Indian Architect Builds Steel Company Town as an Oasis

By Frederick Noronha

TORDA, GOA, India, March 29, 2006 (ENS) - Some 30 kilometers from Hampi, the ruins of the once prosperous and powerful Vijayanagara empire, architect Gerard da Cunha has molded a piece of arid soil into a scenic township.

In early February, da Cunha received, somewhat belatedly, the Prime Minister's National Award for Excellence in Urban Planning and Design offered by the Ministry of Urban Development in 1998-99. The jury was unanimous in giving him the prize for his unusual project.

"In India where our towns and cities are deteriorating at such a rapid rate, an award of this sort makes such good sense, creating role models which others can follow," da Cunha said in an interview, held in his artistically restored old house in the green Goa suburb of Torda.

Cluster of homes in Gerard da Cunha's award-winning steel company town. (Photos courtesy Gerard da Cunha)

Da Cunha shows photos of other local houses in the area where the temperatures can rise to 45 degress Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). "There are often no windows, and the houses are covered with a lot of mud, to act as insulation," he observes.

Going to such an environment, da Cunha envisioned the township as a 300 acre oasis.

"I was given this whole town to do. It turned into a place where I had to house some 10,000 people over a short period, and many more over a long period. It was a very idealistic project. It was very exciting. We had to plan on how to make whole town," he says, stressing the last word.

So, first he framed his guidelines. "I took 10 points, which I thought of as my Ten Commandments. Issues which were were vital for me," da Cunha explains.

Gerard da Cunha's Ten Commandments

1. Unique in its identity
2. Climatically comfortable in this hot region
3. Safe for children
4. Where houses are homes and have individuality and are not identified by a mere number. Built built largely with pre-fabricated systems
5. Flexible in its planning to cater for expansion and change
6. Modern, and uses state of the art technology
7. Visually interesting with wonderful streetscapes, unfolding views, surprises, vistas
8. Urban in character
9. Inspired by the region
10. Meant primarily for people, the services and traffic being secondary. Services networked to allow for expansion and change

"The start was very daunting. There was nothing there," he says, with a stress on the word nothing. "There was not a tree. It was so hot. And the soil, gravely."

For three years, it was very intense work. "We had many teams working on the project," he says. They put everything in place - transformers, sewage lines, treatment plants, telephone systems.

They used the local stone, granite. They used a pre-fabricated system, with pre-fab concrete joists. On top they used Cuddappah stone, topped with waterproofing and insulation. "This allowed us to work with cranes, so we could build fast," da Cunha explains.

Now 51, da Cunha studied many townships. HMT in Bangalore, IPCL in Gujarat. "And I realized the towns were often conceived as little bits - some housing, a school, a shopping center. They just kept on splattering it on a plan," he recalled.

The main gate of the township provides a sense of place and identity. (Photo courtesy Gerard da Cunha)

In the arid setting of northeastern Karnataka, da Cunha and his teams created their town, Vidyanagar. Open space is located in the center of the township. In each section of 18 houses, all kitchens overlook a space where childen can play. Traffic has been kept on the perimeter.

"At every corner there's something interesting, so that you can relate to it," da Cunha says. "The only building I didn't do was the temple. That was built by temple-builders from Gujarat."

The town operates on a sustainable sewage system, taking the sewage, filtering the water, and ploughing it back into the system. They employ composting and vermi-culture to minimize their garbage. For the last eight years, no plastics have been allowed in the township, says da Cunha.

"Because it is a hot arid area, every house either has a garden or a terrace. It's very nice to sleep out in the terrace at night. Even if you have a small house, the terrace really makes up for the smallness of the house," he says.

Architect Gerard da Cunha lives in Goa. (Photo © Frederick Noronha)

At the beginning the project went slowly. "Steel was not doing so well," he explains. "At the moment steel is doing well. So we're expanding more now than ever before. It's a lifelong project. As it grows I get more work."

Is it possible to replicate such success stories? Yes, says the bearded architect, but only for company towns where the staff needs to be kept close at hand, and the company is willing to pay for it.