Aerial collage: the new archipelago of incremented kaccha houses rising from a context of well built permanent homes in a typical slum.

One of the most critical issues facing cities today is the lack of secure housing for the poor. In Mumbai alone, 6 million people, or half the city’s population, live in slums, which have inadequate housing, space, sanitation, light, electricity and water.

The problem with social housing has been how to give the most with less money. In developing countries, almost all the constructions are done by anyone but architects. Clearly, in these countries architects can do something way better than just designing or constructing, developing strategies together with communities to achieve housing solutions that not only address today´s necessities, but that can also be extended over time as families grow, once again by themselves and without architects.

A good example on this is the work that Filipe Balestra and Sara Göransson have been doing in India, invited by Sheela Patel and Jockin Arputham from SPARC to develop an Incremental Housing Strategy’. A pilot project will be implemented in Pune, India but the architects believe the strategy could be appropriate in any country with similar urban conditions.

The architects have developed a strategy to develop informal slums into permanent urban districts through a process of gradual improvement to existing dwellings instead of demolition and rebuilding.

‘After creating works for Rem Koolhaas at OMA/ AMO, Neutelings Riedijk, NL architects, and Thomas Sandell, I found it essential to search for the opposite experience: to work for the ones who cannot pay,’ says Balestra.

Some of the following pictures show the life inside of old temporary houses (‘kaccha’) in Netaji Nagar, Pune, India (2009):

From the architects:

Filipe had previously designed and built a school and community center in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro’s largest slum, in a participatory design and construction process together with the locals. The project was called Sambarchitecture and it was documented in a movie which was shown in Cinema Zita in Stockholm during Brazilian Film Festival. This movie was also in exhibition in the Architecture Museum of Stockholm and in Botkyrka Konsthall; Sara has been working on a strategy to connect Stockholm, framing the future urban development as urban bridges between segregated suburbs.

Soon after Filipe and Sara arrived to Bombay, a team of international architects, urban planners, landscape architects and graphic designers volunteered to set up the strategy which uses the existing urban formations as starting point for development. Organic patterns that have evolved during time are preserved and existing social networks are respected. Neighbors remain neighbors, local remains local.

When Filipe and Sara started working they did not know the Indian government would initiate a grant of 4500 euro/ family for the incrementation of their homes at a national scale. The grant is now active and it can be given to any family who lives in a kaccha – an old temporary structure, not suitable for living. It is called City In-Situ Rehabilitation Scheme for Urban Poor Staying in Slums in City of Pune Under BSUP, JNNURM.

The pilot project will be implemented in Pune, India. Filipe, Sara and SPARC is now spreading the word to implement the strategy in other countries with similar needs: Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, The Philippines, the list is long. 1/3 of the world’s urban population is now living in slums.

The strategy strengthens the informal and aims to accelerate the legalization of the homes of the urban poor. The communities are asked to engage with the construction process to customize each house, i.e. each family will paint the house the color they want. ‘After all, who knows better than the people themselves how do they want to live?’

We developed 3 basic prototypes for the slum dwellers to choose from. These are 3 basic typologies. House A is a two story home, structured like a 3 story home to ensure safety in future vertical extension; House B has Incrementable ground floor, which is left open for either parking or for the family to turn that open space into a shop. House C has an incrementable middle floor, to hang clothes or to be used like a living room. All proposals are for one family and 270 sq foot area (grant regulations).

When Filipe and Sara started working they did not know the Indian government would initiate a grant of 4500 euro/ family for the incrementation of their homes at a national scale. The grant is now active and it can be given to any family who lives in a kaccha – an old temporary structure, not suitable for living. It is called City In-Situ Rehabilitation Scheme for Urban Poor Staying in Slums in City of Pune Under BSUP, JNNURM. The strategy strengthens the informal and aims to accelerate the legalization of the homes of the urban poor. Their strategy was arranged to fit the parameters of this grant.

‘Do you know that 800 people in Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi use a single toilet seat?’

All proposals are for one family and 270 sq foot area (grant regulations). Also, each house will have a new individual toilet and kitchen. The existing houses do not have neither toilets nor kitchens. The government will provide new infrastructure which will be brought into every house.

Mixed cluster featuring houses: C-A-C-B-C-A. Families will share walls, columns beams and infrastructure.

All prototypes need the participation of the community to emerge. The rules of the grant say each family has to contribute with 10% of the total max 4500 euro that the house costs. Since some families are not ready to give that amount so we are working on alternatives ways to contribute, i.e. sweat contribution: after the reinforced concrete structure is up, the families can help placing windows, doors, painting the house the color they want, and placing their own floor tiles. Thus, the families end up owning the process by customizing their homes.

Each family is free to choose one of the 3 incremental prototypes: