[Sample] Kharghar EWS Housing Layout, Navi Mumbai

Housing That Works Around People

The Kharghar EWS Housing Layout breaks from the point-block typology that has dominated CIDCO's affordable housing production since the 1970s. The 1,200 units are arranged in perimeter blocks of 4–5 storeys, each group enclosing a shared courtyard that functions as an extension of the dwelling — a place for drying, cooking, children's play, and neighbourly gathering.

Passive design principles were embedded at the layout scale: all units are cross-ventilated with a minimum 2.4 m ceiling height; windows are sized and positioned to allow through-breeze without requiring mechanical cooling for 9 months of the year. The orientation of blocks was optimised to minimise east and west-facing exposures, reducing internal heat loads by an estimated 23%.

“The brief asked for 1,200 units. We asked: 1,200 units, but for what kind of life? The layout grew from that question.”

— Lead Architect, Project Team

All 1,200 units were delivered with pucca walls, concrete roofs, individual sanitation, and piped water — and allotted entirely to BPL-listed households in the Kharghar node. The layout won the GRIHA 3-star rating for affordable housing, the first EWS project in Maharashtra to do so.