Eco-Homes: Enhancing the Urban Poor of Sattola, Dhaka

Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Dhaka

Project idea

Informal settlements cling to Dhaka's unjustly excluded urban fabric, sprawling incessantly across the city-without an intention. Eco-Homes, in a bid to stitch sustainability, dignity, and hope with circular architecture, goes all the way to reclaim the fabric.
With the swift pace of urbanization turning the spotlight on Dhaka, growing informal settlements offer a challenge providing shelter to higher numbers of urban poor. These settlements result from a large influx of rural migrants looking for better opportunities in town; only to find themselves in pitiable conditions in an urban settlement-with all its grim consequences for an urban migration wherein these people find themselves pounded by conditions of overcrowded, dangerous, and unhygienic spaces.
While rents have remained comparatively low in established residential areas like Dhanmondi, slum dwellers find themselves paying exorbitant rent per square foot- up to 60% of their income - for homes that barely provide basic amenities like ventilation and sanitation facilities and disposed wastes. While the urban poor contribute significantly to the local economy, they remain ensnared in an unending cycle of poverty, with government housing projects being rather sketchy, i.e., Bauniabad and in Bhashantek Low-Income shelter projects in Dhaka, Bangladesh ran counter to the very needs posed by unaffordable housing solutions with zero sustainable considerations, gentrification, and lack of adequate site study. So the question arises-

• A healthy and affordable housing alternative for the urban poor: how can this be an option that is sustainability focused and can be used in all countries?
• Which of the redevelopment methods will enable preventing eviction during the protracted construction of housing provided by the government, so that the development of new informal settlements does not take place in the urban area?

The Eco-Homes seeks alternatives to these issues and provide a sustainable community-focused approach to co-housing for the special needs of the urban poor in Dhaka. The project in Sattola, an industrial area of Mohakhali, Dhaka, tries to propose a way more humane, modular, and scalable solution to housing informal settlements while preserving the cultural identity of the people who live there with some repurposed components.

Project description

DESIGN NARRATIVE 1: THE INCREMENTAL ECO-HOMES

This project sets to develop a modular, prefabricated housing system to be incrementally expanded over time. This scalable system is meant to grow with the residents, enhancing the means of improving their living condition as they earn more. The building cost is cut to about 22% less than conventional construction by using recycled materials and construction wastes. Eco-Homes, in turn, also gives a way for economic self-sufficiency and social inclusion. Residents would be allowed by the design to choose cheaper infill materials for their homes for the time being and upgrade over time when they can afford better, thus giving them an option of enhancing their living conditions gradually instead of drowning in unbearable costs.

DESIGN NARRATIVE 2: THE ANTI-EVICTION GRID

One of the critical challenges in slum redevelopment is the tendency of displaced residents to form new informal settlements during the prolonged construction of government housing projects. Sudden eviction drives often leave dwellers abruptly homeless, thus aggravating the housing situation. To address this issue, a phased redevelopment strategy has been proposed through the establishment of the 'ANTI-Eviction Grid' system. Each grid is planned for accommodation of roughly about 1,000 residents. Construction will proceed one or two grids at a time, making for greater ease in management and lesser chances of displacement from other areas. Rather than staying within the actual site itself, evictees are to be temporarily taken to nearby open grounds, such as playgrounds or open areas, in shelters rented by the government. Prefabrication allows the whole cluster for any grid to be completed within 7 to 8 months. Systematic and humane redevelopment is facilitated by breaking up the whole 8-acre site into many grids.

DESIGN NARRATIVE 3: ROOTED IN TRADITION

One of the most important features of the Eco-Homes project is that community participation is emphasized in both the design and construction of the building. That is to say, the eventual inhabitants will actively participate in construction, thus reducing labor costs and investing pride in their homes. This reflects a holistically designed architecture, striking a balance between traditional and modern architectural solutions. Conversely, communal kitchens, vegetable farming on the rooftops, and courtyards to encourage social interaction help to sustain the cultural values. Four groups of housing blocks are arranged around a central courtyard as a common area for social activities or farming and other community practices. The rooftop farming helps to cut the income-dependent cost of food for the residents; along with this, there is rainwater harvesting and poultry farming that assist with community self-sufficiency. The facility of community farming is also present. An inexpensive grey water treatment system has been integrated into the housing design and masterplan. There are universally accessible toilets for people with disabilities located in every ground-floor cluster.
Thus, entrepreneurs are created in the project wherein a culture of entrepreneurship is nurtured as the residents participate in construction and maintenance activities of their homes, thus enabling small-scale business and employment generation. Further economic intercourse can be engaged in by the mid-to-high-income strata through the small shop modules that have been constructed in the housing master planning, promoting social cohesiveness and a sustainable economy.

Technical information

This project uses recycled doors and windows from a local resale market and thus reduces prices by 50%, reducing the cost of construction and supporting the local economy. Given its straightforward construction technology and co-housing concept, the project can be implemented globally.
Under construction, however, 60% of C&D waste, mostly concrete, is never treated and endlessly pollutes landfills in Matuail and Aminbajar. The infill options are Zincalume, Brick, Ferro cement prefabricated panels, Concrete Hollow blocks, and Ferro cement U channel for floor slab. The project is flexible as a result of which, if a dweller is unable to afford the infills or floor slab, one may also use repurposed wooden planks for the floor and CI sheet/Cane Mats/Repurposed wood for the Walls. It was mandatory to have a concrete structure since these settlements are often prone to fire incidents due to being densely set up. In the event of a fire, the temporary infills might get burned, but the structure will withstand the calamity. The Re-bars used in the beam and columns have also been recycled from the Construction and Demolition waste.
The beam and column will be mass-produced and brought to the site to be directly erected using Gauss plate joinery system. This system is adopted since it is comparatively cost-effective and easier to install. The aim is to encourage all dwellers to participate in building their houses, thus reducing labor costs and also creating a sense of ownership such that gentrification issues do not occur.
The temporary shelters will be provided for rent by the government. Since there are 57 sites in the Dhaka Action Plan (DAP) to be used to construct low-income housing, these temporary shelters can be repeatedly used in each site to help house the dwellers and reused every time. An incremental unit can be extended by dwellers themselves since the beams and columns are present from the start. Simply, floor slab materials and wall infill can be used to make an extension unit. If not, the dwellers can opt to use that space as storage or a Balcony. In each dwelling module, since the sizes are concise, a mezzanine layer has been introduced in each module using repurposed wood so that any guest can sleep here or can be used as a storage space.