Ahmedabad
1961-62

This “tube” house was first prize winner in an All-India competition for low-cost housing organised by the Gujarat Housing Board Though the programme specified walk-up apartments, these row-houses provided the same density – and larger living space per family.

The section is shaped so that the hot air rises and escapes form the top, setting up a convection currents of natural ventilation. Inside the units there are almost no doors; privacy being created by the various levels themselves, and security by the pergola-grid over the internal courtyard.