The Belapur Housing project in Navi Mumbai, also known as the Artist's Village, was designed by architect Charles Correa in 1986 to provide affordable housing for artists. The project consisted of 550 low-rise dwelling units spread across 6 hectares of land in a high-density development. Each unit was placed on its own plot to allow residents to freely modify and expand their homes over time. While originally intended for artists, few artists ultimately lived there as it was located far from Mumbai's urban center. Over the decades, residents have significantly modified the structures, often expanding vertically rather than horizontally as originally planned.

1. ARTIST‟S VILLAGE
(Belapur Housing)
CASE STUDY
BIPASA DAS
ASAPK

2. • It was proposed to be a residential
complex for mainly the artists.
• Being situated so far away from the main
centre of Mumbai, very few artists were
interested in buying these houses. As a result
the sale of these houses was finally
opened for the public, and not just restricted
for artists.
• Located on six hectares of land, this project
attempts to demonstrate how high densities
can be easily achieved within the context of a
low-rise typology, built with simple materials at
a human scale.
• The site plan was generated by a hierarchy of
community spaces.
• Each of these houses is on its own piece of
land, so that the families can have the
advantage of open-to-sky spaces.
INTRODUCTION
The Belapur Housing, generally known as the Artist‟s Village,
was a project done by CIDCO in Navi Mumbai.

3. PROJECT DATA
• Year of construction: 1986
• Architect: Charles Correa
• Developer: CIDCO
• Land Area: 5.4 hectares
• Built up Area: 33000 sqmt (approx.)
• Number of Dwelling Units: 550 (approx.)
• Density: 100units/hectare (500 people/hectare)
• Height: Ground+1 storey
• FSI (Floor Space Index) consumed: 0.5 to 0.6

4. OBJECTIVE
The project had one overriding principle:
Each unit would have its own individual site to allow for expansion.
The scheme catered to a wide range of income groups, from the
• lowest with budgets of Rs.20,000, to
• middle income groups (unit costs Rs.30-50,000), upto
• upper income levels with unit cost around Rs.1,80,000.
Belapur makes a statement which combines those principles Correa believes to be most
important in housing, namely:
• Equity,
• Incrementality,
• Pluralism,
• having Open-to-Sky spaces and
• Disaggregation of spaces to allow for participation in forming one’s own environment,
and to facilitate income generating activities.

5. SITE LOCATION
• The site, a 6 hectares land
area, in Belapur, is situated
2kms from the centre of
New Bombay.
• It is set in the midst of the
Belapur hills.

6. CLIMATE
Precipitation is the lowest in January, with an average
of 0 mm | 0.0 inch. Most precipitation falls in July,
with an average of 1117 mm | 44.0 inch.
At an average temperature of 30.1 °C | 86.2 °F, May
is the hottest month of the year. In January, the
average temperature is 23.5 °C | 74.3 °F. It is the
lowest average temperature of the whole year.

7. WIND DIRECTION SUN PATH

8. ACCESSIBILITY
• 2km from Belapur railway station
• 32km from Eastern Freeway
• 40 km from the airport
USER GROUP
• Originally built for artists
• Very few still reside
• Mixed occupancy
SERVICES ACTIVITIES ON SITE
• Water is supplied by the
NMMC through the
Morbe dam
• Electricity provided by
MSEB (Maharashtra
State Electricity Board)
• Residential
• Cleaning staff maintaining the
open spaces
• Few people into gardening
• Children in the playground
SITE CONTEXT

9. Water Supply
• There is no UGT for the
project.
• Each building has its own over
head tank either syntex or R.C.C
• Separate UGT for some
bungalows.
• WTP at sector-1.
• Timings of water-2 to 3hrs
morning and evening.
Drainage
Storm water is drained into the
main rivulet (nallah).
• No separate STP.
• Chaotic drainage system.
• Filled with water During monsoon
or else dry rest of the year.
• Waste water is directly drained
into municipal sewer.

10. PLANNING
• 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.

11. HOUSEHOLD LEVEL PLANNING
• the variation in plot size was much smaller : from 45 sqm to 75 sqm, a ratio
less than 1:2.
• As this project catered to a wide range of income groups, the houses were
incremental - so that they could grow from a single lean-to roof (for the
very poor) to urban town-houses (for the well to do).

12. • Each house was sited on
its own piece of land.
• Only two of the sides had
mandatory setbacks to
follow, the other two sides
could be built right upto
the boundary line.
• The house sites are
arranged with toilets
located in pairs to
save on plumbing and
sanitation costs.
• Windows and other
openings were permitted
on any external wall that
abutted the courtyard,
but none opened onto a
neighbouring house.
• Therefore, each
house was
freestanding
and did not
share any walls
with its
neighbors,
making it truly
incremental

13. Typology
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.

14. Typology A
elevation
plan

15. Typology
Consists of an
• Entrance verandah
• With one room
• A kitchen
• Bath and toilet with a yard
• Courtyard
These houses consist of :
• 2 rooms
• A kitchen
• Bath & toilet with a yard &
courtyard

16. Typology E
These houses consist of:
• Double units one on the ground floor
with 2 rooms
• Kitchen
• Bath & toilet with yard &a courtyard
• Second on the first floor with room
• Terraces
• Bath & toilet
• Utility area

17. Planning Spaces
• The project is generated by a hierarchy of spaces. The first is the private
courtyard of single dwelling used as a space for outdoor activities during most of
the year.

