The Neighbourhood Project – G-South Ward

The Neighbourhood Project – G-South Ward, Mumbai
(collaboratively taken up with AOA, URP and G5A), Sem I, 2013
Project Site:
The G-South Ward is one of the fastest transforming places in Mumbai, where the
industrial past of the city is hurriedly being replaced by up-market houses, swanky
offices, flashy malls, and glamorous cultural spaces. The ward is bound by the
Arabian Sea on the west, the Central Railway tracks on the east, the Race Course
on the south and the industrial area of Parel in the north. It houses several
neighborhoods – the Worli Fishing Village, the BDD Chawls, the elite neighborhood
of Worli and the industrial neighborhoods of Parel. It also has significant urban
spaces that are important at the city level – the Worli Sea-face, six railway stations
(Elphinstone Road, Lower Parel, Mahalaxmi, Parel, Curry Road and Chinchpokli),
the Race Course, the Haji Ali Durgah, Nehru Science Centre and Planetarium, etc.
Objectives:
Students in groups of 5 each are required to select a patch of 10 hectares, which
will include a residential neighborhood and open green spaces within 500 m of
the high tide line in G-South Ward. The students will study the area with respect to
the Development Control Legislations and building byelaws, permissible
activities in CRZ designated areas and any other proposed development
projects. Each group will then evolve their design brief and propose a design for
the area/ public space focusing on environmental design and this should include:
a.
Improving walkability
b.
Designing climate sensitive architecture
c.
Considering water and waste management
d.
Any other environment improvement pertinent to site chosen (such as
reduction of noise pollution or any other pollution remediation)
The aim for each group will also be to evolve a viable project with a budget that
could be proposed as a project for the MMR Environment Improvement
Society.
Rachana Sansad’s Institute of Environmental Architecture