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 self-housing residential as well as to
compliance with technical standards set.
3.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.
4.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.

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
6.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

 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 has been Manipulated towards
increased social activities and interaction amongst the
resident community, serving as social facilitators.
AFFORDABILITY -A new financial scheme was developed
for this particular case which helped subsidize the
housing units for the users . In the Self- Financingscheme, the alottees had to pay in 5 instalments over
the 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
9.COMPOSITION ACCOMMODATIONS : There are 6 different types of unit,
regrouped mirroring blocks along 2assi prevalent, ranging in area 70120sqm, 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,