ARD-414 Low Cost Building

TARA
HOUSING
CASE STUDY
 “Certainly architecture is concerned with
much more than just its physical attributes. It
is a many-layered thing. Beneath and beyond
the strata of function and structure, materials
and texture, lie the deepest and most
compulsive layers of all.”

—Charles Correa
Introduction
Tara Apartment is a group housing project commissioned
by Tara Cooperative Society, the first housing project in
Delhi.

The concept was introduced to rehabilitate the 1947

partition affected people who had nowhere to settle down
after their retirement from their professional lives.

The famous architect Charles Correa was roped in to design

a unique architectural concept.

Tara housing group has more than 160 units and 375
persons per hectare.
SITE DETAILS
LOCATION:New Delhi, India. The project is located along
Guru Ravidas Marg Street which leads to two big
residential areas in the North and the South.

CONSTRUCTED IN : 1975-1978

SITE AREA: 1.48 HECTARE

PROGRAMME: Social housing with 160 units of 2&3

bedroom flats (MIG).

CLIENT: TARA-HOUSE SOCIETY

ARCHITECT: CHARLES CORREA

STRUCTURE: REINFORCED CONCRETE

WALLS :BRICK

COST OF PROJECT : ₹ 10 cr
 SITE EVALUATION:
The building turns its back on the
street to prevent noise, dust from the
high flow vehicles.

Being staked as a row, central

garden, big overhangs and sharp
edges, all give these buildings a
sense of Indian characteristic under Car circulation Main Site Entrance
hot sun, full of light without suffering
from high temperature.

Porosity Gradient: private:dark

pubic:light
CONCEPT
Tara Apartments, the concept of low-rise high density housing reflects the vernacular form that was popular in India
in 1970‘s.

The character is achieved by stacking the dwelling units in two decks, with upper ones stepped back to form a terrace
for each family. This configuration resulted in a central area which allows the units to shade each other against the
hot dry climate of North India. The central community area is landscaped with trees; running water and trellis were
proposed along with trees so as to humidify and cool the dry winds.

The apartments have been designed 4 stories high. The design is such that there is a central courtyard or rather a
community space onto which all apartments overlook. The accesses to all dwelling units are from the central
Courtyard by open staircases.
DESIGN FEATURES
• The concept of building allows people to access directly
to the interior garden.

• Everyone has their own open-to- sky terraces with full

filled shadow.

• Provides thermal relief to inhabitants during the harsh

summer sun, with big overhangs over the units and a
central garden, allowing infiltration of ample light within the
units while preventing high temperatures.

• The project takes big advantages from natural resources

like lighting and ventilation and all families share these
features equally.

• Only pedestrians are allowed to enter the housing group

and the parking lot features in the back of the building.

• Indian architectural elements are illustrated with the use

of concrete bands ,panels of exposed brick, portals ,
overhangs and shape edges.
MATERIALS USED: BRICK , CONCRETE.

The unusually refined exposed brick and concrete

construction reflects the architect's prevailing
commitment to the modernist idiom. The concrete
pergola accentuates the jagged break down of the
building surfaces rather than forming an effective
continuous parasol.

IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE:The architect

staggered the units in section to create terraces on
the outer periphery and thereby cleverly achieved
shading of internal courtyards which is a common
thermal comfort strategy historically adopted in old
Indian cities. The architect had used a water body to
humidify the central community space for thermal
comfort.

The architect has used the time-tested method of

mutual shading in the design. Shadows are cast by
building on another part of the building and central
open space.
Orientation and Micro Climate:

The N-S orientation of the narrow built-up provides thermal comfort to the users in central community space and also
provides winter sun to the individual terraces and central spine. The major openings of the units are oriented SE and
NW. Hence, most of the DUs receive SE sun and the rest only NW sun with very few DUs getting both.

Majority of the private open spaces on the SE get optimum sun in the morning and afternoon during winters. While
evening sun is absent in these areas during summers. In contrary the rest of the private spaces do not get afternoon
winter sun.This shows marked difference in the usability of these two open spaces.

The vertical surfaces are not directly exposed to solar radiation and the DU's share walls with adjacent units hence the
internal spaces are cooler than outdoor spaces.

The majority of the site surface hard surface which absorbs and reflects the solar radiation and radiates heat later. This
is neutralized by the wind funnel created by the comparatively smaller openings on NW and large double height multi-
functional hall on SE and the green pockets in the central spine.

The interlocking of the two longitudinal staggered decks provides mutual shading and provides thermal comfort to the
users in central spine; it receives winter sun in the afternoon and is shaded in the evenings in summer. The micro
climate encourages social interaction and activities in the central spine.
Spatial Organisation
The dwelling units are arranged similar to that of row
houses. Of which the central street is developed as
multifunctional landscape spine serving as a major
circulation area, community space, children's play area
and visual green affecting the micro-climate.

