UNIT 2
INTRODUCTION TO BUILDING AND TOWN PLANNING
2.1 Simple residential building
Definition:
Residential building means a building in which sleeping accommodation is provided for normal residential purposes, with or without cooking or dining facilities, and includes one or more family dwellings, lodging or boarding houses, hostels, dormitories, apartment houses, flats and private garages of such buildings.
2.2 Building Site Plan
Building Site Plan indicating:
The factors to be considered while selecting the building site are as follows: (1) access to parks and playgrounds (2) agricultural potentiality of the land (3) availability of public utility services, especially water. Electricity and sewage disposal (4) contour of land in relation to the building costs (5) cost of land (6) distance from places of work (7) ease of drainage (8) location with respect to schools, colleges and public buildings (9) nature of use of adjacent areas
2.3 Classification of residential building
The residential buildings may broadly be classified in five categories as follows:
(1) Detached houses (2) Semi-detached houses (3) Row of houses (4) Apartments or flats (5) Skyscrapers.
(1) Detached houses: It is the usual tendency of any family to have a house surrounded by its own land. This has led to the formation of detached houses. The design of a detached house can be made by considering the individual requirements of the family to be accommodated in that house. Sufficient margins are left on sides, front and rear. It may also include amenities such as private garden, swimming pool, etc. A detached house permits the highest form of residence and it is applicable at places where land prices are comparatively low.
(2) Semi-detached houses: A common boundary wall in the form of structural barrier divides an independent plot into two units. Such a construction helps in securing many advantages of the detached type of houses and in addition, economy may be achieved by sharing expenses of common amenities such as water lines, drainage lines, electric cables, etc.
(3) Row of houses: For providing reasonable accommo- dation to the labourers or workers, a row of houses with minimum requirements such as living room and kitchen, may be constructed. It may be single-storeyed or two-storeyed. The row-housing yields more net residential density and it is preferred for the low-income group of families.
(4) Apartments or flats: Due to tendency of migration by village population to cities, there is considerable rise in the price of city land and hence, it has become pract cally impossible even for the higher class of the society to have a detached house in a thickly populated city area. This has led to the conception of apartments or flats. An apartment or a flat consists of three to seven storeys and each floor or storey may accommodate two to four tenements.
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2.4 Elevation and Section of a residential building
 2.5 Town Planning
T The term town planning is used to indicate the arrangement of various components or units of a town in such a way that the town as such attains the significance of a living organism. It also includes ways and means to be adopted for the improvement of the existing towns or for the extenslon of towns. Thus, the knowledge of town planning helps in achieving the best possible advantages of the situation of town with respect to its land and the surrounding environments. In a sense, it will be quite proper to say that God made the country and manmade the town. A town planner has to prepare the layout plans or to carry out the researches in such a way that the final results are appreciated by all the sectors of public. The success of a town planner lies in converfing the town from an inert and lifeless object to a complex organic body that pulses with life. A well-planned town carries out its activities In a normal way like a living organism. The urban growth or development is the man's most civilized creation. The town planning is a science as well as an art too. The science consists in collecting, correlating and analysing the facts about a town. The art lies in arranging the components of a town in such a way that the final result is in the form of a beautiful, convenient, economical and efficient unit. Thus, science and art must not and cannot sit apart when a new town is being designed or when an existing town is being remodelled.
Objects of town planning:
The four essential objects or ideals of any town planning scheme are beauty, convenience, environment and health. The object of beauty is achieved by taking the most possible advantages of the natural conditions surrounding the town and also by giving architectural finishes to the various components of the town. The object of convenience is understood in the form of various economic, social and recreational amenities to be given to the public.
These amenities include cheap power and electricity, proper sites for Industrial units, transport facilities, adequate water supply. Easy disposal of sewage and industrial wastes, facilities to commercial units, etc. The object of environment is important in the sense that environment should be moulded in such a way that man can go about his normal activities with the least amount of strain. The complex problems of the modern society such as tiresome travel to work, long hours of work, limited time spent within subcontinent.
New acquaintances and forgetting the old ones for achieving his personal benefits. Hence, It has become more popular at present and efforts are made to overcome its disadvantages. The sodety cannot obtain the greatest possible benefit from cities unless and until the disadvantages of urbanization are totally removed. At this stage, It will be worthwhile to understand the mearing of the term urban area. This term is used to mean a limited area in which a large number of people are permanently residing and they are separated from other centres by a much greater area of thinly populated land.
Principles of town planning:
The subject of town planning demands knowledge of various professions, especially those of engineering. Architecture and surveying. The town should not be designed only to satisfy the needs of the future generation. But the probable growth and development of the town should be suitably conceived by the town planner and it should be seen that the town does not develop In any haphazard fashion.
Some of the guiding principles of town planning are as follows:
(1) Green belt (2) Housing (3) Public buildings (4) Recreation centres (5) Road systems (6) Transport facilities (7) Zoning.
