Low Income Housing By ARCOP Al-Azhar Garden Housing By ARCOP PRIVATE LIMITED

Central Idea

The central idea of this low-income housing was to create a sense of belonging for a displaced community.

The development is divided into distinct neighbourhoods – in contrast to the tattered urbanity of Karachi as a whole – and organised around plazas, gardens, and courtyards, linked by ceremonial pathways. Shading devices, natural ventilation and a water recycling system all contribute to sustainability. The post-and-beam structures are infilled with both solid and hollow brick masonry and finished with earth-toned Colorcrete. The project cost around US$ 10 per square foot, inclusive of land and infrastructure.

Master Plan

Design theme used at individual dwelling design level and also at the community design scale were

1- Home as an individual expression of identity and self-pride.

2-privacy in the eastern context

3-expressions of vernacular

4-sensitivity to people social systems religion and ways of living

5-reliance on wind shading devices recycled water to create a sustainable design.

The Master plan is held together by a layered sequence of spaces that take people from public to private areas such as chowks and maidans(squares and plazas) to eight different mohallas. From the mohallas, apartment blocks are accessed through individualised courts (which could be used for a number of activities.).

The apartments themselves are entered through sehans (terraced courts). The sehan is an open to sky area with 7 feet high partition screen/wall for privacy. In some building types the living room is incorporated as the central space forming a core to all the other areas and in others this space becomes a double height area providing an important element of relief and acting as vertical wind catching device.

In an effort to bring in an individualised expression each owner would be given at the time of booking personal choices for the entry door design, window style sehan façade design materials and patterns for sehan floor ,design of safety grills and exterior paint colour from a range selected by the architect .

The linear site in the south west direction has maximum frontage, unfortunately not in the wind direction. The green belt adjacent to the site held advantages of views and reducing traffic flow.
An important movement sequence for the community is the daily ritualistic visit to the jammat khana (mosque) which along with a clinic vocational school and utility store from the central node and are connected to the mohallas by a central pedestrian spine. This public space not only evokes a strong sense of community but also brings together public amenities and from architecture of continuous spaces that surround the observer.

Schematics

Undertaking

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