The mangroves of Mumbai are a metaphor for Dharavi - both have managed to survive and thrive in areas where others cannot, are tolerant of difficult conditions, are extremely productive, have far-reaching influence and provide the foundations for larger ecosystems.
Over the last few months, we at urbz have been talking about interventions to engage with the ecological and economic aspects of the mangroves. So we went on an expedition to explore the mangroves near Dharavi.
Antonio Moreno, young Petareño, known by everyone in "El Encantado", South Petare as the son of Micheal Jackson, was offered the seed investment, the necessary machinery and a place in the shopping mall “Centro Comercial Terrazas del Avila” to start his very own bakery, the opportunity of a lifetime but he asked himself - why would he open his bakery in a shopping mall, if his own street didn’t have one?
The “Urban Actions and Emergent Architecture:Community Architecture 2019” first Encounter was held in the city of Bogotá, Colombia on the 25th and 26th of October of 2019. This was the first event to ever bring together community leaders, architecture colectivos, professors and students to discuss around the topic of community development initiatives.
This series of articles seeks to shed light on the origin of the unplanned settlements that are home to more than half of Caracas’s population, but whose stories have never been told. Multiple inhabitants were interviewed and shared their stories of struggles, overcoming hardships, constant improvement and self governance that are the origin of unplanned settlements in Venezuela.
We are taking the Design Comes as We Build project to the next level - the Homegrown Street!
We are excited to be working on a new architectural project in Dharavi Koliwada. Our friend, collaborator, and contractor Joseph Koli, approached us to work on his latest project - the redevelopment of a chawl
urbz has been mandated by the State of Geneva to develop a concept and program that integrates living, working and culture for a 60,000 m2 mixed used development in the city’s new downtown.
June 4-9, 2019
The Urban Typhoon workshop in Kochi is open to all citizens and visitors interested in working in urban areas and are willing to engage with communities participation. Together we will explore
Un projet participatif pour repenser l’avenir du périmètre Pré-du-Marché et Clos-de-Bulle.
Our annual Handstorm workshops in Dharavi with the "Engineers for Social Impact" from NYU Abu Dhabi generate incremental innovations that improve the quality of life in this massive settlement
urbz is carrying a 18 month long participatory process to redefine the two largest public squares in Lausanne (Switzerland). / urbz conduit une démarche participative de 18 mois visant à réimaginer les deux
The exhibition Koliwada Charcha is an attempt at understanding the essence of Dharavi Koliwada's architectural and visual language.
Public consultation for a densification project in Geneva / Démarche de concertation pour un projet de densification au Petit-Saconnex, Genève.
For the past 5 years, urbz has been following families who's lives are spread between Mumbai and their ancestral villages in the Konkan (Western India).