2.6 Necessity of town planning
It is evident that a small house, if well-arranged and planned, looks far better than a disordered big palace. In a similar way, a town which is properly planned affords more comforts and conveniences to the public. The necessity of town planning can very well be appreciated by mentioning the evil situations which a town has to face in the absence of town planning. They are as follows: (1) defective road system resulting in the formation of narrow streets and lanes: (2) development of slums and squatter settlements; (3) haphazard location of industries (4) heavy traffic congestion during the working hours of the day: (5) inadequate open spaces for parks and playgrounds resulting in unhealthy living conditions; (6) lack of essential amenities like electricity, water supply and drainage: (7) noisy atmosphere disturbing the peace of city dwellers; (8) uncontrolled development of the town; (9) unhealthy living conditions; etc.
2.7 Origin of town
If a survey is carried out regarding the origin of some of the important existing towns and cities of the world, It can be easily established that any town or city has originated because of certain specific cause. The contributing forces for the origin of towns and cities can be broadly divided into two categories, namely, topographical and functional.
The topographical features contributing to the origin of towns are as follows: (1) conditions favorable for industrial units, (2) hilly areas to achieve the object of defense, (3) plain areas useful for business activities, (4) river banks, and (5) sea or ocean fronts.
2.8 Growth of town
The towns grow during passage of time in a number of ways and various forces which contribute to the overall development of a town are transport facilities, installation of industries, expansion of factories, provisions for defense or security, proximity of agricultural lands, availability of electric power, political importance, etc. It should, however, be remembered that towns and cities are not solely products of industrialization because they existed many centuries before the Industrial Revolution. However, the pre-industrial towns and cities have limited opportunities for producing goods and rendering services and as such, they have less relative importance. It is quite evident that the degree of urbanization increases sharply as industrialization increases and the aspect of urban growth has occurred practically throughout the world indicating the terrible attraction of urban way of life inspite of certain imperfections in the urban mechanism.
The growth of towns and cities can be studied in the following two ways:
Growth according to origin:
The growth of towns and cities according to the origin can be divided in two categories: (1) Natural growth (2) Planned growth.
Growth according to direction:
With respect to direction, the growth of towns and cities can take place in the following two ways: (1) Horizontal growth (2) Vertical growth.
Each of the above type of growth will now be briefly described.
Horizontal growth: In case of horizontal growth, the town expands and develops horizontally in all directions. It is clear that such a growth will be possible at places where land is available in plenty at nominal cost.
Vertical growth: In case of vertical growth, the buildings of the town are designed and developed as multi-storeyed flats. It is quite evident that such a growth will be possible at places where land is costly.
2.9 Land Use The uses of land in town planning can broadly be classified into the following two categories: (1) Profit-making uses of land (2) Non-profit-making uses of land.
Distribution of land uses: Any town possesses the following five distinct parts: (1) Town centre (2) Industrial area (3) Residential area (4) Open space (5) Town periphery.
1) Town centre: It indicates the central area containing commercial and administrative blocks, theatres, big temples, principal library. Museum, etc.
(2) Industrial area: In this part, the manufacturing industries of different goods are located.
(3) Residential area: This part is mainly used for providing residential accommodation to the inhabitants of the town. But it also contains small shops. Primary schools, gardens, small service industries, etc. region.
(4) Open space: This part of town is allotted to network of roads, parks and playgrounds and in fact, it indicates land which is substantially left in its natural state for the benefit of people. (5) Town periphery: The term town periphery is used to indicate the land which is located on the boundary of town and which is directly influenced by the town. It, however, cannot be considered as part of the town. The town periphery includes market, gardens, nurseries, golf courses, etc.
2.10 Zoning
Zoning is defined as the regulation by law of the use of land and for buildings and of the height and density of buildings in specific areas for the purpose of securing convenience, health, safety and general welfare of the community. The distinction between zoning and reservation should be clearly understood. The zoning is applied to certain types of general uses. The term reservation is confined to the uses of specific nature such as reservation for gardens. Schools, markets, police stations, fire-brigade stations, parks, playgrounds, etc
Objects:
The objects or purposes of zoning are as follows: (1) The town planner gets opportunities for designing the future growth and development of the town. The zoning serves as a main tool to the town planner to achieve his goal. (2) The zoning affords proper co-ordination of various public amenities such as transport facilities, water supply. Drainage, electric power, etc. (3) The zoning proves to be an effective instrument for making any town planning scheme effective and successful.
Principles of zoning:
The main principles of zoning can be briefly summarized as follows:
(1) Arrangement of zones: The usual pattern of zones is in the form of concentric bands. The central area of the town is followed by sub-central area, intermediate area and undeveloped area. The other pattern of zones would be to provide blocks or units for various uses In different parts of the town.
(2) Boundaries: The design of boundaries for different zones should be carefully made. A street or a road usually does not provide a suitable boundary. A railway line or a park or an open green space may prove to be satisfactory boundary.
(3)Existing towns: When zoning is to be applied to an existing town, the information regarding the existing use of land is gathered and as far as possible, the town is divided into zones by considering the pre-dominant use in particular areas. However. The existing use of land can only be altered, if there are substantial grounds to Justify such alteration.
