p=parlour b= bath room od= outdoor living g= garden ks= kitchen/scullery. Figure 2.05 : Organisation of Domestic spaces in Australia and England. ( Source:.
Chapter 01: The
Problem
1.0 Introduction 1.1 Spatial Organization of Contemporary Residential Apartments 1.2 Gender Aspects Influencing Spatial Organisation 1.2.1 Symbolic Cultural Factors 1.2.2 Social Factors 1.3 Research Question 1.4 Research Objective 1.5 Scope and Limitations 1.6 Structure of the Thesis 1.7 Conclusion
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1.0 Introduction The house form in the urban context is the physical manifestation of socio-cultural structure and changing values. Spatial organisation of the house is a reflection of the life style and as life style changes due to socio-economic changes, it effects on the spatial organisation. The form of the house is the consequence of a whole range of socio-cultural factors seen in their broadest terms. Social relations and events express themselves through spatial configuration (Monteiro, 1997:20.1-13). According to Amos Rapoport, among various socio-cultural factors the gender considerations such as position of women and their privacy acts as the key determining factors of house form (Rapoport 1969:60-68). The spatial arrangements of buildings reflect and reinforce gender, race and class relations as space is socially constructed (Desai, 2007:2). Analysis of spatial organization of urban house is thus a socio-cultural issue and more specifically a gender–space relationship. In Bangladesh a rapid growth of population with a consequent reflection on the house form is seen from the last twenty years. Due to rapid urbanization and constraint of space in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, domestic spaces have undergone modifications and have assumed a new shape. In the domestic space organization symbolic aspects have been given priority from a very early period of urbanisation. From the early researches on the urban Bengali houses segregation of female gendered spaces from the male gendered spaces, privacy with respect to women users and dominance of the spaces seem to be elementary aspects of the traditional urban houses of Dhaka that is a reflection of the socio-cultural influence on the spatial organisation ((Imamuddin, 1982; Shabeen, 1997; Khan F A U, 1999; Rashid, 2000; Islam, 2003). In the context of Bangladesh religion, education, family structure and economic activities of women are influencing on their gender role within the household. Socio-economic status is a determinant of the spatial order and middle income group in Dhaka, which comprises a larger portion of population with a medium economic structure and higher educational background, has been through the various social revolutions and constraint. Islam (1990) defined 58% of the population of Dhaka to be in the middle income group (Islam N, 1990:23). Post-Colonial and after-independence from 1971 created a growing awareness among women about their rights and responsibilities in the new society and specifically the middle income society was the pioneer in this aspect for their educational and economic background.
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In recent times there has been a change in the attitude of women taking up outside employment in Bangladesh and indicators like education and participation in economic activities are supporting this fact. With the advancement of women after 1980’s with gender improvement government planning schemes, women came out of the dependent role to the self-dependent role (Khan, 1993:2). This has been observed in the middle income group as increasing number of women of middle class families have to work to support the family (Monsoor,1999:43). Status change due to education and participation in the economic activities are also higher in the women of this group. Due to high price of the apartments, middle income group [MIG] can afford compact limited space in their apartment. As tendency of holding traditional cultural values regarding segregation and privacy is higher in the MIG women, it is creating conflict with their affordability of owning an apartment. Thus the focus of the research in this study of Spatial Organization of the Contemporary Residential Apartments in Dhaka with special attention to Gender Aspect’ revolves around two main key issues: •
Spatial Organization of Contemporary Residential Apartments in Dhaka, and
•
Gender Aspects Influencing Spatial Organisation.
1.1 Spatial Organization of Contemporary Residential Apartments in Dhaka
People’s dwellings embody and express cultural and lifestyle preferences. House or dwelling is a concept of both activities like living and residing and a place or structure to contain such activities. Domestic activities depend on the social and cultural values and produce a spatial pattern. The morphology of the urban house form of Dhaka is the result of various urban forces generated at different phases of growth of the city. The evolution of the urban houses of Dhaka can be traced back to 13th century with the pre Mughal period. Urban houses in this period were rather dense version of rural settlements (Khan I.M, 1982) and courtyards were found as an inseparable and essential element in the design and construction of urban houses in Bangladesh (Hafiz, 2011: 65-86). From the rural pattern the morphology of the urban house form has been transformed gradually with time and social change.
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The initial house form followed an ‘introvert' arrangement around courtyards that supported the socio-cultural and religious norms ensuring privacy of the domestic space with segregation of male and female zones. Courtyard was the central space of all activities and it acted as the threshold transient semi-public space between the habitable rooms (the private territory) and the living room (the public territory). Traditional Bengali house was organized with the concept of ‘back and front’. The street facing front side acted as the public side, receiving guests and restricting them to a limited area. The male activities were located at this outer zone. The back of the house is associated with service facilities and female areas are located in this zone. The gender issue along with privacy of women in domestic environment has been given importance on the domestic spatial organisation of the urban houses of Dhaka from its genesis. The society underwent a rapid change during the colonial period. New educational and occupational systems changed the lifestyle and family structure. The ‘extrovert’ bungalow type house forms in the colonial period, since 1576, relate with the European styles more. These buildings were free standing, courtyard less, outward facing having detached service structure at the back. Urban houses in the post-colonial period, after 1757, formed an integration of living and service parts of the house into a single mass as ‘consolidated’ type and it became the model for the later mass housing. Single family houses in individual plots followed this consolidation and later was arranged in different levels tied with a staircase as vertical circulation. Dhaka being the capital of the sovereign Bangladesh experienced a new dimension of development from 1971. In the present context in Dhaka, multi-storied apartments have become essential to solve the housing problem in the scarce urban areas for middle income group people. Location of the apartment and its size has become the determinants as they influence upon the affordability of these apartments in the city. Although there is no spatial demarcation of residential areas according to income group in Dhaka city, the land value of certain areas is in a medium range and within the affordability range of the middle income group people in the city. Thus these apartments are compactly arranged and found to be located in certain locations of Dhaka city where the price of land is in a moderate level. The recent developers and designers in Dhaka city, who are the providers of the contemporary apartments to the middle income people, design very compact apartments keeping in their mind about the affordability of their target group. While doing this, the desired privacy created by the sequence of spaces and segregation of zones is becoming different from the traditional ones.
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1.2 Gender Aspects Influencing Spatial Organisation
Gender is an ascribed status of a person which is biological in origin but is significant because of their social meaning in the society (Schaefer, 2003:300-311). In studying gender sociologists are interested in the gender roles that lead male and female to behave differently. Sociologists scrutinize patterns of behaviour to understand and accurately describe the social interactions of a community or society and the social structures in which they take place. Societies vary in the way that power within the family is distributed. Women and men have different positions within the household and different control over resources; they not only play different and changing roles in the society, but also have different needs. Among various socio-cultural factors the gender considerations such as position of women and their privacy acts as the key determining factors of house form (Rapoport,1969:60-68). As an ascribed status gender influences the spatial organisation of urban houses culturally and socially. Considering gender influence, analysis of spatial organization of urban house is thus a socio-cultural issue and can be interpreted both culturally and socially.
1.2.1
Symbolic Cultural Factors
Houses are more complex phenomena and usually encode a wealth of social and symbolic information which constitute a shared framework of spatial patterns (Hanson,1998:269). Lawrence has argued that to focus only on the physical pattern of space may not be adequate for understanding how idea and meaning in specific socio-cultural context are employed as domestic life is considered to be a process which has a definite historical and cultural meaning (Lawrence R J, 1993:73-80). Rapoport expresses house as a basic physical element in the formation of the society and culture. While emphasizing on socio cultural factors as the primary forces in determining house form, Rapoport (1969:60-68) finds gender considerations such as position of women and their privacy as the key determining factors of house form. Like Rapoport, Kent has pointed that Home is a concept that gives symbolic meaning to a house that goes beyond its architecture (Kent, 1995). A definite pattern of ‘gendered space’ existed from the Indus valley civilization , where ‘gendered space’ originated from a private-public separation model and confined women within
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the private domain of a house in performing the domestic works and secluding from outside public realm (Rendell, 2000:103). This symbolic concept of gendered space is related with religion, education, family structure and other parameters. Gender divisions within the dwelling typically reflect the religious belief of the people. Ninety percent of the population in Bangladesh is Muslims and in a Muslim society man has full responsibility for the maintenance of wife and children (Rahman, 1973; Monsoor: 532). The ‘purdah’ system is seen as enforcing a high standard of female modesty. Purdah is the means by which a rigid functional and spatial gender division of labour is upheld (Adnan, 1989). The practice of ‘purdah’ in Bangladesh is a cultural element, structurally rooted in the spatial relocation of men and women (Hussain, 2010:325333). This cultural or symbolic concept of gendered space and notion of privacy was found to exist strongly in the arrangement of the domestic spaces of Dhaka (Imamuddin, 1982:2.10). Privacy is one particular aspect of social and psychological tendencies which relate to different forms of dwellings and social life (Lidia, 1981:89-111). Privacy of the household members has been often discussed as a basic ingredient of domestic space emphasized by segregation of private and public spaces in a house with both visibility and accessibility. Privacy of the female members, as a product of socio-cultural and religious factors, guided the domestic spatial organization with a control of visibility of inner spaces from public areas and restriction of access of the visitors (Imamuddin, 1982:2.25-2.40) . Privacy of household members was preserved in the introvert courtyard type house forms with the separation of male female zone by placing the male zones near the entrance and female zones at the deepest part. In the traditional introvert type houses courtyard acts as the most integrating space used mostly by the women. The courtyard’s importance shifted in the later houses due to compaction of spaces and was replaced by the dining in the later compact apartments.
Visual dominance over the adjacent spaces from the central position seems a vital element in the traditional layouts and it is related with the location of the gendered spaces. This dominance is related with the power and control over the domestic space in a culture. Hillier, Hanson and Graham (1987)found the spaces associated with laundry, making dairy products etc. seems to be spaces where women were expected to be dominant. It was seen from the researches that when the distinction between male and female role is strong then the spatial demarcation of food
preparation
activities
from
the
other
rooms
in
the
house
is
also
strong
(Lawrence,1987:140).
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1.2.2 Social Factors Hillier and Hanson expressed human societies as social and spatial phenomenon(Hillier, 2007:30-31). Social phenomena are durable in that they leave traces of the material form of their existence in the way in which the pattern of domestic space is arranged.(Hanson, 1998:269)Spain comments on architectural space to play a role in maintaining status distinctions by gender (Spain, 1992:3). Theories on family argue that characteristics of individuals contribute to gender-status distinctions, while the economist theory claims that economic structure shapes gender-status distinctions. In present western society, gender roles are known to be influenced by the women’s employment status transforming with employment from an ascribed status of homemaker to the achieved status of equality in partnership (Pahl, 1984). Women of Bangladesh, who constitute 49%1of population, are the members of the highly patriarchal society. Social cultural and religious tradition structure the status of women in Bangladesh, and men's decision shapes the life of women. The ideas of natural inferiority of women and innate superiority of men kept women in a subservient position since the time immemorial in the context of Bengal (Husain, 2007:498). Tasks of women were restricted to domestic spheres: cooking, sewing, cleaning, childcare but not going out for shopping for family’s daily requirement of food or home keeping. The well-to-do families did not allow their female members to work outside for the sake of their social status. Post-Colonial and afterindependence from 1971, created a growing awareness among women about their rights and responsibilities in the society. A change in the society in Bangladesh has been noticed which was the result of various social, political inferences, which bring consequent changes in the spatial and symbolic perceptions along with the change of status of women. Women’s education level and participation in the economic activities has increased in the recent years in Bangladesh which is evident from various demographic statistics. The change in status is being reflected in their life style and activity pattern. Few spatial organizational demands are becoming crucial to support their lifestyle smoothly for the change in their activity pattern. Addressing properly these essentials the designers can provide gender sensitive domestic spaces in present context of Dhaka. 1
The ratio of female and male population [ 1:1.04 ] indicate that 49% of the population in Bangladesh are women.[ BBS, 2011]
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1.3 The Research Question The built environment is a cultural artifact, shaped by human intention and intervention, a living archaeology through which we can extract the priorities and beliefs of the decision makers in our society (Weisman, in Gender Space Architecture,(eds) Rendell, Penner and Borden, 2000:1).Among the built environment residential architecture is the most immediate reflection of a society’s life styles (Goel, 2007:102).A house is built to shelter a complex set of people and their activities. According to Hillier and Hanson, ordering of space in building is really about the ordering of relations between people and thus it helps us to recognize society (Hillier and Hanson, 1984:12). Houses carry cultural information in their material form and space configuration and in the disposition of household artifacts within the domestic space. Analysis of domestic space configuration provides the link between the design of dwellings and their social consequences (Hanson, 1998:1). How we use and appropriate our domestic space is a symbolic practice and is a cultural phenomenon (Lawrence, 1995). According to Amos Rapoport, socio cultural factors act as the primary forces in determining house form. Among various socio-cultural factors the gender considerations such as
position
of women and their privacy acts as the key determining factors of house form (Rapoport, 1969:60-68).The spatial arrangements of buildings reflect and reinforce gender, race and class relations because space is socially constructed (Desai,2007: 2). Analysis of spatial organization of urban house is thus a socio-cultural issue and more specifically a gender–space relationship.
The houses of Dhaka have undergone successive modifications from traditional houses to multistoried apartments during the last few decades. Urban houses of Dhaka, seems to follow the introvert pattern of the rural homesteads before the inclusion of free standing extrovert bungalow pattern houses in the colonial period. The society underwent a rapid change during the colonial period from 1757, as a result of the centralized policy of administration enhancing the urban-based institutions. Due to migration to Dhaka for various reasons, the city increased tremendously. The rate of excessive urbanization has direct impact on housing in general, the house form in particular. Total population pressure on the limited land of the city has turned to a multistoried solution. These have attracted the target group due to their location aspect, security system and other residential facilities. A large number of these apartments are designed
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following the western concept, of open plan and spaces not allowing segregation, which varies with the prevailing pattern found in this context. In recent times there has been a change in the attitude of women taking up outside employment. Increasing number of women of middle class families has to work to support the family (Monsoor, 1999:43). Education system, western ideas increasingly influenced the middle class which gradually led to the changing concept of family, life style and living. Participation in the economic activities has brought a change in their decision making attitude. With the advancement of women after 1980’s with gender improvement government planning schemes, women came out from the dependent role to the self-dependent role (Khan, 1993:2).
The gradual transformation of the house form is due to many reasons but the resultant shows that it has created a new type of living pattern today where the gender aspects are addressed in a way different from the prevailing cultural practices. Religion, education, family structure and economic activities of women are influencing on their gender role within the household and responsible for the gradual changes. Privacy, which was deeply embedded in the social system through purdah, is being addressed differently by the recent women of middle income group in Dhaka. This change in socio-economic status and its consequent impact on the pattern of space use needs to be addressed sensitively in the contemporary apartments in Dhaka. House form acts as the artifact of culture and reflects the society in relation to a given time. In this respect a thorough study from the past to present urban house form is required considering gender aspect and changes in the society. In the light of the above background the main research problem is formulated as follows:
How does the change in socio-economic status of women impact on the spatial organization of the contemporary Residential Apartments in Dhaka?
In order to investigate the interaction between the two heterogeneous ideas, i.e. the spatial organization of the contemporary domestic space and socio-economic status of women with relation to the domestic spaces, first it is needed to establish the characteristics of the spatial organization of the domestic space. The next step is to identify the relation between gender and domestic space and to find out what are the symbolic dimensions of gendered space and their state with respect to the socio-economic status of women.
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In this respect the question leads to a number of sub-questions: • What are the characteristics of the Spatial Organisation of MIG apartments In Dhaka focusing Gender aspects? • What are the ‘gender related symbolic dimensions’ of the contemporary MIG apartments? • How does ‘status’ of woman influence MIG apartment’s spatial organisation in Dhaka?
1.4 Objective of the Research
Study is intended to understand the spatial organization of the residential apartments of the middle income group in Dhaka considering the gender aspect. Thus the specific objectives are:
01. To understand the spatial organisation, particularly the existence and influence of gendered space, due to the socio-economic changes of women in the residential apartments of Dhaka.
02. To trace the change of requirements, both physical and psychological, of the contemporary women and their influence on the spatial organization of middle income group apartments.
This research will help to find out the contemporary residential apartment typologies. Considering socio-economic status of women, this study will help to understand the changed requirements of the contemporary women of their residential spaces in Dhaka. This may help to identify some guidelines for designing residential apartments. The study will further explore the existence of gendered spaces in the context of Dhaka to be used academically by other researchers for relevant studies on gender and domestic spaces.
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1.5 Scope and Limitations MIG apartments are a growing necessity in the present context of Dhaka . At the same time affordability of this group is also an important aspect for owning an apartment in this densely populated city. Developers have met their demand within their affordability by negotiating the size of the apartments and as a result these MIG apartments are becoming compact day by day. In this situations the symbolic aspects are not addressed as they were in the traditional houses. Study finds the female occupants to have dissatisfaction regarding these negotiations with their symbolic aspects like privacy and segregation in the domestic space. Moreover present participation in the economic activities are making the female heads to spend less time in the house but their traditional reproductive activities are not waived from them.
While questionnaire interview female heads were only considered in this study. other female members and maid servant , if present needs to be interrogated for other findings like type of kitchen and its openness. Children were also kept out of the research area, which may be important if surveillance on their area is necessary by the female heads.
Use of modern appliances were found by the contemporary women in their domestic space for ease of work. This issue was not addressed in this research as it was beyond the research question.
Furniture layout was not considered in this study with Visibility Graph Analysis which may be necessary for other studies in the domestic space.
Being one of the initial works in this field , this research could not cover all the aspects related to gender and domestic spatial organisation. The traditional house form needs a detail study which was not possible in this research. A thorough study on the spatial organisation of the traditional houses would have helped this research .
While survey the conventional kitchen and its segregation came into notice. A desire was seen in few female heads regarding open type kitchen to have better surveillance from there. More elaboration focusing this issue and supporting data are required to establish this demand of the contemporary women which may be addressed by other researchers studying in this field.
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1.6 Structure of the Thesis In order to investigate the interaction between the spatial organization of the contemporary domestic space and socio-economic status of women with relation to the domestic spaces, first it is needed to establish the characteristics of the spatial organization of the domestic space. The next step is to identify the relation between gender and domestic space and to find out what are the symbolic dimensions of gendered space. And the final stage is to relate these symbolic dimensions to infer the relevant changes over time.
Chapter 01 has described what the whole argument of the thesis is aiming for. Explaining the focus of the study it elaborates the key points of the thesis title. This study on the spatial organization of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka with special attention to gender aspect focuses on two main key issues: •
Spatial Organization of Contemporary Residential Apartments in Dhaka
•
Gender Aspects Influencing Spatial Organisation
Domestic spatial organisation and its relation with the social and symbolic aspects are considered to be studied in the contemporary MIG apartments. Considering gender influence, analysis of spatial organization of urban house is interpreted in two ways :1) culturally or symbolically and 2) socially. Reviewing the evolution of urban house forms and gender status in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the research question is formulated with specific objectives and a framework of study is suggested.
Chapter 02 reviews related literature that deals with urban house and gender consideration on it. First section of the discussion explores Domestic Space Organisation and relate spatial dimension of domestic space with the symbolic cultural expressions. The relation of gender in the social context in domestic space and social relations uses status of the women as a determining factor for the influences on spatial organisation. The second section discusses Gender and Domestic space. Segregation, Privacy and Dominance in domestic space is investigated to build up the theoretical background of the study. Some of the studies that investigate the association of gender relations and its impact on domestic spaces are reviewed as they contribute to classify the theoretical position and therefore in formulating the
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methodology to examine the research question. Structuralism in domestic space analysis is studied thoroughly as it explains itself to be a strong tool for explaining social phenomenon in spatial terms. Finally the particular aspects related with house form and gender are studied in contextual point to locate the research question and thereby addressing it with proper methodology.
Chapter 03 elaborates the methodology adopted to investigate the research question. The representation and the analysis of the houses must be developed through a précised method which is able to describe the spatial characteristics of the dwellings and relate the properties of ideas which have generated them. The social aspects need to be analyzed along with the spatial changes that are taking place in the transformation process. Through a thorough investigation of the related works using space syntax tool, a research frame work is constructed in detail in this chapter.
To address the symbolic dimensions of house both questionnaire interview and syntactic analysis is conducted. The responses of female heads of the middle income group living in apartments in Dhaka are recorded and quantified to find out their life style and activity pattern in the house. This activity pattern of the female heads determines spaces used by the family members especially by the female members to address the research question. The justified graph is used as the basis for syntactic analysis. Privacy is studied with Visibility Graph analysis (VGA). Dominance that is related with the visual control of spaces is calculated and compared using the visual control values of VGA. These symbolic aspects are compared in the different urban houses of Dhaka to understand its transformation.
To address the social dimension of urban house forms questionnaire interview are compared with the findings of the spatial dimensions. The demands and requirements those aroused from the change of status are noted in the study to suggest design guidelines so that the gender issues in the domestic space of the middle income group in Dhaka can be addressed by the suppliers of the contemporary apartments .
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Transformation of the socio-symbolic aspects of the urban houses in Dhaka is focused in
Chapter 04. Starting from the traditional introvert courtyard type houses to the contemporary apartment types there has been a transformation in the spatial organisation of the urban houses. Evolution of urban house forms and activity pattern of the traditional houses are stated from the secondary sources. Spatial analysis is conducted using J graph and Visibility Graph on selected fifteen urban houses in Dhaka from secondary sources. The gradual transformation of the house form is due to many reasons but the resultant shows that it has created a new type of living pattern today where the gender aspects are addressed in a way different from the prevailing cultural practices.
Chapter 05 concentrates on the Socio-Spatial study of the Contemporary MIG apartments. Study is conducted on fifty MIG apartments in four locations in Dhaka where middle income group concentrates due to the affordability range of the land price. The physical description points out the location and size of apartments and components of domestic space. Next part of the study addresses the family information of the studied fifty contemporary middle income group apartments to relate the samples with the research questions. In addition it studies the activity pattern of the family members specially the female heads to find out the activity–space relationship. Depending on the interview of the respondents, who are the female heads of the family, symbolic aspects related with gender are addressed finally to understand gender influence in the contemporary middle income group families. The activity pattern study in this chapter denotes some spaces as gendered space for having concentration of activities of male or female members of the family and some as shared spaces that are used by the both genders.
Chapter 06 focuses on spatial analysis of the contemporary apartments. The analysis is conducted with J-Graph and VGA Graph. In the first section spatial analysis is conducted considering permeability with Justified Access Graph. General Configurational Properties, spatial relationship considering Choice of movement, spatial relationship considering Integration and depth helps to formulate spatial characteristics of these MIG apartments. In the next part Spatial analysis is conducted considering Visibility using VGA graph. Symbolic aspects privacy and dominance in the spatial organisation of the MIG apartments are calculated with Visual integration and Visual control values of VGA.
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Chapter 07 synthesizes and concludes the whole argument. It focuses on Socio-Symbolic Interpretation of Spatial Organisation of MIG apartments in Dhaka. The study findings lead to formulating concepts of domestic spatial requirements focusing the gender aspects like existence of gendered spaces and their relation to other spaces in the compactly arranged MIG apartments and the symbolic perceptions of the women users in these apartments. This study focuses on the two groups of female heads according to their participation in economic activities. Symbolic aspects of their spatial organisation in the MIG apartment is studied broadly considering their social status to find out their needs and changes. Considering socio-economic status of women, this study aims to understand the requirements of the contemporary women of their residential spaces in Dhaka. The existing situations and the needs of the female heads which are found from the questionnaire interview are compared with the findings of the spatial analysis focusing the gender related symbolic aspects of domestic spaces. The demands and requirements those aroused from the change of status noted in the study lead to certain suggestions regarding design guidelines so that the gender issues in the domestic space of the middle income group in Dhaka can be addressed by the suppliers of the contemporary apartments.
1.7 Conclusion The spatial organisation of the urban houses in Dhaka living pattern has been reflecting the values and needs of the people. Symbolic aspects of culture with respect to gender like segregation, privacy and dominance has been through a change with the change in social status in the middle income group families. Some of the cultural aspects like maintaining privacy and control over the domestic space still tend to be carried out among the occupants of the middle income group apartments but space constraint and affordability has been acting as obstacle to achieve their desired symbolic senses.
This research looks at the gender related symbolic aspects of middle income group families living in the MIG apartments with the intention to find out occupants' response and needs in these tailor-made domestic spaces provided by the supplier. With the change in social status a new type of living pattern is found among the middle income group women today where the
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symbolic gender aspects are addressed in a way different from the prevailing cultural practices. These changes are being reflected in their life style and activity pattern in their household spaces. With the changed life style, created as a product of high education and participation in economic activities, few spatial organizational demands are becoming crucial to support their lifestyle smoothly. Studying the needs of the female head occupants, this research looks for some guidelines concerning gender aspects to be followed in the design of domestic spatial organisation for the present middle income group families in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Addressing properly these elements the designers can provide gender sensitive domestic spaces in present context of Dhaka.
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Chapter 02
: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction 2.2 Domestic Space Organisation 2.1.1 Spatial Dimension 2.1.2 Symbolic Dimension: House as a cultural expression 2.1.3 Domestic Space and Social Relations 2.2 Gender and Domestic space
2.2.1 Segregation 2.2.2 Privacy 2.2.3 Dominance 2.3 Structuralism in Domestic space analysis 2.4 Gender consideration in urban houses in Dhaka 2.5 Conclusion
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2.0 Introduction House form acts as an artefact of culture and reflects the society in relation to a given time (Hanson,1998;Oliver,1987).Though 'house' commonly implies the basic desire for a physical enclosure, it contains the multifarious activities of life which go beyond the physical connotation of house. Several authors have approached the discussion of house and its domestic space from various points of view, explaining the physical, social, psychological and biological human needs within the sphere of residential space. Analysis and interpretation of building decisions cannot be understood apart from socio-economic forces that continuously influence actors, nor can the interpretation of symbolic cultural meaning be separated from these forces. The purpose of this chapter is to situate the research in the theoretical framework that scrutinizes the investigation. The first section is a general discussion of the domestic spatial organisation. It explores spatial dimension of the house and relates it with the symbolic cultural expressions and social influences. In the second section gender and its association with domestic space is addressed. Theories and concept related with gender and domestic space organisation are reviewed with the intention to find out the gender related symbolic aspects that influence the spatial organisation. These investigations of the association of gender relations and its impact on domestic spaces contribute to build up the theoretical position and therefore in formulating the methodology to examine the research question. In the third section the particular aspects related with house form and gender will be discussed in contextual point to locate the research question by identifying the gap and thereby addressing it with proper methodology. The methodology adopted to address the research question will be elaborately elucidated in the following chapter.
2.1 Domestic Space Organisation Pevsner (1943) thinks history of architecture primarily as a history of man’s shaping space and what differentiate architecture from painting and sculpture is its spatial quality. In architecture, space has been a central research theme. In addition to its function as a physical shelter for the various activities of people and societies, space is also a meaningful and informative formation expressing culture and life-style of different societies. Human behavior does not simply happen in space. It has its own spatial forms. Encountering, congregating, avoiding, interacting,
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dwelling, teaching, eating are not just activities that happen in space. In themselves they constitute spatial patterns. Anthropologists pointed out the importance of houses to understand any civilization. Morgan (1881), Durkheim & Mauss(1902),Bourdieu, Giddens and other anthropologists have provided means to integrate the analysis of the built environment, its role and its meaning in society. Buildings, especially dwellings, serve human needs as well as being the focal point of personal and social identities in the cultures we study. The idea that built forms and collective human behaviour accommodate, express, and reinforce each other originated in the early evolutionary and functional theories of Morgan and Durkheim. As a manifestation of culture, the built environment was seen as integrated into the complex of traits that allowed a group to adapt and maintain itself successfully within their natural environment. In addition to provide shelter against the elements, the particular forms themselves were seen to mirror the cultures that produced them.
Focusing on the broader issue of spatial organization, Durkheim (1965) and Durkheim and Mauss(1963) similarly saw the built environment as an integral part of social life. In a classic volume on the Eskimo, Mauss(1979) provided the ethnographic demonstration of the role of the built environment at several levels of social adaptation and integration--ecological, social, and symbolic. Houses vary in terms of materials, technology, and form, but more importantly in terms of size and social organization. While the adaptation to the environment is important, Mauss's essential interest was in why winter homes are larger. He rejected as explanations the conservation of heat, diffusion of technology, and requirements of collective hunting activities, arguing instead that the larger dwellings are required to accommodate collective ritual intensification during the winter months.
Lawrence and Low (1990:457) found three patterns for the study of built environment. One approach continued the analysis of household organization in relation to dwelling form. Another began to examine built forms as metaphors for complex social and symbolic relationships. A third was to publish separately from the larger ethnography an account of built forms and methods of construction. Most of these studies seek to explain physical features of the built environment, including exterior form, interior plan, decoration, specific building elements by demonstrating the influence of multiple social and cultural factors within particular cultures. Thus the domestic space study can be organised in three groups focusing spatial, symbolic and social aspects of a particular culture.
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2.1.1 Spatial Dimension of Domestic Space
People’s dwellings embody and express cultural and lifestyle preferences. House or dwelling is a concept of both activities like living and residing and a place or structure to contain such activities. It supports all aspects of everyday domestic routines and changing needs at different stages of life. Domestic activities depend on the social and cultural values and produce a spatial pattern. In order to deal with the cultural dimension of housing, it is essential to examine the association of human bodies with material culture. It is the movement of our bodies within domestic setting that enables the learning and practicing of a particular culture imprinted in the spatial configuration. Thus Stea notes: “Everywhere, people, eat, clean their bodies and launder garments, in culturally ritualized ways. Their activities in domestic sphere inevitably involve age and sex-role differentiation, as well. Thus the domestic environment not only communicates and is communicated with, but it acts as a setting for the transfer of knowledge and cultural values. In this way, the built environment serves as a setting for people-to-people communication.” (Stea,1987:xiii) The study of spatial organization is recommended as an approach to identifying the conception and principle of how cultural order is constructed in house form. The arrangement of space associates with a logical process because it must at least serve the functional objective (Hillier and Hanson,1984). Spatial properties and their arrangements are culturally and behaviorally formulated. Since built spaces directly influence behavior, in order to understand the interaction between people and environments, the design of spaces and user’s occupancy are main factors to be concerned. Mercer supports an idea to study built spaces from their arrangements. He notes that spatial organization is an indicator of cultural background and identity. A certain type of behavior seems to occur in a certain type of space, therefore, a physical setting can identify a user’s identity and social relations (Mercer 1975).
Hillier expressed human societies as spatial phenomenon (Hillier,2007:30-31). It takes on a definite spatial form in two senses; first it arranges people in space to understand aggregation and segregation, engendering patterns of movement and encounter between different groupings and second it arranges space itself by means of buildings, boundaries, paths so that the physical milieu of the society also takes on a definite pattern. They proposed distinctive characteristics of societies exist within spatial systems, and their knowledge is conveyed through space itself, and through the organization of spaces. Houses are more complex
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phenomena and usually encode a wealth of social and symbolic information which constitute a shared framework of spatial patterns. Social phenomena are durable in that they leave traces of the material form of their existence in the way in which the pattern of domestic space is arranged. Space configuration, object arrays and people’s routines can therefore be decoded so that the social and symbolic information are retrieved directly from the study of how houses are organised and used.(Hanson J, 1998:269)
Many studies illustrate the complexity of built forms by interpreting the messages from the spatial structure. In general, spatial study can be conducted in two ways, from the observation of buildings tracing back to the experience of users or builders, or from the living experience of built space followed by speculation about how spaces are created (Cuisenier 1997). Cuisenier defines the first type of spatial approach as morphological, focusing on the arrangement of spaces, and the other approach as phenomenological, referring to the actual experience of people living in that space. In order to create a supportive built space, the arrangement of space depends on the nature of activity, users, cultural values and norms. Such a range of physical conditions is not randomly structured; therefore, spatial study from a configurational aspect relies on assumptions from both functional and social logic.
The configurational approach of spatial arrangement is based on the theoretical concept that if built space is composed of organizational units; it is because they are responding to precise living patterns. The way space is organized by its inhabitants gives a deeper understanding of experience taking into account a social system. It is therefore necessary to examine those patterns in order to understand the organizational principles underlying the built spaces. The publications of Architectural Morphology by Steadman (1983) and The Social Logic of Space by Hillier and Hanson (1984) have introduced the analyses of domestic space configuration through architectural morphology. The study of spatial configuration is an approach that reveals the social order embedded in spatial pattern. It has since become a tool applied around the world in a variety of research disciplines and design applications. According to Steadman spatial study begins with the investigation of a morphological diagram that is based on the building floor plan. Shape and the arrangement of spaces provide information for an explanation of spatial relations in a systematic manner.
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2.1.2 Symbolic Dimension: House as a cultural expression ‘Symbols are the only means of communication. They are the only means of expressing value; the main instruments of thought, the only regulators of experience.’ Mary Douglas, 1991 Symbolic approaches interpret the built environment as an expression of culturally shared mental structures and processes. These are obtained with the question: What do built-forms mean and how do they express meaning? Whitehead (1927) expressed the human mind to be functioning symbolically when some components of its experience elicit consciousness, beliefs, emotions and usages, respecting other components of its experience. He defined the former set of the components to be the ‘symbols’ and the later set to constitute the ‘meaning’ of the symbols. A system of relationships among the physical attributes is often shown to represent conscious and unconscious aspects of social life by their configuration, content, and associations. Many symbolic theorists view built forms as tangible evidence for describing and explaining the often intangible features of expressive cultural processes. As expressions of culture, built forms may be seen to play a communicative role embodying and conveying meaning between groups, or individuals within groups. Lawrence and Low (1990:466) find symbolic studies to have several forms: 1. Social symbolic accounts emphasizing how built forms communicate social or political status; 2. Structuralist approaches heavily influenced by linguistic theory; 3. Examinations of the metaphoric functions of built form; 4. Explorations of how meaning in the built environment is activated through ritual; and 5. Phenomenological considerations.
Symbolic theories constitute the most developed avenues of systematic investigation of the built environment in anthropology. They focus on how the meanings associated with built forms are manipulated in communicating values and identities in relation to social and political change. Theories of metaphor have been used by a number of anthropologists to explore architecture and the built environment as a symbolically encoded cultural meaning system. Theories focusing on ritual emphasize the importance of the built environment to ritual efficacy and how the built environment acquires meaning through ritual performances. The application of phenomenological approaches to the study of meaning in the built environment emphasizes the importance of multiple subjective sensory experiences that link physical features with personal identity.
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Building is a basic representation of spatial organization and it is an integral part of culture. People everywhere produce houses whose spatial organization suits the inhabitants’ social life. Several disciplines such as cultural anthropology, cultural geography, architecture and housing studies have suggested obvious linkage between culture and the physical environment (Rapoport 1969; Altman, 1980; Bourdieu 1985; Kent 1984; Lawrence 1990). People’s culture includes norms, values, attitudes and symbolic representations. Anthropologists think of culture as learned behaviours as well as beliefs, attitude, values and ideas that are characteristic of a particular society or population and houses carry cultural information in their material form and space configuration (Hanson,1998; Oliver,1987; Lawrence,1993). Each culture has a different expectation of its dwellings and makes demand accordingly on them. These expectations and demands are related to its social structure and to the ways in which members organize their daily lives. So the internal plans of the dwellings and their space use can be indicative of dissimilar value systems (Oliver,1987:128). Low and Chambers (1989) argue that culture can be defined as a cognitive structure which is a set of rules that are in the mind, encoded in language, serving as a template of cultural ideas. Different cultures structure the hierarchy of values through specific design in people’s minds. Although there are several ways to explore culture, it becomes more understandable when the study focuses on the interpretation of the relationship between built form and human relations.
The concept of culture and its manifestations appear not only in peoples’ perception, beliefs, values, norms, customs and behaviours but also in the design of the objects and in the physical environment including houses. Amos Rapoport defined the built environment as the physical environment of man and sees this as a result of vernacular (or folk) architecture. He emphasizes folk architecture to be the direct and unselfconscious translation into physical form of a culture. Rapoport (1969) introduced the principle that the design and use of houses reflect certain cultural and social values and ideas. According to Rapoport, without trying to define culture one can say that it is about a group of people who share a set of values, beliefs, a worldview and a symbol system that are learned and transmitted. These create a system of rules and habits which reflect ideals and create a life-style, guiding behaviour, roles and manners as well as built forms (Rapoport 1969;1990). “Building a house is a cultural phenomenon; its form and organisation are greatly influenced by the cultural milieu”(Rapoport,1969:46)
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Rapoport expresses house as an institution created for a set of purposes. The main purpose of a house is creating an environment best suited to the way of life of people. Thus a house can be considered as a basic physical element in the formation of the society and culture. While emphasizing on socio cultural factors as the primary forces in determining house form, Rapoport (1969:60-68) finds gender considerations such as
position of women and their privacy as the
key determining factors of house form. Rapoport tried to establish cultural factors as primary factors keeping the others (choice of material, economic, climatic, etc.) as modifying factors. According to him family, position of women, privacy and social intercourse are primary factors that influence the house form (Rapoport,1969). Rapoport (1990) makes another type of suggestion in his article “System of activities and system of settings”, by suggesting how “culture” can be related to the built environment. He notes that ‘culture’ and ‘built form’ are different in scale and culture is a vast domain where built form is a subset. “It can be suggested that “culture” is both too abstract and too global to be useful. Social expressions of culture, such as groups, family structures, institutions, social networks, status relations, and many others, often have settings associated with them or are reflected in the built environment. While it is virtually impossible to link culture to built form ….it is feasible to relate built form to family structure, clans or societies, institutions, sex roles, or status hierarchies.” (Rapoport,1969&1990)
He suggests a sequence where ‘culture’ the highest level of abstraction, is gradually linked to lower level components to arrive at activities at the end. Through this process, the concept of culture is dismantled and becomes more concrete and manageable.
Culture
World view
Values
Lifestyle
Activities
In Rapoport’s study, the use of space is examined in terms of the relationship between architecture and activity. An activity system is a form of cultural and social expression of each society. It occurs in two types of space setting: fixed-feature elements (architectural space and partitioning) and semi-fixed-feature elements (furniture and interior arrangement). The organization of both elements influences activities and reflects the meaning of socio-cultural
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activity (Rapoport 1990). Rapoport suggests that the physical elements within space, such as walls or partitions, function as physical cues that express the structure of spatial organization. He concludes that built form is the representation of the use of space, which in turn is the direct expression of culture.
Altman (1980:155-6) suggests, from the perspective of environmental psychology, three categories of factors that affect the formation of the house, i.e. environmental factors, technological factors and cultural factors. He points out that it is impossible to identify the exact contribution of these factors, and unless those factors are viewed simultaneously, the analysis is incomplete. His proposal seems more dynamic compared to the typological approach discussed earlier as it includes a cultural factor in addition to the environmental and technological factors.
Figure 2.01: The Home in relation to other factors. ( Source: Altman 1980:156) Like Rapoport, Kent argues that the use of space, as a matter of cultural organization, determines architectural form and the cross-cultural study of domestic space by Kent reveals that architectural partitioning reflects some cultural aspects in terms of socio-cultural dimension. The use of walls, curtains and other partitions is based on the perceived gender, activity, function and lifestyle. These elements become important factors that predict the change occurring in spatial and social orders. Kent suggests that the use of space and architecture is specifically a reflection of the socio-political organization of a society. A society with more political complexity tends to have the more segmented architectural spaces as well as the more complex use of space (Kent 1984; 1990). Kent has pointed that Home is a concept that gives symbolic meaning to a house that goes beyond its architecture and whatever the concept of home it is often concerned with family, that is expressed in culturally recognizable ways (Kent S, 1995).
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Despite many investigations of the relationship between culture and the use of space, Lawrence has argued that to focus only on the physical pattern of space may not be adequate for understanding how idea and meaning in specific socio-cultural context are employed. Domestic life is considered to be a process which has a definite historical and cultural meaning (Lawrence R J,1993:73-80). The design and use of houses reflect certain cultural and social values and ideas. These ideas are the generator of spatial layouts, objects and actions in the home (Lawrence RJ,1980: 113-131). In order to address the complex research on housing for the interpretation of a cultural dimension, Lawrence (1990) suggests a model; based on his extensive survey on English and French literature, seven categories repeatedly used for the study of vernacular houses in the previous hundred years: • The aesthetic / formalist interpretation: concerned with the formal composition of buildings rather than what they mean and by whom and how they are used. • The typological approach: focusing upon the geometrical and compositional rules of house plans and location of doors, windows and chimneys. • An evolutionary theory: concerned with the development change in the in house plans and elements through time. • Social geographical diffusionism: relating the development of vernacular houses to the influences of social or geographical diffusion. • Physical explanations, such as material and technology, site and climate. • Social explanations, including economics, household structure and defense.
• Cultural factors including collective spatial images and religious practices.
At the end of his argument, Lawrence describes housing unit as human artifact which defines and delimits space for the member of a household to provide shelter and protection for domestic activities. Thus Lawrence also presents a conceptual reference model where each of three sets of parameters, i.e. physical factors, societal factors and individual factors represents one of the three dimensions of a cube.
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Figure 2.02: A conceptual model of vernacular houses.( Source: reproduced by Seo K W 2005, from Lawrence 1990:256)
2.1.3 Domestic Space and Social Relations The study of domestic spatial use and its physical setting is an approach that directly addresses the impacts of social phenomena in built form. The form of the house is not the result of the physical factors or any other single factor. It is the consequence of a whole range of sociocultural factors seen in their broadest terms. Studies of social structures and domestic space have contributed to the understanding of how social and economic systems influence dwelling forms through household process seeking to explain household relations within the built environment. Theories of the social production of built form focus on the social, political, and economic forces that produce the built environment, and conversely, the impact of the socially produced built environment on social action. Dominant concepts in the field include notions of
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social production and reproduction rather than culture. Buildings result from social needs and accommodate a variety of functions-economic, social, political, religious and cultural. Their size, appearance, location and form are governed not simply by physical factors (climate, materials or topography) but by a society's ideas, its forms of economic and social organization, its distribution of resources and authority, its activities and the beliefs and values which prevail at any one period of time" (King,1980). The relationship between domestic space organisation and assigned meaning has been approached in one group of studies in the belief that typical forms are associated with the features of the social organisation (Robinson,1994;Oliver,1987). The hypothesis is that people try to adapt their homes to their behavioural and functional needs, and that when the organisation of domestic space is unable to accommodate the behavioural requirement people correct the problem through construction, renovation or moving into a new house. Robinson argues that society generally agrees on a basic level of ‘types’ recognized by a visual categorization, which is shared within a given socio-cultural context. Hence to investigate meanings that may be encoded in built-form, it is argued that the notion of ‘type’ is a good indicator as it simultaneously pack a variety of information into one icon, representing 1. a set of architectural attributes that can be described; 2. a set of rules for construction and for organisation of space; 3. a set of behaviours and defined roles that take place within it; This suggests that the shared image of the ‘types’ , defined by geometrical properties as an assimilation of buildable spaces, is related to a set of behaviours expressing a frame of thoughts generated by the rules of construction and organisation of space that operate in the society. (Robinson,1994:182) Any discussion of the relationship between built form and social organisation necessarily involves formulations about two quite different kinds of spatial order. The first is the arrangement of space by society: The ways in which every culture transforms its environment by means of boundaries, solid objects and differentiated spaces, into the pattern of buildings and settlements which we recognise as giving a society a distinct architectural identity. This form of spatial patterning produces concrete results which are relatively easy to identify and talk about -houses, special buildings, villages, towns, and the like - that are relatively durable social products which outlast individual intentions and crystallize society in a material form (LeviStrauss,1972; Mead,1964).
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The second form of spatial order is less easy to identify as a pattern. This is the arrangement of society in space: The ways in which the members of a society are themselves deployed in space, in both social groups and networks, to construct the patterns of encounter and avoidance which are characteristic of that society. It is more usual to see this kind of patterning as purely social. After all, people are freely mobile individuals, whose activity and interrelationships are, compared to buildings, momentary and transient. But it is important that they can, and must also be seen as spatial phenomena. The living out of systems of kinship, clanship, club membership, work and association produce material spatial results, in terms of who lives with whom, who meets whom, and so on. Whilst a society is obviously not just these physical interactions, it does take on a material form, and if we are to understand the social nature of space, then we must also understand the spatial nature of human society.
According to Hillier and Hanson, every society has aspects of its structure which are projected directly into space; provided that it is culturally defined, it would seem that most societies do have mechanisms for ensuring "privacy" for the individual, and other spatial groupings. But it seems equally clear that every society has aspects of its structure which do not correspond directly to space in this way, and these also have consequences for the way in which people are deployed in space, and even for the arrangement of space itself. (Hanson and Hillier, 1987: 251-273) Domestic space varies in the degree to which it is subject to social knowledge, but it is not uncommon for it to be patterned according to codes of considerable intricacy which govern what spaces there are, how they are labeled, how bounded they are, how they are connected and sequenced, which activities go together in them and which are separated, what individuals or categories of persons have what kinds of rights in them, how they are decorated, what kinds of objects should be displayed in them and so on. In the hypothesis of space syntax analysis topological structure of space is seen as a fundamental mean by which society constitutes itself, and thus, the spatial patterns of buildings both embody and shape social patterns. Hillier and Hanson(1984:142) have seen buildings and settlements as both functional and symbolic artefacts that constitutes as well as express society in the way that they configure spaces. Ordering of space in building is really about the ordering of relations between people and thus it helps us to recognize society (Hillier and Hanson 1984:1-2).
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Hillier finds dwellings as one of the most pervasive examples of built environments and point on the spatial order as a mean by which we can recognize the existence of the cultural differences between the social formations. “Spatial order is one of the most striking means by which we recognise the existence of the cultural differences between one social formation and another....We read space and anticipate a lifestyle.” (Hillier and Hanson, 1984:26-27) Thus Hillier concludes that we only become aware of the degree of patterning in our own culture when we encounter another form of patterning in another culture(Hillier, 2007:30-31). They proposed distinctive characteristics of societies exist within spatial systems, and their knowledge is conveyed through space itself, and through the organization of spaces. They suggest that to understand cultural orders it is necessary to examine how space configures in the design of spatial layout. In order to compare dwellings with one another and to interpret their sociological significance, Hanson proposed to understand the space pattern existing in them.(Hanson1998:22) Analysis of domestic space configuration provides the link between the design of dwellings and their social consequences (Hanson 1998:1). Houses everywhere serve the same basic needs of living, cooking, eating entertaining, bathing, sleeping. ‘The important thing about a house is not that it is a list of activities or rooms but that it is a pattern of spaces, governed by their intricate conventions about what spaces there are, how they are connected together and sequenced, which activities go together and which are separated out, how the interior is decorated and even what kind of household objects should be displayed in the different parts of the home.’ (Hanson, 1998:2).
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2.2 Gender and Domestic space Sociologists scrutinize patterns of behaviour to understand and accurately describe the social interactions of a community or society2 and the social structures3 in which they take place. The notion of social difference has been used by scholars to categorize the relationship of domestic space and embodied meanings. Like language, space is socially constructed; “People everywhere produce houses whose spatial organisation suits the inhabitants’ social life. Like the syntax of language, the spatial arrangement of our building and communities reflect and reinforce the nature of gender, race and class relation in society”(Weisman 1992:2). Gender
4
is an ascribed status
5
of a person which is biological in origin but is significant
because of their social meaning in the society (Schaefer, 2003:300-311).“Gender” refers to the socially and culturally constructed distinctions that accompany biological differences associated with a person’s sex while biological differences are constant over time and across cultures, the social implications of gender differences vary historically and socially (Spain, 1992:3). In studying gender sociologists are interested in the gender roles6 that lead male and female to behave differently. Women and men have different positions within the household and different control over resources; they not only play different and changing roles in the society, but also have different needs. There is an almost universal tendency to make three broad generalized assumptions related with gender planning: 1. That the household consists of a nuclear family. 2. That the household functions as a socio-economic unit within which there is equal control over resources and power of decision-making. 3. Within the household there is a clear division of labour based on gender. 2
Ely Chinoy defines society as the system of institutions which governs behaviour and provides the framework for social life. Young and Mack defined society as The broadest grouping of people who share a common set of habits, ideas, attitudes, live in a definite territory and consider themselves a social unit (Osipov, 1969) .
3
Five basic elements of social structure are: Status, Social roles, groups, social networks and social institutions (like family, religion, etc.). Status, one of the five basic elements of social structure, refers to the socially defined positions within a large group. Status can be of two types: ascribed status and achieved status.
4
5
Ascribed statuses are assigned to a person by society at birth without regard for this person’s unique talent or characteristics. These statuses are biological in origin but are significant because of their social meaning in the society.
6
A social role is a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status. Every culture has specific notions about women’s and men’s roles.
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Moser finds the third one, which relates with the gender division of labour within the household, as the most problematic of the three planning assumptions. The man of the family, as the "breadwinner", is primarily involved in productive work outside the home, while the woman as the housewife and "homemaker" takes overall responsibility for the reproductive and domestic work. In most of the low income third world household’s women have a triple role.(Moser,1993:27) 7
8
Women's work includes not only reproductive work ; it also includes productive works often as 9
secondary income earners. Women also take community managing works . Feminist geographers have been pioneers on the frontier of theories about space and gender and highlighted gender relations in order to investigate and understand how socially created categories of difference affect the environment (Spain, 1992; Ardener, 1981; Massey,1984; McDowell,1990).Focusing on economic and gender relations, kinship, developmental cycle, these studies seek to explain household relations with the built environment as embedded in larger social processes. The spatial structure of buildings embodies knowledge of social relations. Thus dwelling reflects ideals and realities about relationship between women and men within the family and in society. Ardener focused on spatial differences between the genders (Ardener,1981). She argued that a ‘social map’ of patriarchy created the ground rules for the behaviour of men and women and the gender roles and relations of patriarchy constructed some spaces as feminine and others as masculine and thus allocated certain kinds of gendered activities to gendered places. Numerous theories on gender stratification shed light on the relationship among knowledge, place and power. Majority of the theories can be classified into those that focus on the family and those that look to economy for explanations. (Spain,1992:21-9) Societies vary in the way 7
The reproductive roles (Moser,1993:29] comprises of child bearing/rearing responsibilities and domestic tasks undertaken by women required to guarantee the maintenance and reproduction of the labour force. It includes not only biological reproduction but also the care and maintenance of the work force (husband and working children] and the future work force (infants and school going children].
8
Productive (Moser, 1993:31] roles comprises of works done by both women and men for payment in cash or kind. It includes both market productions with an exchange value.(Moser, 1993:34]
9
The community managing role comprises of activities undertaken primarily by women at the community level, as an extension of their reproductive role. It is unpaid and voluntary work undertaken in free time to ensure the provision and maintenance of the scarce resources of collective consumption, such as water, health care and education. It can be paid work either directly or indirectly, through wages or increase in status and power.
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that power within the family is distributed. Spain comments on architectural space to play a role in maintaining status distinctions by gender (Spain, 1992:3).It has been widely argued that house form is influenced by the gender roles embedded in family structures (Saegert & Winkel,1980;Spain,1992; Bowlby et al,1997; Weisman,1992; Kent,1984). The Theories on family argues that characteristics of individuals contribute to gender-status distinctions, while the economist theory claims that economic structure shapes gender-status distinctions. Family is the smallest unit of the social institution. An institution in sociological terms refers to a patterned set of activities organized around the production of certain social outcomes. For example family is an institution because it is organised to produce future generations (Spain,1992:11). The activities that constitute social institution occur in specific place and family live in homes. The family as a unit, which embodies many relationships between men and women, adults and children can best illustrate the complex nature of space itself and the meaning attached to it by individuals within the family. The family holds a pivotal role in the transmission of cultural and social values and beliefs, not only relating to the form and function of the house, but the many aspects that constitute culture itself: language, names, religion, behaviour, child rearing, status and aspiration and social hierarchy. If a society expects males to dominate in all family decision making, it is termed as patriarchy (Schaefer, 2003:300-311). In a patriarchal society the eldest male wields the greatest power, although the wives are expected to be treated with respect and kindness. A woman’s status is defined by her relationship to a male relative, usually as wife, mother or daughter. Patrilineal descent and patrilocal residence requires the women to move to her husband’s kin group after marriage and allow male dominance. In a matriarchy, women have greater authority than men. Matrilineal descent and matrilocal residences are associated with higher status for women. A third type of authority pattern, the egalitarian, is one in which spouses are regarded as equals. Within the traditional household a hierarchical social morphology is seen. A strict separation may be discerned between the lines of women and those of men in traditional times and mainly referred to as a separation of women’s and men’s role and spheres of activity. Clark commented on the line to be sharply drawn between the spheres of men and women; women are confined within the circle of their domestic responsibilities, while men should explore the ever widening regions of the state. (Clark, 1919:302) In the Traditional Family Structure the man was the family’s main guardian and sole means of support, whereas the women and children were the dependents. (Oakley, 1976:43)
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During recent decades, it is argued that the relationship between the husband and wife has changed. A series of changes have occurred in composition and organization of the family. First they have become smaller; Willmott and Young reported that “The average family size fell from nearly six at about the middle of the nineteenth century to just over two in 1970 (Willmott and Young, 1977:89).Apart from size reduction other changes have taken place. Resident domestic servants have virtually disappeared and nuclear families emerged. Wilson States “The Nuclear family has been in recent times the basic form of social organization”(Wilson, 1977:168).The separation of the nuclear from the extended family constitutes a phenomenon of fundamental importance because it affected the intra-domestic relationship of husband and wife. In the new kind of family structure the changing relationship of husband and wife are described as “symmetrical”10, and the distribution of work within the household are shared by husband and wife. Changes in the family structure and the patterns of family life are closely interwoven with a total change in the life pattern of a married woman. Seminal works of Willmott and Young describes change in the family structure as “one of the greatest transformation of our time”. “In place of old comes a new kind of companionship between man and woman, reflecting the rise of status of the young wife and children which is one of the greatest transformations of our time. There is now a nearer approach to equality between the sexes and though each has a particular role, its boundaries are no longer so rigidly defined...” (Willmott and Young, 1977:30) Ozaki’s (2003) research initially looks at a link between culture and house plans described in the existing literature on English housing, and provides general ideas on the associations between the two, especially in terms of social status and changing social relations. Consequently, middle-class families developed less formal relationships between husbands and wives, and parents and children, which led to the decline in formality within the household (Burnett, 1986). From an economic perspective, the creation of gender can be thought of as the creation of a division of labour between the sexes, the creation of two categories of workers who need each other (Claude Levi-Strauss, 1971). In our society, the division of labour between the sexes involves men primarily in wage labour beyond the household and women primarily in production within the household; men and women, living together in households, pool their resources. 10
The term "symmetrical” was introduced by Willmott and Young in “The Symmetrical Family”, Penguin 1973also in Dahlstrom, E. and Lifestrom, R. “The Family and Married Women at work” in Dahlstrom , E.(ed) “The Changing roles of Men and Women”, Duckworth, London, 1967:40.
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The economy based concept explains women’s economic control of property to be related with their status. Several features are often said to have a bearing on the status of the women in the family, and it is often suggested that control over the economic resources is crucial for the attainment of the domestic power. This explains women’s status is higher in non-industrial societies where hunting and gathering takes precedence. In Industrial societies due to human capital and occupational segregation women have a lower status. The socio-economic status of the women reveals their role in their respective houses. The education level and participation in the paid labour force makes them a contributing member economically which in turn decides their status. For example a woman who is economically active and contributes in family has a more commanding role in her household decisions. In present western society, gender roles are known to be influenced by the women’s employment status transforming with employment from an ascribed status of homemaker to the achieved status of equality in partnership (Pahl, 1984). In1951 26.9% of women in Britain were economically active and in 1971 this rose to 36.5% gradually increasing to 71% in 1991(Little J, 1994:46-48). The expansion of women’s participation was between 1939 and 1945, during the Second World War (Walby, 1986). Along with social change women’s lives have changed considerably and affected the built environment. Billson et al (2005) suggest significant change in women’s lives in recent times where it is reported that ‘female well-being’ has grown for the better, across the world, including developing Asian contexts such as Bangladesh and Thailand, understood by demographic indicators of life expectancy, fertility rates, literacy, education and economic participation.
2.2.1
Segregation
Geographies
of gender reflect the inequalities of women’s and men’s space as socially
constructed category in different society in different time ,and therefore report division of work and life in relation to these categories and the resultant gendered nature of space organisation(Massey,1984; McDowell,1990; Bowlby et al, 1989;Greed,2005). The differences between women and men within the same household and within and between cultures that are socially and culturally constructed change over time. These differences are reflected in: roles, responsibilities, access to resources, constraints, opportunities, needs, perceptions, views, etc. held by both women and men. Through rules about how space is to be used, people are obliged to act out their relations to each other in a particularly personal and immediate way.
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Bourdieu, in his analysis of the Berber house (1973), argues that a child growing up in a Berber house will automatically absorb Berber notions and values about human relationship in particular the relationship between genders. The inward orientation of the women and the outward orientation of men are reflected in contrast within the house between interior and exterior, dark and light, low and height, back and front, night and day, nature and culture. Bourdieu (1977:94) notes, the principles thus transmitted in condensed, symbolic form are simultaneously placed beyond the grasp of consciousness.
Waterson concluded that among the anthropological studies so far produced on the use of space, the symbolism of gender occupies a prominent place and given the subordinate role of women in many societies, it is no surprise to find women persistently relegated to ‘inferior’ spaces such as back of the house, excluded from the public to private or trapped in domestic sphere which is intended to be restricted both physically and mentally(Waterson R, 1990:167198). Thus we find Indian Muslim women ‘in purdah’ describing themselves as ‘Frogs in a well’ prevented from knowing the outside world (Jeffrey, 1979).
The separation of space according to gender was dominant in the patriarchal society (Monsoor, 1999:42; Barrett,2000:46). The term patriarchy is used to describe male control over women which was seen as fundamental to the explanation of women’s position in the society (Little J, 1994). Walby defined this as ‘system of social structures and social practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women’ (Walby, 1986:51). Patriarchy's material base is men's control of women's labour; both in the household and in the labour market; the division of labour by gender tends to benefit men. The concept of women’s sphere was a product of both patriarchy and industrial capitalism (Hayden,1981:296). In our society, which is organized by patriarchy as well as by capitalism, the sexual division of labour by gender makes men primarily responsible for wage labour and women primarily responsible for household production.
The major developments in urban form clearly had very important and far reaching implications for gender roles. (Davidoff and Hall,1987; Little,1994)The separation of home and work created a greater demarcation in the activities of men and women. Pre-industrial city was characterised by a mixed use of residential, commercial or industrial areas. Industrialization created the separation of home and work place. As trading activities increased it resulted with important changes in the organization of the family life of the merchant classes. Business and domestic work became separate and consequently men's and women's role were more detached.
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In the sixteenth and seventeenth century the merchants composed the upper middle class of the wealthy tradesmen with the colonial power. An ideology of gender difference was found in their houses. Their women were focused in home environment. House plans in the middle class family in 1860 shows that there were separations in the house according to class (servantmaster) and gender (female and family spaces located in private sphere segregated from the formal male public areas). (Roberts, 1991)
In the nineteenth century, industrialization promoted the view that the home was a private arena away from the unpleasantness of the outside world. This resulted in a segregation of living patterns, especially in middle-class households (Davidoff and Hall, 1987). When men left their place of work within the house to establish factories, offices, workshops as main site of their economic production the gender division between breadwinners and caretakers came into view (Moser, 1987).The evolution of British housing from the early nineteenth century onwards was strongly influenced by an ideology of family and respectability in which notions of class and gender were closely intertwined. The theme of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century feminism movement was to overcome the split between domestic life and public life created by Industrial capitalism, as it affected women.
Gender divisions within the dwelling typically reflect the religious belief of the people. History holds many examples of sexually segregated dwellings associated with women's lower status. Oliver (1987) found non-industrial societies to be often separated as women and men within the dwelling. Ancient Greek houses consisted of series of apartment like megarons surrounding separate men's and women's courtyards. In a typical Purum house, for example, domestic space is divided into right /left, male/female quarters, with higher value attributed to areas and objects associated with right/male and lower value associated with left/female (Sciama, 1981:91). The Bedouin tent, the Mongolian nomadic tribe's tent 'ger' provides examples of symbolically differentiated gendered spaces. Each of these single roomed dwellings is characterized by separate spaces for women and men. The male section contains the possessions of the head of the household and honoured guests: the female section contains cooking utensils and children's possession. The Berber house of the Kabylia, Algeria is simple spaces divided both symbolically and physically into male and female domains. The traditional dwelling is a rectangular room
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divided by a wall to separate a dark, lower level stable from the living quarters on the higher lighter level. The male entrance is at the east and the female entrance is at the west.
Figure 2.03: Bedouin tent, Mongolian nomadic tribe's tent and Berber’s teda mat Tent Source: Hanson 1998:9 and Spain 1992:42
A number of anthropologists have been prompted to develop much closer analyses of the variable symbolic patterns linking male and female, nature and culture, and the public and domestic spheres in different societies.(Waterson,1990:167-198) Ethnographers (Altman and Gauvain,1981; Lawrence, 1982) have explained that cultural binary oppositions dictate the design and use of spaces in built environment. Many studies have highlighted ‘formal guests’ as a category of visitors whose activities and behaviour affect spatial arrangements of homes. Symbolic spaces reserved for the use of guests as separate from the daily use areas are seen to exist in English homes, which separate between public and private spheres (Davidoff and Hall1987). The parlour of the English homes , known to be the best room and used occasionally can be considered as an expression of achieving status(Williams 1987) . The parlour is located at an enclosed space and entered into everyday (Hanson ,1998). Lawrence argued that certain idealism prevailed with regard to the front and back region of the home in the context of Australia and England and Johnson (1990) finds space to be not only gendered but also patriarchal in the context of New Zealand.
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The notion of the front and the back is closely associated with the demarcation between public (Symbolic life) and private(secular life). In the nineteenth Century, industrialization promoted the view that the home was a private arena away from the unpleasantness of the outside world. This resulted in segregation of living patterns, especially in middle-class households (for upper class still had estate management and legal or political duties in the home and the working class still spent their private time after work in the street or tavern; Davidoff and Hall, 1987). First, space for work disappeared from the living area; a house was physically separated from business. Then, inside the house, ‘back stage’ functions, such as cooking, eating, washing and sleeping began to be separated from polite, social activities. Within the domestic area, the upper- and middle-class house came to have special places for each activity, which were set aside for specific purposes, like the front parlour, the dining room and the kitchen. Servants’ quarters were located in the back premises, since they functioned as part of back-stage activities; and this separation between families and servants is also an example of class differentiation. (Williams, 1987) In the 19th and early 20th century there was a clear division between front and rear in the English houses. The front room or parlour facing the street was used for receiving the guests and for formal in the family occasions and best furniture were kept there. The kitchen dining was used for eating and performing other household activities like child caring, sewing, resting and other domestic activities.(Roberts, 1991)The front region of the house is a place where a performance is given, whereas the back region is where informal behaviour and domestic activities take place.
Chapman (Chapman1955:33) defined parlour as the living-room reserved for occasions of particular significance in the life of the family, or in its external social life and for the housing of articles of intrinsic or sentimental value. Hillier expressed the ‘front parlour’ as a “particular kind of space, a space which is not used except on special occasions” (Hillier B., Seminar at UCL, July 1978, cited by Donta E.). The post- war houses were less ‘room’ based and concepts like ‘area’, ‘space’, or ‘zone’ replaced the concept of rooms which allowed flexibility, adaptability and freedom in the spaces. Separation by means of permanent walls is also omitted.
In one of the earliest studies on urban house form in Dhaka by Imamuddin (1982),the binary pairs of front-back, outer-inner, male-female, clean-dirty seems to be present in the organisation of the Bengali houses. He explained this binary concept with the tripartite relationship among
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formal family and service part of the consolidated type houses in the post colonial period. (Imamuddin, 1982:2.21-2.40)
Figure 2.04: The tripartite relationship of the formal-family-service in Bengali house Source: Drawing by Islam,2007 ofImamuddin, 1982:2.30
The front of the house in the context of Dhaka relates to both climatic and physical situation (Imamuddin, 1982:2.30). Climatic front refers to the direction of summer wind. Natural ventilation is an essential requirement in this hot and humid climatic condition and as wind flows from south, south-facing houses are ideal situation in these houses. Front and back is often synonymously used for inner and outer part of the house. This distinction is made on the basis of activities according to their functional and symbolic values. Spaces with symbolic values form a part of the front stage and the functional values remain in the back stage. The concept of male-female is also used in the organisation to express the socio-cultural concept of privacy with the separation of male and female zone in the house. Traditional custom in the Bengali culture is to receive the male guests in separate parts of the house. Conceptually men are seen as strangers as far as household affairs are concerned. Socio-cultural rules and customs have confined women within the boundaries of the house and they are the back stage performers.(Imamuddin, 1982:2.21-2.40)
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2.2.2
Privacy
Privacy of the household members has been often discussed as a basic ingredient of domestic space emphasized by segregation of private and public spaces in a house. Privacy is defined as the quality or state of being apart from company or observation. As an act, privacy provides freedom from unauthorized intrusion. Privacy denotes a place of seclusion and it is the quality of being secluded from the presence or view of others or the condition of being concealed or hidden. Privacy is one particular aspect of social and psychological tendencies which relate to different forms of dwellings and social life (Lidia S 1981:89-111) .There is a clear distinction, both physically in the form of the house, and emotionally, between the inside and the outside of the home. The doorstep forms a boundary between the private realm of the family, away from the scrutiny of others where they can exercise control over outsider’s involvement in domestic affairs, and the public world of wider society.
