The Atira Housing project in Ahmedabad, India was one of architect Balkrishna Doshi's early experiments in public housing from 1956. The housing was commissioned by Kasturbhai Lalbhai for workers at the Atira Textile Factory and researchers at the Physical Research Laboratory. Doshi designed low-cost housing units inspired by Le Corbusier's projects, using local materials and natural ventilation. The north-south oriented houses had verandas and cross ventilation slots. Each single room house had a patio, toilet and shared drainage between backyards. Though Doshi hoped to use local potters for the vaulted structures, bricks were ultimately used to control costs. The project took on a village-like character over time as

1. THE MASS HOUSI NG
-AR BALKRISHNA DOSHI
ATIRA HOUSING,
AHMEDABAD
SIDDHI SURENDRA
PATIL
17028
VISHWANIKETAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

2. ABOUT ATIRA
CLIENT: ATIRA: Ahmedabad Textile Industry
Research Association; PRL: Physical Research
Laboratory.
LOCATION: Ahmedabad, Gujarat
CLIMATE: average temperature 25 / 27.5 ° C
DOMINANT WINDS: direction north-east
INTERVENTION AREA: 1.6 Ha
NUMBER OF ACCOMMODATIONS REALIZED:
approx. 76 units
TYPES ANALYZED: Type 1-c.a 65mq
Type 2-c. At 73mq
LAND USE:
Roads: 0.35 Ha (20.94%)
Open spaces: 0.91 Ha (53.86%)
Residences: 0.42 Ha (25.18%)
GROSS DENSITY: 44.97 Units / Ha
NET DENSITY: 78.57 Units / Ha
PRO SOIL AMOUNT - CAPITAL:
Streets: 9.3 m2
Open spaces: 23.9 m2
Residences: 11.2 m2

3. ABOUT ATIRA
THE LOW-COST HOUSING PROJECTS RESERVED FOR THE WORKERS OF THE
ATIRA TEXTILE FACTORY AND THE RESEARCHERS OF THE PRL
LABORATORIES IN AHMEDABAD DATE BACK TO 1956, IT IS ONE OF THE FIRST
EXPERIMENTATIONS OF PUBLIC HOUSING CARRIED OUT BY DOSHI.
THE ATIRA FACTORY AND ITS HOMES ARE LOCATED IN A GREEN AREA IN
FRONT OF THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT.
IT IS A SMALL COMPLEX THAT REVEALS NUMEROUS SIMILARITIES WITH LE
CORBUSIER'S PROJECTS CONCERNING SOME PRIVATE HOMES: MAISON
MONOL, MAIDON SARABHAI, MAISON JAOUL, MAISON DE PEON.
DOSHI TAKES THESE HOUSES AS A REFERENCE, INTERPRETS THESE
MODELS, TRIES TO DEVELOP A NEW TYPOLOGY ROOTED IN THE PLACE,
TRADITION AND CLIMATE OF AHMEDABAD.
THE ATIRA AND PRL ARE HOMES COMMISSIONED BY KASTURBHAI LALBHAI
(REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY IN AHMEDABAD), THE DATA
OF THE PROJECT CONSISTED OF THE LOW COST OF HOUSING TO BE
GUARANTEED ALSO THANKS TO THE USE OF LOCAL MATERIALS AND THE
USE OF NATURAL VENTILATION. PLANT THE VEHICULAR ROADS REMAIN
PERIMETER, THE PEDESTRIAN STREETS CROSS THE LOT AND ARRIVE AT
THE BLOCKS OF THE HOUSES THROUGH TWO PUBLIC SPACES.

4. H and PA | The Green Tree Towers
THE CLIENT STIPULATED THAT THE MOST SHOULD BE MADE OF CHEAP LOCAL MATERIALS AND OF NATURAL
VENTILATION. DOSHI RETURNED TO A TYPE ON WHICH HE HAD WORKED IN LE CORBUSIER’S ATELIER; WITH
PARALLEL WALLS AND VAULTS. THE UNITS WERE ALIGNED NORTH-SOUTH TO MINIMISE THE HARD EFFECTS
OF AFTERNOON SUN, AND VERANDHAS WERE PROVIDED BACK AND FRONT: THESE COULD BE USED FOR
SLEEPING IN THE SUMMER. EACH HOUSE HAD ITS OWN GARDEN. VERTICAL SLOTS WITH PIVOTING DOORS
WERE INCLUDED FOR CROSS VENTILATION.

5. EACH HOUSE WAS GIVEN A SINGLE ROOM,
DIVIDED BY A MOBILE DIVISION, WITH A PATIO
AT THE BACK, AND A TOILET. THE DRAINS
COULD BE CONVENIENTLY LOCATED ALONG A
SINGLE LINE BETWEEN THE BACKYARDS.
DOSHI HAD HOPED TO USE LOCAL POTTERS
TO MAKE THE VAULTS, BUT WAS FORCED TO
USE BRICKS, WHICH WERE MORE EXPENSIVE;
IN THIS CASE, FLAT ROOFS WERE NOT ADDED
TO THE VAULTS, AS THE STEEL
REINFORCEMENT TURNED OUT TO BE
PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE.

9. THE HOUSES DO NOT HAVE GLASS SURFACES, THE
WINDOWS HAVE METAL PLATE OR WOOD-ADJUSTABLE
PERIL

13. AT THE ENDS, THE VAULTS PROJECT
FORWARD SLIGHTLY AS DEEP ARCHES. THIS
HELPS TO SHADE THA FAÇADES, ENGENDERS
A SENSE OF SHELTER, AND PROVIDES A LOW
SCALE TO THE SPACES BETWEEN THE
ENTRANCES TO THE DWELLINGS. NOW THAT
TREES HAVE GROWN UP, AND NOW THAT
PEOPLE HAVE ADDED THEIR OWN TOUCHES
OF COLOUR, THE PTL HOUSES HAVE TAKEN
ON THE CHARACTER OF A SMALL VILLAGE,
INCLUDING ALLEYWAYS AND INFORMAL
MEETING PLACES. THE ARCHITECTURE ITSELF
MANTAINS A RESTRIANED GEOMETRICAL
ORDER CAPABLE OF ADAPTATION. PRL
RECALLS A REMARK OF DOSHI’S: “ULTIMATELY
YO DO NOT NOTICE MY BUILDINGS AS BEING
DOMINANT. WHAT YOU NOTICE IS THAT LIFE
GOES ON AROUND THEM”.

14. T H A N K Y O U