CHARLES CORREA

Artistic village
The 55 hectare Artist Village brings an interesting mix of Goan

atmosphere and culture to Belapur. Built for middle and lower income groups, the village is organic in its design and execution. Charles Correa, in providing a housing solution for mixed income groups in Mumbai, derives from traditional building styles that have been severed from the built environment in urban cities altogether. He resuscitates the courtyard style of buildings, which inherently have communal spaces built within their layout. Correas deep understanding of the nature of cities is reflected in his cluster modules, which although very simple, relate to each other in a complex way.

 His housing project is a blend of the quality of life of a village and

the sophistication of a city. Each cluster permits the emergence of a hyper-local community feeling, while integrating each house to the whole settlement at different levels; the hierarchy itself is very organic. The clustered organisation and overall layout seem to function pretty well, as the movement through it is varied, rich and dense and the scale changes are in harmony. Artists Village is aimed at accommodating densities close to those achieved by high rises while providing the environment and lifestyle more closely associated with rural and semi-urban areas in India. Its objective is to create a close-knit, secure, convenient, urban family-with-children community in the heart of the cityone in which the quality of life competes with that of other cities and suburbs.

 Despite the projects relatively small site, the architect managed

to endow every home with its own private open-to-sky space and a shared courtyard. The communitys site plan divides the units into groups of 21, further subdividing them into sevenunit clusters. Individual houses rely on simple floor plans and building methods, enabling local masons and craftspeople to construct them. The courtyard serves the necessity for a protected family private communal space. 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 development supports Correas theory that low-rise architecture and high-density planning are not contradictory approaches to housing.

 The first reason why the Artist Village looks organic is that

it allowed people to modify their houses freely, whether with a paintbrush or a mortar. Something that is NEVER allowed in the type of mass housing devastating the urban and psychological landscape of cities around the world.
Each cluster permits the emergence of a hyperlocal

community feeling, while integrating each house to the whole settlement at different levels. The hierarchy itself is very organic.

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