18. • Subsequently, seven units are grouped to form a small courtyard town of
about 8m x 8m.
CLUSTER LEVEL PLANNING

19. SECTOR LEVEL PLANNING
• Three of these groups form
a module of twenty-one
homes that describes
• the collective space of the
next scale (approximately
12m x 12m).

20. SUB-URBAN LEVEL PLANNING
• Three of such larger modules were
interlocked to define the next scale of community
space, approximately 20 X 20 metres.
• The spatial hierarchy continued till the neighborhood
spaces were formed, where the schools and other
public-use facilities were located.

21. SITE MAP

22. A
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23. A
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24. MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
TECHNOLOGY:
• external walls of brick;
• roof structure covered with
wooden shingles.
MATERIALS:
• brick,
• plaster of white color,
• colorful wooden fixtures,
• Mangalore tile for roof,
• outdoor paving stone blocks.

25. CLIMATE RESPONSIVE
FEATURES

26. EVOLUTION OF THE IMPLEMENTED DESIGN
• The resemblance of Artist‟s Village to its initial design is very less.
Being built more than 20 years back, one can hardly tell that the
housing which stands there today ever looked like the one built by
Correa.
• As this particular scheme had a feature of being incremental, the
dwellers utilized it to its fullest and finally have come to a situation
where they have completely changed the design.
• Over the years, with an increase in the family size as well as income,
the needs and aspirations of the dwellers have increased.
• During a survey of this area, it was seen that most of the people have
bought the neighboring plot and built a new bigger house over it.

27. • On a unit level, residents have added different colours to their houses and
have treated the edges by adding patios,sit-outs,planters and low
compound walls and grills and so on. This has helped the houses gain their
identity so this has been categorised as PERSONALISATION.
• To improvise the house, the residents have introduced a new structure to
the house. These interventions add up to the original structure and has a
higher degree of transformation, so has categorised as ADDITION.
• For various reasons, number of residents have introduced a new layout.
Discarding the old design and constructing a new house on the same plot is
the most common and been categorised as REPLACEMENTS.

28. personalisation
additions
replacements
CHANGE IN THE CLUSTER OF 7
HOUSE UNITS

30. Original
Reconstructed Street-side reconstruction

31. PERSONALIZATION BY TREATING THE EDGE,
PAINTING ON THE WALL
Small interventions or changes in the look, without
changing the structure of the original design, are
included in this category. This includes the treatment of
the edge, painting, making patterns on the wall. This
category includes houses that have no changes in the
original design.

32. Freedom of Modification

33. Multi-storey construction as opposed to the original architectural grammar

34. Multi-storey
construction as opposed
to the original
architectural grammar

35. Courtyard Spaces

36. The courtyards surrounded by 7 houses was planned to be a community
space, but today it stands as a shabby place for parking.

37. LOW-COST HIGH END TRANSPORT

38. The Central Nallah

40. Parks and garden spaces

41. Reason for change
• Some inhabitants said they were very impractical (eg. toilets outside the
house).
• The concrete houses arose as a result of the changing aspirations of the
residents. They no longer wanted a ‘village’ or a rural backdrop. Modern
materials and technologies have thus been employed to a great extent.
• Proper spaces were not provided which is one of the major reasons why the
artisans sold their houses.
• Also, 20 years ago the transport facilities were not fully developed which was
another reason.
• Due to lack of commercial spaces, the houses facing the streets transformed
into shops, which were illegal.
• No proper provisions were made for parking, which resulted in encroachment
of open spaces due to parking.
• Cultural centre made for the artists to exhibit their works remained unused.

42. DRAWBACK
• Since many houses have become multi-storeyed now, the smaller houses which are in it’s
original state face natural air-ventilation problem. The bigger buildings block sunlight too.
• Multi -storeyed buildings which are very close to each other since the houses are placed
along the set-back allow lesser possibility of privacy
• Multi -storeyed buildings require wider stretch of foundation, hence plot owners are
compelled to by neighbouring plots.

43. DESIGN ACHIEVEMENTS
• The feel of the space is still intact.
• Ample amount of open and green spaces provided.
• The complex allowed people to modify their houses freely, whether
with a paintbrush or mortar - something that is never allowed in the
type of mass housing.
• Clusters help build a local community feeling.
• Allowed enhanced interactions which was the essence of a village.
• The green spaces and playgrounds are maintained by the NMMC.

44. CONCLUSION
• Character of that village is lost due to urbanization.
• Sense of security.
• Lots of green spaces creating a quite and cool environment.
• Intangible aspect of a village was taken care of very precisely, whereas the tangible
aspect of a village was lost.
Housing is an ever changing phenomena.It can be said that a house is a process, things
aren’t static and forces of time keep on changing.Some of the forces of time are changing
lifestyle., family structure and technology.
So even if the houses are custom made, it needs a dimension of flexibility in order for it to
fall rightly in future when a family undergoes these forces.

45. Bibliography
• https://www.gaisma.com/en/location/navi-mumbai.html
• https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/sites/windrose.phtml?station=VAJJ&net
work=IN__ASOS
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333133051_Housing_for_the_E
WS_-
_How_far_do_EWS_housing_schemes_fulfill_the_needs_of_its_users/link/
5cdd3159a6fdccc9ddb2975f/download
• https://architectopedia.com/belapur-housing-by-charles-correa-case-
study/
• https://s3.us-east-
1.amazonaws.com/media.archnet.org/system/publications/contents/7087/
original/DPC3963.pdf?1384808064
• www.google.com

46. THANK YOU