Roof panels that keep indoor temperatures five to seven degrees lower than outside, retrofits that can be easily assembled and disassembled, and designs that allow more natural light inside the structures: these were some of the solutions that a group of CEPT University students came up with. A number of houses composed of Bhanjaravas near Narol Lake in southern Ahmedabad.
The area is a densely populated, poorly ventilated slum with low-slung mud-mortared brick houses with tin sheets. The majority of the population here consists of factory workers from Nepal along with states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra as well as various parts of Gujarat. Being on the banks of a lake, the houses are vulnerable to flooding and humidity, prompting CEPT University students to come up with a solution.
“The solutions, especially those implemented at the existing anganwadi center, have received positive feedback from residents who are vulnerable to extreme heat, floods and increased incidence of diseases,” said CEPT University Faculty of Architecture Professor Catherine Desai.
Apart from flooding and humidity, high indoor temperature was a major issue that was seen in the context of the Anganwadi center with about 30 children. “Students documented the Anganwadi Centre. They used sensors to measure heat and humidity to understand existing environmental conditions. At the end of the semester, they presented a proposal to the Vanjarava community as part of the movement towards affordable, scalable and collaborative resilience. There is interest in developing and prototyping selected projects. In the next phase of the project, we will look at ways to make these cost-effective,” Desai told The Indian Express.
Concepts like ‘Urban Lantern’ – a retrofit intervention for an Anganwadi center by Leonie Singer, an exchange student from Germany; Retrofication by Visargakumar Rathwa; Design based on principles of kinetic roof by Vaibhav Kumar Jadhav; And Zia Bhavsar’s design that addresses challenges related to temporary land tenure with a focus on sustainability and resilience were some of the project’s hallmarks.
“The design focuses on creating a light, airy and more comfortable environment for children, students and the local community through cross-ventilation,” said Jadav, a fifth-year B.Arch student.
Visargkumar Rathwa, a fourth-year B.Arch student, said the proposed design and materials included a series of smoke tests to test the temperature of ventilation and temperature to see the impact of climate change on these structures.
Other tests included brick heat testing, material selection and testing, and stone panel heat testing. In October, students participated in the Roof Over Heads (ROOH) Challenge – an international competition organized by the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers (SPARC), an alliance working on urban housing and infrastructure issues in partnership with the two communities. Organizations based: National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan. They won both the first and third prizes of US$5,000 and US$2,000 respectively. They then developed assembly systems for competitive proposals by analyzing case studies.
Roof assemblies were tested for ventilation and the temperature they could maintain within the structure. Furthermore, simulations are performed under different conditions. In addition, panels of different materials were tested to obtain the optimal delay in heat transfer. “For example, there was a 5-7 degree difference in roof surface temperature when some designs were tested,” Desai said.
“Multiple community engagement sessions, in collaboration with Saath Institute, were conducted at CEPT University and Community Anganwadi Centers and Resource Centres…” said project co-editor Prof Niyati Naik.
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