March 8, 2010 - Dharavi District Redevelopment: A Symbol of the Future and a Celebration of Cultural Heritage | The 3rd Teacher
For the first time in human history, one out of every two people lives in a city. One out of three of these city dwellers lives in the informal environment—a slum. Home to nearly one million people, Dharavi is one of the most densely populated areas on the planet.
OWP/P | Cannon Design was engaged by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architects to participate on a collaborative team working for the redevelopment the Dharavi district in Mumbai. Given the massive scale of the project, each firm on the team led specific components: the master plan concept was prepared by Chicago Consultants Studio; the commercial market-rate fabric development by AS + GG, and OWP/P | Cannon Design oversaw the tenement housing fabric development, including planning for new schools.
Education across the globe is transforming from a pedagogy that trains children to be information receptors to a pedagogy that trains future generations to be knowledge seekers. An environment that supports “multiple intelligences” is imperative—it must provide a diversity of teaching and learning spaces to support a wide range of learners. Flow and agility will be intrinsic in these spaces so that the knowledge sharing and relationship between teacher and learner is constantly enhanced.
Both primary and secondary schools would be developed using the same base building module, allowing for ease of transition between the school types as the demand for education shifts based on demographics. A primary design driver was maximization of efficiency and space so that every area within the building supports teaching and learning.
For the primary school level, our concept is based on the academy model, which is a series of 500-student schools. Primary schools will be embedded within residential buildings and dispersed across Dharavi so that students can attend neighborhood-based schools. The schools will have open community space at the ground floor, in order to strengthen community ties to formal education. A medical clinic is planned at the ground floor of the primary school as a fully functional clinic that also amplifies the belief in educating the whole child.
Secondary school students in Mumbai’s slums have some of the lowest graduation rates in the country. The proposed program for secondary education will be based on an apprentice/entrepreneurship model, whereby students can spend time in adjacent commercial, healthcare and merchant communities in preparation for future career and trade opportunities.


