A Template For Minimal Living

- Shreyank Khemlapure

FROM THE ARCHITECTS’ PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The design for a small student housing project in the town of Belgaum in Karnataka explores the section as a device to layer a series of semi-private living spaces vertically. What seems like a straightforward division of space in the plan is actually a complex layering of self-contained living units to achieve maximum density yet maintain comfortable living standards for the occupants. The site is a minuscule parcel of land barely measuring 100 sq. m. on which the building was proposed. The number of students to be accommodated is a result of the economies of scale and return on investment rather than a careful engagement with what such a site could traditionally accommodate. In all, the building of about 225 sq.m. accommodates 29 students in semiprivate double- and triple-occupancy units. With such a small site, the building would have to be stacked vertically, but below the stipulated 15 metres above which stringent high-rise building regulations for fire safety are to be met. Thus the building’s envelope is fixed by the side margins and the height restriction. To make the rooms less claustrophobic and more interconnected, a strategy was evolved to develop them in a section with a floor-to-floor height of only 2400 mm. Semi-private spaces for the occupants are nestled around a small common area consisting of an entrance lobby, a pantry, and toilet facilities, all of them strung together by an internal staircase. There are two types of room configurations that sectionally dovetail into one another, like in a jigsaw puzzle.