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"Rehabilitation in Site" is part of the "Charging Chandigarh! Studio" which is a collaboration between the Chair of Dwellings and the Chair of Methods & Analysis at TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture.

This project is based on field research on both housing figures of "unauthorized colonies" (slums) and related social housing. Studying these figures provided an overview of the rehabilitation policy held by Chandigarh Administration towards the slums in question. In fact, the ‘Slum-Free City’ goal described in Chandigarh Masterplan 2013 report has to be understood along with the ambition of preserving Chandigarh’s initial identity as ‘The City Beautiful’. However, the methods of achieving these goals appear to be questionable on many respects - through the example of Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony outside the Corbusier sectorial grid.

Our intention of intervening 'In Site' was based upon an analysis of current density conditions. The implementation of new housing units is proposed in the existing pattern as the basis of a design strategy that aims to reconfigure the urban system of the Dhanas Rehabilitation Colony, and to offer open space as a resource for the most defavorised.

As a matter of fact, the Indian cultural context and the constraint of designing for the poorest urged us to think beyond the dwelling unit itself as the space of living. Open space in our vision stands as an extension of the house. Moreover, the basic house was designed in order to fit Indian poor family requirements, but offers an adaptative layout that predicts the transformation of the family pattern or changes in their social status. With a minimum of intervention, the design attempts to bring forward and anticipate a wide range of possible modifications.

In what way does your proposal contribute to the open society?
The project offers a critical view on the current housing conditions of the relocated slum dwellers. It challenges the opennes of the 'Slum-Free City' policy held by Chandigarh Administration and develops an alternative and rather inclusive response to the issue of relocating the urban poor. Taking Dhanas urban system as an ‘as found’ element, the design strategy aims at improving the living conditions and social integration in a typical relocation project within the context of urban India.