RELIANCE – SARASWATI TOWNSHIP AT DAHEJ

Large expansions to the petro chemical plants at RIL Dahej have given rise to a requirement of new homes to be promoted in the existing Saraswati township, located just a short drive away.

The existing township, inherited from earlier owners, in its current avatar is a patchy agglomeration of disconnected past efforts and thus needs to be expanded, augmented and coalesced into an albeit heterogeneous but singular community.

Various interstitial spaces have been identified to locate the various sizes of homes and hostel, as well as community facilities viz. junior school, medical centre, dining hall for trainees, the township shrine, sports courts, etc.

This process of the journey between built and unbuilt spaces has lead to the explorations of the typology and patterns of the courtyard as the generator of form and principle of organization, encompassing all scales of the spatial spectrum: the master plan, the plans of the various clusters, the architecture of the various types of buildings, the entry to the homes, their interiors and terraces. A hierarchy of spaces has emerged, encouraging a discussion on aspects of the nature of these communities, their inter relationships, and their continual relevance and sustainability in the twenty first century.