The Sabarmati riverfront represents a condition in which large-scale urban development has reshaped the relationship between the city and the river. While the project has improved environmental conditions and flood control, it has also produced a spatially uniform and highly regulated environment. This raises questions about how infrastructural landscapes can support a wider range of social and spatial activities.

Through a design-based approach, this graduation project investigates how housing, work, public space and everyday life can be reintroduced and recognised within the riverfront. By working with the existing urban framework, the aim is to develop an inclusive mixed-use environment that accommodates different forms of inhabitation and reactivates the river as a lived urban space. ... Read more

Across cities in the Global South, the home is increasingly a workplace as well. Yet dominant housing typologies are conceived as purely residential, failing to accommodate the income-generating activities that unfold within domestic space. This is especially consequential for home-based women workers, who combine paid production with a disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic and care labour, and whose everyday spatial needs remain largely absent from architectural and planning discourse. This thesis examines how housing can be reconceived to support these overlapping practices in Ahmedabad, India, a city where the collapse of the textile-mill economy pushed many low-income households into informal, subcontracted, home-based work.
The research asks the following question: How can housing address the spatial, environmental, and socio-economic needs of home-based women workers in Ahmedabad within rapidly densifying urban contexts? It is structured through three analytical lenses, spatial, environmental, and socio-economic, applied consistently across four scales: urban, neighbourhood, cluster, and dwelling. Theoretically, it draws on feminist critiques of gendered domestic space and on theories of urban informality and incremental housing, positioning the home simultaneously as gendered, as a site of livelihood, and as an evolving process rather than a finished product.
The design proposes a low-rise, high-density, mixed-income scheme on a plot facing the Sabarmati riverfront, in which mid- and high-income housing cross-subsidises affordable units. At the cluster scale, a mirroring strategy generates shared courtyards and threshold spaces, secures cross-ventilation through dual-aspect units, and removes selected units to form collective terraces for skills training and exchange. At the dwelling scale, flexible live-work zones, dedicated storage, folding shopfront thresholds, and an incremental structural framework allow homes to adapt and grow with their users. Passive climate strategies, locally sourced materials, and a phased, cross-subsidised delivery model address comfort and feasibility.
By grounding architectural decisions in women's everyday work, the project contributes to debates on spatial flexibility, adaptable and incremental housing, gendered spatial justice, and economic agency in the rapidly urbanising Global South. Though focused on Ahmedabad, its strategies offer transferable insights for more inclusive, work-integrated housing.
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India is experiencing rapid population ageing while family-based care remains the primary form of elderly support. At the same time, changing family structures, increasing urban density, and housing models focused on nuclear households place growing pressure on both elderly residents and their caregivers. This research investigates how multi-scalar housing design can support ageing-in-place within multigenerational households in Ahmedabad, India.
The study combines literature review, case study analysis, and architectural ethnography conducted in Ambika, Ahmedabad. Findings were organised into a design matrix structured around five spatial scales: detail, home, cluster, block, and public space also including four key themes: care, autonomy, privacy, and social life. Together, these themes identify the spatial conditions necessary to support family-based elderly care while maintaining dignity, independence, and social participation.
The research is translated into a redevelopment proposal for Ambika titled Homes for Growing Older Together. The project demonstrates how housing can support both elderly residents and their families through adaptable dwellings, shared community spaces, climate-responsive design, and accessible neighbourhood networks. Rather than treating ageing as an isolated condition, the proposal approaches it as part of the continuous life cycle of the family.
The research concludes that ageing-in-place is not only about remaining in one’s home, but about remaining connected to family, community, and everyday life through integrated multi-scalar housing design. ... Read more

Traditional housing settlements in India were characterised by spatial elements such as chowks, aangans, otlas, and terraces that supported everyday social interaction and community life. Rapid urbanisation, increasing densities, and the shift towards high-rise housing have reduced the presence and effectiveness of these shared spaces, contributing to social isolation and a diminished public realm.

This thesis investigates how traditional spatial principles can be reinterpreted within contemporary medium-rise, high-density housing in Ahmedabad. Focusing on residual and transitional spaces, particularly terraces (Agaashiyes), courtyards (Aangans) and Otlahs the research examines their potential to support collective life without compromising density or affordability.

