Each apartment in this multi-storied housing complex at Navsari is designed to feel like a snugly tucked-in, independent house, both in the manner in which it abuts a street, and the way it is planned around an open, inner court. Separate, but running parallel to the entrance, elevated streets connect the apartments on each floor. From the service area, one walks across this elevated street and up a separate flight of stairs to the private entrance lobby of each house.

Houses here are planned around their individual, verandah court, which visually expands the space and brings the different rooms together. During the extremely hot summer afternoons, when the westerly sun hits the length of the building on its face, the outer windows have to be shut. The house then breathes through this verandah court which filters down the heat and the glare, while allowing ventilation. A protective screen on the western façade casts deep, shifting shadows that prevents the continuous direct heating of the inner walls.

The diagonally placed lift-staircase shaft and the street design build up form on the front and create an interesting variation in the building mass. This is accentuated by the use of different colours.

Client: Tata Steel Ltd. 
Area: 4200 sq.mt., 25 flats. Cost: Rs. 150 lac. 
Contractor: Karna Construction, Navsari. 
Consultant: Sthapati Consultants, Navsari. 
Period of construction: 1993-96. 
Supporting architect: Tasadduq Husain (associate).