While the idea of privacy as a communication-control mechanism derives from human behaviour (environmental psychology), it is also often characterized as a physical property of the environment. According to environmental psychology, each person is perceived as an individual surrounded by an invisible shelter, or even a series of shelters, extended beyond its epidermis. These personal protective spheres, by which privacy is controlled, vary from person to person and from culture to culture. They also differ from period to period as society and social bonds are continually transformed and reconstructed. Altman(1975) presents privacy as a collection of six points: 1. Privacy is an interpersonal boundary-control process. 2. Two important aspects of privacy are desired privacy and achieved privacy. 3. Privacy is a dialectic process, which involves both a restriction of interaction and a seeking of interaction. 4. Privacy is an optimizing process. 5. Privacy is an input and output process; people and groups attempt to regulate contacts coming from others and output they make to others. 6. Privacy can involve different types of social units: individuals, families, mixed or homogeneous sex groups, and so on. (Altman, 1975, p. 10-12)
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The design of built spaces must provide an appropriate distance for users in a particular culture. Hall’s study provides a conceptual work on the subject of space and social relations. He points out that every culture has its definition of activities which vary depending on the way spaces are occupied. Hall's best-known work on the influence of culture on spatial perception and behavior is in the field of proxemics, the study of people's use of space as an aspect of culture. People’s interaction appears to interconnect with social meanings, which therefore influence spatial use and its design. “If one sees man surrounded by a series of invisible bubbles which have measurable dimensions, architecture can be seen in a new light” (Hall, 1969: 121) Hall postulates that human may have an innate distancing mechanism, modified by culture that helps to regulate contact in social situations. Conceptualized as a bubble surrounding each individual, personal space varies in size according to the type of social relationships and situation. Hall proposes four general kinds of spheres; intimate, personal, private and public. According to Hall’s findings, spatial design directly influences people and their behavior. Therefore, properties of space not only describe behavioral conditions but also reflect cultural dimensions of social phenomena.
This private-public territory, as one of the binary codes followed in the organization of domestic space, is governed culturally (Lawrence, 1987; Goffman, 1959). The denotation of 'public' and 'private' implied that some form of spatial pattern accompanied the separation of women and men into different activities. This supported the concept of ‘gendered space’ which originates from a private-public separation model and confines women within the private domain of a house in performing the domestic works and secluding from outside public realm (Rendell J, 2000:103). The most extreme example of spatial segregation is found in Muslim societies observing 'purdah' which refers to the veiling and segregation of Muslim women to minimize their contact with men (Caplan 1985, Papenek1973). In Muslim society the system of purdah was developed to keep women secluded in the home in a space safe from unregulated sexual contact. Purdah commands women to cover their face, avoid eye contact with men, and remain in their homes (Moududi, 1972). Adherence to purdah is simplified by the layout of the dwelling. Purdah has specified the seclusion of women in particular places within the home for many centuries (Khatib-Chahidi1981).Patricia Jeffery had found that ‘purdah’, which was the seclusion of women, was observed in the Muslim and Hindu society in the Indian context (Jeffery, P1979).
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Within the Indian households men and women sleep in separate rooms or on separate sides of a hut and sit apart at social or religious gatherings. Women carryout their domestic works in the courtyard or inner rooms that men may enter only to take meals or perform chores. Muslim women strictly kept themselves to their part of the house which is known as 'zenana'. Purdah is a Persian word literally meaning curtain or veil was mainly confined to the rich and well-to–do classes in the context of Bengal. Gradually it became a social phenomenon curtailing women’s mobility and right to public spaces. Female modesty was deeply rooted in the primary teachings of Islam while in the social values of Indian culture it was prized highly. The custom of purdah was more rigorously followed towards the later part of the eighteenth century in Bengal. Girls married at early age were forbidden to talk to even male close relatives at day time. (Akhtar, 2007:519)Purdah implied certain limitations on the interaction between men and women (Amin, 1992:719). Purdah may be seen as an extreme example of a common phenomenon: the dichotomy between the private domestic sphere and the public sphere. Many others have described this public–private dichotomy as an indicator of subordination of women, of differential power being allocated to men and to women (Monsoor, 1999; Jeffery, 1979;Barrett, 2000). A number of studies concentrate on how built forms accommodate privacy and enhance the separation required by purdah (Lawrence and Low, 1990:74,285,341, and 389). Zako(2006) noted that in the widespread house form in the Arab and Islamic cities were the courtyard houses was for the concern of privacy and this was reflected in the physical form in several ways .One among them was the placement of door. Design of the entrance was by placing a wall to ensure visual privacy of the interiors.
Bellal (2007) found that the identity of a visitor as observer to the house is not only defined as 11
formal or informal, it is defined foremost as male/female, Muhram/non Muhram , and then as formal/informal in M’zab (Berber) Muslim culture. The identity, which embedded socio-cultural and religious norms, plays a significant role in determining how the visitor “will” experience the spatial pattern of the house. The status of visitors, as formal and informal, determines the space in which they be received. 11
Muhram categories, according to Islam, are those with whom marriage was disallowed such as father, brother, sons, for female and as mother, daughter, and sister for the male. It also includes nephews or nieces and aunts. And for women, they are also uncles, grandfather, brothers or sons and grandmother as well as similar gender (female/female and male/male].
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2.2.3 Dominance and Visual control
Dominance is related with the power and control over the domestic space of a culture. The relationship of gender and its social connotation as a cultural factor has an imprint on the morphology of house form. For example, the built environments which reflect separation and those which reflect centrality in the settlement pattern tell different stories about the way of life in that society as do cities which are formed with buildings directly adjacent to the street and those which are formed with ones having courtyards in between. Hillier, Hanson and Graham (1987)analysed the house plans of Normandy (France) and questioned whether the spatial pattern organised around transition means the same as the spatial pattern organised around functional space (Salle Commune) or whether they arise in different social circumstances. The sale commune with the combination of cooking, the everyday living and the spaces associated with laundry, making dairy products etc. seems to be spaces where women were expected to be dominant; hence this genotype embodied social meaning of a female centred view. In contrast the other type could be argued as to be associated with male centred view of the household. These genotypes embodied different meanings which lead us with the idea that gender relation can express themselves in space (Hillier, Hanson and Graham, 1987). Historical perspective has revealed that in many countries the kitchen was visually the focus of all family activities and there was no explicit spatial demarcation between family leisure and housework inside the home. Formerly, there had been a strict demarcation between the kitchen for cooking activities, which was a female domain, and the dining room for eating formal meals, which was a male domain. During this century the kitchen becomes more separate, solely for housework. The new conjugal roles introduced the kitchen-diner; that is, people ate in the place where the meal had been prepared (Burnett, 1986; Saunders, 1990). So, as the traditional role of women and the lowly status of domestic labour began to change, the kitchen moved “forward from the back of the house” (Saunders, 1990:269).
From an ethnographic research (Lawrence, R J. 1987) it was found that a group of women commented that their husbands did not like to see the dirty pots of the kitchen while they ate or relaxed at the same time women did not wish to be isolated from the daily family activities while preparing the food. It can be interpreted from these comments that the kitchen is not only a place for food preparation and dirty pots but women's work space also. As these women were rarely aided by their husbands with domestic chores their kitchen is classified as women's
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domain. In general when the distinction between male and female role is strong then the spatial demarcation of food preparation activities from the other rooms in the house is also strong. Where domestic activities are shared by members of the household, then diverse household activities were preferred in kitchen (Lawrence, R J. 1987:140). The domestic environment transferred into ‘open-plan’ houses. In the 1960s architects and builders experimented with 'open plan' arrangements with a free flow of space between kitchen dining and living areas. Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Mies Van Den Rohe and other master Architects introduced the idea for the relationship between activity and space, associated with new concepts of continuity, plasticity and flexibility. Farns worth house (Mies Van Der Rohe), Glass house (Philip Johnson) introduced new house plan where living area is treated as almost one space instead of individual cells knit together. Here the old version of ‘isolated’ kitchen seems to be abandoned and opened up to the rest of the living areas.
The kitchen-diner is a popular space in contemporary housing, centred on the idea that it is where the woman of the house is found, expressing conventional gender relations. When the kitchen is more open, it used to be reflecting the improvement of women’s social status and their conventional role as homemakers. An open kitchen is based on the idea that the housewife is there (Boys et al., 1984), which implies conventional gender relations; as seen above; female respondents admitted that they spent much time in the kitchen. Still, the kitchen is no longer isolated; it is more open than it used to be, reflecting less formal social relations within the household. The housewife can interact with other family members and even with guests, as well as cook and look after children. Similarly, interaction between adults and children takes place more readily in this configuration than in the traditional layout with separate rooms.
An additional point about the kitchen is that there are quite a few houses with the kitchen at the front of the house, a traditional male domain. In the English context the front kitchen has been regarded as an expression of women’s liberation (Boys et al., 1984; Saunders, 1990). The kitchen has moved back and forth in the house during the last thirty years rather than steadily being relocated to the front. It is suggested that the reasons for this apparently arbitrary movement are the cost-oriented trend in the 1970s and the demand for smaller houses resulting from the decline in household size in the 1990s (Ozaki, 1999). The front kitchen allowed builders to use shorter pipes to the manhole in the street (in the 1970s), and is more suitable for the small frontage of the small house (in the 1990s). Thus, the front kitchen appears not to be a
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result of more equal gender relations, but a reflection of economic factors and demands for smaller houses for single-occupancy households (Ozaki, 1999). Ozaki found the movement of the kitchen from the back to the front of the house not to be linear. Within the last 30 years, the kitchen has moved back and forth within the house, despite the rising status of the woman.
Johnson (2006) considers the kitchen as a unique site of gender, power and culture where prior association between public and private, back and front, closed and open have been altered. For Johnson, the kitchen is a space, which offered safety, self-definition, expression and pleasure for women and therefore a space of containment and empowerment. Saankangas (2006) argues that the modernisation of kitchens in Finland from the 1930s to 1950s was about the changing perceptions of the ascribed roles of women. The kitchen, from being a separate enclosed space changed to a spatial continuum between kitchen, dining, corner and living room and at the same time it became a central place that was integrated into the family rooms of the house. This making visible of the work of the housewife signified a radical change in terms of domestic labour, which now received a visible position in the home. This is viewed as a redefinition of femininity within the home. The questions of gender and class, clean and unclean, were intricately interwoven in the opening up of the kitchen and the fading out of its boundaries, affecting the movements of inhabitants.
Eleni Donta (1978), in her dissertation sets out two parallel phenomena of recent decades and examines the problems of their interrelation: firstly, the changing modes of internal domestic space organization with a shift towards the ‘open plan’ house and secondly the phenomenon of changing social structure of the family associated with a redefinition in conjugal roles, tasks and spheres of activity. The post- war houses were less ‘room’ based and concepts like ‘area’, ‘space’, or ‘zone’ replaced the concept of rooms which allowed flexibility, adaptability and freedom in the spaces. Her second phenomenon of changing social structure of the family is concerned with the separation of the nuclear from the extended family as it affected the intra domestic relationship of husband and wife. Under the new relationship of equality, freedom, intimacy and informality among the family members are the cause of the transformation of domestic environment. The necessity to open up kitchen to the rest of the living area was the result of the new position of the women within the family.
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2.3 Structuralism in Domestic Space Analysis
Structuralism is a theoretical approach in the symbolic analysis of built form. The major advocate of this approach is Claude Levi-Strauss, who postulates the existence of (a) a structured collective unconscious capable of generating patterned cultural behaviors, including built forms; and (b) unconscious mental structures comprised of binary oppositions that represent universal characteristics of human thought (Levi-Strauss1963). Certain spatial oppositions will always present themselves as potential means of encoding opposed social categories.
Applying
this
approach
to
spatial
organization,
Levi-Strauss
reanalyzes
ethnographic descriptions provided by earlier anthropologists of the built environment in societies with dual organizations. He postulates, for example, an underlying structure of interrelated homologous binary oppositions-periphery/center, married/unmarried, cooked/raw- to explain the similarities among Trobriand settlement plans, kinship relations, and food categories. A house is a symbolic place combining paradoxical concepts that can easily be identified as “binary codes.” Internal and external, private and public, female and male, sacred and profane are binary codes used to explain roles and activities of people in spaces (Goffman 1959; Lawrence, 1990; Waterson , 1990:167-198; Lawrence, 1990; Ünlü, 1999). The most important advance beyond the structuralist approach can be found in the works of Pierre Bourdieu (1977) who formalizes the role of action in the production and reproduction of meaning and structures in socio-spatial orders. Bourdieu adopted this analogy in his book ‘Outline of a Theory of Practice’: “The house, an opus operandum, lends itself as such to a deciphering, but only to a deciphering which does not forget that the “book” from which the children learnt their vision of the world is read with the body, in and through the movements and displacements which make the space within which they are enacted as much as they are made by it.” (Bourdieu 1977: 90) A structuralist analysis of the Kabyle house revealing homologous structures of physical and symbolic oppositions provides the setting in which Bourdieu is able to trace out how actions, in relation to spatial configurations and objects, socialize. In the Kabyle example, the home is a metaphor for the organization of the universe structured on gender principles. By focusing on the spatial dimension of action, Bourdieu makes his most significant theoretical contribution to the understanding of human interactions with the built environment.
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Applications of Bourdieu's approach can be found in Moore, who adds the notion that space is a text that can be read (Moore, 1986). It has been argued that house is a type of cultural symbol that should be dealt with as if a text, where the message is encoded with the writers and decoded by readers. In this regard it has been suggested that since a text contains a cultural message, the interpretation should be analogous to the ‘work of literary critics’ (Geertz, 1973) and further, it has been also indicated that meaning can be reassigned by different groups (Moore, 1986). The cross-cultural study of English and Australian housing in terms of cultural meaning and the use of space indicate a significant difference for each country when considering domestic activities associated within a spatial system. Even though functional components are similar, the ways that people classify and organize spatial structure are different. The findings suggest that the organization of activities in house space, their use, and meaning are based on a complex system of social codes, rituals and controlling of roles rather than physical components (Lawrence 1981). His study shows that cultural meaning is embedded in the social and spatial dimension of built space. The relationship between space and activities is a mutual factor that provides an explanation of the properties and the use of domestic facilities. In order to develop the understanding of the cultural context, it is important to employ the underlying relationship between space and activities. An insightful framework that reveals the interdependence of both attributes provides the means to discover associated solutions from the design of domestic spaces and its diverse ways of organization. Lawrence’s (1987) study, ‘House form and culture re-examined’ was primarily concerned with the experience of residents of facilities for cooking and eating food as food preparation is a basic constituent of all households and associated with dwellings in all cultures and societies. His analysis underpins the idea that preparation and consumption of food reveals the structural relations between household members because food expresses people’s history of ideas and core values at a particular point in time (Douglas 1973). Therefore the study of spaces was devoted to the preparation and eating of food in a sample of Australian and English houses, two contemporary societies ‘stemming’ from the same Anglo-Saxon culture over the time span of the last two centuries. Lawrence suggested that for the past 200 years the organisation of English homes has followed a consistent pattern in which the interior was divided into a series of ordered spaces .The Australian history identified a clear distinction between the two cultures, as well as several similarities, specifically in respect of how bathing and laundering were related
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to food preparation and cooking; in England they went together, in Australia they were kept apart. In England: Front = symbolic = parlour = space reserved for special occasions Back = secular = kitchen = space for cooking and eating combined with laundering and bathing.
In Australia: Front = symbolic = parlour = space reserved for special occasions Back = secular = kitchen = not including laundering activities.
Lawrence then complemented this with an ethnographic study of design and use of space on two housing estates, both local government housing, in a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia and in the village of Cherry Hinton, Cambridgeshire. Lawrence suggests, “The most universal difference between the findings in the Australian and English case studies involved whether or not laundry activities were separated from or associated with activities concerning the preparation and eating of food” (Lawrence 1987:104). Lawrence argues spatial classifications were evident as sets of binary oppositions, about which to organise space. Drawing on Goffman (1959) he concluded that there was a distinction of ‘front’ and ‘back’ images in both countries. Lawrence concludes that such context-specific classifications are cultural ideas invested in household life, hence manifested in space (Lawrence 1987) and proposes a classificatory synthesis (Figure 2.05) which he names as ‘spatial code’ which is context dependent in each country.
The Organisation of Domestic space in England
The Organisation of Domestic space in Australia
Legend:
br= bed room b= bath room
lr= living room od= outdoor living
d=dining room g= garden
lk=dining/kitchen ks= kitchen/scullery
p=parlour
Figure 2.05 : Organisation of Domestic spaces in Australia and England. ( Source: Lawrence 1987)
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Also historical in basic approach, but structuralist in Chomsky's sense of a generative grammar, is Henry Glassie's classic Folk Housing in Middle Virginia (Glassie, 1975). Focusing on the syntax of combining geometries of spaces, Glassie searches for the variation in dwelling forms, based on his survey of Folk Housing in Middle Virginia. His systematic analysis of spatial organization reveals shifts in forms and plan over time that enable him to analyze the underlying structure of symbolic oppositions and changes in values and life styles. His inferences from particular household architectural configurations lead him to conclude that formal geometries rather than environmental or behavioural needs guided design and development of folk housing styles.
A similar focus on the formal properties of spatial configurations can be found in the works of Hillier et al (Hillier and Hanson, 1982,1984; Hayden,1984). Although not explicitly cognitive or symbolic in its approach, The Social Logic of Space addresses the relationship between built form and social organization, employing methods similar to those of other structuralist approaches. Hillier & Hanson offer a descriptive syntax of the built environment and the spatial and social orders.
The space syntax technique has been used in fields as diverse as archaeology, urban and human geography and anthropology. In architectural research, many scholars apply space syntax to describe the use of space and meaning in built forms and human settlements. In architecture, the analysis of configurational properties from a syntactic approach supports spatial study to describe architectural space and its evolution in a different way.
Figure 2.06 : Basic Configurational relationships .( Source: Hanson, 1998:23)
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According to Hanson (1998), spatial relations exist where there is any type of link between two spaces. Configuration exists when the relations that exist between two spaces are changed according to how we relate each to a third configurational descriptions, therefore, deal with the way in which a system of spaces is related together to form a pattern, rather than the more localized properties of any particular space. When the numerical variation of syntactic values follows a certain order across a sample, then it can be said that the houses share a social logic indigenous to that culture. This ‘numerical consistency in spatial patterning’ is called ‘a housing genotype’ (Hanson 1998, 32). As Hanson put it: “Functional patterning was imprinted into the physical and spatial form of the house. We might best think of this not as a background to behaviour but as a record of behaviour transmitted through the building, perhaps through several generations. Configurational analysis of plans can be conceived of as ‘archaeology of space’. If houses display configurational regularities then the building speaks directly to us of culturally significant household practices which have been crystallized in the dwelling in the form of an integration inequality genotype.” (Hanson 1998: 38) Hanson found studies of samples of traditional and vernacular houses to have been continuing over the years and an extensive database has been accumulated on the morphology of houses worldwide. (Hanson 1998:290)The early approaches of space syntax address the issues of social structure and cultural order in built spaces. In recent studies, researchers have searched for characteristics of space that define the inherent meanings and domestic experience. The following are only a few selections of case studies that applied space syntax to the exploration of spatial properties embedded in built spaces. Hanson compared four very simple structures of the Kung shelter, the Bedouin and Berber tents and the Mongolian yurt and identified some configurational similarities and differences among them. The Kung fire home and the yurt are spatially identical to the elementary building, which maps the relational structure ‘interior-exterior’ but which is not yet a space configuration. The Bedouin and Berber tents are more complex domestic space configuration. The Bedouin tent is composed of two separate and spatially identical cells, representing the male and female domains, which are linked or separated by the space in front of the entrance. The Berber tent is made up of simple interior sequence of three cells. Thus the configurational variable ‘depth’ has become a fundamental property of architectural space configurations to describe patterns that exist in society. Depending on depth Hanson
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found two types of configuration in her four studies those are deep tree like and shallow bush type. Hanson found these shallow types of graphs to be configurationally more integrated and the deep graphs to be more segregated.
Figure 2.07:Justified graph of the Kung, the Bedouin, the Berber and the Mongolian tents. ( Source: Hanson 1998: 9, 24)
Hanson (1998) examined the possibilities on how far the typology of residential buildings based on the access graph analysis could be parallel to the social changes in the periods of their construction. In their study of Normandy vernacular farmhouses in France, Hillier and his colleagues applied syntactic values from space syntax methodology to investigate the underlying pattern regarding spatial-functional tendencies. They separated the house samples into two different groups, which corresponded to integration values. One group has living and communal space as a house centre and the other has transitional space or hall space (Hillier, Hanson, and Graham 1987). The rank of integration from all spaces among the samples suggests that the two types of spatial configuration indicate different lifestyles and social relations, including gender role and family structure. The former pattern that organizes around the dominant function of the house, communal space, suggests a female-centred structure, while the latter associates with a male view. They found that the sale commune with the combination of cooking, the everyday living and the spaces associated with laundry, making dairy products etc. seems to be spaces where women were expected to be dominant; hence this genotype embodied social meaning of a female centred view. In contrast the other type could be argued as to be associated with male centred view of the household. These genotypes embodied different meanings which lead us with the idea that gender relation can express themselves in space.
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Figure 2.08: Wood-Jones plan typology for the Banbury region of Oxfordshire in which plans (a) and (c) are classified as through passage plans and plan (b) and (d) as porch plans. ( Source: Hanson1998)
Hanson (1994) studied four houses designed by architects Mario Botta, Richard Meier, John Hejduk and
Adolf Loos. The study compared morphological properties of the house and
revealed the relations between the basic composition of design and the configuration of domestic space. The results show that morphological properties of the houses are different even though they have similar simple cubic forms and a comparable number of domestic spaces. Botta’s design is shallow but tree-like; Meier’s is shallow and ringy. Hejduk’s house is deep and tree-like, while Loos’s is deep and ringy(Hanson 1994). The integration values indicate the different design of functional organization. Syntactic data show that the house
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design is configured from different lifestyles and socially shaped by the experience of space for different occupants. Social interfaces between men and women, young and old, hosts and guests, owner and servants, are structured through the design of spatial layout. Four architects designed houses with a similar set of spaces, but the configuration of spatial design is different in each house. Architects may choose different design criteria for form-making to create the design following their own styles and approaches to decision making for the functional categorization of each space. Review of previous studies shows the possibilities for exploring cultural order in built spaces. Space syntax provides an approach to understanding the relationship between people and buildings by establishing the formal spatial properties of building. The analysis of internal structure can reflect social relations underlying the configuration of space. In Evolution and activity analysis in domestic spaces justified graphs are used considering the main entrance as the root measuring integration and depth. From the studies it was seen that the more integrated activities are the social ones. House chores or activities related to domestic tasks occur in spaces with an intermediate level of integration, the segregated activities are the personal ones. The spaces designed for eating and specially, for cooking have moved around the transition core, played a crucial role in the process of transference from segregated visitor-centred complex to a compact inhabitant-centred one. Luiz Amorim (1997) explored different approaches of spatial characteristics. The investigation focused on how the functional-oriented approach of the modern movement was established in architectural design. It was hypothesized that design and process should be based on concepts including the form of spatial systems. Functional characteristics of spaces among 140 modern houses in Recife were examined. Amorim divided household functions into four sectors; social, services, private and mediator or transitional sector. Groups of activities performed in the house were considered as basic elements to reveal how the spatial system is hierarchically structured. The results from depth analysis indicate consistent pattern; social and service sectors are the shallowest functional sectors in every diagram, while the private sector is the deepest one. The mediator sector lies between either the social and private sector or service and private sector. It acts as transitional space that controls access between sectors. The integration clearly suggests that the highly integrated groups are social and service sectors, whereas the highly segregated group is in the private sector. From integration values, genotypes of spatial pattern
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among the samples show that service and social sectors can interchange with each other. On the other hand, the private sector is the only function that is isolated. The results confirm that only some patterns found among a vast number of possible arrangements in floor plan are constantly reproduced(Amorim 1997). In conclusion, Amorim’s study demonstrates that sectors are an idea that architects use as a paradigm of the design method to solve the function of spatial arrangement in modern Recife residences. Despite the variety of forms, spatial pattern seems to carry the information that not only reveals social dimension, but also shows how architectural ideas and design procedures are developed by architects.
Monteiro(1997), Analysed 101 houses in Recife, Brazil, the spatial pattern of activity in the home with justified graphs considering the main entrance as the root. Space syntax analysis was carried out measuring integration, control and depth of spaces in the houses. The analysis of integration and depth describes the spatial properties of domestic activities occurring in different housing types. Domestic activities are what people do in and around their houses. People’s pattern of daily activities may be dependent on individual, social and cultural values. They produce spatial patterns and are reflexively produced by them. Instead of analysing the pattern of space, as is common in space syntax, Monteiro analysed the spatial pattern of activity in the home.
Two structural aspects were chosen to describe the spatial qualities of domestic activity: the measures of integration and depth, using the exterior as a root. Depth from the root considers the number of steps which separate a determined space from the front door. Monteiro found a strong correlation of integration and depth in his studies. The shallow activities are the most integrated ones and the segregated ones happen spatially deeper in the houses. The more integrated activities are the social ones. They comprise the interactive leisure functions with the communal ones related to eating. By their nature these activities involve all the family members, as well as visitors to the house. House chores or activities related to domestic tasks occur in spaces with an intermediate level of integration, the segregated activities are the personal ones.
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Figure 2.09: Monteiro’s analysis of the spatial pattern of activity in the home. ( Source: Monteiro, 1997)
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Trigueiro(1997) analysed 500 British house plans from pre and post Second World War which revealed the nature of evolution of middle class homes in these times. The Observations demonstrated that British home developed from less to more integrated complexes and from a spatial system: centred around the family/visitors sphere to one centred in the inhabitant’s domain of rooms used for eating and cooking meals. The spaces designed for eating and specially, for cooking have moved around the transition core, played a crucial role in the process of transference from segregating visitor-centred complex to a compacter inhabitantcentred one. Trigueiro explained it with respect to RRA value: The higher the RRA value the more segregated a space is in relation to all others within a network of connected spaces; the lower the RRA value, the more integrated that space is. Kirsan and Cagdas (1998) investigated 19th century row houses in order to reveal the transformation of houses’ layouts during the western movement in Istanbul, Turkey. They used both syntactic values and morphological diagrams to distinguish patterns among the spatial structures of the row houses. The different arrangements of layout and spatial pattern show a strong relationship between the development of floor plan and style of row houses in Istanbul history. Different morphologies of spatial structure reflect different influences from the varied occupants. The use of the diagram from an abstraction of the floor plan represents social characteristics, which are readable from morphological examination. From the analysis of spatial pattern, it was found that some particular properties reflect the unique characteristics of a specific group of users, builders, ethnicity and land ownership (Kirsan and Cagdas 1998).
One of these works is of Orhun’s to find out the typology of the Turkish houses.(Orhun, Hillier and Hanson, 1995 and Orhun, Hillier and Hanson,1996) Here Orhun has subjected sixteen examples, selected to cover the range of typical Turkish plan types, to a detailed configurational analysis. Orhun’s (1999) study of vernacular Turkish houses revealed two genotypical configurations; an ‘introverted type’ with a deep integration core and an ‘extrovert type’ with a shallow integration core. Orhun concluded that these two types supported distinctive living patterns among inhabitants and in how guests were received. It was further argued by Orhun that these differences related to distinctive social structures that had changed when Turkish society became more open to the outside world.
Orhun’s (1999) study, of the Spatial Themes among the Traditional Houses of Turkey, deals chiefly with the justified graph (from the outside), which is drawn to clarify the permeability
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patterns, and to find properties of ringyness. Integration (RRA), which describes how permeable that particular space is, was taken as a variable. Orhun1999 found that a space in the house that has the highest degree of integration can be accessed easily and quickly from the other spaces under normal conditions. In contrast, when a space has the lowest degree of integration, it is less accessible due to its topological distance farther away from the others–thus most segregated in the house.(Orhun1999:40.4) It was seen that the courtyard is the most integrated space, and the sofa, the everyday living space, is the second most integrated space. Cooking seems to take place in the courtyard and in the kitchen. Cooking spaces are more segregated and the main room (bed) appears to be in the deepest location within the configuration and is the most segregated place. The study of spatial types by Orhun applied space syntax to categorize genotypes in traditional Turkish houses. The main purpose was to identify the spatial characteristic of individual space by household activities. After the analysis of integration values among the main functions of the sample, two spatial genotypes were identified: one has the sofa or transitional space as the most integrated space, and the other is centred on the external courtyard. Two types of space support different living patterns for various groups of occupants and distinctively indicate the way of receiving a guest into the house. To this extent, the results reflect the openness of Turkish society to outside influence. The houses created during the period of western acculturation indicate a spatial configuration different from that of the traditional ones. (Orhun, Hillier, and Hanson 1995)
Pelin and Saglamer (2003) , in “Spatial analysis of different home environments in the city of Trabzon, Turkey” studied 20 houses from each three groups in Trabzon ,Turkey .They drew justified graphs of these houses . It was seen that when the justified graphs were analysed, rings were found among all three samples.
Kyung W. Seo (2003) , analysed 75 plans in Seoul with Justified graphs to measure the varying degree of change in each stage of the evolution. The mean RRA of spaces in the urban houses are compared to find out the changes. Seo found morphologically, the central courtyard house, which is inward-looking, has turned into the self-contained modern apartment house, which is outward looking. Through the space-activity interactions, the most activity-depleted space is the main bedroom. The transformation of the courtyard as the utility room, the balcony, the entrance hall, and the bathroom have inherited its activities and the central hall is now supporting its function as a circulation core.
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Erincik and Alper (2003), randomly selected 35 occupants at each 3 house types (105) in Istanbul. The case study is composed of two staged interviews and syntactic analysis based on these interviews. Interviews provide data about the socio demographic background of the users, their life styles and spatial preferences. In all the plan types, entrance to apartments is from a vestibule, which also serves as a transition space for accessing kitchens and living rooms. The vestibule connects to a hallway, which provides access to other parts of the dwellings. Master bedrooms and balconies or bathrooms connected to these spaces are located on the deepest parts of all the plan types.
Ela Çil (2007), studied sixty houses in Kula in Anatolia. First the houses were categorized according to the configuration of the spaces in the compound and within the house. The second part is the syntax analysis of these houses focusing on the transformation of the most integrated spaces and the depth of the integration cores. As the inner hall becomes the centre of activities, the life in the house definitely gets a step closer to the street as does the outsider into the house.
Gender role in domestic space has been studied using space syntax methodology. Segregation exists in societies among male and female members, which is reflected in the spatial organisation. Integration explains gender role in spaces. Scholars have dealt with different socio-cultural issues of the society to explain it quantitatively. It was seen in their study that the highly integrated spaces are shared space with less difference and the lower integration leads to a dominated space by a gender. Thus some spaces are segregated (gendered) and some spaces are integrated (shared) that are used by the both genders. Family and spatial configuration are studied with justified graphs considering the main entrance as the root measuring integration and depth. It was seen that following the improved status of women and decreasing household size, the kitchen, being one of the housework spaces, has been drastically transformed as it became shallower from the entrance and globally more integrated within the entire system.
Muhammad Oumar (1997) analysed a sample of 106 traditional houses from Kano in Nigeria and identified a genotype. He argued for a shallow but segregated spatial sector that related to a male domain and a deep but integrated spatial sector that related to a female domain. He concluded that strong gender separations structured the space in the Hausa houses.
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Denise L. Lawrence (1998) examines the changes in house form and gender related spatial behaviour in a rural agro-town in Southern Portugal. Mediterranean societies are often characterized as rigidly dichotomized by gender in the use of space. When recent new form of housing has been introduced in the community, the traditional male-female role patterns have significantly altered. The author found the traditional houses to be small and windowless without a setback from the street and the household activities and spaces easily extend into the street. Street is the most important social space in the neighbourhood linking families together in daily coexistence. Women‘s participation in the street was common and acted as interacting space. Socially a woman controls the street in front of her home while knitting or preparing food. In the modern houses woman’s participation in the street was reduced as enough space was provided in the house for each activity. Changes came in the male family members too. Instead of spending time in the cafe they tend to stay at home. General observations and space syntax techniques applied to house plans designed from mid-nineteenth century to the inter-war years indicate that the British home developed from a segregating spatial system, centred on the family/visitors sphere; to a less segregating, inhabitant-centred one and that this process affected dwellings of distinct status differently. Toker and Toker (2003) analysed Houses, built in central Ankara, Anatolia, utilizing space syntax methods, while family structures were analysed through findings of previous research and census data. In order to explain how spaces are gendered in the house, one of the approaches they used was to examine the configurational properties of spaces accommodating functions related to housework space (the kitchen), spaces for family life (the sofa, main room and living room) and entire systems were analyzed and compared across typical houses and apartments from the three time periods in this study. As it has been argued that since the early twentieth, the household composition, women’s access to education, their property and legal rights, and participation in the paid labour force have changed, resulting in more equal gender roles in Turkish society (Kagitcibasi, 1986). Comparing the results of three periods they argued that the women’s status in family structures has improved from the late nineteenth century to the early and late twentieth century. The nuclear family structure became dominant, as the complex family structures and patrilocal system have faded. The patrilocal system and complex family structures in Ankara supported the function of the ‘sofa’ as a central space in the late nineteenth century. The gradual disappearance of this complex family structure and the increasing domination of a nuclear family structure is parallel to the loss of daily life function in the ‘sofa’,
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and is clearly observable in the change of configurational properties from ‘sofa’ to ‘hall’. Since the ‘sofa’ (hall), as a central living space, has always been an integral part of Turkish family, and the kitchen has been a woman’s space, their transformations were emphasized. They stated that following the improved status of women and decreasing household size, the kitchen, being one of the housework spaces, has been drastically transformed as it became shallower from the entrance and globally more integrated within the entire system. This transformation can be interpreted by two approaches. First, based on the conventional assumption that the kitchen is a ‘women’s space’, as the women’s status in nuclear family structures has improved, their relative location in the house has also ‘improved’. The second explanation is based on the contemporary assumption that housework is shared between women and men. Therefore, higher global integration and lower depth from both the integration core and the entrance space is a reflection of its transformation into a shared space.
Francine and Holanda (2003) also used justified graphs in a study on 27 middle class houses, in Brasilia, Brazil, with a number of configurational variables along with integration. They found that bedrooms constitute social isolation, confirmed by their spatial segregation, revealing their strictly private character. The high integration level of the kitchen stresses its important family role: Concerning usage, the kitchen is closer to colonial than to modern houses, for it is the place of longest collective stay of the family. Configurationally, it is closer to modern houses, for it is no longer a segregated space, revealing its new status. They concluded that the high integration level of the kitchen stresses its important family role. Concerning usage, the kitchen is closer to colonial than to modern houses, for it is the place of longest collective stay of the family. Configurationally, it is closer to modern houses, for it is no longer a segregated space, revealing its new status. Tahar Bellal (2007) used the syntactic property (depth) of 29 house plans in the M’zab (Algeria)
[
to analyse spatial interface between inhabitants and visitors in M’zab house. He used justified graph to represents the permeability of the system and that the depth property to indicate how many architectural steps one must pass through to arrive at a particular space in the configuration of the house. The study shows that the entry and penetration of the visitors to the house’s interior, in the M’zab culture, is regulated by certain socio-religious codes. It has been observed that in order to explore the sequence of movement and permeability from the entrance the interface is between male visitors and family domains. The research suggests a prime model that defines the house as a collection of domains, e.g. male visitors/male and
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family/female. The houses tend to be divided into two separate domains, one section is exclusively used by the inhabitants and the other is reserved for receiving male guests, thus the configuration appears to modulate the social dynamics of the house’s occupants by distancing the hosts from immediate contact with male guests. The study also asserts the significance of entrances in regulating the interior organisation of the M’zabite house in terms of depth properties. Mustafa, Hassan and Baper (2010) used space syntax analysis in detecting privacy of traditional and modern house in Erbil city, Iraq. The layouts of both traditional (courtyard) and modern houses were analysed in terms of their morphological characteristics by applying Hillier and Gamma Analysis method to detect the level of privacy in their configurations via an analytical comparative approach. After a sample of house layouts is analysed morphologically, the degree to which house layout pattern affects the level of privacy and to what degree is determined. Results show that traditional house layouts offer better design solutions in terms of privacy because they carry a higher value of real relative asymmetry with a higher tendency toward asymmetry compared with modern house layouts. In the case of traditional house layouts, the overall spaces are more segregated (more private/more privacy) than the overall spaces in the case of modern house layouts (more integrated spaces/less privacy). Antonio Reis (2003) analysed 35 two bedroom detached houses in Brazil, where Integration values, mean depth, difference factor and topological type for each
house are taken as
variables. The rank order of real integration values for each house reveals how integrated each space is, by comparison with other spaces in the same house. Ries concludes that Visual privacy in the interior may be a major variable to be considered in the investigation of the system of spatial relations in the dwelling. The concepts of integration and segregation may be used to reveal distinct levels of privacy. Depth map programme has been utilized for the visibility analysis of the houses (Bellal and Brown, 2003; Güney, 2007). Visibility refers to Visual information provided to the observers at any given location and is directly related to the geometry of the space as much as movement of the observer. Privacy although universal characteristics for all human beings, it is also moderated and governed culturally. Therefore studying the visibility structures in houses can help to understand the privacy level accepted by a culture, which determines the socio-cultural aspects of domestic spaces. The control of permeability and visibility serves the need for privacy to regulate Interpersonal interactions.
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Bellal and Brown (2003) found the M’zabite house to be highly introverted, tree like configuration, with rooms distributed around an internal courtyard, on two floors. This combined with a division between male and female spaces. The visibility analysis done on the samples comes up with a consistent pattern–the private spaces are highly clustered and the social spaces offer multidirectional fields of view within the houses. Spatially and visually the most integrated spaces are central halls, where daily activities take place. In a study by Guney (2007) it was seen that in buildings in general and houses in particular, information control achieved through visual fields is part of privacy-territory building mechanisms that aim to regulate the amount and level of interpersonal interaction between inhabitants and visitors. 108 Turkish apartment plans were studied with VGA, which were previously examined in terms of permeability to understand the transformation of Turkish houses over the twentieth century. In the first group spatially and visually the most integrated spaces are central halls ‘sofa’ where daily activities took place and in the second group, this central hall is distanced via introduction of an entrance hall. Later in the third group, the entrance hall becomes one of the spatially and visually the most integrated space. The kitchen that is segregated both spatially and visually in the first and second group houses become more integrated in the third. In terms of visibility, the centrality of the plan with a central hall provides direct access to most of the houses that surround it. Thus the consolidated findings from the above studies can be grouped into three categories. A group of studies focus on evolution and activity analysis in Domestic spaces. Using Justified graphs, considering the main entrance as the root measuring integration and depth, studies lead to the findings that “the more integrated activities are the social ones".
House chores or
activities related to domestic tasks occur in spaces with an intermediate level of integration, the segregated activities are the personal ones. Another group of studies focus on the relation of social (Family)on spatial configuration. Using Justified graphs, considering the main entrance as the root measuring integration and depth, studies lead to the finding that " Following the improved status of women and decreasing household size, kitchen, being one of the housework spaces, has been drastically transformed as it became shallower from the entrance and globally more integrated within the entire system'. A group of studies with visibility graph analysis lead to a consistent pattern–the private spaces are highly clustered and the social spaces offer multidirectional fields of view within the houses. Spatially and visually the most integrated spaces are central halls, where daily activities take place.
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2. 4 Gender Consideration in Urban Houses in Dhaka
Women of Bangladesh, who constitute 49% of population, are the member of the highly patriarchal society. Social cultural and religious tradition structure the status of women in Bangladesh, and men's decision in a patriarchal social system shapes the life of women. The ideas of natural inferiority of women and innate superiority of men kept women in a subservient position since time immemorial in the context of Bengal (Husain ,2007:498).
The caste system in the Brahminical religion made social inequality a basic principle in the society and women being neither priest nor warrior were treated as minors who had to remain dependent on their male guardians from birth to death. The non-Aryan tribes believed in tree and water spirit and men women symbolized the nature’s power of fertility. In the pre Aryan societies thus women performed religious rites together with men. From 800 BC the Aryans started to come to Bengal as adventurers, preachers and conquerors. Buddha who came sometime in 600 BC taught his followers to avoid women and abandon women and child to become a monk. The patriarchal society of this period deprived women of the educational opportunities (Husain,2007:501). The family of this time was mostly joint and males could marry several times and the wives had to look after the comfort and care of the relatives of the husband and she was in charge of the family expenditure. The women of the well-to-do families lived a life of luxury and ease. They covered their heads with the end of their sari as a symbol of family status.
In the Medieval period the Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists constituted the population and economy of this period was totally dependent on the land and agriculture. Since the Medieval society was based on religion, certain ideological or behavioural component such as social values attached to purity and virginity of women or practice of segregation of women and men deeply engrained in the social life. (Akhtar, 2007:514) apart from the few cases of some ambitious and talented women taking part in political and social affairs, most of the women’s life was deeply embedded in the family. Father, husband, brother played the dominant role. Women’s position in the Patrilineal, patrilocal families were of a subordinate position. In the Patrilineal families male child was treated as permanent members and the female child as the transient member as she has to move to her husband’s house after marriage.
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In the early days of Hinduism and even after the advent of Islam in India during the eleventh century, women enjoyed a high position until exploitative men-women relationship emerged as a consequence of transformation of the economic system (Khan, S.1993, p.103). The upper class or Ashraf Muslims were able to lead a life with less economic struggle without having necessity of women’s participation in the labour force. The women from the Azlaf or the poor class enjoyed more freedom because of economic necessity. Traditionally the women have remained totally outside the power structure. Female seclusion was considered as a symbol of nobility in this sub-continent. Mahmuda Islam and Meghna Guhathakurta found disintegration in the family to be stated in the colonial period specially after the second world war; rise of a merchant class and educated middle class; urbanization; growth of landlessness; industrialization and above all development of western liberal ideas of freedom and individualism as a resultant of English education encouraged growth of nuclear families consisting of parents and children (Islam and Guhathakurta, 2007:526). Education system and medium of education changed to English. Middle class emerged from public administration and law than economic development and belonged to the learned professions. The Muslim community remained less developed and educated in English than the Hindus, relatively advanced state of economic development helped non-Muslim community to remove legal and social disabilities faster enabling their women to participate in education and job market much earlier than the Muslims who were concerned about guarding their religious identity concentrating on religious education which divested them from the mainstream of the society. Whatever the form of the family was women remained subordinate to men. Women used to live at home and men work outside. Tasks of women were restricted to domestic spheres: cooking, sewing, cleaning, childcare but not going out for shopping for family’s daily requirement of food or home keeping. The well-to-do families did not allow their female members to work outside for the sake of their social status. Poorer families could not practice this and their female had to work outside for earning money.
During the First Five Year Plan (1973-78) no specific role was visualized for women except rehabilitation of war affected women and their children under social welfare division. But the real concern shown for women’s development was reflected in the education sector of the plan though with a different consideration.
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“Investment in the education of women provides a wide range of private and social benefits. Their contribution towards rearing of children and management of household economy is significant. The level of schooling of women determines the efficiency of household management. Educated women pay better attention to nutrition, health and childcare than uneducated one”.(First Five-Year Plan, 1973-78:479) Women’s development as a separate issue was first considered in the Two-Year Plan (TYP, 1978-80), which was formulated, in the interim period of preparation of the Second Five Year Plan. The Plan gave a high priority to women’s development so that ‘they can exercise their socio-economic rights and shoulder responsibilities’ (The Two-Year Plan, 1978-80:279) .The Second Five-Year Plan (1980-85) focused on skill development farming, nutrition, childcare, literacy, accommodation of career women, and rehabilitation of deserted women, rural credit scheme. During the Third Five-Year Plan (1985-90) measures were taken to strengthen the activities undertaken during Second Five-Year Plan to make women’s participation in development activities increasingly possible to realize the goal of “Equality, Development and Peace” of the UN decade of Women. In the Third Five-Year Plan (1985-90), poverty alleviation is the central theme focusing on employment and income generation of the most disadvantaged people of which women form the majority group. Women’s status in the family is dependent on the family structure, education and their participation in economic activities. In the context of Bangladesh family structure, education, participation in the economic activities of the women are influencing on the gender role of the women within their household. Education, western ideas etc are increasingly influencing the middle income group from the colonial period and gradually leading to changed family structure and style of living, which in turn is creating impact on the spatial organisation.
The family in the context of Bengal in pre-colonial period was mostly joint and extended where most of the women’s life was deeply embedded in the family. Father, husband, brother played the dominant role. Women’s position in the Patrilineal, patrilocal families were of a subordinate position. Disintegration in the family started in the colonial period especially after the Second World War (Islam, M. and Guhathakurta, M., 2007). Rise of a merchant class and educated middle class; urbanization; growth of landlessness; industrialization and above all development
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of western liberal ideas of freedom and individualism as a resultant of English education encouraged growth of nuclear families consisting of parents and children (Islam, M. and Guhathakurta, M., 2007:526). Age and particularly the bearing of sons, increases women’s status and control over younger female members of the household, such that there are often conflicting interests between women of older and younger generations. However, there is growing evidence of a breakdown of extended family units to nuclear family12.
7
6.4
Number of HH members Percentage
6.1 6
6
5.6
5.43 4.7
5
4 4 3 2 1 0 1951
1961
1974
1981
1991
2001
2011
Figure 2.10: Household size. ( Source: Bangladesh Population Census 1991, vol 3, Urban Area Report, Nov 1997, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka. Household size in 2011 is from a field survey by the author conducted during July 2012.
Whatever the form of the family was, women remained subordinate to men. Tasks of women were restricted to domestic spheres: cooking, sewing, cleaning, childcare but not going out for shopping for family’s daily requirement of food or home keeping. The well-to-do families did not allow their female members to work outside for the sake of their social status. Poorer families could not practice this and their female had to work outside for earning money.
12
The nuclear family -a married couple with unmarried children - characterizes over half of all households in Bangladesh [52.7% in rural and 48.1% in urban areas: BBS, 1992].
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Religion, as a social indicator, played an important part in the life of the women in Bangladesh. In cultural terms, Bangladesh is a relatively homogenous society. Ninety percent of the population is Muslims and the remainder being Hindu, Christian and Buddhist. In the Medieval period the Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists constituted the population. Since the Medieval society was based on religion, certain ideological or behavioural component such as social values attached to purity and virginity of women or practice of segregation of women and men deeply engrained in the social life. (Akhtar, 2007:514) In a Muslim society man has full responsibility for the maintenance of wife and children (Rahman, 1973; Monsoor:532). The ‘purdah’ system is seen as enforcing a high standard of female modesty. Purdah is the means by which a rigid functional and spatial gender division of labour is upheld (Adnan, 1989). The practice of ‘purdah’ in Bangladesh is a cultural element, structurally rooted in the spatial relocation of men and women (Hussain, 2010:325-333). Purdah is the means by which a rigid functional and spatial gender division of labour is upheld (Adnan, 1989). The practice of ‘purdah’ in Bangladesh is a cultural element, structurally rooted in the spatial relocation of men and women (Hussain, 2010:325-333). The Islamic social institution of ‘purdah’ defines separate spaces for men and women and restricts women’s mobility outside the homestead and thus the range of women’s economic activities and their involvement in public office and decision making; it allows male authorities to exercise control over all women in the public sphere. Hussain (1992) found ‘purdah’ rules to be more flexible for poor women who need to work outside to maintain their household which is also women's responsibility (Hussain, 1992:325-333). Female education is a good indicator to calculate the development and status of women. Lack of education is one of the main determinants, which deter women from the equal participation in socio-economic activities with her male counterparts. The patriarchal society of this period deprived women of the educational opportunities (Husain Shahanara 2007:501). Education system and medium of education changed to English in the colonial period and Middle class emerged from public administration and law and belonged to the learned professions. The Muslim community remained less developed and educated in English than the Hindus, Relatively advanced state of economic development helped non-Muslim community to remove legal and social disabilities faster enabling their women to participate in education and job market much earlier than the Muslims who were concerned about guarding their religious identity concentrating on religious education which divested them from the mainstream of the society.
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Women started to consider education seriously after the colonial period with the development of English medium education system, which promoted them to acquire job and become an earning member in the family. Specifically the middle class society was the pioneer in this aspect for their educational and economic background. The women of upper class and the lower income group are less affected by this conflict of socio-economic status. Female literacy rate is lower overall in Bangladesh even lower in rural areas. In Bangladesh a male child gets the preference for education. Girls have to leave their family upon marriage, whereas the male child is expected to look after the family and parents at their old age. So any investment on the male child is more justified from poor parent’s view. However Khan S (1993) reveals with statistics that at the primary level the enrolment of girls has increased. Participation in the paid labour force is an important indicator to determine status. Changes in the distribution of employment represent changes in women’s role, status and attitudes. The economy based concept explains women’s economic control of property is related with their status. This explains women’s status is higher in non-industrial societies where hunting and gathering takes precedence. In Industrial societies due to human capital and occupational segregation women have a lower status. Diverse occupations for women have emerged since the late 1980s. Increase in female participation rate in urban area from 5.8 in 1974 to 7.5 in 1981 and 10.3 in 1991 display gradually more and more involvement of females in economic activities outside home.
Rate of Participation
100 87
90 80
87.4
84
Economically active Male in urban Dhaka
75
73.7
69.1
70 60 50 40
26.5
30
20
20 10
27.4
5.8
7.5
Economically active Female in urban Dhaka
10.3
0 1974
1981
1991
1995
2000
2003
Figure 2.11 : Economically active male and female in urban Dhaka.(Source: Bangladesh Population Census 1991,vol 3;Urban Area Report, Nov,1997,BBS, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, January 2006:148)
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In recent times after 1980's there has been a change in the attitude towards women taking up outside employment of large number of women from landless and middle class families in need of economic support. Nuzhat (2012) in her research found that since 1980s female labour participation rate has increased noticeably and the urban women who were educated were traditionally engaged as professionals such as teachers, medical practitioners, nurse, government officials etc. Unskilled and less educated women were engaged as household helpers, roadside vendors, and other unskilled workers. Female workers in manufacturing sectors started to come later during the late 70s and early 80s. According to Nuzhat, the urban ‘pull’ factor for the female labour participation is caused by the changing economic condition which created more jobs for women workers is apparent in Bangladesh like other developing third world countries .Sultana and Karim defined three explanations for the recent increase in participation in labour force. First, as the overall economy of the country stagnated, many household faced the hard choice between starvation and need to look for paid work by all the members of the family, including women. Second, a number of government sponsored programmes attracted the poor women to work outside the house and third, as men migrated to urban areas in search of employment the women found themselves managing their family (Sultana and Karim, 2005).
Economic stability and strength has been considered the basic ingredient for empowerment (Khatoon, Ahmed and Ahsan, 2005; Ghafur, 2002). This economic self- dependency has been observed in the context after The Second Five-Year Plan (between1980-85).The economic realities of the present time are working against the traditional attitudes that the women should remain in the home and be supported by husband or son; instead increasing numbers of women have to work outside their home to support their family. Larger family is tending to breakup. (Smith, Jane I, 1987). Among the urban people of Bangladesh, women in the lower income group follow less restriction of segregation as they have direct input in family earnings. The lower middle class women are the worst effected with regard to exploitation, as they cannot extricate themselves from the social bondages connected with the protection of men. The role conflicts of working women are to a maximum extent found in this class and not in the lower economy class (Rani, 1976).
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2.5
Conclusion : Theoretical Structure
The built environment is a cultural artefact, shaped by human intention and intervention, a living archaeology through which we can extract the priorities and beliefs of the decision makers in our society (Weisman 2000:1). In the built environment an order of the space is created and according to Hillier and Hanson, this ordering of space in building is really about the ordering of relations between people and thus it helps us to recognize society (Hillier and Hanson 1984:12). In the domestic built environment analysis of domestic space configuration provides the link between the design of dwellings and their social consequences (Hanson 1998:1). How we use and appropriate our domestic space is a symbolic practice and is a cultural phenomenon (Lawrence 1995). Among various socio-cultural factors the gender considerations such as position of women and their privacy acts as the key determining factors of house form (Rapoport, 1969:60-68).
Houses usually encode a wealth of social and symbolic information which constitute a shared framework of spatial patterns. From the discussion on the literature on urban house and sociocultural influence on it three attribute of house forms can be assessed: Spatial, Symbolic and Social.
Figure 2.12: Theoretical Structure of Urban House Form
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2.5.1 Spatial Dimension Spatial organisation of the domestic space is a physical manifestation of the activity and cultural values. Spatial formations can be seen as visual symbols of societies (Hillier and Hanson, 1984). Encountering, congregating, avoiding, interacting, dwelling, teaching, eating activities constitute spatial patterns. In addition to its function as a physical shelter for the various activities of people and societies, space is also a meaningful and informative formation expressive of the culture and life-style of different societies and of the transformations that the social structure has experienced.
2.5.2 Symbolic Dimension Symbolic approaches interpret the built environment as an expression of culturally shared mental structures and processes. Many symbolic theorists view built forms as tangible evidence for describing and explaining the often intangible features of expressive cultural processes. Each culture has a different expectation of its dwellings and makes demand accordingly on them. These expectations and demands are related to its social structure and to the ways in which members organize their daily lives. Geographies
of gender reflect the inequalities of women’s and men’s space as socially
constructed category in different society in different time ,and therefore report division of work and life in relation to these categories and the resultant gendered nature of space organisation. Waterson concluded that among the anthropological studies so far produced on the use of space, the symbolism of gender occupies a prominent place (Waterson R, 1990:167-198). A number of anthropologists have been prompted to develop much closer analyses of the variable symbolic patterns linking male and female, nature and culture, and the public and domestic spheres in different societies. Segregation exists in societies among male and female members, which is reflected in the spatial organisation. The denotation of 'public' and 'private' implied that some form of spatial pattern accompanied the separation of women and men into different activities. This supported the concept of ‘gendered space’ which originates from a private-public separation model and confines women within the private domain of a house in performing the domestic works and secluding from outside public realm (Rendell J, 2000:103). This separation of space according to gender was dominant in the patriarchal society both in the context of Bangladesh and globally (Monsoor 1999:42, Barrett 2000:46).The most extreme example of spatial segregation is found in Muslim societies observing purdah.
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Imamuddin explained this binary concept with the tripartite relationship among formal family and service part in the organisation of the Bengali houses (Imamuddin, 1982:2.21-2.40). Privacy of the household members has been often discussed as a basic ingredient of domestic space emphasized by segregation of private and public spaces in a house. Privacy of the female members, as a product of socio-cultural and religious factors, guided the domestic spatial organization with a control of visibility of inner spaces from public areas and restriction of access of the visitors. (Imamuddin, 1982:2.25-2.40) Dominance is related with the power and control over the domestic space of a culture. Visual Control over the adjacent spaces from the central position seems a vital element in the traditional layouts and it is related with the location of the gendered space. When the distinction between male and female role is strong then the spatial demarcation of food preparation activities from the other rooms in the house is also strong. Where domestic activities are shared by members of the household, then diverse household activities were preferred in kitchen (Lawrence, 1987:140). The kitchen is more open, than it used to be reflecting the improvement of women’s social status and their conventional role as homemakers. The necessity to open up kitchen to the rest of the living area was the result of the new position of the women within the family.
2.5.3 Social Dimension The spatial structure of buildings embodies knowledge of social relations. Thus dwelling reflects ideals and realities about relationship between women and men within the family and in society. The social dimension is related to the socio-economic status of women and their impact on house plans. Theories on family argue that characteristics of individuals contribute to genderstatus distinctions, while the economist theory claims that economic structure shapes genderstatus distinctions. Societies vary in the way that power within the family is distributed. Several features are often said to have a bearing on the status of the women in the family, and it is often suggested that control over the economic resources is crucial for the attainment of the domestic power. This explains women’s status is higher in non-industrial societies where hunting and gathering takes precedence. In Industrial societies due to human capital and occupational segregation women have a lower status. Socio-economic status of the women reveals their role in their respective houses. The education level and participation in the paid labour force makes them a contributing member economically which in turn decides their status.
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In the context of Bangladesh religion, education, family structure and economic activities of women influence their gender role within the household. Education system and western ideas increasingly influenced the middle class which gradually led to the changing concept of family, life style and living. In recent times there has been a change in the attitude of women taking up outside employment in Bangladesh and indicators like education and participation in economic activities are supporting this fact. Women’s education level and participation in the paid labour force has increased in the recent years in Bangladesh which is evident from various demographic statistics. This has been observed in the middle income group as increasing number of women of middle class families have to work to support the family (Monsoor,1999:43). With the advancement of women after 1980’s with gender improvement government planning schemes, women came out of the dependent role to the self-dependent role (Khan, 1993:2).
Change of status is bringing change in symbolic perceptions in the domestic space. Urban houses in Dhaka, Bangladesh, have shown that the zones in houses are very much influenced by the male-female relationship and segregation of zones to ensure privacy for socio-cultural purpose. The concept of gendered space and notion of privacy was found to exist strongly in the arrangement of the domestic spaces of Dhaka (Imamuddin 1982:2.10). The quality of space in each zone is determined by the type of functions it accommodates along with the degree of accessibility it requires. In this process women played an important role in the arrangement of the domestic space. Privacy of the female members, as a product of socio-cultural and religious factors, guided the domestic spatial organization with a control of visibility of inner spaces from public areas and restriction of access of the visitors. Traditional houses were arranged in sequence respecting the activity patterns of the female members of the household and their required zoning in the socio-cultural context of Bangladesh. (Imamuddin, 1982:2.25-2.40) Interaction with the visitors and visual privacy from visitor’s area is a cultural issue in the urban society.
With the changed life style, created as a product of high education and participation in economic activities, few spatial organizational demands are becoming crucial to support their lifestyle smoothly. To address these issues a thorough understanding of the spatial organisation with respect to its occupant's status is necessary to find out the change in living pattern and consequent spatial requirements for the present middle income group women in Dhaka.
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Chapter 03 : Methodology 3.0
Introduction
3.1
Analytical Framework 3.1.1 Spatial Dimension 3.1.2 Symbolic Dimension
3.1.3 Social Dimension 3.2 Methodology of the study 3.2.1
Questionnaire Design
3.2.2
Selection of Sample
3.2.2.1 Middle Income Group Women 3.2.2.2 Middle Income Group Apartments 3.2.2.3 Size of the Apartments 3.3 Conclusion
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3.1 Introduction This Study of ‘Spatial Organization of the Contemporary Residential
Apartments in
Dhaka with special attention to Gender Aspect’ is intended to understand the spatial organization of the residential apartments in Dhaka considering the gender aspect. It focuses on the women users of the middle income group with the specific objectives of understanding the spatial organization of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka with respect to their socio-economic status. The research question is based on a hypothesis that change in the socio-economic status of the middle income group women is creating a consequent sociocultural symbolic perception which is reflected in the spatial organisation of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka. This chapter describes the framework and methodology used to understand the spatial organisation and impact of socio-economic status of the middle income group women on the symbolic and spatial dimension of domestic spaces. In order to investigate the interaction between spatial organization of the contemporary domestic space and changing status of women with relation to the domestic spaces, first it is needed to establish the characteristics of the spatial organization of the domestic space. The next step is to identify the correlation between gender and domestic space and to find out what are the symbolic dimensions of gendered space. And the final stage is to relate these symbolic dimensions with respect to the change of socio-economic status of women. In this respect the question leads to a number of sub-questions: •
What is the spatial organisation of the urban houses in Dhaka considering gender aspects?
•
What are the ‘gender related symbolic dimensions’ of the contemporary MIG apartments?
•
How does the change of status of women influence the spatial organisation of MIG apartments of Dhaka?
Figure 3.01: Three Dimensions of the Urban House Forms
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3.1 Analytical Framework The research work is organised in two parts addressing the two objectives13 of the study. First objective explains a relationship between spatial organisation of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka and gender related symbolic or cultural expressions, which is based on the concept of segregation, privacy and dominance in the context of Bangladesh. It further establishes a relationship between the spatial organisation of the contemporary apartments and the social status of the user the middle income group women living in these apartments. To attain this relationship between “gender related spatial organisation of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka” and “Socio-economic status of the middle income group women living in the contemporary apartments“ the whole abstract idea can be broken down to a number of steps and related sub questions : Step-01, involves the understanding of the spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments with the question: • What is the spatial pattern of the urban houses in Dhaka with respect to the gender aspects? Step-02, establishes the relationship between the gender related symbolic expressions on the spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments with the question: • What are the symbolic dimensions of the houses which can relate gender in the contemporary Middle Income group apartments? Step-03 compares the genders related symbolic expressions of different socio-economic status of the middle income group women with the question: •
How does the change of status of women influence the spatial organisation of MIG apartments of Dhaka?
Second object is related with the change of status of women and their consequent reflection on the spatial and symbolic aspects. Considering socio-economic status of women, this study will help to understand the requirements of the contemporary women of their residential spaces in Dhaka to address the second objective. This may help to identify some guidelines for designing residential apartments in a consequential manner.
The objectives are: 01. To understand the spatial organisation, particularly the existence and influence of gendered space, due to the socio- economic changes of women in the residential apartments of Dhaka. 02. To trace the change of requirements, both physical and psychological, of the contemporary women and their influence on the spatial organization of contemporary apartment houses.
13
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3.1.1. Spatial Dimension In architecture, space has been a central research theme as a physical shelter for the various activities of people and societies and informative expression of the culture and life-style of different societies. First step of this research, involves the understanding of the spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments. For the analytical methodologies for the investigation of house plan (i.e. analysis of plan morphology) a simple yet powerful representation was felt needed by scholars. March and Steadman in their pioneering book on this issue, the Geometry of Environment, 1971, proclaim the reason for this approach.
“Perhaps the chief difference between the traditional treatment of geometry in architecture and the one presented here, is that, previously, geometry was employed to measure properties of space such as area, volume, angle, whereas the new mathematical theories of set, groups and graphs enable us to describe structural relationships which cannot be expressed in material forms, for example ‘adjacent to’, ‘in the neighborhood of’, ‘contained by’.”
Graph
14
(March and Steadman 1971:8)
theory was first applied to small architectural plans by Levin (1964) in his article, ‘use
of graphs to decide the optimum layout of the buildings’. Here Levin used access graphs in which the vertices represent rooms and the edges as the connection between rooms. It was March and Steadman 1971 who made significant contribution to the utilizing mathematical concept of graph theory as an instrument for architectural thinking. They emphasized the importance of this new approach by showing three house plans by Frank Lloyd Wright. March and Steadman also explored many possible ways in which graph theory could be adapted to design problems. Hillier and Hanson took a further step in using this graph theory. They brought its graph techniques into their spatio-social theory, Space Syntax, to measure and evaluate property of the built environment.
14
A graph is a way of drawing any set of relations between elements; therefore any buildings can be represented by a graph. By incorporating the syntactic structure of each home into one simple diagram a set of otherwise complex spatial relationships can be more easily understood. Spaces within the home have well defined links from one to another and thus the spatial structure can be described by a graph (Hillier and Hanson, 1984).
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The study of spatial configuration is an approach that reveals the social order embedded in spatial pattern. Steadman (1983) and Hillier and Hanson (1984) have introduced the analyses of domestic space configuration through architectural morphology. Among the various theories and methods which have been developed in the past decades Space Syntax15 has established itself in the field of architectural morphology16 (Steadman, 1983) for placing the intrinsic relation between society and the manmade environment at its foundation (Hillier and Hanson, 1984). The primary hypothesis of Space Syntax analysis is that the topological structure of space is a fundamental means by which society constitutes itself, and thus, the spatial patterns of buildings both embody and shape social patterns. The theory behind using Space Syntax as a method for measuring space and identifying patterns in space use is based upon the assumption that order in space originates in social life. Space Syntax has been effective in explaining the social phenomenon with respect to the spatial organisation pattern. Shape and the arrangement of spaces provide information for an explanation of spatial relations in a systematic manner. Analysis of domestic space configuration provides the link between the design of dwellings and their social consequences (Hanson 1998:1) and ordering of space in building is really about the ordering of relations between people and thus it helps us to recognize society (Hillier & Hanson 1984:1-2). The central argument of space syntax is that buildings and settlements are both functional and symbolic artefacts that constitutes as well as express society in the way that they configure spaces. (Hillier and Hanson, 1984:142) A focus on the formal properties of spatial configurations can be found in the works of Hillier and Hanson (1984) that addresses the relationship between built form and social organization, employing methods similar to those of other structuralist approaches. From the theoretical premises Hillier and Hanson demonstrated a set of related basic rules of combination capable of generating spatial patterns that can be expressed mathematically. In this way, they enable a sound comparison between spatial models formed under the influence of different cultures. Space syntax emphasizes the interpretation of spatial configuration, which is the primary principle in the analysis of the internal structure of a building. Spatial configuration is defined as
15
16
Space Syntax is a set of techniques to represent, quantify, and interpret the spatial configuration in buildings and settlements (Hillier, 1985; Hillier and Hanson, 1984; Hillier et al, 1987; Steadman, 1983). The aim of space syntax research is to develop the strategies to describe configured inhabited spaces in such a way that their under-lying social logic can be understood. Space syntax creates important data about how social meanings and lifestyles are expressed in spatial models. Morphological studies try to clarify the configurational properties and their meanings by mathematical and graphical analysis.
