"The Design Comes As We Build" project

"The Design Comes As We Build" project

urbz invited local builders from Dharavi with a vast experience in construction, to design the best possible house they could imagine.

After working with potters, broom makers, contractors, embroiderers, carpenters, and leather workers, the Design Museum Dharavi presents its fifth exhibition. "The Design comes as we Build" exhibition puts the spotlight on construction workers in Dharavi, who have collectively been responsible for building the tens of thousands of homes that accommodate a population so large that it cannot be enumerated.

urbz invited local builders from Dharavi with a vast experience in construction, to design the best possible house they could imagine. These designs were translated in physical models by artisans with expertise in carpentry, welding, pottery, glass cutting and acrylic work.

In a context where houses are made without plans and drawings, the project aimed at making legible and legitimate, local practices of construction that service millions of people in Mumbai and throughout the world.

Some of these models have already travelled from Dharavi to Europe where they were exhibited at the renowned Maxxi in Rome and at Spring House in Amsterdam. They are finally being exhibited at the urbz gallery in Dharavi, Mumbai.

The contractors and artisans who were a part of this process will be present at the opening to interact with the visitors and talk about their experience in the project.