yamuna housing case study

1. Yamuna Apartments in india

3. INTRODUCTION
•Yamuna apartments belong to a group housing society, which has been designed for the
lower middle income group. •The site allotted for the housing complex was 4.25 acres , but due
to planning regulations , an area measuring 0.5 acres was required to be left as open space, at
the north east corner. The intention of this open space being , to form a continuous green space
with the adjoining residential complex. The green space has enabled the housing to have a nice
playground. •The pedestrian movement is along four radial galis where children can play
undisturbed by the vehicular traffic . Plants planted along the side of the gali, present a
refreshing contrast to the external walls of the unit.

4. Concept
• The design concept however, distinguishes it from other developments
in the city. This society consists of 200 members, most of which came
from south indian states of kerala , tamil nadu and andhra pradesh ,
constituted a fairly cohesive group with specific living requirements.
Taking these factors into consideration , the housing was designed as an
integral community settlement , where the traditional housing elements
were incorporated to create an “urban village “ in a city.
• The design concept revolves around a typical Indian village , with its
lively narrow galis or pedestrian streets , where the womenfolk and
children would pull out their charpai onto the gali , so that they were
able to share experience and conversation with each other, while doing
their household chores. This has been achieved by a designing a traffic
free complex , where the vehicular traffic is restricted to the periphery
and in the basement.
• Galis converge onto an asymmetrically placed central square , which
forms the focus. It is here that the recreational activities have been
placed

5. PLAN layout

10. • The dwelling units comprise of three basic plan types of varying floor
area , which are grouped together in a repetitive basis, to form
individual housing blocks.
• The access staircase leading to the unit takes off from the gali, thus
maintaining a continuity and acting as transitional space , between
common public areas and private areas of each house. It has also
enabled residents to converse with each other and maintain contact
with the surroundings while they work. Unlike the west , the Indian
neighborhoods are open and privacy is not given much importance.

11. • Houses were designed overlooking each
others semi private areas. Thus , in addition
to sharing experiences while the womenfolk
performed the daily chores , it also enabled
assistance in the time of an urgency . In the
unit plans , the semi private area or the
living room of each unit has been
consciously designed towards the pedestrian
spine to enable communal interaction and
acknowledgement of one’s neighbor's.

12. • The living room has an attached balcony which
overlooks the pedestrian spine. This enables the
residents to share and exchange social contact at
various levels, thereby retaining the lively
character of the gaily.
• The private area of the bedrooms are to the rear of
the house opening on to a terrace for sleeping.
According to the norms of the community , the
kitchen is considered a holy place and is kept
clean, it is for this reason that is has to be kept
away form all normal circulation routes within the
house.
• The bathroom and kitchen open onto the internal
ventilation and light shaft , on which they are
dependent for their light and ventilation.

14. •There is an integration of traditional design elements as balconies for
shading the external wall surface , courtyards and terraces for outdoor
sleeping in summer , thus establishing a hierarchy of open and
enclosed spaces, private an semi private areas.
•The unit plan has opening on two sides , thus enabling a fair amount
of cross ventilation.
•Each unit is sheltered on the outside by either a balcony or terrace
The terrace provides a space for outdoor activities.

15. •Part of the terrace is always open to sky
which gives it an added openness . This has
been achieved by changing the shape of
the terrace from square to rectangular on
alternate floors. The elected framework
provides considerable variation to the
façade and a strong geometric framework

16. Built Form
• Yamuna apartments are unique in terms of
the volumetric form, owing to the constant
staggering and the breaking up of the
facade. • Each made up of 3 types of
dwelling units, which are placed over each
other in a way that the built mass is non-
aligned. • Such an arrangement provides
optimal mutual shading, and cuts off the
harsh sun.

18. Pedestrianized
Pathways
•The shape of the built form gives rise to the walkways between
two blocks, which function as streets within the society.
•These `galis’ have been completely pedestrianized and function
beautifully as community spaces.
•They have been broken into levels, given green pockets, and are
so well shaded that one can easily interact with people without
worrying about hot summer.
•Instead of splitting two blocks apart, these parks bring the two
together by encouraging people to interact and make it lively.

19. Community Spaces/ ‘Chowks’
•Since the entire society was designed like a typical
village, chowks form an integral part of this scheme.
• Each pedestrian walkway or `gali’ leads to one of
these asymmetrical cores or `chowks’.
•They provide an interesting focal point for daily
activities to place on a larger scale.
•One such core doubles up to form a badminton
court and a mini stage area for shows to take place,
while another is merely a courtyard which is shaded
by trees and is broken into levels for people to sit and
interact.
•These spaces become pivotal in tying the blocks and
paths together.