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the relations between two or more spaces that take into account all other spaces in the system (Hillier, 1987: 363). The configurational analysis is based on architectural morphology which concerns every space and its accessibility. There are two key elements of spatial layout, convex spaces and its access. Convex space is a single space which corresponds to the experience of people in space, while access is a successful movement from one space to the other by its occupants. Both elements indicate the inhabitant’s movement and interaction. The analysis of spatial configuration deals directly with building layout. Floor plans are transformed into morphological diagram in order to illustrate the relations among spaces. In Hillier and Hanson’s analysis method (Hillier and Hanson, 1988), the morphological characteristics of a plan layout are analyzed with the help of graphs called “justified access graphs.” The justified graph represents the permeability of the system . In a justified graph, each space17 is represented as a circle and doorways and other openings between adjacent spaces and circulation routes are shown by lines linking points. A particular space, which normally is an exterior space, will be selected as a root space and all other spaces will be applied for the depth level from root space. Therefore the level of root is defined as zero, while the depth level of each space in the diagram corresponds to the steps taken to move from the root to that particular space. Every space in the building is assigned a depth value according to the minimum number of movements that must be taken to get from one space into another space.
In space syntax theories configurational variables ‘depth’ and ‘rings’ turned out to be fundamental properties
of architectural space configuration, and also the means by which
architecture can carry culture (Hanson1998:27). Depth property indicates how many architectural steps one must pass through to arrive at a particular space in the configuration of the house. Depth is defined as the step or change of movement from one space to any other space, whereas ring indicates the property of choice or alternative route to move from one space to others.
17
Bellal, (2007) defined a ‘space’ by the functions rather by physical boundaries. Hence a space has been regarded as a space designated for a particular activity. Areas that are not rectangular in shape such as ‘U’ or ‘L’ shape for example, it is used for a single activity has been considered as one space. Rooms with multiple functions for example living and dining area with no demarcation of boundary in between but where different activities happen in designated areas within the same geometrically bounded space has been taken as two spaces.
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Choices with ringyness can be explained with the space link ratio of the configuration.(SLR)18 describes a relationship between link and spaces to determine degree of ringyness. In the two types of configuration bushy and tree type, tree has minimum number of connections to join the configuration up into a continuous space pattern. Rings add extra permeability to a space pattern and express the second property ‘choice’ existence of alternative routes from one space to another.
Depth 05 Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V - Verandah
Depth 04 Depth 03 Depth 02 Depth 01
Plan of an Apartment
J-graph
Figure 3.02: J graphs of Apartments drawn with 'JASS' software
b -Type space: B a -Type space: K
K
b -Type space:
L
T
V
B
B
FL
B
D
a -Type space: T, V a -Type space: B
T
a -Type space: B, T
c -Type space: L, D, F
F
Ex
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V - Verandah
Figure 3.03: Type of spaces in the studied middle income group apartments 18
The Space–Link Ratio is the number of links plus one, over the number of the spaces. A tree will therefore have a value of 1 and values above 1 indicate the degree of ‘ringyness’ in the complex.
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A space can be classified according to its topological properties and Hillier introduced four types of spaces(Hillier, 1996: 318- 320). The letters a, b, c, or d represent the space structural dimension (figure 3.4). The distribution of different space types can be seen clearly in the justified graph. • a type spaces are terminal spaces with a single link and are dead-end spaces . Spaces as such only accommodate movement to and from themselves and are characterized by static occupation (Hanson1998:173) through which no movement is possible to other spaces. • b type spaces are thoroughfares-with more than one link- where movement is highly directed leading to a terminal space. • c type spaces are that lie on a ring and Movement through a c-type space provides choice (Hanson1998:173). • d-type spaces are junctions for two or more rings. Passages; junction and place types are differentiated by the physicality of a-b-c-d type-spaces. A passage type-space is a space that suggests a-to and from- movement in a goal-oriented space which is a form of architectural space used to connect at least two functions together, e.g. a corridor. A junction type-space suggests an in-between changing movement in a decision making space which is a form of architectural space used to introduce the change of architectural conception of space, either in movement or function, e.g. a doorway. The junction type usually introduces a place type space. Compared to the other two “experiences”, place is the most static. However, when place does not represent enclosed spaces such as rooms but common spaces; it could become the most integrated as well as the richest experiential space.
Studies of samples of traditional and vernacular houses have been continuing over the years and an extensive database has now accumulated on the morphology of houses worldwide. (Hanson 1998:290)The early approaches of space syntax address the issues of social structure and cultural order in built spaces. In recent studies, researchers have searched for characteristics of space that define the inherent meanings and domestic experience. Review of previous studies shows the possibilities for exploring cultural order in built spaces. Space syntax provides an approach to understanding the relationship between people and buildings by establishing the formal spatial properties of building. The analysis of internal structure can reflect social relations underlying the configuration of space. In this study, space syntax methodology was used to identify spatial patterns of the contemporary middle income group apartments.
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3.1.2 Symbolic Dimension The built environment is a cultural artifact, shaped by human intention and intervention, a living archaeology through which we can extract the priorities and beliefs of the decision makers in our society.(Weisman 2000:1) Step-02 of this research, establishes the relationship between the gender related symbolic expressions on the spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments. To address the symbolic dimensions of house both questionnaire interview and syntactic analysis is conducted. The responses of female heads of the middle income group living in apartments in Dhaka are recorded and quantified to find out their life style and activity pattern in the house. The justified graph is used to check the concept of the gendered space by checking segregation and integration of spaces and their depth to locate the gendered spaces in the spatial organisation. Relevant analysis shows that spaces are usually connected together in ways that vary the distribution of integration throughout the structure, making some spaces of a house more accessible (public spaces) than others (private spaces). The mean depth of a space from all other spaces in the configuration is integration (1/RRA) which describes how permeable that particular space is (Orhun,1999). Hillier, Hanson and Graham (1987) defines integration as the relative depth of that space from all others in the graph through the formula : 2(d-1)
integration value = --------k-2 where d is the mean depth of spaces and k is the total number of spaces in the graph.
Hanson found this integration to be inverse of the Real Relative Asymmetry (RRA) value found from the j-graph (Hanson,1998:28). Higher RRA value leads to lower integration and lower RRA leads to Higher integration. Monteiro(1997) found the more integrated activities as the social ones and the segregated activities as the personal ones. Toker And Toker (2003) concluded that higher global integration and lower depth from both the integration core and the entrance space is a reflection of its transformation into a shared space. Francine and Holanda (2003) used integration as variable and found that bedrooms constitute social isolation, confirmed by their spatial segregation, revealing their strictly private character.
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Space activity analysis identifies the gendered and shared spaces in the contemporary MIG apartments and integration and depth properties are used for syntactic analysis. Integration is used in this study to measure segregation in the gendered and shared spaces in the configuration. A space in the house that has the highest degree of integration can be accessed easily and quickly from the other spaces under normal conditions. This means that the space has a potential to have controlling power over the whole domestic space. In contrast, when a space has the lowest degree of integration, it is less accessible due to its topological distance farther away from the others – thus most segregated in the house. Depth locates the gendered and shared spaces in the configuration.
Space-Activity analysis Segregation
Determine Spaces used by Male/Females
Determine gendered spaces. Integration study [J-graph]
Low integration –segregated space High integration –Integrated space
Depth study [J-graph]
Determine location of gendered spaces.
The concept of privacy19, which is dependent on the visual relationship with the inhabitants and the outsiders, is addressed with the visibility graph analysis in this research. Visibility20 graph (VGA) analyzes the extent to which any point in a spatial system is visible from any other. Studying the visibility structures in houses can help to understand the privacy level21 of domestic spaces. VGA is derived from the concept of ‘isovists’ was first introduced in spatial analysis by Tandy (1967) for analysis of landscape. However, it was Benedikt (1979:47-65) who first treated isovists fully as a method for analysis of architectural space. He defined isovists as the set of all points visible from a given vantage point in space and with respect to an environment, which is collection of visible real surfaces in space. Benedikt found the method to be relevant to 19
Privacy is defined as the quality or state of being apart from company or observation. Privacy denotes a place of seclusion and it is the quality of being secluded from the presence or view of others or the condition of being concealed or hidden. 20 Visibility refers to visual information provided to observers at any given location and is directly related to the geometry of space as much as to the movement of observer. 21 The highest Visual integration in a space explains it to be connected highly with other adjacent spaces visually. Higher visual integration will lead to lower privacy as things happening in these spaces are shared visually from the other adjacent spaces.
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behavioral and perceptual studies in architecture, especially in the areas of view control, privacy, 'defensibility', and in dynamic complexity and spaciousness judgments. Hillier and Hanson (1984) introduced visibility relationships of spaces into graph analysis of buildings and urban systems. They constructed the set of longest and fewest axial lines based on visibility and accessibility which traverse all the convex spaces within the system. Convex space is the minimal set of shortest and fattest non-over lapping convex polygons covering the space.
Figure 3.04: A series of spaces broken up into convex and axial organisation, showing a typical 'isovist' or visual field.( Source: Hanson, 1994: 676)
To analyze the visibility structures a number of computer programmes have been introduced. One of them is the Depth map programme, which is developed at University College London by Alasdair Turner (2003). In this study Depth map programme 10 is used for analysing the visibility pattern of the middle income group apartments to interpret privacy level of the spatial organisation in a quantitative manner. The programme allows us to import a 2d layout in drawing exchange format (dxf), and to fill the open spaces of this layout with a grid of points. Once the graph has been constructed we may perform various analysis of the graph. The programme divides any given plan into a grid, whose size can be determined by the user, and enables to generate and examine the visibility graph representing visible connections between different point-locations at the center of each grid. Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values (Turner 2001:31.1). Through this visibility graph analysis we can obtain numerous measures of both local and global spatial properties that relate to our perception of the built environment (Turner, et. al., 2001). These measurements can lead us to describe the house’s spatial configuration with reference to accessibility and visibility.
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Privacy which is difficult to measure can be interpreted by the accessibility both physical and visual and it is associated with the visibility aspect of the spaces used by the women from the outsiders/guest’s area. Visual integration of spaces gives certain numerical values which expresses that space to be visually connected with the adjacent spaces. Visual integration is similar to global integration describes the relative visibility of a point location to all the other points within the space. The measure is essentially a normalized version of the mean depth of the visibility graph (Turner and Penn, 1999; Tuner, 2001; Turner, et. al., 2001). The more a space is visible from the outsiders or visitor’s area the less privacy is ensured there as it is more intruded visually. Thus the space which has high visual integration will be less private and more intruded by the visitors. Privacy although universal characteristic for all human beings, is also moderated and governed culturally. Bellal and Brown (2003) found the M’zabite house to be highly introverted, tree like configuration, with rooms distributed around an internal courtyard, on two floors. This combined with a division between male and female spaces. The results come up with a consistent pattern–the private spaces are highly clustered and the social spaces offer multidirectional fields of view within the houses. In a study by Guney (2007), it was seen that the control of permeability and visibility serves the need for privacy to regulate interpersonal interactions. Privacy of the female members, as a product of socio-cultural and religious factors, guided the domestic spatial organization with a control of visibility of inner spaces from public areas and restriction of access of the visitors.
Interview with the female heads ,who are taken as respondents , their privacy perception and requirements in the domestic space are noted. Visual Integration is used in this study to measure privacy in the gendered spaces in the configuration. Visual integration(VI) of the spaces define some spaces to be visually more integrated and some to be segregated in the configuration. Thus the space which has high visual integration will be less private and more intruded by the visitors.
Privacy
Space-Activity analysis Visual Integration [VGA]
Determine Spaces used by Male/Females to interact with visitors and its privacy character.
Determine VI of spaces Low VI - space with more privacy High VI - space with less privacy
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The concept of Dominance is related with the power and control over the domestic space. Dominance in the domestic space is seen differently by different researchers. Historical perspective has revealed that in many countries the kitchen was visually the focus of all family activities and there was no explicit spatial demarcation between family leisure and housework inside the home. During this century the kitchen becomes more separate, solely for housework. Eleni Donta (1978) found the necessity to open up kitchen to the rest of the living area was the result of the new position of the women within the family. Ozaki’s (2003) research, in terms of social status and changing social relations, found that change in women’s role consequently develop less formal relationships between husbands and wives in middle-class families and the kitchen-diner is a popular space in contemporary housing, centred on the idea that it is where the woman of the house is found, expressing conventional gender relations. When the kitchen is more open, it used to be reflecting the improvement of women’s social status and their conventional role as homemakers. This openness influences the dominance with its visual control character. Visual Control over the adjacent spaces from the central position seems a vital element in the traditional layouts and it is related with the location of the gendered space and their household activity. The control measure picks out visually controlling spaces that can see more. Turner has named these spaces as controlling spaces (Turner, 2003). The controlling spaces are locations that are strategic from the point of view that they are difficult to be controlled. Controllable spaces, on the other hand, are locations that can easily be seen from other locations but themselves cannot see much. Turner (2001) gives the example of panopticon where the cells are controllable spaces while the center is the controlling one. The local measure Visual control (VC) of the Visibility Graph Analysis with Depth map programme, gives us the values of locations that have the maximum visual control. Dominance is directly proportionate to visual control. Dominance that is related with the visual control of spaces is calculated and compared using the visual control values of VGA. In this study visual control is taken as a variable to measure dominance of the female heads in the domestic spatial organisation.
Dominance
Space-Activity analysis
Determine the visual control character of the Spaces used by Female head.
Determine VC of spaces Visual Control[VGA]
Low VC- space with less visual control High VC- space with more visual control
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By arranging the concepts that express the symbolic or cultural expression of the domestic space related with gender aspect, we find three basic concepts of Segregation, Privacy and Dominance. Each of these concepts or ideas can be explained with a number of indicators or phenomenon which point out the existence of the concept.
Gender related Symbolic Dimensions
Privacy
Segregation
Research Question • What are the spaces used by the female members? Why do they use these spaces? • Are the spaces used by female members segregated in the spatial organisation? • Where are the spaces used by the female members located in the spatial organisation?
Method of Analysis
Discussion in thesis
• Identifying spaces used by • SpaceChapter-05 female members and Activity activities/Works done by them pattern with activity analysis. • J-graph analysis provides ‘integration’ of these spaces. • Integration Chapter-06 • J-graph analysis provides ‘depth’ in an organisation of the • Depth spaces to mark the depth of female zone with respect to the entry position.
• Where do they interact with the visitors? • How do they ensure privacy from visitor’s area?
• Response of the female heads • SpaceChapter-05 will lead to identify spaces Activity where they interact with visitors, pattern their need for privacy and means for privacy. • What are characteristics of the Visual • Visual privacy of the inner spaces Chapter-06 integration values of the different can be interpreted with the Visual • Visual integration spaces used by the female members integration value of the spaces with respect to the visitor’s area? in the urban houses with respect to the entry /outsider’s zone. • What are the works done by them? Where do they work?
Dominance
Indicator
• Response of the female heads • SpaceActivity will identify spaces where they pattern work and their need for visual • What are characteristics of the Visual control. control values of the different spaces used by the female members with • The local measure Visual • Visual respect to their working area? Control control, gives the maximum
Chapter-05
Chapter-06
visual control values of the spaces those are used by women for household work. Figure 3.05: Chart showing the concepts or ideas with indicators
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3.1.3 Social Dimension
The spatial structure of buildings embodies knowledge of social relations. It has been widely argued that house form is influenced by the gender roles embedded in family structures (Saegert & Winkel, 1980, Spain, 1995, Bowlby et al, 1997, Weisman, 1992, Kent 1984).Thus dwelling reflects ideals and realities about relationship between women and men within the family and in society. The socio-economic status22 of the women reveals their role in their respective houses. The Theories on family argues that characteristics of individuals contribute to gender-status distinctions, while the economy based concept explains women’s economic control of property is related with their status. The education level and participation in the paid labour force makes them a contributing member economically which in turn decides their status.
Socio-economic status is considered as social dimension in this study which impacts on the spatial organisation. To derive impact of social dimension ‘status’ on the spatial organisation of contemporary middle income group apartments, the female head respondents need to be interrogated about their symbolic and spatial aspects of domestic spaces. The socioeconomic influence on house due to change of women’s status is studied with both questionnaire interview and spatial interpretation. The requirement of the contemporary middle income group women regarding segregation, privacy and dominance in their domestic spaces in this study are compared with the existing spatial organisation with the help of the spatial analysis. Existing situations and needs of the female heads found from the questionnaire interview are compared with the findings of the spatial analysis focusing the gender related symbolic aspects of domestic spaces.
The demands and requirements derived from the change of status noted in the study will suggest design guidelines so that the gender issues in the domestic space of the middle income group in Dhaka can be addressed by the suppliers of the contemporary apartments considering their socio-economic status.
22
Status refers to the socially defined positions within a large group [Schaefer, 2003:300-311].
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3.2 Methodology of the Study The main research problem “How does change in socio-economic status of women impact on the spatial organization of the contemporary Residential Apartments in Dhaka? ” deals with space and gender relations in the urban houses of Dhaka. In order to attain the answers of the above mentioned question the social aspects need to be analyzed along with the spatial changes that are taking place. What is needed is a proper theory and methodology that can synthesize all the variables to answer the questions. This research has undertaken an empirical analytic study perusing both the quantitative and qualitative observations. Most information in this study was acquired through various types of household data from field research. Different techniques for gathering data were used ranging from direct documentation, socio-demographic information and observation of daily routines. The graphic data of physical features were acquired from the measurement and drawing of architectural floor plans, while socio-demographic data basically came from the interviews with household members. In addition to interviewing, observation during the house visit provided information on the use of domestic space and daily activities. Data Collection involves: •
Literature survey
•
Field Survey: Interview and Observation from field study
•
Spatial analysis of MIG apartment plans.
A background Literature survey was undertaken to identify the evolution of the urban house forms in the context of Dhaka, and trace the transformation of gendered space from introvert type to present apartments. Different concepts related with Space Syntax and gender and domestic spaces were investigated to find out the appropriate methodology to conduct the research.
To understand the symbolic aspects in the urban houses of Dhaka a literature based analysis was conducted focusing on the transformation of the urban house form in the context of Dhaka in relation to gender aspect. In this part of study fifteen urban houses representing the three basic types were chosen for spatial analysis from secondary sources. Permeability and visibility analysis of these fifteen house plans tend to establish their spatial characteristics, which are later compared with the findings of the elaborate study of the contemporary MIG apartments’ spatial organisation with respect to symbolic aspects of the domestic space in Dhaka.
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Field Survey includes Interview and Observation from field study. Two types of interviewing procedures were used in the process of data gathering: semi-structured and structured. The interviewing process was conducted in the home of selected households. At the early stage of field research, the semi–structured interview was to collect overall information about daily routines of the female heads of the selected middle income group families. The structured interview was carried out to focus on symbolic aspects based on experience in the pilot survey. Household information on the use of domestic spaces and daily activities was provided by the household members.
Most of the floor plans of the houses were sketched during site observation and visit. Where it was possible, photographs were taken to record the position of furniture and the possible use of spaces. Photographs provide an intensive observation of the inhabitant’s activity in the house settings.
3.2.1 Questionnaire Design The purpose of the questionnaires was to obtain data on the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents and household information, including the use of domestic spaces and building backgrounds.(Sample of questionnaire is added in Appendix 3.01) The questionnaire includes: 1. Apartment profile: size, location, cost/rent 2. Respondent’s profile: age, education ,religion, occupation 3. Family profile: age, education, occupation of family members and monthly expenditure. 4. The Spatial Dimension (Part A): to find out spaces that are mostly used by the male and female heads of the family, their Daily activities within the flat are calculated in semistructured table format identifying space and relevant activities at different times. 5. The Symbolic Dimensions (Part B): ‘Segregation’, ‘Privacy’ and ‘Dominance’ are three symbolic dimensions that have been significantly observed and questioned about.
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6. Social Dimension (Part C): In order to find out the answer of the questions related with social dimension of the study, the female heads were considered as the respondent and a structured interview was undertaken regarding their earning status, household activities. The changes and alterations made by the flat occupants in their internal layout were noted. The needs and requirements of the contemporary women regarding their residential spaces in Dhaka were noted wherever relevant to identify some guidelines for designing residential apartments.
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3.2.2 Selection of Sample This study is intended to understand the spatial organization of the of MIG apartments in Dhaka. It focuses on the women users of the middle income group with the specific objectives of understanding the spatial organization of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka with respect to their socio-economic status.
3.2.2.1 Middle Income Group (MIG) Women Social, cultural and religious tradition structure the status of women in Bangladesh and majority of the population here belongs to Islam religion, which acts as a determinant in the domestic space arrangement. Socio-economic status is a determinant of the spatial order and it was seen from literature review that middle income group, which comprises a larger portion of population with a medium economic structure and higher educational background, has been through the various social revolutions and constraint. Islam (1990) defined 58% of the population of Dhaka to be in the Middle income group (Islam N, 1990: 23) and in 2004 it became 50% ( Islam,2004). Among the 40% lower income urban people of Bangladesh, women face less restriction of segregation as they have direct input in family earnings. The 2% high income group is not affected by their income status in this respect. The women of middle income group23 face this conflict largely than others. (Monsoor, 1999:43; Rani K, 1976) ‘Middle class’ and ‘middle income group’ are two different entities describing a particular group of people. Middle class emerged from public administration and law and belonged to the learned professions (King A.1984:51,56).The real growth of middle class was more of a 20th century phenomenon with the growth of government jobs in civil, military, police, railway and river services along with the growth of institutions for professional education of doctors, engineers and advocates. Education system, western ideas increasingly influenced the middle class which 23
Middle income group is related with the income level of the households. Islam 1990, defined Middle income group (58% of the population of Dhaka) to have monthly household income of Taka 10,00050,000 (Islam N, 1990:23).The classification of income group people in Bangladesh are mainly three types such as higher ,middle and lower income group. The sub groups are defined as low-income(TK 5,000 or less, lower middle income TK 5000-10,000,middle-middle income TK 10,000-20,000 ,upper middle income TK 25,000- 50,000 and high -income above TK 50,000.( Jahan and Kalam, 2012:79-91) Zahid Hussain defined the income thresholds as: low income—$1,025 or less; lower middle income— $1,026 to $4035; upper middle income—$4036 to $12,475; and high income—$12,476 or more.( Zahid Hussain,2012) The average monthly income per household at current price was estimated at Taka 11479 at the national level in 2010 by Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2010, BBS,2011.
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gradually led to the changing concept of family, life style and living. Disintegration in the family started in the colonial period especially after the Second World War (Islam Mahmuda and Guhathakurta Meghna, 2007). Rise of a merchant class and educated middle class; urbanization; growth of landlessness; industrialization and above all development of western liberal ideas of freedom and individualism as a resultant of English education encouraged growth of nuclear families consisting of parents and children (Islam Mahmuda and Guhathakurta Meghna 2007:526).
Post-Colonial and after-independence (from 1971) created a growing awareness among women about their rights and responsibilities in the new society and specifically the middle class society was the pioneer in this aspect for their educational and economic background.
3.2.2.2 Middle Income Group (MIG) Apartments Although income status is a criterion for stratifying middle income group, it is also variable with time. So selection of study area is difficult to determine depending on income status. People’s affordability of owning flat varies with the land price. There are certain areas where middle income group concentrates due to the land value. Zahur, 2008 found that developers select locations for middle income group in Malibagh, Shantinagar, Shamoly, Mirpur, Farmgate, Tejkunipara, Kalabagan,Monipuripara,Uttara as land price in these areas are lower compared to other planned residential areas like Gulshan,Banani,Dhanmondi. Begum, 2010 calculated the land values of different areas in Dhaka city and compared the increase in different time periods. From her study it was seen that land value in Gulshan, Banani, Dhanmondi and Baridhara which are residential areas are quite higher than Mirpur,Mohammadpur,Tejgaon,Moghbazar,Shantinagar,Uttara, etc. areas. As a result these areas became unaffordable for the middle income group people. This study considers the residential areas as middle income group areas where land price is moderate compared to the land price of other residential areas. Thus four areas (Mohammadpur, Moghbazar, Tejgaon and Uttara) were chosen where land value is moderate. Fifty apartments, in the area where middle income people concentrate, were chosen for study.
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Table 3.01: Increase of Land price in different areas of Dhaka Area 1975 Gulshan 3,57,000 Banani 3,57,000 Dhanmondi 3,57,000 Baridhara 25,000 Shantinagar 2,86,000 Mohammadpur 3,57,000 Uttara 2,86,000 Mirpur 1,42,816 Badda 57,127 Goran 57,127 Source: Begum T, 2010: Table -2.1:20
1990 14,79,893 14,79,893 14,79,893 14,80,000 12,33,244 12,33,244 7,39,947 7,39,947 4,93,298 4,93,298
2000 29,78,827 29,08,024 29,78,827 33,85,000 20,31,018 16,24,815 13,54,012 9,47,809 8,12,408 8,12,408
2007 80,00,000 80,00,000 95,00,000 90,00,000 60,00,000 40,00,000 35,00,000 20,00,000 20,00,000 20,00,000
3.2.2.3 Size of the MIG Apartments From prior studies (Zahur, 2008; Seraj TM, 2010; Begum T, 2010) on the affordability of the middle income group people, it was seen that size of the flats effect people’s affordability of owning flat (Zahur, 2008: Islam, 2004). Keeping the land price moderate by selecting location at certain places, developers brought the apartments within affordability range of the middle income group by size variation. It is seen from the works of Seraj, 2012; Zahur, 2008 and Begum 2010 that with a combination of the size and location the developers provide apartments to the middle income group people within their affordability range. Seraj, 2012 conducted a field survey on the apartments of Dhaka city and found that 69% flats are within 700-1600 sft areas. (Seraj TM, 2012:41-42)
10%
2% < 700 sft - 2% 11%
7%
701- 1000 sft -11% 1001-1300 sft -28%
69%
1301-1600 sft -30%
12% 28%
1601-1900 sft -12% 1901-2200 sft - 7%
30%
> 2200 sft - 10%
Figure 3.06 : Percentage of different sized apartments
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From the study of Zahur it was seen that middle income group prefers flat within 1000-1500 square feet and the developers think that within 750-1200 square feet area flats are within the range of the middle income group in present Dhaka city. (Zahur M, 2008:60). Size desired by the middle-middle income group in Zahur’s study:
800-1000 sft
16.7%
1001-1200 sft
11.7%
1201-1500 sft
17.5%
1501-1800 sft
24.2%
1801-2000 sft
24.2%
Above 2000 sft
5.7%
45.9%
54.1%
Begum T, 2010 collected data from the office record of 20 selected developers’ and found that although flats within 400-1000 sft are increasing in number but it is very insignificant. The group whose area is within 1001-2000 sft is significantly large in number and their number is increasing day by day. Table 3.02: Number of flats according to size
400-1000 sft 1001-2000 sft 2001-3000 sft Above 3000
1990-1994 1 13 1 0
1995-1999 6 58 20 2
2000-2004 3 102 46 18
2005-2010 22 294 107 17
Source: Begum., 2010:60 Based on the facts of these studies and pilot survey the apartments within 800 sft to 1500 sft in Mohammadpur, Moghbazar, Tejgaon and Uttara (where land value is moderate) were chosen for study. Thus thirteen MIG apartments in Mohammadpur, Moghbazar, Tejgaon and eleven in Uttara were investigated thoroughly.
3.3 Conclusion This study focuses on the women users of the middle income group with the specific objectives of understanding the spatial organization of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka with respect to their socio-economic status. The research work is organised by addressing the two objectives of the study. The first objective explains a relationship between spatial organisation of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka and gender related symbolic or cultural expressions, which is based on the concept of segregation, privacy and dominance in
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the context of Bangladesh. It further establishes a relationship between the spatial organisation of the contemporary apartments and the social status of the user-the middle income group women living in these apartments. Step-01 of this part, involves the understanding of the spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments and space syntax methodology was used to identify spatial patterns of the contemporary middle income group apartments. Space syntax provides an approach to understand the relationship between people and buildings by establishing the formal spatial properties of building. Step-02 of this part, establishes the relationship between the gender related symbolic expressions on the spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments. To address the symbolic dimensions of house both questionnaire interview and syntactic analysis is conducted. The responses of female heads of the middle income group living in apartments in Dhaka are recorded and quantified to find out their life style and activity pattern in the house. The justified graph is used to check the concept of the gendered space by checking segregation and integration of spaces and their depth to locate the gendered spaces in the spatial organisation. The concept of privacy, which is dependent on the visual relationship with the inhabitants and the outsiders, is addressed with the visibility graph analysis in this research. Dominance that is related with the visual control of spaces is calculated and compared using the visual control values of VGA in this study. The social influence on house form is studied considering socio-economic status of women to address the second objective. The socio-economic influence on house due to change of women’s status is studied with both questionnaire interview and spatial interpretation. Two groups of female heads, on the basis of their participation in economic activity, were questioned regarding their spatial and symbolic requirements. These requirements of the contemporary MIG women regarding segregation, privacy and dominance in their domestic spaces are compared with the existing spatial organisation with the help of the spatial analysis. Existing situations and needs of the female heads found from the questionnaire interview are compared with the findings of the spatial analysis focusing the gender related symbolic aspects of domestic spaces. The demands and requirements those aroused from the change of status noted in the study lead to design suggestions so that the gender issues in the domestic space of the middle income group in Dhaka can be addressed by the suppliers of the contemporary apartments .
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Chapter 04: Context
–Society and House Form
4.0 Introduction 4.1 Gender and Society 4.1.1 Women’s Status 4.1.2 Activity pattern in Urban Houses of Dhaka 4.2 Urban House Forms in Dhaka 4.2.1 Evolution of urban house forms 4.3 Spatial Analysis of the Urban House Forms in Dhaka 4.3.1 Segregation 4.3.2 Privacy 4.3.3 Dominance 4.4 Discussion and Conclusion
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4.0 Introduction
Houses carry cultural information in their material form and space configuration (Hanson J 1998; Oliver P1987; Lawrence 1993:73-80) and the relationship of gender and its social connotation as a cultural factor has an imprint on the morphology of house form. While emphasizing on socio cultural factors as the primary forces in determining house form, Rapoport (1969:60-68) finds gender considerations such as position of women and their privacy as the key determining factors of house form.
The gender issue along with privacy of women in domestic environment has been given importance on the domestic spatial organisation of the urban houses of Dhaka from its genesis period. In the context of Dhaka the urban house form generated from the rural pattern and the morphology has been transformed gradually with time and social change. The initial house form followed an introvert arrangement around courtyards (Imamuddin, 1982; Hafiz, 2011) that supported the socio-cultural and religious norms ensuring privacy of the domestic space with segregation of male and female zones.
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, has a political and administrative history since 13th (from1204-1576) century with the pre Mughal period as a prominent market centre (Rob and Asaduzzaman,1997) . The Europeans left their mark on the house form along with other societal changes from1576 and when Dhaka became the capital of the province of the East Bengal in 1906 it resulted with a spectacular development when it came out of the historical core and expanded towards the northern part as a new city (Nilufar, 2011:187-210). Since then and especially after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 Dhaka has been regarded as one of the fastest growing cities and at present the city accommodates more than 12 million inhabitants (Hafiz, 2011). The change that occurred in the last twenty years in Dhaka city is the growth of population with a consequent reflection on the house form. The recent developers in Dhaka city, who are the providers of the contemporary apartments to the middle income people, design very compact apartments keeping in their mind about the affordability of their target group. While doing this, the desired privacy created by the sequence of spaces and segregation of zones is becoming different from the traditional one.
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Uttara
Mirpur and Mohammadpur
Tejgaon
Moghbazar Shantinagar
Figure 4.01: Dhaka city map showing four locations of studied MIG apartments. Source: Google image map
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4.1 Gender and Society
Women of Bangladesh are the member of the highly patriarchal society. Social cultural and religious tradition structure the status of women in Bangladesh, and men's decision in a patriarchal social system shapes the life of women. In the early days of Hinduism and even after the advent of Islam in India during the eleventh century, women enjoyed a high position until exploitative men-women relationship emerged as a consequence of transformation of the economic system (Khan, S.1993, p.103). In Pre-Colonial period before 1757, the upper class or Ashraf Muslims were able to lead a life with less economic struggle without having necessity of women’s participation in the labor force. The women from the Azlaf or the poor class enjoyed more freedom because of economic necessity. Traditionally the women have remained totally outside the power structure. Female seclusion was considered as symbol of nobility in this subcontinent.
4.1.1 Women’s Status During Colonial rule (from 1757-1947), Education system and medium of education changed to English. Middle class emerged from public administration and law than economic development and belonged to the learned professions. The Muslim community remained less developed and educated in English than the Hindus, Relatively advanced state of economic development helped non-Muslim community to remove legal and social disabilities faster enabling their women to participate in education and job market much earlier than the Muslims who were concerned about guarding their religious identity concentrating on religious education which divested them from the mainstream of the society. Post-Colonial and after-independence (from 1971), created a growing awareness among women about their rights and responsibilities in the new society. The development plans reflected this awareness and development activities. Opportunities for women’s education and economic participation were expanded considerably. In recent times after 1980s There has been a change in the attitude towards women taking up outside employment of large number of women from landless and middle class families in need of economic support, which forced to break the traditional joint or extended family structure to single or nuclear families.
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Table 4.01: Comparative study of the Gender Status in Dhaka: Period
Status
In Pre-Colonial period Before 1757
Female seclusion was considered as symbol nobility in this subcontinent.
During Colonial rule (from 1757-1947)
Education system changed and Middle class emerged from public administration and law than economic development and belonged to the learned professions.
Post-Colonial and After independence (from 1971)
It created a growing awareness among women about their rights and responsibilities in the new society. In recent times especially after 1980s women of landless and middle class families taking up outside employment forced to break the traditional joint or extended family structure to single or nuclear families.
It was seen in the literature review of the contextual background (Section 2.4) that women’s status in Bangladeshi family structure is dependent on their education and participation in the economic activities. During Colonial rule (from 1757-1947) education system changed and Middle class were enlighten with the new education system and emerged in public administration and law. Education, western ideas etc are increasingly influencing the middle income group from the colonial period and gradually leading to changed family structure and style of living, which in turn is creating impact on the spatial organisation. Studies on gender status(Khan S ,1993; Khatoon, Ahmed and Ahsan, 2005; Nuzhat ,2012) finds increase rate in female education, as a good indicator to calculate the development and status of women. Women started to consider education seriously after the colonial period with the development of English medium education system, which promoted them to acquire job and become an earning member in the family. Specifically the middle class society was the pioneer in this aspect for their educational and economic background. The family in the context of Bengal in pre-colonial period was mostly joint and extended where most of the women’s life was deeply embedded in the family. Studying the Household(HH) size (in Figure 2.10) it was seen that that HH size is decreasing with time and becoming nuclear type with four to five HH members. In 1951 HH size was calculated 6.4 which gradually decreased to 4.7 in 2001(Bangladesh Population Census 1991, Vol 3, Urban Area Report, Nov 1997, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka). Field survey conducted during July 2012 reveals the HH size to be 4. Whatever the form of the family was, tasks of women were restricted to domestic spheres: cooking, sewing, cleaning, childcare.
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Religion, as a social indicator, played an important part in the life of the women in Bangladesh. Ninety percent of the population is Muslims and in a Muslim society man has full responsibility for the maintenance of wife and children (Rahman, 1973; Monsoor: 532). The ‘purdah’ system is seen as enforcing a high standard of female modesty. Purdah is the means by which a rigid functional and spatial gender division of labour is upheld (Adnan, 1989).
Participation in the paid labour force is an important indicator to determine status. Changes in the distribution of employment represent changes in women’s role, status and attitudes. From comparative chart study of economically active male and female in urban Dhaka ( Figure 2.11), it is seen that female participation rate in urban area increased from 5.8 in1974 to 7.5 in 1981 and 10.3 in 1991 26.5 in 2000 and 27.4 in 2003 ,which display gradually more and more involvement of females in economic activities outside home.(Bangladesh Population Census 1991,vol 3,Urban Area Report, Nov 1997,Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka. BBS, January 2006:148) Present researchers on women's empowerment consider economic stability and strength as the basic ingredient
for empowerment (Khatoon, Ahmed and Ahsan, 2005). The economic realities of the present time are working against the traditional attitudes that the women should remain in the home and be supported by husband or son; instead increasing numbers of women have to work outside their home to support their family. As a result of this larger family is tending to breakup (Smith, J.I., 1987) and formation of nuclear type families are becoming more common in the urban scenario of Bangladesh.
4.1.2 Activity pattern in Urban Houses of Dhaka House hold activities are different in urban areas from that of rural areas. Based on the works of the researchers (Imamuddin, 1982; Shabeen, 1997; Khan F A U, 1999; Rashid, 2000; Islam, 2003),the household activities in the urban houses can be classified into two groups: • Family activities- such as working, sleeping, cooking, washing, bathing, eating, etc. • Formal activities-such as socializing, receiving guests, which include participation in the community.
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According to the previous studies it was seen that family activities such as working ,eating, sleeping, cooking, etc are performed in the inner part of the house while formal activities such as socializing, receiving guests, which include participation in the community are performed in the outer part of the house near to the entry. Khan 1999, while studying the colonial architecture in Bangladesh has drawn a comparative description of the household activities of the members in urban houses of different periods. Table 4.02: Different Activity and Spaces in the Urban Houses of Dhaka
Traditional-Introvert Works inside the house.
Colonial-Extrovert working Work and household areas are separated in general except for some professionals like doctors, lawyers, etc. Cooking In the kitchen, Food preparation kitchen verandah. generates organic wastes Food preparation and it is usually generates organic conducted on the kitchen wastes and it is floor. Storage space usually conducted on becomes necessary for the kitchen floor. storing bulk of nonperishable food items. No fixed place was Eating Ate food sitting in chair for eating in traditional and food served on table in the Dining or verandah. houses. A person usually ate sitting on mats in kitchen or verandah. Took rest in bedroom or Resting In bed room or in and verandah. verandah space. Sleeping Attached toilet was Bathing People use to take bath in ponds, river in added in the late colonial rural areas. In urban period(in early 20th c) areas people took bath in a separate structure outside the main house. Outhouse is the guest Entertainment and guest Guest entertainingreceiving area in the receiving in the hall or drawing room. public zone near the entrance.
Consolidated Work and household areas are separated.
Kitchen along with servant’s room store and verandah form a separate zone and it is attached with the main household space.
Ate food sitting in chair and food served on table in the Dining or verandah.
Took rest in bedroom or verandah space. Bath and toilet are located in two zones. One in the outer zone for guests, one in the inner zone for family /female members near to the bed rooms. Socializing with guests in the living room near the entrance in public zone.
Source: Khan F A U 1999, Study of Colonial Architecture in Bangladesh, Doctoral Dissertation, Department of Islamic History and Culture, Dhaka University, Dhaka.
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4.2 Urban Houses in Dhaka Dhaka, being the capital city of Bangladesh, has pulled immense population from outside and has undergone through a continual transformation during the last few decades. People from different parts of the country migrated to Dhaka, in search of job opportunity, educational facilities, centralized functions and other advanced facilities available in the city. The rate of excessive urbanization has direct impact on housing in general, and the house form in particular. This increase in population has resulted in a transformation in the morphology of the urban houses. From the introvert courtyard type houses that prevailed from the early stages of urbanization in Dhaka, the inhabitants have experienced the extrovert pavilion type bungalows and the consolidated walkup flats in later phases consecutively. Presently the city is expanding vertically and people are becoming used to living in multistoried compact apartments within a limited space.
Figure 4.02: Population in Dhaka city. Source: Bangladesh Population Census, BBS(1987,2001,2010)
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4.2.1 Evolution of urban house forms
The morphology of the urban house form is the result of various urban forces generated at different phases of growth of the city. The evolution of the urban houses of Dhaka can be traced back to 13th century with the pre Mughal period. Urban houses in this period were rather dense version of rural settlements (Khan I.M, 1982)and courtyards were found as an inseparable an essential element in the design and construction of urban houses in Bangladesh (Hafiz, 2011: 65-86).
The cultural foundation has established the Introvert courtyard pattern in the context of Dhaka from the very beginning, which had its root in the rural pattern. The introvert courtyard type houses are common in historical house layouts (Schoneaur, 1981). In the indigenous urban houses of Dhaka the inner court served private family purposes. This Courtyard was the central space of all activities and it acted as the threshold transient semi-public space between the habitable rooms (the private territory) and the living room (the public territory).
In the earliest studies on urban house form in Dhaka by Imamuddin (1982),the binary pairs of front-back, outer-inner, male-female, clean-dirty seems to be present in the organisation of the Bengali houses(Figure 2.04: The tripartite relationship of the formal-family-service in Bengali house). He explained this binary concept with the tripartite relationship among formal family and service part of the consolidated type houses in the post colonial period (Imamuddin, 1982:2.21-2.40),where traditional Bengali house was seen to be organized with the concept of ‘back and front’. The street facing front side acted as the public side, receiving guests and restricting them to a limited area. The male activities were located at this outer zone. The back of the house is associated with service facilities and female areas are located in this zone. The female household members were mostly kept confined within the boundaries of the house where the courtyard was their breathing space and their universe (King A.D.1984).
The society underwent a rapid change during the colonial period due to the centralized policy of administration enhancing the urban-based institutions. New educational and occupational systems changed the lifestyle and family structure. These changes left mark on the house forms. (Rahman and Haque, 1997:182) The Europeans added a different style of house form in
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this context which reflected more of their life style relating it to the detached Bungalow pattern having extrovert character – opposite to the locally found introvert types. The Extrovert bungalow type house forms in the colonial period, since 1576, relates with the European styles more. These buildings were free standing, courtyard less, outward facing having detached service structure at the back. Service remained isolated from the main mass, connected by a stair. Kitchen, toilets were separated from the main house. Besides this extrovert bungalow type another type of house form evolved in Dhaka in the houses of the affluent people of the society with a tendency to build a house that had a European facade treatment but a local courtyard type layout. Here the local courtyard type plan is blended with the European extrovert type Bungalow pattern.
Mass migration in 1947 between India and Pakistan (1947-1971) made a major demographic shift in the urban composition of Dhaka city. Majority of Hindu population left city and was replaced by the Muslim population.(Imamuddin 1982:1.14) Rehabilitation of the migrant population was an urgent issue and a new directorate of Housing and Settlement was formed to deal with this situation. The concept of nuclear house was first introduced in a ‘rehabilitation’ project at Mohammadpur in 1953 by Public Works Department. (Shabin1997:6.10)
The construction of housing colonies for government servants followed this. First residential units were Palassey Barracks, Dhakeswari Quarters (single storied row houses) and Azimpur Estate (medium rise multi-storied walk-ups). Urban houses in the post-colonial period (after 1757) formed an integration of living and service parts of the house into a single mass as Consolidated type and it became the model for the later mass housing.
Single family houses in individual plots followed this consolidation and later was arranged in different levels tied with a staircase as vertical circulation. The common feature about these residential buildings is that they are all accommodated in multi-storied walk-up blocks with each staircase serving two units. Houses became separated into three distinct zones-Formal, Informal and Service zones. In The internal arrangements of spaces, a high degree of compartmentalization is found and a corridor like space runs through the centre. In some cases corridor transferred into a fat linking space, which usually was used as a dining or family living space.
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Dhaka being the capital of the sovereign Bangladesh experienced a new dimension of
(
development from 1971. The population increase of the city led the multi storied compact apartments to meet the housing demand. (Rashid M U 2000:13) The housing societies and developers became the supplier of the multistoried housing stock to various groups of people. About two decades back the city dwellers were reluctant to live in flats but this situation has changed within the last ten years (Hossain A, 2010).In 1980s a large acceptance of the concept of living in flats were seen although Real estate business started in late 1970s. REHAB (Real Estate Housing Authority of Bangladesh) claims the number of houses supplied by the sector from the beginning till 2002, were nearly 20,000 units in total. (Sthapotyo O Nirman, Issue-09, July- Sept. 2002:06) The tendency and need of the people to stay nearer to the city centre as well as popular vision of standard living has been addressed by the developers, converting the need and resources of individuals into material terms of a house form (Islam Z 2003) .Compact space arrangements resulted in smaller rooms in the multi-storied apartments for scarcity of space. Flats were arranged about the staircase and lift core serving the units. Due to compact layout, dining acts as a connecting space of all the adjacent spaces.
The urban house forms of Dhaka have been transformed gradually from introvert courtyard type to extrovert type houses in the Colonial period and consolidated types in the post-colonial period. For a study of the spatial organisation of the introvert, extrovert and consolidated type houses of Dhaka fifteen house plans were selected from secondary sources(Imamuddin, 1982; Khan I M, 1982;Khan FAU, 1999; Rashid, 2000; Islam, 2003). This is shown in Figure 4.03.
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Legend: OH-Out House,, H-Hall/Living, L-Living ,D - Dining, C-Circulation, R - Room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah
Figure 4.03: Urban Houses in Dhaka
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4.3 Spatial Analysis of the Urban Houses in Dhaka In this part of study fifteen urban houses representing the three basic types discussed earlier are chosen for spatial analysis from secondary sources. In Space Syntax theory, developed by Hillier and Hanson, The morphological characteristics of a plan layout are analyzed with the help of graphs called “justified access graphs” (Hillier and Hanson, 1988). In space syntax analysis (as discussed in chapter 03 as the methodology of this research) among the numeric measurements of these graphs, related to the properties of spatial configuration, Depth (D) and real relative asymmetry (RRA) values helps to explain the spatial aspects of domestic space quantitatively. Permeability and visibility analysis of these fifteen house plans tend to establish their spatial characteristics, which will be later compared with the findings of the elaborate study of the contemporary middle income group apartments’ spatial organisation with respect to symbolic aspects of the domestic space in Dhaka.
For permeability analysis, the first step is to transcribe each of the house plans into the form of an access graph. Each effective space is represented by a point. Here the ‘space’ is defined by the functions rather by physical boundaries. Doorways and other openings between adjacent spaces and circulation routes are shown by lines linking points. Table 4.03:Spatial Characteristics in Different Types of Houses Sl No. Type of UHF MI M D SLR Ring-zone No. of Spaces( k) 1 Introvert-1 1.01 2 1.067 Ringy24 Ex-Liv-Cir 15 2 Introvert-2 0.76 2 1.063 Ringy Ex-Out h-Din-Court -Cir 16 3 Introvert-3 1.03 2 1 Tree-like25 14 4 Introvert-4 1.00 3 1.214 Ringy Ex-Cir-room: Cir-Court-Room 14 5 Introvert-5 1.25 1 1 Tree-like 12 6 Extrovert-1 1.06 3 1.632 Ringy Highly Ringy 19 7 Extrovert-2 0.93 1 1.200 Ringy Ringy 10 8 Extrovert-3 0.87 3 1.333 Ringy Highly Ringy 18 9 Extrovert-4 0.75 4 1.222 Ringy Ringy 18 10 Extrovert-5 0.73 2 1.235 Ringy Highly Ringy 17 11 Consolidated-1 0.90 1 1.100 Ringy Cir-Liv-Ver-Bed-Din 10 12 Consolidated-2 1.00 1 1 Tree-like 10 13 Consolidated-3 1.06 1 1.091 Ringy Din-Bed-Ver-Liv 11 14 Consolidated-4 0.78 2 1.077 Ringy Ex-Cir-Liv 13 15 Consolidated-5 0.88 1 1.176 Ringy Ex-ver-Liv-Din-Cir 17 MI= Mean Integration (MI= 1/ Mean RRA); MD= Mean Depth; Space Link Ratio(SLR) = (L+1) / k, L= number of links k= number of spaces(Hillier, Hanson and Graham, 1987:373)
24
Ringy---------with one or more rings in the configuration [ SLR is more than 1] Tree-like ----- without rings in the configuration[ SLR is 1]
25
111
Introvert houses
1
2
3
5
4
Extrovert houses 1
2
3
4
5
Consolidated houses 1
2
3
4
5
Legend: ex-Exterior, OH-Out House, H-Hall, L-Living ,D - Dining, C-Circulation, R - Room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah Figure 4.04: Spatial Analysis using J-graphs
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The studied introvert type five plans here are consisted of 12 to 16 number of spaces. Three cases out of five are ringy having the space link ratio above 1. Rings or choice in movement occurs in two zones. From exterior the entry to the house gives two choices, one for the formal zone and the other for the informal zone which is connected by a circulation space. Another choice is in the inner part of the house connecting the courtyard circulation and the individual rooms. From table 4.04 it is seen that entry leads to the outhouse whose average integration is 0.91and this is lower than the Mean integration (1.01). The outhouse leads to the courtyard whose average integration is 2.88, that is much higher than the average MI of the studied houses of this type. The courtyard plays a vital role in terms of integration in the introvert type houses. From literature review it was seen that researchers found this courtyard to be the most active space by the family members in the house holding multiple activities and acting as a threshold between the inhabitants and the outsiders (Rahman, Imamuddin, Haq). Kitchen and bed rooms are spaces used by the family members have the lowest integration (1.07 and 1.06 respectively in the lower level and 0.77 in the upper level) compared to the Mean integration value. Thus the integration values of the spaces follow a pattern in introvert type houses where the shared spaces are highly integrated and the gendered spaces are segregated in the spatial organisation. Courtyard (2.88) > Entry (1.39)>Cir(1.14) > Kitchen (1.07) > Room(1.06) >Outhouse (0.91) Shared sp
transition space
female gendered space
male gendered space
Table 4.04:Integration value of the spaces in the introvert type houses Introvert-1 Introvert-2 Introvert-3 Introvert-4 Introvert-5 AVR
E OH CY C D SC K R T V 1.22 0.77 2.27 1.39 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.39 0.73 1.32 0.73 0.98 0.78 0.66 0.78 1.39 0.80 2.94 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.15 0.87 1.30 2.63 1.30 0.87 1.16 0.87 2.08 0.94 5.26 1.30 1.49 1.30 1.30 1.39 0.91 2.88 1.14 1.14 1.07 1.06 1.03
ST V 1.82 1.05 1.75 1.75 0.94 1.46
R T MI MD 0.81 1.01 2.07 0.80 0.76 1.69 0.71 0.71 1.03 2 0.74 0.87 1.00 2.5 0.80 1.25 1.42 0.77 0.79 1.01
Table 4.05: Depth of the spaces in the introvert type houses E Introvert-1 Introvert-2 Introvert-3 Introvert-4 Introvert-5 AVR Legend:
OH 1 1 1 1 1 1
CY 1 1 2 2 2 2
C 2 2 2 3 2 2
D 4 3 4 2 3
SC 3 3 3
0
K
R 3 3 3 5 3 3
T 3 2 3 4 3 3
V 3 3 3 5 3 3
0
ST 3 2 3 4 2 3
V
R
T 5 3 5 5
0
5
5 5 4 5
MD 2 2 2 3 1 2
#K 15 16 14 14 12
E=entry; OH=outhouse; CY=courtyard; C=circulation; D=dining; SC=service courtyard; K=kitchen; R=room; T=toilet; V=verandah.
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The introvert courtyard type plans confirm to a deeper (depth 3/4) arrangement. From a comparative study(Table 4.05) it is seen that the spaces (outhouse/living) used by male members of the family are placed at depth 01 that is close to the exterior and the spaces those are used by women (kitchen, bed, etc) are located at depth 03 that is far from the exterior. Courtyard is placed at the central position at depth 02 that denotes is identity as a threshold between the two zones. In terms of depth a common sequence is as: Entry (1)< Outhouse (2) /Courtyard (2) Hall (1.31) > Cir(1.27) >Ser Court (1.20)>Room(1.04) >Kitchen (.70) Shared sp
male gendered transition
Shared sp
female gendered space
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Table 4.06: Integration value of the spaces in the Extrovert type houses Extrovert-1 Extrovert-2 Extrovert-3 Extrovert-4 Extrovert-5 AVR
E 0.95
H 1.45 1.56 1.54 0.89 1.09 1.31
0.98 0.65 1.27 0.96
CY
C 1.49
D 1.16 2.22
1.47 0.84 1.27
1.23 1.14 1.44
SC 1.54 1.22 1.11 0.94
K 0.91 0.65 0.72 0.65 0.58 0.70
1.20
R 1.32 0.85 1.54 0.77 0.75 1.04
T 0.91 0.65 0.87 0.70 0.54 0.73
MI 1.06 0.93 0.87 0.75 0.73 0.87
MD 2.79 1.4 2.67 3.5 2.18
R
T
MD 3 1 3 4 2 3
#K 19 10 18 18 17
Table 4.07: Depth of the spaces in the Extrovert type houses Extrovert-1 Extrovert-2 Extrovert-3 Extrovert-4 Extrovert-5
E
H
1
CY
2 1 2 2 2 2
1 1 1 1
C
D
4 3 4
3 2 3
4
SC
3 2
K
4 3 3 5
5 4 4 6 4 5
2 2 2 4 3 3
5 4 3 5 4 4
0 4 AVR Legend: E=entry; H=hall; CY=courtyard; C=circulation; D=dining; SC=service courtyard; K=kitchen; R=room; T=toilet; V=verandah.
The five consolidated type plans are consisted of 10 to 13 spaces. Four cases out of five are ringy having the space link ratio above 1. The choice of movement includes the circulation space in all the cases creating option of movement in formal and informal zone. Entry space is located at depth 01;drawing, circulation and dining at depth 02 and bed room, kitchen, are located at depth 03 and creating the sequence of depth as follows: Entry (1)Cir(1.34)>Room (1.00)>Drawing (0.96)>kitchen (0.91) Shared sp
Transition
Female gendered sp
Male gendered sp
Female gendered space
Table 4.08: Integration value of the spaces in the Consolidated type houses E Consolidated-1 Consolidated-2 Consolidated-3 Consolidated-4 Consolidated-5 AVR
L 1.22 0.74 1.20 0.87 0.75 0.96
2.78 1.57 1.67 1.61 1.91
CY
C
D 2.22 3.70 3.13 1.30 1.04 2.28
1.49 1.30 1.23 1.34
SC
K 0.85 1.00 0.83 0.79 1.09 0.91
B 1.10 1.22 1.04 0.73 0.92 1.00
T 0.92 0.65 0.75 0.73 0.65 0.74
V 1.00 0.83 0.53 0.78 0.78
st 0.33
V
MI
1.54 0.94
0.78 0.78
0.90 1.00 1.06 0.78 0.88 0.92
MD 0.91 1.4 1.09 1.54 1.41
Table 4.09: Depth of the spaces in the Consolidated type houses E Consolidated-1 Consolidated-2 Consolidated-3 Consolidated-4 Consolidated-5
AVR
L 1 1 1 1 1
CY 2 2 2 1 2 2
C
0
D 2 2 2 2
SC 2 2 1 2 3 2
0
K
B 3 3 3 3 2 3
T 3 3 2 3 3 3
V 2 4 3 3 4 3
st 1 3 3 4 1 2
V
2 2
#K
MD
3 3
1 1 1 2 1 1
10 10 11 13 17
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4.3.1 Segregation in Urban House Forms in Dhaka The configuration of the introvert courtyard type and the extrovert type houses are deep (depth 5/6) compared to that of the consolidated type houses whose depth is found up to be shallow (depth 3) which is shown in table 4.10 bellow. From a comparative study it is seen that the spaces used by male members (outhouse/living) are placed at depth1and depth2 that is close to the exterior and the spaces those are used by women (kitchen, bed, etc) are located at depth3 that is far from the exterior. Courtyard and dining are placed at the central position at depth2 that denotes its identity as a threshold between the two zones. Table 4.10: Different spaces according to Depth in the Urban Houses of Dhaka Introvert Extrovert
Depth1 Entry Entry
Depth 2 Outhouse/Courtyard Hall/Circulation/Ver
Depth 3 Kitchen/Room/Toilet Dining/Room/Stair
consolidated
Entry
Drawing/Cir/Ver/Dining
Kit/Bed/Toil/Ver
Depth 4 Stair/Room Room/Ver
Depth 5 Toilet Toil/Ver
Table 4.11: Sequence of Depth in the Urban Houses of Dhaka Introvert
Entry (1)< Outhouse (2) / Courtyard (2)Hall (1.31) > Cir(1.27) >Ser Court (1.20)>Room(1.04) >Kitchen (.70) Male gendered Ttransition
Shared Consolidated
Shared
Female gendered
Dining(2.28)>Entry (1.91)>Cir(1.34) >Room (1.00) > Drawing (0.96)>kitchen (0.91) Shared
Female gendered Male gendered
Transition
Female gendered
Table 4.13: Integration of Gendered, Shared and Transition Space Male gendered space Shared space Transition space Female gendered spaces
Living/Hall/Drawing Dining Courtyard Entry Circulation Kitchen Room
Introvert 0.91 2.88 1.39 1.14 1.07 0.77
Extrovert 1.31 1.44 1.20 0.96 1.27 0.07 0.86
3.50
2.88
Dining
Integration value
2.50 2.00
1.00
1.91 1.34 0.91 1.00
Living/Hall/Drawing
3.00
1.50
Consolidated 0.96 2.28
1.39 1.07 0.91
0.50
1.44 1.31 1.2 0.96
2.28 1.91
Courtyard
0.96 0.91
Circulation
0.07 Extrovert type houses
Kitchen Room
0.00 Introvert type houses
Entry
Consolidated type houses
Figure 4.05: Integration of gendered space, shared space and transition space in the Introvert, extrovert and consolidated type houses.
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4.3.2 Privacy in Urban House Forms in Dhaka Privacy of the household members has been often discussed as a basic ingredient of domestic space emphasized by segregation of private and public spaces in a house. The denotation of 'public' and 'private' implied that some form of spatial pattern accompanied the separation of women and men into different activities. This supported the concept of ‘gendered space’ which originates from a private-public separation model and confines women within the private domain of a house in performing the domestic works and secluding from outside public realm (Rendell J, 2000:103).
In Bangladesh majority of the population belongs to Islam religion, which acts as a determinant in the domestic space arrangement as any Muslim societies in the world (Zako R, 2006) where the system of ‘purdah’ was developed to keep women secluded in the home. In the sociocultural context of Bangladesh, privacy is an important factor and is attained with the separation of male and female zone. Imamuddin (1982), one of the early researchers of urban houses in Dhaka, Bangladesh, has shown that the zones in houses are created in consideration to privacy. The degree of privacy of the house refers to the degree of privacy of the female members of the family in this social context.
Privacy which is difficult to measure can be interpreted by the visibility aspect of the spaces. Visibility refers to Visual information provided to the observers at any given location. Visibility graph analyzes (VGA)26 the extent to which any point in a spatial system is visible from any other. Through this visibility graph analysis we can obtain numerous measures of both local and global spatial properties that seem likely to relate to our perception of the built environment (Turner, et. al., 2001). Visual integration of spaces gives certain numerical values which expresses that space to be visually more connected with the adjacent spaces compared to other spaces with low visual integration values. Higher Visual integration lead to lower visual privacy of a space as it is intruded visually. Thus the space which has high visual integration will be less private and more intruded visually by the visitors. In a study by Guney (2007), it was seen that the control of permeability and visibility serves the need for privacy to regulate interpersonal interactions. 26
Visibility graph [VGA] analyzes the extent to which any point in a spatial system is visible from any other. The VGA can help to investigate the configurational relationships of domestic space through “depth map”, a programme which is designed to perform visibility graph analysis of spatial environments [Turner, A., 2001 : 31.1].
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From the table of visual integration values (Table 4.14) it is observed that courtyard is the most integrated space in Introvert type houses, which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having less privacy. Kitchen is the space that has the lowest visiual integration(VI) and it is segregated in the spatial organisation having higher privacy. Rooms are also spaces that has the lowest VI value offering privacy more.
Courtyard(14.67)>Cir (10.12)>Room(7.89)>Entry(7.86)>outhouse(7.80)>Kit (7.37)>Din (6.66)
In Extrovert type houses, the value of Visual Integration is higher in Service courtyard. It is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having less privacy. Kitchen is the space that has the lowest visiual integration(VI) and is segregated having higher privacy.
Ser Court (14.36)>Cir (12.75)>Dining(12.02)>Hall(10.83)>Room(10.58)>Entry(7.36)>Kit (6.96)
In Consolidated type houses, the value of Visual Integration is higher in dining and it is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly, having less privacy. Kitchen is the space that has the lowest visiual integration(VI) and it is segregated.
Din (10.50)>Entry(9.11)>Room (7.92)>Drawing(7.67)>Cir (7.39)>Kit (5.14)
Table 4.14: Visual Integration of Urban Houses of Dhaka Entry
Introvert-1 Introvert-2 Introvert-3 Introvert-4 Introvert-5 AVR Extrovert-1 Extrovert-2 Extrovert-3 Extrovert-4 Extrovert-5 AVR Consolidated-1 Consolidated-2 Consolidated-3 Consolidated-4 Consolidated-5 AVR
9.66 3.82 9.40 5.55 10.85 7.86 11.12 8.06 4.92 12.70 7.36 8.47 8.72 9.95 12.65 5.78 9.11
Ou tHouse
10.54 5.48 5.69 7.32 9.99 7.80 12.71 10.91 11.16 6.93 12.45 10.83 11.69 4.79 7.38 9.33 5.17 7.67
Cr Yard
22.48 10.74 13.65 12.44 14.05 14.67
Cir
Dining
11.56 7.76 7.59 13.57 10.12 12.59 15.51 10.26 12.64 12.75
5.15 7.56 9.47 7.39
Ser Cr
5.56 7.87 6.55 6.66 11.49 11.82 13.31 10.53 12.97 12.02 14.20 10.80 12.05 8.91 6.53 10.50
15.57 12.20 16.56 13.11 14.36
Kitchen
12.63 6.23 4.91 5.02 8.05 7.37 6.83 6.21 8.17 7.82 5.79 6.96 7.34 6.42 3.21 4.16 4.55 5.14
Room
10.38 5.47 6.82 9.09 7.68 7.89 12.41 7.53 15.22 5.84 11.88 10.58 13.92 6.69 6.76 5.56 6.69 7.92
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Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values (Turner 2001:31.1).
Figure 4.06: Visual Integration of Urban Houses in Dhaka shown with VGA graph
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Visual Integration value
16.00
14.67
Living/Hall/Drawing
14.36
14.00
12.02 12.00 10.00 8.00
Dining 10.83
7.86 6.96
7.8
10.5 9.11 7.67
Courtyard Entry
7.36 6.00
Circulation
6.66 5.14
4.00
Kitchen
2.00
Room 0.00 Introvert type houses
Extrovert type houses
Consolidated type houses
Figure 4.07: Visual Integration in the Introvert, Extrovert and Consolidated type houses.
Comparing the visual integration values of the different spaces in the urban houses of Dhaka it is seen that shared spaces like courtyard in introvert type houses, service courtyard in extrovert type houses and dining in consolidated houses are the visually most integrated spaces. Transition spaces like entry, circulation in the urban houses have higher visual integration compared to the gendered spaces.
Male gendered space outhouse in the introvert type house , Hall in the extrovert houses and Drawing in consolidated houses have higher visual integration vales than the female gendered spaces like kitchen or rooms in the spatial organisation. The female gendered space lacks visual integration quality in the urban houses of Dhaka and they are visually segregated spaces in the spatial organisation.
Thus it can be said that visual integration of shared space is higher than the gendered spaces .
Shared space>Transition space>Male gendered space>Female gendered space
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4.3.3 Dominance in Urban House Forms in Dhaka Dominance is related with the power and control over the domestic space of a culture. Visual Control over the adjacent spaces from the central position seems a vital element in the traditional layouts and it is related with the location of the gendered space. Dominance with Visual control values of the selected fifteen houses are shown in Table 4.15. From the table of visual control values in the urban houses of Dhaka it is observed that in the Introvert courtyard type plans the value of Visual Control is higher in courtyard and it is the space which is visibly mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces having maximum control. Kitchen is the space that has the lowest visiual control. Courtyard(1.30)>Entry(0.98)>Outhouse(0.89)>Room(0.87)>Din(0.84)>Cir(0.82)/ Kitchen (0.82)
In Extrovert type plans Visual Control is higher in service courtyard states that it is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having maximum control over the adjacent spaces. Kitchen and Entry are the spaces that has low visiual control. Ser Court(1.26)>Cir(1.24)> Dining(1.17)> Hall(1.14)> Room(1.09)> Kitchen(0.81)> Entry(0.73) The value of Visual Control is higher in dining in Consolidated type plans and it is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having maximum control. Kitchen is the space that has the lowest visiual control in these type of houses. Dining (1.45)>Cir(1.42)> Entry(1.36)> Drawing(1.15)> Rooms(1.03)> Kitchen(0.87) 1.60
1.45 1.36
Visual Control value
1.40
1.3 1.20
0.98
1.3 1.09
1.15
Dining Courtyard
1.00 0.80
1.1
Living/Hall/Drawing
0.89
0.8 0.87
Entry
0.84 0.66
0.60
Circulation
0.40
Kitchen
0.20
Room
0.00 Introvert type houses
Extrovert type houses
Consolidated type houses
Figure 4.08: Visual Control in the Introvert, Extrovert and Consolidated type houses.