The two longitudinal parallel decks are surrounded by

open space on one side and enclosed
by visual green on the other. The spaces are
segregated with respect to various activities and
organised in response to the built form .
Overall Master Planning
The site has five major zones; the built dwelling units aligned North-South, peripheral parking area along North-West and North
boundary walls, enclosed community space, children's play area on the South, and passive recreation area on South-East.

The services, water tank and power house are concealed in the 3m level difference of site contours and are visually enhanced as a
feature by landscaping. The parking area on the NW is on the lower level following site contours and is visually separated from the
Dwelling Units.

This organisation is functional; due to lack of active usage along the South East and South periphery the areas leave an impression
of left out spaces. The central space overlooked by the dwelling units make the space more usable.The deliberate isolation of the car
parking reduces the luxury and supervision.

The pedestrian and vehicular movements is segregated and well defined in the site.There is only conflict only at the two entrances
and third entrance is dedicated only for pedestrians.

The site initially had six entrances opening onto the three roads bounding the site out of which only three are operational due to the
security reasons.
 Overall Master Planning
Open Space System Private Spaces Public Spaces
The open spaces are derived The extension of living area The open staircases and their
from the configuration of into the green space in the landing are interactive zones . The
horizontal and vertical base ground floor and the central spine is an active enclosed
planes and the character is partially shaded 10sqm space which turns semi open space
defined by sense of enclosure terraces spaces open onto with presence of large green trees
and texture. visual greens and are not houses an OAT, children's play
connected to active greens . area, green pockets. The multi-
There is hierarchy of open Hence the privacy is functional hall acts as transition
spaces due to the alteration in retained. However there is space from the central spine to the
the planes in response to the lack of interaction. greenscape on the South East. The
climatic conditions and to softscape on the South East is
achieve the desired visual bounded and buffered by peripheral
character. plantation.
BUILDING
Description: The duplex units are accessed either
at ground floor or second floor levels by outdoor
stair cases. There are two kinds of flat: the two
bedroom flats with 84 square metres (3 metres
wide, 6 metres high with two floors and 15 metres
long, the three-bedroom flats with 130 square
metres and have the shape of L, there are just
only 16 three-bedroom flats were built. Each unit
is provided an open terrace which is protected by
a pergola and big overhangs. Two sides of the
project are connected by staircases.
Evaluation
The concept of building allows people to access directly to the interior garden. More than that, everyone
also has their own open-to-sky terraces with full filled shadow. By taking advantages of sun, wind directions
and open spaces, hence lighting access and ventilation to each dwelling are maximized.

DWELLING
The dwellings are grouped into some small and medium
blocks. Some blocks are assembled only by two-bedroom
flat, some are combined between two-bedroom type and
three-bedroom type. It creates the diversity of form but still
maintains the logic of dwellings’ functions.
• There are just 16 three- bedroom flats so that it is not
sufficient for families which have more than 4 members.
TWO BEDROOM TYPE:
•The complex is formed due to the combination between pairs of accommodation units.
•The second floor which is larger than the ground one with a big overhang that rises further
approximately 6 m gives the mixture between shadow and light.
• The duplex above is also push back hence front of the below one is protected too. •In that way, the
whole central garden is full filled with shadow.
Conclusion
Parameters for Details Zone
Sustainability

Ecological Site planning The building turns its back on the street to prevent noise, dust from
the high flow vehicles. • Being staked as a row, central garden, big
overhangs and sharp edges, all give these buildings a sense of
Indian characteristic under hot sun, full of light without suffering from
high temperature.

Local The building is made from exposed brick and concrete.

Materials

Response to The architect staggered the units in section to create terraces on the
climate outer periphery and thereby cleverly achieved shading of internal
courtyards which is a common thermal comfort strategy historically
adopted in old Indian cities. The architect had used a water body to
humidify the central community space for thermal comfort.
 Parameters for Details Zone
Sustainability

Physical Embodied The project takes big advantages from natural resources like lighting and
energy ventilation and all families are equally shared these features.

Adaptability An introvert street configuration is created . This was devised, ostensibly, to shelter
a humid green zone with in the development. It is terraced to fit topographic profile.

Socio-economic Planning The development is a schematic of traditional urban form. This part-i derives
specifically from the climatologically rationale of the narrow over hung streets in
desert towns, such as Jaisalmer.

Community The position and character of various spaces make them multi-functional and the
development juxtaposition of these open spaces .give users the flexibility of using the spaces as
a whole if required.
THANK
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