Projects
Dharavi works
Dharavi works is a series of projects designed in Mumbai by urbz in partnership with local inhabitants and contractors.
ICRC Campus
urbz is working on a comprehensive plan for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) HQ in Geneva. About 1200 people work in Geneva and another 20,000 work in over 100 conflict zones around the world
Homegrown Street
We are taking the Design Comes as We Build project to the next level - the Homegrown Street!
Gendered Mobility and Climate Action
This project is undertaken under the C40 Women For Climate mentorship program, Mumbai in collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra. The Mentee, Vidisha Dhar, is supported by Lubaina Rangwala (WRI), urbz
Entekochi Urban Design Competition
Remember the Urban Typhoon workshops in Kochi? These workshops were part of the EnteKochi citylab. We are now back with the Entekochi competition. This is a national level Urban Design Competition, aiming to
Habitat 100: A chawl redevelopment project
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
Point-du-Jour
Public consultation for a densification project in Geneva / Démarche de concertation pour un projet de densification au Petit-Saconnex, Genève.
Circulatory Urbanism
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).
Make in Dharavi
This series of interviews portrays the economic life of Dharavi in Mumbai through the activities of its inhabitants.
Proyecto Escape - Cazuca
Collaborative process between communities led by Proyecto Escape and supported by different local and international organisations
Proyecto Manila
Building a Community center by understanding social dynamics and participatory planning in a homegrown neighborhood in Bogota
Homegrown Things
We produced everyday-life objects based on the specific needs of residents and the skills available in the Shivaji Nagar area in Mumbai.
The Design Comes as We Build
urbz invited local builders from Dharavi to design the best possible house they could imagine. These designs were translated into physical models by artisans.
Khotachiwadi
urbz has been involved with the heritage precinct of Khotachiwadi for nearly a decade. We have organized many events workshops there and produced a strategic plan for the area among other things.
Homegrown cities
This experiment in affordable housing led to the co-designing and construction of a small house in Shivaji Nagar, in Govandi. A neighbourhood in Mumbai that is struggling against all odds to keep growing and
Bareilly Street
Studies, workshops, street exhibition and plans towards making a small square in Dharavi children friendly
"We have no interaction with the government".
How garment maker Samit makes in Dharavi. (Make in Dharavi I)
Bareilly Compound Space for Children and Women
Update on our latest project in Dharavi for an elevated community space
CASA DO ATAIDE
Workshop da construção civil / Civil construction Workshop in Sao Paulo
50 houses 1 Territory | 50 CASAS 1 TERRITÓRIO
A record book of 20 houses built by the mason Ataide Caetite in the Paraisopolis favela, which reflects on how the economic and cultural dynamics are reflected in home construction and design.
Letter from a globalised island of Ulleung-do
On how nature and economy share a common destiny (The Hindu, 27.08.17)
Mumbai Return exhibition
urbz's exhibition at the Bhau Daji Lad City Museum allows those who make up the city's fabric to put themselves on the map
The Design Comes as We Build - Exhibition
A project that started early in the year with local contractors and carpenters to design ideal Dharavi Homes opens to the public.
"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.
The Story Of A Lane In Dharavi
Why is there a Bareilly street in Dharavi when Bareilly is infact in Uttar Pradesh?
Young, Urban, Mobile
What do young Mumbaikars have to say about their family's rootedness to villages on the Konkan?
Why India should reject China's obsession with bigger, denser megacities
In the urbanisation race, India seems desperate to catch up with China. Yet this highly networked country can build a future where cities do not rule supreme.
Mumbai-Ratnagiri Express
Many families live in between two households: one in the village and another in the city.
Circulatory Urbanism: The misunderstood paradigm
The biggest growth in urbanisation is not taking place in the metropolis but in small towns that are networked with villages.
The Future of Khotachiwadi
An urban village trying to safeguard its heritage value in the sprawling metropolis.
The Homegrown Cities Initiative: Update
After a handstorm workshop to make a variety of user-oriented objects and with a pilot house on its way, a report about the updates of the Homegrown Cities Initiative
Shivaji Nagar After the Handstorm Workshop
The Handstorm workshop brought together various actors from all around the world to build things that could improve the neighbourhood based on discussions with residents and with the help of local artisans
Handstorm in Shivaji Nagar!
All you need to bring along are your hands, a desire to produce something useful and beautiful which you feel the residents would love to use and loads of enthusiasm.
Handstorm Workshop: Mumbai 2014
The Handstorm Workshop will draw on energies that flow from creative manual involvement, acknowledging that it is always wired to the brain, to form a collective of power that attracts attention from the rest of the city.
The Homegrown Cities Project
How local, community owned and managed housing co-operatives, can be a vital step towards improving the neighbourhoods, bringing good quality civic infrastructure and making the city genuinely ’slum-free’.
Circulating Urbanism
The Konkan connection to Mumbai is only part of a larger universe in which the city’s force of gravity pulls together many other such regions.