10/04/2015 AD Classics: Kanchanjunga Apartments / Charles Correa | ArchDaily

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AD Classics: Kanchanjunga Apartments / CharlesCorrea

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© Charles Correa

By developing climatic solutions for different sites and programs, Indian architect CharlesCorrea designed the Kanchanjunga Apartments. Located in Mumbai, the U.S. equivalentof New York City in terms of population and diversity, the 32 luxury apartments are locatedsouth­west of downtown in an upscale suburban setting embodying the characteristics ofthe upper echelon of society within the community. The Kanchanjunga Apartments are adirect response to the present culture, the escalating urbanization, and the climaticconditions for the region. They pay homage to the vernacular architecture that once stoodon the site before the development in a number of ways. More on KanchanjungaApartments after the break.

     

In Mumbai, a building has to be oriented east­west to catch prevailing sea breezes and toopen up the best views of the city. Unfortunately, these are also the directions of the hotsun and the heavy monsoon rains. The old bungalows solved these problems by wrappinga protective layer of verandas around the main living areas, thus providing the occupantswith two lines of defense against the elements.

Correa pushed his capacity for ingenious cellular planning to the limit, as is evident fromthe interlock of four different apartment typologies varying from 3 to 6 bedrooms each.Smaller displacements of level were critical in this work in that they differentiated betweenthe external earth filled terraces and the internal elevated living volumes. These subtleshifts enable Correa to effectively shield these high rise units from the effects of both thesun and monsoon rains. This was largely achieved by providing the tower with relativelydeep, garden verandas, suspended in the air. Clearly, such an arrangement had itsprecedent in the cross­over units of Le Corbusier’s Unite d’ Habitation built inMarseilles in 1952, although here in Mumbai the sectional provision was achieved withoutresorting to the extreme of differentiating between up­and­down going units.

The building is a 32 story reinforced concrete structure with 6.3m cantilevered openterraces. The central core is composed of lifts and provides the main structural element forresisting lateral loads. The central core was constructed ahead of the main structure by slipmethod of construction. This technique was used for the first time in India for a multistorybuilding.

The concrete construction and large areas of white panels bears a strong resemblance tomodern apartment buildings in the West, perhaps due to Correa’s western education.However, the garden terraces of the Kanchanjunga Apartments are actually a moderninterpretation of a feature of the traditional Indian bungalow: the veranda.

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10/04/2015 AD Classics: Kanchanjunga Apartments / Charles Correa | ArchDaily

http://www.archdaily.com/151844/ad­classics­kanchanjunga­apartments­charles­correa/ 2/3

Cite:Pagnotta, Brian. "AD Classics: Kanchanjunga Apartments / Charles Correa" 12 Aug 2011. ArchDaily.Accessed 09 Apr 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=151844>

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© Charles Correa © Charles Correa © Charles Correa

© Charles Correa © Charles Correa © Charles Correa

© Charles Correa

Architect: Charles CorreaLocation: Mumbai, IndiaProject Year: 1970­1983References: Charles Correa Associates Website, Identity Housing Photographs: Charles Correa Associates

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AD Architecture Classics CulturalHousing Charles Correa

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