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JOURNAL OF RESEARCH INARCHITECTURE

ANDPLANNING

ISSN 1728-7715

VOLUME SEVENTEEN2014 (Second Issue)

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH INARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

Editorial Board

Editorial Associates

Layout and Composition

Panel of Referees

Published by

Printed by

S.F.A. RafeeqiNoman AhmedAnila NaeemAsiya Sadiq PolackFariha Amjad UbaidM. Fazal NoorShabnam Nigar Mumtaz

Suneela AhmedFarida Abdul Ghaffar

Mirza Kamran Baig

Muzzaffar Mahmood(Ph.D., Professor, PAF KIET, Karachi)

Arif Hasan(Architect and Planner, Hilal-e-Imtiaz)

Bruno De Meulder(Ph.D., Professor, K.U. Leuven, Belgium)

Nausheen H. Anwer(Ph.D., Associate Prof. of Urban Studies, IBA, Karachi)

Ghafer Shahzad(Ph.D., Deputy Director Architecture Punjab Auqaf Department, Lahore)

Mohammed Mahbubur Rahman(Ph.D., Professor, Kingdom University, Bahrain)

Mukhtar Husain(B.Arch., M.Arch., Turkey)

Shahid Anwar Khan(Ph.D., AIT, BangkokProfessor, Curtin University, Australia)

Fazal Noor(Head of Department of Architecture, Sir Syed University, Karachi)

Pervaiz Vandal(Senior Practicing Architect)

Farhan Anwar(CEO, Sustainable Initiatives and member SHEHRI)

Jawaid Haider(Ph.D, Dean of Academics, Indus Valley School of Arts & Architecture, Karachi)

Christophe Polack(Faculty, Saint-Lucas Brussels Campus, KU Leuven, Belgium)

Department of Architecture and Planning,NED University of Engineering and Technology,Karachi, Pakistan.

Khwaja Printers, Karachi.

© Copyrights with the Editorial Board of the Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning

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ABSTRACT

This paper documents and analyzes the evolution of threehousing typologies within the context of Karachi: The HinduGhar (House in Urdu), the Colonial Bungalow and the ParsiKhanay (House in Persian), with respect to their responseto the incorporation of indigenous social and environmentalvalues and processes in the built form. Karachi, being a portcity, has historically been the business center for the Hindumerchants and has been the colonial trading post in the 19th

century. Both the Hindus and the Colonists have left animpact on the built form of the city, in terms of the evolutionof certain housing typologies. The Parsis, a religious minority,absorbed different aspects of these impacts, andaccommodated it in their house form.

The introverted Hindu Ghar is analyzed as an indigenousmixed-use development that evolved as a response to social,economic and climatic needs of the merchant class.The extroverted Colonial bungalow is investigated as ahybrid built form that was introduced as a foreign elementbut was adopted by locals and eventually became part ofthe native landscape.

The Parsi Khanay is reviewed as an example of the adoptionof the Colonial style bungalow, which was modified toaddress social needs of an introverted minority community.The value and prominence of these pre-independence housingtypologies is reviewed for the contemporary built formlandscape of Karachi.

In studying the evolution of these typologies lessons aredrawn with respect to urban morphology, sense of aesthetics,climatic response, use of technology, respect for traditionalism

versus modernism, and incorporation of natural elements.The indicators that have been outlined for this analysis areas follows:1. The relationship of the house with the urban morphology

in terms of plot, building, streetscape, density, land use,open/ built ratios.

2. The response of these designs to local climate.

3. The usage of global versus local technology, materials,crafts and skills.

4. The incorporation and preservation of natural habitats,flora and fauna.

5. The amalgamation of local social values and sense ofaesthetics versus global imagery.

A case study methodology has been undertaken for thisresearch based on semi-structured urban interviews andmorphological documentation. The key findings point towardsmany elements used in the design of these housing typologies,which were physically and socially responsive and help indrawing principles, which can be incorporated in the designand teaching process of contemporary houses within thecontext of Karachi, to create forms which connect to thelocal. The intention is that students and professional developthis understanding and are able to differentiate betweenorigins and adaptations of local and global components ofhouse design in order to make informed design choices inthe context of Karachi.

Keywords: House, housing typology, bungalow, khanay,ghar, Karachi

AUTHENTICITY OF THE HOUSE FORM: WHAT CAN CONTEMPORARY HOUSINGDESIGN LEARN FROM EVOLUTION OF PRE-INDEPENDENCE HOUSING

TYPOLOGIES WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF KARACHI?·

Suneela Ahmed*

21Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 17, 2014 (Second Issue)

· An earlier version of this paper was presented by Suneela Ahmed at the History Group Conference 2013, organized by the Department ofArchitecture and Planning, NED University of Engineering and Technology. This is an updated version for the Journal.

* Dr. Suneela Ahmed, Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University, Karachi

23Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 17, 2014 (Second Issue)

Figure-2: Location of the two ports of Karachi on the Arabian SeaSource: www.googleimages.com (accessed 12/4/13)

Figure-1: Location of Karachi on the Arabian SeaSource: www.googleimages.com (accessed 12/4/13)

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