“When we traveled to New Delhi and met with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), they outlined key goals for architectural intervention in Lodhi Colony: mobility services, high-quality public realm, housing, community facilities and amenities, sanitation, and cultural and economic infrastructure.”
Rain Basera is a market and worker housing project that brings together the vastly different market and living conditions that exist organically — and often informally — within close proximity throughout New Delhi. The project organizes these realities into a cohesive public realm through uniform sidewalks that integrate typological market strategies, clear linear circulation axis, and layered market typologies, allowing multiple demographics of vendors to operate side by side. This includes permanent storefronts along the northern edge, smaller and lower-income shops set one level deeper into the site, and flexible kiosks housed within pavilions distributed strategically throughout the southern area of the site. The project also introduces low-income, flexible worker housing, rentable on a weekly or monthly basis, extending the city’s tradition of rain basera into a more permanent, dignified architectural form.
Environmental and infrastructural strategies are central to the proposal, including passive cooling, on-site water retention and services, and a biodiversity park in the less utilized areas of the site. Beyond serving workers and market vendors, the project supports the broader public through accessible public bathrooms, a pedestrian-oriented promenade, integrated waste management, and overnight parking for rickshaw drivers.
Market Typologies
Ground Floor Plan / Market + Park
Upper Level Floor Plan / Housing