The study finds that successful community spaces are accessible, integrated into daily movement patterns, visually connected, and adaptable to multiple uses. It further demonstrates that interconnected terraces and transitional spaces can function as extensions of the ground plane, creating a layered public realm.

These insights inform a housing proposal that reactivates communal spaces, establishes a hierarchy of public and private domains, and accommodates incremental change over time.
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Throughout the course of the graduation the student developed a mixed-use building complex for the Hawkers Market site in the city center of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Working within the scope of the Global Housing studio, the focus was set on creating a building composed primarily of dwellings that works in the challenging climate and socio-economic context of the location. Within this scope special emphasis was laid on researching and designing the implementation of the architectural concept of “incremental housing” within a high-rise structure.

The results of the research into similar projects and relevant case studies informed the design. This design integrates a conventional “ready-built” portion, catering to middle- to high-income residents, with a more unconventional open-volume section designed for lower-income residents. The latter consists of completely empty duplex units stacked vertically, forming a series of unoccupied building plots in the sky. The innovation lies in how the two parts of the building are interconnected, benefiting one another while maintaining completely segregated circulation paths for different user groups.
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This master’s thesis explores how adaptive architectural strategies can help address recurring overspill flooding in the pre-urban areas of Sylhet, Bangladesh. These regions face growing challenges due to the combined effects of climate change and rapid, unplanned urban expansion. Based on in-depth fieldwork in Shonatola Village, the project identifies key vulnerabilities—including seasonal flooding, weak infrastructure, and rising land pressures—and proposes design solutions that support long-term resilience, affordability, and community self-reliance.

At the village level, the project introduces a phased development strategy that enables gradual transformation without displacing existing residents. A cross-subsidisation model ensures financial sustainability: higher-income households contribute more, helping to fund affordable housing for lower-income groups. Land security is managed through a Community Land Trust (CLT), which protects collective ownership and keeps housing affordable over time.

On the cluster scale, housing is arranged into three types tailored to different user groups: seasonal workers, low-income families, and mid-income households. These clusters are organised around shared courtyards and integrate existing ponds and drainage systems to manage water during floods. This layout promotes both social interaction and environmental resilience.

At the level of individual units, three modular housing types are designed using local materials and simple, low-tech construction methods. Features such as raised floors, flexible layouts, and bamboo wall panels help residents adapt their homes over time and stay safe during floods. Decentralised water systems—including rainwater harvesting, greywater treatment, and biogas production—further reduce reliance on external infrastructure and strengthen community.

The research combines literature review, case study analysis, fieldwork, and iterative design to develop a grounded and practical architectural response. By working across different scales and embedding local knowledge and participation into the process, Rising Grounds offers a replicable approach for flood-prone regions. The project demonstrates how architecture can move beyond short-term fixes to support lasting resilience and social equity in vulnerable communities. ... Read more

This master thesis explores the housing challenges of the Lakkatura Tea Garden community in Sylhet, Bangladesh, one of the country’s most marginalized and segregated populations. The project responds to critical issues such as overcrowding, poor housing conditions, lack of privacy, and limited access to essential services. It recognizes the historical and socio-political dynamics of segregation in Bangladesh.

The proposed design improves living conditions by addressing these inequalities while preserving traditional spatial and social structures. It introduces a flexible and inclusive masterplan comprising various dwelling types, communal spaces and tourist accommodations. The design emphasizes adaptability to accommodate family growth and varied needs, while promoting social cohesion and a strong sense of belonging through carefully structured communal, shared, and private spaces. ... Read more

In Bangladesh, rapid urbanization, rural-to-urban migration, and climate change converge to intensify the vulnerability of slum residents, particularly in regions like Sylhet. Slums are characterized by overcrowding, substandard housing, and limited access to essential services, leaving residents highly exposed to disease, poverty, and natural disasters. Climate change compounds these challenges through rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and increasingly frequent floods and cyclones that destroy precarious housing and disrupt livelihoods. Despite the urgency, many government-led relocation and upgrading initiatives have been ineffective, often failing to account for local needs and causing further social and economic disruption.