20. Green Spaces
• There is one major playground tucked further away into the society.
• A small park is situated in one of the chowks which consists of swings for children
and benches to sit.
•Apart from dedicated greens, the pathways are interspersed with green pockets,
planters, trees, shrubs etc. the most prominent trees are frangipans, deodar, mango
etc. they provide ample shading and improve the microclimate to a larger extent

22. Parking
•Car parking for the houses is limited to
the periphery of the housing and no car
can come through to the internals of the
society. Vehicular movement for every
other reason is restricted to the perimeter
as well.

23. Planning Of The
Dwelling Units
• Access staircase.
•Each block has a set of external staircases
which is used to access the apartments.
The staircase splits into another staircase as
it approaches the doors of the apartment.
This gives the appearance of almost a
personalized staircase for each house,
something which is not commonly found in
group housing.

24. Access staircase.

25. Spatial planning
• Each block consists of 2 types of flats, 2
and 3 bedroom respectively. Examples,
flat type 1 has 3 bedrooms, whereas, flat
type 2 has 2. there is a service entrance
from the kitchen, accessed by the same
staircase which leads to the guest entry.
•The design of every unit is such that the
living room opens into a balcony, which
provides a direct visual connection with the
house opposite to it.

26. •Bedrooms opens into a patio/balcony on the backside of the block, and are
adjoined by the balconies of the other houses. The patio is then half covered
by the patio of the floor above it, which gives it the staggered appearance.
•Service shafts: 2 apartment units share 1 common shaft, which is shared by
the living room, kitchen and the bathroom in one unit.

27. Critical analysis
•The sense of community is highly
emphasized throughout the society due to
the kind of spaces created, such as, the
open and green spaces at various intervals,
placing of the blocks, and the usage of
pedestrianization.
•The idea of parking being on the
periphery, is very unique, as the whole
colony enjoys a terrific free circulation
around the colony, however, the demand for
parking has increased since the society’s
conception, creating a shortage of car space.

28. • There is no apparent use of the basement, with just an occasional room for various services etc,
in a few places, accessed by ramps.
•The external staircase saves a lot of internal space as it cuts down the need for a core, but,
proves to be a problem on days with heavy rainfall. The fact that residents can see into each
others living rooms creates a sense of safety in times of emergencies but it may seem intrusive for
some, who have simply used frosted glass/blinds to crub the issue.
•The placement and the size of the internal shaft by two units not only holds the service lines,
but helps in the overall ventilation of a unit. It can be easily accessed from the terrace for
maintenance. The way, the façade is free of pipes running on it.

29. • Units on the ground floor have a private
courtyard which is partly covered . It forms an
important space for outdoor activities , sitting
out in summer evenings and on cold wintry
days, etc.
• The open air stage forms a part of the
recreational facilities grouped around the
central square.

30. • The change in the shape of the
terrace , from square to rectangular
, on alternate floors provides
considerable variation to the façade
and strong geometric frame work

31. The external walls finished with stone aggregate which practically requires no maintenance besides an occasional
washing down with water to remove the dust along with reinforced concrete bands at terrace levels provide a
refreshing contrast against the landscape.

32. • A typical pedestrian street or gali leading
to the central square with entrance to
the units . Children can play in the gali
undisturbed by vehicular traffic. The
access staircase in each block form
important design elements . They wind
around a central wall panel , but at each
half landing an independent flight peels
off to lead directly to the entrance of the
adjacent unit.

33. • Each unit has a courtyard or
terrace for outdoor activities ,
outdoor sleeping, drying balcony
for laundry, etc, which is partly
open to sky

34. • Community spaces like O.A.T, public seating, gardens etc. are
provided.
• Water tank orientation with good use of levels.
• Neighborhood is maintained.
• Better use of site’s irregular negative space by providing
children’s play area and gardens there.
• Landscaping is used as a very important key feature in
complete design.
• Privacy is maintained by providing a small breathing space in
every apartment i.e. in ground floor it is next to main door and
in upper floors it is as balconies.
• Two main, three sub and one service Entries are provided for
the better use of spaces.
• Non- accessible Terrace gardens are provided to enclosure to
the outer space and at the same time they also gives the view
of the open sky which merges with the landscaping on the
upper terrace gardens.
MERITS

35. DEMERITS
• Security pipelines are exposed and are
running along the window.
• Basement is not used for any purpose.
• Parking was not made according to the
requirement, cars were parked on the
roadside.
• No fire escap
• No alarm system