THE CHALLENGE
1Identify a Village
The Government, through the Ministry of Rural Development, has identified villages under the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (see Annexure A) which can be benefitted immediately. Select a village of 10,000-20,000+ inhabitants that falls in this list and is geographically accessible to be studied in earnest. A thorough study of its facilities and drawbacks, will be an eyeopener but will also provide the basis on which to propose the intervention. The process will require identification of at least one unique feature of the village - structural or environmental, and one pressing architectural, planning or infrastructural issue, the solution of for which will form the basis of this competition. Refer to Annexure A: List of Villages by Area and Population
The village population is indicative and any variations will be accepted without penalty. The intent is to study a real village with real problems and that reality may not fall perfectly within the neatly demarcated size of village.
The project could be representation of a built house but which had the same intent, but represented as a design idea (replicable).
2Generate the Design Brief
The village study will provide a blueprint for building a brief. A substantial portion of the brief should enumerate the spatial, social, structural and economic nature of the village. The analysis will be critical in determining how well the design solution works. Delineate a brief for a house, community structure or an infrastructure facility for the village. The participant is also free to look beyond these three identified aspects and focus on a new issue; in which case the criteria for selection, the challenges and the implied impact of design should be clearly mentioned.
The brief should address the area under consideration, the immediate context in which the design is proposed and any planning and infrastructure factors that may be critical input in the design direction proposed.
Articulate the design brief within the given parameters.
Refer Annexure B for Design Brief for the House
Refer Annexure C for Design of Community Space
3Respond to the Brief
The design intervention should be one that improves the quality of life of the individual householder or a community. The design is for a buildable structure but should have the potential to be replicated or form the basis for a prototype.
The design has to have a real-time feel but may be futuristic in intent. The idea of this competition is to indicate a willingness to partner the government and industry to actualise the vision that is Village 2047. Certain assumptions maybe made based on the study made by the participant and these must be clearly enumerated in order to be read in conjunction with the brief.
These assumptions should encompass the current aspirations of the village dwellers as well as keep an eye on international trends on environment, sustainability and economic models.
THE COMPETITION CATEGORIES
Within the context of the evolving realities in rural India, IndiaNext has identified the following three areas of buildable design interventions. Participants are free to select any one for their submission or explore a fourth option that they think is more relevant in the current scenario. In which case, the submission should clearly state the argument for the selection:
- The Need
- The Challenge
- The Opportunity
- The Intervention Idea
The site and design selection criteria remain the same as per the suggested categories.
The suggested categories are:
Individual House or Multi-family Housing
Community Facility
Infrastructural Solution
A. INDIVIDUAL HOUSE OR MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING
SITE SELECTION
- The plot for the house/housing must be an actual site with accurate dimensions and the site details should be corroborated by photographs, basic outline of the plot and its surroundings, existing and possibly proposed infrastructure, as part of the brief. It could be a house currently under development that would give in-depth information on the infrastructure and environmental conditions.
- Ideally a greenfield site - that frees up an existing incumbent government land, land parcels of the government which could be put to better and more efficient use - would be even more beneficial. Participants are to probe realistic and practical ways of finding a setting for their ideas. If the local governing body already has earmarked sites and areas for the PMAY-G, this would be ideal.
- The local bye-laws should be identified and adhered to as far as possible.
DESIGN CRITERIA
- The individual house must adhere to the Pradhan Mantri Avas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) guidelines and have a minimum area of 25 sq.mt., with kitchen and sanitation facilities included.
- The house must serve a family of 4-5 people. If the study indicates other family sizes, it can be shown as a design option.
- Climatic and seismic guidelines must be identified and the design must respond to the same.
- Local materials and technologies, indigenous skills can be incorporated in the construction technology proposed for the construction, while complying with the PMAY-G area-specific guidelines where available.
- An estimated costing must be included, based on the PMAY-G guidelines. (Refer Annexure B)
- The house should have the capability to scale up incrementally and become a 2 or 3 family house or a mixed-use space and provisions for such should be built into the design. With a view on 2047, the scalability and adaptability to future scenarios will be crucial.
- The design should be a readily replicable one, and one that could be used in varying plot sizes or conditions if possible. These iterations should be shown as part of the design solution.
- The design must be able to generate a unique design identity which is aligned to the aspirations of the new Indian village, and fulfils the promise that is envisioned as Village 2047.
- The design must demonstrate how it responds to the street (and its neighbouring houses/context) and existing infrastructure, if any.
- Designs that build in sustainability, alternative energy sources and are GRIHA-rating compliant will be rated higher. Eg. If the Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All Yojana is able to dovetail into the proposal, it may be a bonus.
- The presentation must have a complete conceptual set of architectural, services and structural drawings along with views and sketches to explain the scheme and its features.
B. COMMUNITY FACILITY
SITE SELECTION
- The plot for the community facility must be an actual site with accurate dimensions and the site details should be corroborated by photographs, basic outline of the plot and its surroundings as part of the brief. Like the individual house, details of the existing and proposed infrastructure, neighbourhood planning initiatives mentioned by the locals should also find a mention here.
- Ideally a greenfield site - that frees up an existing incumbent government land, land parcels of the government which could be put to better and more efficient use - would be beneficial. Participants are to probe realistic and practical ways of finding a setting for their ideas.
- The local bye-laws should be identified and adhered to as far as possible.
DESIGN CRITERIA
- The function of the facility must be based on the study done by the participants. It should ideally address the needs or aspirations of the particular village selected.
- The area of the facility should be approximately 300-500 sq.mt. Any variations from these areas should be justified by the participant. (The basic area guidelines are given in Annexure C.)
- Climatic and seismic guidelines must be identified and the design must respond to the same.
- Local materials and technologies, indigenous skills can be incorporated in the construction technology proposed for the construction, while complying with the PMAY-G area-specific guidelines where available.
- The design must be able to generate a unique design identity which is aligned to the aspirations of the new Indian village.
- Response to the street/square it stands in must be articulated including public ingress/egress according to statutory safety guidelines.
- Designs that build in sustainability, alternative energy sources and are GRIHA rating compliant will be rated higher.
- The presentation must have a complete conceptual set of architectural, services and structural drawings along with views and sketches with estimated costing to explain the scheme and its features.
C. INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTION
PROBLEM SELECTION
- The issues facing the selected village must be listed and a strong case made for the issue selected over others.
- The current situation must be documented through photographs, sketches and data over a minimum of 3-5 years where required.
- Solutions attempted locally, if any, must be referred and acknowledged.
SOLUTION
- Present the solution with reference to governmental schemes where relevant.
- Materiality, resources to be employed should be detailed out.
- Estimated costing - phase-wise if required - to be given.
- Multiple approaches to the issue maybe given as part of the presentation.
- The solution must be comprehensive and constructible.
- The impact on the village and villagers' lives must be explained completely.
If the solution encompasses more than a single infrastructure segment, then the details of both must be given equally. If there are multiple parts of the same solution, or are inter-related then the processes and costing for all must be given.
(Refer Annexure D for Design of Infrastructure)