This research explores the urgent need for affordable, climate-resilient housing solutions tailored to Sylhet’s slum residents, with a focus on in-situ development that avoids forced relocation. It examines how housing can be designed to be both culturally appropriate and adaptable to the residents’ livelihoods, using locally available materials and construction techniques that enhance flood resilience. The study seeks to define affordability in this context, identify design features that improve climate resilience, and propose implementation strategies that maintain community stability during construction. By centering the specific needs and aspirations of slum residents, this research aims to inform practical, sustainable, and inclusive housing models that strengthen community resilience to climate change while addressing urban poverty in Bangladesh. ... Read more

Housing for climate-displaced communities has long been limited to temporary solutions, often overlooking the long-term needs and realities of those affected. This thesis challenges that norm by proposing a new standard for permanent housing in the face of recurring displacement. Set in the flood-prone village of Shonatola, Bangladesh, the project engages directly with the lived experiences of vulnerable communities to offer a flexible, incremental housing model.
Designed to evolve with its residents, the proposal uses a hybrid structure that is centered around adaptability. Each home integrates pucca (permanent) and kutcha (temporary) components, allowing families to expand and modify their living spaces over time, based on need and resources.
More than just shelter, this project reimagines housing as a framework for long-term resilience—deeply rooted in local knowledge, environmentally responsive, and socially inclusive. It offers a path forward for rebuilding not just homes, but a community in the face of climate uncertainty. ... Read more

Addis Ababa is experiencing a high rate of urbanization coupled with a decades-old housing crisis. This study problematizes the current housing problem not only in the frame of housing shortage but also as a ‘housing mismatch’, with the underlying dwelling typologies rooted in modernist design ideals not responding to context. These dwelling solutions, as seen in the recent condominium projects, do not fulfil the social and spatial requirements of dwellers. This problem calls for a thorough inquiry into tracing the roots of the ‘housing mismatch’. Since dweller-initiated housing transformations are a common phenomenon in most housing conditions in Addis Ababa, the study proceeded to analyze these transformations to understand the housing mismatch in its qualitative and spatial aspects. One of the reasons for dweller-initiated transformations is to finetune living habitats to cultural parameters. In line with this, transformations were observed during the test run of the fieldwork conducted on three households in 2020. Furthermore, the fieldwork revealed that dwellers used local conceptions of space such as the gibi, the gwaro and the gwada to explain the socio-spatial phenomena of transformations....

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Over the past century, the “slum” has emerged as Mumbai’s dominant housing type and the foremost object of its policy interventions. With nearly six of every ten inhabitants residing in government-recognised slums, Mumbai is currently home to one of the highest slum populations of any city in the world. However, its built form also reveals it as a test bed for an impressive range of public interventions in the field of affordable housing. Starting in the late nineteenth century, these interventions have ranged from top-down strategies involving slum clearance, resettlement, and redevelopment to more experimental, bottom-up schemes that have encouraged in-situ upgradation, self-help, and the active participation of communities.

Through the deployment of multidisciplinary and overlapping lenses of “Policies,” “Physical Form,” and “Patterns of Inhabitation,” this dissertation traces the formation of these paradigmatic policy shifts from a global perspective while centring its attention on the physical form of these policies and their transformation over time in Mumbai. By positing the city’s policy and physical landscape as a fertile site for understanding the emerging urbanism of the twenty-first century, and by extracting evidence collected through historical surveys and fieldwork, the dissertation aims to create new metrics to assess the physical performance of past policies and programmes and to point directions for the future—a future in which policymakers, architects, and planners operating globally can learn from, and build with, people and communities. ... Read more

This thesis addresses the challenges of poverty and environmental sustainability in Tanguar Haor, Bangladesh, by developing an innovative amphibious rural design. The project integrates critical elements of vernacularity, modularity, resilience, and self-reliance to enhance the livability of this flood-prone region.

Tanguar Haor, characterized by its unique wetland ecosystem, faces significant issues related to seasonal flooding, which aggravates poverty and interferes with sustainable development. The proposed design uses local building traditions to ensure cultural relevance and acceptance. It employs modular construction techniques to facilitate easy assembly, maintenance, and scalability, making it adaptable to the dynamic environmental conditions of the haor.

A key design principle is resilience, which aims to withstand and quickly recover from flooding events. Amphibious structures ensure that buildings can float during high water levels and return to their original positions as waters recede, minimizing damage and displacement. The design also places a strong emphasis on community self-reliance, incorporating features such as rainwater harvesting and local material usage. These elements not only enhance community autonomy but also reduce dependency on external resources.

