements. Based on what is already there, coming from inside out, working with local culture and local workmanship, trying to keep the economy together, are the foundations for the new development proposal in this graduation project.

acupuncture

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:86310185-fd11-47d2-8746-fac72a11f4c2

2010-02-13

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2009 Cárdenas Begazo, S.