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Table 4.15: Visual Control of Urban Houses of Dhaka E
OH
CY
C
D
SC
Introvert-1 Introvert-2 Introvert-3 Introvert-4 Introvert-5
1.01 1.03 0.94 1.19 0.74
0.85 1.03 0.72 0.84 0.99
1.4 1.21 1.35 1.12 1.42
0.82 0.74
0.82
0.54 1.18
Average Extrovert-1 Extrovert-2 Extrovert-3 Extrovert-4 Extrovert-5 Average Consolidated-1 Consolidated-2 Consolidated-3 Consolidated-4 Consolidated-5 Average
0.98 0.98 0.95
0.89 0.89 1.28 1.13 1.22 0.95 1.09 1.14 1.03 1.02 1.49 1.06 1.15
1.30 1.3
0.82 0.82 1.23
0.54 0.83 0.66 1.29 1.61 1.52 1.86 0.53 1.36
1.30
1.32 1.17 1.14
1.45 1.54 1.26 1.42
K
R
1.06 0.64
0.81 0.81 0.85 0.87 0.77
0.88 0.82 0.79 0.99 0.89
0.84 0.84 0.96 1.45 1.28 0.96 1.10 1.57 1.58 1.65 1.43 1.04 1.45
0.82 0.82 0.72 0.87 0.75 0.85 0.80 0.81 0.81 0.75 0.83 1.14 0.87
0.87 0.87 1.06 1.11 1.27 0.89 1.04 1.22 1.15 0.85 0.96 0.96 1.03
1.29 1.21 1.43 1.12 1.26
Legend: E=entry; H=hall; CY=courtyard; C=circulation; D=dining; SC=service courtyard; K=kitchen; R=room; T=toilet; V=verandah.
Comparing the visual control values of the different spaces in the urban houses of Dhaka it is seen that shared spaces like courtyard in introvert type houses , service courtyard in extrovert type houses and dining in consolidated houses have the highest visual control .these spaces dominates over the adjacent spaces visually .
Transition spaces like entry, circulation in the urban houses have higher visual control compared to the gendered spaces. Male gendered space outhouse in the introvert type house , Hall in the extrovert houses and Drawing in consolidated houses have higher visual control values than the female gendered spaces like kitchen or rooms in the spatial organisation. The female gendered space lacks visual control quality in the urban houses of Dhaka.
Shared space>Transition space>Male gendered space>Female gendered space
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Note: Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values (Turner 2001:31.1).
Figure 4.09: Visual Control of Urban Houses in Dhaka shown with VGA graph
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4.4 Discussion and Conclusion Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, has a political and administrative history since 13th century. A change came in the society when the Europeans intruded and left their mark on the house form along with other societal changes since 1576 and especially after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 Dhaka has been regarded as one of the fastest growing cities and the increase in population has been regarded as a primary cause for various changes along with the spatial transformation of the urban houses. The ideas of natural inferiority of women and innate superiority of men kept women in a subservient position since time immemorial in the context of Bengal (Husain Shahanara 2007:498). Female seclusion was considered as symbol of nobility in this sub-continent. Disintegration in the family started in the colonial period with the rise of a merchant class and educated middle class. Women used to live at home and men work outside. Tasks of women were restricted to domestic spheres: cooking, sewing, cleaning, childcare and the well-to-do families did not allow their female members to work outside for the sake of their social status. Post-Colonial and after-independence (from 1971) created a growing awareness among women about their rights and responsibilities in the new society. The change of status of women as a result of their education and participation in the economic activities made them a more contributing member in the family. Spatial and symbolic requirements of these women regarding their domestic space were challenged against their affordability of the domestic space.
In the context of Dhaka the urban house form generated from the rural pattern and the morphology has been transformed gradually with time and social change. The initial house form followed an introvert arrangement around courtyards that supported the socio-cultural and religious norms ensuring privacy of the domestic space with segregation of male and female zones. The configuration of the introvert courtyard type and the extrovert type houses are deeper (depth 5/6) compared to that of the consolidated type houses. From comparative study it is seen that the spaces used by male members (outhouse/living) are placed at depth (1)and (2) that is close to the exterior and the spaces those are used by women (kitchen, bed, etc) are located at depth (3) that is far from the exterior. Courtyard and dining is placed at the central position at depth (2) that denotes its identity as a threshold between the two zones.
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Table 4.16: Segregation in Urban houses of Dhaka House type
Segregation
In Introvert courtyard type houses
Courtyard is highly integrated space with shared activities. Kitchen the female dominated space is also integrated in the configuration. The outhouse which is male dominated space and the rooms in the inner level which are family and female members used areas are segregated spaces with lower integration.
In Extrovert type houses
Dining being the shared space has the highest integration. Hall, entry which is male dominated is in integrated areas. The female dominated rooms and kitchen areas are segregated with lower integration values.
In Consolidated types
Dining becomes the shared and most integrated space in the configuration. The male dominated areas like entry, drawing, rooms are also integrated but the female dominated area kitchen is segregated here with low integration value.
In the socio-cultural context of Bangladesh, privacy is an important factor and is attained with the separation of male and female zone. Imamuddin (1982), one of the early researchers of urban houses in Dhaka, Bangladesh, has shown that the zones in houses are created in consideration to privacy. The degree of privacy of the house refers to the degree of privacy of the female members of the family in this social context.
From literature review it was seen that the entry verandah space is used by the male members of the house to interact with the community and acts as a public space in the domestic environment. With choice in movement at the entry and around the courtyard helps to segregate female members of the house from the male outsiders and visitors. Choice of movement created with ringyness of the configuration is a characteristic of the urban houses of Dhaka. 60% of the studied Introvert type plans,100% of the Extrovert type plans and 80% of the studied Consolidated type plans are ringy. Rings or choice in movement occurs in two zones: one for the formal zone and the other for the informal zone which is connected by a circulation space. Here the choice of movement includes the circulation space in all the cases creating option of movement in formal and informal zone.
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Introvert type house
Introvert -1
Introvert -4
Extrovert type house
Extrovert -3
Extrovert - 1
Consolidated type house
Consolidated- 1
Consolidated- 4
Legend: ex-Exterior, OH-Out House,, H-Hall/Living, L-Living ,D - Dining, C-Circulation, R - Room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah Figure 4.10: Rings or choice in movement
Comparing the visual integration values of the different spaces in the urban houses of Dhaka it is seen that shared spaces like courtyard in introvert type houses, service courtyard in extrovert type houses and dining in consolidated houses are visually the most integrated spaces. In terms of privacy, Courtyard is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having less privacy. Kitchen is the space that has higher privacy.Rooms are also spaces that have more privacy. Transition spaces like entry, circulation in the urban houses have higher visual integration compared to the gendered spaces. Male gendered space, outhouse, in the introvert type house , hall in the Extrovert houses and drawing in Consolidated houses have higher visual integration values than the female gendered spaces like kitchen or rooms in the spatial organisation (Figure 4.11) . The female gendered space lacks visual integration quality in the urban houses of Dhaka and they are visually segregated spaces in the spatial organisation. Thus it can be said that visual integration of shared space is higher than the gendered spaces. Shared space>Transition space>Male gendered space>Female gendered space
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Table 4.17: Privacy in Urban houses of Dhaka House type
Privacy
In Introvert courtyard type houses
Courtyard is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having less privacy. Kitchen is the space that has the lowest visual integration stating that it is segregated having higher privacy.Rooms are spaces that have lowest VI value offering more privacy.
In Extrovert type houses
courtyard
Service courtyard
In Consolidated types
Dining
Service courtyard is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having less privacy. Kitchen is the space that has the lowest visiual integration(VI) stating that it is segregated having higher privacy. Dining is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having less privacy. Kitchen is the space that has the lowest visiual integration(VI) stating that it is segregated having higher privacy.
Table 4.18: Dominance in Urban houses of Dhaka House type In Introvert courtyard type houses
In Extrovert type houses
Dominance Kitchen courtyard
Kitchen Service courtyard
Kitchen
In Consolidated types
Dining
Courtyard is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having maximum control over the adjacent spaces. Kitchen is the space that has the lowest visual control.
Service courtyard is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having maximum control over the adjacent spaces. Kitchen is the space that has low visual control.Entry has the lowest visual control. Dining is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly having maximum control over the adjacent spaces. Kitchen is the space that has the lowest visual control.
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Visual Dominance over the adjacent spaces from the central position seems a vital element in the traditional layouts. Comparing the visual control values of the different spaces in the urban houses of Dhaka it is seen that shared spaces like courtyard in introvert type houses , service courtyard in extrovert type houses and dining in consolidated houses have the highest visual control (Figure 4.12). These spaces dominates over the adjacent spaces visually . Transition spaces like entry, circulation in the urban houses have higher visual control compared to the gendered spaces. Male gendered space outhouse in the introvert type house , Hall in the extrovert houses and Drawing in consolidated houses have higher visual control vales than the female gendered spaces like kitchen or rooms in the spatial organisation. The female gendered space lacks visual control quality in the urban houses of Dhaka. Shared space > Transition space > Male gendered space > Female gendered space
The change that occurred in the last twenty years in Dhaka city is the growth of population with a consequent reflection on the house form. The recent developers in Dhaka city, who are the providers of the contemporary apartments to the middle income people, design very compact apartments keeping in their mind about the affordability of their target group. While doing this, the desired privacy created by the sequence of spaces and segregation of zones is becoming different from the traditional one. Privacy of household members was preserved in the introvert courtyard type house forms with the separation of male female zone, placing the male zones near the entrance and female zones at the deepest part .The court acts as the most integrating space that is also the most visually integrated .It has a higher visual control over the adjacent spaces that are used mostly by the women. The courtyard’s importance shifted in the later houses due to compaction of spaces and was replaced by the dining in the later compact apartments.
In the process of transformation of domestic space organization symbolic aspects of the domestic spatial organisation have been given priority. Segregation of female gendered spaces from the male gendered spaces, privacy with respect to women users and dominance of the spaces with controlling visibility of the gendered spaces seems to be elementary aspects of the traditional urban houses of Dhaka that is a reflection of the socio-cultural influence on the spatial organisation.
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Chapter 05 : Socio-Spatial study of the Contemporary MIG Apartments 5.0 Introduction 5.1 Physical Description 5.1.1 Location and Size of Apartments 5.1.2 Components of Domestic Space 5.1.3 Discussion 5.2 Family Profile 5.2.1 Family Size 5.2.2 Educational Background 5.2.3 Religious background 5.2.4 Occupation of The Family Heads 5.3 Activity Pattern 5.3.1 Daily household Activities of the Male and Female heads 5.3.2 Leisure /rest activities of the Male and Female heads 5.3.3 Community interaction activities of the Male and Female heads 5.3.4 Discussion 5.4 Symbolic Dimension 5.4.1 Segregation in Domestic Space 5.4.2 Privacy of the Family Members 5.4.3 Dominance of the Female Heads 5.4.4 Discussion
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5.0 Introduction
Houses carry cultural information in their material form, space configuration and in the disposition of household artefacts within the domestic interior. The spatial structure of buildings embodies knowledge of social relations. Thus dwelling reflects ideals and realities about relationship between women and men within the family and in society. (Hillier and Hanson, 1984: 257-261) Study on domestic space and house form thus is depended on family and socio-economic status of the family members. It has been widely argued that house form is influenced by the gender roles embedded in family structures (Saegert&Winkel, 1980, Spain, 1995, Bowlby et al, 1997, Weisman, 1992, Kent 1984).Kent has pointed that Home is a concept that gives symbolic meaning to a house that goes beyond its architecture and whatever the concept of home it is often concerned with family, that is expressed in culturally recognizable ways (Kent S, 1995). Women and men have different positions within the household and different control over resources; they not only play different and changing roles in the society, but also have different needs. The theories on family argue that characteristics of individuals contribute to genderstatus distinctions, while the economist theory claims that economic structure shapes genderstatus distinctions. A thorough investigation of the family structure, socio-economic status of the members is necessary to understand the role of the men and women in the family environment which influences spatial organisation-the socio-cultural artefact.
This part of the study addresses the family information of the studied fifty contemporary middle income group apartments to relate the samples with the research question: How does the change in socio-economic status of women impact on the spatial organization of the contemporary Residential Apartments in Dhaka?
In addition it will study the apartment’s physical characteristics and activity pattern of the family members specially the female heads to find out the activity–space relationship. Depending on the interview of the respondents, who are the female heads of the family, symbolic aspects related with gender and house form will be addressed finally to understand gender influence considered in the contemporary middle income group families.
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5.1 Physical Description There are several parameters of the physical requirements namely land price, infrastructure cost, building material and construction cost and space allocation that are responsible for effecting affordability. Taking other parameters as constant, location and size of the apartments become two variables to determine the middle income group’s affordability. Thus reversely it can be said that location and its size determine the status of the owner or the occupant of the apartments to be in the middle income group band. The physical description of these middle income group apartments constitutes the base to describe these apartments. Location of the apartment and its size is related with the affordability of the middle income group who are the respondent of this study. Although there is no spatial demarcation of residential areas according to income group in Dhaka city but the land value of certain areas is in a medium range and is within the affordability range of the middle income group people in Dhaka city. Thus there are certain areas where middle income group concentrate and in this study focusing the gender and space relationship fifty apartments in Mohammadpur(denoted by group A), Moghbazar (denoted by group B), Tejgaon (denoted by group C) and Uttara (denoted by group D) were chosen randomly for study. The sizes of these apartments are within 800 sft to 1500 sft. Following the division of apartment size of Seraj and Zahur (discussed earlier in methodology section), the studied apartments can be grouped into three ranges: 14 % of the studied apartments fall into the group of ‘Smaller Apartments’ whose size ranges within 800 sft to 1000sft. 36 % of the studied apartments fall into the group of ‘Medium Apartments’ whose size ranges within 1001 sft to 1200sft and 50% studied apartments fall into the group of ‘Larger Apartments’ within 1201 sft to 1500sft.
Small [800-1000sft] 14% Large [1201-1500sft] 50% Medium [1001-1200 sft] 36%
Figure 5.01: Size of the Apartments in the sample and their percentage
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5.1.1 Spaces in the Apartments Spaces in the apartments vary according to the size of the apartments. Considering the compactness of the smaller sized apartments, Living, Dining, Kitchen and verandah/balcony are present in all smaller apartments having 9 to 12 numbers of spaces (Figure 5.03). 57% of the apartments in this group are of two bed rooms and 43% are of three bed rooms. In the studied smaller middle income group apartments it was seen that only two apartments (B-6 and B-7) have foyer and three (B-2, B-12 and C-6) have circulation space. Foyer and circulation spaces are very rarely present in the apartments of this group and the apartments are compact minimizing the transition spaces (foyer and circulation). 36% of the studied medium sized apartments(within 1001-1200 sft) have 11 to 16 numbers of spaces (Figure 5.04). Living, Dining, Kitchen and Verandah are present in all the apartments in this group. The apartments in this group are of three bed rooms. In apartments with11 spaces (C-1, C-4 and C-5) transition space Foyer And Circulation is very negligibly present. In the apartments with 12 spaces four (A-1, A-10, C-11 and C-12) have circulation space and only C11 has foyer. In the apartments with 13 spaces five (A-11, A-13, C-2, C-3, and C-13) have circulation space and in the three apartments (A-12, B-11 and D-11) with 14 spaces, circulation is present in two apartments. Apartments with 15 and 16(B-13, D-8 and D-9) spaces have family living space in these medium sized groups. Circulation is present in the medium sized apartments mostly. From table 5.04 we see that presence of circulation in medium sized apartments is 56% which is higher than the smaller (43%) and larger (32%) apartments. 50% of the studied large apartments(within 1201-1470 sft) have 12 to 17 numbers of spaces (Figure 5.05). Living, Dining, Kitchen and Verandah/Balcony are present in all the apartments in this group. Apartments in the larger group which are composed of 12 spaces do not have foyer (exception: C-8) and circulation space (exception: D-5). Apartments with 13 spaces do not have circulation but two large apartments (C-9, C-10) have foyer. Nine apartments in the larger group are composed of 14 spaces where foyer is present in the five (B-1, B-3, B-9, D-1 and D-2) cases. In larger sized apartments circulation is negligible and the presence of family living (B-9, D-1, D-2 and D-10) is replacing the need of circulation spaces in these cases. Apartments with 15 spaces (B-8and B-10) have foyer and circulation is replaced by family living spaces. Apartments with 16 spaces (A-4, B-4, D-3, D-4, D-6) and 17 spaces (B-5) have both Foyer And Circulation spaces. Family living spaces are also present in these cases.
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Table 5.01: Small sized apartment’s physical description according to number of space Sl 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Ref B- 2 B-12 A- 5 A- 6 C- 6 B- 6 B- 7
Area (sft) No of spaces 951 9 930 9 900 10 900 10 900 10 950 12 950 12
Foy 1 1
Cir 1 1 1 -
Liv 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Din 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
F.Liv -
Bed 2 2 3 3 3 2 2
Kit 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Toil 2 2 2 2 2 3 3
Ver 1 1 2 2 1 3 3
Table 5.02: Medium sized apartment’s physical description according to number of space Sl 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Ref C-1 C-4 C-5 A-1 A-10 C-11 C-12 A-11 A-13 C-2 C-3 C-13 A-12 B-11 D-11 B-13 D-8 D-9
Area 1060 1004 1030 1010 1100 1100 1170 1040 1030 1140 1200 1070 1068 1190 1180 1150 1200 1200
No of spaces 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 13 13 13 13 13 14 14 14 15 16 16
Foy 1 1 1 1 1
Cir 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 -
Liv 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Din 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
F.Liv 1 1 1 1
Bed 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Kit 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Toil 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4
Ver 1 3 2 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 4 4 4
Table 5.03: Large sized apartment’s physical description according to number of space 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
A-3 C-8 D-5 D-7 A-9 C-7 C-9 C10 A-2 A-7 A-8 B-1 B-3 B-9 D-1 D-2 D-10 B-8 B-10 A-4 B-4 D-3 D-4 D-6 B-5
Area 1330 1220 1300 1280 1470 1300 1127 1270 1470 1380 1258 1400 1420 1300 1300 1300 1220 1450 1370 1350 1212 1240 1240 1360 1400
No of spaces Foy 12 12 1 12 12 13 13 13 1 13 1 14 14 14 14 1 14 1 14 1 14 1 14 1 14 15 1 15 1 16 16 1 16 1 16 1 16 1 17 1
Cir 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Liv 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Din 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
F.Liv 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Bed 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 3
Kit 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Toil 3 3 3 2 4 4 3 3 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Ver 3 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 3 3 4 4
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Table 5.04: Presence of spaces in the three groups of apartments Apartments within 900 -1000 sft Foyer – ( 29%) Living - (100%) Dining - (100%) Circulation - ( 43%) Kitchen – (100%) Family Living – ( 00 ) 2 Bed rooms – ( 58%) 3 Bed rooms – ( 42%) 2 Toilets - ( 72%) 2+ser Toilet - ( 28%) Verandah - (100%)
Apartments within 1001 -1200 sft Foyer – ( 28%) Living -- (100%) Dining – (100%) Circulation - ( 56%) Kitchen - (100%) Family Living - ( 33%) 3 Bed rooms -(100%) 3+1 Toilets 3 Toilets 2+1 Toilets Verandah
( 17%) ( 50%) ( 22%) (100%)
Apartments within 1201 -1470 sft Foyer –( 60%) Living –(100%) Dining - (100%) Circulation -( 32%) Kitchen -(100%) Family Living -( 48%) 4 Bed rooms -( 08%) 3 Bed rooms -( 92%) 3+1 Toilets ( 64%) 3 Toilets ( 24%) 2+1 Toilets - ((100%) 08%) Verandah
Comparing the three sized apartments it is seen that the smaller apartments have living, dining, kitchen, two bed rooms, toilets and verandahs. In the medium sized apartments another bed room and the circulation space is added along with foyer in some cases (28%). Larger apartments are composed of foyer, living, dining, three bed rooms, family living, toilets, kitchen and verandahs. Foyer (60%) and family living spaces are desirable components in the larger apartments. Numbers of toilets are also seen to vary in the studied apartments. 72% small apartments have two toilets. 50% of the medium apartments have three toilets and rests have additional servant’s toilet. 64%of the large apartments have three toilets with an additional servant’s toilet.
Foyer
Living
depth 01
Living
depth 01
Dining
depth 01
Dining
depth 01
Living
depth 02
Kitchen
depth 02
Kitchen
depth 02
Dining
depth 02
Bed Rm
depth 02
Circulation / F .Liv
depth 02
Kitchen
depth 03
Toilets
depth 03
Bed Rm
depth 03
Verandah
depth 03
Toilets
depth 04
Bed Rm
depth 05
Verandah
depth 04
Toilets
depth 06
Verandah
depth 06
Smaller apartments
Medium apartments
Figure 5.02:Spaces in three groups of apartments
Circulation/F. Liv
depth 01
depth 04
Large apartments
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V - Verandah
135
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5.1.2 Components of Domestic Space
Preceding researches on urban domestic space reveal two types of spaces. Some spaces are “function spaces" for holding activities or and some spaces can be termed as "transition space” which act as connection or movement space to these spaces. Living, Dining, Kitchen, Bed room, Toilet, Verandah are considered as function space for holding different functions or activities in them. Foyer and Circulation (corridor) are transition space as it does not hold any specific function related with the household activities.
Entry: Entry produces a clear distinction, both physically in the form of the house, and emotionally, between the inside and the outside of the home. The doorstep forms a boundary between the private realm of the family, away from the scrutiny of others where they can exercise control over outsider’s involvement in domestic affairs, and the public world of wider society. Thus entry forms a threshold between the private realms of the family, away from the public world of wider society.
From Chapter Four discussion it was seen that in the traditional Introvert type plans entry is found through a verandah and it leads to outhouse that were used by the male members of the house to interact with the community (guests/Visitors) within the house. Location and number of entries play a role in providing privacy to the users. Entrance to the house is seldom direct. Different spaces are arranged in a way that some spaces are located near the entry and some are located farthest away from the entry. The main entry to houses was from the front road to the outer male zone devoted to guest and outsiders. Usually in urban houses of Dhaka a secondary entry was for female folks and service which was indirect in nature and led to the inner part of the house without crossing the outer public and male zone. (Imamuddin, 1982) The main entry in the Extrovert type plans is through a verandah. Later from 1860’s portico became popular for dropping of carriages (Khan 1999:96).In the Consolidated houses stair gives access to the individual flats that are stacked in layers. From a common lobby space of the stair on each floor the entry to individual flat is to a circulation type passage space that leads to the different zones like service, private, public etc.
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In the studied MIG apartments four types of entry conditions are found.
i.
Entrance with Foyer.
ii.
Entry directly to Living and Dining from the exterior.
iii.
Entrance directly to the Dining from the exterior.
iv.
Entrance directly to the Living from the exterior.
Figure 5.04: Different kinds of Entry in MIG Apartments of Dhaka
Foyer is found in the twenty-two cases (44%) out of fifty samples in this study and shows that in smaller compact apartments the presence of foyer is less (29%) than in larger apartments (60%). Foyer, a space of threshold is introduced in contemporary apartments, suggests an in-between changing movement in a decision making space at the entry point. In many cases two or more separate pathways start from the foyer, leading to the family quarter and to the living room for entertaining guests or visitors. Presence of foyer create ring among the spaces and gives choice in access which impact greatly on the segregation of genders in the domestic space while entering. In some apartments these foyer are present but they do not create the ring and cannot provide choice in access.
138
30%
Entry with Foyer [44%]
10% 4% 6%
Entry directly to Living and Dining [12%]
4% 2% 8% 8%
Entry to Dining [16%]
Large sized MIG apartments Medium sized MIG apartments Small sized MIG apartments
6%
Entry to Living [28%]
14% 8% 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Figure 5.05: Entry in the studied MIG apartments
Exterior > foyer > living Three cases (B-6, C-8, B-9)
Exterior > foyer > living/dining/guest Exterior > foyer bed room living/dining Five cases(B-5, C-1, C-11,D-8, 9) with choice of movement.
Fourteen cases 1,3,4,7,8,10,C-9,10,D1,2,3,4,6,11,)
>
(B-
Figure 5.06: Foyer in MIG Apartments. (Source: Study findings July 2011)
139
B-1 B-6
C-8
C-1
D-6
B-5
D-8,9 C-10
B-9
D-3,4
C-11
D-1,2
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah
Figure 5.07: MIG Apartments with Foyer 140
Circulation Circulation like corridor in the apartment does not hold any particular function except it connects function holding spaces like a spine of the spatial organisation. Verandah, a type of circulation, which is a traditional local architectural element of Bengal, is the product of the climatic influence. This element acts as a semi-covered space between the exterior and the interior spaces. In traditional introvert type houses the verandah around the courtyard gives access to the rooms acting as a circulation space. Verandah in front of the kitchen is used for food preparation as it generates organic wastes. In traditional houses this verandah was used for having food also. In Extrovert type houses verandahs become a popular element and provided connection between rooms through verandah. In consolidated types connection to the ground becomes reduced. Here verandahs are a common element and acts as a substitute for the activities in the courtyard.
In contemporary apartments Verandah acts as the transient space between the interior and the exterior. Usually they are located adjacent to the kitchen and bed rooms to perform outdoor household activities like drying cloth, vegetation or gardening, processing
of raw food and
recreational purposes. Besides the verandah, circulation or corridor like connecting space is present in the contemporary middle income group apartments. 44% flats are found those have circulation space in the spatial organisation. In smaller apartments these circulation–transition– space becomes rare as spatial organisation becomes compactly arranged. Circulation is present in the medium sized (1001-1200 sft) apartments mostly. In larger and smaller apartments the presence of corridor is less than the medium sized apartments. It acts as a distributer from the living-dining space to the inner family used gendered spaces.
The circulation spaces in the contemporary middle income group apartments do not hold any activity except acting as connectors between spaces. It was noticed in the traditional examples discussed in chapter four that circulation has a great impact in preserving visual privacy and minimizing visual control over the activity spaces in the house with respect to socio-cultural issues concerning gender and privacy. This phenomenon will be checked with the Visibility index of space syntax tool in chapter five to understand its impact on the spatial organisation.
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Small
C-6 B-2
B-12
A-11 A-12 A-1
Medium
A-10
A-13
B-11
C-3
C-13
B-13
C-2
C-11
D-5 Large
A-8 A-4
A-7
B-5 B-4
D-3,4
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V - Verandah Figure 5.08: Apartments with Circulation
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Living: Domestic space holds a family within it with various demands of different age, gender having a common family tie. These domestic spaces are also used for interacting with the community considering visitor’s interface and thus create an interface with the outsiders and the inhabitants. The boundary is considered as a threshold for its potential role to divide and connect. The boundary is considered as an interface to allow interaction. The nature of boundary presents the fundamental property of disconnecting (Hillier and Hanson 1984:144) and simultaneously defining two domains; the domain that it encloses (interior) and the one that surrounds it (exterior). Despite the physical division the boundary constitutes a social division of two groups: inhabitants –the users of the interior domain and strangers-the users of the exterior domain. The spatial interface between visitors and inhabitants is one of the essential issues for every house in every culture, and it is central to the theory of space syntax. In this study the domestic space has two interfaces: interior and exterior. Some spaces are used by the strangers or visitors inside the domestic space for social interaction. According to the traditional socio-cultural codes these interacting spaces inside the domestic spaces are guided by the symbolic aspiration of the users. Outhouse or drawing room which in the apartments is termed as living is allocated for this social interaction space which is seen from the study in chapter four. Living in contemporary urban apartments is for the outsiders and guests. It is usually located at the public zone that is near to the entry.
Traditionally living room was directly connected to the main entry and segregated from the rest of the domestic spaces. Imamuddin (1982), found the urban houses of Dhaka to exhibit a collection of domains, e.g. male visitors/male and family/female. The houses tend to be divided into two separate domains, one section is exclusively used by the inhabitants and the other is reserved for receiving male guests, thus the configuration appears to modulate the social dynamics of the house’s occupants by distancing the hosts from immediate contact with male guests. The front is the street facing side; the public side receives the guests and restricts them to a limited area. This frontal side is maintained and gives an impression of the owner of the house to the outsiders. Usually this room is directly connected to the main entry and is segregated from the rest of the domestic spaces. In the colonial extrovert houses hall is added as a reception room and holds the social functions. In consolidated houses the drawing room is located in the public zone and approached from the entry sometimes directly and sometimes through a circulation or foyer isolating other private areas.
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In present situations living room is for both guest entertainment and family use. In the middle income families Living is also a place for recreation as most of the families have their TV in the living room. Household activities performed in this space will be identified in the activity pattern study of the family members in the later part of the study. In some apartments an additional family living is provided mostly in larger apartments to hold the family activities. Family Living space is present in 17 apartments (34%). This space is also seen in the larger apartments (1200-1500 SFT) more (44%) than in smaller apartments (29%). As stated by its nomenclature this space is used mainly by the family members for common activities such as watching Television, interacting with guests etc.
Dining: Dining is the space where meals are taken by the family members daily. Khan (1999) in his study on the colonial building found no fixed place for eating in traditional houses. In traditional houses, people used to have food sitting on mats either in kitchen or in kitchen verandah. A formal dining space in the main block outside the kitchen was introduced in the colonial period in the extrovert type houses. (Khan1999:99) Dining space is located at the central position in all contemporary apartments. Due to compact layout in the contemporary apartments, dining acts as a common shared space like the traditional courtyard. In all contemporary apartments dining is used for eating and family together in formal or in informal way takes their meal thrice in a day in the dining. Location of the dining is in a place which is easily accessible from other spaces. Other than eating, dining is used for activities like cooking preparation space, child’s study space, working space for female head in the house. Depending on the physical layout of the studied fifty contemporary apartments, three types of living-dining spaces are found: •
Separate Living-Dining: When the living and dining are two separate spaces without any connection.
•
Continuous Living-Dining: Living and dining is one continuous space.
•
Attached Living-Dining: Living and dining are two separate spaces but attached with each other.
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Large apartments within 1201-1500 sft
Continuous Liv-Din 10% Attached Liv-Din 36% Separate Liv-Din 4%
14% continuous Liv-Din
Medium apartments within 1001-1200 sft
16% Attached Liv-Din 6% separate Liv-Din.
Small apartments within
12% continuous Liv-Din Continuous Living and Dining 2% Attached Liv-Din Attached Living and Dining
800-1000 sft
Separate Living and Dining
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Figure 5.09: Three type of living-dining spaces in MIG apartments
• Separate Living-Dining 10% of the studied apartments have separate living and dining spaces. The small apartments do not have separate living dining. Table 5.05: Separate Living-Dining in studied middle income group apartments Apartment C-1reference D-8 D-9 A-7 B-5
Type Medium Large
Entry to Foyer Foyer Foyer Living Foyer
flat size 1060 1200 1200 1380 1400
C-1
Type of Living Dining Separate Separate Separate Separate Separate
D-8,9
B-5
L
FL
L D
L
F
D
FL F
D
F
Figure 5.10: Separate Living-Dining in studied flats
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• Continuous Living-Dining 36% of the studied apartments have continuous living and dining and it is higher in the medium sized apartments. Dining spaces are totally visible from the living spaces in this type of arrangements and cannot provide visual privacy of the inner spaces.
Table 5.06: Continuous Living-Dining in studied middle income group apartments Type
Apartment reference A-5 A-6 B-2 B-6 B-7 B-12 A-1 A-11 A-12 A-13 C-2 C-3 C-13 A-8 C-7 C-8 C-9 D-5
Small
Medium Large
Entry to Living Living Living Foyer Foyer Living-Dining Living Living Living Living Living Living Dining Dining Dining Foyer Foyer Dining
flat size 900 900 951 950 950 930 1010 1040 1068 1030 1140 1200 1070 1258 1300 1220 1270 1300
B-2
Type of Living Dining Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous Continuous
D-5
A-1
D
L
D
L C
Cir
L
A-6
Cir
D
C-13
C-7
L D
L
D
Cir
L
D
Legend : F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V - Verandah Figure 5.11: Continuous Living-Dining in studied flats
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•
Attached Living-Dining
54% of the studied apartments have attached living and dining. These spaces are located adjacently with a connection between them. Dining spaces are visible from the living spaces in these apartments through the connections/openings. Table 5.07: Attached Living-Dining in studied middle income group apartments Type small
medium
Large
Apartment reference C-6 A-10 B-11 B-13 C-4 C-5 C-11 C-12 D-11 A-2 A-3 A-4 A-9 B-1 B-3 B-4 B-8 B-9 B-10 C-10 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-6 D-7 D-10 C-4
flat size 900 1100 1190 1150 1004 1030 1100 1170 1180 1470 1330 1350 1470 1400 1420 1212 1450 1300 1370 1270 1300 1300 1240 1240 1360 1280 1220
Entry to Living Dining Living Dining Living Living-Dining Foyer Dining Foyer Living-Dining Living-Dining Living-Dining Dining Foyer Foyer Foyer Foyer Foyer Foyer Foyer Foyer Foyer Foyer Foyer Foyer Living-Dining Living
Type of Living Dining Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached Attached
C-11
D
A-10
D L
L
L
0
D Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V - Verandah Figure 5.12: Attached Living-Dining in studied flats
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Bed room: Bed rooms are meant for sleeping by the members of the family. For rest and family activity purposes the cell like bed rooms are used. In compact apartment plans the bed rooms are two to three in number in the middle income group flats. Bed rooms were the only habitable component for family members in the traditional introvert type houses around the central courtyard in the private part of the house. The master bed room is the main bed room in the house that is used by the family heads and it is identified with its other ancillary facilities like attached toilet, verandah etc. The bed of larger size or with maximum facilities like attached toilet and verandah acts as the master bed room or the principal bed room. The second bed room is used for other family members. The definition of guest bed becomes undefined in many of the case studies. In most of the cases the bed room near the entry or living acts as a guest bed in case of necessity.
Kitchen: In traditional urban houses of Dhaka kitchen was used for eating and performing other household activities like child caring, sewing, resting and other domestic activities. In extrovert type houses of colonial period service like kitchen, toilet, store, and servant’s area became a separate wing attached to the main living block. Food preparation generates organic wastes and it is usually conducted on the kitchen floor. Storage space becomes necessary for storing bulk of non-perishable food items. Service functions (Kitchen, toilet etc.) seem to be located near the entrance in the consolidated houses in service zone. Kitchen along with servant’s room store and verandah form a separate zone and it is attached with the main household space. In contemporary apartments the kitchen is located near the dining space. A verandah is usually attached for performing the food preparation and processing of raw fish and meat. For space economy the servant’s room and store room are disappearing from the apartment layout plan.
148
Figure 5.13: Bed rooms in Apartments
Figure 5.14: Kitchen in Apartments
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5.1.3 Discussion Physically in architecture, movement through space gives rise mainly to two types of space along with personal activity spaces which are present in the spatial organisation in a cellular manner. Hanson labeled the rooms which clearly intended to support activities as function spaces and those intended for circulation as transition spaces. (Hanson, 1998:187,284-286) Function spaces are designed for activities to take place. Place represents enclosed space such as bed rooms, kitchen and common spaces like family living, living, dining etc. In this study the function spaces are found to be of different kinds holding different activities. For the compact middle income group families the core house compose of living, dining, kitchen, two or three bedrooms, verandahs and toilets mainly excluding transition spaces as far as possible. In the larger MIG apartment foyer, circulation and sometime family living as an extension of formal living is found to be present in addition to the basic components of the core house. Living in contemporary urban apartments is for the outsiders and guests. It is usually located at the public zone that is near to the entry. Traditionally living room was directly connected to the main entry and segregated from the rest of the domestic spaces. In present situations living room is for both guest entertainment and family use. Location of the living and its relationship with other spaces influence upon segregation of domestic spaces as it has a symbolic meaning regarding visitors and inhabitants interface. This will be further elaborated with spatial analysis in chapter six to understand the spatial-symbolic interrelation to explain the gendered space concept. Dining is used for eating and doing other household works. Dining space is located at the central position in all contemporary apartments. Due to compact layout in the contemporary apartments, dining acts as a common shared space. In the studied fifty contemporary apartments three types of living-dining spaces are found namely, Separate Living-Dining, Continuous Living-Dining and Attached Living-Dining. Separate living dining is the rarest one among the three types. 36% of the studied apartments have continuous living and dining and it is higher in the medium sized apartments. 54% of the studied apartments have attached living and dining. Dining spaces are visible from the living spaces in these apartments through the connections/openings. The spatial relationship between these living dining and their visibility with connection impacts upon the privacy aspect of the female members of the family and this issue will be addressed later chapter with visibility graph analysis.
150
Bed rooms are for sleeping and performing different activities. The master bed room is the main bed room in the house that is used for the family heads. The bed of larger size or with maximum facilities like attached toilet and verandah acts as the master bed room or the principal bed room. The second bed room is used for other family members. The definition of guest bed becomes undefined in many of the case studies as having guests has become infrequent day by day in the urban MIG families. In most of the cases the bed room near the entry or living acts as a guest bed in case of necessity, which is usually a bed for the male children of the family.
Transition spaces are composed of circulation and foyer which suggests a movement in a goal oriented space or a junction type of space as a decision making space. De Syllas’ and Peatross’ work on residential care environments has drawn attention to the differences between circulation routes and spaces designed for activities to take place. These distinctions also exist in domestic spaces. Hanson 1998 found these passage ways to separate rooms secure the boundaries against trespassers etc. and has the effect of insulating spaces from one another. (Hanson 1998:284-285) A passage type space suggests a movement in a goal oriented space. Foyer is a junction type of space. This space type suggests an intervening change in movement in a decision making space. In many cases two or more separate pathways start from the foyer, leading to the family quarter and to the living room for entertaining guests or visitors. Thus foyer creates a segregation of the inhabitants and the visitors in a domestic space and circulation gives access to the inner function holding rooms. Foyer is found in 44%of the studied apartments. Larger apartments (1200-1500 SFT) have foyer and family Living space in higher rate than the smaller apartments. In this study Foyer is present less (29%) in small and medium apartments than the larger ones (60%).When foyer is absent access from the exterior is directly to the living or dining or to both. Living and dining spaces are connected and continuous space having visual connection within them. Circulation like corridor is present in the medium sized (1001-1200 sft) apartments mostly. In larger and smaller apartments the presence of corridor is less than the medium sized apartments. In apartments, where circulation is not present, dining distributes access through it to the function holding spaces. In the previous chapter it was seen that presence of the entry space and circulation has impact on the spatial organisation that is related with segregation and privacy of the users in Dhaka. Due to compaction of the apartments these spaces are being reduced in the smaller apartments which may affect these symbolic demands. This issue will be addressed in chapter six to find out the impact of transition spaces in preserving segregation and privacy of the female members of the family.
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5.2 Family Profile Domestic space and house form is highly depended on family and socio-economic status of the family members. It has been widely argued that house form is influenced by the gender roles embedded in family structures (Saegert and Winkel, 1980, Spain, 1995, Bowlby et al, 1997, Weisman, 1992, Kent 1984).Kent has pointed that ‘Home’ is a concept that gives symbolic meaning to a house that goes beyond its architecture and whatever the concept of home it is often concerned with family, that is expressed in culturally recognizable ways (Kent S, 1995). Women and men have different positions within the household and different control over resources; they not only play different and changing roles in the society, but also have different needs. The theories on family argue that characteristics of individuals contribute to genderstatus distinctions, while the economist theory claims that economic structure shapes genderstatus distinctions. A thorough investigation of the family structure, socio-economic status of the members is necessary to understand the role of the men and women in the family environment which influences spatial organisation. This part of the study addresses the family information of the studied fifty contemporary middle income group apartments to relate the samples with the research question:
How does the change in socio-economic status of women impact on the spatial organization of the contemporary Residential Apartments in Dhaka.
Activity pattern and lifestyle of the women, living in the contemporary apartments, depend on their family structure, educational status, and economic status. The female heads are taken as respondents in the questionnaire survey of the selected middle income group families and their responses towards their spatial organisation is analysed with respect to the research question. Age, number, gender, education and occupation of the constituent of the studied middle income group families are stated in a table format in appendix - 5.2. Determining the status of the female heads with family study, the interview of the respondents will help to find out symbolic aspects related with gender and house form in the studied cases.
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5.2.1 Family Size: Family is the smallest unit of the social institution. The activities that constitute social institution occur in specific place and family lives in homes. The family as a unit, which embodies many relationships between men and women, adults and children can best illustrate the complex nature of space itself and the meaning attached to it by individuals within the family. The family holds a pivotal role in the transmission of cultural and social values and beliefs, not only relating to the form and function of the house, but many aspects that constitute culture itself: language, names, religion, behaviour, child rearing, status and aspiration and social hierarchy. During recent decades, a series of changes have occurred in composition and organization of the family. Changes in the family structure and the patterns of family life are closely interwoven with a total change in the life pattern of a woman. It is this change that Willmott and Young describes as “one of the greatest transformation of our time”.(Willmott and Young, 1977:30) Wilson States “The Nuclear family has been in recent times the basic form of social organization”. (Wilson, E., 1977:168) In the context of Bangladesh there is growing evidence of a breakdown of extended family units to nuclear family. In the studied families majority of the families (82%) are of up to four members and only 18% families are composed of more than five members. From the family structure analysis it was seen that 22% of the studied family has members excluding the nuclear family constituent. Mother-in-law (14%), niece, brother-in-law are part of these families. These families can be grouped as extended family category although they do not fall in the type by the definition of the term. Remaining 88% families are nuclear type families. 2% 8% 2 3 4 5 6
members members members members members
16% 20%
54%
Household Size 2 members 3 members 4 members 5 members 6 members
Number of apartments 4 out of 50 10 out of 50 27 out of 50 8 out of 50 1 out of 50
percentage 8% 20% 54% 16% 2%
Figure 5.15: Household Size, Field Survey, 2012.
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5.2.2 Educational Background: Female literacy rate is lower overall in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh a male child gets the preference for education. Girls have to leave their family upon marriage, whereas the male child is expected to look after the family and parents at their old age. So any investment on the male child is more justified from poor parent’s view. However Khan S (1993) reveals with statistics27 that at the primary level the enrolment of girls has increased. A huge gap between the sexes in higher education is evident and also a development is clear in the increase of enrolment in the later periods which may be the result of the Second Five year Plan (1980-1985). This plan emphasized on education, bringing 90% of primary age–group children (both male and female) to school. Equality of opportunity was one of the major objectives of education planning of second five-year plan and also accelerates the progress of female education. The present study shows that rate of higher education of women among middle income group families in Dhaka are very close to their male counter parts. It was seen that 96% (48% Post graduate + 48%Graduate) of the urban male heads of the MIG and 82% (30% Post graduate +52%Graduate) of the female heads have higher education. The respondents, the female head of the middle income group families, are found to be educated and majority of them having higher education above graduate level. Zahur (2008) too found similar type of finding ‘no illiterate people present in the middle income group’ in her study in four middle income group areas of Dhaka (Bashabo, Shamoly, Rampura and Eskaton). 60% 50%
48% 52%
48%
Male Head
Female head
40% 30%
30%
20% 12% 10%
6%
4%
Male Female
Post Graduate Below Graduate Graduate 48% 48% 4% 30% 52% 18%
0% Post Graduate
Graduate
HSC
SSc
Figure 5.16: Educational background in the studied families. Field Survey, July 2012. 27
In 1974 census 88.8% female population had no schooling compared to 62.8% of male. Enrolment of girls in primary level in1973 was 26 lakhs and it increased to 31 lakhs in 1980.In secondary school this enrolment was 5 lakhs in 1973 and in 1980 it increased to 7.55 lakhs in higher secondary level this enrolment was 43,313 in 1973, which rose to 74,355 in 1984, and in University level this number is very low.
154
5.2.3 Religious Background
(
In Bangladesh majority of the population belongs to Islam religion, which acts as a determinant
in the domestic space arrangement. Ninety percent of the population is Muslims and the remainder being Hindu, Christian and Buddhist. Religion, as a social indicator, played an important part in the life of the women in Bangladesh. Social cultural and religious tradition structure the status of women in Bangladesh, and men's decision in a patriarchal social system shapes the life of women. In a Muslim society man has full responsibility for the maintenance of wife and children. (Rahman, 1973; Monsoor: 532).The ‘purdah’ system is seen as enforcing a high standard of female modesty. The Islamic social institution of purdah defines separate spaces for men and women and restricts women’s mobility outside the homestead and thus the range of women’s economic activities and their involvement in public office and decision making; it allows male authorities to exercise control over all women in the public sphere. Considering this aspect the Muslim families were selected for this study and the fifty families are of Islam religion.
5.2.4 Occupation of the Family Heads
Changes in the distribution of employment represent changes in family head’s role, status and attitudes. Seraj (2012) conducted a field survey in Dhaka in 2008, which covered almost all of the real estate projects (44,000 excluding the under construction and non-residential projects)and found 51% of the family head’s occupation as business, 40% service and 9% other occupation. In Zahur (2008)’s study in 2008, occupation of 20.8% of the middle income group male heads is business 62.5% is service and 16.7% falls to other categories. From the questionnaire survey of this study conducted during July-August, 2012 it was seen that, 60% of the male heads are service holders ,18% are business men and 22% are of other professions (Doctors, Engineers and Architects) and 58% of the female heads are home makers,30% are service holders and 12% are professionals (Doctors, Engineers and Architects). From the three studies in Dhaka it is seen that service is increasing as occupation of middle income group male heads.
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Occupation of Male Heads
Occupation of Female Heads Service Business others
22%
Homemaker service others
12%
30% 18%
58%
60%
Figure 5.17:Occupation of the family heads. (Field Survey, July 2012) In this particular study on gender and house form issue the survey findings confirm that 58% of the middle income group female heads are homemakers and nearly half (42%) are economically active being service holders and other professional person as Doctors, Engineers and Architects. The number of economically active women has increased in the last three decades. Economic participation rate of female in urban area has increased from 5.8 in1974 to 7.5 in 1981 and 10.3 in 1991 and display gradually more and more involvement of females in economic activities outside home. Diverse occupations for women have emerged since the late 1980s. Although the female labour participation rate is not as high as in other developed or developing countries of the world, the present changing profile of urban women is noteworthy. 3
2.7
2.5 2
2.8
2.1 1.6
1.5 1 Economically active urban Female population in million
0.5 0 1995-96
1999-00
2002-03
2005-06
Figure 5.18:Number of economically active women in the last three decades Source: LFS, BBS 2002, p 81, 82; LFS 2005-06 p xv.
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The women of middle income group in the recent apartment houses is the target group of this study who are often described as subordinated in a patriarchal society in the urban context of Dhaka (Khan, S.1993;Jeffery,1979; Monsoor,1999;Hussain,2010; Ahmed,2006; Adnan, 1989). The social status of women depends largely on their economic status (Chowdhury and Ahmed 1980) and economic stability and strength has been considered the basic ingredient for empowerment (Khatoon H, Ahmed N and Ahsan R M, 2005) which brought a change in attitude among the women. Taking participation in economic activity two types of respondents was found: 52%economically non active female and 48% economically active female.
Economically nonactive 52%
1
0%
20%
Economically active 48%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Figure 5.19:Percentage of economically active and non-active women in the study ( Field Survey, July 2012)
The female head of the middle income group families, are found to be educated and a majority of them having higher education above graduate level. In the case of studied urban houses of Dhaka a development in status of women is evident that can be interpreted by the change of education status and women’s participation in the economic activity rate.
157
5.3 Activity Pattern Domestic activities depend on the social and cultural values and produce a spatial pattern. The organisation of domestic space, objects and activities is the reflection of ideas. These ideas are the generator of spatial layouts, objects and actions in the home. (Lawrence RJ, 1980: 113-131) Domestic activities are those that people do in and around their houses. Their daily activity pattern depends on their social and cultural values and thus produces a spatial pattern. Activity pattern and lifestyle of the family members of the contemporary middle income group (MIG) apartments determine their pattern and space use character. This supports their cultural and social behaviour in the contemporary society. If lifestyle is changed it will consequently be reflected on their activity pattern and their spatial organisation will be affected by the change. This research is focused on the socio-spatial study of space organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments in Dhaka. The women of middle income group in the recent apartment houses are the target group of this study. The social status of women depends largely on their economic status which brings change in attitude among the women. Moser in “Gender Planning and Development: Theory, Practice and Training” commented that in most of the low income third world households women have a triple role.( Moser, 1993:27) She expressed women and men to have different positions within the household and different control over resources. They not only play different and changing roles in the society, but also have different needs. Within the household there is a clear division of labour based on gender. The man of the family, as the "Breadwinner", is primarily involved in productive work28 outside the home, while the woman as the housewife and "Homemaker" takes overall responsibility for the reproductive29 and domestic work. Women's work includes not only reproductive work (the child bearing and child rearing responsibilities required to guarantee the maintenance and reproduction of the labour force) it also includes productive works often as secondary income earners. Women also take community managing works30 . 28
The productive roles comprises of works done by both women and men for payment in cash or kind. It includes both market productions with an exchange value [Moser, 1993:31]. 29 The reproductive roles comprises of child bearing/rearing responsibilities and domestic tasks undertaken by women required to guarantee the maintenance and reproduction of the labour force. It includes not only biological reproduction but also the care and maintenance of the work force [husband and working children] and the future work force [infants and school going children]. [Moser, 1993:29] 30 The community managing role comprises of activities undertaken primarily by women at the community level, as an extension of their reproductive role. It is unpaid and voluntary work undertaken in free time to ensure the provision and maintenance of the scarce resources of collective consumption, such as
158
Khan (1999) while studying the Colonial Architecture in Bangladesh discussed the activities in the house as cultural elements (Khan FAU, 1999:4) and commented that these were in a large extent tradition oriented. In the context of Dhaka, house hold activities are different in urban areas from that of rural areas. In the introvert types the work areas were inside in many houses. Work area became separated when people had to go out for job. Food preparation, cooking activities are performed mainly by the female members of the household and are performed in the kitchen or in kitchen verandahs. Guest entertaining or interaction with the society members are part of public activities. Segregation among male female is considered strongly among the visitors and inhabitants in cultural context of Bangladesh(Imamuddin, A.H. 1982; Khan, I.M. 1982; Khan F A U 1999; Mallick, 1987; Rahman M. and Haque F A 1997; Rashid M.U.2000; Shabin N. 1997; Islam Z. 2003). Monteiro(1997), analysed 101 houses in Recife, Brazil, and proposed number of activities (Monteiro1997: 20.3): 1) Domestic tasks (cooking, washing dishes and clothes, ironing); 2) Passive leisure (watching TV, reading, listening to music, playing on the computer, etc) 3) Interactive leisure (meeting friends, drinking, dating); 4) Common family needs (having breakfast, lunch, dinner) happening in the most integrated spaces (although called communal needs are better described as ‘eating activities). 5) Private needs (Bushing teeth, taking a bath, sleeping, resting) are formed by actions associated with the most segregated spaces in houses
Taking these theoretical backgrounds into notice the survey in the fifty contemporary middle income group families reveal five types of activities in the household: a. Daily household activities - Which comprises of the reproductive works mainly like: Child bearing and rearing, child‘s study, Cooking, food preparation etc. b. Passive leisure-Watching TV, reading/studying, resting. c. Interactive leisure -interaction with visitors/guests. d. Common family needs -(having breakfast, lunch, dinner) e. Personal activities – sleeping, bathing, wash.
water, health care and education. It is usually paid work either directly or indirectly, through wages or increase in status and power. [Moser, 1993:34]
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5.3.1 Daily Household Activities
This research is focused to find out the gender consideration of the domestic spaces and to attain this objective the activity pattern of the male and female head of the respective family is mainly studied. The whole study is divided into two basic groups considering the economic participation of the female heads as it determines the status of the female heads in the family (appendix 5.5). The activity is measured with the occupation of the spaces by the family members. The responses of the family heads were recorded to find out the occupancy of the activity spaces. The activities from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm are considered in this study as the activities beyond this period of both the male and female heads does not create impact on defining gendered space in domestic spatial organisation. Activity period in each space are calculated for individual case in a tabular way (appendix 5.3.1and 5.4.1) and expressed as percentage of total 15 hours of a day considering from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm(in appendix 5.3.2 and 5.4.2 ).
5.3.1.1 The Activities of the Male Heads The activities of the Male heads in economically non-active female headed families (Figure 5.20) is calculated against the information collected from field survey which is shown in detail in Appendix 5.03. Here 92% of the male heads are service holders and businessmen. These male heads spend 63% of their time outside the house and when they are at home they spend time in living, dining and in bedroom mainly. These male heads have a typical character of spending their time in the house. Male heads spend 0% - 10% of their time (In 18 cases out of 29 cases) in living. Dining which is used for eating purpose and male heads spend 11%-20% of their time in it daily (in 28 cases out of 29 cases). Bedrooms are used for resting and male heads spend 11%-20% of their time in it daily in most of the cases (in25 cases). Remaining 8% male heads (in B-2, A-12, C-11 and C-10), who are retired, spend 25% of their daily activity period in the living and 21%-41% in Bedrooms for resting.
Similarly activities of the Male heads in economically active female headed families (Figure 5.21) shows that Male heads in this group spend 63% of their time outside the house. Majority of the male heads of this group spend 0% - 10% of their activity time in living, 11%-20% activity time in dining and 11%-20% activity time in bedroom.
160
30
28
25
Number of cases
25 31%-45% time spent
18
20
21%- 30% time spent
15 10 5
7
11%-20% time spent
4
4 1
0
0
0%-10% time spent
0 living
dining
bedroom
Figure 5.20: Activity period of male heads in economically non-active female headed families
Number of cases
25
21
20
20 31%-45% time spent
15
15 10
21%- 30% time spent 6
5
11%-20% time spent 0
1
0%-10% time spent
0
0 living
dining
bedroom
Figure 5.21: Activity period of male heads in economically active female headed families
Table 5.08: Comparison of the activities of the Male heads in economically active and nonactive female headed families Activity space
In economically non-active female headed families In economically active female headed families
Living
0%-10% activity period(in 62% cases)
0%-10% activity period(in 72% cases)
dining
11%-20% activity period(in 97% cases)
11%-20% activity period(in 100% cases)
Bedroom
11%-20% activity period(in 86% cases)
11%-20% activity period(in 95% cases)
Table 5.09: Household works done in the studied families Total 50 Economically non-active female head [29] Economically active female head [21]
Female Head 28( 97%) 15 (71%)
Household works done by Servant Male Head 23 (79%) 5(17%) 20 (95%) 3(14%)
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Comparing the activity period of the male heads in the two groups of families (Table 5.08) we see that the male heads spend
0%-10% of their activity period in the living, dining and
bedrooms generally with a few exceptions in specific cases. This is more or less similar in the two studied family groups as the activity pattern of the male heads in their house is independent of the female heads economic status.
Table 5.09 shows that participation in the household work by the male head is very low in the studied families.17% of the Male head in the economically non-active women group participates in the household works and in case of economically active women’s family this is only 14%.
5.3.1.2 The Activities of the Female Heads
The activities of the female head in each space for individual cases are shown in a tabular way in Appendix 5.05. From this table the activity period is expressed as percentage of total 15 hours of a day considering from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm (Shown in Appendix 5.06). From the questionnaire survey it was seen that 42% of the respondents are economically active female heads who are engaged in some sort of income generating activities outside their home and rest 58% are economically non-active female heads, who are not engaged in any other income generating activities outside their home. When the female head is economically non-active, she stays long hours in the house and use the spaces in the houses extensively for daily household works. From the table of twenty nine cases with economically non-active female heads’, it is seen that daily household activities of the female heads are performed in the kitchen and dining mainly. While they are at home the economically non-active female heads spend most of their time in kitchen preparing the breakfast in the morning, cooking meals and preparing snacks in the evening. 28 cases out of 29 economically active female heads work five hours daily (31% of their activity period) in the kitchen. Dining space is used for both eating and household activity purpose. Female heads spend 21%30% of their time in dining daily (in28 cases). Female heads those who have to look after the studies of their dependent children use this dining space for teaching their children in the
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afternoon. The female heads in A-10, D-9, A-2, B-1 and B-5 spend time in the dining space for teaching their children in the evening and their space activity percentage of dining is 31%. A few cases were found where female heads use the dining space for cooking preparation space. Bedrooms are used for resting mainly and female heads spend 31%-45% of their time in bedroom daily. Female heads those who perform daily prayer (namaj) use their bed room for praying. Use of bedroom is less in the families where the female heads have to stay out for different activities. The female heads in the family with small school going children perform an extra duty of taking their children to school and stay a period outside the house((A-5,A-1, A10,D-9, A-9, B-1, B-4 and B-5). Spending time in the living is very low. Female heads in ten cases spend 0% - 6% of their time and in nineteen cases 11%-20% in living for recreation purpose.
Number of cases
30
28 cases
28 cases
25 20
20 cases
19 cases
31%- 45% time spent
15
21%- 30% time spent
10
8 cases
10 5
1
11%-20% time spent
1
1
0%-10% time spent
0 living
dining
bedroom
kitchen
Figure 5.22: Activity period of economically non- active female heads
Number of cases
20
18
18 15
15
12
31%- 45% time spent
9
10
21%- 30% time spent 5
3
5 0
0
1
2
1
0 living
dining
bedroom
11%-20% time spent 0%-10% time spent
kitchen
Figure 5.23: Activity period of economically active female heads
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Economically active female heads working pattern is slightly different from the former one as they stay a certain period out of the house. In appendix 5.08 activities of economically active female heads are provided in detail for each case. Female heads in six samples (A-6, B-13, C1, B-8, B-10 and C-9) are school teachers who spend six hours (38% of activity period) outside. The female heads who are service holders in thirteen samples (B-12, A-3, A-11, A-13, B-11, C7, C-13, D-7,B-3, C-8, D-1, D-4, and D-10) spend around ten hours (63% of activity period) out of the house. Most of the economically active female heads spend less time in the kitchen (0%-10%) for cooking. Out of the twenty-one economically active female heads only five work in the kitchen for 2-3 hours and fifteen works only 1 hour in the kitchen during the day. Time spent in dining is only 13% for the service holders and 25% for the rest of the female heads who return home early. Dining space is used for both eating and teaching students’ purpose. In twelve cases female heads spend 11%-20% of their time in dining and in nine cases 21%-30% of their activity period. Economically active female heads spend 11%-20% of their time in bedroom daily (in18 cases). Spending time in the living is very low. Female heads in 18 cases spend 0% - 6% of their time and in 3 cases 11%-20% in living for recreation purpose.
Analysing the result of the two groups of female heads it is seen that use of kitchen is higher in the economically non-active female heads. Most of the economically non-active female heads stay 31%-45% of their activity period in kitchen .This is lower for the majority of the economically active female heads who spend 0%-10% of their daily activity period in the kitchen only. The study reveals that 95% of the economically active person depends on maid servant as they stay long hour away from home. They are supported by household workers to perform their household duties in their absence while others have elder parents or family members to look after their child in their absence. Use of dining is also higher in the economically non-active female heads. Almost all economically non-active female heads stay 21%-30% of their activity period in dining. For 57% economically active female heads stay 11%-20% of their activity period and 43% economically active female heads stay 21%-30% of their activity period in dining.
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Use of Living room is also higher in the economically non-active group than the economically active group. 66% of the economically non-active female heads stay 11%-20% of their activity period in living and 86% of economically active female heads stay 0%-10% of their activity period in living. Table 5.10: Comparison of the activities of the Female heads in economically active and nonactive female headed families Economically non-active female headed families time spent infamilies 31%- 45% 21%- 30% 11%-20% 0%-10% living 0 0 19[66%] 10[34%] dining 0 28[97%] 1[3%] 0 bedroom 20[69%] 0 8[28%] 1[3% ] kitchen 28[97%] 1[3%] 0 0
Economically active female headed families 31%- 45% 21%- 30% 11%-20% 0%-10% 0 0 3[14%] 18[86%] 0 9[43%] 12[57%] 0 0 1[5%] 18[86%] 2[10%] 0 1[5%] 5[24%] 15[72%]
30
25
25
Number of cases
30
20
20
15
15
10
10
5
5
Living Dining Bed room Kitchen
0
0 0%-10%
11%-20%
21%-30%
31%-45%
0%-10%
11%-20%
21%-30%
31%-45%
Figure 5.24: Comparison of the activities of the Female heads in economically active and nonactive female headed families
From the study it is seen that female heads do the basic household activities in the house even they spend long hours outside the house for work. It was seen in the survey that educational background of all the respondents i.e. the female heads are quite high. 82% of the female heads in the study were of graduate and post graduate levels. It can be claimed that from this study that the similarity in educational status brings similarity in their activity pattern although all of them are not economically active.
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The study reveals that 95% of the economically active person depends on maid servant as they stay long hour away from home. They are supported by household workers to perform their household duties in their absence while others have elder parents or family members to look after their child in their absence.
Use of modern appliances like blender; washing machine, oven etc. has become frequent among the contemporary women. It is higher in the economically active female heads (71%) than the economically non-active female heads (66%). Although In this study this issue has not been focused (as they are not related with its research question directly) but it needs to be given importance as they influence upon the layout of the domestic working spaces.
5.3.2 Passive Leisure Activities: Watching TV, Reading/Studying, Resting
Passive leisure activities in the domestic spaces mainly comprises of resting in bed rooms and watching TV in the specific spaces. In the domestic spaces of the contemporary apartments bed rooms are used for sleeping and resting activities. The master bed room which has the maximum facilities like attached toilet and verandah from it, is used by both the male and female heads for sleeping and resting. Watching television is of the recreational activities in the middle income group families. Location of
television varies in the different families depending on the space and choice of the users.
72% of economically non-active female headed families have television in the Living room and only 24% have it in the Family living space.
48% of the economically active female heads have television in the living and 33% have their television located in the Family living space.14% of the economically active female heads watch television in their bed room.
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3% Location of TV in Economically Non-active Female Head ‘s family[29]
24% 0% 72% In Bedroom 14%
In F.living
33%
Location of TV in Economically Active Female Head ‘s family [21]
In Dining
5%
In Living
48% 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Figure 5.25: Leisure activities in economically active and non-active female headed families
A-1
A-11
D-1
Figure 5.26: Location of TV
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5.3.3 Interaction with Visitors The visitors and inhabitants interaction holds a prime role in the domestic space organisation. The physical division constitutes a social division of two groups: inhabitants –the users of the interior domain and strangers-the users of the exterior domain. The spatial interface between visitors and inhabitants is one of the essential issues for every house in every culture. In this study the domestic space has two interfaces: interior and exterior. Some spaces are used by the strangers or visitors inside the domestic space for social interaction. According to the traditional socio-cultural codes these interacting spaces inside the domestic spaces are guided by the symbolic aspiration of the users. Outhouse or drawing room which in the apartments is termed as living is allocated for this social interaction space which is seen from the study in chapter four. Living in contemporary urban apartments is for the outsiders and guests. It is usually located at the public zone that is near to the entry. The social interaction takes place in the living room in the contemporary apartments. From the study it has been found that Living room is used for interacting with the visitors by the male members mostly, which is located near to the entry of their house.
For finding the spaces and use of leisure activities the respondents were questioned about their place of interaction with visitors and marked accordingly in table 5.5. This shows that male member use the living room for interacting with guests in 100% cases. In case of the female heads entertaining visitors have a different character. In 76% cases of the economically nonactive female heads and 90% of the economically active female heads use the living for entertaining visitors. Female heads also use the dining space for interacting with their visitors along with the living space which is nearly same in both type of female heads (59% in nonactive and 52% in active). Female heads have the tendency of taking their family and female visitors into their bedrooms and this is higher in the non-economic group more (24% in nonactive and 19% in active group).