(4) Flexibility: The principles of zoning may be rigidly enforced, But at the same time, care should be taken to observe flexibility in working out the details for zoning. For instance, homes should be very near to places of work to reduce time and cost of travel. But at the same time, they should not be too near to be disliked by the inhabitants for residence. Similarly. The small shopping centers for day-to-day requirements should be allowed in residential zone.
(5) New towns: For designing a new towr of known population, the areas required for residence, industry and business are worked out with the help of suitable methods. The town is then divided into suitable zones.
2.11 Advantages of zoning
Following are the advantages of zoning:
(1) Danger from fire: The zoning results into minimum chances of fire occurrence and consequently, the damages due to fire are brought down to the minimum level. (2) Future development: If zoning is adopted, it results into controlled future development of the town with proper regard to the community welfare as main criteria. (3) General amenities: The zoning provides for general amenities such as parks, playgrounds, cinemas, shopping centres. Schools, etc. in their proper surroundings and it avoids undue wastage of time, money and space. (4) Health of community: If zoning is properly done, it results in considerable improvement of health of the community as a whole. The zoning prevents the invasion of undesirable industries on the residential areas. Thus, the harmful gases and odours are prevented from entering or attacking the residential area by the force of wind. (5) Population distribution; The zoning regulates the density of population and there is no undue concentration in any part of the town. (6) Public utility services: The zoning permits the economic use of various public utility services such as water supply, drainage lines, telephones, etc. In general, It may be stated that the zoning promotes health, safety, prosperity, orderly development and overall welfare of the community.
2.12 Low cost housing
Low Cost Housing is a new concept which deals with effective budgeting and following of techniques which help in reducing the cost construction through the use of locally available materials along with improved skills and technology without sacrificing the strength, performance and life of the structure. There is huge misconception that low cost housing is suitable for only sub standard works and they are constructed by utilizing cheap building materials of low quality. The fact is that Low cost housing is done by proper management of resources. Economy is also achieved by postponing finishing works or implementing them in phases.
2.13 Slums
The Central Govt. In its Slum Areas Improvement and Clearance Act, 1956 has adopted the definition of slum as any predominantly residential area where the dwellings which by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement of design. Lack of ventilation, light or sanitary facilities or any combination of these factors are detrimental to safety, health and morals. In general, a slum is an overcrowded poverty-stricken area having lack of open spaces and presence of unhealthy residential structures. The formation of slum converts the land into a place of vices and miseries and more or less it results into the state of hell on the surface of earth. The slum dwellers live under conditions impairing their health and happiness and they live there because they cannot afford better housing. A scholar has rightly observed that God made the world, man made the town but devil made the slum.
2.14 Prevention of slum formation
The formation of slums is a very slow process and extreme care should be exercised by the authorities concerned to prevent the springing up of new slums in the town. The failure to take precaution of formation of new slums results in equalizing or even overtaking the progress achieved in slum clearance projects. Ultimately the housing shortage and coming up of new slums become the permanent features of the town. Some of the important measures which can be taken to effectively prevent the slum formation are as follows.
(1) Cheap housing Sufficient number of subsidized cheap housing should be made available to the poor people. The investment of public funds for such purpose certainly gives good Tesults.
(2) Compulsion to employers: The employers of a good number of labourers may be compelled or forced to provide housing accommodation for their staff
(3) Construction of buildings. Certain rules and regulations may be framed and strictly enforced to restrict the coming up of buildings of subnormal standards
(4) Maintenance and repairs. The responsibility of carrying and carrying out repairs should be fixed and defined in housing codes or Acts. It then becomes the duty of either landlord or tenant to keep the existing building in a living condition. Such an attitude on the part of the local authority helps in preventing the conversion of existing good buildings into slums.
(5) Rent restrictions if provision is made to restrict the increase of rent the tenants will be protected the Rent Restriction Act is in force in many towns of our country. It is advisable to revise this Act periodically so that the landlord may be inclined or tempted to maintain his property in proper form.
(6) Social education: It is possible to check the growth of slums by carrying out effective social education of the slum dwellers. The social education makes the slum dwellers conscious of the evils of slums and if an intensive social propaganda is carried out with the help of service organizations through literature, posters, exhibition of films, television shows, etc. there is great improvement in the living standard of slum dwellers.
(7) Unauthorized construction: It is absolutely necessary to arrest immediately the unauthorized construction in the form of huts and temporary structures on vacant pieces of lands. The authorities concerned should take drastic actions in demolishing and removing such unauthorized constructions. The law should be suitably amended to give such powers to the authorities concerned.
2.15 Floor space index (FSI)
The ratio of the total built - up area inclusive of walls of all the floors to the area of the land on which the building stands is known as the floor space index or F.S.I. In some cities , it is also known as the floor area ratio or F.A.R. The value of F.S.I. Or F.A.R. Is determined by the local authority.
Reference book:
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