Lokhandwala Aftab Hanif

HT4002

A Plan That Changes

My project was a study in the changes in domestic space in the context of the residential fabric of Mandvi ni Pol, Ahmedabad. To conduct the study various houses were studied from the CEPT archives, the CEPT library and on site surveys. The hypothesis is that pressures of modern life (Plumbing, Electricity, RCC, Commercialization, LPG and Television) have forced the houses to conform to a certain standard space use that is observed across urban middle class India. 


Report Content

A study of houses from CEPT Archives provided with background data on Mandvi ni Pol and Pol houses in general to form the foundation of the pilot field visit.

Pilot field visit was conducted to understand the site and find our individual projects and ideas to explore further.

Documentation of the houses selected was conducted and field notes were taken.

The locations of the houses studied were mapped in order to further reference them if need be.

The data was visualized in the form of plans and sections as these best depicted the spaces in the house in an uncomplicated fashion.

The data collected was formulated in the form of a table to help observe patterns and draw inferences.

From the tabular documentation the best examples to depict a certain type of change was selected and the changes were traced and analysed further.

Existing scholarship was engaged to understand the context of the hypothesized factors affecting change, and mind maps and rough drafts of the final essay were prepared to help trace the patterns, the evolution and the change in space that occurred.

The final visuals were black and white, representing that the layers of vibrant culture had to be peeled off to expose the raw skeleton below, which showed that when reduced to the bare form, there is a certain level of standardization and conformity observed, which formed my hypothesis.