Table 5.11: Female head's interaction with visitors/guests in Living, Dining and Bedroom
Living Economically non-active female Female- 76% head Economically active female head Female- 90%
Dining Female- 59% Female-52%
Bed Female-24% Female-19%
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Table 5.12: Space use by the male and female members of the house for different activities Activities of the economically non-active female headed families Size
Apart B-2 B-6 800B-7 1000 C-6 A-5 1001A-1 A-10 1200 A-12 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-11 C-12 D-8 D-9 D-11 1201A-2 A-4 1500 A-7 A-8 A-9 B-1 B-4 B-5 B-9 C-10 D-5 D-6 Percentage
Work Male members Female L D K B L members D K 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1
1 1 1 48
0
3
7
38
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 97
Leisure /Rest Male Female B Lmembers F B Lmembers F B 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 0 0 100 0 0 100
Interaction with visitors Entertainment Interaction with visitors Male members Female Male members Female members L D F B L members D F B Male L members D F B L D F B 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 72 0 24 3 72 0 24 3 100 3 0 0 76 59 24 24
Activities of the economically active female headed families Size 9001000
Locat B-12 A-6 A-11 A-13 1001B-11 1200 B-13 C-1 C-13 1201A-3 C-7 1500 D-7 B-3 B-8 B-10 C-8 C-9 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-10 Percentage
Work Male members Female L D K B L members D K 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1
1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 76
1
38
0
10
5
1 1 67
Leisure /Rest Entertainment Male members Femal Male members Female B L F B L Fe B L D F B L members D F 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 33 0 0 100 0 0 100 48 5 33 19 43 5 33
B
1 1
1 1
19
Interaction with visitors Male members Female members L D F B L D F B 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 100 5 0 0 90 52 48 19
Legend L- Living D-Dining
B- Bed Room F-Family Living
K-Kitchen
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Frequency of visitor in the economically active and non-active female headed families is nearly similar in character (nearly 50%). 48 % of the respondent who are economically active answered that they have guests frequently and In case of the families where the female head is economically non-active it is 52%.Visitors have attained the culture of notifying prior to their visit and they do not come without appointment. The contemporary apartment’s security system controls the announcement of the visitors. Survey conducted in this research confirms that Living is the space used for interaction with the visitors in the contemporary middle income group apartments and male visitors are entertained in living. Both economically active and non-active female heads use this Living for interaction with the visitors in a high rate. A lack of segregation of male and female users in terms of using the living room is seen in the contemporary middle income group apartments in the conducted study. Access in the house by the stranger is controlled symbolically in this culture. Visitors, especially male visitors, are restricted to the living of their domestic space. This is related with the privacy factor of domestic space. 19%
24% 24%
Female heads in Economically non-active FH families 0 0
Male heads in Economically active FH families
0 0
Male heads in Economically non-active FH families
0%
Bed F.Liv 90% Din Liv
48% 52%
Female heads in Economically active FH families
59%
76%
5%
100%
3%
100% 20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Figure 5.27: Percentage of space occupation by the male and female heads (calculated from the study of activity pattern in the two groups of female heads)
Figure 5.28: Interaction with visitors
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5.3.4 Discussion : Activity Pattern Guiding Gendered Space
Hall proposes four general kinds of spheres as intimate, personal, private and public while establishing influences of people and their behavior on spatial design (Hall,1969 :121). This private-public territory, as one of the binary codes followed in the organization of domestic space, is governed culturally (Lawrence, 1987; Goffman, 1959). The denotation of 'public' and 'private' implied that some form of spatial pattern accompanied the separation of women and men into different activities. The spaces in the apartments are used differently by the male and female members of the family according to their activity pattern. Gendered and shared spaces are one of the categories conceptualized with the concentration and segregation of the male and female members of the household. Some spaces are used by the male members extensively and some by female members extensively. From the earlier discussion two types of spaces are identified considering gender aspects. 1. Shared space
- used by both genders and
2. Gendered space - used by a gender extensively.
This division of space as gendered or shared is governed culturally. Symbolic spaces reserved for the use of guests as separate from the daily use areas are seen to exist in English homes, which separate between public and private spheres (Davidoff and Hall,1987). The notion of the front and the back is closely associated with the demarcation between public (Symbolic life) and private (secular life). Purdah may be seen as an extreme example of a common phenomenon: the dichotomy between the private domestic sphere and the public sphere. Bellal (2007) found that the identity of a visitor as observer to the house is not only defined as formal or informal, it is defined foremost as male/female in M’zab (Berber) Muslim culture.
Gender identity of the visitor defines the domain into which he/she “must” be accompanied. In the context of Dhaka middle income group families interact with visitors mainly in the Living. Male visitors and strangers are allowed up to living room in the domestic space. In the traditional society living is observed as a gendered space which is dominated by male members of the family. Considering Living as the visitors’ domain, it is restricted for male visitors and in this respect living is symbolically a male gendered space.
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Study reveals that in the contemporary middle income group apartments, due to compaction of spaces for bringing the apartment into affordable range of the middle income groups, Living is serving for holding other activities. The use of living is not only for receiving guests and used by male members of the family. It is being used by both male and female members of the family nearly equally for other purposes. Male heads spend up to 10% of their activity period in living and economically non-active female heads spend 11%-20% activity period in living and economically active female heads spend 0%-10% activity period in living. Watching TV is leisure activity of the female heads. Economically non-active female head in the study are found to place their TV in living space mostly (76%) and watching TV in living is less in economically active female heads (48%).Considering the activity of the living room it is found as a shared room for both male and female members of the family. Similarly Master bed room is used for resting and sleeping by the male and female members. Activity pattern identifies it as a shared space as both male and female members of the family use it. In addition bedroom is used for working and interacting with female and family visitors by the female heads. Considering female heads’ activity and domain, Master bed room is restricted for female visitors and in this respect Master bed room is symbolically a female gendered space. From the activity pattern we see that Kitchen is used for cooking solely and used by the female members in the families. In the study it was found that cooking is done by the female members. Male participation in cooking is very negligible. Thus the working or service zone kitchen in contemporary apartment is female gendered space.
Some of the domestic spaces are solely shared space. For example dining that is used by both the genders is a shared space. Dining and, family living spaces are used by both male and female members of the family and are shared spaces. Dining is used mainly for eating purpose (100%). Female members use dining space for performing different household works (38% in economically non-active and 66% in economically active female heads). Entertaining female visitors is also in dining space (59% in economically non-active and 52% in economically active female heads). The transition spaces discussed earlier are spaces for connecting function holding spaces and for movement and used by both genders according to their position.
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From the discussion above we can categorize the domestic spaces in three groups:
Shared space • Dining • Living • Family living
Female members use dining space for performing different household works and entertaining female visitors. Use of dining is higher in the economically non-active female heads. Considering the activity of the living room it is found as a shared space. Living is used by both male and female members of the family for interacting with the visitors and space for entertainment such as watching TV or reading newspapers. Economically nonactive female heads spend more time in living than the economically active female heads.
Gendered space Symbolically Living is Male gendered space as it is resolved with • Living the interface between visitors and inhabitants and segregation in • M bed room this context. • Kitchen Master bed room is Female gendered space. Kitchen, is Female gendered space. Use of kitchen is higher in the economically non-active female heads. Transition space Entry, Circulation are transition spaces and those act as joining or movement spaces between the shared and gendered spaces. • Entry • Circulation
Foyer
Shared Space
i. Gendered space and shared space with the presence of transition space at the entry. ii. Gendered space and shared space without transition space at the entry. iii Gendered space and shared space without transition spaces. Figure 5.29: Shared and gendered spaces in the Middle income group apartments.
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5.4 Symbolic Dimension
The first objective of this study, which focuses mainly on understanding spatial organisation with respect to gendered space, attempts to describe a relationship between spatial organisation of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka and gender related symbolic or cultural expressions. From the literature review it was seen that symbolic dimensions, those are cultural interpretation, are expressed both spatially and socially and based on the concept of segregation, privacy and dominance in the context of Bangladesh.
Segregation exists in societies among male and female members, which is reflected in the spatial organisation. The denotation of 'public' and 'private' implied that some form of spatial pattern accompanied the separation of women and men into different activities. This supported the concept of ‘gendered space’ which originates from a private-public separation model and confines women within the private domain of a house in performing the domestic works and secluding from outside public realm. Privacy of the household members has been often discussed as a basic ingredient of domestic space emphasized by segregation of private and public spaces in a house. Privacy of the female members, as a product of socio-cultural and religious factors, guided the domestic spatial organization with a control of visibility of inner spaces from public areas and restriction of access of the visitors.
Dominance is related with the power and control over the domestic space of a culture. Visual Control over the adjacent spaces from the central position seems a vital element in the traditional layouts and it is related with the location of the gendered space.
This part of study with questionnaire interview helps to establish the relationship between gender-related symbolic expressions (segregation, privacy and dominance) on the spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments with the responses of the female heads of these middle income group families living in apartments. It further helps to find out the change of requirements (both physical and psychological) of the contemporary women and their influence on the spatial organization of contemporary apartment houses. In The next chapter syntactic analysis with space syntax analysis will be conducted to understand the symbolic aspects with respect to the spatial organisation.
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5.4.1 Segregation in Domestic Space Studies on Domestic space in this context reveal it to be very much influenced by the malefemale relationship and segregation of zones to ensure privacy for socio-cultural purpose. As seen from the literature review that the urban houses of Dhaka exhibit a collection of domains, e.g. male visitors/male and family/female (Imamuddin, 1982:2.21-2.40). The houses tend to be divided into two separate domains, one section is exclusively used by the inhabitants and the other is reserved for receiving male guests, thus the configuration appears to modulate the social dynamics of the house’s occupants by distancing the hosts from immediate contact with male guests. The front is the street facing side; the public side receives the guests and restricts them to a limited area. This frontal side is maintained and gives an impression of the owner of the house to the outsiders. The male activities were located at this outer zone. Traditional custom is to receive the male and female guests in separate areas of the house. Conceptually men are seen as strangers as far as household affairs are concerned. They are supposed to remain uninvolved or play passive role in the internal matters of the house. Socio-cultural rules and customs have confined women within the boundaries of the house and they are the back stage performers.(Imamuddin, 1982:2.21-2.40)
Entry penetration and location of the gendered spaces are two important aspects of spatial organisation to attain segregation in domestic space. Entry consideration will be discussed here and the location of gendered spaces will be addressed in the following chapter. In the Traditional introvert type plans31 entry played an important role in segregating the user according to gender in the house. Entry is through a verandah and it leads to outhouse32 that is used by the male members of the house to interact with the community (guests/Visitors) within the house. The main entry to houses was from the front road to the outer male zone devoted to guest and outsiders. Usually in urban houses of Dhaka a secondary entry was for female folks and service which was indirect in nature and led to the inner part of the house without crossing the outer public and male zone.
31
An introvert house is usually a collection of rooms around a courtyard, which is the focus of both spatial organisation and domestic activities. 32 In the traditional houses of Dhaka the room/space for interacting the community is termed as outhouse and in the contemporary apartments this is replaced by “living”.
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5.4.1.1 Foyer creating Segregation in Domestic Space From the family study it has been observed that the middle income group families of Dhaka are nuclear in structure having four family members generally (Figure 5.18: Household Size, Field Survey, 2012). Segregation among the male and female family member is very negligibly noted in these families. There exists a segregation concerning visitors with the female inhabitants which affects the privacy of the female inhabitants with respect to the visitors that demands segregation in the spatial organisation. Although a change in the frequency of visitor is notably observed still visitors interface play a significant role in determining segregation in the domestic space. Type of entries characterizes the visitor’s penetration inside the house and its visual interference causes lack of privacy. Considering this the entry situation of the studied apartments was studied. Mainly two types of entry penetration to the domestic space from the exterior lobby are seen in the middle income group apartments of Dhaka. These are concerned with the presence of foyer–that is an ante-space distributing access to the domestic space. When foyer is not present the access to the domestic spaces are directly to Living and Dining or two both from the exterior. Prior study shows that foyer suggests an in-between changing movement in a decision making space at the entry point. In many cases two or more separate pathways start from the foyer, leading to the family quarter and to the living room for entertaining guests or visitors. Presence of foyer create ring among the spaces and gives choice in access which impact greatly on the segregation of genders in the domestic space while entering. In some apartments these foyer are present but they do not create the ring and cannot provide choice in access. While conducting the survey and interview with the respondents‘ segregation created with entry’ was becoming emphasized by the respondents. In the study 44% samples were with foyer and remaining 56% of the sample was without foyer, where entry was to the living (28%) or dining (16%) or to both (12%) (Figure 5.30). The female heads were not satisfied with the entry situation , where she has to enter through the living room. 57% of the economically active and 38% of the economically non-active female heads asked for separation at entry with foyer so that the visitors cannot see the inner part of her house that is used mostly by female members of the house (shown in appendix 5.09).
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A number of female heads have closed one door where two doors to living and dining were provided (Figure 5.31). The respondent in C-5 has closed one door from lobby to living as she wants to control entry in her house by one door. In B-2, the dining and living both had access from the exterior lobby. The respondent has closed one door to dining permanently and feels for an entry foyer which will give access to the dining and living separately. Female head in D-7 is not happy with the entry and Instead of two separate doors she desires to have one entry that will distribute the visitor and the family members in the house. Apartment C- 1
ApartmentD-8,9
Figure 5.30: Foyer in medium sized apartments
C-5
D-7
B-2
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V - Verandah
Figure 5.31: Entries directly to the living and dining Table 5.13: Responses of the female heads regarding foyer based on survey, July 2012 Small apartments With foyer (44%) Not satisfied with size.
Medium apartments
Satisfied with the foyer. (C-1,11,D-8,9,11) 4%
Large Apartments
10% Satisfied with the foyer
20%
(B-1,3, 4,5,10,C-10,D-1,2,4,6)
Not satisfied with size
( 6%)
10%
(B-8,9,D-3)
(B-6,B-7)
Cannot segregate
( 4%)
(C-8,9) Without Needs separation at foyer entry (56%) (B-2,B-12, A-5, A-6,C-6)
10% Needs separation at entry 26% Needs separation at entry ( A-1,10,11,12,13,B-11,13, C-2,4,5,12,13,)
20%
(A-2,3,4,7,8,9,C-7, D-5,7,10)
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Foyer is present in 4% small compact apartments. Respondents of these small apartments, namely in B–6 and B–7, are not satisfied with the present foyer because of its size and lack of choice in access. Respondents in remaining 10% small compact apartments expressed their desire to have separation at the entry with foyer even when they are living in a compact small apartment. 10% medium sized apartments have foyer where the female heads are satisfied with the presence of the foyer. 26% Female heads in medium sized apartments expressed their desire to have foyer for separating visitor’s area. In A-1 the respondent feels strongly for separation at the entry as it reveals the total indoor space to the outsiders at the door. The female head in apartment C-2 is not satisfied with the entry situation of her house where she has to enter through the living (Figure 5.25). Foyer is present in 30% larger apartments. 20% respondents are satisfied with the performance of the foyer. 6% respondents are not satisfied with respect to its size and 4% respondents are not satisfied with respect to choice in access and expressed their desire for a foyer.
Apartment B-6
Apartment B-7
Figure 5.32: Foyer in small sized apartments
Apartment A-1
Apartment C-2
Figure 5.33: Foyer in medium sized apartments having entries directly to the living
Apartment D- 1,2
Apartment D-6
Figure 5.34: Foyer in Larger sized apartments
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Size and relationship with other spaces with foyer is important while creating segregation with it in the domestic space. In 10% apartments female heads are not satisfied with the foyer because of its compact size. Female head in Apartment D-3 feels that the foyer should be larger in size. She has shifted the dining to a bed room’s place as the existing dining was too congested. The foyer type plan in B-3 separates the inner spaces like bedroom kitchen from the visitor’s zone –the Living room and respondent in this apartment does not require extra curtain or any other means to maintain privacy in her domestic space (Figure 5.28). In C-8 foyer cannot segregate because of lack of choice in distribution of space from foyer (Figure 5.28). Family members have to enter the domestic space through living without having a choice in access.
Apartment D-3
Figure 5.35: Entries through compact sized foyer in apartment D-3
Apartment C-8
Apartment B-3
Figure 5.36: Entries through foyer having no choice in access in apartment C-8 and having Choice in access in apartment B-3.
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5.4.2 Privacy of the Family Members
Privacy issue has become a symbolic aspect in the organisation of domestic spaces. Privacy of the female members in a domestic environment is associated with the visibility aspect of the spaces used by the women from the outsiders/guest’s area. The accessibility both physical and visual is the measure of interference that determines privacy and it is associated with the visibility aspect of the spaces used by the women from the outsiders/guest’s area. The more a space is visible from the outsiders or visitor’s area the less privacy is ensured there as it is more intruded visually.
Privacy issue is dependent on the family structure. It was seen from the literature review that family size was larger and joint and extended type families were common in the traditional society. Study reveals that family size is becoming reduced and is mostly of nuclear type. This nuclear family structure is composed of father mother and their children and it is reducing the privacy interface among the family members. Interaction with the visitors and visual privacy from visitor’s area is a cultural issue in the urban society of Dhaka and maintained in the families. In the context of Dhaka the urban house form generated from the rural pattern and followed an introvert arrangement around courtyards that supported the socio-cultural and religious norms ensuring privacy of the domestic space with segregation of male and female zones.(Imamuddin 1982:2.10)
Privacy, the symbolic aspect, is studied as a focus in this study as they are related with the gender aspect in spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments. The spaces where visitors are entertained in the domestic space are related visually with the inner spaces. Female heads are concerned with the visibility aspect of the inner domestic spaces from the visitors’ zone with respect to privacy issue. The Visual character of the spaces will be discussed in chapter six to find out the privacy state of the studied plans and checked with the response of their corresponding female users.
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5.4.2.1 Need for Visual Privacy from Visitor’s Area Depending on the female head’s response to the questionnaire the need for privacy is calculated in the studied apartments and given in a table form in Appendix 5.8 In the studied apartments 90% economically non-active female heads prefer to have privacy in the domestic space from the visitor’s area. The 10% of the non-active female head is in favour of having an open living dining space as it is quite compact in arrangement. 67% of the economically active female heads prefer to have privacy in the domestic space from the visitor’s area. The 33% of the active female head who does not need visual separation from the visitor’s area do not spend the whole day in house and their works are being done by their household workers. They also prefer an open living dining without walls or barrier as their flats are very compact. Need Privacy
10%
0
0
33% 67% 90%
Response of economically non-active female heads regarding privacy
Response of economically active female heads regarding privacy
Figure 5.37: Privacy need in economically non-active and active female headed families
Depending on the openness of the visitor’s area female members take certain means to ensure visual privacy of the inner spaces from the formal male visitor’s area. Using curtain to protect privacy is adopted by the economically non-active female heads more than the active heads. Both economically active and non-active female heads prefer visual separation from the visitor’s zone. It is relative high in economically non active female heads.29% of the economically active female heads use curtain between the living and dining to protect visual privacy from the visitor’s area which is 56% in the case of economically non-active female heads.
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5% respondents in economically active families and 7% in economically non-active families preserve their privacy from visitors by avoiding the space while visitors are there. 33% respondents in economically active families and 17% respondents in economically non-active families cannot provide visual privacy in their apartments due to space compaction and arrangement of spaces. Only in 10% in economically non-active families privacy of the female members from the visitor’s area is ensured by plan. Does not need Privacy
33%
10%
Economically active
0
Plan ensures privacy
10%
Do not have Privacy
Economically non-active 33%
17% 5%
Achieve Privacy by avoiding
7% 29%
Achieve Privacy by using curtain
56% 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Figure 5.38: Comparison of privacy in two groups of female headed families
It was seen from a study by Guney (2007)that the control of permeability and visibility serves the need for privacy to regulate interpersonal interactions. Visibility of a space depends on the openness or the character of opening between the spaces. Thus from the study it was seen that privacy control mechanism varies depending on the type of living-dining condition. Earlier spatial study reveals three types of living-dining conditions in the small, medium and large MIG apartments in Dhaka.
Table 5.14: Use of curtain to protect privacy in small, medium and large apartments small
medium
large
separate
curtain
2% (C-1)
2% (A-7)
Liv-Din(10%)
no-curtain
4%(D-8,9)
2%(B-5)
Continuous
curtain
4%(C-2,A-13)
6%(C-7,8,9)
Liv-Din(36%)
no-curtain
attached
no-curtain
Liv-Din(54%)
curtain
2% (B-2) 10%(A-5,6,B6,7,12)
10%(A-1,11,12,C-3,13) 4%(B-11,13)
2% (C-6)
12%(A-10,C-4,5,11,12,D-11)
4%(A-8, D-5) 14%(B-1,3,8,9,D-1,2,10) 22%(A-2,3,4,9,B-4,10,C-10,D-3,4,6,7)
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Table 5.15: Need for Visual Privacy in Separate living -dining condition Size Medium Large Medium
Ref D-8 D-9 A-7 B-5 C-1
Status non-active non-active non-active non-active Active
Yes
No 1 1 1 1 1
curtain location no curtain no curtain no curtain Foyer -dining no curtain
Apartment B-5
Apartment D-9
Figure 5.39: Privacy in families with separate living and dining
Table 5.16: Need for Visual Privacy in Continuous living –dining condition Size Small
Medium
Large Small Medium Large
Ref A-5 B-2 B-6 B-7 A-1 A-12 C-2 C-3 A-8 D-5 A-6 B-12 A-11 A-13 C-13 C-7 C-8 C-9
Status non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active
Yes 1 1 1
No
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
curtain location no curtain Living-dining no curtain no curtain no curtain no curtain Living-dining no curtain no curtain no curtain no curtain no curtain no curtain Dining-cir no curtain no curtain no curtain no curtain
Apartment C-2
Apartment B-6
Figure 5.40: Privacy in families with continuous living and dining
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Table 5.17: Need for Visual Privacy in Attached living –dining condition Size small
medium
Large
Ref C-6 A-10 C-4 C-5 C-11 C-12 D-11 A-2 A-4 A-9 B-1 B-4 B-9 C-10 D-6 B-11 B-13 A-3 B-3 B-8 B-10 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-7 D-10
Status non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active
Yes 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
No
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
curtain location Living-Dining Living-Dining Living-Dining Living-Dining Living-Dining Living-Dining Living-Foyer Living-Dining Living-Dining Living-Dining no curtain Living-Dining no curtain Living-Dining Living-Dining no curtain no curtain Living-Dining no curtain no curtain Living-Dining no curtain no curtain Living-Dining Living-Dining Living-Dining no curtain
A-2 C-4
B-1
Figure 5.41: Privacy in families with attached living and dining
In 10% small apartments separate living dining is absent. Separate living dining is found highest in the medium sized apartments where use of curtain is less. From the interview of the respondents it was seen that the female heads are satisfied with privacy aspect in their domestic space where living dining are separate. In D-8 and D-9 the female heads are satisfied with the separate living dining and does not need curtain to protect visual privacy of the inner private spaces.
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36% of the studied apartments are of continuous living-dining type. Respondents in 10% of the small apartments, 10% in medium apartments and 4% in large apartments cannot use curtain because of the space configuration. The configuration of the common living dining makes it difficult to use curtain even if the female heads are willing to preserve their privacy from the visitor’s area. In case of continuous living dining spaces the dining is not separated from living and visually intruded from the living. 56% (10out of 18) respondents wanted to use curtain between living and dining space but could not use it for lack of provision. In B-2 the dining and living both have access from the exterior lobby. The female head feels strongly for an entry foyer space which will give access to the dining and living separately and preserve the privacy of the inner spaces for this reason added curtain between living and dining. In B-6 there is no provision of using curtain and respondent feels uncomfortable when a visitor is in her living room. Respondent in B-12 does not prefer the common living dining space. She stressed upon the visual separation at the entrance so that the visitors cannot see the inner part of her house that is used mostly by female members of the house. She desires separate Living and Dining with a Foyer.
In Attached living dining the two spaces is connected at one side. 54% of the studied apartments are of attached living-dining type. Respondents use curtain to protect privacy from the living visitor’s area in 34% of these type apartments. In B-11, the respondent does not prefer the common living dining space and wishes for visual separation at the entrance. In A-2, the dining and living both have access from the exterior lobby .The respondent has closed one entry door from lobby to dining and used curtain between dining and living to preserve privacy of the inner spaces. In C-4,entry is throughthe living and the attached part of living dining provides curtain rail but for the compactly arranged rooms around dining the female head is not in favour of using curtain between living and dining space .In B-1 the dining and living both have access from foyer. The female head did not use curtain between dining and living to preserve privacy of the inner spaces.
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5.4.3 Dominance of the Female Heads
Dominance is related with the power and control over the domestic space of a culture. It was seen from the study and the literature review that dominance over adjacent spaces by the female members depends with the activity pattern of that space. Historical perspective has revealed that in many countries the kitchen was visually the focus of all family activities and there was no explicit spatial demarcation between family leisure and housework inside the home. During this century the kitchen becomes more separate, solely for housework. Study reveals that contemporary women living in apartments perform outdoor activities along with their regular family duties. At home the female heads work in the kitchen and dining space and prefers to see the spaces around while she is working in the home to have a control over the activities happening around her. Visual Dominance of the female head over their adjacent spaces depends on the visual control character of their working space in the house. The intention for observing from their working space is 71% for economically active female heads and 75% for economically non-active female heads.
Table 5.18: Response of female heads regarding visual dominance Economically Non-Active
Economically Active
Seek visual dominance
75%
71%
Does not seek visual dominance
25%
29%
From activity pattern analysis it was seen that economically non-active female heads spend more time in the kitchen. Appendix 5.9 shows the activities and requirement of the female heads in the two major groups according to participation in economic activities. 41% of economically non-active female heads want to observe from the kitchen while working. 31% of the economically non-active female heads want to observe from dining while cooking preparation, teaching children and studying. Only 3% of the economically non-active female heads want to observe from bed room while working.
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Economically active female heads stay long hours outside the house. 29% of the economically active respondents answered that they do not have to control others activity while they are at home. When they are at home they spend short periods in the kitchen. 29% of the economically active female heads want to observe from the kitchen while working. 33% of the economically active female heads want to observe from dining while teaching children and studying. 9% of the economically active female heads want to observe from bed room while working.
Economically non-active female head
Economically active Female head
3% 9% 24% 31%
Does not have to control from kitchen from Dining
41% from bedroom
29% 33% 29%
Figure 5.42: The intention for observing from their working space in economically active and nonactive female heads
Table 5.19 : Reasons for visual control of the female head Economically non-active female head ( Total 29) Economically active female head ( Total 21)
Reason Wants to see from dining (while teaching children, cooking preparation ) Wants to see from Bed room Wants to see from kitchen Does not have to control others activity Wants to see from dining (while teaching children, cooking preparation ) Wants to see from Bed room Wants to see from kitchen Does not have to control others activity
respo 31% 03% 41% 24% 33% 09% 29% 29%
The spatial character of this kitchen and dining from where the female heads want to observe things around them will be studied syntactically in the next chapter to see whether layout pattern has an influence on the control factor that supports activities of the female heads in a particular space.
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The intention for observing from their working space is higher for both economically active and non-active female heads. Use of dining is higher in the economically non-active female heads and they want to see things around while they are working in dining space. The economically active female heads also prefer to observe things from their working area dining mostly. Activity pattern of the female heads and their preference to see around while working in the economically non-active female heads is higher from kitchen. From activity analysis of the female heads it was seen that use of kitchen is higher in the economically non-active female heads. They want to observe things around the kitchen while they are working. In case of the economically active female heads observance from kitchen is lower as they spend less time in the kitchen while they are at home. The spatial organisation of the kitchen does not support this observation nature of female heads in the middle income group apartments. The female heads were interrogated regarding open type kitchen to overcome this problem in their domestic space. A few respondents showed positive response regarding having open type kitchen for better control over the spaces where her children are while she is working.
17% of the economically non-active and 29%
economically active female heads are in favour of having open kitchen rest of them prefer separate kitchen with traditional system of cooking. In B-5 the respondent is an educated housewife who looks after her children and their studies very seriously. She wishes to have an open type kitchen for better control over the spaces where her children are while she is working. In B-6, the respondent wishes to have an open type kitchen for better control over the spaces where her children are while she is working and 53 year old educated housewife in D-5 wishes to have open type kitchen for ease of work.
For the economically active female heads this was more demanding as they work shorter period in the kitchen. In B-3 respondent has reduced internal walls to make it open and prefers open Kitchen. Female head in D-7goes to work and returns in the afternoon. At home she works in the kitchen and dining space and prefers to see the spaces around while she is working in the home to have a control over the activities happening around her.
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5.4.4 Discussion on Symbolic dimension of apartments
This part of study deals with gender-related symbolic expressions on the spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments with the responses of the female heads. The study leads to finding out the change of requirements of the contemporary women regarding domestic spatial organisation. Socio-spatial study of fifty contemporary middle income group apartments in this section is for investigating the gender aspects consideration. A brief physical description of the apartments, family profile of the occupants of the studied apartments with its female head’s perception prepares the contextual situation of the contemporary middle income group apartments.
Physically in architecture movement through space gives rise mainly to two types of spaces. Function spaces are designed for activities to take place. In this study the function spaces are found to be of different kinds holding different activities. Thus the core house in the middle income group is mainly composed of the basic function spaces like living, dining, kitchen, two or three bedrooms, verandahs and toilets. In the larger MIG apartment foyer, circulation and sometime family living as an extension of formal living is found to be present in addition to the basic components of the core house. Living in contemporary urban apartments is for the outsiders and guests. Dining is used for eating and doing other household works. Due to compact layout in the contemporary apartments, dining acts as a common shared space. Dining spaces are visible from the living spaces in these apartments through their openings and influences upon privacy of the female members of the family. Kitchen is a working space which is mostly used by female members of the family. Bed rooms are for sleeping and performing different activities. Transition space are composed of circulation and foyer which suggests a movement in a goal oriented space or a junction type of space as a decision making space. Foyer is an intervening change in movement. Foyer creates segregation of the inhabitants and the visitors in a domestic space with choice in access to the domestic spaces and circulation gives access to the inner function holding rooms. Foyer, which is an entrance space, is found in 44% cases which are mostly larger (1200-1500 SFT).Circulation like corridor is present in the medium sized (10011200 sft) apartments mostly. In larger and smaller apartments the presence of corridor is less than the medium sized apartments. In apartments, where circulation is not present, dining distributes access through it to the function holding spaces.
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From the family study we find the socio-economic status of the respondents that reveals their role in their respective houses. Taking participation in economic activity of the middle income group women of Dhaka living in contemporary apartments as a determinant, two types of respondents were found. 52% of the respondents are economically non active and 48% are economically active. The female head of the middle income group families, are found to be educated and majority of them having higher education above graduate level. In the case of studied urban houses of Dhaka a development in status of women is evident that can be interpreted by the change of education status and women’s participation in the economic activity rate.
Activity pattern Study reveals the different types of activities that take place in the domestic spaces in Dhaka. The spaces in the apartments are used differently by the male and female members of the family according to their activity pattern. Gendered and shared spaces are one of the categories conceptualized with the concentration and segregation of the male and female members of the household. Some spaces are used by the male members extensively and some by female members extensively. From the study we can categorize the domestic spaces in three groups: • Shared space
– Dining,Living and Family living are shared spaces and located centrally.
• Gendered space –Symbolically Living is Male gendered space as it is resolved with the interface between visitors and inhabitants based on male and female segregation in this context and related with the entry conditions. Kitchen, master bed rooms are Female gendered space and they are located further away from the entry . • Transition space - Entry, Circulation are transition spaces those act as joining or movement spaces between the shared and gendered spaces. The impact of transition spaces will be studied syntactically in the later chapter to find out its influence on spatial organisation with respect to gendered space concept. This division of space as gendered or shared is governed culturally. Domestic spaces can be resolved into two categories according to its extent of relation: 1) Family domain among inhabitants and 2) Extended domain among the inhabitants and the visitors.
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Living space in the contemporary middle income group apartments are used in a compact way due to the compaction of space. Unlike the traditional domestic spaces this living space in the contemporary middle income group apartment has a dual character. In the contemporary middle income group apartments, due to compaction of spaces for bringing the apartment into affordable range of the middle income groups, Living is serving for holding other activities. The use of living is not only for receiving guests and used by male members of the family. Study reveals that it is being used by both male and female members of the family nearly equally for other purposes. Male heads spend up to 10% of their activity period in living and economically non-active female heads spend 11%-20% activity period in living and economically active female heads spend 0%-10% activity period in living. Considering the activity of the living room it is found as a shared room for both male and female members of the family. In the context of Dhaka middle income group families interact with visitors mainly in the Living. In the traditional society living is observed as a gendered space which is dominated by male members of the family. Living room, which is used for entertaining the visitors and for community interaction is a formal space and used by the male members mostly. There exists a segregation concerning visitors with the female inhabitants which affects the privacy of the female inhabitants with respect to the visitors that demands segregation in the spatial organisation. Considering extended domain living is symbolically a male gendered space. Similarly Master bed room is used for resting and sleeping by the male and female members. Activity pattern identifies it as a shared space as both male and female members of the family use it. In addition bedroom is used for working and interacting with female and family visitors by the female heads. Considering female heads’ activity and domain, Master bed room is restricted for female visitors and in this respect Master bed room is symbolically a female gendered space. From the activity pattern we see that Kitchen is used for cooking solely and used by the female members in the families. In the study it was found that cooking is done by the female members. Male participation in cooking is very negligible. Thus the working or service zone kitchen in contemporary apartment is female gendered space. Some spaces in a domestic space are solely shared space. Dining and, family living spaces are used by the both male and female members of the family and are shared spaces.
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Segregation in Domestic Space in the context of Dhaka has been a symbolic issue. Domestic spaces in this context were very much influenced by the male-female relationship. From the family study it has been observed that the middle income group families of Dhaka are nuclear in structure having four family members generally. Considering the family domain, segregation among the male and female family member is very negligibly noted in these families. Study reveals that segregation in the domestic space is maintained in the extended domain with the visitors. Considering extended domain living room is for the outsiders and visitors. The entry type characterizes the visitor’s penetration inside the house. In the Traditional introvert type plans entry played an important role in segregating the user according to gender in the house. Entry is through a verandah and it leads to outhouse that is used by the male members of the house to interact with the community (guests/Visitors) within the house. The main entry to houses was from the front road to the outer male zone devoted to guest and outsiders. Usually in urban houses of Dhaka a secondary entry was for female folks and service which was indirect in nature and led to the inner part of the house without crossing the outer public and male zone. Type of entries characterizes the visitor’s penetration inside the house. Considering this the entry situation of the studied apartments was studied and mainly two types of entry penetration to the domestic space from the exterior lobby are seen in the middle income group apartments of Dhaka. These are concerned with the presence of foyer, an ante-space, distributing access to the domestic space. While conducting the survey and interview with the respondents‘ segregation created with entry’ was becoming emphasized by the respondents. The foyer in the apartment gives choice in entering the house, without intruding the inner spaces, by the visitors. Size and relationship with other spaces with foyer is important while creating segregation with it in the domestic space. From the questionnaire interview with the respondent it was seen that the female head is not satisfied with the entry situation of her house where she has to enter through the living room. 57% of the economically active and 38% of the economically non-active female heads responded for separation at entry with foyer. The respondents in the apartments where foyer is present are satisfied with the privacy of the female gendered spaces from the visitor’s area. Where entry is to the living or dining directly the female heads expressed a desire to have separate entries so that the visitors cannot see the inner part of her house that is used mostly by female members of the house. Some expressed desires of having separate access to Living and Dining with a Foyer.
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Privacy issue has become a symbolic aspect in the organisation of domestic spaces. In the context of Dhaka the urban house form generated from the rural pattern and followed an introvert arrangement around courtyards that supported the socio-cultural and religious norms ensuring privacy of the domestic space with segregation of male and female zones(Imamuddin 1982:2.10).Privacy, the symbolic aspect, is studied as a focus in this study as they are related with the gender aspect in spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments. Privacy of the female members in a domestic environment is associated with the visibility aspect of the spaces used by the women from the outsiders/guest’s area. The accessibility both physical and visual is the measure of interference that determines privacy and it is associated with the visibility aspect of the spaces used by the women from the outsiders/guest’s area. The more a space is visible from the outsiders or visitor’s area the less privacy is ensured there as it is more intruded visually.
Both economically active and non-active female heads prefer visual separation from the visitor’s zone. It is relative high in economically non active female heads. In the studied apartments 90% economically non-active and 67% of the economically active female heads prefer to have privacy in the domestic space from the visitor’s area. Depending on the openness of the visitor’s area female members take certain means to ensure visual privacy of the inner spaces from the formal male visitor’s area. Using curtain to protect privacy is adopted by the economically nonactive female heads more than the active heads. Female heads are satisfied with the separate living dining and does not need curtain to protect visual privacy of the inner private spaces.36% of the studied apartments are of continuous living-dining type. The configuration of the common living dining makes it difficult to use curtain even if the female heads are willing to preserve their privacy from the visitor’s area. 54% of the studied apartments are of attached living-dining type. Using curtain to protect privacy is highest in this group.
Visual Dominance from their working space is higher in both economically active and non-active female heads. Both economically active and non-active female heads want to see things around while they are working in dining space. Activity pattern of the female heads and their preference to see around while working in the economically non-active female heads is higher from kitchen. From activity analysis of the female heads it was seen that use of kitchen is higher in the economically non-active female heads as they stay long hours in kitchen. In case of the economically active female heads observance from kitchen is lower as they spend only up to 10% of their daily activity period in the kitchen while they are at home.
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The study of domestic spatial organisation and its physical setting is an approach that directly addresses the impacts of social phenomena in built form. Houses usually encode a wealth of social and symbolic information which constitute a shared framework of spatial patterns. The symbolic dimensions of the house are related with the socio-cultural contents. Symbolic aspects segregation, privacy and dominance that have been essential cultural aspects in the traditional domestic spatial organisation seem to exist in the contemporary middle income group apartments. In the context of Dhaka domestic spaces were very much influenced by the malefemale relationship and segregation of zones to ensure privacy for socio-cultural purpose. Due to rapid urbanization and constraint of space in urban areas, domestic spaces have undergone modifications and have become compact to bring the apartment within affordable range of the middle income group families. Symbolic issues were negotiated with the compactness of the apartments. Middle income group female heads are neither ignoring the traditional symbolic aspects nor are they making the new trend as their own. In their domestic arena they follow the traditional gender segregation. With the family members they are decreasing its level but maintaining it in the extended visitor’s domain. Although their socio-economic status is raised from that of the traditional society still they seek for segregation from the male visitors. Similarly protecting visual privacy is still being practiced in this socio-cultural context. Highly educated female heads whether economically active or non-active still preserve their privacy in their domestic space by various means. The only aspect that is maintained in a positive way is dominance in the spatial organisation. Activity within the house and outside the house has increased the responsibilities of women in their domestic space. Both economically active and non-active female heads have to do certain household chores and these are creating their dominance in the domestic spatial organisation. Thus they prefer to observe from their working space in their home to have a control over the activities happening around them. This concern demands more openness in the domestic spaces to have better visual control. Thus their symbolic perception of segregation, privacy and dominance intention is creating conflict with each other. Symbolic perception tends them to seek isolation dominance intention tends to have more visual control. A balance in these two requirements will create an ideal situation where contemporary middle income group women will feel comfortable in their domestic world.
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Chapter 06: Spatial
Analysis of the MIG Apartments
6.0 Introduction 6.1 Spatial Analysis Considering Permeability 6.1.1
General Configurational Properties of the MIG apartments
6.1.2
Choice of movement
6.1.3
Spatial Relationship Considering Depth
6.1.4
Integration of Spaces in MIG Apartments
6.1.4.1 Integration Considering Transition Space 6.1.4.2 Segregation Considering Status 6.1.5
Discussion
6.2 Spatial analysis considering Visibility 6.2.1
Visual integration and its Order
6.2.2
Visual Integration considering Living-Dining
6.2.3
Status influencing on Visual Privacy
6.2.4
Visual Control and its Order
6.2.5
Visual Control Considering the Transition space
6.2.6
Status Influencing on Dominance
6.2.7
Discussion
6.3 Conclusion
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6.0
Introduction
Domestic spaces possess many symbolic and cultural dimensions besides being a physical shelter. Spatial organisation of the domestic space is a physical manifestation of the activity and cultural values and they carry cultural information in their material form and space configuration (Hanson, 1998; Oliver, 1987; Lawrence, 1993). The cultural symbolic aspects of the middle income group are expressed in their domestic spaces and they are identifiable with the pattern of spatial organisation that gives a picture of the social relations of the inhabitants. Due to the socio-economic change in the female users, the spatial organisation of the contemporary MIG apartments in Dhaka shows a changed living pattern today where the gender aspects are addressed in a way different from the prevailing cultural practices. To understand this change in socio-economic status and its consequent impact on the pattern of space in contemporary middle income group apartments in Dhaka a study of the spatial organisation focusing gender aspect is necessary.
In the built environment an order of the space is created and according to Hillier and Hanson, this ordering of space in building is really about the ordering of relations between people (Hillier and Hanson, 1984:1-2). Space Syntax33, which is an approach developed for analysing spatial configurations, helps to explore this ordering of space and interpret the spatial and symbolic dimension of MIG apartments. The main proposition of syntax analysis is that social relations and events express themselves through spatial configuration. It aims to describe spatial models and to represent these models in numerical and graphical form.
In first part of the analysis Justified permeability graph (JPG)is used for analysing the nature of permeability in the domestic space using ‘depth’ and ‘integration’ as variables to calculate the characteristics of gendered spaces. In the later part the Visibility graph analysis (VGA) is undertaken to interpret the privacy using ‘visual integration’ and dominance factor using 'visual control’ of the spatial organisation. From the syntactic analysis the non-measurable symbolic aspects will be quantified and compared with the questionnaire survey of the contemporary MIG women.
33
The primary hypothesis of space syntax analysis is that the topological structure of space is a fundamental mean by which society constitutes itself, and thus, the spatial patterns of buildings both embody and shape social patterns.[Hillier and Hanson, 1984; Hanson 1998;Hillier, Hanson and Graham,1987].
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6.1 Spatial Analysis Considering Permeability Hillier and Hanson demonstrated, from the theoretical premises, a set of related basic rules of combination capable of generating spatial patterns that can be expressed mathematically. According to Hanson (1998), spatial relations exist where there is any type of link between two spaces. Configuration exists when the relations that exist between two spaces are changed according to how we relate each to a third configurational descriptions, therefore, deal with the way in which a system of spaces is related together to form a pattern. Morphological studies try to clarify these configurational properties and their meanings by mathematical and graphical analysis. Hillier and Hanson analyzed the morphological characteristics of a plan layout with the help of graphs called “justified access graphs” as the basis for structural and syntactic analysis (Hillier and Hanson, 1988). The analysis in this section in the present study deals chiefly with the “justified graph” which is drawn to clarify the permeability (interconnections between spaces) patterns, and to find properties of ringyness (the degree of route choice from one space to another). In the procedure adopted justified graphs from the outside have been drawn for each house. The basic syntactic values were calculated automatically by using a software application "Jass" developed for this purpose at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. The first step of configurational analysis is to transcribe each of the house plans into the form of an access graph, in order to clarify the disposition of the rooms and the pattern of permeability among them. Each effective space is represented by a point. Here the ‘space’ is defined by the functions rather by physical boundaries. Hence a space has been regarded as a space designated for a particular activity. Areas that are not rectangular in shape such as ‘U’ or ‘L’ shape for example, but used for a single activity has been considered as one space. Rooms with multiple functions for example living and dining area with no demarcation of boundary in between but where different activities happen in designated areas within the same geometrically bounded space has been taken as two spaces. Doorways and other openings between adjacent spaces and circulation routes are shown by lines linking points.
The transcription begins from the exterior of the apartments which is a stair and lift lobby space from where each apartment is accessed. This is shown as a blue point to differentiate it from the interior point spaces. Gendered spaces in the configuration are shown as a red circles and
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shared spaces are shown with yellow circles to differentiate in the graph. Spaces like toilet, verandahs which hold personal activities are shown with purple circles in the graph.
Plan A-1
Plan B-1
Depth 05 Depth 04 Depth 03 Depth 02 Depth 01 Depth 0
J- graph of A-1
J-graph of B-1
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V - Verandah
Figure 6.01: J graphs of Apartments(drawn with JASS software)
In space syntax theories configurational variables ‘depth’ and ‘rings’ turned out to be fundamental properties
of architectural space configuration, and also the means by which
architecture can carry culture (Hanson1998:27).Accepting that topologically different types of space have quite different potentials for occupation and movement, the spaces that make up the justified permeability graph can be divided into four topological types (Hillier, 1996: 318-319) namely a type spaces with a single link; b type spaces are thoroughfares-with more than one link; c type spaces lie on a ring and d-type spaces are junctions for two or more rings. This division of the spaces that make up the graph into four topological types is used to illustrate the property of choice and depth in the studied houses examined through their justified graphs. The justified graph is used to check the concept of the gendered space by checking segregation and integration of spaces and their depth to locate the gendered spaces in the spatial organisation.
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6.1.1 General Configurational Properties of the MIG Apartments Fifty contemporary middle income group apartments in Dhaka were analysed syntactically. Most of the floor plans of the houses were sketched during site observation and field visit. Later spatial analysis was conducted on these plans with “Jass” software to find out the J-graphs of the MIG apartments. To understand the spatial properties of these MIG apartments the graphs were studied considering the number of spaces and their morphological characteristics. From the physical study of these apartments it was seen that spaces in the apartments vary according to the size of the apartments.14% apartments (shown in Figure 6.02) are smaller (800-1000 sft) having 9 to 12 numbers of spaces. Two apartments(A-5, A-6),make tree-like configuration, where transition space is absent at the entry and one enters directly to the living leading to dining from the exterior lobby space. Dining acts as a node, distributing access from it to the bedrooms and kitchen. Only in two small cases (B-6 and B-7) foyer is provided but it is very compact. Choice in access in difficult in B-6 where foyer leads to living only and in B-7 Dining which is a shared space act as a node distributing movement to other spaces through it. Circulation is introduced in the central position of the spatial organisation in B-2, B-12 and C-6. Circulation acts as node in these apartments. In B-12 and C-6, connection with the verandah and bedrooms through an intervening transition space creates ring and gives choice in movement which helps to protect the privacy of the female gendered spaces. In the small apartments the cell like spaces are mostly terminal spaces and are segregated in the spatial organisation. From a table in Appendix 6.02 the different types of spaces in the small, medium and large apartments are seen. The gendered spaces (living, bedroom) in the small apartments are mostly (in 72% cases) of b-type space. These spaces are connected with other spaces like attached toilet and verandah. These create a group of spaces that are approached from the one room making it a-type of space isolated in the configuration. 58% kitchen is cell like a-type space and 42% kitchen those have verandah with it makes it b-type space but the whole kitchen–verandah package is isolated in the spatial organisation having the quality of a-type space. Dining the shared space in the small apartments are of b-type mostly (72%) and in some cases (28%) it is c-type when choice in movement is there within the spaces connecting the dining. Transition spaces which are rarely present in the small apartments are of b-type or c-type. Thus it can be concluded from the study that in small MIG apartments that shared space dining is b-type and gendered spaces like kitchen, bed rooms and living are of atype.
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Table 6.01: Spatial characteristics of the small apartments Size
9001000 (7)
Apartment B-2 B-12 A-5 A-6 C-6 B-6 B-7
No of spaces 9 9 10 10 11 12 12
Max Depth 4 3 3 3 4 4 3
Mean Depth (Avr 1.98 ) 2.00 1.20 1.64 1.55 2.00 2.46 1.85
Configuration Type Tree Ringy Tree Tree Ringy Tree Ringy
Ring location
Ex-Liv-Din
Bed-cirFoyer-Liv-
Table 6.02: Percentage of types of spaces in small apartments Space type a-type space b-type space Gendered space Living (72%) M Bed (72%) Kitchen ( 58%) Kitchen (42%) Shared space Dining (72%) Foyer (14%) Circulation (14%)
Transition space
Verandah ( 86%) Toilet
c-type space Living (28%) M Bed (28%) Dining
(28%)
Foyer (14%) Circulation (28%) Verandah (14%)
(100%) A-6
Ringy type
Without Transition
A-5
Cir-Bed-Ver-bed
B-7
Ringy type
B-2
B-12
Ringy type
With Transition(circulation)
With Transition(Foyer)
B-6
C-6
Ringy type
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah
Figure 6.02: J graph of the small MIG apartments
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36% of the studied medium sized apartments (within 1001-1200 sft) have 11 to 16 numbers of spaces (Figure 6.03).Three medium sized apartments do not have transition space in their spatial organisation. C-4 has no transition space and dining acts as the node to the internal spaces. A connection with the verandah and bedrooms give choice in movement among the two bedrooms without crossing the dining which is a shared space.C-5 is a shallow ringy type configuration having choice in the access with two entries to living and dining. Dining here is the node to the internal spaces. In C-12 exterior leads to the dining directly and dining here is the node to the internal spaces connecting 5 spaces. Instead of circulation a family living space that is accessed from the dining acts as the second node connecting two internal spaces. C-1,D-8,D-9 have tree-like configuration where foyer acts as a node to the exterior and living, guest bed room and dining spaces. Dining acts as another node to the female gendered spaces. The foyer in these apartments do not create ring among the spaces. In D-11 and C-11 foyer creates ring in living and dining spaces.
A-1,A-10, A-11,B-13,C-2,C- 3,C-13 are with tree-like configurations and shared space dining acts as a node connecting living, kitchen, toilet and circulation. Circulation acts as another node, where branching starts from the circulation, with 4 to 6 connections, which is accessed from dining. Circulation and dining which is shared space act as the node in these apartments. All the apartments in this group have tree like configuration except B-13, which has a ring in the living and dining spaces. Dining acts as the node and leads to circulation or family living space, that connects the female gendered spaces in the configurations. Table 6.03: Spatial characteristics of the medium apartments size
Apartment
1001-1200 (18)
C-1 C-4 C-5 A-1 A-10 C-11 C-12 A-11 C-2 C-3 C-13 A-12 A-13 B-11 D-11 B-13 D-8 D-9
No of
11 11 11 12 12 12 12 13 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 15 16 16
Max
3 3 2 4 3 5 3 3 4 4 3 3 2 4 4 3 4 4
MD (AVR 1.98)
Configuration Type
1.50 1.75 1.00 2.15 1.69 2.46 1.46 2.29 2.50 2.14 1.86 2.00 1.43 2.20 1.93 1.75 2.24 2.24
Tree Ringy Ringy Tree Tree Ringy Tree Tree Tree Tree Tree Tree Ringy Tree Ringy Ringy Tree Tree
Ring location
Din-BedEx-Liv-Din Cir-Liv-Din
Ex-Liv-Din Foyer-LivLiv-Din-
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Tree like
Ringy C-5
Without Transition
C-12
C-4
C-11 C-1
D-11
With Transition( Foyer)
D-8,9
A-10
A-11
C-2
C-3
C-13
B-13
With Transition (Circulation)
A-1,
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah
Figure 6.03: J graph of the medium MIG apartments
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In medium sized apartments toilets, verandah are of a-type space. Living the gendered space is a-type in 39% medium apartments and can be segregated in the spatial organisation the rest of the living spaces are connected to other spaces and in 28% these have choice in movement. Master Bed room and Kitchen are of b-type spaces having more than two connections. Connection with the verandah makes 72% of the kitchen in these apartments to have b-type space although they are in cell like arrangement in the spatial organisation and a-type terminal spaces with maximum privacy and segregation.72% Dining (shared space) in the medium apartments are of b-type and in some cases (28%) it is c-type when choice in movement is there within the spaces connecting the dining. Table 6.04: Percentage of types of spaces in medium apartments Space type
a-type space
b-type space
c-type space
Gendered space
Living
( 39%)
Living M Bed
Kitchen
( 28%)
Living (33%) M Bed (94%) Kitchen (72%) Dining (72%) F. Living (22%) Foyer (22%) Circulation (55%)
Shared space Transition space Verandah ( 89%) Toilet (100%)
(28%) (06%)
Dining (28%) F. Living (06%) Foyer (06%) Circulation (06%) Verandah (11%)
50% of the studied flats in large apartments (within 1201-1470 sft) have 12 to 17 numbers of spaces(Figure 6.04). A-2, A-3 has shallow tree like configuration. Entry to both living and dining from the exterior creates a ring at the entrance. This helps to preserve the privacy of the internal spaces from the living room. Dining acts as the node to the internal spaces. A-9 with a shallow tree-like configuration. D-7 is a shallow type configuration where branching starts from dining at depth 1.In D-10 foyer is absent and entry from exterior is to the living. Living leads to the dining and then to family living. Foyer at the entry in the twelve large apartments (B-1,B-3,B-4,B-5,B-8 ,B-10,C-9,C-10,D-1,D2,D-3,D-4,D-6 ) create ring in the living, dining and foyer spaces and create choice in access. B4 has foyer which acts as a node with 3 connections among the male gendered spaces and shared space. Dining the shared space is the next node with 5 connections that connects the female gendered spaces through a circulation. Circulation here acts like a spine to connect the internal female gendered spaces with the shared spaces. In C-8 and B-9 foyer is present but it does not create ring among the gendered and shared spaces at the entry.A-4, A-7, D-5 and A-8 have circulation in the spatial organisation.
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Tree like
Ringy
A-9
A-2
A-3
C-7
D-7
B-4
C-10
D-6
D-3,4
Without Transition
D-10
C-8
D-1,2
With Transition( Foyer)
B-9
D-5
A-8
A-4
With Transition (Circulation)
A-7
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah
Figure 6.04:J graph of the large MIG apartments
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Table 6.05: Spatial characteristics of the large apartments size
12011500 (25)
Configuration Apartment No of spaces Max Depth MD(Avr 1.98)) 1.92 Type A-3 12 3 Tree
C-8 D-5 D-7 A-9 C-7 C-9 C-10 A-2 A-7 A-8 B-1 B-3 D-1 D-2 D-10 B-8 B-9 B-10 A-4 B-4 B-5 D-3 D-4 D-6
12 12 12 13 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 16 16 17 16 16 16
4 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 4 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 3 2 4 4 5 5 4
2.46 1.62 1.00 1.29 1.14 1.93 1.71 1.07 2.53 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.27 2.27 2.13 2.31 2.94 1.94 1.47 2.47 2.61 3.00 3.00 2.41
Tree Tree Ringy Tree Ringy Ringy Ringy Ringy Ringy Ringy Ringy Ringy Ringy Ringy Ringy Ringy Tree Ringy Ringy Ringy Tree Ringy Ringy Ringy
Ring location
Ex-Liv-Din Din-Bed-VerFoyer-Liv-Din Foyer-Liv-Din Ex-Liv-Din Din-Bed-VerCir-Bed-VerFoyer-Liv-Din Foyer-Liv-Din Foyer-Liv-Din Foyer-Liv-Din F.Liv-Bed-VerFoyer-Liv-Din
F.Liv-BedF.Liv-Bed-
Foyer-Liv-Din Ex-Liv-Din Foyer-Liv-Din Foyer-Liv-Din Foyer-Liv-Din Foyer-Liv-Din
F.Liv-BedF.Liv-Bed-
In the larger apartments the foyer increases choice of movement in living, dining areas and makes these spaces c-type. Living the gendered space is a-type in 20% apartments and can be segregated in the spatial organisation the rest of the Living are connected to other spaces and in 60% these have choice in movement. Master Bed room and Kitchen are b-type spaces having more than two connections. Connection with the verandah makes the kitchen and master bed room in these apartments to have b-type space although they are in cell like arrangement in the spatial organisation and a-type terminal spaces with maximum privacy and segregation. 32% Dining, being shared space, are of b-type and most of the dining (68%) is ctype where choice in movement exists within the spaces connecting the dining. Table 6.06: Percentage of types of spaces in large apartments Space type Gendered space
a-type space Living (20%)
Shared space F.Living( 08%) Transition space Verandah ( 60%) Toilet (100%)
b-type space Living ( 20%) M Bed ( 68%) Kitchen (100%) Dining ( 32%) F. Living( 16%) Foyer ( 12%) Circulation( 28%) Verandah ( 04%)
c-type space Living (60%) M Bed (32%) Dining (68%) F.Living( 24%) Foyer (48%) Circulation (04%) Verandah (36%)
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Concluding on the general configurational properties of the MIG apartments the following points can be claimed from the study: • In most of the small compact apartments transition space is absent at the entry and one enters directly to the living from the exterior lobby space. Dining which is a shared space act as a node, distributing access from it to the female gendered spaces (bedrooms and kitchen). In some cases verandah or an intervening transition space creates ring with the bedrooms and gives choice in movement which helps to protect the privacy of the female gendered spaces. • Most of the medium apartments have tree-like configurations and shared space dining acts as a node connecting living, kitchen, toilet and circulation. ‘Shared space dining’ acts as the node to the internal spaces in configurations those do not have transition space in their spatial organisation. although some of the foyers do not create ring among the spaces, but most of the medium apartments where foyer is present, ’transition space foyer’ acts as a node to the exterior and living, guest bed room and dining spaces . ‘Shared space dining’ acts as another node to the female gendered spaces. Where circulation is present in the configuration, circulation and dining which is shared space act as the node. • In the larger apartments, foyer at the entry create ring in the living, dining and foyer spaces and provides choice in access. Dining the shared space is the node that connects the female gendered spaces. Circulation, where present, acts like a spine to connect the internal female gendered spaces with the shared spaces. In some apartments, where foyer is not present, entry to both living and dining from the exterior creates a ring at the entrance. This helps to preserve the privacy of the internal spaces from the living room. Small Apartment ( ex: A-6)
Medium Apartment( ex: C-1)
Large Apartment ( ex: D-3)
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, FL- Family Living, T- Toilet,V – Verandah. ____________ Connection between spaces.
Figure 6.05: Configurational properties of small, medium and large MIG apartments
206
• Living, the male gendered space, in the small apartments is mostly of b-type (in 72% cases shown in Table 6.02). In medium sized apartments (Table 6.04)39% living is a-type and can be segregated in the spatial organisation the rest of the Living is connected to other spaces and in 28% these have choice in movement. In the larger apartments (Table 6.06) the foyer increases choice of movement in living, dining areas and makes these spaces c-type. From table 6.07 it was seen that gendered spaces living are c-type in majority of the cases (44%) and remaining are b-type. From the activity study it was seen that living acts as both shared and gendered space in the middle income group apartments. Configurationally it is supported that most of the living has the character of a shared space and somewhere it has choice in access. 76% (b-type and c-type together) of the living rooms are visually and physically connected with the dining space either by having continuous space or connected living–dining space and only 24% living are cell like terminal a- type space. To protect visual privacy of the inner spaces obstruction of visibility from this living space is required.
Table 6.07: Types of spaces in the studied apartments and their percentage
Shared Space
Gendered Space
Living
c-type space with choice of movement (ring) b-type space with more than one connection a-type cell like space with one connection
Master Bed c-type space with choice of movement and forming ring b-type space with more than one connection
( 44%) ( 32%) ( 24%) ( 22%) ( 78%)
Kitchen
b-type space with more than one connection a-type cell like space with one connection
( 82%) ( 18%)
Family living
c-type space with choice of movement and forming ring b-type space with more than one connection a-type cell like space with one connection
( 41%) ( 47%) ( 12%)
Dining
c-type space with choice of movement and forming ring
( 48%)
b-type space with more than one connection
(52%)
c-type space with choice of movement and ring
( 64%)
b-type space with more than one connection
( 36%)
c-type space with choice of movement and forming ring
( 18%)
b-type space with more than one connection
( 82%)
Transition space
Foyer
Circulation
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• ‘Shared space Dining’ is of b-type mostly and in some cases these are of c-type when choice in movement is there within the spaces. Dining is used by both genders throughout the day. 52% (b-type) Dining is connecting space and 48% form the c-type spaces having choice of movement in the male gendered spaces and shared spaces. Distributing access through it dining acts as a node in the spatial configuration. Family living space is present in the larger apartments and it forms c-type space in the spatial organisation and have choice of movement among them in the inner part. • ‘Transition spaces’ are of b-type mostly and in some cases these are of c-type when choice in movement is there within the spaces. 64% of the foyers in the studied apartments are of ctype space that gives choice in access to the domestic spaces. This choice in access segregates the visitors from the inhabitants at the entry point and act as an important component of domestic space for preserving the privacy of the inner spaces from the visitor’s zone. Circulation creates a node in the internal part of the configuration from which the access to the female gendered spaces is distributed. In the studied apartments d-type spaces are not found because of the less complexity in the compact spatial organisation. • Female gendered spaces, Master Bed room and Kitchen, are b-type spaces having more than two connections. These spaces are connected with other spaces like attached toilet and verandah and create a group of spaces that are approached from the one room making it atype terminal spaces with maximum privacy and segregation. Kitchen is a female gendered space as cooking is found to be performed by the female members of most of the studied apartments. Kitchen is accessed from dining and in smaller flats it is a-type terminal space (18%). 82% kitchen has b-type space having link with its support facilities like verandah and servant’s toilet. • Master bed is also b-type of space as they have spaces like verandah, toilet connected from them. 78% master bedrooms are of b-type. Table 6.08: Percentage of types of spaces in the studied apartments Living M Bed Kitchen Dining F. Living Foyer Type \ no. 50 50 50 50 17 a-type 24% 0% 18% 0% 12% 0% b-type 32% 78% 82% 52% 47% 36% c-type 44% 22% 0% 48% 41% 64%
22
Circulation Toilet 22 0% 100% 82% 18%
Verandah 50
50 74% 2% 24%
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6.1.2 Choice of Movement The different spaces in fifty contemporary apartments in four different middle income group areas in Dhaka are studied with the justified permeability graph considering integration (1/ RRA) and depth and ringyness(choice) as variables. As space syntax is concerned, “the configurational variables depth and rings turn out to be fundamental properties of architectural space configuration, and also the means by which architecture can carry culture” (Hanson, 1998: 27). Ringyness can be explained with the space link ratio of the configuration. Space Link ratio (SLR)34 describes a relationship between link and spaces to determine degree of ringyness. It expresses the second property ‘choice’ existence of alternative routes from one space to another. As pointed out by Hanson: It is...possible to speculate that whilst tree-like houses normally support strongly framed social situations where access to and movement about the house need to be controlled in the interests of an individual inhabitant or group of residents, ringy houses usually support social situations where the dominant interface in the dwelling is between an individual host and his guests or between some group of residents in the house and their visitors. (Hanson, 1998: 279) Two types of configuration are seen according to the Ringyness or choice of movement in the space pattern expressed as Tree like configuration and Ringy Configuration. It has been revealed that a significant number of houses (44%) have Tree–like configurations (shown in Appendix 6.03). However ‘ringyness’ appears more predominant as 56% has ring (10% of these have two rings) in their configuration. Table 6.09: Spaces in ring in different zones in the studied apartments zone spaces in ring samples B-1,3,4,7,8,10,C-9,10,D-1,2,3,4,6,11 near the entry Foyer-Liv-Din A-2,4,13,B-12,C-5,D-7 22 Ex-Liv-Din C-11 Cir-Liv-Din B-13 Liv-Din-F.Liv at deep area F.Liv-Bed-Ver-Bed D-1,2,3,4,10 A-7,C-4,7 11 Din-Bed-Ver-bed C-6 Bed-cir-Bed A-8,B-12 Cir-bed-Ver-bed
no of samples 14 6 1 1 5 3 1 2 total=33
34
The Space–Link Ratio is the number of links plus one, over the number of the spaces. A tree will therefore have a value of 1 and values above 1indicate the degree of ‘ringyness’ in the complex.
209
22 rings are formed in the entry location of these ringy configurations giving choice of movement in the access to the apartments. Presence of foyer in apartments creates ring among foyer ,living and dining. Foyer gives choice of access to living without intruding the dining and to dining without passing living space. In the studied apartments the female heads living in flats have expressed content in achieving privacy with the presence of foyer as it separates the visitors from visually intruding their family spaces.
In some of the apartments ring is among exterior-living-dining where foyer is not present. Here two doors to living and dining space are provided simultaneously from the exterior lobby space. However it was found during the survey that many of the female heads do not use two doors and have closed one door. As a result this ring in the access does not work in these apartments. In A-2 (shown in Figure 6.06) the dining and living both have access from the exterior lobby. The respondent has closed one entry door from lobby to dining to preserve the privacy of the inner spaces. The respondent in C-5 has closed one door from lobby to living as she wants to control entry in her house by one door. In D -7 the respondent is not happy with the entry and Instead of two separate doors she desires to have one entry that will distribute the visitor and the family members in the house. 11 rings are formed in the deeper part of the configuration giving choice of movement. Dining, family living which is shared space is used to create choice of movement in the inner female gendered spaces. Figure 6.06 shows the J graphs in the apartments with ring at deep area. In D-1, 2, 3,4,10 (5 apartments) the ring is among Family Living, Bedrooms and verandah. In A-7, C-4, 7(3 apartments) the ring is among Dining, Bed rooms and Verandah. In C–6, B-12 and A-8 the choice in movement is among bed rooms and circulation. In these apartments transition space is absent at the entry and one enters directly to the living or living-dining directly from the exterior lobby space. An intervening transition space is introduced in the central position of the spatial organisation from where the access to the bed rooms is made. In B-12 a connection with the verandah and bedrooms through this intervening transition space creates a ring and gives choice in movement which helps to protect the privacy of the female gendered spaces.
Ringy houses usually support social situations where the dominant interface in the dwelling is between an individual host and his guests or visitors(Hanson, 1998: 279). Ringyness was also a dominant feature in the traditional houses of Dhaka, which created choice in access without intruding the gendered spaces.
210
211
In the spatial organisation of the MIG apartments of Dhaka, significant number of houses (44%) have Tree–like configurations while ‘ringyness’ appears more predominant as 56% has ring in their configuration. ‘Ringyness’ at the entry seems a crucial point as it segregates the visitors and the inhabitants and thus helps to maintain privacy in the domestic space. Among the two options for creating ringyness at the entry foyer seems more effective and popular among the female members of the middle income group as it segregates visitors in the domestic space. Other option of using two doors simultaneously seems to be less desirable to the female users. B-1
C-1
Female GenderedSpace
Male Gendered space
Shared Space
Foyer
Female GenderedSpace
Male Gendered space
Shared Space
A-11
Female GenderedSpace
Circulation Shared space
Foyer Male Gendered space
Foyer without ring
Foyer with ring Direct entry to Living
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, FL- Family Living, T- Toilet, V – Verandah.
