by Angela Bai, Dev Desai and Sebastian Hitchcock

Looking initially at the most cherished part of the home, the living room, the first group was inspired by the spatial efficiencies and urban intensity of Mumbai, and, specifically, the incremental building practices of the neighbouring families who often build their homes piece by piece. In particular, their invention aimed to provide long-term housing for the migrant worker trying to find employment in the city.

Originally shipped to India from England and made up of pre-fabricated steel parts, the first group’s transformation proposed to strip the building down to its bare frame. Their transformation included a renovation of the exterior courtyard and an on-site digital fabrication workshop where residents could build their own housing units through Computerized Numerical Control (CNC)-fabricated components that could fit into the building’s cast iron framework.

Exploring the architectural, social, economic, political and ecological story of the building, their intervention presented an innovative process of reuse and transformation that aimed to build a new identity while celebrating the way of life of the surrounding area’s residents.

Contents Report - Norman Foster Foundation - Re-materializing Housing Workshop