Ramkrishna House Shahibhag, Ahmedabad 1962-64

This large brick and concrete residence was completed in 1964 for one of Ahmedabad's wealthy
mill owners. It is built along one edge of the site to maximise the garden and the southern
exposure for the principal living areas. The plan sets up a series of loadbearing walls
punctuated by interior courts and natural top-lit spaces. The plan is organised into four main
zones; the family living/entertaining area, the guest room with its own garden and the service
areas (kitchen, servants rooms, etc.) on the ground floor, and the more private family area and
bedrooms on the upper floor.
The parallel walls which form the backbone of the Ramkrishna house were derived from the
so-called tube house, a project at the opposite end of the economic scale - an allIndia
competition entry for which Correa won the first prize-but which only reached the prototype
stage.
The Ramkrishna house perhaps represents the culmination of ideas explored in the early
1960's, to do with climate and housing in India. The urban model tube house is here carried to
its conclusion. In later housing such as his entry for the Previ project in 1969–73 this is also
further explored. This approach to space persists in Correa’s work until the 1980's where the
linear urban row-housing model is replaced by a cluster form of organisation as with the
Malabar Cements Township and Belapur Housing in New Bombay.
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Tube House One of the architect's better-known works, the tube house unit was 18.2 metres long by 3.6 metres wide
(60 feet x 12 feet). The section of the unit has a sloping roof which, in conjunction with adjustable louvres in the
window by the entrance, sets up a continual convection current, naturally ventilating the dwelling. The use of different
levels (without using doors) creates multi-use spaces and ensures privacy at the same time.

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Entrance.
Ramkrishna House
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First floor plan.
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Ground floor plan.
Ramkrishna House
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AN SAN : View from the internal court toward the dining area. Left: South elevation from the
lawn.
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