Figure 6.07: Ringyness in Foyer, dining and living
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6.1.3 Spatial Relationship Considering Depth
The justified graph represents the permeability of the system and that the depth property indicates how many architectural steps one must pass through to arrive at a particular space in the configuration of the house. In these graphs, all spaces of the house are appointed depth values according to a chosen space called “the carrier.” The carrier space in the analysis is at the exterior lobby of the studied flats. Depth of space in this study locates the space in the configuration with respect to the exterior. It was found from the study of the middle income group families that in contemporary urban apartments the living room is for the outsiders and visitors. Male members of the family interact with visitors in the living room which is located near to the entry of their house. Thus considering the stair lobby as the exterior point, from where the apartment is accessed, depths of different spaces are calculated (Table 6.12) and from it the percentage of each spaces according to depth are placed in Table 6.11 below.
Table 6.10: Depth of the different spaces in the studied apartments Foyer Living Circulation Dining Kitchen F .living M. Bed Bed-2 Bed-3 Toilet (with M bed) Veranda(with M bed)
depth (6) depth (1) depth (2) depth (3) depth (4) depth (5) 44% 46% 54% 10% 24% 32% 68% 18% 60% 22% 8% 20% 8% 14% 40% 38% 8% 10% 48% 36% 6% 38% 36% 16% 2% 8% 14% 42% 36% 8% 14% 42% 36%
Studying the order of depth( From Table 6.12) a pattern is observed in the studied apartments. Transition space Foyer in 44% apartments, shared space dining in 32% (10%+22%) and male gendered space living in 46% (24%+22%) apartments is located at depth 01 with the following pattern:
213
Transition space(F)Bed>Kit>Liv Cir >Din / Bed>Kit>Liv Din>F.liv> Kit >Foy>Liv >Bed Din>F.liv> Kit >Foy>Liv >Bed Cir >F.liv>Din >Kit>Bed >Foy >Liv Cir >F.liv>Din >Kit>Bed >Foy >Liv Cir >Din >Bed>Kit>Liv Din>F.liv>Kit >Foy / Bed>Liv > Din>Bed >Kit>Liv >F.liv Din>F.liv>Foy>Kit >Bed>Liv Din>F.liv>Foy>Kit >Bed>Liv Din>F.liv>Liv >Kit>Bed Din>F.liv>Foy>Liv >Kit >Bed
Order of Mean Integration Dining >Circulation >F. living > Foyer>Bedroom >Kitchen >Living>Toilet (2.20)(1.92)(1.41)(1.16)(1.15)(1.11)(1.07)(0.69)
217
The integration values of the major spaces are obtained for creating order of integration. Dining the shared space has the highest integration in 76% cases. The following graph shows different alternative orders of integration that prevail among the samples.
Foy > Liv / Din < Cir / F.liv < Kit / Bed
2%
Cir > Din / Bed / Kit > Liv
22%
Din > Cir > Bed / Kit > Liv
76% 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
4.8 4.6 4.4 4.2 4 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.2 3 2.8 2.6 2.4 2.2 2 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0
Foyer
Living
Cir
Dining
Kitchen
F.liv
M.Bed
Toil[M]
A-… A-… A-… A-… A-… A-… A-… A-… A-… A-… A-… A-… A-… B-… B-… B-… B-… B-… B-… B-… B-… B-… B-… B-… B-… B-… C-… C-… C-… C-… C-… C-… C-… C-… C-… C-… C-… C-… C-… D-… D-… D-… D-… D-… D-… D-… D-… D-… D-… D-…
Integration value
Figure 6.09:Order of Integration of different spaces of the studied MIG apartments
MIG apartments Figure 6.10: Integration of different spaces of the studied MIG apartments Integration values of the different spaces of the studied apartments show that mean integration of different spaces follow a pattern(Shown in table 6.9).Shared spaces (Dining, Family living) and transition space (circulation and foyer) are highly integrated. Inversely we can say that the highly integrated spaces are shared space. Gendered spaces (Kitchen, Living, and Bedroom) are segregated with lower integration values. Toilets, verandah those are terminal spaces are the most segregated spaces in the configuration.
218
Order of Mean Integration: shared
transition
shared
transition female gendered
male gendered
Dining>Circulation>F. living>Foyer>Bedroom>Kitchen>Living (2.20)(1.92)(1.41)(1.16)(1.15)(1.11)(1.07)
The shared spaces in the spatial organisation are located at the central position of the spatial organisation as they coincide with the mean depth of the spatial organisation. Integration of the shared spaces (Dining, Family living) are the highest in a spatial organisation. Integration value calculated from the J Graph ranges from 1.17 to 4.55 with an average value 2.20. Transition spaces (foyer and circulation) have high integration values as they are connecting the gendered spaces and shared spaces. Circulation is highly integrated (1.92) in apartments and in some cases have the highest integration values where circulation is a dominant element in the spatial organisation. Foyer itself is an integrated space (1.16) and has higher integration values than the gendered spaces. Living is considered as a male gendered space in this study which is explained earlier, whose location is important for preserving privacy of the gendered spaces from the visitor’s space. Living, the male gendered space has lower value of integration. The value of integration of living room ranges from 0.75 to 1.47 with an average value of 1.07. This is a lower value compared to the integration values of other spaces. The female gendered spaces in the spatial organisation are located farther away from the entry and the integration of the female gendered spaces is lower compared to the shared space’s integration values. Kitchen and Master Bed room, the female gendered space has lower value of integration. The value of integration of kitchen ranges from 0.74 to 1.39 with an average value of 1.11. Master bed room is considered female gendered space in this study as it is primarily used by the female heads during the whole day as their resting, study and working space. Integration values of the master bed room ranges from 0.87 to 1.65 with an average value of 1.16. Thus the findings from the spatial analysis of the middle income group apartments lead to conclusion that shared spaces (Dining, Family living) and transition space (circulation and foyer) are highly integrated and gendered spaces (Kitchen, Living, and Bedroom) are segregated in their configuration.
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6.1.4.1 Integration Considering Transition space Transition space has become an important element as it impacts the affordability of the owners and at the same time it influences upon the symbolic aspects of the domestic space. Three types of spatial organizations are seen in the MIG apartments based on the presence or absence of the transition space: 1) Apartments without Transition Space, 2) Apartments with Transition Space-Foyer and 3) Apartments with Transition Space-Circulation. In apartments without transition space at the entry, one enters directly to the living from the exterior lobby space. Shared space dining acts as the node in the spatial organisation (shown in figure 6.10).36% apartments of this type are tree-like and rest 64% have ringy type configuration. InA-2, A-3,C-5 and D-7, entry to both living and dining from the exterior gives choice with ring while entering and in A-2,C-4,C-7 andD-10, ring at the deeper part creates choice in movement among the female gendered spaces. The configuration in this type is shallow because of the absence of transition spaces. Shared space is between the male gendered space and the female gendered spaces. Table 6.13: Integration of spaces in apartments without Transition Apartments without foyer Size Ref MI Foyer Living Cir Small A-5 0.90 1.3 Small A-6 0.86 1.4 Medium C-4 1.08 1.3 Medium C-5 1.07 1.2 Medium C-12 0.95 0.9 1.1 Large A-9 0.97 Large A-2 1.15 1.4 Large A-3 0.97 1.2 Large C-7 1.13 1.2 Large D-7 1.15 1.3 Large D-10 0.77 1.1
Integration=1/RRA Dining Kitche F.liv M.Bed Toil(M) 2.63 1.10 1.3 0.70 2.22 0.88 1.2 0.66 3.85 1.30 1.5 0.78 3.85 1.12 1.5 0.78 1.7 2.04 1.01 1.0 0.65 2.94 1.39 1.3 0.78 4.00 1.39 1.5 0.85 3.03 1.22 1.4 0.76 4.17 1.39 1.3 1.3 0.78 4.55 1.40 1.2 1.6 0.83 1.57 0.91 1.3 0.8 0.59
Order of integration Din>Bed / Liv>Kit Din>Liv > Bed>Kit Din>Bed >Liv /Kit Din>Bed >Liv >Kit Din>F.liv>Bed>Kit>Liv Din>Bed /Kit>Liv Din>Bed >Liv >Kit Din>Bed >Liv /Kit Din>Bed /Kit / Din>Bed >Kit>Liv Din>F.liv>Liv
Dining the shared space in this type configuration is the most integrated space. Gendered spaces living and master bed room have lower integration than the shared spaces but kitchen ,the female gendered space, is the space that is most segregated in the configuration. In the apartments where Transition space is absent, the order of Integration of configuration follows a pattern: Shared Space>Gendered space (male /female gendered space)
Dining (3.17)> F.Liv (1.43)>M.Bed (1.37)>Living (1.25)>Kitchen (1.19)>> MI (1.00) shared
gendered (F)gendered (M)
gendered (F)
220
Ringy Type
Small
Tree Type
A-6
Medium
A-5
C-12 C-4
C-5
A-2
A-3
Large
A-9
C-7
D-7
D-10
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah
Figure 6.11: Configuration of the Apartments without Transition Space
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In apartments where foyer is present (Figure 6.11), it acts as a node to the exterior and living, guest bed room and dining spaces. Dining acts as another node to the female gendered spaces. In 27% cases foyers do not create ring among the spaces and have tree-like configurations. 73% of the apartments with foyer ring among living, dining and foyer space creates choice in access. Foyer at depth 01segregates the male gendered spaces at depth 02 by giving choice in access to either male gendered space living or shared space dining. Female gendered spaces are at depth 03after the shared space. Foyer helps here to segregate the gendered spaces and the shared spaces. When foyer is present the integration of dining is highest in the configuration. Dining, the shared space is the most integrated space in this type of configuration. Gendered spaces, living and master bed room, have lower integration than the shared spaces. Kitchen in this type of configuration has higher integration than living (the male gendered) and bed room (the female gendered space). In the apartments where foyer is present, the order of Integration follows a pattern: Shared Space> Transition space >Female Gendered space>Male gendered space
Dining(2.06)>Cir (1.67)>F.liv(1.44)>Foyer (1.15) >Kitchen (1.11) >Living (1.09)>M.Bed (1.07)>MI (0.87) Shared
transition
Shared
transition
gendered (F)
gendered (M)
gendered (F)
Table 6.14: Integration of spaces in apartments with Foyer Apartments with Foyer Integration=1/RRA Size Ref MI Foyer Living Cir Dining Kitchen Small B - 6 0.81 0.83 1.41 1.82 1.08 Small B - 7 0.84 1.30 1.41 2.27 1.22 Medium D -11 0.90 1.39 1.18 2.13 0.99 Medium C -11 0.85 0.83 1.01 1.30 1.64 0.83 Large C -10 0.96 1.61 1.30 2.63 1.16 Large B -1 0.99 1.32 1.23 2.94 1.39 Large B -4 0.89 1.04 1.01 1.96 1.82 1.09 Large B -5 0.78 1.01 0.68 1.47 1.61 0.81 Large B -9 0.89 0.78 1.20 2.17 1.10 Large D - 6 0.73 1.08 1.05 1.95 1.13 Medium D - 8 0.75 1.22 0.75 1.54 0.98 Medium D - 9 0.75 1.22 0.75 1.54 0.98 Medium C - 1 0.91 1.75 0.83 2.22 0.93 Large C - 8 0.86 0.83 1.41 2.27 1.22 Large C - 9 0.99 1.39 1.39 2.94 1.39 Large B -3 0.98 1.32 1.23 2.94 1.39 Large B -8 0.78 1.10 1.15 1.75 1.05 Large B-10 0.99 1.47 1.32 2.94 1.39 Large D-1 0.86 1.07 1.02 1.96 1.12 Large D-2 0.86 1.07 1.02 1.96 1.12 Large D-3 0.83 0.79 0.77 1.82 1.17 1.08 Large D-4 0.83 0.79 0.77 1.82 1.17 1.08 0.87 1.15 1.09 1.67 2.06 1.11
F.liv
1.47
1.15 1.65 1.83 1.33 1.33
1.05 1.26 1.57 1.57 1.54 1.54 1.44
M.Bed 0.96 1.08 0.94 0.87 1.30 1.12 1.14 0.95 1.02 1.08 0.89 0.89 1.20 1.08 1.39 1.39 0.91 1.39 0.99 0.99 0.98 0.98 1.07
Toil(M) 0.55 0.55 0.62 0.57 0.74 0.79 0.71 0.65 0.66 0.70 0.61 0.61 0.68 0.65 0.78 0.79 0.61 0.80 0.64 0.64 0.65 0.65 0.67
Order of integration Din>Liv > Kit>Bed>Foy Din>Liv > Foy > Kit>Bed Din>F.liv>Foy>Liv >Kit >Bed Din>Cir>Liv >Bed >Kit /Foy Din>Foy > Liv/ Bed>Kit Din>Kit>Foy >Liv> Bed Cir >Din >Bed >Kit>Foy >Liv Din>Cir>F.liv> Foy >Bed>Kit> Liv Din>F.liv>Liv > Kit>Bed>Foy Din>F.liv>Kit >Foy / Bed>Liv > Din>F.liv>Foy>Kit >Bed>Liv Din>F.liv>Foy>Kit >Bed>Liv Din>Foy >Bed>Kit >Liv Din>Liv >Kit>Bed>Foy Din>Bed /Kit / Foy >Liv Din>Kit / Bed>Foy >Liv Din>Liv > Foy >Kit / F.liv>Bed Din> Foy > Bed / Kit>Liv>F.liv Din>F.liv> Kit >Foy>Liv >Bed Din>F.liv> Kit >Foy>Liv >Bed Cir >F.liv>Din >Kit>Bed >Foy Cir >F.liv>Din >Kit>Bed >Foy 38% Din,6% Cir highest
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Ringy Type
Small
Tree Type
B-7
Medium
B-6
C-1
D-8,9
D-11
C-11
B-1
B-3
Large
C-8
B-9
B-4
B-5
C-9
C-10
D-1,2
D-3,4
D-6
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah
Figure 6.12: Configuration of the Apartments with Transition Space Foyer
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In the apartments where circulation is introduced in the central position (Figure 6.12), it acts as a node in the configuration, connecting the internal female gendered spaces with the shared spaces.69% of the configurations are tree-like and remaining 31% of these configuration have choice in movement with the presence of ring. Connection with the verandah and bedrooms through an intervening transition space creates ring and gives choice in movement which helps to protect the privacy of the female gendered spaces.
In the apartments where circulation is present circulation becomes the most integrated space by being the node. Integration values of dining in these types are less than the integration of the dining in the foyer type configuration. Here circulation acts as insulation between the female gendered space and the male gendered and shared space which supports Hanson’s theory of transition and spaces that these passage ways to separate rooms secure the boundaries against trespassers has the effect of insulating spaces from one another (Hanson 1998:284285). In the apartments where circulation is present, the order of follows a pattern:
Cir (2.00)>Dining (1.74)>M.Bed (1.15)>Kitchen (1.06)>Living (0.93)> MI (0.88)>Toil (0.70) transition
shared
gendered (F)
gendered (M)
Table 6.15: Integration of spaces in apartments with Circulation Apartments with Cir Size Ref Small B -2 Small C-6 Medium A-1 Medium A -12 Medium A -10 Medium C-2 Medium C-3 Large A-8 Large D-5 Large A-4 Large A-7 Small B-12 Medium A-13 Medium C-13 Medium A-11 Medium B-13 Medium B-11
MI 0.78 0.92 0.78 0.92 0.93 0.85 0.88 0.94 0.90 0.93 0.87 0.90 0.85 0.98 0.80 0.95 0.85
F
Liv 0.85 0.95 1.01 0.76 0.79 0.87 1.10 0.76 0.83 1.13 0.91 0.85 0.99 0.78 0.99 1.05 1.12
Cir 1.56 2.22 1.52 2.63 2.63 2.08 1.89 2.63 2.27 1.54 1.39 1.82 1.49 2.94 1.39 2.38 1.56
Integration=1/RRA Din Kit F.liv M.Bed 1.56 0.74 1.00 1.89 0.83 1.02 1.66 0.92 0.96 1.32 1.32 1.32 1.52 1.14 1.30 1.49 1.04 1.16 1.89 0.90 1.10 1.32 1.32 1.32 1.66 1.07 1.21 2.44 1.32 1.27 1.96 1.12 1.12 1.85 0.79 1.10 2.08 1.16 0.87 1.39 1.22 1.39 1.89 1.10 1.10 1.75 1.15 1.05 1.28 1.96 0.91 0.99
Toil(M) 0.58 0.66 0.61 0.76 0.73 0.69 0.67 0.76 0.70 0.78 0.69 0.61 0.81 0.78 0.67 0.76 0.64
Order of integration Cir / Din>Bed >Liv >Kit Cir >Din >Bed>Liv >Kit Din>Cir>Liv >Bed >Kit Cir >Din / Bed /Kit>Liv Cir >Din>Bed>Kit>Liv Cir >Din >Bed>Kit >Liv Cir /Din>Bed / Liv >Kit Cir >Din / Bed /Kit>Liv Cir >Din >Bed>Kit>Liv Din>Cir>Kit >Liv Din>Cir>Bed / Kit>Liv Din>Cir> Bed >Liv >Kit Din>Cir >Kit>Liv> Bed Cir >Din / Bed>Kit>Liv Din>Cir>Bed / Kit>Liv Cir >Din >Bed >Kit>Liv / Din>Cir>Liv > Bed >Kit
224
Ringy Type
B-2
B-12
Small
Tree Type
C-6
B-13 A-10
A-11
Medium
A-1
A-12
A-13
B-11
C-2
C-3
C-13
Large
D-5
A-7
A-8
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah
Figure 6.13: Configuration of the Apartments with Transition Space Circulation
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Table 6.16 :Integration(Average) of different spaces in MIG apartments following order 1 Without Transition
2 With Foyer
3 With Circulation
Dining (3.17)>F.Liv (1.43) >M.Bed (1.37) >Living (1.25) >Kitchen (1.19) shared
gendered (F)
gendered (M)
gendered (F)
Dining(2.06)>Cir(1.67)>F.liv(1.44)>Foyer(1.15)>Kitchen(1.11)>Living(1.09) >M.Bed(1.07) Shared
transition
Shared
transition
gendered (F)
gendered (M) gendered (F)
Cir(2.00)>Dining(1.74)>M.Bed (1.15) >Kitchen (1.06) >Living (0.93) transition
shared
gendered (F)
gendered (M)
Table 6.17 : Average Integration Values of different spaces in MIG apartments Type Foyer
Integration (Average Value ) Living Circulation Dining Kitchen 3.17 1.19 1.25
F. living 1.43
M .Bed 1.37
1.15
1.09
1.67
2.06
1.11
1.44
1.07
0.93
2.00
1.74
1.06
Without Transition With Transition (Foyer) With Transition (Circulation)
1.15
Comparing the three types of configurations, it can be concluded that when transition is not present in the apartments the spaces in the spatial organisation have
higher integration
compared to the spaces of the other two types. Shared space dining acts as the node and the most integrated space in the configuration. It is less integrated in the configurations where circulation is present. The male gendered space living, is segregated in the configuration compared to the shared spaces. In the compact apartments where transition is absent living is less segregated than in the apartments with foyer and circulation. Presence of the transition space makes the male gendered space ‘living’ more segregated in the configuration. Kitchen, the female gendered space, is a segregated space in the configuration. In compact apartments without transition kitchen is less segregated than in the apartments with transitions.
The interpretation of the responses of the female heads with their respective configurational types will be addressed in the following part to understand the impact of status on segregation in MIG apartments.
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6.1.4.2 Segregation in Spatial Organisation Considering Status
In the contemporary MIG apartments, transition space has become an important element as it impacts upon the symbolic aspects of the domestic space. Presence of the transition in the spatial organisation creates depth
and choice of movement with ringyness and helps to
segregate male and female gendered spaces.
Transition at the entry creates depth and segregation in the gendered spaces. Foyer, at depth 01, act as a buffer space and helps to segregate the gendered spaces from the shared spaces by increasing depth of the female gendered spaces from male gendered spaces. The male gendered spaces in the MIG apartments are located near the entry at depth 01 or depth 02 in the studied MIG apartments. When a transition “Foyer” is added at the entrance space it creates a choice in access (ring) and brings the male gendered space at depth 02.With choice of access from this point segregation between the visitors and the inhabitants is achieved. In 44% apartments where foyer is present, it acts as a node to the exterior and living, guest bed room and dining spaces.
In apartments where transition foyer is absent at the entry (56% of the sample), shared space is located between the male gendered space and the female gendered spaces. In the apartments where circulation is introduced in the central position it acts as a node in the configuration by connecting the internal female gendered spaces with the shared spaces. In 22% cases transition space 'circulation' creates rings in the deeper part of the configuration giving depth to the female gendered spaces and choice of movement in the gendered spaces(Figure 6.06).
To check the impact of status of the female heads regarding segregation responses of the economically active and economically non-active female heads are compared with the spatial findings. The response of the female heads of the middle income group families living in apartments with foyer were analysed in the study conducted on the middle income group families (In Chapter Five).
From Table 6.18 it is seen that 75% economically non-active female heads ( inB-1, B-4, B-5,C10, C-11, D–6, D– 8, D-9 and D-11 shown in Appendix 6.08) are satisfied with the foyer with respect to segregation of the male and visitor’s space and female gendered spaces. Remaining
227
25% female heads are not satisfied with the foyer with respect to its size and choice in access to the inner female gendered spaces. (shown in appendix 7.01)
50% economically active respondents (in C-1, B-3, B-10, D-1, 2 shown in Appendix 6.08) are happy with their foyer. Remaining 50% of the economically active female heads were not satisfied with the foyer with respect to its size (B-8, C-8, C-9, D-3, 4 shown in Appendix 6.08). Studying the integration values of the foyer in these apartments it is seen that the foyer with higher integration creates satisfaction in the respondents. And those foyers which have lower integration create dissatisfaction among the female users.(shown in appendix 7.02)
In apartments without Foyer, 82% economically non-active female heads prefer to have separation at the entry as it reveals the total indoor space to the outsiders at the door. Respondents in A–8, A-12, C-2, and C-12 expressed separation at the entry to ensure privacy of the inner spaces. Economically non-active female heads, living in apartments without foyer and direct access to living and dining with two separate doors, have closed one door (B–2, A–2, A–4, and C-5).(shown in appendix 7.03)
82% economically active female heads living in apartments without foyer is not satisfied with their entry situation and prefers to have separation at the entry as it reveals the total indoor space to the outsiders at the door. (shown in appendix 7.04)
Table 6.18: Comparative study of the responses regarding segregation with Foyer Apartments with Foyer Economically Satisfied with the Foyer non-active Not satisfied with the Foyer size Economically Satisfied with the Foyer active Not satisfied with the Foyer size
Apartments without Foyer 75% 25% 50% 50%
Not satisfied (Needs Foyer)
82%
Not satisfied (Needs Foyer)
82%
Study reveals that the respondents, those who have foyer at their entry point, are satisfied with the foyer of their apartment mostly regarding preserving segregation from visitor’s area and family area in their house. In apartments where Foyer is not present and entry is to the living or dining directly the female heads expressed a desire to have separate entries so that the visitors cannot see the inner part of her house that is used mostly by female members of the house.
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6.1.5 Discussion: The Genotypes Considering Permeability The core house in the middle income group is mainly composed of the basic function spaces like living, dining, kitchen, two or three bedrooms, verandahs and toilets. Study shows that small MIG apartments are composed of 9 to 12 numbers of spaces. The living, dining, bed rooms [Two /Three], kitchen, toilets [2/3] and verandah [2/3] are the main function spaces. • Transition space, foyer, seems to be absent in the small apartments and one enters directly to the living from the exterior lobby space. • Dining which is a shared space act as a node and distributes movement to female gendered spaces in the house. • Living, the male gendered space, in the small apartments is mostly of b-type shared space. Female gendered spaces, Master Bed room and Kitchen, are b-type spaces having more than two connections. These spaces are connected with other spaces like attached toilet and verandah and create a group of spaces that are approached from the one room making it atype terminal spaces with maximum privacy and segregation. Most of the medium apartments have tree-like configurations with 11 to 16 numbers of spaces. The living, dining, bed rooms [Three], kitchen, toilets [3/4] and verandah [2/3/4] are the main function spaces. Along with these spaces foyer, circulation and family living spaces are added. • Here transition space foyer acts as a node to the exterior and living, guest bed room and dining spaces. • ‘Shared space dining’ acts as another node to the female gendered spaces. • Where circulation is present in the configuration, circulation and dining which is shared space act as the nodes. Most of the large apartments are composed of 12 to 17 numbers of spaces. The living, dining, bed rooms [Three], kitchen, toilets [3/4] and verandah [2/3/4] are the main function spaces. In the larger MIG apartment foyer, circulation and sometime family living as an extension of formal living is found to be present in addition to the basic components of the core house. • In Most of the large apartments foyer at the entry gives choice in access. • Dining the shared space [b-type] is the node that connects the female gendered spaces. • Circulation, where present, acts like a spine to connect the internal female gendered spaces with the shared spaces.
229
Analysing the depth of the studied apartments it is seen that : • The male gendered spaces in the MIG apartments are located near the entry. The living which is considered as the location for visitors in the studied cases are located near to the entry at depth one or depth two. • When a transition “Foyer” is added at the entrance space it creates a choice in access and brings the male gendered space at depth 02. • The female gendered spaces are located at deeper location far away from the entry. Integration values of the different spaces of the studied apartments show that mean integration of different spaces follow a pattern: •
shared spaces (Dining, Family living) and transition spaces (circulation and foyer) are highly integrated
•
gendered spaces (Kitchen, Living, and Bedroom) are segregated in their configuration.
•
Toilets, verandah those are terminal spaces are the most segregated spaces in the configuration.
Comparing the integration values of the different spaces in three types of configurations, it can be concluded that when transition is not present in the apartments the spaces in the spatial organisation have higher integration compared to the spaces of the other two types. • Shared space dining acts as the node and the most integrated space in the configuration. It is less integrated in the configurations where circulation is present. • In the compact apartments where transition is absent living is less segregated than in the apartments with foyer and circulation. Presence of the transition space makes the male gendered space ‘living’ more segregated in the configuration. • In compact apartments without transition kitchen is less segregated than in the apartments with transitions. Preference of segregation with foyer is found to be relatively high in both groups of women(both economically non-active and active female heads).Female heads, those who have foyer at their entry point, are satisfied with the foyer of their apartment mostly regarding preserving segregation from visitor’s area and family area in their house. In apartments where Foyer is not present and entry is to the living or dining directly the female heads ( both economically nonactive and active)expressed a desire to have separate entries so that the visitors cannot see the inner part of her house that is used mostly by female members of the house.
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6.2.0 Spatial Analysis Considering Visibility Visibility refers to visual information provided to observers at any given location and is directly related to the geometry of space as much as to the movement of observer. Visibility graph (VG) analyzes the extent to which any point in a spatial system is visible from any other. In this study Depth map programme, which is developed at University College London by Alasdair Turner (2003), is used for analysing the visibility pattern of the middle income group apartments to interpret privacy and dominance of the spatial organisation in a quantitative manner. Spatial organisation of the MIG apartments are analysed with VGA considering Visual Integration to measure its Privacy level and Visual Control to measure dominance
or control over the
adjacent spaces. The Visibility Graph Analysis can help to investigate the configurational relationships of domestic space through “depth map” programme. The program allows us to import a 2d layout in drawing exchange format (dxf), and to fill the open spaces of this layout with a grid of points. The program divides any given plan into a grid, whose size can be determined by the user, and enables to generate and examine the visibility graph representing visible connections between different point-locations at the center of each grid. Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values (Turner 2001:31.1). In this study the ‘space’ is defined by the functions rather by physical boundaries. Hence a space has been regarded as a space designated for a particular activity. Areas that are not rectangular in shape such as ‘U’ or ‘L’ shape for example, it is used for a single activity has been considered as one space. Rooms with multiple functions for example living and dining area with no demarcation of boundary in between but where different activities happen in designated areas within the same geometrically bounded space has been taken as two spaces. The maximum value of each activity space has been considered for analysis in this study. The visibility analysis conducted using Depth map programme offers some specific measures. These measurements can lead us to describe the house’s spatial configuration with reference to accessibility and visibility. Visual integration value of the spaces denotes the space to be visually connected with the adjacent spaces. The local measure Visual control (VC) of the Visibility Graph Analysis with Depth map programme, gives us the values of locations that have the maximum visual control that can see more.
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6.2.1 Visual Integration and its Order
Through visibility graph analysis we can obtain numerous measures of both local and global spatial properties that relate to our perception of the built environment (Turner, et. al., 2001). These measurements can lead us to describe the house’s spatial configuration with reference to accessibility and visibility. Privacy, one of the symbolic aspects of domestic space, is studied as a focus in this study as they are related with the gender aspect in spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments. Privacy although universal characteristics for all human beings, it is also moderated and governed culturally. In the context of Dhaka privacy is related with gender aspect and visibility of the female members of the households (Imamuddin 1982:2.10).Privacy of the female members, as a product of socio-cultural and religious factors, guided the domestic spatial organization with a control of visibility of inner spaces from public areas and restriction of access of the visitors. The more a space is visible from the outsiders or visitor’s area the less privacy is ensured there as it is more intruded visually. Privacy is difficult to measure quantitatively. Visual integration of spaces gives certain numerical values which expresses that space to be visually more connected with the adjacent spaces compared to other spaces with low visual integration values. Higher Visual integration lead to lower visual privacy of a space as it is intruded visually. Thus the space which has high visual integration will be less private and more intruded visually by the visitors. In a study by Guney (2007), it was seen that the control of permeability and visibility serves the need for privacy to regulate interpersonal interactions. Visual Integration values of the different spaces of the studied apartments show that mean visual integration of different spaces follow a pattern(Table 6.23 and 6.24).Shared spaces (Dining, Family living) and transition space (circulation and foyer) are highly visually integrated. Gendered spaces (Kitchen, Living, and Bedroom) are segregated with lower visual integration values. Order of Mean Visual Integration: Dining(13.03)>Cir(11.97)>Foyer (10.98)>F.liv(10.46)>Living(9.55)>M.Bed (7.84)>Kit (6.87) Shared transition Shared Male gendered Female gendered Visual Integration(VI) of the shared space, dining, is the highest and it ranges from 7.49 to 17.88 having an average value of13.03.Transition spaces (foyer and circulation) have high VI values
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and VI value of circulation ranges from 9.28 to 15.58 with an average of 11.97. Foyer’s VI value ranges from 6.02 to 14.58 with an average of 10.98. Living is considered as a male gendered space in this study, whose V I value ranges from 6.21 to 14.73with an average of 9.55. The female gendered spaces in the spatial organisation are located farther away from the entry and the VI of the female gendered spaces is lower compared to the shared space’s VI values. Kitchen and Master Bed room, the female gendered space has lower VI. The value of visual integration of kitchen ranges from 5.09 to 9.34 with an average of 6.87. Master bed room is considered female gendered space in this study as it is primarily used by the female heads during the whole day as their resting, study and working space. Visual integration values of the master bed room ranges from 5.42 to 9.98 with an average of 7.84. Table 6.19: Order of Visual Integration and their percentage in the studied apartments Order of Visual Integration Din >Liv > M.Bed > Kit Din > Cir > M.Bed > Liv > Kit Din>Foy > Liv > M.Bed > Kit Din > F.Liv> Foy > Liv > M.Bed > Kit Din > M.Bed > Liv > Kit Din> F.Liv> Foy > Liv > Kit > M.Bed F.Liv>Din > Liv > M.Bed > Kit >Foy Cir > Din > Liv > M.Bed > Kit Foy > Din > F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed > Kit
Percentage of Apartments Highest VI 16% 20% shared space Dining 68% 14% 10% 6% 2% shared space Family living 2% 14% transition space circulation 12% transition space Foyer
Studying the order of visual integration of the MIG apartments(Table 6.23) it was seen that shared space in 70% of the studied apartments has highest Visual integration value and privacy is lower in this space. Transition space in 26% (14%+12%) of the studied apartments has the highest visual integration. The female gendered spaces, kitchen and the master bed room, have the lower visual integration values and are visually segregated in the spatial organisation. These spaces are more private in nature in the spatial organisation. In 96% apartments the male gendered space, living, have the lower VI value than the shared spaces. Thus the findings from the spatial analysis of the middle income group apartments lead to conclusion that shared spaces (Dining, Family living) and transition space (circulation and foyer) are visually integrated and these spaces have less privacy. Gendered spaces (Kitchen, Living, and Bedroom) are visually segregated with lower VI and these spaces have more privacy.
233
Figure 6.14: VI of MIG Apartments
234
Table6.20: Order of Visual Integration(VI) in Different Spaces of MIG Apartments
14.58
LIV 11.52 10.58 8.55 7.68 12.15 12.85 12.86 13.56 8.47 7.34 9.00 7.31 9.32 9.58 11.52 10.57 10.69 6.07 10.66 9.56 10.48 8.85 10.67 11.84 9.36 11.72 6.21 6.96 14.73 11.51 8.46 7.64 11.57 12.08 11.38 10.28 7.64 9.41 6.94 9.36 8.98 7.04 7.13 8.15 10.50 8.64 7.41 7.16 7.14 8.44
Visual Integration(HH) Cir DIN KIT 15.36 14.05 6.05 14.35 7.14 14.52 7.51 11.43 13.07 7.65 15.91 7.45 12.77 6.33 11.95 13.05 6.83 15.25 13.89 8.19 14.74 7.08 9.28 8.18 5.09 10.37 12.45 6.99 11.13 10.16 6.73 12.65 12.70 7.59 12.97 6.36 12.43 10.29 7.51 13.59 6.84 11.26 12.73 7.38 12.13 10.99 7.33 17.17 8.58 14.75 6.84 15.19 8.48 9.93 5.44 15.09 7.68 11.87 13.83 6.25 14.03 13.13 7.67 10.14 13.07 5.95 11.73 6.43 9.67 10.77 5.46 15.58 17.88 7.61 14.71 7.39 13.25 6.02 11.85 12.99 5.44 17.66 9.34 10.51 6.82 12.97 7.47 16.58 7.03 11.28 11.68 5.97 16.78 7.78 10.68 8.14 5.34 12.92 6.68 11.93 6.72 11.77 11.57 6.07 11.74 7.49 6.02 11.42 13.81 6.47 15.18 8.12 14.53 7.04 12.41 6.47 12.41 6.48 9.49 5.74 11.65 6.47
F.Living BED 6.29 8.89 8.86 8.51 9.77 7.79 8.38 7.71 9.98 5.42 7.85 7.19 8.13 9.82 8.10 9.21 8.20 12.44 6.04 8.41 8.59 14.47 8.47 12.13 8.07 9.68 8.16 5.84 9.67 9.04 6.15 6.78 5.84 6.78 8.62 9.21 6.42 10.84 8.39 7.68 8.69 8.83 6.18 11.83 8.17 6.78 10.86 7.29 10.66 7.11 7.17 6.71 7.16 8.29 7.83 13.09 8.48 10.21 8.84 10.58 7.31 10.72 7.51 7.80 7.76 9.12 6.84
10.98
9.55
11.97 13.03
10.46 7.84
REF FOY A- 1 A- 2 A- 3 A- 4 A- 5 A- 6 A- 7 A- 8 A- 9 A-10 A-11 A-12 A-13 B-1 B-2 B-3 B-4 B-5 B-6 B-7 B-8 B-9 B- 10 B- 11 B- 12 B- 13 C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7 C-8 C-9 C- 10 C- 11 C- 12 C- 13 D -1 D -2 D -3 D -4 D -5 D -6 D -7 D -8 D -9 D -10 D -11
Mean VI
9.92 10.52 8.11 12.47 11.85 11.86 14.03 6.02 11.61
11.24
7.13 9.39 11.66 10.36
9.76 8.15 12.02 11.75 13.31 12.93 12.89
6.87
Cir>Din > Liv >M.Bed>Kit Din> Liv >M.Bed>Kit Din>M.Bed > Liv >Kit Din >Cir > M.Bed > Liv >Kit Din> Liv > M.Bed > Kit Liv >Din > M.Bed >Kit Din>Liv > Cir > M.Bed > Kit Cir >Din > Liv > Kit>M.Bed Din>M.Bed > Liv> Kit Cir >Din > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>Cir > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Cir>Din > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din> Cir > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din >Foy > M.Bed > Liv> Kit Cir >Liv > Din > M.Bed> Kit Din>Liv >Foy > M.Bed> Kit Din >Cir > Liv > M.Bed> Foy> Kit Foy >F.Liv>Cir > Din > Kit> Liv > M.Bed Din>Foy > Liv > Kit> M.Bed Din>Foy > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>F.Liv> Foy > Liv > Kit>M.Bed F.Liv> Din > Liv > M.Bed > Kit>Foy Din>Foy > Liv > F.Liv> M.Bed> Kit Din>Cir > Liv > Kit >M.Bed Cir > Din > M.Bed > Liv> Kit Din>Liv > Cir > F.Liv> M.Bed> Kit Din >Foy > M.Bed > Kit> Liv Din >Cir > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>Cir > Liv > Kit>M.Bed Din> Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>M.Bed >Liv > Kit Din>Cir > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din >Liv > F.Liv> Kit>M.Bed Liv >Din > M.Bed > Foy> Kit Din>Liv >Foy > M.Bed> Kit Din>Foy > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>Cir > Foy > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed> Kit Cir>Din > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din > F.Liv> Foy > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din> F.Liv> Liv >Foy > M.Bed> Kit Foy >Cir > Din > F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed> Kit Kit Foy > Cir > M.Bed > Din > F.Liv> Liv> Kit Din>Cir > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>Foy > F.Liv> Liv >M.Bed> Kit Din>F.Liv> M.Bed> Liv> Kit Foy >Din > F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed> Kit Foy > Din > F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>F.Liv> M.Bed> Liv> Kit Foy >Din > F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed> Kit
235
6.2.2 Visual Integration Considering Living-Dining Spaces
In this study it is found that visibility relation among the gendered spaces and shared spaces influences upon its privacy and visual control factor in the middle income group apartments. From the spatial organisation study in chapter five it was seen that the visual relationship between male gendered space ‘living’ and shared space ‘dining’ has an influence upon its privacy factor. Therefore this study will concentrate on the visual integration pattern of the living and dining to understand the privacy level provided in the existing plans of the studied apartments. Visual relationship of the spatial organisation is related with the characteristics of the connections of spaces. In a study by Guney (2007) it was seen that, the role of visual fields is related to the control of information provided to observers. Her findings of the research indicate that visibility analyses are more sensitive as it is able to account for variables such as the size of the openings between functional spaces. Considering the connection of the living and dining spaces three types of plans were seen in the studied apartments such as separate living-dining, continuous living-dining and attached living-dining. Table 6.22 below provides the percentage of these three types of living-dining condition found in the small, medium and large middle income group apartments. Table 6.21: Percentage of Types of living-dining in studied apartments Separate Living-Dining ( 5) Continuous Living-Dining (18) Attached Living-Dining (27) Total in Percentage
Small 0% 12% 2% 14%
Medium 6% 14% 16% 36%
Large 4% 10% 36% 50%
Total in Percentage 10% 36% 54%
Table 6.22: Average Visual Integration values in different types of living-dining condition Male gendered Shared space Transition space Female gendered spaces
Separate Liv –Din 7.94 Living 12.12 Dining Family 11.25 Circulation 12.04 Foyer 12.08 6.71 Kitchen Master Bed 7.2
Continuous Liv–Din 10.48 13.28 10.84 12.6 10.06 7.14 7.86
AttachedLiv–Din 9.23 13.04 10.84 11.18 10.84 6.72 7.94
236
In the studied apartments only 10% of the apartments have separate living and dining space. Four apartments out of five have foyer and living is approached from the foyer. In separate living and dining the visual integration value of male gendered space, living, is lower (Average of five cases: 7.94) than the shared-dining-space (Average of five cases: 12.12). In D-8 and D-9 the female heads are satisfied with the separate living dining and does not need curtain to protect visual privacy of the inner private spaces. In B-5 the living is totally separated from the spatial organisation and living has the lowest visual integration value (6.07). The economically non-active female head living in this apartment is satisfied with the privacy condition of her house. In Continuous living-dining the visual integration value of male gendered space (living) is higher compared to the separate living dining cases. Visual Integration of living is near to the visual integration value of shared space (dining). Average Visual integration of living is 10.48 and Average Visual integration of dining space is 13.28. When living and dining is continuous it has higher visibility. Visitors in these living can intrude the inner spaces more and privacy is hampered in these cases. In the six small sized apartments, where living dining is continuous space, dining is not separated from living and it is visually intruded from the living. Only the respondent in B-2 uses curtain between living and dining to protect their privacy from the visitor’s zone living. Female heads in rest apartments cannot use curtain as the living-dining space is too compact and curtain makes it congested. In B-6 there is no provision of using curtain and respondent feels uncomfortable when a visitor is in her living room. The respondent in B-12 does not prefer the common living dining space. She stressed upon the visual separation at the entrance so that the visitors cannot see the inner part of her house that is used mostly by female members of the house. In the seven medium sized apartments only A-13 and C-2 uses curtain to protect visual privacy from visitor’s zone. Respondents in A-1, A-11 and C-13 cannot use curtain to protect privacy because of the living–dining configuration and lack of provision of using curtain between these spaces. In the five large MIG apartments (A-8, C-7,C-8,C-9 and D-5) living dining is continuous. For lack of provision of using curtain the female heads cannot use curtain to protect visual privacy of the inner spaces from the visitor’s area.
237
Table 6.23: Visual Integration in Separate Living-Dining Ref D-8 D-9 C-1 A-7 B-5
Status non-active non-active Active non-active non-active
Privacy Need Yes No 1 1 1 1 1
curtain and location no curtain no curtain no curtain no curtain Foyer -dining Average
FOY 12.93 12.89 11.24 12.47 12.38
LIV 7.41 7.16 6.21 12.86 6.07 7.94
Visual Integration(HH) CIR DIN KIT 12.41 6.47 12.41 6.48 11.73 6.43 11.95 13.05 6.83 12.13 10.99 7.33 12.04 12.12 6.71
F.LIV 10.58 10.72
12.44 11.25
BED 7.31 7.51 6.78 8.38 6.04 7.20
Apartment D-8,9
Apartment B-5
Apartment C-1 Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah Figure 6.15: Visual characteristics of Separate Living-Dining
238
Table 6.24: Visual integration in Continuous Living-Dining
Large
Medium
Small
Privacy need
Ref A-5 B-2 B-6 B-7 A-6 B-12
Status non-active non-active non-active non-active Active Active
Y es 1 1 1 1 1
A-1 A-12 C-2 C-3 A-11 A-13 C-13
non-active non-active non-active non-active Active Active Active
1 1 1
A-8 D-5 C-7 C-8 C-9
non-active non-active Active Active Active
1 1
A-5
A-1
1 1
1
N curtain o location no curtain Living-dining 1 no curtain no curtain no curtain no curtain Average no curtain no curtain Living-dining 1 no curtain no curtain Dining-cir 1 no curtain Average no curtain no curtain 1 no curtain no curtain 1 no curtain Average
Visual Integration(HH)
others lack of provision
FOY
lack of provision lack of provision lack of provision Too congested
11.8 11.85 6
lack of provision lack of provision
11.8 6
does not need lack of provision lack of provision lack of provision lack of provision lack of provision lack of provision lack of provision
A-6
B-2
A-11
A-13
7.13 9.39 10.06
LIV CIR 12.15 11.52 12.4 3 10.66 9.56 12.85 9.36 14.0 11.02 13.23 11.52 15.33 7.31 11.16 6.96 9.673 14.73 15.5 9.00 10.38 9.32 12.67 6.94 10.65 9.40 12.28 13.56 15.21 8.15 11.45 2 11.57 12.08 11.38 10.48 12.60
B-6
DIN 15.91 10.29 17.17 14.75 12.77 13.13 14.00 14.05 10.16 10.77 17.88 12.45 12.70 8.14 12.31 13.89 13.81 17.66 10.51 12.97 13.28
F.LI BED KIT 7.45 V 9.77 7.51 8.10 8.58 8.41 6.84 8.59 6.33 7.79 7.67 9.67 7.40 0.0 8.72 0 6.05 6.29 6.73 7.19 5.46 5.84 7.61 6.78 6.99 7.85 7.59 8.13 5.34 6.78 6.54 0.0 6.98 0 8.19 7.71 6.47 7.83 9.34 10. 8.39 6.82 84 7.68 7.47 8.69 7.14 10.84 7.86
B-7
C-3
C-2 A-8
C-7
C-8
C-9
D-5
Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values (Turner 2001:31.1)
239
Figure 6.16: Visual characteristics of Continuous Living-Dining
B-2
B-6
Figure 6.17: Visual characteristics of Continuous Living-Dining in small apartments
A-13
C-2
A-1
A-11
Figure 6.18 :Visual characteristics of Continuous Living-Dining in medium sized apartments
240
In some compact apartments the wall separating the female gendered spaces from the visitors area are removed to make the space larger. In A-12 (with continuous living-dining) the female head has
demolished a wall that was between the dining and bedrooms
which created
separation with circulation. The VI considering wall and circulation of the living and dining space changes drastically when the wall and circulation was omitted. Living room becomes more visually intruding without the circulation as its VI value increases. But due to space compaction they have compromised privacy for the sake of spaciousness.
Table 6.25: Visual integration in A-12 with circulation and without circulation FOY VI with wall and circulation VI without wall and circulation
LIV 7.31 11.00
CIR DIN 11.13 10.16 15.1
KIT 6.73 7.27
F.LIV
BED 7.19 7.98
Apartment -12
Proposed Layout
Changed Layout
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values (Turner 2001:31.1)
Figure 6.19:Visual Characteristics of Continuous Living-Dining in apartment A-12
241
Table 6.26: Visual Integration in large apartment with continuous living-dining Ref A-8 D-5 C-7 C-8 C-9
Status non-active non-active Active Active Active
Privacy need Yes No curtain 1 no curtain 1 no curtain 1 no curtain 1 no curtain 1 no curtain
lack of provision lack of provision lack of provision lack of provision lack of provision
Visual Integration(HH) FO LIV CIR DIN KIT F.LI BED 13.5 15.2 13.8 8.19 7.71 8.15 11.4 13.8 6.47 7.83 11.5 17.6 9.34 10. 8.39 7.1 12.0 10.5 6.82 7.68 9.3 11.3 12.9 7.47 8.69
Apartment A-8
Apartment C-7
Apartment C-8
Legend L- Living; D-Dining; K-Kitchen; B-Bed room; T-Toilet; C-Circulation; V-Verandah
Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values [Turner 2001:31.1]
Figure 6.20:Visual characteristics of Continuous Living-Dining in large apartments
242
In Attached living and dining the two spaces are connected. In 27 apartments with attached living and dining, the visual integration value of male gendered space, living, is lower (Average of 27 cases:9.23) than the shared space, dining (Average of 27 cases: 13.04). But Visual integration of living here is higher compared to the Visual integration in separate living dining cases. Table 6.27: Visual integration in Apartments with attached Living-Dining Privacy need Visual Integration(HH) FOY LIV CIR DIN Ref Status Yes No curtain location A-10 C-4 C-5 C-11 C-12 D-11 B-11 B-13 A-2 A-4 A-9 B-1 B-4 B-9 C-10 D-6 A-3 B-3 B-8 B-10 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-7 D-10
non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active Active Active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active non-active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active A-10
D-11
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Liv-Din Liv-Din Liv-Din Liv-Din Liv-Din Liv-Foyer no curtain no curtain Average Liv-Din Liv-Din Liv-Din no curtain Liv-Din no curtain Liv-Din Liv-Din Liv-Din no curtain no curtain Liv-Din no curtain no curtain Liv-Din Liv-Din Liv-Din no curtain C-4
C-12
10.36 14.58 does not Need Pr 12.47
Foyer F.living
Foyer Need Pr Foyer Foyer
does not Average VI
9.92 8.11 6.02 11.66 13.31 10.52 14.03 11.61 9.76 8.15 12.02 11.75
10.84
7.34 11.51 8.46 7.64 9.41 8.44 11.84 11.72 9.33 10.58 7.68 8.47 9.58 10.69 8.85 10.28 10.50 8.55 10.57 10.48 10.67 9.36 8.98 7.04 7.13 8.64 7.14 9.23
9.28 11.28 11.87 10.14 10.88 11.43 11.26
11.77 11.74
11.18
8.18 14.71 13.25 11.68 16.78 11.65 13.83 13.07 12.90 14.35 13.07 14.74 12.97 12.73 9.93 16.58 15.18 14.52 13.59 15.19 15.09 12.92 11.93 11.57 7.49 14.53 9.49 13.04
C-5
B-11
Figure 6.21: Visual integration in Apartments with attached Living-Dining
KIT 5.09 7.39 6.02 5.97 7.78 6.47 6.25 5.95 6.26 7.14 7.65 7.08 6.36 7.38 5.44 7.03 8.12 7.51 6.84 8.48 7.68 6.68 6.72 6.07 6.02 7.04 5.74 6.72
F.LIV
11.83 9.12 9.04 10.00
12.13 13.09 14.47 9.68 10.86 10.66 7.17 7.16 10.21 7.80 10.25
BED 5.42 8.62 9.21 6.18 8.17 6.84 5.84 6.15 6.98 8.89 8.51 9.98 9.82 8.20 8.07 8.83 8.48 8.86 9.21 8.47 8.16 7.29 7.11 6.71 8.29 8.84 7.76 7.94
C-11
B-13
243
In the eight medium apartments (A-10, B-11, B-13, C-4, C-5, C-11, C-12 and D-11), where the living dining are attached, female heads used curtain between the living and dining to protect visual privacy in six apartments. The respondent Mrs Fatema Khatun, in B-11, does not prefer the common living dining space in her apartment as she cannot use curtain there and wishes for visual separation so that the visitors cannot see the inner part of her house. In C-4,entry is throughthe living and the attached part of living dining provides curtain rail but for the compactly arranged rooms around dining the female head is not in favour of using curtain between living and dining space . Apartment B-11
Apartment C-4
Figure 6.22:Visual characteristics of Attached Living-Dining in medium apartments In the eighteen large apartments (A-2,3,4,9, B-1,3,4,8,9,10,C-10 ,D-1,2,3,4,6,7,10) living and dining are attached . Eleven (A-2,3,4,9,B-4,10,C-10,D-3,4,6,7) out of these eighteen apartments use curtain between living and dining for privacy protection rest seven apartments do not use curtain. In A-2, the dining and living both have access from the exterior lobby. They have closed one entry door from lobby to dining. The female head used curtain between dining and living to preserve privacy of the inner spaces. In D-6 the female head use curtain between living and dining to preserve privacy of the inner spaces. In B-1, 3, 8, 9 and D-1, 2, 10 the dining and living both have access from foyer. The female head did not use curtain between dining and living to preserve privacy of the inner spaces.
244
Apartment A-2
Apartment D-6
Apartment B-1
Apartment D-1,2
Apartment B-8
Legend:' L- Living; D-Dining; K-Kitchen; B-Bed room; T-Toilet; C-Circulation; V-Verandah
Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values [Turner 2001:31.1]
Figure 6.23:Visual characteristics of Attached Living-Dining in large apartments
245
6.2.3 Status Influencing on Visual Privacy
Status of women influences upon their privacy in the domestic space. Economically non-active female heads who spend long hours in the house feel greater need for visual segregation from the male visitor’s area than the economically active female heads who stay a certain time away from the house due to their participation in the economic activities. From the questionnaire interview it was seen that 90% economically non-active and 67% of the economically active female heads prefer to have privacy in the domestic space from the visitor’s area. The 10% of the non-active female head and 33% of the active female head, who does not need visual separation from the visitor’s area, prefer an open living dining without walls or barrier as their flats are very compact.
The spaces where visitors are entertained in the domestic space are connected physically and visually with the inner family or female spaces. Depending on the openness of the visitor’s area female members take certain means to ensure visual privacy of the inner spaces from the formal and male visitor’s area. The response of the female head concerning privacy and using visual barriers (curtain) for preserving privacy was observed in the separate, continuous and attached living dining type apartments. In separate living-dining use of curtain is less by both the groups of female heads. Spatial segregation of the gendered spaces from the visitor’s space reduces the need for extra visual barrier in these apartments.75% economically non-active female heads, in four apartments where living and dining are separate, do not use curtain to protect visual privacy.
Table 6.28: Response of Female heads regarding use of visual barrier for privacy
Separate Liv-Din
Economically Use curtain
non-active
Do not use curtain Continuous
Liv- Use curtain
Economically active FH 25% 75%
Do not use curtain 20%80% Use curtain
100% 12%88%
Din
Cannot use curtain
Cannot use curtain
Attached Liv-Din
Use curtain
87%
Use curtain
42%
Do not use curtain
13%
Do not use curtain
58%
246
In the continuous living–dining, it is difficult to use curtain or other visual barrier for preserving privacy. 80% economically non-active and 88% economically active female heads cannot use curtain in apartments where living and dining is continuous to protect visual privacy. In the attached living-dining cases the economically non-active female heads use curtain to protect privacy more than the economically active female heads.87% of the economically nonactive female heads and 42% economically active female heads use curtain to protect visual privacy in attached living–dining apartments.
Privacy is desirable to female heads irrespective of their socio-economic status but it is higher in the economically non-active female heads as they spend comparatively long hours in the house than the economically active female heads. It is seen from the study that Male gendered space ‘living’ has lower Visual Integration in separate living-dining condition and privacy is maintained here without using visual barriers. In continuous living-dining VI is higher in living and due to lack of provision of using visual barriers here, privacy of female gendered spaces is difficult to be achieved. In most of the attached living-dining female heads use curtain or visual barriers to protect their privacy from the male gendered space.
Concluding the findings from the VGA analysis of the fifty MIG apartments in Dhaka it was seen that : •
Privacy of the gendered space depends on the visual relationship of the shared space with the male gendered spaces. The shared space is visually more integrated and has less privacy than the gendered spaces that are visually segregated in the spatial organisation. Visual Integration is higher in dining in these flats states that dining is the space which is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly. This space holds most activities performed by all the members of the family during the whole day although the privacy level is low here.
•
Spaces used by female members mostly are found to be placed at the deepest areas having less integration and less visibility. Kitchen is the space that has a lower value of visiual integration (VI) stating that it is segregated from the rest of the spatial organisation.The individual rooms like bedroom, toilet and kitchen have lowest visual integration having maximum visual privacy.
247
•
Privacy of the female gendered spaces depends on the openness of the spaces. From chapter five three types of conditions were found considering the relationship of the connection of male gendered space living and shared spaces dining. Visibility of the female gendered spaces from the living is greater when the configuration of the living dining is continuous or attached. In case of the separate living dining spaces the visibility reduces and privacy of the inner spaces increases with it.
•
As it is difficult to provide separate living dining in small apartments, most of the separate living-dining is found in the medium or in large apartments. In separate living and dining the visual integration value of male gendered space, living, is lower (Average of five cases: 7.94) than the shared dining space (Average of five cases: 12.12). Separate living dining provides more privacy than the continuous or attached living–dining. Female heads in these families do not need to use curtain or other visible barrier to protect their privacy from the visitor’s area.
•
36% of the studied apartments have continuous living –dining space. Among these 12% of the apartments are small 14% are medium and 10% are large. In Continuous living-dining the visual integration value of male gendered space living is lower (Average of eighteen cases: 10.48) than the shared dining space (Average of eighteen cases: 13.28) but Visual integration of living is higher compared to the Visual integration of living separate living dining cases. When living dining is continuous it has higher visibility from living thus it provides less privacy. Most of the respondents in continuous living-dining cases (15 out of 18) complained for lack of provision of using curtain between these spaces to protect privacy because of the living–dining configuration.
•
Most (54%) of the studied apartments have attached living and dining. When the living dining is attached, the visual integration value of male gendered space living is lower (Average of 27 cases: 9.23) than the shared dining space (Average of 27 cases: 13.04) but Visual integration of living is higher compared to those of the separate living dining cases. 36% apartments which have attached living–dining use curtain to protect their privacy.
248
6.2.4 Visual Control and its Order The local measure Visual control (VC) of the Visibility Graph Analysis with Depth map programme, gives us the values of locations that have the maximum visual control. The control measure picks out visually controlling spaces that can see more. Visual Dominance of the female head over their adjacent spaces depends on the visual control character of their working space in the house. In this study spatial organisation of the MIG apartments are analysed with VGA considering Visual Control to measure dominance over the adjacent spaces. It was found from the questionnaire survey of the middle income group families that intention for observing from their working space is 71% for economically active female head 76% for economically nonactive female heads. Activity pattern analysis (Chapter Five)of the female heads leads to assume the preference to see around while working in the economically non-active female heads to be higher from kitchen. In case of the economically active female heads observance from kitchen is lower as they spend less time in the kitchen while they are at home. The economically active female heads prefer to observe things from their working area dining mostly. In this part of study the visual control character of kitchen and dining from where the female heads want to observe things around them will be studied syntactically. Studying the Visual Control values of the MIG apartments (Table 6.33 and 6.34) was seen that 56% of the studied apartments have highest visual control in dining which is a shared space. 30% of the studied apartments have highest visual control in circulation space that connects the female gendered spaces with the shared spaces. 12% have highest visual control in Foyer transition space at the entrance and 2% have highest visual control in living which is a space for entertainment for the female heads of the families. Kitchen has the lowest VC in all the studied apartments. Table 6.29: Order of Visual Control and their percentage in the studied apartments Order of Visual Control Din >Liv/F.liv> M.Bed >F.Living>Kit Din>Foy >F.Living> Liv > M.Bed >Kit Din > Cir>M.Bed > Liv >Kit Din> M.Bed > Liv >Kit Cir > Din > Liv >F.liv> M.Bed >Kit Foy > Din > F.Liv> M.Bed > Liv > Kit Liv > Din > M.Bed >Kit
Percentage of Apartments 22% 14% 56% 14% 6% 30% 12% 2%
Highest VC shared space Dining
transition space Circulation transition space Foyer gendered space Living
249
Figure 6.24: Visual Control in different spaces of the MIG Apartments in Dhaka
250
Table 6.30: Order of Visual Control in Different Spaces Ref A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 A-5 A-6 A-7 A-8 A-9 A-10 A-11 A-12 A-13 B-1 B-2 B-3 B-4 B-5 B-6 B-7 B-8 B-9 B -10 B -11 B -12 B -13 C -1 C -2 C -3 C -4 C -5 C -6 C -7 C -8 C -9 C -10 C -11 C -12 C -13 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-5 D-6 D-7 D-8 D-9 D -10 D -11
Foyer
1.17 1.24 1.06 1.86 0.95 1.29 1.55 1.12 1.39
1.08
0.72 0.83 0.93 0.87
1.35 0.95 1.46 1.43 1.46 2.03 2.08 2.01 1.31
Living 1.35 1.14 1.04 0.94 1.09 1.12 1.29 1.03 0.88 0.99 0.90 1.09 0.99 0.95 1.09 1.01 1.15 0.92 0.99 0.91 0.92 1.06 1.16 1.04 1.03 1.26 0.84 0.91 1.18 1.11 0.85 1.08 0.93 1.21 1.31 1.14 0.99 0.88 0.89 1.01 1.02 1.05 1.07 0.88 1.01 0.88 0.91 0.96 0.91 0.83 1.02
Cir 1.85
1.39
1.11 1.62 1.52 1.93 1.58 1.85 1.67 2.15 1.82
1.75 1.72 1.31 1.26 1.35
1.26
1.61 1.43
1.63 1.73 1.36
1.59
Dining 1.71 1.70 1.56 1.46 1.66 1.35 1.43 1.29 1.35 1.31 1.54 1.21 1.66 1.45 1.11 1.47 1.50 1.28 1.63 1.72 1.56 1.51 1.72 1.25 1.23 1.30 1.32 1.68 1.68 1.63 1.61 1.31 1.81 1.29 1.03 1.95 1.12 1.77 1.21 1.34 1.38 1.35 1.09 1.54 1.76 1.63 1.33 1.36 1.14 1.58 1.46
Kitchen 0.74 0.79 0.67 0.68 0.72 0.67 0.85 1.05 0.78 0.94 0.72 0.88 0.89 0.87 0.91 0.86 0.75 0.96 0.96 0.85 0.81 0.65 0.73 0.79 0.75 0.95 0.83 1.06 0.77 0.81 0.79 0.89 0.88 0.81 0.83 0.62 0.62 0.71 0.83 0.81 0.87 0.86 0.84 0.81 0.76 0.75 0.79 0.79 0.75 0.71 0.81
F .Living
1.03
1.29 1.02 0.87
1.10
0.91
0.86 1.06 1.18 0.97 1.13 1.54 1.17 1.31 1.31 0.99 0.94 1.10
M. Bed 0.80 0.91 0.96 1.06 1.03 0.89 0.94 0.77 1.04 1.28 1.02 1.02 0.96 1.12 1.07 0.94 0.99 0.97 0.80 0.99 0.85 0.96 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.96 0.97 1.07 0.79 1.02 0.97 1.06 0.96 0.89 0.98 1.12 0.99 0.86 0.89 1.19 1.21 0.94 0.94 0.92 0.86 1.11 0.96 0.99 1.13 0.82 0.98
Order of visual Control C>D>L>MB>K D>L>MB>K D>L>MB>K D>C>MB> L>K D>L>MB>K D>L>MB>K D>L> C>MB>K C>D>L>K>MB D> MB> L>K C>D>L>MB>K C>D> MB> L>K C>D>L>MB>K C>D>L>MB>K D>F> MB> L>K C>D>L>MB>K D>F>L> MB>K C>D>L> F>MB>K F>C>D>FL> MB> L>K D> L>F>K> MB D>F> MB>L>K D>F> FL>L>MB>K D>F> FL>L>MB>K D>F> L> MB> FL>K C>D>L>MB>K C>D>L>MB>K C>D>L>MB>K D>F> MB>L>K D>C>MB>K> L D>C> L>MB>K D>L>MB>K D> MB>L> K D>C> L>MB>K D> L> MB>FL>K D>L>MB>K> F L>D> MB>K> F D>L>MB> F>K C>D>L>MB> F>K D> L> MB>FL>K C>D>L>MB>K F>D>FL> MB> L>K F>D>FL> MB> L>K C>F>D> L>FL> MB>K C>F>D> L>FL> MB>K D> C> MB> L>K D> FL>F>L>MB>K D> FL> MB> L>K F>D> FL> MB> L>K F>D> FL> MB> L>K D> MB> FL>L>K F>D> FL> MB> L>K
251
6.2.5 Visual Control Considering Transition Space
Dominance of the female gendered spaces depends on the visual control character of the gendered space on the adjacent spaces. From the earlier study in chapter five two types of conditions were found considering transition space, circulation, in the inner part of the spatial organisation: 1) Apartment with circulation and 2) Apartment without circulation.44%apartments have circulation in their spatial organisation. Medium apartments have circulation space more (22%) than the larger (16%) or smaller (6%) apartments.56% apartments are without circulation (Table 6.35).
Table 6.31: Percentage of Types apartments considering circulation Small Apartments with circulation
Medium Large
Total in Percentage
( 22)
6%
22%
16%
44%
Apartments without circulation ( 28)
8%
14%
34%
56%
14%
36%
50%
Total in Percentage
Table 6.32: Mean Visual Control in Apartments considering circulation Male gendered Shared space Transition space Female gendered spaces
Living Dining Family Circulation Foyer Kitchen Master Bed
Apartments with circulation
Apartments without circulation
1.06 1.37 1.15 1.59 1.34 0.84 0.97
1.00 1.52 1.18 1.30 0.78 0.98
From table 6.36 it is seen that in apartments with circulation, circulation has the highest VC (average 1.59) than the dining space (1.37). Kitchen, the female gendered space, has the lower visual control value (average 0.84) and have less visual control over the spaces in the spatial organisation. In apartments without circulation, dining has the highest VC (average 1.52). Kitchen, the female gendered space, has the lower visual control value (average 0.78) and have less visual control over the spaces in the spatial organisation.
