Increasing Life Span of Government Housings of Chandigarh – A Need-Based Approach to Retrofit Through Prototype Study of E-Type Housing

Abstract

This paper describes a project undertaken by the authors during their post-graduate studies at the University of Shefield. The intent of the project was to identify building(s) that need up-gradation/retroit, establish why retroit is required, what kind of retroit is needed and which techniques to employ, using a case-sensitive approach. However, the scope of this paper is limited to the irst two objectives of the project and the recognition of retroit techniques is left open-ended  so as to leave room for future debates and deliberations.
The city of Chandigarh has always been highlight prominently on India’s architectural heritage map. Various buildings designed by Le Corbusier and his team (comprising Pierre Jeanerette, Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry) are like jewels (to be treasured) on this map. Still, ever since these buildings, especially the government housings, came into existence, no systematic procedures have been undertaken to analyse and assess their deterioration with time and usage. Passing down the streets of Chandigarh, one would observe how drastically the housings have been modiied, and in some cases, have lost their original appeal.
The paper is essentially drafted in three parts. The irst part illustrates the conditions and political background in which these buildings were designed, so as to better understand the essence of this architecture. The second part tries to comprehend the current state of one of the many types of the Government Housings present in Chandigarh – the ‘House Type E1’ in Panjab University. Lastly, the authors use various scales, like present seismic byelaws and Computer Aided simulation tools, to evaluate how the given housing now fares in terms of structural stability and thermal & visual comfort.