SHEIKH SARAI

HOUSING
COMPLEX
RAJ
REWAL
NEW
DELHI,
1970

By:
Harshita Singh
B.Arch. 7th A
Amity School of
Architecture &
Planning
A8304012026

Sheikh Sarai Complex is the first

experiment performed by Raj Rewal
on the issue of social housing applied
to a site of such a large scale. It fits in
a context marked by the absence of
symbolic elements characterizing the
site, since the peripheral to the centre
of New Delhi. Rewal works in the
expansion south of the city, building a
complex that consists of 550
apartments and will find its fulfilment
only in 1982.
Sponsored by the DDA (Delhi
Development Authority) the Sheikh
Sarai is structured according to
current regulations that aim to selfhousing residential as well as to
compliance with technical standards
set.

DESIGN INPIRATION : From the design point of view, the

organization of the building blocks of the composition, find
connections with the historical realities of the cities of Rajasthan,
Jaisalmer and Udaipur, that characterized the urban fabric of India
and which are distinguished by the density of the town and for the
close relationship between open and closed spaces.

VARIOUS ASPECTS OF DESIGN:

URBAN FABRIC : Cool shadows and air currents are built into the
grain of the city of Jaisalmer and are excellent demonstration of the
achievement of low rise, high density development.
The sense of enclosure and continuity of movement is maintained
throughout the cities.
In Sheikh sarai housing project , the peripheral roads are
connected to parking squares.
The central spine of the layout is reserved for narrow ,shaded,
pedestrian pathways .
The layout plans follow traditional methods of creating shade and
cross ventilation.
STREETS : The narrow shaded streets of Jaisalmer generate
movement patterns full of fun, pleasure and surprise.
The plans Sheikh sarai is based on similar narrow shaded streets
linking a variety of clusters.
The streets are broken up into small units, so there are pauses ,
points of rest and changing vistas.

CLUSTERS : Raj Rewal designed his housing schemes at Sheikh

Sarai as a series of district clusters which are inter related.
The buildings are unified by means of similar faade treatment,
using sandstone grit render, the piercing of parapets, proportions
of doors, deep set windows, and stone flanking walls for the
courtyard.
ROOF TERRACES : Private roof terraces and courtyards are an
integral design component of the housing for the Sheikh Sarai
complex.

Inner courtyard

Streets in Sheikh Sarai Complex

DESIGN DETAILS :
An important aspect of this solution is the pattern of interrelated squares
of an intimate scale that has been created.
While there is a clear demarcation between pedestrian and vehicular
spaces within these, the movement of people within the enclosures has
been closely aligned with the access points for vehicles on the periphery.
The scale of the various squares has been adjusted to encourage and to
serve different community activities.
All the units have been provided with a courtyard or roof top terrace,
the wall or parapets of which have narrow slits (jalis) ensuring both
privacy and good ventilation.
Although the structure is of reinforced concrete posts and beams, the
walls are of brick infill covered with roughcast plaster.
This is customary for economical mass housing in the region, and allows
for some modification by the users.
URBAN SCAPE-At site level, The architect developed the project by
employing urban strategies of articulated flows, segregated spaces and
applied the same on the site level, Resulting in a structured urban
settlement .

TARGET AUDIENCE-Affordable Housing built for medium and low

income Groups (M.I.G=annual income ~ 4000$-16000 $)
COMMUNITY SPACES Fostering shared spaces for the
community by creating intimate courtyards connected to each
other, representing the traditional elements of Indian Architecture.
The scale of these courtyards hasbeen Manipulated
towardsincreased social activities and interaction amongst the
resident community, serving as social facilitators.
AFFORDABILITY-A new financial scheme was developed forthis
particular case whichhelped subsidize the housing units for the
users. In the Self-Financing-scheme, the alottees had to pay in 5
instalments overthe period of the construction phase. This allowed
the housing authority to create mix of units and make the project
more economically viable. -The use of locally available material
was intrinsic to the nature of project and to further bring down the
cost of the project. The structure comprised of concrete posts and
beams with infill brick walls covered with rough cast plaster. This
gave the user the flexibility to modify as well.

LOCATION: peripheral (south of town), Latitude 28 32'15 '', Longitude 77

13'20 ''
ZONE CLIMATE : semi-arid climate with high variation between summer and
winter, characterized by the seasons of the monsoon in the summer months and
with an average annual temperature of 25
SUBJECT: complex of 550 residential apartments, on a plot surrounded by
driveways connecting and bordering the residential district Chirag Delhi and
facilities of public Nighborurhard Park and Sheikh Sarai Commercial Centre.
ORIENTATION: prevailing direction accesses northeast Southwest orientation
buildings Northwest Southeast (perpendicular to the prevailing direction)
DENSITY : 100 dwellings / hectares distributed based on the following data:

Area of intervention has 38195 m ~ 3.82 ha

Built-up area 12740 m ~ 1.2 ha
Surface parking lots 6622 m has ~ 0.66 ha
Green areas 3931 m ~ 0.39 ha

COMPOSITION ACCOMMODATIONS : There are 6 different types of

unit, regrouped mirroring blocks along 2assi prevalent, ranging in area
70-120sqm, were organized into two distinct clusters, three and four
storeys in height.
The main type (B2) comprises 4 floors and consists of the following
environments:
- Living area, overlooking 2 fronts
- Service areas and kitchen
- Sleeping area
- Terraces.
Each floor has one apartment, except for the top two floors of the
relevance of a just accommodation.
The accesses to spaces occur within the spaces cortilizi through a
lifts.
TECHNOLOGY: load-bearing structure of beams and columns of
reinforced concrete with brick collision.
MATERIALS USED: - surface coating in plaster with powdered slate,
finishing in the rough, white colour.