252
In the small apartments with circulation (Figure 6.25), Circulation space has the highest visual control [average value of VC of circulation is 1.55] than shared space dining [average value of VC of dining is1.22]. Kitchen which is the female working space has the lowest VC value [average value 0.85] in the small MIG apartments. Circulation [1.55]> Dining [1.22]> Living [1.08]> M. Bed [1.03]>Kitchen [0.85] In the eleven medium MIG apartments with circulation (Figure 6.26), circulation space has the highest visual control [average value 1.59] than shared space dining [average value1.43] and kitchen has the lowest VC value [0.84]. [
Circulation [1.59] > Dining [1.43] > Living [1.05] > M. Bed [0.98] > Foyer[0.87] >Kitchen [0.84]
In the eight large MIG apartments with circulation(Figure 6.27),circulation has the highest visual control [average value 1.60] than shared space dining [average value1.36] and kitchen has the lowest VC value [0.85]. Circulation [1.60]> Foyer [1.45]>Dining [1.36] >F. Living [1.16]> Living [1.07] > M. Bed [0.94] >Kitchen [0.85]
Table 6.33: Visual Control in Small MIG Apartments with Circulation Visual Control Apartment
FOY
LIV
CIR
DIN
KIT
B-2
1.12
1.67
1.11
C-6
1.08
1.26
B-12 Average
1.03 1.08
1.72 1.55
B–2
Preference to see around F.LIV
BED
Yes
0.91
1.07
1
Wants to see from dining
1.31
0.89
1.06
1
Likes to observe from kitchen
1.23 1.22
0.75 0.85
0.96 1.03 C -6
No
1
Reason
Does not need to look around
B -12
Figure 6.25: VC values in Small Apartments with Circulation
253
Table 6.34: Visual Control in Medium MIG Apartments with Circulation Apartment A-1 A-10 A-12 C-2 C-3 C-11 A-13 C-13 A-11 B-13 B-11 Average
FOY
LIV CIR DIN KIT F.LIV BED Yes 1.35 1.85 1.71 0.74 0.8 1 0.99 1.52 1.31 0.94 1.28 1 1.09 1.58 1.21 0.88 1.02 0.91 1.26 1.68 1.06 1.07 1 1.18 1.35 1.68 0.77 0.79 1 0.87 0.99 1.61 1.12 0.62 0.99 0.99 1.85 1.66 0.89 0.96 1 0.89 1.43 1.21 0.83 0.89 1 0.9 1.93 1.54 0.72 1.02 1 1.26 1.31 1.35 0.95 1.1 0.96 1 1.04 1.75 1.25 0.79 0.95 0.87 1.05 1.59 1.43 0.84 1.10 0.98 A-1
B -13
C-3
A -12
C -13
A-13
No
1
1
1
Reason Likes to observe from kitchen Wants to see from dining Does not need to look around Likes to observe from kitchen Wants to see from dining Does not need to look around Wants to see from dining wants to see from bedroom Likes to observe from kitchen Wants to see from dining Does not need to look around
C -2
B-11
C-11
Figure 6.26: VC values in Medium Apartments with Circulation
254
Table 6.35: Visual Control in large MIG Apartments with Circulation Apartment A-8 D-5 A-4 A-7 B-4 B-5 D-3 D-4 Average
FOY
1.06 1.86 1.46 1.43 1.45
LIV 1.03 0.88 0.94 1.52 1.15 0.92 1.05 1.07 1.07
CIR 1.62 1.36 1.39 1.11 2.15 1.82 1.63 1.73 1.60
DIN 1.29 1.54 1.46 1.4 1.5 1.23 1.35 1.09 1.36
KIT 1.05 0.81 0.68 0.85 0.75 0.96 0.86 0.84 0.85
F.LI V
1.39 0.97 1.13 1.16
A-8
D-5
B -4
B -5
BED 0.77 0.92 1.06 0.94 0.99 0.97 0.94 0.94 0.94
Ye s1 1 1 1 1 1 1
N o 1
Reason Likes to observe from kitchen Does not need to look around Likes to observe from kitchen Likes to observe from kitchen Likes to observe from kitchen Wants to see from dining Likes to observe from kitchen Likes to observe from kitchen
A–4
D-3
Figure 6.27: VC values in large Apartments with Circulation
In four small apartments without circulation (Figure 6.28) ,shared space dining [1.59] has the highest visual control and kitchen, which is the female working space, has the lowest VC value [0.80]. Dining [1.59]> Foyer [1.12]> Living [1.03]>M. Bed [0.93]>Kitchen [0.80] In seven medium apartments without circulation (Figure 6.29), shared space dining [1.51] has the highest visual control than kitchen, which is the female working space [0.78]. Here the foyer has the highest visual control [1.80] as it connects dining, living visually. Foyer [1.80]>Dining [1.51]>F. Living [1.11]> Living [0.91]>M. Bed [0.94]>Kitchen [0.78]
255
In seventeen large apartments without circulation (Figure 6.29), shared space dining [1.50] has the highest visual control and kitchen, which is the female working space, has the lowest VC [0.78]. Dining [1.50]>Foyer [1.16]>F. Living [1.21]> M. Bed [1.01]>Living [0.91]>Kitchen [0.78] Table 6.36: Visual Control in Small MIG Apartments without Circulation Apartment A-5 B-6 B-7 A-6 Average
FOY LIV 1.09 0.95 0.99 1.29 0.91 1.12 1.12 1.03
CI
A-5
DIN 1.66 1.63 1.72 1.35 1.59
KIT 0.72 0.96 0.85 0.67 0.80
F.LI 1.03 0.8 0.99 0.89 0.93
Ye 1 1 1 1
No
Reason Likes to observe from kitchen Likes to observe from kitchen wants to see from bedroom Likes to observe from kitchen
B -7
B-6
A– 6
Figure 6.28: VC values in small apartments without circulation Table 6.37: Visual Control in medium MIG apartments without Circulation Apartment C-4 C-5 C-12 D-8 D-9 D-11 C-1 Average
FOY LIV 1.11 0.85 0.88 2.03 0.91 2.00 0.96 2.01 0.83 1.08 0.84 1.78 0.91 C4
CI R
DIN 1.63 1.61 1.77 1.33 1.36 1.58 1.32 1.52 C– 1
KIT 0.81 0.79 0.71 0.79 0.79 0.71 0.83 0.78
F.LI V 0.86 1.31 1.31 0.94 1.11
BED 1.02 0.97 0.86 0.96 0.99 0.82 0.97 0.94
Ye s1
No 1
1 1 1 1 1
Reason Wants to see from dining Does not need to look around Likes to observe from kitchen Does not need to look around Wants to see from dining Does not need to look around Wants to see from dining
C-12
D– 8,9
Figure 6.29: VC values in Medium Apartments without Circulation Table 6.38: Visual Control in Large MIG Apartments without Circulation
256
Apartment C-10 B-1 B-9 D-6 A-9 A-2 C-8 C-9 B-3 B-8 B-10 D-1 D-2 D-10 D-7 C-7 A-3 Average
FOY LIV 0.93 1.14 1.17 0.95 1.12 1.06 1.46 1.01 0.88 1.14 0.72 1.21 0.83 1.31 1.24 1.01 1.55 0.92 1.39 1.16 1.35 1.01 0.95 1.02 0.91 0.88 0.93 1.04 1.16 1.03 B -1
B -3
CIR DIN 1.95 1.45 1.36 1.76 1.35 1.7 1.29 1.03 1.47 1.56 1.72 1.34 1.38 1.14 1.63 1.81 1.56 1.50 B-9
B -8
KIT 0.62 0.87 0.65 0.76 0.78 0.79 0.81 0.83 0.86 0.81 0.73 0.81 0.87 0.75 0.75 0.88 0.67 0.78
F.LIV
1.86 1.54
1.29 0.87 1.06 1.18 0.99 1.17 0.91 1.21
BED 1.12 1.12 0.96 0.86 1.04 0.91 0.89 0.98 0.94 0.85 0.94 1.19 1.21 1.13 1.11 0.96 0.96 1.01
Yes No 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Reason Likes to observe from kitchen Wants to see from dining Wants to see from dining Does not need to look around Likes to observe from kitchen Wants to see from dining Does not need to look around Does not need to look around Work in the Bed(study) .Does not need totolook Wants seearound from dining Wants to see from dining Likes to observe from kitchen Likes to observe from kitchen Does not need to look around Likes to observe from kitchen wants to see from bedroom Wants to see from dining
D– 6
A-9
A-2
B-10
D-1
D– 7
Figure 6.30: VC values in large apartments without circulation
257
6.2.6 Status Influencing on Dominance Visual Dominance of the female head over their adjacent spaces depends on the visual control character of their working space in the house. From the activity pattern study of the female heads in the studied apartments it was seen that female heads work in the kitchen for cooking and in dining for cooking preparation, teaching children and doing other study works and some of the female heads work in bed room . The female heads also spend time watching TV in their house in their leisure time. While working in the house the female heads want to see the spaces around their working space to have visual control. The spaces in the house are used according to the activity pattern of the female heads and their status influences upon their activity pattern. While working in the house the female heads want to see the spaces around their working space to have visual control. It was found from the questionnaire survey of the middle income group families that
intention for observing from their working space is 71% for economically
active female head 76% for economically non-active female heads. Study shows that in middle income group apartment dining, a shared space has highest visual control (in 56% cases) and the gendered spaces, like kitchen, living, lack in visual control ability. Kitchen, the female gendered space, has the lower visual control value (average 0.81) in all the studied cases and have less visual control over the adjacent spaces in the spatial organisation. It was seen from the study that in apartments where circulation space is present, it reduces the visual control ability of the shared dining space. Visual control of the dining, the working space of the female heads in the family has highest dominance when circulation space is absent in the spatial organisation. Considering circulation the transition space in the inner part of the spatial organisation in apartments with circulation, circulation has the highest VC (average 1.59) than the dining space (1.37). In apartments without circulation, dining has the highest VC (average 1.52). Table 6.39: Response of Female heads regarding visual control from the female gendered spaces Apartments Economically non-active FH Economically active FH with Circulation Wants to see from Kitchen 50% Wants to see from Kitchen 38% Wants to see from Dining
29%
Wants to see from Dining
25%
without
Wants to see from Kitchen
33%
Wants to see from Kitchen 31%
Circulation
Wants to see from Dining
33%
Wants to see from Dining
30%
258
Table 6.39 gives a comparative study of the responses of Females heads regarding dominance or visual control from kitchen and dining. 29% economically non-active female and 25% economically active female heads want to see from dining space while teaching children. From Table 6.40 ,it is seen that circulation of apartment B-2,A-10,C-3 and B-5 has the highest visual control but the economically non-active female heads are seeking dominance from dining in these apartments which has lower visual control. Similarly economically active female heads in A-13, B-13 want to see from dining. In these plans circulation has the highest visual control value which does not coincide with the female heads desire of dominance from dining space. 50% economically non-active female heads and 38% economically active female heads want to see from Kitchen while cooking. Female heads in these apartments are not satisfied with the kitchen with respect to their visual control ability. Economically non-active female heads in A-1, A-4, A-7, A-8, B-4, C-2 , C-6 and economically active female heads in A-11, D-3 , D-4 are not satisfied with the visual control of kitchen as circulation in these apartments have the highest VC value and kitchen has the lowest VC values.
Active(8)
non-active(14)
Table 6.40:Visual Control in Apartments with Circulation Apt B-2 C-6 A-1 A-12 A-10 C-2 C-3 C-11 A-8 D-5 A-4 A-7 B-4 B-5 B-12 A-13 C-13 A-11 B-13 B-11 D-3 D-4
Visual Control Values CIR DIN KIT BED 1.67 1.11 0.91 1.07 1.26 1.31 0.89 1.06 1.85 1.71 0.74 0.80 1.58 1.21 0.88 1.02 1.52 1.31 0.94 1.28 1.26 1.68 1.06 1.07 1.35 1.68 0.77 0.79 1.61 1.12 0.62 0.99 1.62 1.29 1.05 0.77 1.36 1.54 0.81 0.92 1.39 1.46 0.68 1.06 1.11 1.40 0.85 0.94 2.15 1.50 0.75 0.99 1.82 1.23 0.96 0.97 percentage 1.72 1.23 0.75 0.96 1.85 1.66 0.89 0.96 1.43 1.21 0.83 0.89 1.93 1.54 0.72 1.02 1.31 1.35 0.95 0.96 1.75 1.25 0.79 0.95 1.63 1.35 0.86 0.94 1.73 1.09 0.84 0.94 percentage
Preference to see around while working Din Kit Yes No Reason 1 Wants to see from dining 1 1 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 Does not need to look around 1 Wants to see from dining 1 1 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 Wants to see from dining 1 1 Does not need to look around 1 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 Does not need to look around 1 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 Wants to see from dining 1 79% 21 29% 50% 1 Does not need to look around 1 1 Wants to see from dining 1 wants to see from bedroom 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 1 Wants to see from dining 1 Does not need to look around 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 75% 25% 25% 38%
Bed
0
1
13%
259
In apartments without Circulation, 33% economically non-active female heads and 30% economically active female heads want to see from dining space while teaching children (Table 6.39) . From Table 6.41,it is seen that dining in these apartments have the highest VC values and the female heads are satisfied with their dominance from dining space. Economically nonactive female heads in C-4, D-9, B-1, B-9, A-2 and economically active female heads in A-6, C1, B-8, B-10, and A-3 want to see from dining. As dining in these apartments have the highest VC values the female heads are satisfied with their dominance from dining space. 33% economically non-active female heads and 31% economically active female heads want to see from Kitchen while cooking. Economically non-active female heads in A-5, B-6, C-12, C-10 and A-9 and economically active female heads in D-1, D-2 and D-7 are not satisfied with the visual control of kitchen as circulation in these apartments have the highest VC value and kitchen has the lowest visual control.
Active (13)
non-active (15)
Table 6.41 :Visual Control in Apartments without Circulation Visual Control Values Apt CIR DIN KIT BED 1.66 A-5 0.72 1.03 1.63 B-6 0.96 0.80 1.72 B-7 0.85 0.99 1.63 C-4 0.81 1.02 1.61 C-5 0.79 0.97 1.77 C-12 0.71 0.86 1.33 D-8 0.79 0.96 1.36 D-9 0.79 0.99 1.58 D-11 0.71 0.82 1.95 C-10 0.62 1.12 1.45 B-1 0.87 1.12 1.36 B-9 0.65 0.96 1.76 D-6 0.76 0.86 1.35 A-9 0.78 1.04 1.70 A-2 0.79 0.91 percentage 1.35 0.67 A-6 0.89 1.32 0.83 C-1 0.97 1.29 0.81 C-8 0.89 1.03 0.83 C-9 0.98 1.47 0.86 B-3 0.94 1.56 0.81 B-8 0.85 1.72 0.73 B-10 0.94 1.34 0.81 D-1 1.19 1.38 0.87 D-2 1.21 1.14 0.75 D-10 1.13 1.63 0.75 D-7 1.11 1.81 0.88 C-7 0.96 1.56 0.67 A-3 0.96 percentage
Preference to see around while working Reason Din Kit Bed Likes to observe from kitchen 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 wants to see from bedroom 1 Wants to see from dining 1 1 Does not need to look around 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 Does not need to look around 1 Wants to see from dining 1 1 Does not need to look around 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 Wants to see from dining 1 1 Wants to see from dining 1 1 Does not need to look around 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 Wants to see from dining 1 73% 27% 33% 33% 7% 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 Wants to see from dining 1 1 Does not need to look around 1 Does not need to look around 1 Does not need to look around 1 Wants to see from dining 1 1 Wants to see from dining 1 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 Does not need to look around 1 Likes to observe from kitchen 1 1 wants to see from bedroom 1 1 Wants to see from dining 1 69% 31% 30% 31% 8% Yes 1 1 1 1
No
260
The intention for observing from their working space is higher for both economically active and non-active female heads. Use of dining is higher in the economically non-active female heads and they want to see things around while they are working in dining space. The economically active female heads also prefer to observe things from their working area dining mostly. Only 33% economically non-active female heads and 30% economically active female heads are satisfied with their dominance from dining space.
Activity pattern of the female heads and their preference to see around while working in kitchen is higher in the economically non-active female heads as they spend long hours in the kitchen than the economically active female heads. In case of the economically active female heads observance from kitchen is lower as they spend less time in the kitchen while they are at home. The spatial organisation of the kitchen does not support this observation nature of female heads from the kitchen in the middle income group apartments. Spatial analysis concludes that kitchen has the lowest visual control in all the studied MIG apartments and dominance from kitchen is not satisfying the female heads of the MIG apartments.
261
6.3 Conclusion The spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments in Dhaka depicts characteristics which interpret the symbolic aspects of the contemporary middle income group families. In this part of the study Space Syntax methodology is undertaken for analysing spatial configurations to understand the gender related symbolic expression on the spatial organisation. The activity pattern study in chapter five denotes some spaces as male gendered space for having concentration of activities of male members of the family. Living in contemporary urban apartments is for the outsiders and guests. Dining is used for eating and doing other household works. Due to compact layout in the contemporary apartments, dining acts as a common shared space. Kitchen is a working space which is mostly used by female members of the family. Bed rooms are for sleeping and performing different activities. From the first part of the analysis “the core house” of the middle income group families is defined. The core house in the middle income group is mainly composed of the basic function spaces like living, dining, kitchen, two or three bedrooms, verandahs and toilets. In most of the small compact apartments transition space is absent at the entry and dining, being a shared space, act as a node by distributing access from it to the female gendered spaces (bedrooms and kitchen). Most of the medium apartments have tree-like configurations and shared space dining acts as a node connecting living, kitchen, toilet and circulation. ‘Shared space dining’ acts as the node to the internal spaces in configurations those do not have transition space in their spatial organisation. although some of the foyers do not create ring among the spaces, but most of the medium apartments where foyer is present, ’transition space foyer’ acts as a node to the exterior and living, guest bed room and dining spaces . Where circulation is present in the configuration, circulation and dining which are shared spaces act as nodes. In the larger apartments, foyer at the entry create ring in the living, dining and foyer spaces and provides choice in access. Shared space 'Dining' is the node that connects the female gendered spaces. Circulation, where present, acts like a spine to connect the internal female gendered spaces with the shared spaces. In the larger MIG apartment foyer, circulation and sometime family living as an extension of formal living is found to be present in addition to the basic components of the core house.
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Without Foyer
Table 6.45 :The “Core House” of the MIG Apartments: In apartments where Foyer(transition space) is absent at the entry, one enters to the living or dining (Figure 6.3 a) or to both living and dining(Figure 6.3 b)from the exterior lobby space. Shared space dining acts as the node in the spatial organisation. The configuration in this type is shallow because of the absence of transition spaces. Figure 6.3 a Dining, the shared space, in this type configuration is the most integrated space. Shared space is between the male gendered space and the female gendered spaces. Gendered spaces living and master bed room has lower integration than the shared spaces. Kitchen, the female gendered space, is the space that is most segregated in the configuration.
With Circulation
With Foyer
Figure 6.3 b
In apartments where foyer is present, it acts as a node to the exterior and living, guest bed room and dining spaces. In some cases (Figure 6.3 c) the foyer, dining and living are in a ring having choice of access in these spaces. In some cases (Figure 6.3 d) the foyer does not have ring among the spaces. Figure 6.3 c
Dining acts as another node to the female gendered spaces. When foyer is present the integration of dining is highest in the configuration. Dining, the shared space is the most integrated space in this type of configuration. Gendered spaces, living and master bed room, have lower integration than the shared spaces. Kitchen in this type of configuration has higher integration than living (the male gendered) and bed room (the female gendered space). Figure 6.3 d
In the apartments where circulation is introduced in the central position, it acts as a node in the configuration, connecting the internal female gendered spaces with the shared space. In the apartments where circulation is present circulation becomes the most integrated space by being the node. Integration values of dining in these types are less than the integration of the dining in Figure 6.3 e the foyer type configuration. Here circulation acts as insulation Legend between the female gendered space and the male gendered and L- Living, D - Dining, shared space which supports Hanson’s theory of transition and C - Circulation, spaces that these passage ways separate rooms to secure the FL-Family Living B - Bed room, boundaries against trespassers and has the effect of insulating K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, spaces from one another (Hanson 1998:284-285). V – Verandah
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Ringyness of houses usually supports social situations where the dominant interface in the dwelling is between an individual host and his guests or visitors(Hanson, 1998: 279). Ringyness was also a dominant feature in the traditional houses of Dhaka, which created choice in access without intruding the gendered spaces. In the spatial organisation of the MIG apartments of Dhaka, significant number of houses (44%) have Tree–like configurations while ‘ringyness’ appears more predominant as 56% has ring in their configuration. ‘Ringyness’ at the entry seems a crucial point as it segregates the visitors and the inhabitants and thus helps to maintain privacy in the domestic space. Among the two options for creating ringyness at the entry foyer seems more effective and popular among the female members of the middle income group as it segregates visitors in the domestic space.
Ringyness is created with accessibility among transition space, gendered space and shared spaces. In most of the small compact apartments transition space is absent at the entry and one enters directly to the living from the exterior lobby space. In some cases verandah or an intervening transition space creates ring with the bedrooms and gives choice in movement which helps to protect the privacy of the female gendered spaces. Although some of the foyers do not create ring among the spaces, but in most of the medium and large apartments where foyer is present, ’transition space foyer’ acts as a node to the exterior and living, guest bed room and dining spaces and provides choice in access. In some apartments, where foyer is not present, entry to both living and dining from the exterior creates a ring at the entrance. This helps to preserve the privacy of the internal spaces from the living room.
1.
1. Entry Through Foyer 2. Entry Through Foyer
2.
3.
4.
5.
3. Entry directly to Living and Dining 4. Entry directly to Living and Dining 5. Entry Through Living
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, FL- Family Living, T- Toilet, V – Verandah.
Figure 6.31: Different Types of Entry in MIG Apartments
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Transition space Foyer has become an important element as it impacts upon the symbolic aspects of the domestic space. Use of foyer has an impact on the affordability of the owner and at the same time it creates depth in terms of segregation with visitors from the inhabitants in the domestic space. Foyer, at depth 01,act as a buffer space and helps to segregate the gendered spaces from the shared spaces by increasing depth of the female gendered spaces from male gendered spaces. In apartments where foyer is absent at the entry [56% of the sample],it creates shallow type configuration. Shared space is between the male gendered space and the female gendered spaces. In 44% apartments where foyer is present, it acts as a node to the exterior and living, guest bed room and dining spaces. 73% of these apartments are ringy type as it creates choice in access with ring among living, dining and foyer space. In the apartments where transition space circulation is introduced in the central position it acts as a node in the configuration by connecting the internal female gendered spaces with the shared spaces. When transition is not present in the apartments, dining acts as the node and becomes the most integrated space in the configuration. Presence of the transition space makes the male gendered space ‘living’ and female gendered space 'kitchen' more segregated in the configuration. Concluding the findings from the VGA analysis of the fifty MIG apartments in Dhaka it was seen that the shared space is visually more integrated and has less privacy than the gendered spaces that are visually segregated in the spatial organisation. Spaces used by female members mostly are found to be placed at the deepest areas having less integration and less visibility. The individual rooms like bedroom, toilet and kitchen have lowest visual integration having maximum visual privacy. Kitchen is segregated from the rest of the spatial organisation visually also. Dining which is a shared space in the MIG apartments have high Visual Integration as this space is mostly connected with all other adjacent spaces visibly. This space holds most activities performed by all the members of the family during the whole day although the privacy level is low here. Visibility of the female gendered spaces from the living is greater when the configuration of the living dining is continuous or attached. In case of the separate living dining spaces the visibility reduces and privacy of the inner spaces increases with it. Male gendered space ‘living’ has lower VI in separate living-dining condition. As it is difficult to provide separate living dining in small apartments, most of the separate living-dining is found in the medium or in large apartments. Female heads in these families do not need to use curtain or other visible barrier to protect their privacy from the visitor’s area.
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When living dining is continuous it has higher visibility from living thus it provides less privacy. Most of the respondents in continuous living-dining cases (15 out of 18) complained for lack of provision of using curtain between these spaces to protect privacy because of the living–dining configuration. In continuous living-dining VI is higher in living and due to lack of provision of using visual barriers here, privacy of female gendered spaces is difficult to maintain.
Most (54%) of the studied apartments have attached living and dining. When the living dining is attached, the visual integration value of male gendered space living is lower than the shared dining space but Visual integration of living is higher compared to the separate living dining cases. In most of the attached living-dining female heads use curtain or visual barriers to protect their privacy from the male gendered space.
Privacy is desirable to female heads irrespective of their socio-economic status but it is higher in the economically non-active female heads as they spend comparatively long hours in the house than the economically active female heads.
Visual Dominance of the female head over their adjacent spaces depends on the visual control character of their working space in the house. It was found from the questionnaire survey of the middle income group families that intention for observing from their working space is higher in the MIG female heads [71% for economically active female head 76% for economically nonactive female heads]. Activity pattern analysis (Chapter Five)of the female heads leads to assume the preference to see around while working in the economically non-active female heads to be higher from kitchen. In case of the economically active female heads observance from kitchen is lower as they spend less time in the kitchen while they are at home. The economically active female heads prefer to observe things from their working area dining mostly.
Studying the Visual Control values of the MIG apartments was seen that 56% of the studied apartments have highest visual control in dining which is a shared space. 30% of the studied apartments have highest visual control in circulation space that connects the female gendered spaces with the shared spaces. 12% have highest visual control in Foyer transition space at the
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entrance and 2% have highest visual control in living which is a space for entertainment for the female heads of the families. Kitchen has the lowest VC in all the studied apartments.
Dominance of the female gendered spaces depends on the Visual control character of the gendered space on the adjacent spaces. From the earlier study in chapter five two types of conditions were found considering circulation, the transition space, in the inner part of the spatial organisation: 1) Apartment with circulation and 2) Apartment without circulation. It was seen from the study that in apartments where circulation space is present, it reduces the visual control ability of the shared dining space. Considering circulation the transition space in the inner part of the spatial organisation in apartments with circulation, circulation has the highest VC (average 1.59) than the dining space (1.37). In apartments without circulation, dining has the highest VC (average 1.52). Visual control of the dining, the working space of the female heads in the family has highest dominance when circulation space is absent in the spatial organisation.
Study shows that in middle income group apartment dining, a shared space has highest visual control and the gendered spaces lack in visual control ability. Kitchen, the female gendered space, has the lower visual control value (average 0.84) and have less visual control over the spaces in the spatial organisation. From the activity pattern study of the female heads in the studied apartments it was seen that female heads work in the kitchen for cooking and in dining for cooking preparation, teaching children and doing other study works and some of the female heads work in bed room . While working in the house the female heads want to see the spaces around their working space to have visual control.
The intention for observing from their working space is higher for both economically active and non-active female heads. Use of dining is higher in the economically non-active female heads and they want to see things around while they are working in dining space. As circulation reduces the visual control ability of the shared dining space, female heads are satisfied with their dominance from dining space in the apartments without circulation than the apartments with circulation.
Dominance from kitchen is lower in the economically active female heads as they spend less time in the kitchen than the economically non-active female heads. The spatial organisation of the kitchen does not support the observation nature of female heads from the kitchen in the middle income group apartments. Spatial analysis concludes that kitchen has the lowest visual
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control in all the studied MIG apartments and dominance from kitchen is not satisfying the female heads of the MIG apartments. In this respect a few female heads expressed their desire to have open type kitchen layout to solve this problem which may be addressed thoroughly in further studies.
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Chapter 07: Socio-Symbolic 7.0
Interpretation of Spatial Organisation
Introduction
7.1 Recapitulation of the Main Objectives 7.1.1 Spatial Organisation of MIG apartments 7.1.2 Symbolic Dimension in MIG apartments of Dhaka 7.1.2.1 Segregation in the Spatial Organisation 7.1.2.2 Privacy in MIG Apartments 7.1.2.3 Dominance 7.1.3 Status influencing Symbolic Aspects of MIG Apartments 7.2 Conclusion: Towards gender sensitive design of the MIG Apartments
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7.0 Introduction Houses usually encode a wealth of social and symbolic information which constitute a shared framework of spatial patterns. Spatial organisation of the domestic space is a physical manifestation of the activity and cultural values. Symbolic approaches interpret the built environment as an expression of culturally shared mental structures and processes and among the anthropological studies so far produced on the use of space, researchers found symbolism of gender to occupy a prominent place (Waterson R,1990:167-198). This study deals with the socio-spatial-symbolic interpretation of the studied fifty MIG apartments in Dhaka considering gender aspects. The research question is based on a hypothesis that change in the socioeconomic status of the middle income group women is creating a consequent socio-cultural symbolic perception which is reflected in the spatial organisation of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka. From the previous studies on urban houses of Dhaka it was seen that gender related symbolic aspects were given priority in the domestic spatial organisation. Due to rapid urbanization domestic spaces have undergone modifications and have assumed a new shape. Cost of the apartments increased as a result of rapid urbanisation and confined the middle income group families within compact space in the contemporary urban scenario. Study finds inclination to the tendency of holding traditional cultural values among the contemporary middle income group families; however space constraint and affordability has been acting as an obstacle to achieve these desired aspects. In the context of Bangladesh economic activities of women along with other socio cultural determinant are influencing on their gender role within the household. In the compact apartments the educated middle income group female users are confronting with their symbolic perceptions and spatial requirements and in most of the cases they are compromising with their symbolic perceptions to sustain in the densely populated city. With a recapitulation of the main objectives and issues, this chapter creates an argument of the findings of the investigation. The study findings lead to formulating concepts of domestic spatial requirements focusing gender aspects like existence of gendered spaces and their relation to other spaces in the compactly arranged MIG apartments and the symbolic perceptions of the women users in these apartments. In order to draw final conclusions on the basis of the outcome of the investigations, this chapter outlines a set of broad issues and agenda to help to construct guidelines for middle income group apartments which will be gender sensitive especially considering the change of status of women.
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7.1 Recapitulation of the Main Objectives
The study deals with the Socio-Spatial-Symbolic interpretation of the studied fifty MIG apartments in Dhaka. The research work is organised by addressing the two objectives of the study. The first objective, 'to understand the spatial organisation, particularly the existence and influence of gendered space, due to the socio-economic changes of women in the residential apartments of Dhaka' , tries to explain a relationship between spatial organisation of the contemporary middle income group apartments in Dhaka and gender related symbolic or cultural expressions, which is based on the concept of segregation, privacy and dominance in the context of Bangladesh.
The second objective, 'to trace the change of requirements, both physical and psychological, of the contemporary women and their influence on the spatial organization of MIG apartments', tries to find out whether the social status of the middle income group women living in these apartments influence upon the spatial organisation of the contemporary apartments . Outcome of this objective may help to identify some guidelines for designing residential apartments.
Three different aspects aroused from the research question as spatial dimension , symbolic dimension and social dimension of urban house form . Addressing these three dimensions of urban houses the main research problem, “How does the change in socio-economic status of women impact on the spatial organization of the contemporary Residential Apartments in Dhaka”, leads to a number of sub-questions: •
Spatial Dimension
: What are the characteristics of the spatial organisation of MIG apartments in Dhaka focusing gender aspects?
•
Symbolic Dimension : What are the gender related symbolic aspects of the contemporary MIG apartments? • Spatial Dimension
: How does status of woman influence on the spatial organisation of MIG apartment’s in Dhaka?
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7.1.1 Spatial Organisation of MIG Apartments in Dhaka The first sub question leads to finding the characteristics of the MIG apartments in Dhaka focusing Gender aspects. An overview of the previous types of urban houses in Dhaka shows that a transformation has taken place considering the spatial organisation. From the spatial analysis of the selected Introvert type plans (Figure 4.04) a deeper arrangement with ringy type configuration (60%) with choice has been found. Courtyard acted as a shared space and connected the male dominated space outhouse with the female dominated spaces, which were segregated in the spatial organisation. The Extrovert type plans were highly ringy and confirm to a deeper arrangement where the female dominated rooms and kitchen were segregated and located at a deeper position. Most of the Consolidated type plans were found to be ringy and dining replaced the courtyard and became the most integrated shared space in the configuration. (Figure 7.01 and 7.02)
It was seen in the syntactic analysis of middle income group apartments in chapter six that significant number of houses (44%) have 'tree–like' configurations while ‘ringyness’ slightly governs as 56% has ring in their configuration. Spaces in the apartments vary according to the size of the apartments. The small compact MIG apartments are composed of 9 to 12 numbers of spaces where the basic function spaces like living, dining, bed rooms (Two /Three), kitchen, toilets (2/3) and verandah (2/3) are provided without transition spaces. In the small apartments one enters directly to the living from the exterior lobby space. Dining, being a shared space, act as a node by distributing access from it to the female gendered spaces (bedrooms and kitchen). Most of the medium apartments have tree-like configurations with 11 to 16 numbers of spaces. Along with the basic function spaces foyer, circulation and family living spaces are added. Here transition space foyer acts as a node to the exterior and living, guest bed room and dining spaces. ‘Shared space dining’ acts as another node to the female gendered spaces. Where circulation is present in the configuration, circulation and dining which is shared space act as the nodes. Most of the large apartments are composed of 12 to 17 numbers of spaces, where foyer, circulation and sometime family living as an extension of formal living is found to be present in addition. In Most of the large apartments foyer at the entry gives choice in access. Circulation, where present, acts like a spine to connect the internal female gendered spaces with the shared spaces.
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Consolidated-4
Extrovert - 3 Introvert - 4
ApartmentD-1 (Ringy type)
ApartmentC-2 (Tree type)
depth 06 depth 05 depth 04 depth 03 depth 02 depth 01 depth 00
Legend: Exterior, OH-Out House, CY -Court Yard, H-Hall, F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V - Verandah
Figure 7.01: J graphs of typical Introvert, Extrovert, Consolidated and MIG apartment
Female Gendered space
Male gendered space
Transition
Shared Space
Female Gendered space
Shared Space
Shared Space
Male Gendered Space
Transition
Female gendered space
Male Gendered Space
Transition space
Introvert Houses
Consolidated Houses
MIG apartment
Figure 7.02: Gendered and Shared space in Introvert, Consolidated and MIG apartments
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Some changes of the spatial configuration can be pointed out by studying the spatial organisations of the traditional and contemporary urban houses in Dhaka : •
Cell like rooms were arranged around a central courtyard in the traditional houses ,which converted to cell like rooms around dining space in the later MIG apartments (Figure 7.02).
•
Court yard acted as a node in the traditional layouts whereas dining acts as the node in the apartments.
•
In the Introvert courtyard type houses outhouse is the guest receiving area near the entrance, in Extrovert type houses hall or drawing room and in Consolidated houses drawing room near the entrance is space for social interaction.
•
Transition space created choice in access to the male and shared spaces. In the traditional houses the two access from the exterior leads to the male out house and to the courtyard simultaneously. From earlier study it was seen that entry verandah space is used by the male members of the house to interact with the community and acts as a male gendered space in the domestic environment. In the compact apartments this transition space is not present in a large number of smaller apartments due to space compaction (Figure 7.03 i, ii ). Entry is directly to the male gendered space living or shared space dining without
any transition space. In some medium and larger
iii
With Circulation
I
With Foyer
Without Foyer
apartments foyer like transition space is added (Figure 7.03 iii, iv ).
v
ii iv Figure 7.03: J graphs of MIG apartments considering Transition space (Foyer and Circulation)
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Ringyness is an essential feature of spatial configurations in the traditional houses which is created with choice of access among transition space, gendered space and shared spaces. Choice of access includes the circulation space in all the cases creating options of movement. Rings or choice in movement occurred in two zones in MIG apartments: a) Entry to the house gives choices of access with ring among male gendered spaces and shared spaces from exterior.
b) Verandah or an intervening transition space at the deeper area creates ring with the bedrooms which gives choice in movement and helps to protect the privacy of the female gendered spaces (Figure 7.04).
C-4
B-12 Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living ,D - Dining, C-Circulation, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah, B - Bed room, FL- Family Living, T- Toilet, V – Verandah.
Figure 7.04: J graphs and Visual relationship (with VGA) in the apartments with ring at deep area
275
In the spatial organisation of the MIG apartments of Dhaka, ‘Ringyness’ at the entry seems a crucial point as it segregates the visitors and the inhabitants and thus helps to maintain segregation and privacy in the domestic space. Female heads have expressed content in achieving privacy with the presence of foyer as it separates the visitors from visually intruding their family spaces. In apartment A-3 the dining and living both have access from the exterior lobby. The respondent has closed one entry door from lobby to dining to preserve the privacy of the inner spaces. A-3
In apartment C-5 respondent has closed one door from lobby to living as she wants to control entry in her house by one door.
C-5
In apartment A-4 access from exterior is with two doors and female head keeps one door to living closed most of the time.
A-4
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C-Circulation, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V -Verandah, B - Bed room, FL- Family Living, T- Toilet, V – Verandah.
Figure 7.05: Choice of access in MIG Apartments without Foyer
In some of the apartments ring is among exterior-living-dining where foyer is not present (Figure 7.05). Here two doors to living and dining space are provided simultaneously from the exterior lobby space. Among the two options for creating ringyness at the entry foyer seems more effective and popular among the female members of the middle income group as it segregates visitors in the domestic space. However it was found during the survey that many of the female heads do not use two doors and have closed one door. As a result this ring in the access does not work in these apartments.
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Types of spaces in the spatial organisation indicate the character of that particular space. Cell like a-type space offers maximum segregation in the spatial organisation, while b-type spaces act as shared spaces mostly as they are connected with other spaces. c-type of space gives choice in access as they form ring among the spaces. From the study it was seen that: • 76% of the male gendered space, living, are b-type and c-type having connection with other spaces and only 24% living are cell like a- type space. • Shared space, dining, is of b-type mostly (52%) and in some cases these are of c-type(48%) when choice in movement is there within the spaces. • Transition spaces are of b-type mostly and in some cases these are of c-type when choice in movement is there within the spaces. • Female gendered space ,Kitchen, is accessed from dining and in smaller flats it is a-type terminal space (18%). 82% kitchen has b-type space having link with its support facilities like verandah and servant’s toilet. • Female gendered space ,Master bed room, is also b-type of space for being connected with other spaces like attached toilet and verandah and create a group of spaces that are approached from the one room making it a-type terminal spaces with maximum privacy and segregation.
Table 7.01 : Percentage of different types of spaces in MIG apartments Living a-type space maximum segregation b-type space connected with other spaces c-type space choice in access
Dining
Foyer
24%
Kitchen
M. Bed
18%
32%
52%
36%
44%
48%
64%
82%
78% 22%
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7.1.2 Symbolic Dimension: Gendered Spaces in MIG apartments of Dhaka “Among the anthropological studies so far produced on the use of space, the symbolism of gender occupies a prominent place and given the subordinate role of women in many societies, it is no surprise to find women persistently relegated to ‘inferior’ spaces such as back of the house, excluded from the public to private or trapped in domestic sphere which is intended to be restricted both physically and mentally.” (Waterson R, 1990:167-198) The second sub-question leads to finding the gender related symbolic aspects of the contemporary MIG apartments. The symbolic gender aspects that are the reflection of the culture and society are expressed through the spatial organisation of the of the contemporary middle income group apartments' families in Dhaka. Gendered and shared spaces are one of the categories conceptualized with the concentration and segregation of the male and female members of the household. This division of space as gendered or shared is governed culturally. Study of activity pattern reveals that the spaces in the apartments are used differently by the male and female members of the family according to their activity pattern. Some spaces are used extensively by the male members of the family and some are dominated by the female members of the family. Within the traditional household a hierarchical social morphology is seen. A strict separation may be detected between the lines of women and those of men in traditional times and mainly referred to as a separation of women’s and men’s role and spheres of activity. Female seclusion was considered as symbol nobility in this sub-continent. Women used to live at home and men work outside. Tasks of women were restricted to domestic spheres: cooking, sewing, cleaning, childcare and the well-to-do families did not allow their female members to work outside for the sake of their social status. Post-Colonial and after-independence (from 1971) created a growing awareness among women about their rights and responsibilities in the new society.
Based on the previous studies(Imamuddin, 1982; Shabeen, 1997; Khan F A U, 1999; Rashid, 2000; Islam, 2003),it was seen that family activities such as working, eating, sleeping, cooking, etc. are performed in the inner part of the house while formal activities such as socializing, receiving guests, which include participation in the community are performed in the outer part of the house near to the entry. Thus the domestic spaces in the urban houses of Dhaka can be resolved into two categories: 1) Family domain among inhabitants and 2) Extended domain among the inhabitants and the visitors.
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Middle income families, in Dhaka, interact with visitors mainly in living. Living, which is used for entertaining the visitors and for community interaction is a formal space and there exists a segregation concerning visitors with the female inhabitants which affects the privacy of the female inhabitants with respect to the visitors. Considering extended domain living is symbolically a male gendered space. For finding the spaces of interaction with visitors the respondents were questioned about and it was seen that male member use the living room for interacting with guests in 100% cases. In 76% cases of the economically non-active female heads and 90% of the economically active female heads use the living for entertaining visitors. In the contemporary middle income group apartments spaces are compactly arranged for bringing the apartment into affordable range of the middle income groups. Especially in the smaller apartments living is serving for holding multiple activities. Living space in the contemporary middle income group apartments are used for receiving and entertaining visitors mainly. In traditional houses outhouse is the guest receiving area in the public zone near the entrance. From a comparative study in chapter four it was seen that the spaces used by male members (outhouse/living) are placed at depth that is close to the exterior and the spaces those are used by women (kitchen, bed, etc.) are located at depth that is far from the exterior. In the traditional society living is observed as a gendered space which is dominated by male members of the family. Unlike the traditional domestic spaces this living space in the contemporary middle income group apartment has a dual character. The use of living is not only for receiving guests and used by male members of the family. Study reveals that it is being used by both male and female members of the family nearly equally for other purposes. From the comparison of the activities of the male heads in economically active and non-active female headed families(in Chapter 05,Table 5.08) it was seen that male heads spend up to 10% of their activity period in living for interacting with visitors and spend their leisure time watching TV or reading newspapers. Economically non-active female heads spend 11%-20% activity period (Chapter 05, Figure 5.25) in living and economically active female heads spend 0%-10% activity period in living for the same purposes. Considering the activity of the living room it is found as a shared space for both male and female members of the family. Use of Living room is higher in the female heads of the economically non-active group than the economically active group. 66% of the economically non-active female heads stay 11%-20% of their activity period in living and 86% of economically active female heads stay 0%-10% of their activity period in living.
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Study of the fifty contemporary middle income group apartments reveals the master bed room to have a dual character too. Master bed room is a shared space as both male and female members of the family use it. Bedrooms are used for resting and female heads spend 31%-45% of their time in bedroom daily. Female heads those who perform daily prayer (namaj), use their bed room for praying. Use of bedroom is less in the families where the female heads have to stay out for different activities. Most of the economically active female heads spend 11%-20% of their time in bedroom daily. In addition bedroom is used for working and interacting with female and family visitors by the female heads. It was seen from this study that female heads have the tendency of taking their family and female visitors into their bedrooms and this is higher in the non-economic group more (24% in non-active and 19% in active group). Considering female heads’ activity and domain, Master bed room is restricted for female visitors and in this respect master bed room is symbolically a female gendered space. From the activity pattern we see that Kitchen is used for cooking solely and used by the female members in the families. In the study it was found that cooking is done by the female members. Male participation in cooking is very negligible. Thus the working or service zone kitchen in contemporary apartment is female gendered space. From the daily activity table of twenty nine economically non-active female heads’, it is seen that their daily household activities are performed in the kitchen and dining. While they are at home the economically non-active female heads spend most of their time in kitchen preparing the breakfast in the morning, cooking meals and preparing snacks in the evening. Economically active female heads working pattern is slightly different from the former one as they stay a certain period out of the house. Analysing the result of the two groups of female heads it is seen that use of kitchen is higher in the economically non-active female heads. Most of the economically non-active female heads stay 31%-45% of their activity period in kitchen .This is lower for the economically active female heads who spend 0%-10% of their daily activity period in the kitchen only. Some of the domestic spaces are solely shared. Dining and, family living spaces are used by the both male and female members of the family and are shared spaces. Dining space is used for both eating and household activity purpose. Female members use dining space for performing different household works and entertaining female visitors. Female heads spend 21%-30% of their time in dining daily. Female heads those who have to look after the studies of
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their dependent children use this dining space for teaching their children in the afternoon. A few cases were found where female heads use the dining space for cooking preparation space.
Use of dining is also higher in the economically non-active female heads. Almost all economically non-active female heads stay 21%-30% of their activity period in dining. 57% economically active female heads stay 11%-20% of their activity period and 43% economically active female heads stay 21%-30% of their activity period in dining. From the study we can categorize the domestic spaces in three groups:
Transition space
Shared space
• Entry • Circulation
• Dining • Living • Family living
Gendered space • • •
Living M bed room Kitchen
Foyer depth 01 Living
Dining
depth 02
Guest Bed Room
Family Living
Circulation
Master Bed Rm
Bed Room
Kitchen
depth 03
Bed Room
depth 04 Transition
Male Gendered Spaces
Shared spaces
Female Gendered Spaces
Figure 7.06:Core house according to depth of gendered shared and transition space.
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7.1.2.1 Segregation in the Spatial Organisation
Segregation, a symbolic aspect, of male–female domain existed in the life of the family members starting from the early periods of urbanisation in Dhaka. It was expressed in both spatial pattern and behavioural pattern. Seclusion of women’s domain from the men’s domain physically in spatial organisation was increased with the veiling or purdah system of the female members. Female members remained unnoticed from the male and outsiders even in their domestic spaces as their domain was placed at the back or at farther areas from the formal public areas that was the street of the locality.
Researches on Traditional Bengali houses found two separate domains, one exclusively used by the inhabitants and the other reserved for receiving male guests. Access in the house by the stranger is controlled symbolically in this culture. Visitors, especially male visitors, are restricted to the living of their domestic space. In contemporary urban apartments segregation is seen in a subtle way. Traditionally out house was used for interacting with the outsiders and guests. In the MIG apartments this is replaced by the living room. Male members of the family interact with visitors in the living room which is located at the public zone near to the entry of their house. The location of the Living, the male gendered space, is important as it creates the segregation between the visitors and inhabitants and is an important factor for preserving privacy of the gendered spaces from the visitor’s space.
Living space in the contemporary middle income group apartments is used in a compact way due to space limitation. Unlike the traditional domestic spaces this living space in the contemporary middle income group apartment has a dual character. Due to compaction of spaces in the middle income group apartments, living holds other activities along with receiving guests or visitors. Study reveals that it is being used by both male and female members of the family nearly equally for other purposes. Both economically active and non-active female heads use this living for interaction with the visitors in a high rate (76% economically non-active and 90% economically active female heads use the living for entertaining visitors). A lack of segregation of male and female users in terms of using the living room is seen in the contemporary middle income group apartments in the conducted study. Considering the activity of the living room it is found as a shared room for both male and female members of the family although symbolically it is a male gendered space.
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Segregation in gendered and shared space is interpreted with the depth and integration values of the spaces found from the justified permeability graph (JPG). In the traditional introvert type houses spaces used by male members (outhouse / living) are placed at depth 01 and depth 02 that is close to the exterior and the spaces those are used by women (kitchen, bed, etc) are located at depth 03 that is far from the exterior. Courtyard and dining the shared spaces are at the central position and act as a threshold between the two zones.
Table 7.02: Depth of the gendered, shared and transition spaces in urban houses of Dhaka
Introvert
Entry (1) < Outhouse (2) / Courtyard (2) < Room (3 ] / Kitchen (3) < Room (4) Transition Male gendered
Extrovert
Entry (1) Cir(10.12) > Room(7.89)>Entry(7.86)>outhouse(7.80) > Kit (7.37) Shared transition transition Male gendered Female gendered
Extrovert Houses
Ser Court(14.36)> Cir (12.75) > Din(12.02)>Hall(10.83)>Rm(10.58)>Entry(7.36)>Kit (6,96) Shared transition Male gendered transition Female gendered
Consolidated Din (10.50)> Entry(9.11) > Rm(7.92)>Drawing(7.67)>Cir (7.39)>Kit (5.14) Houses Shared transition Male gendered transition Female gendered MIG Apartment
Din(13.03)> Shared
Cir(11.97)>Foyer (10.98)>F.liv(10.46) >Liv(9.55) >M.Bed (7.84)>Kit (6.87) transition Shared Male gendered Female gendered
Service Court Yard Court Yard
Dining Dining
Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values (Turner 2001:31.1).
Figure 7.08: Visual Integration and Privacy in different types of Urban houses of Dhaka
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Spatial configuration has an impact on privacy to be achieved in a domestic space. The configuration characteristics of the spaces where visitors are entertained in the domestic space influence upon the privacy of the female members of the family. From the spatial organization study it was seen that the visual relationship between male gendered space ‘living’ and shared space ‘dining’ has an influence upon its privacy factor. Concluding the findings from the VGA analysis of the fifty MIG apartments in Dhaka it was seen that : •
Privacy of the gendered space depends on the visual relationship of the shared space with the male gendered spaces. The shared space is visually more integrated and has less privacy than the gendered spaces that are visually segregated in the spatial organisation.
•
Spaces used by female members mostly are found to be placed at the deepest areas having less integration and less visibility. Kitchen is the space that has a lower value of visiual integration(VI)stating that it is segregated from the rest of the spatial organisation.The individual rooms like bedroom, toilet and kitchen have lowest visual integration having maximum visual privacy.
•
Privacy of the female gendered spaces depends on the openness of the spaces. From the earlier study in chapter five three types of conditions were found considering the relationship of the connection of male gendered space living and shared spaces dining. Visibility of the female gendered spaces from the living is greater when the configuration of the living dining is continuous or attached.
•
In separate living and dining the visual integration value of male gendered space living is lower than the shared dining space. Separate living dining provides more privacy than the continuous or attached living–dining. Female heads in these families do not need to use curtain or other visible barrier to protect their privacy from the visitor’s area.
•
As it is difficult to provide separate living dining in small apartments, most of the separate living-dining is found in the medium or in large apartments.
•
In 36% of the MIG apartments with continuous living-dining the VI value of male gendered space living is lower than the shared dining space but VI of living is higher compared to the VI of separate living dining cases. When living dining is continuous it has higher visibility from living thus it provides less privacy. Most of the respondents in continuous living-dining cases complained for lack of provision of using curtain between these spaces to protect privacy because of the living–dining configuration.
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•
Most (54%) of the studied apartments are with attached living and dining. When the living dining is attached, the visual integration value of male gendered space living is lower than the Visual Integration of shared dining space but Visual integration of living is higher compared to the separate living dining cases.
Small
Medium
Large L D
L B-5
C-1
D
D
L L
L
B-2
Attached living- dining
Continuous living-dining
Separate living-dining
D
D
A-11 A-8
D
L L
D
C-4 B-1
Legend: L- Living, D-Dining Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values (Turner 2001:31.1).
Figure 7.09:Privacy (Inverse of Visual Integration) in Separate, Continuous and Attached Living-Dining Conditions
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7.1.2.3 Dominance
Dominance is related with the power and control over the domestic space in a culture. Visual Control over the adjacent spaces from the central position seems a vital element in the traditional layouts and it is related with the location of the gendered space. It was found from the field questionnaire survey of the middle income group families that intention for observing from their working space is higher in the MIG female heads (71% for economically active female head 76% for economically non-active female heads). Visual Dominance of the female head over their adjacent spaces depends on the visual control character of their working space in the house. Comparing the visual control values of the different spaces in the urban houses of Dhaka (Table 4.18: Dominance in Urban houses of Dhaka) it is seen that shared spaces like courtyard in Introvert type houses, service courtyard in Extrovert type houses and dining in Consolidated houses had the highest visual control. These spaces dominated over the adjacent spaces visually. Transition spaces like entry, circulation in the urban houses have higher visual control compared to the gendered spaces. Male gendered space Outhouse in the Introvert type house ,Hall in the Extrovert houses and Drawing in Consolidated houses had higher visual control vales than the female gendered spaces like kitchen or rooms in the spatial organization. Kitchen is the space that had the lowest visiual control in these type of houses. The female gendered space lacked visual control quality in the urban houses of Dhaka. Introvert 5
Female Gendered space Kitchen
VC of Kitchen Introvert 5 (Highest value ) 0.77
Extrovert 4 Female Gendered space Kitchen
Consolidated 3
MIG ApartmentB -1
Female Gendered space Kitchen Female Gendered space Kitchen
Extrovert 4 0.85
Consolidated 3 0.75
MIG Apartment B -1 0.87
Figure 7.10:Visual Control of shared and gendered space in the urban houses of Dhaka
289
Table 7.04: Order of Visual Control in different types of urban houses of Dhaka Introvert Houses
Courtyard(1.30)> Entry(0.98) > Outhouse(0.89) Shared transition Male gendered
> Rm(0.87)>Din(0.84)>Cir(0.82)/Kit (0.82) Female gendered
Extrovert Houses
Ser Court(1.26) >Cir(1.24) > Dining(1.17)>Hall(1.14) > Rm(1.09)>Kitchen(0.81) Shared transition Male gendered Female gendered
Consolidated Houses
Dining (1.45) > Cir(1.42) > Entry(1.36)>Drawing(1.15) > Rooms(1.03)>Kitchen(0.87) Shared transition Male gendered Female gendered
MIG Apartment
Dining(1.46) > Foyer(1.31)> F.Liv(1.10)>Living(1.02) > M.Bed(0.98) >Kit(0.81) Shared transition Shared Male gendered Female gendered
Study reveals that in middle income group apartment dining, a shared space has highest visual control and the gendered spaces lack in visual control ability. From Table 6.25(Order of Visual Control and their percentage in the studied apartments) in the previous chapter, it is seen that 56% of the studied apartments have highest visual control in dining which is a shared space. 30% of the studied apartments have highest visual control in circulation space that connects the female gendered spaces with the shared spaces. Kitchen, the female gendered space, has the lowest VC and has less visual control over the spaces in the spatial organization.
Dominance on the spatial configuration depends on the internal space arrangement. Circulation in the spatial organisation connecting the female gendered spaces plays a role in terms of visual control. It was seen from the study that in apartments where circulation space is present, it reduces the visual control ability of the shared dining space (Table 6.36: Mean Visual Control in Apartments considering circulation). Visual control of the dining, the working space of the female heads in the family has highest dominance (average 1.52)when circulation space is absent in the spatial organisation and acts as a controlling space over the adjacent spaces. In the apartments, where circulation is present, circulation has the higher visual control (average 1.59) than the dining space(1.37) and acts as a controlling space. Kitchen, the female gendered space, has the lower visual control value (average VC: 0.84 in apartments with circulation and 0.78 in apartments without circulation) and have less visual control over the spaces in the spatial organisation.
290
Table 7.05: Order of Visual Control considering Circulation in the MIG Apartments Without Circulation
Dining (3.17)> F.Liv (1.43)>M.Bed (1.37)>Living (1.25) >Kitchen (1.19) shared
gendered (F)
gendered (F)
Cir (2.00) >Dining (1.74) >M.Bed (1.15) >Kitchen (1.06 ) >Living (0.93)
With Circulation
transition
shared
gendered (F)
Small
Without Circulation
gendered (M)
gendered (M)
Medium
K
Large
D
L
K D
L
K
L
D
A-5 C-1
B-5
K
K
With Circulation
D
L
D L
L
K
D
A-11 B-2 A-8
Legend :L- Living, D-Dining, K-Kitchen Depth map colours values by using a spectral range from indigo for low values through blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, red to magenta for high values (Turner 2001:31.1).
Figure 7.11: Dominance ( Visual Control) in MIG Apartments with and without Circulation Kitchen has been regarded as the space with lowest visual control throughout the different types of urban houses of Dhaka. It is the household work space that is used by female members only
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having lowest visiual control ability. The kitchen was used for eating and performing other household activities like child caring, sewing, resting and other domestic activities in the traditional courtyard type urban houses. From the literature review it was seen that when the kitchen is more open, it used to reflect the improvement of women’s social status and their conventional role as homemakers.
Eleni Donta, in her research examines the changing modes of internal domestic space organization with a shift towards the ‘open plan’ house and she concluded that the necessity to open up kitchen to the rest of the living area was the result of the new position of the women within the family. Ozaki’s (2003) found that when the traditional role of women and the lowly status of domestic labour began to change, the kitchen moved “forward from the back of the house”. Toker And Toker (2003), analysed Houses, built in central Ankara, Anatolia to explain how spaces are gendered in the house with an approach by examining the configurational properties of spaces. They stated that following the improved status of women and decreasing household size, the kitchen, being one of the housework spaces, has been drastically transformed as it became shallower from the entrance and globally more integrated within the entire system. This transformation was interpreted by two approaches. First, based on the conventional assumption that the kitchen is a ‘women’s space’, as the women’s status in nuclear family structures has improved, their relative location in the house has also ‘improved’. The second explanation is based on the contemporary assumption that housework is shared between women and men. Therefore, higher integration and lower depth from the entrance space is a reflection of its transformation into a shared space. In this study of the contemporary middle income group families’ apartments in Dhaka, the kitchen does not reflect the change in status of the female head directly. Kitchen is a female gendered space as cooking is found to be performed by the female members of most of the studied apartments. Kitchen is found to be located farther away from the entry in the study at depth 03 and in depth 04, which is accessed from dining.
The female heads were in favour of having an open kitchen for ease of work and visual control over the adjacent spaces from their working area. The economically active female heads who works out and has to do household chores along with child’s study responded positively for an open kitchen for ease of work. Spatial study suggests that visually more integrated spaces are visually dominant spaces. It was seen that dominance of the female gendered spaces can be
292
increased with opening up the kitchen. Although the percentage of need for open type kitchen is not that significant in the study findings still it shows a growing awareness for having a female working space in the domestic spatial organisation with better visual control over the adjacent spaces. Traditionally the courtyard was regarded as this space with highest visual control as the working space for the female members of the family. Due to compartmentalization of the contemporary apartments‘ domestic spaces, this “dominance of the female gendered spaces” are being neglected in the spatial organisation.
Architects use corridor or circulation space in the spatial organisation for connecting rooms or spaces which cannot be used as an activity space for its configuration. This circulation in turn reduces the visual control of the shared and other female gendered spaces in the house. Study findings lead to conclude that use of circulation (transition space) reduces dominance from kitchen with lower visual control over the adjacent spaces.
7.1.3 Status Influencing Symbolic Aspects of MIG Apartments
Socio-economic status of women, as social dimension, influences on house plans. Socioeconomic changes bring consequent changes in the lifestyle and act as causes for changes in the symbolic dimensions and synchronize with the change in the spatial organisation. The social status of middle income group women depends largely on their economic status in the urban context of Dhaka. Socio-economic status of the middle income group female heads has been changed throughout time in the context of Dhaka. In the case of studied urban houses of Dhaka a development in status of women is evident that can be interpreted by the change of educational status and women’s participation in the economic activity. The change of status of women as a result of their education and participation in the economic activities made them a more contributing member in the family. The female head of the middle income group families in this study, are found to be educated and majority of them having higher education above graduate level. This has an influence on the symbolic perception of women regarding segregation, privacy and dominance.
293
The first objective of this study searches for a relationship between spatial organisation of the contemporary residential apartments in Dhaka and gender related symbolic or cultural expressions. The symbolic expression of the domestic space is a resultant of the lifestyle, culture, values of its occupants. Symbolic aspects may vary considering socio-economic status of the female heads. The socio-economic status of the two groups of women creates separate activity pattern in the domestic space and thus may require separate spatial needs. To verify this hypothesis, symbolic aspects like segregation, privacy and dominance are studied in the two major groups of female heads considering their participation in economic activity and the followings were observed: •
Preference of segregation with foyer is found to be relatively high in both groups of women (both economically non-active and active female heads). Study reveals that the respondents, those who have foyer at their entry point, are satisfied with the foyer of their apartment mostly regarding preserving segregation from visitor’s area and family area in their house. In apartments where Foyer is not present and entry is to the living or dining directly the female heads expressed a desire to have separate entries so that the visitors cannot see the inner part of her house that is used mostly by female members of the house.
•
Privacy is desirable to female heads irrespective of their socio-economic status but it is higher in the economically non-active female heads as they spend comparatively long hours in the house than the economically active female heads. The response of the female head concerning privacy and using curtain issue was observed in the separate, continuous and attached living dining type apartments. In separate living-dining use of curtain is less by both the groups of female heads. Spatial segregation of the gendered spaces from the visitor’s space reduces the need for extra visual barrier in these apartments. In the continuous living–dining, it is difficult to use curtain or other visual barrier for preserving privacy in both group of female heads in high percentage (80% economically non-active and 88% economically active female heads). In the attached living-dining cases the economically non-active female heads use curtain (87%) to protect privacy more than the economically active female heads (42%) as they stay long hours in the house.
•
From the activity pattern study of the female heads in the studied apartments it was seen that female heads work in the kitchen and in dining mainly . While working in the house the female heads want to see the spaces around their working space to have visual control. The
294
intention for observing from their working space is higher for both economically active and non-active female heads. It was found from the questionnaire survey of the middle income group families that intention for observing from their working space is 71% for economically active female head 76% for economically non-active female heads. •
Use of dining is higher in the economically non-active female heads and they want to see things around while they are working in dining space. The economically active female heads also prefer to observe things from their working area dining mostly. Only 33% economically non-active female heads and 30% economically active female heads are satisfied with dominance from dining space in their apartments.
•
Activity pattern of the female heads and their preference to see around while working in kitchen is higher in the economically non-active female heads as they spend long hours in the kitchen than the economically active female heads.
•
The spatial organization of the kitchen does not support this observation nature of female heads in the middle income group apartments. While survey the conventional kitchen and its segregation came into notice. A desire was seen in few female heads regarding open type kitchen to have better surveillance from there. This issue needs further elaboration as it tends to generate a different type of domestic spatial organisation in the context of Dhaka. More elaboration focusing this issue and supporting data are required to establish this demand of the contemporary women which may be addressed by other researchers studying in this field.
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7.2 Conclusion: Towards Gender-Sensitive MIG Apartments
Houses usually encode a wealth of social and symbolic information which constitute a shared framework of spatial patterns. Social phenomena are durable in that they leave traces of the material form of their existence in the way in which the pattern of domestic space is arranged. Space configuration, objects array and people’s routines can therefore be decoded so that the social and symbolic information are retrieved directly from the study of how houses are organised and used. (Hanson J, 1998:269)
Taking lead from the above statement by Hanson (1998) middle income group apartments in Dhaka have been investigated considering three attributes of urban house forms: spatial, symbolic and social focusing the gender aspect. Throughout the study the focus was to understand the gender related symbolic and social aspects and their influence upon the spatial organisation. Syntactic analysis of the spatial organization of MIG apartments in Dhaka shows that different spaces in the domestic spatial organisation are integrated differently with consideration to gender aspect. It was seen that shared common spaces are highly integrated and gendered spaces are segregated. In the transformation of the urban house forms in Dhaka it was seen that the shared spaces transformed from the courtyard in the traditional Introvert type houses to the dining in the contemporary compact MIG apartments. Gendered spaces remained unchanged.
The spatial organisation in the context of Dhaka has been through a transformation and at present resulted in apartment type due to land scarcity along with other reasons. The price of the apartment has increased. Still researchers (Begum, 2010; Zahur, 2007) found that need to live close to the work space and schools of their children are making the middle income group families inclined towards owning an apartment in Dhaka. Flats are made affordable to middle income group by compromising the size and location of the apartments. Designer and suppliers are making adjustments with the cultural issues present in the middle income families while making it compact to provide within affordable limit to them.
296
Symbolic aspects segregation, privacy and dominance that have been essential cultural aspects in the traditional domestic spatial organisation seem to exist in the contemporary middle income group apartments. Spatio-symbolic demands have been negotiated in the contemporary compact apartments for making it affordable to the middle income groups. A conflict exists in the cultural symbolic requirements of the Bengali middle income group women with respect to privacy and dominance in their domestic space. Segregation between male and female members in the domestic space remained with some alterations in the contemporary MIG apartments due to compaction of spaces. Although their socio-economic status is raised from that of the traditional society still they seek for segregation from the male visitors. Due to change in the family composition, the interface between male and female family members has become reduced. But in terms of the visitors and inhabitants interface this segregation is followed in a subtle way. Female members still avoid the male visitors in their living room for the sake of privacy. Spatial organisations of the MIG apartments are becoming compact by reducing the transition spaces to minimize apartment area. Study findings support the fact that existence of the transition spaces at the entry of the house offer segregation of the female inhabitants from the visitors. The transition space foyer in the spatial organisation increases depth and create ring among the male gendered space and shared spaces. From the spatial analysis it is seen that male gendered space in the middle income group apartments are located near the entry and female gendered spaces are located at deeper depth away from the entry. With respect to segregation aspect foyer acts as a spatial component that creates depth to segregate the gendered spaces in the spatial organisation. This spatial component which is necessary for creating segregation in the Domestic spatial organisation is being omitted in the compact apartments for space minimization. Using foyer at the entrance to segregate the visitors is one of the preferred options found in the contemporary apartments that has become effective and desirable from the female head’s point of view. The female heads, who have a foyer in their apartment acting as transition space to give choice in access, are satisfied with respect to segregation. When the apartment is too compact providing a satisfactory foyer is difficult. Still in some small compact MIG apartments it was found to exist serving the need for segregating the visitors from the inhabitants. Female heads (both economically active and non-active) wants to have segregation at their entry but they do not want to endanger the security of the domestic space with two or more entrances.
