Home is a space that is intimate to all of us. A home goes beyond its everyday function of being a physical shelter for people and their activities. The built form of a home is evolving rapidly. Homes today are versatile entities -doubling up as offices, play areas, work-out zones, and spaces for interaction and recreation. The idea of this research is to explore possibilities for a volumetric home, titled ’Volumetric Dwelling Unit’. Rather than finding ways to expand horizontally, can we develop a volumetric space that functions more efficiently, providing improved natural daylight and ventilation? With the secondary goal of providing affordable homes, can this unit have a global impact? Living Small Yet Living It All !
Name
VDU
Year
2023
Typology
Residential
Location
Pune
Home is a space that is intimate to all of us. A home goes beyond its everyday function of being a physical shelter for people and their activities. The built form of a home is evolving rapidly. Homes today are versatile entities -doubling up as offices, play areas, work-out zones, and spaces for interaction and recreation. The idea of this research is to explore possibilities for a volumetric home, titled ’Volumetric Dwelling Unit’. Rather than finding ways to expand horizontally, can we develop a volumetric space that functions more efficiently, providing improved natural daylight and ventilation? With the secondary goal of providing affordable homes, can this unit have a global impact? Living Small Yet Living It All !
Playing with volume, interactive spaces were developed, that could also provide privacy. With research and study, redundant volume from the kitchen and bedroom was extracted and added to the more social spaces, like the living room. Illustrated above, is the concept and development of the same as an isolated VDU. The living and dining spaces get a volumetric spatial quality which is unlike any other. With the increased volume, it brings in light to each corner. With tight interior planning as well, ample space is available for users to host guests, work, or have a family gathering. The key component of a living room, the T.V. is placed along the staircase such that it takes almost no space and still provides a great living room experience.
The ideation of the small, medium and large VDUs, opens the door to innumerous possibilities to formulate the VDU unit. The VDU Dwelling is a combination of 2 small VDUs, 1 medium VDU and 1 large VDU. This configuraton, making one dwelling, can be replicated in various formations, according to the site requirements. The configuration is well ideated, to fit on a compact footprint, and provide all typologies that a user may require. After developing a set of typologies as SMLs, the ideations are oriented towards developing an apartment complex. The main objectives were to explore possibilities in planning the units such that it brings in all the benefits ideated for a stand alone VDU. The focus is on challenging the existing layout of residential dwellings and providing a new form of housing for the society. A circular floor plan is explored by the team, through the modulation of balconies, giving the tower a new life.
The VDU Apartments tower is designed such that a single tower can provide small, medium, as well as large VDU units. The configuration of of the tower can be changed to accommodate a desired proportion of SML units, depending on the context, user group, and capital estimated for the project.
Since 2019
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