Through a holistic approach that integrates traditional knowledge with innovative design principles, this thesis illustrates how an amphibious rural design can offer a sustainable and practical solution to improve the living conditions in Tanguar Haor, addressing both poverty and environmental challenges. The findings highlight the importance of this interdisciplinary approach, which has the potential to create resilient and self-sufficient communities in vulnerable regions, ensuring long-term success. ... Read more

Urbanization has had a significant impact on Bangladesh and will continue to do so in the coming decades, leading to a shortage of housing in urban area and consequent emergence and expansion of the ‘urban poor’. Among all the ‘urban poor’, children are more vulnerable. At an age when family support, education and other resources are needed, they often lack the most basic living conditions and sometimes even struggle to survive. Therefore, this project aims to explore the potential of housing design on alleviating the issue of urban poor children in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

The research focuses on the principles and features of an ideal child-centric community and children-friendly spaces, and the affordable housing practices in south Asia. In response to the research, the target area for the design project is in Sylhet city, on the south bank of the Surma River, next to the city icon Keane bridge. By adopting a mix-income model in residential building (lower floors for low-income group, upper floors for middle-income group), the design provides housing units and common spaces catering to different income groups as well as incorporating shared areas for activities, to balance the respect for lifestyles and social mix. Additionally, the project introduces diverse indoor and outdoor activity spaces for children at different scales, satisfying the needs of children of different ages, genders and economic backgrounds. Moreover, to adapt to the climate, the project adopts three main environmental strategies, namely green infrastructure, water conservation and climate resilience (particularly in terms of ventilation and solar protection).

Ultimately, the project aims to establish a model of an equitable, vibrant, environmentally adaptive and child-centric community that can be applied to other areas with similar issues of urban poor children. ... Read more

This research is motivated by the scholarly calls for new concepts and analytic tools for documenting, analysing, and theorizing complex urban territories such as those of cities in Africa. With implicit comparative intent, it takes the case of Addis Ababa city and its old and typifying places—the sefer, to develop and test a new architectural transdisciplinary research methodology referred to as the trinocular. By way of this methodology, it unearths and introduces sefer, iddir, and gebbi of Addis Ababa as not only socio-spatial phenomena but concepts and vocabulary for a located and nuanced reading of the city itself. Sefer are introduced as flexible boundary conditions that are primarily cognized by their dwellers—results of indigenous and autochthonous foundation and continued processes of self-actualization by communities that construct them. Iddir is unearthed as a form of social capital embedded in sefer that appears in the structures of relations among residents. And the gebbi as an urban spatial typology that constitutes the sefer’s morphology—the last frontier of communality just prior domestic spaces which, in many cases, can be a single multi-functional room.
These concepts and vocabulary, it is argued, in both practical and metaphoric sense, should be the starting point of new urban imaginaries for Addis Ababa. Urban planning and housing projections thus, should draw inspiration from these notions, elements, and phenomena. Furthermore, lessons learnt from the trinocular and the findings are presented as new avenues for architectural research in similar, less-known, and complex urban conditions as the sefer of Addis Ababa.
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The project uses a tangible and visual method for eliciting the shareholder’s spatial needs using a game-based approach. The design game resembles a board game in conjunction with Lego and functions on a more abstract level in relation to the built environment. The game is intended for use in a collaborative design that allows end users to collectively configure their space based on their spatial requirements and priorities which otherwise may not be met by standard conventional design in the top-down approach. The development of the design game abstracts the working spatial and social qualities of slum settlements within Ababa’s inner city (specifically kebele compound houses) and embeds them into a system of configurational elements and rules for configuring a low-rise courtyard-based incremental housing. This system of design flows a modular co-ordination system based upon a tartan grid. The end users use the game elements (boards, modules, activity cards & tokens) to configure their space based on the defined game rules. In the game play process, the stakeholders (players) will identify and weigh different domestic and commercial spaces, functions and sizes based upon their priority to form their configuration of hierarchic spatial framework and shared spaces. The method of developing the game can be replicated to create design games for different contexts. The game serves as a simulation of a design problem that facilitates trade-offs, design ideation, projection of stakeholder needs, preferences, and co-creation. At the basic level, the game can be used to collect information about end-user preferences regarding spatial configuration, the use of tokens creates a trade-off where players have to prioritize their immediate spatial needs. At a higher level, the game can be used in a bottom-up planning strategy for ideating new housing solutions and upgrading existing ones. ... Read more