This is the latest update to the New Transit Camp Social Club project in Dharavi. We have worked mainly on the interior space and on the exterior walls. The newly designed interior space now functions like a huge staircase, with different shelves (3×4 meters) built with plywood, which goes up and up, creating many different spaces in the same building.
It was really difficult to keep the existing structure so we decided to create a “free” pallet racks structure. We added an “experimental cube”, which is a part of the building. It serves to investigate the use of different materials. This will help in finding new ways of using pallet racks system for houses construction. It’s like an independent cube, where each of the three floors has 24 sqm area. That’s a enough surface for housing units.
For the exterior walls we propose to recycle plastic sheets from street advertisements and trucks. That allows us to create a space open to daylight and air. It gives the feeling of being outside even from inside the building.
We are now working on bioclimatic issues by finding new solutions for keeping the interior as cool as possible.
Images of the improved design:
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Hey Francesco & Alberto! Good to see you are working hard at it! Nice design. Maybe missing a good concept and program. Also budget should be kept down as much as possible. Anything that’s not essential should be removed (except for the tower of course -that’s essential
. Also I think it makes sense to build upon the existing structure rather than destroying it in order to minimize costs. Please you should explain the add wrapping. Is the building getting any money from it? Good to think about commercial potential of the space but would be hard to find people willing to advertise, except sponsors of course, especially if the building and tower are getting good press coverage. Maybe a company like Red Bull would like it. Don’t forget the space for shops. Also some public hall that can be rented for weddings and other functions. Keep up the good work!
December 1st, 2009 at 8:35 am
Hey Guys,
Looks really good !!
I’m kind of a sucker for size, so I’d be inclined to put the open air patio on the terrace and build that section up as well. It would also be fun to experiment with other ideas for the terrace. We’re planning on adding a terrace with an earth floor at Jaaga.