297
Privacy, the symbolic aspect, is considered with the visibility of the female members in Dhaka. In the contemporary middle income group apartments female heads are concerned with their visibility aspect from the visitors’ zone with respect to privacy issue. Syntactic analysis of the MIG apartments shows that visual privacy of the female members in their domestic space can be protected by the spatial organisation. From the visibility study of the contemporary middle income group apartments it is seen that visual interference from the male gendered space cause lack of privacy in domestic spaces. For space compaction in the contemporary apartments the living-dining are offered as continuous space. But these continuous living-dining are lacking in the quality of preserving the privacy of the gendered spaces which was a symbolic aspect of the domestic space in Dhaka. Economically non-active female heads who spend long hours in the house feel for visual segregation from the male visitor’s area more than the economically active female heads who stay a certain time away from the house due to their participation in the economic activities. The response of the female heads concerning privacy and using visual barrier to protect privacy was observed in the separate, continuous and attached living-dining spaces. In the attached living-dining cases the economically non-active female heads use curtain to protect privacy more than the economically active female heads as they stay long hours in the house during the day comparatively. Some of the female heads avoided visual barriers as it makes their apartment too congested. Spatial segregation of the gendered spaces from the visitor’s space reduces the need for extra visual barrier in the apartments. Most of the tailor-made apartments provide a living room together with the dining space in a continuous or attached way. The desired privacy of the female members of the family, whether economically active or non-active, is jeopardized in these type of layout. Visual privacy of the female members in the apartments should be given proper attention as it holds their cultural values and preferences.
Visual Control over the adjacent spaces from the central position seems a vital element in the traditional layouts and it is related with the location of the gendered space. The symbolism of the Bengali house presents the kitchen as the private gendered space with low visual control over the adjacent spaces throughout the different types of urban houses of Dhaka. Study shows that in middle income group apartment dining, a shared space has highest visual control and the gendered spaces lack in visual control ability. Kitchen, the female gendered space, has less visual control over the spaces in the spatial organisation and is visually segregated in the spatial organisation.
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Activity within the house and outside the house has increased the responsibilities of women in their domestic space. Both economically active and non-active female heads have to do certain household chores and these are creating their dominance in the domestic spatial organisation. They prefer to observe from their working space in their home to have a control over the activities happening around them. It was seen in the study that presence of circulation reduces visual dominance from the female heads' working spaces like dining and kitchen. Moreover the cell like segregated kitchen reduces visual control from kitchen. To create more visual control from the working areas of women in the domestic space the kitchen needs to be visually more connected with other spaces. Which in turn means to open up the female gendered spaces in the spatial organisation. This opening up is creating conflict with their perception of privacy which demands creation of visual obstruction to preserve privacy of the gendered spaces from the visitors' domain. Privacy perception
tends
them to seek for isolation and dominance
intention tends to have more openness. A balance in these two requirements will create an ideal situation where contemporary middle income group women will feel comfortable in their domestic world. From the demographic data of education of women and economic participation of women in Bangladesh of the recent years an improving change is evident in participation in the economic activities and education. Women in contemporary society are involved with the productive and reproductive economic activities simultaneously. Unlike the western cases change in socioeconomic status of women is not reflected in the spatial organisation of the middle income apartments of Dhaka. In the study of the fifty contemporary middle income group families’ apartments in Dhaka, the kitchen does not reflect the status and change in status of the female head directly. The kitchen in the spatial organisation is located in a cell like manner having connectivity with dining and its extended services like kitchen verandah, servant room, and servant’s toilet etc. The total kitchen service package is isolated from the rest of the domestic spaces. Women users improved status with increase of economic activity rate and education has
(
created a demand for a kitchen with more visual control ability to have surveillance on the family members while performing their domestic household activities. A desire for open kitchen was seen in the educated middle income group female heads although it is in a small percentage. The economically active female heads those who works out and has to do household chores along with child’s study. These female heads were in favour of having an open kitchen for ease of work and visual control over the adjacent spaces from their working area.
299
In the densely populated city, Dhaka, the developers are making the middle income group apartments compact in order to bring the apartments within affordable range and while doing this they are negotiating with the socio-symbolic demands of the middle income group women. Study of the traditional houses and the contemporary middle income houses lead to findings that the transition space at the entrance help to preserve segregation of the female inhabitants from the visitors. There is a demand in the present female users of these apartments regarding this spatial component to maintain segregation in their domestic space. Compactness of the apartments has resulted in connecting male gendered space living with the shared space dining. This connectivity of male gendered space and shared has is hampering the visual privacy of the female inhabitants. Educated female heads whether economically active or nonactive still tend to preserve their privacy in their domestic space and seek for visual dominance in their domestic spatial organisation. Visual dominance from the working space of the female members, which has been a symbolic aspect in the traditional urban houses of Dhaka, is affected by the inclusion of circulation space in some cases. Moreover the visual dominance from the Female gendered spaces needs to be given proper attention by Increasing visual control from kitchen and dining which may greatly affect the spatial organisation. These sociosymbolic aspects needs to be given serious attention while designing middle income group apartments, as the life of the contemporary middle income group female members are in a flux due to the socio-economic changes in the society.
300
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Appendices
315
Appendix 3.01: Questionnaire
Title: Study of Spatial Organization of the Contemporary Residential Apartments in Dhaka with special attention to Gender Aspect. This survey is a part of a post graduate research project undertaken at the Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka. All information collected will be utilized for academic purpose only and shall be kept confidential. Your cooperation in this regard will be highly appreciated.
Catherine Daisy Gomes Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka-1000.
Apartment profile Address/location Flat Area: Cost/sqft: Total number of Flats : Year of Construction/purchase:
Respondent’s profile Name of the respondent : Religion : Education :
Age : occupation :
Family profile No.
Relationship
Age
Education
occupation
Monthly expenditure
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. A. The Spatial Dimension: pattern of space use 316
This is a pattern of space use by the male head and female head of the family .The intention is to find out spaces those are mostly used by the female head of the family. This will help to determine whether there is space segregation according to gender in the domestic space.
Daily activities of the family members within the flat: time Male Head
Female Head
Activities
Liv
Din
Bed Kit
06:00 -12:00 12:00 -15:00 15:00 – 18:00 18:00 -21:00 21:00 – 24:00 06:00 -12:00 12:00 -15:00 15:00 – 18:00 18:00 -21:00 21:00 – 24:00
The symbolic dimensions related with gender in the apartments
B.
The concept of gendered space relates with the concentration of female members of the house in some particular area and its privacy is related to the visibility of that space from the outsiders/guest’s area. ‘Segregation’, ‘Privacy’ and ‘Dominance’ are three symbolic dimensions that have been significantly observer from the traditional urban houses of Dhaka to recent apartments. Understanding these phenomenon and their changes among the contemporary female heads is relevant to this study. In these respect the layout plans considering ‘Segregation’, ‘Privacy’ and ‘Dominance’ of the women users in the contemporary apartments will be focused with the following: •
Do you have visitors? What is the frequency of their visit? Often
•
Rare
Where the guests/visitors are usually entertained in your house? Living
Dining
Bed
other
Are the visitors in your house classified according to gender? Yes No Which type of guests/ visitors do you allow to which space of your house? Family guests
Male guests
Female guests
Strangers
317
Do you need visual separation at the entrance so that the visitors cannot see the inner part of the house used by the female members of the family? Yes
No
How do you ensure visual privacy of the interior spaces? By using curtain By avoiding the space Privacy is not important Other [explain] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Which space do your male/female family members use for the following purposes? Male members Female members Liv Din Kit Bed Liv Din Kit Bed Interaction with visitors Leisure /Rest Entertainment Work Do you prefer to see all the spaces/rooms while carrying out household tasks? Yes
No
Why?
Do you mind to be seen while working in the house by the visitors?
Yes
No
Why?
C. Social Dimension The social dimension of the study is related to the socio-economic status of women and their impact on house plans. Spatial organization of the urban houses of Dhaka is related with the status of women in the socio-cultural context of Dhaka. In order to find out the answer of this question the female head will be considered as the respondent and a structured interview with her need to be undertaken. Are you an Earning member of the family?
Yes
Do you have to perform house hold works every day?
No
Yes
No
If Yes, Who helps you in the household duties? Servant
Husband
Daughter
Son
Do you depend on machinery/technological assistance?
other family members Yes
No
318
Changes: Contemporary apartments seem to follow the compact pattern due to minimizing space and cost to keep it within affordability range of the middle income group in Dhaka. Along with compaction of the plans certain changes are adopted which may differ from the traditional living pattern. To identify these changes and alterations it is required to know the adjustments made by the flat occupants in their internal layout and also the reason for accommodating these adjustments which may define the deviation of their living style from the traditional one. Have you made any alteration/change in the initial/original plan considering privacy/ segregation of space/ visual dominance over the space? space/room Entry
change
reason
Living Dining Kitchen Bed Others
Needs of the female head: Considering socio-economic status of women, this study will help to understand the present needs and requirements of the contemporary women regarding their residential spaces in Dhaka. This may help to identify some guidelines for designing residential apartments. What are the requirements of the contemporary women regarding spatial organization?
space Entry
Comment [on - size/ no/ quality/etc.]
Living: Dining Kitchen: Bed: Others:
319
Appendix -5.01: Location, Size, Number Of Spaces in Studied Fifty MIG Apartments Area range 800-1000 SFT 7 apartments
14%
1001-1200 SFT 18 apartments
36%
1201-1500 SFT 25
50%
sl. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Ref A-5 A-6 B-2 B-6 B-7 B-12 C-6 A-1 A-10 A-11 A-12 A-13 B-11 B-13 C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-11 C-12 C-13 D-8 D-9 D-11 A-2 A-3 A-4 A-7 A-8 A-9 B-1 B-3 B-4 B-5 B-8 B-9 B-10 C-7 C-8 C-9 C-10 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-5 D-6 D-7 D-10
flat size Foy Liv Din 900 1 1 900 1 1 951 1 1 950 1 1 1 950 1 1 1 930 1 1 900 1 1 1010 1 1 1100 1 1 1040 1 1 1068 1 1 1030 1 1 1190 1 1 1150 1 1 1060 1 1 1 1140 1 1 1200 1 1 1004 1 1 1030 1 1 1100 1 1 1 1170 1 1 1070 1 1 1200 1 1 1 1200 1 1 1 1180 1 1 1 1470 1 1 1330 1 1 1350 1 1 1380 1 1 1258 1 1 1470 1 1 1400 1 1 1 1420 1 1 1 1212 1 1 1 1400 1 1 1 1450 1 1 1 1300 1 1 1 1370 1 1 1 1300 1 1 1220 1 1 1 1270 1 1 1 1270 1 1 1 1300 1 1 1 1300 1 1 1 1240 1 1 1 1240 1 1 1 1300 1 1 1360 1 1 1 1280 1 1 1220 1 1
Cir
1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1
1 1 1
1 1
1 1 1
Kit F.liv Bed Toil Ver 1 3 2 2 1 3 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 2+1 3 1 2 2+1 3 1 2 2 1 1 3 2 1 1 3 2 3 1 3 3 2 1 3 2+1 3 1 3 2+1 4 1 3 2+1 3 1 3 3 4 1 1 3 3 4 1 3 3 1 1 3 3+1 2 1 3 3 3 1 3 2 3 1 3 3 2 1 1 3 2 1 1 1 3 3 2 1 3 3 3 1 1 3 3+1 4 1 1 3 3+1 4 1 1 3 3 3 1 4 3 4 1 3 3 3 1 4 3+1 4 1 3 3+1 3 1 3 3+1 3 1 3 3+1 3 1 3 3+1 3 1 3 3+1 3 1 3 3+1 4 1 1 3 3+1 4 1 1 3 3+1 3 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 3 3+1 3 1 1 3 3 3 1 3 2+1 2 1 3 2+1 3 1 3 3 3 1 1 3 3+1 2 1 1 3 3+1 2 1 1 3 3+1 3 1 1 3 3+1 3 1 3 3 2 1 1 3 3+1 4 1 1 3 2 3 1 1 3 3+1 3
no of 10 10 09 12 12 09 10 12 12 13 14 13 14 15 11 13 13 11 11 12 12 13 16 16 14 14 12 16 14 14 13 14 14 16 17 15 15 15 13 12 13 13 14 14 16 16 12 16 12 14
320
Appendix 5.02: Age, education and occupation of the family heads Economically non- active female headed families Sample ref B-2 800--1000 B-6 B-7 C-6 A-5 A-1 1001-1200 A-10 A-12 C-2 C-3 C-11 D-8 D-9 D-11 C-4 C-5 C-12 A-2 1201 -1500 A-4 A-7 A-8 A-9 B-1 B-4 B-5 B-9 C-10 D-5 D-6 range
Flat Family member age Education Occupation Size Hus Wife child- child-2 Hus Wife child-1 child-2 Husband 951 57 52 Graduate[Agri] HSC Service-retired 950 50 40 19 11 BSc HSC school school Service 950 61 57 31 26 Graduate Graduate Graduate MBA Service 900 56 50 28 24 MA HSC MA B.Sc Service 900 45 32 8 4 BSc Engg MA school school Engineer 1010 50 45 10 M Com BA school Service 1100 38 30 10 1 MA graduate school Service 1068 64 52 30 24 graduate SSC MBA MBA Service[Retired] 1140 53 45 27 24 MA HSC B.ScEngg BBA Business 1200 60 54 28 26 Graduate BA MA B Arch Service 1100 60 48 30 27 graduate graduate MA M Sc Service[Retired] 1200 50 45 25 16 HSC SSC Business 1200 38 27 5 HSC Hon[1st] school Business 1180 52 50 30 21 Mcom BA MBA BBA Service 1004 47 35 21 18 Accounting BA Hons HSC Service 1030 50 45 28 26 BSc Engg BA MSc MSc Business 1170 38 32 BSc Engg MSc Engineer 1470 55 47 26 21 MBA HSC BA Barch Service 1350 50 40 16 M Com SSC school Service 1380 54 46 20 15 MBA graduate graduate school Service 1258 48 39 22 17 MBA MSS graduate HSC Service 1470 41 35 13 5 MSc Graduate school school Service 1400 40 35 17 15 BSc Engg BA HSC school Engineer 1212 42 32 10 7 Graduate BSS school school Business 1400 45 40 14 8 BIT engg Hons school school Engineer 1300 39 29 6 2 graduate MS school Business 1270 64 56 30 25 graduate graduate sick BBA Service[Retired] 1300 64 53 26 22 B-Arch MA BBA B Architect 1360 79 65 40 35 Mcom MA BService-retired
Wife Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker
Economically active female headed families Sample ref B-12 A-6 A-11 1001-1200 A-13 B-11 B-13 C-1 C-13 A-3 C-7 D-7 B-3 1201-1500 B-8 B-10 C-8 C-9 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-10 range 800-1000
Flat Family member age Size Hus Wife child930 50 45 20 18 900 36 33 6 1040 51 35 14 12 1030 37 29 8 2 1190 33 32 1150 52 42 22 19 1060 60 55 29 22 1070 48 48 19 14 1330 50 48 28 22 1300 38 35 8 1280 32 28 2 1420 40 32 8 5 1450 53 42 23 15 1370 32 28 5 1220 64 56 26 19 1270 45 38 21 1300 48 39 14 4 1300 35 34 7 1240 34 30 4 1240 42 33 8 2 1220 45 12
graduate MBA BSc Engg MSc MSc MSc MSc B-Arch M Com M.Sc MBBS MBA MSc MA M.Com M.Com BScEngg BDS,Ms MBA BIT engg
Education Hus graduate BBA MA school BA school Graduate school MSc Mcom Bcom MSc BArch B-Arch A Level MA M Com HSC school MSc BSc Engg school MA BBA MA school graduate MA BBA BSc school MBBS school MBBS school Dip Arch school B-Arch School
Occupation Wife child-1 HSC Business Service school Engineer school Service Professor HSC Service cadet Service school Architect Hons Service Business Doctor school Service school Business Service Service Service school Engineer Doctor Service Engineer Service
Service Teacher Service Service Service Teacher Teacher Architect Professor Service Service Engineer Teacher Teacher Service Teacher Service Doctor Doctor Architect Architect
321
Appendix 5.03 : Time-space occupation of Male Heads in apartments with economically non-active female heads Apt 1 B-2 2 B-6 3 B-7 4 C-6 5 A-5 6 A-1 7 A-10 8 A-12 9 C-2 10 C-3 11 C-4 12 C-5 13 C-11 14 C-12 15 D-8 16 D-9 17 D-11 18 A-2 19 A-4 20 A-7 21 A-8 22 A-9 23 B-1 24 B-4 25 B-5 26 B-9 27 C-10 28 D-5 29 D-6
Age 57 50 61 56 45 50 38 64 53 60 47 50 60 38 50 38 52 55 50 54 48 41 40 42 45 39 64 64 79
edu occup Graduate[Agri]Service-retired BSc Service Graduate Service MA Service BSc Engg Engineer M Com Service MA Service graduate Service[Retired] MA Business Graduate Service Accounting Service BSc Engg Business graduate Service[Retired] BSc Engg Engineer HSC Business HSC Business Mcom Service MBA Service M Com Service MBA Service MBA Service MSc Service BSc Engg Engineer Graduate Business BIT engg Engineer graduate Business graduate Service[Retired] B-Arch Architect Mcom Service-retired
6
7
B B B B B B
B B B B B B
B B B B
B B B B
B B B B B B B B B B B B B
B B B B B B B B B B B B B
B B
B B
8 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
9 B
10 B
11 D
12 K
1 D
2 B
3 B
4 B
5 L
6 L
B
B
B
B
D
B
B
B
L
L
B
B
B
B
D
B
B
B
L
L
B
B
B
B
D
B
B
B
L
L
7 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
8 L L L B B B B L L B B B L B B L B L D L L L L B B B L B L
9 L L L L L L L L L L L L L FL FL FL FL L L B L L L L FL FL L L FL
8 L L L B B B L L FL L D L B L B L FL D B B B
9 L L B L D L FL L FL B L L FL B B L FL FL L FL FL
Time-space occupation of male head in apartments with economically active female heads Apt Age edu 1 B-12 50 graduate 2 A-6 36 MBA 3 A-3 50 M Com 4 A-11 51 BSc Engg 5 A-13 37 MSc 6 B-11 33 MSc 7 B-13 52 MSc 8 C-1 60 MSc 9 C-7 38 M.Sc 10 C-13 48 B-Arch 11 D-7 32 MBBS 12 B-3 40 MBA 13 B-8 53 MSc 14 B-10 32 MA 15 C-8 64 M.Com 16 C-9 45 M.Com 17 D-1 48 BScEngg 18 D-2 35 BDS,Ms 19 D-3 34 MBA 20 D-4 42 BIT engg 21 D-10 48 M.Com
occup Business Service Service Engineer Service Professor Service Service Business Architect Doctor Service Business Service Service Service Engineer Doctor Service Engineer Service
6 B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
7 B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
8 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
9
10
11
12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
322
Appendix 5.04 : Time-Space Occupation of Male Heads In Economically non-active Female Headed Families Apt B-2 B-6 B-7 C-6 A-5 A-1 A-10 A-12 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-11 C-12 D-8 D-9 D-11 A-2 A-4 A-7 A-8 A-9 B-1 B-4 B-5 B-9 C-10 D-5 D-6
Age 57 50 61 56 45 50 38 64 53 60 47 50 60 38 50 38 52 55 50 54 48 41 40 42 45 39 64 64 79
edu Graduate[Agri] BSc Graduate MA BSc Engg M Com MA graduate MA Graduate Accounting BSc Engg graduate BSc Engg HSC HSC Mcom MBA M Com MBA MBA MSc BSc Engg Graduate BIT engg graduate graduate B-Arch M Com
occup Service-retired Service Service Service Engineer Service Service Service[Retired] Business Service Service Business Service[Retired] Engineer Business Business Service Service Service Service Service Service Engineer Business Engineer Business Service[Retired] Architect Service-retired
Liv 25% 13% 13% 6% 6% 6% 6% 25% 13% 6% 6% 6% 25% 0 0 6% 0 13% 6% 6% 13% 13% 13% 6% 0 0 25% 6% 6%
Din 25% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 19% 13% 13% 13% 13% 19% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 19% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 19% 13% 13%
Kit 6% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bed 31% 13% 13% 19% 19% 19% 19% 43% 13% 19% 19% 19% 43% 19% 19% 13% 19% 13% 13% 19% 13% 13% 13% 19% 19% 19% 43% 19% 13%
F.Living 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6% 6% 6% 6% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6% 6% 0 0 6%
outside 13% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 13% 63% 63% 63% 63% 13% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 13% 63% 63%
Din 13% 13% 13% 19% 13% 13% 13% 13% 19% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 19% 13% 13% 13%
Kit
Bed 13% 13% 19% 19% 19% 13% 13% 13% 13% 19% 19% 13% 19% 19% 25% 13% 13% 13% 19% 19% 19%
F.Living 0 0 0 0 0 6% 0 13% 0 0 0 0 6% 0 0 0 13% 6% 0 6% 6%
outside 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63% 63%
In Economically active Female Headed Families Location B-12 A-6 A-11 A-13 B-11 B-13 C-1 C-13 A-3 C-7 D-7 B-3 B-8 B-10 C-8 C-9 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-10
Age 50 36 51 37 33 52 60 48 50 38 32 40 53 32 64 45 48 35 34 42 48
education graduate MBA BSc Engg MSc MSc MSc MSc B-Arch M Com M.Sc MBBS MBA MSc MA M.Com M.Com BScEngg BDS,Ms MBA BIT engg M.Com
occupation Business Service Engineer Service Professor Service Service Architect Service Business Doctor Service Business Service Service Service Engineer Doctor Service Engineer Service
Liv 13% 13% 6% 0 6% 13% 13% 6% 6% 6% 6% 13% 0 6% 0 13% 0 0 6% 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
323
Appendix 5.05: Time-Space Occupation of Economically Female Heads Economically Non- Active Female Heads Time -space occupation Ref
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
B-2 B-6 B-7 C-6 A-5 A-1 A-10 A-12 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-11 C-12 D-8 D-9 D-11 A-2 A-4 A-7 A-8 A-9 B-1 B-4 B-5 B-9 C-10 D-5 D-6
Age 52 40 57 50 32 45 30 52 45 54 35 45 48 32 45 27 50 47 40 46 39 35 35 32 40 29 56 53 65
education HSC HSC Graduate HSC MA BA graduate SSC HSC BA BA BA graduate MSc SSC Hon[1st] BA HSC SSC graduate MSS Graduate BA BSS Hons MS graduate MA MA
occupation Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker Homemaker
6 K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
7 8 D B D B D B D B D school D school D school D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D D B D B D B D B D B D school D school D school D school D D B D B D B
9 K K K K K K K K K D D K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
10 K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
11 K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
K K K
K K K
12 1 2 B B D B B D B B D B B D scho schoo D scho schoo D scho schoo D B B D B B D B B D B B D B B D B B D B B D B B D D B B D B B D B B D B B D B B D scho schoo D scho schoo D scho schoo D scho schoo D K K B B D K B B D K B B D
7 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
9
10
11
3 B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B D B B B
4 B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
5 K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K FL K K K
6 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D FL D D D
7 D B B L L L D L B L L L L L L D L D L B L L D L D K L L L
8 L B B L L L L L B L L L L L L FL L L L B L L L L FL K L L L
9 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
4
5
6 B L B B B FL L B B B FL B B
7 D K K K D FL L K D K FL K FL B L K K K K K B
8 K K L D K D D L D L K K FL B D FL FL FL FL L FL
9 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Economically Active Female Heads Reft 1 B-12 2 A-6 3 A-11 4 A-13 5 B-11 6 B-13 7 C-1 8 C-13 9 A-3 10 B-3 11 B-8 12 B-10 13 C-7 14 C-8 15 C-9 16 D-1 D-2 17 D-3 18 D-4 19 D-7 20 21 D-10
Age 45 33 35 29 32 42 55 48 48 32 42 28 35 56 38 39 34 30 33 28 45
education graduate MA BA Graduate MSc Mcom MSc B-Arch MA BSc Engg MA MA HSC graduate MA BSc MBBS MBBS Dip Arch MSc B-Arch
occupation service teacher service service service teacher teacher Service Professor service teacher teacher Service Service teacher Service Doctor Doctor Service Service Service
6 B K B B B K K B B B K B B B K B B B B B B
8
Time -space occupation 12 1 2 3 K
D
D
L
D D
B B
B B
K K
D D
D D
B B
K B
D
B
B
K
D D
B B
B B
L B D D B B B
324
Appendix 5.06: Time-space occupation of female heads In Economically non-active female headed families B-2 B-6 B-7 C- 6 A-5 A-1 A-10 A-12 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-11 C-12 D-8 D-9 D-11 A- 2 A-4 A-7 A-8 A- 9 B-1 B-4 B-5 B-9 C - 10 D-5 D-6
Age 52 40 57 50 32 45 30 52 45 54 35 45 48 32 45 27 50 47 40 46 39 35 35 32 40 29 56 53 65
education HSC HSC Graduate HSC MA BA graduate SSC HSC BA BA BA graduate MSc SSC Hon[1st] BA HSC SSC graduate MSS Graduate BA BSS Hons MS[student] graduate MA MA
occupation Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active Non-active
Liv 13% 0% 0% 13% 13% 13% 7% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 6% 13% 0 13% 13% 6% 13% 13% 13% 13%
Din 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 31% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 31% 25% 31% 25% 25% 25% 25% 31% 25% 31% 19% 25% 25% 25%
Kit 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 25% 31% 31% 31%
Bed
Din 19% 25% 13% 19% 19% 25% 25% 13% 25% 13% 25% 25% 13% 13% 25% 13% 25% 25% 13% 13% 13%
Kit
Bed
F.Liv 31% 44% 44% 31% 13% 13% 13% 31% 44% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 13% 31% 31% 31% 44% 31% 13% 13% 13% 13% 6% 31% 31% 31%
outside
18% 18% 18%
7%
18%
6% 13%
19% 19% 19% 19% 38%
In Economically active female headed families Location Age education B -12 45 graduate A- 6 33 MA A -11 35 BA A -13 29 Graduate B -11 32 MSc B -13 42 Mcom C- 1 55 MSc C -13 48 B-Arch A- 3 48 MA 32 BSc Engg B- 3 42 MA B-8 28 MA B -10 35 HSC C-7 56 graduate C-8 38 MA C-9 39 BSc D-1 34 MBBS D-2 30 MBBS D-3 33 Dip Arch D-4 28 MSc D-7 45 B-Arch D -10 Comparison of Activity Period
occupation Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active
Liv 13% 6 0 0 0 13% 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 13% 0 0 0 0 6 0
6% 25% 6% 6% 6% 13% 13% 6% 0 6% 19% 13% 0 0 13% 6% 6% 6% 6% 6% 0
F.Liv 13% 0 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 13% 6% 25% 13% 19% 13% 13% 19% 19% 13% 13% 19%
0 0 0 0 0 13% 0 0 0 0 13% 0 13% 0 0 6% 6% 6% 6% 0 6%
outside 63% 38% 63% 63% 63% 38% 38% 63% 63% 63% 38% 38% 63% 69% 38% 63% 44% 44% 63% 63% 63%
economically active female heads Economically non-active female headed families Space/time 31%- 45% 21%- 30% 11%-20% 0%-10% 31%- 45% 21%- 30% 11%-20% 0%-10% 19[66% ] living 0 0 3[14% ] 18[86%] 0 0 10[34% ] 28[97%] dining 0 9[43% ] 12[57% ] 0 0 1[ 3% ] 0 bedroom 0 1[ 5% ] 18[86%] 2[10% ] 20[69%] 8[28%] 1[ 3% ] kitchen 1[ 5% ] 5[24% ] 15[72% ] 28[97%] 1[ 3%] 0 0
325
Appendix 5.07: Activities of economically non-active female heads Apar B-2
Family Profile member Husband Respondent husband Respondent daughter son husband Respondent daughter daughter grand son husband Respondent daughter-1 daughter-2 daughter-3 husband Respondent son-1
age 57 52 50 40 19 11 61 57 31 26 8 56 50 28 24 21 45 32 8
daughter husband Responden son-1
4 50 45 10
A-10
husband Respondent daughter daughter
A-12
B-6
B-7
C-6
A-5
education occupation Graduate Service-retired HSC Homemaker BSc service HSC house-wife student student Graduate service Graduate house-wife Graduate Married MBA student student MA Service HSC house-wife MA student B.Sc student HSC student BSc Engg service MA house-wife student
Daily Household Activities of the female head 52 years old homemaker respondent lives alone with her 57 years old retired husband. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. She spends only a short period in the living to watch TV 40 years old female head who is a homemaker. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen4 hours in dining and 7 hours in bed room daily. She Prepares breakfast in the morning and after that performs her prayer [namaj] and cooks the meal. In the afternoon she takes rest and work for an hour in the in kitchen. The respondent is 57 years old and a homemaker. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen4 hours in dining and 7 hours in bed room daily. She Prepares breakfast in the morning and after that performs her prayer [namaj] and cooks the meal. 50 years old homemaker respondent has three daughters [28, 24 and 21 years old]. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily.
The respondent is 32 years old and a homemaker. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen4 hours in dining and 2 hours in bed room daily. In the morning she prepares breakfast and takes her children to school. After returning from school she prepares the meal and again goes to the school to bring her children home.
M Com BA st
student service house-wife student
38 30 10 1
MA graduat school
service house-wife Student
husband Responden son-1 Son-2
64 52 30 24
graduat SSC MBA MBA
Service[Retire house-wife service student
C-2
husband Responden son-1 son-2
53 45 27 24
MA HSC B.ScEn BBA
Business house-wife Student student
52 years old homemaker has two sons [30 and 24 years old]. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. She Prepares breakfast and after that performs her prayer [namaj] and cooks the meal. In the afternoon she takes rest and work for an hour in the in kitchen and spends a short period in the living to watch TV in the evening. 45 years old homemaker respondent has two sons [27 and 24 years old]. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 7 hours in bed room daily. She Prepares breakfast in the morning and after that performs her prayer [namaj] and cooks the meal. In the afternoon she takes rest and work for an hour in the in kitchen.
C-3
husband Responden son-1 son-2
60 54 28 26
Gradua BA MA B Arch
service house-wife service service
54 years old homemaker respondent has two sons [28 and 26 years old]. She spends 4 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. She Prepares breakfast in the morning and after that performs her prayer [namaj] and cooks the meal. In the afternoon she takes rest and work for an hour in kitchen.
47 35 21 18
Accounti BA Hons HSC
husband Responden daughter-1 daughter-2 daughter-3 husband Responden son-1 son-2
50 45 28 26 21 60 48 30 27
BSc BA MSc MSc B-Arch graduat graduat MA M Sc
Business house-wife Teacher abroad student Service[Retire house-wife service service
daughter-1
21
BBA
Student
A-1
C-4
C-5
C-11
husband Respondent daughter son-1
service house-wife student student
The respondent, 45 years old homemaker, has a son [10 yrs old] whom she takes to school in the morning. She spends 4 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 2 hours in bed room daily. In the evening she spends time in the dining space for teaching her children and in the living room for watching TV. 30 years old homemaker has two sons [10 yrs and 1year old]. She takes her son to school in the morning. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 5 hours in dining and 2 hours in bed room daily. In the evening she spends time in the dining space for teaching her children and in the living room for watching TV.
35 year old graduate homemaker has a daughter [21yr] and a son [18]. She spends 4 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. In the afternoon she takes rest and work for an hour in the in kitchen and spends only a short period in the living to watch TV. 45 years old homemaker respondent has a daughter [28yr] and a son [26]. She spends 4 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. She spends only a short period in the living to watch TV in the evening. 48 year old graduate homemaker has a daughter [30 yrs] and a son [27]. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. She spends only a short period in the living to watch TV in the evening.
326
C-12 D-8
D-9 A-2
A-4 A-7
A-8
A-9
B-1
B-4
B-5
B-9
C - 10
D-5
D-6
husband Responden Mother-inhusband Responden son-1 daughter daughter husband Responden son-1 husband Responden daughter daughter son-1 husband Responden daughter husband Responden daughter daughter husband Responden Brother-indaughter daughter husband Responden son-1 daughter husband Responden daughter son-1 son-2 husband Responden son daughter husband Responden son-1 son-2 husband Responden daughter daughter mother-inhusband Responden daughter-1 son-1 husband Responden son-1 son-2 son-3 daughter husband Responden daughter son-1 daughter-
38 32 60 50 45 25 16 7 38 27 5 55 47 26 21 15 50 40 16 54 46 20 15 48 39 32 22 17 41 35 13 5 40 35 17 15 9 42 32 10 7 45 40 14 8 39 29 6 2 70 64 56 30 25 64 53 26 22 20 30 79 65 40 35 34
BSc MSc
Service house-wife
HSC SSC HSC school school HSC Hon[1s
Business house-wife student student student Business house-wife student service house-wife service student student service house-wife student service house-wife Student student service house-wife Service Student student service house-wife student student service house-wife student student student Business house-wife student student Business house-wife student student Business student student
MBA HSC BA Barch class-9 M Com SSC cl-10 MBA graduat graduat cl-9 MBA MSS MBA graduat HSC MSc Gradua school school BSc BA
Gradua BSS BIT Hons graduat MS
graduat graduat Sick student B-Arch MA BBA B Com Hon[1s MBA Mcom MA Sick B-Arch M-Arch
Service[Retire house-wife Student service house-wife student student student Married Servicehouse-wife
32 years old homemaker lives alone with her husband. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 5 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. She spends only a short period in the living to watch TV in the evening. 45 year old respondent has a 25 year old son and a 16 year old daughter. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 5 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. She spends only a short period in the family living to watch TV in the evening. 27 year old graduate student respondent has a son of 5 years whom she takes to school in the morning. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 5 hours in dining and 2 hours in bed room daily. 47 years old homemaker respondent has two daughters and a son. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 5 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. She spends only a short period in the living to watch TV in the evening. 40 years old homemaker respondent has a daughter [16 years old]. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. She spends only a short period in the living to watch TV in the evening. 46 years old homemaker graduate respondent has two daughters [20 and 15 years old]. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 7 hours in bed room daily.. 46 years old homemaker graduate respondent has two daughters [20 and 15 years old]. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. In the afternoon she takes rest and work for an hour in the in kitchen and spends only a short period in the living to watch TV in the evening. The respondent, 35 years old homemaker, has a daughter [5 yrs] and a son [13]. She takes her children to school in the morning. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 2 hours in bed room daily. In the evening she spends time in the dining space for teaching her children and in the living room for watching TV. The respondent, 35 years old homemaker, has a daughter [17 yrs] and two sons [15 yrs and 9yrs]. She takes her children to school in the morning. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 5 hours in dining and 2 hours in bed room daily. The respondent, 32 years old homemaker, has a son [10 yrs] and a daughter [7yrs]. She takes her children to school in the morning. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 3 hours in bed room daily. The respondent, 40 years old homemaker, has two sons [14 yrs and 8 yrs]. She takes her children to school in the morning. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 5 hours in dining and 3 hours in bed room daily. She spends time in the dining space for teaching her children . 29 years old homemaker is a post graduate student who has two daughters [6 and 4 years old]. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and an hour in bed room daily. She Prepares breakfast in the morning and goes to her College. After returning from college she does some cooking in the kitchen . 56 years old homemaker respondent has a daughter [30yr] and a son [25]. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. 53 years old homemaker respondent has three sons [and a daughter. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily. Shespends some time in the living watching TV in the evening.
65 years old respondent has a daughter [40yrs] who is sick. She lives with her son [35] and daughter-in-law [34]. She spends 5 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining and 5 hours in bed room daily.
Service Service
327
Appendix 5.08 :Activities of economically active female heads Apartm Family Profile B-12 husband Respondent daughter daughter mother A-6 husband Respondent daughter
50 45 20 18 70 36 33 6
graduate graduate BBA HSC
Business service student student
MBA MA KG
service teacher student
In apartment A-6 33 year old respondent is a school teacher. She gets ready in the morning, after breakfast goes to the school, returns home at 1:00, prepares the meal and does other household works before lunch. After lunch teaches students in the dining room. She spends 4 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining daily. She spends some time in the living watching TV in the afternoon.
husband A -11 Respondent son-1 daughter
51 35 14 12
BSc Engg BA
service service student student
35 years old respondent is a service holder and works from 9:00 am to 5:00pm. After breakfast she goes to work at 8:00 am .After returning she does other household works. Her household duties are supported by her maid servant. At home she work in the Kitchen and dining space and prefers to see the spaces around while she is working in the home to have a control over the activities happening around her.
husband A -13 Respondent son-1 daughter
37 29 2 8
BSc Engg BA
service service student
29 years old respondent is a service holder and works from 9:00 am to 5:00pm. After breakfast she goes to work at 8:00 am .After returning she does other household works. Her household duties are supported by her maid servant. At home she work in the Kitchen and dining
B -11 husband Respondent
33 32
MSc MSc
Professor service
Female head goes to work in the morning and comes at 5:00. After returning takes some rest. Her household duties are supported by her maid servant and before dinner she does some cooking in the kitchen.
husband B -13 Respondent daughter daughter
52 42 22 19
M Sc M Com B Com HSC
Service Teacher Student student
42 years old respondent goes to school in the morning comes at 2:00, prepares the meal and does other household works. After lunch she takes rest and in the evening works in the kitchen. She spends some time in the family living watching TV.
husband Respondent C - 1 son-1 son-2 mother husband C -13 Respondent daughter-1 son-1 A- 3 husband Respondent daughter daughter son-1 B - 3 husband Respondent daughter
60 55 29 22 93 48 48 19 14 50 48 28 22 17 40 32 8
MSc MSc BArch cadet
Service teacher service student
55 years old respondent gets ready in the morning and after breakfast goes to the school. She returns home at 1:00, prepares the meal and does other household works before lunch. In the afternoon she teaches students in the dining room.
B-Arch B-Arch A Level cl-9 M Com MA M Com Hons HSC MBA BSc Engg
Service Service Student Student service Professor Student student student service service student
BF, goes to work, comes at 5:00, rest; Her household duties are supported by her maid servant,Dinner, sleep.
son-1 husband Respondent daughter daughter
5 53 42 23 15
MSc MA BBA School
student Business teacher student student
B-8
Daily Household Activities of the female head In apartment B-12 the female head is a service holder and stays 63% of the time outside the house. After returning home she spends 6% of their activity period in the kitchen and 19% in the dining and 13% in the bedroom.
48 years old respondent is a professor teaching in a college. She goes to college after breakfast and comes at 6:00 in the evening and takes rest for an hour. She works [study] in the dining room.
32 year old respondent is an engineer and service holder. She works from morning and returns home at 5:00. Her household duties are supported by her maid servant,Dinner, sleep. 42 year old respondent is a school teacher. She gets ready in the morning, after breakfast goes to the school, returns home at 1:00, prepares the meal and does other household works. After lunch teaches students in the dining room. She spends 3 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining daily. Shespends some time in the family living watching TV in the afternoon.
328
B -10 Husband Respondent Daughter husband C – 7 Respondent
32 28 5 38 35
MA MA
son-1 husband Respondent daughter-1 daughter-2 Grand mother husband Respondent daughter-1
8 64 56 26 19 81 45 38 21
student M.Com graduate Sick Student
Student Service Service
M.Com MA BBA
Service teacher Student
Gets ready in the morning, after breakfast goes to the school, returns home at 1:00, prepares the meal and does other household works before lunch. After it teaches students in the dining room.
husband Respondent daughter daughter husband Respondent son-1 husband Respondent son-1
48 39 14 4 35 34 7 34 30 4
BScEng g BSc school
service Service student student Doctor Doctor student service Doctor student
Mrs NoorjahanBegum[39yrs] works from 8:00am to 5:00pm daily and a maid is there to help her in her household duties.
husband Respondent son-1 son-2 husband Respondent daughter Niece Respondent daughter mother
42 33 8 2 32 28 2 18 45 12 60
BIT engg service Dip Arch Service student student MBBS Doctor MSc Service
C–8
C–9
D–1
D–2
D–3
D–4
D–7
D – 10
M.Sc HSC
BDS,Ms MBBS MBA MBBS
HSC B-Arch school
service teacher student business Service
28 year old respondent is a school teacher and teaches students in the dining room. She spends 2 hours in the kitchen 4 hours in dining daily. BF, goes to work, comes at 5:00, rest; Her household duties are supported by her maid servant,Dinner, sleep. 56 years old respondent is a service holder and works 10 hours outside her home. After breakfast she goes to work at 8:00 am .After returning she does other household works. Her household duties are supported by her maid servant.
student
student Service student house-wife
34 years respondent is an MBBS doctor and works from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm daily. She has household assistant to help her with the household duties. Dr Shayla Ahmed gets ready early in the morning and after her breakfast before going to her office goes to the school to drop her son [4]. She returns at the evening she prepares the meal and does other household works. Her household duties are supported by her maid servant. 32 year old respondent is an engineer and service holder. She works from BF, goes to work, comes at 5:00, rest; Her household duties are supported by her maid servant.
Mrs Mehnaz gets ready early in the morning and after her Prayer and breakfast goes to work. She returns in the afternoon. Her duties are supported by her maid servant.
Respondent is a service holder and works 10 hours outside her home. After breakfast she goes to work at 8:00 am .After returning she does other household works. Her household duties are supported by her maid servant.
Appendix 5.09 : Requirements of the middle income group female heads
Needs separation at entry with foyer
In economically non-active female headed families [ total 29] A-1, A-5, A-7, A-9, B-7, B-9, C-4, C5, C-6 , A-2, B-2
Needs privacy
A-8, A-12, C-2, C-12
14%
C-9
5%
Open kitchen
B-5, B-6, B-7, D-5, D-8
17%
A-11, B-3, C-1, D-1 , D -3, D -7
29%
Store space
A-4, C-11, D-11
10%
D-7
5%
D-2 , D-3
5%
A-10
3%
D-3
5%
B-10
5%
B-1
3%
B-11, D-1, D-4
14%
38%
Larger foyer Larger Dining Larger Living room Balcony
In economically active female headed families [ total 21] A-6, A-11, A-13, B-3, B-8, B-12, B-13, C-7, C-8, D-10, A-3, D-7
329
57%
Appendix 6.01: Spatial Configuration According to the Size of Apartments size 900-1000 [7]
1001-1200 [18]
1201-1500 [25]
Apartment Max Depth 4 B-2 4 B-6 3 B-7 B-12 3 4 C-6 3 A-5 A-6 3 4 A-1 3 A-10 A-11 3 3 A-12 A-13 2 B-11 4 B-13 3 C-1 3 4 C-2 4 C-3 3 C-4 2 C-5 5 C-11 C-12 3 C-13 3 4 D-8 4 D-9 4 D-11 2 A-2 A-3 3 2 A-4 A-7 4 3 A-8 2 A-9 3 B-1 B-3 3 B-4 4 B-5 4 B-8 4 B-9 5 B-10 3 C-7 2 C-8 4 C-9 3 C-10 3 D-1 4 D-2 4 D-3 5 D-4 5 D-5 3 D-6 4 D-7 2 D-10 4
MD[Avr 1.98] Configuration Ring location 2.00 Tree 2.46 Tree 1.85 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 1.20 Ringy Ex-Liv-Din Cir-Bed-Ver2.00 Ringy Bed-cir-Bed 1.64 Tree 1.55 Tree 2.15 Tree 1.69 Tree 2.29 Tree 2.00 Tree 1.43 Ringy Ex-Liv-Din 2.20 Tree 1.75 Ringy Liv-Din-F.Liv 1.50 Tree 2.50 Tree 2.14 Tree 1.75 Ringy Din-Bed-Ver1.00 Ringy Ex-Liv-Din 2.46 Ringy Cir-Liv-Din 1.46 Tree 1.86 Tree 2.24 Tree 2.24 Tree 1.93 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 1.07 Ringy Ex-Liv-Din 1.92 Tree 1.47 Ringy Ex-Liv-Din 2.53 Ringy Din-Bed-Ver2.00 Ringy Cir-Bed-Ver-bed 1.29 Tree 2.00 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 2.00 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 2.47 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 2.61 Tree 2.31 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 2.94 Tree 1.94 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 1.14 Ringy Din-Bed-Ver2.46 Tree 1.93 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 1.71 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 2.27 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din F.Liv-Bed-Ver2.27 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din F.Liv-Bed-Ver3.00 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din F.Liv-Bed-Ver3.00 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din F.Liv-Bed-Ver1.62 Tree 2.41 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 1.00 Ringy Ex-Liv-Din 2.13 Ringy F.Liv-Bed-Ver-
330
Appendix 6.02: Types of spaces in the MIG apartments Small Apartments A-5 A-6 B-2 B-6 B-7 B-12 C-6 Medium Apartments A-1 A-10 A-11 A-12 A-13 B-11 B-13 C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-11 C-12 C-13 D-8 D-9 D-11 Large Apartments A-2 A-3 A-4 A-7 A-8 A-9 B-1 B-3 B-4 B-5 B-8 B-9 B-10 C-7 C-8 C-9 C-10 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-5 D-6 D-7 D-10
Gendered space Living M Bed b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type c-type b-type c-type c-type b-type c-type
Kitchen b-type a-type a-type b-type b-type a-type a-type
Shared space Dining F .Living b-type b-type b-type b-type c-type c-type b-type
b-type a-type b-type a-type c-type b-type c-type a-type b-type b-type b-type c-type c-type a-type a-type a-type a-type c-type
b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type c-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type
b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type a-type b-type a-type b-type a-type a-type b-type b-type b-type b-type a-type
b-type b-type b-type b-type c-type b-type c-type b-type b-type b-type b-type c-type c-type b-type b-type b-type b-type c-type
c-type b-type c-type b-type a-type a-type c-type c-type c-type a-type c-type b-type c-type a-type b-type c-type c-type c-type c-type c-type c-type
b-type b-type b-type c-type c-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type c-type b-type b-type b-type c-type c-type c-type c-type
b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type
c-type b-type c-type c-type b-type b-type c-type c-type c-type b-type c-type b-type c-type c-type b-type c-type c-type c-type c-type c-type c-type
a-type c-type c-type b-type
b-type b-type b-type c-type
b-type b-type b-type b-type
b-type c-type c-type b-type
Transition space Foyer Circulation
b-type b-type c-type c-type c-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type
c-type b-type
b-type b-type
b-type
c-type
b-type b-type b-type b-type b-type
b-type b-type c-type
b-type b-type c-type
b-type b-type b-type b-type c-type
c-type c-type c-type c-type
c-type c-type c-type b-type c-type b-type c-type b-type c-type c-type c-type c-type c-type c-type
b-type b-type
b-type b-type b-type
a-type a-type c-type
c-type
Toilet a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type
Verandah a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type c-type a-type
a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type
a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type c-type a-type a-type a-type c-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type
a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type
c-type a-type a-type c-type c-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type a-type c-type b-type a-type a-type c-type c-type c-type c-type
a-type a-type a-type a-type
a-type a-type a-type c-type
331
Appendix 6.03: Space Link Ratio to express Ringyness cases A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 A-5 A-6 A-7 A-8 A-9 A-10 A-11 A-12 A-13 B-1 B-2 B-3 B-4 B-5 B-6 B-7 B-8 B-9 B-10 B-11 B-12
SLR36 1 1.133 1 1.058 1 1 1.067 1.133 1 1.059 1 1 1.067 1.067 1 1 1 1 1.071 1.067 1 1.067 1.059 1
Ring location No Ring Ringy Ex-Liv-Din No Ring Ringy Ex-Liv-Din No Ring No Ring Ringy Din-Bed-Ver-bed Ringy Cir-Bed-Ver-bed No Ring No Ring No Ring No Ring Ringy Ex-Liv-Din Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din No Ring Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din No Ring No Ring Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din No Ring Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din No Ring Ringy Ex-Liv-Din 10 1.2 Ringy Cir-Bed-Ver-bed B-13 16 1.063 Ringy Liv-Din-F.Liv C-1 12 1 No Ring C-2 14 1 No Ring C-3 14 1 No Ring C-4 12 1.083 Ringy Din-Bed-Ver-bed C-5 12 1.083 Ringy Ex-Liv-Din C-6 11 1.091 Ringy Bed-cir-Bed C-7 14 1.071 Ringy Din-Bed-Ver-bed C-8 13 1 No Ring C-9 14 1.143 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din C-10 14 1.071 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din C-11 13 1.077 Ringy Cir-Liv-Din C-12 13 1 No Ring C-13 14 1 No Ring D-1 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 15 1.133 Ringy F.Liv-Bed-Ver-Bed D-2 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 15 1.133 Ringy F.Liv-Bed-Ver-Bed D-3 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 17 1.118 Ringy F.Liv-Bed-Ver-Bed D-4 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din 17 1.118 Ringy F.Liv-Bed-Ver-Bed D-5 13 1 No Ring D-6 17 1.059 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din D-7 13 1.077 Ringy Ex-Liv-Din D-8 17 1 No Ring D-9 17 1 No Ring D-10 15 1.067 Ringy F.Liv-Bed-Ver-Bed D-11 15 1.133 Ringy Foyer-Liv-Din Average of Mean Integration-0.90
36
space# 13 15 13 17 11 11 15 15 14 13 14 15 14 15 10 15 17 18 13 13 16 16 16 15
a-type space Toil,Ver, Toil Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed,Kit Toil,Bed Toil,Liv Toil,Ver,liv Toil,Ver,Liv,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,liv Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed,Kit Toil,Ver,Bed,Kit Toil,Ver Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,Liv,Bed Toil,Ver Toil,Ver Toil,Ver Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed
b-type space c-type space Liv,Din,Cir,Kit,Bed Kit,Bed, Liv,Din,Bed,Ver Liv,Din,Kit,Bed Cir,Kit,Bed Liv,Din Liv,Din,Kit,Bed Liv,Din,Bed Liv,Cir,Kit Din,Bed,Ver Din,Kit,Bed Cir,Bed,Ver Din,Kit,Bed Din,Cir,Kit,Bed Liv,Din,cir,Kit,Bed Din,Cir,Kit,Bed Cir,Kit,Bed Liv,Din Kit,Bed Liv,Din,Foy Liv,Din,cir,Bed Kit,Bed Liv,Din,Foy Cir,Kit,Bed Liv,Din,Foy Foy,Din,Cir,Kit,FLiv,Bed Foy,liv,Din,Kit,Bed Kit,Bed Liv,Din,Foy Kit,FLiv,Bed Liv,Din,Foy Foy,liv,Din,Kit,FLiv,Bed Kit,FLiv,Bed Liv,Din,Foy Liv,Din,cir,Kit,Bed
Toil,Kit Toil,Bed Toil,Ver,Liv,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed,Kit Toil,Bed Toil,Ver,Kit Toil,Ver,Bed,Kit Toil,Liv Toil,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed,Kit Toil,Ver,Bed,Liv Toil,Ver,Bed,Liv
Cir,Kit,Bed Foy,Din,Bed Liv,Din,cir,Kit,Bed Liv,Din,cir,Bed Liv,Din,Kit Bed Liv,Din Kit,Bed Foy,liv,Din,Kit,Bed,Ver Kit,Bed Kit,Bed Foy,Bed Din,Kit,FLiv,Bed Din,Kit,cir,Bed
Toil,Bed
Kit
Foy,Liv,Din,F.Liv,Bed,Ver
0.86
Toil,Bed
Kit
Foy,Liv,Din,F.Liv,Bed,Ver
0.86
Toil,Bed
Kit,Cir
Foy,Liv,Din,F.Liv,Bed,Ver
0.83
Toil,Bed Toil,Ver,Bed,Liv Toil,Ver,Bed,F Liv Toil,Ver,Bed,F Liv Toil,Ver,liv Toil,Ver,liv Toil Toil,Ver,Bed,Kit
Kit,Cir Din,Kit,cir,Bed Kit,Bed Kit,Bed Foy,DinKit,FLiv,bed Foy,DinKit,FLiv,bed Liv,Din,Kit,Bed F Liv,Bed
Foy,Liv,Din,F.Liv,Bed,Ver
0.83 0.90 0.73 1.15 0.75 0.62 0.77 0.90
Liv,Din,Cir,Bed,Ver Liv,Din,F.Liv,Ver
Bed,Ver Liv,Din Cir,Bed Din,F.Liv,Bed,Ver Liv,Din,Foy Liv,Din,Foy Liv,Din,Cir
Liv,Din,Foy Liv,Din F.Liv,Bed,Ver Liv,Din,Foy
MI 0.78 1.15 0.97 0.93 0.90 0.86 0.87 0.94 0.97 0.93 0.80 0.92 0.85 0.99 0.78 0.98 0.89 0.78 0.81 0.84 0.78 0.89 0.99 0.85 0.90 0.95 0.91 0.85 0.88 1.08 1.07 0.92 1.13 0.86 0.99 0.96 0.85 0.95 0.98
Space link ratio: SLR = (L+1) / k ,where k=number of spaces : L= number of links
332
Appendix 6.04: Integration Values [1/RRA] of the spaces with order of integration Integration A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 A-5 A-6 A-7 A-8 A-9 A-10 A-11 A-12 A-13 B-1 B-2 B-3 B-4 B-5 B-6 B-7 B-8 B-9 B-10 B-11 B-12 B-13 C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7 C-8 C-9 C-10 C-11 C-12 C-13 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-5 D-6 D-7 D-8 D-9 D-10 D-11 Mean
Foyer
Cir 1.52
1.39
Living 1.01 1.47 1.22 1.13 1.33 1.47 0.91 0.76 1.10 0.79 0.99 0.76 0.99 1.23 0.85 1.23 1.01 0.68 1.41 1.41 1.15 1.20 1.32 1.12 0.85 1.05 0.83 0.87 1.10 1.30 1.20 0.95 1.22 1.41 1.39 1.30 1.01 0.92 0.78 1.02 1.02 0.77 0.77 0.83 1.05 1.30 0.75 0.75 1.18 1.18
1.16
1.07
1.92
1.32 1.32 1.04 1.01 0.83 1.30 1.10 0.78 1.47
1.75
0.83 1.39 1.61 0.83
1.07 1.07 0.79 0.79 1.08 1.22 1.22
1.54
1.39 2.63 2.63 1.39 2.63 1.49 1.56 1.96 1.47
1.56 1.82 2.38 2.08 1.89
2.22
1.30 2.94
1.82 1.82 2.27
Dining 1.66 4.00 3.03 2.44 2.63 2.22 1.96 1.32 2.94 1.52 1.89 1.32 2.08 2.94 1.56 2.94 1.82 1.61 1.82 2.27 1.75 2.17 2.94 1.96 1.85 1.75 2.22 1.49 1.89 3.85 3.85 1.89 4.17 2.27 2.94 2.63 1.64 2.04 1.39 1.96 1.96 1.17 1.17 1.66 1.95 4.55 1.54 1.54 1.57 2.13
Kitchen 0.92 1.39 1.22 1.32 1.10 0.88 1.12 1.32 1.39 1.14 1.10 1.32 1.16 1.39 0.74 1.39 1.09 0.81 1.08 1.22 1.05 1.10 1.39 0.91 0.79 1.15 0.93 1.04 0.90 1.30 1.12 0.83 1.39 1.22 1.39 1.16 0.83 1.01 1.22 1.12 1.12 1.08 1.08 1.07 1.13 1.40 0.98 0.98 0.91 0.99
2.20
1.11
F.liv
1.83 1.21 1.33 1.33 1.32 1.47
M.Bed 0.96 1.56 1.41 1.27 1.33 1.20 1.12 1.32 1.39 1.30 1.10 1.32 0.87 1.12 1.00 1.39 1.14 0.95 0.96 1.08 0.91 1.02 1.39 0.99 1.10 1.28 1.20 1.16 1.10 1.56 1.56 1.02 1.39 1.08 1.39 1.30 0.87 1.08 1.39 0.99 0.99 0.98 0.98 1.21 1.08 1.65 0.89 0.89 0.88 0.94
Toil[M] 0.61 0.85 0.76 0.78 0.70 0.66 0.69 0.76 0.78 0.73 0.67 0.76 0.81 0.79 0.58 0.79 0.71 0.65 0.55 0.55 0.61 0.66 0.80 0.64 0.61 0.76 0.68 0.69 0.67 0.78 0.78 0.66 0.78 0.65 0.78 0.74 0.57 0.65 0.78 0.64 0.64 0.65 0.65 0.70 0.70 0.83 0.61 0.61 0.59 0.62
MI 0.78 1.15 0.97 0.93 0.90 0.86 0.87 0.94 0.97 0.93 0.80 0.92 0.85 0.99 0.78 0.98 0.89 0.78 0.81 0.84 0.78 0.89 0.99 0.85 0.90 0.95 0.91 0.85 0.88 1.08 1.07 0.92 1.13 0.86 0.99 0.96 0.85 0.95 0.98 0.86 0.86 0.83 0.83 0.90 0.73 1.15 0.75 0.62 0.77 0.90
1.41
1.15
0.69
0.90
1.15
1.05 1.65 1.26
1.05
1.39
1.79 1.57 1.57 1.54 1.54
Order of integration Din>Cir>Liv >Bed >Kit Din>Bed >Liv >Kit Din>Bed >Liv /Kit Din>Cir>Kit >Liv Din>Bed / Liv>Kit Din>Liv > Bed>Kit Din>Cir>Bed / Kit>Liv Cir >Din / Bed /Kit>Liv Din>Bed /Kit>Liv Cir >Din>Bed>Kit>Liv Din>Cir>Bed / Kit>Liv Cir >Din / Bed /Kit>Liv Din>Cir >Kit>Liv> Bed Din>Kit>Foy >Liv> Bed Din / Cir>Bed >Liv >Kit Din>Kit / Bed>Foy >Liv Cir >Din >Bed >Kit>Foy >Liv Din>Cir>F.liv> Foy > Bed >Kit> Liv Din>Liv > Kit>Bed>Foy Din>Liv > Foy > Kit>Bed Din>Liv > Foy >Kit / F.liv>Bed Din>F.liv>Liv > Kit>Bed>Foy Din> Foy > Bed / Kit>Liv>F.liv Din>Cir>Liv > Bed >Kit Din>Cir> Bed >Liv >Kit Cir >Din >Bed >Kit>Liv / Foy Din>Foy >Bed>Kit >Liv Cir >Din >Bed>Kit >Liv Din / Cir>Bed / Liv >Kit Din>Bed >Liv /Kit Din>Bed >Liv >Kit Cir >Din >Bed>Liv >Kit Din>Bed /Kit / F.liv>Liv Din>Liv >Kit>Bed>Foy Din>Bed /Kit / Foy >Liv Din>Foy >Bed/ Liv >Kit Din>Cir>Liv >Kit >Bed >Foy Din>F.liv>Bed>Kit>Liv Cir >Din / Bed>Kit>Liv Din>F.liv> Kit >Foy>Liv >Bed Din>F.liv> Kit >Foy>Liv >Bed Cir >F.liv>Din >Kit>Bed >Foy >Liv Cir >F.liv>Din >Kit>Bed >Foy >Liv Cir >Din >Bed>Kit>Liv Din>F.liv>Kit >Foy / Bed>Liv > Din>Bed >Kit>Liv >F.liv Din>F.liv>Foy>Kit >Bed>Liv Din>F.liv>Foy>Kit >Bed>Liv Din>F.liv>Liv >Kit>Bed Din>F.liv>Foy>Liv >Kit >Bed
Order of Mean Integration Dining >Circulation >F. living > Foyer>Bedroom >Kitchen >Living>Toilet [2.20]
[1.92]
[1.41]
[1.16]
[1.15]
[1.11]
[1.07]
[0.69]
333
Appendix 6.05 : Depth of Spaces with Order of Depth Ref A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 A-5 A-6 A-7 A-8 A-9 A-10 A-11 A-12 A-13 B-1 B-2 B-3 B-4 B-5 B-6 B-7 B-8 B-9 B-10 B-11 B-12 B-13 C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7 C-8 C-9 C-10 C-11 C-12 C-13 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-5 D-6 D-7 D-8 D-9 D-10 D-11 Mean
Foy
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Liv 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 1.62
Cir
Din 3
2
2 2 2 3 2 2 3 3 3
3 2 2 3 3
3
2 2
3 3 2
2.5
2 1 2 1 2 2 3 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 3 2 2 3 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 1.82
Kit 3 2 3 2 3 3 4 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 3 3 4 3 4 2 3 3 4 3 3 2 3 2 4 4 3 4 2 3 3 3 4 4 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3.04
FL
MB
3
3 4 3
2
2
4 2 3 3 4 4 3 2 3 3 3 3 2.94
4 2 3 2 3 3 4 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 5 3 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 2 4 2 4 3 3 5 3 3 4 4 5 5 3 4 2 4 4 4 4 3.38
MD 2.15 1.07 1.92 1.47 1.64 1.55 2.53 2.00 1.29 1.69 2.29 2.00 1.43 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.47 2.61 2.46 1.85 2.31 2.94 1.94 2.20 1.20 1.75 1.50 2.50 2.14 1.75 1.00 2.00 1.14 2.46 1.93 1.71 2.46 1.46 1.86 2.27 2.27 3.00 3.00 1.62 2.41 1.00 2.24 2.24 2.13 1.93
Order Order of Depth Liv Kit Din>M.Bed >Liv > Kit Din>Cir > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din >Liv > F.Liv> Kit>M.Bed Liv >Din > M.Bed > Foy> Kit Din>Liv >Foy > M.Bed> Kit Din>Foy > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>Cir > Foy > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed> Kit Cir>Din > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din > F.Liv> Foy > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din> F.Liv> Liv >Foy > M.Bed> Kit Foy >Cir > Din > F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed> Kit Kit Foy > Cir > M.Bed > Din > F.Liv> Liv> Kit Din>Cir > Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>Foy > F.Liv> Liv >M.Bed> Kit Din>F.Liv> M.Bed> Liv> Kit Foy >Din > F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed> Kit Foy > Din > F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed> Kit Din>F.Liv> M.Bed> Liv> Kit Foy >Din > F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed> Kit
10.98
9.55
11.97 13.03
10.46 7.84
Din > Cir > Foy > F.Liv> Liv > M.Bed > Kit
REF FOY A- 1 A- 2 A- 3 A- 4 A- 5 A- 6 A- 7 A- 8 A- 9 A-10 A-11 A-12 A-13 B-1 B-2 B-3 B-4 B-5 B-6 B-7 B-8 B-9 B- 10 B- 11 B- 12 B- 13 C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7 C-8 C-9 C- 10 C- 11 C- 12 C- 13 D -1 D -2 D -3 D -4 D -5 D -6 D -7 D -8 D -9 D -10 D -11
Mean VI
9.92 10.52 8.11 12.47 11.85 11.86 14.03 6.02 11.61
11.24
7.13 9.39 11.66 10.36 9.76 8.15 12.02 11.75 13.31 12.93 12.89
6.87
335
Appendix 6. 07: Order of Visual Control [VC] Ref A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 A-5 A-6 A-7 A-8 A-9 A-10 A-11 A-12 A-13 B-1 B-2 B-3 B-4 B-5 B-6 B-7 B-8 B-9 B -10 B -11 B -12 B -13 C -1 C -2 C -3 C -4 C -5 C -6 C -7 C -8 C -9 C -10 C -11 C -12 C -13 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4 D-5 D-6 D-7 D-8 D-9 D -10 D -11 Average
FOY
1.17 1.24 1.06 1.86 0.95 1.29 1.55 1.12 1.39
1.08
0.72 0.83 0.93 0.87
1.35 0.95 1.46 1.43 1.46 2.03 2.08 2.01 1.31
LIV 1.35 1.14 1.04 0.94 1.09 1.12 1.29 1.03 0.88 0.99 0.90 1.09 0.99 0.95 1.09 1.01 1.15 0.92 0.99 0.91 0.92 1.06 1.16 1.04 1.03 1.26 0.84 0.91 1.18 1.11 0.85 1.08 0.93 1.21 1.31 1.14 0.99 0.88 0.89 1.01 1.02 1.05 1.07 0.88 1.01 0.88 0.91 0.96 0.91 0.83 1.02
CIR 1.85
1.39
1.11 1.62 1.52 1.93 1.58 1.85 1.67 2.15 1.82
1.75 1.72 1.31 1.26 1.35
1.26
1.61 1.43
1.63 1.73 1.36
1.59
DIN 1.71 1.70 1.56 1.46 1.66 1.35 1.43 1.29 1.35 1.31 1.54 1.21 1.66 1.45 1.11 1.47 1.50 1.28 1.63 1.72 1.56 1.51 1.72 1.25 1.23 1.30 1.32 1.68 1.68 1.63 1.61 1.31 1.81 1.29 1.03 1.95 1.12 1.77 1.21 1.34 1.38 1.35 1.09 1.54 1.76 1.63 1.33 1.36 1.14 1.58 1.46
KIT 0.74 0.79 0.67 0.68 0.72 0.67 0.85 1.05 0.78 0.94 0.72 0.88 0.89 0.87 0.91 0.86 0.75 0.96 0.96 0.85 0.81 0.65 0.73 0.79 0.75 0.95 0.83 1.06 0.77 0.81 0.79 0.89 0.88 0.81 0.83 0.62 0.62 0.71 0.83 0.81 0.87 0.86 0.84 0.81 0.76 0.75 0.79 0.79 0.75 0.71 0.81
F.LIV
1.03
1.29 1.02 0.87
1.10
0.91
0.86 1.06 1.18 0.97 1.13 1.54 1.17 1.31 1.31 0.99 0.94 1.10
M.BED 0.80 0.91 0.96 1.06 1.03 0.89 0.94 0.77 1.04 1.28 1.02 1.02 0.96 1.12 1.07 0.94 0.99 0.97 0.80 0.99 0.85 0.96 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.96 0.97 1.07 0.79 1.02 0.97 1.06 0.96 0.89 0.98 1.12 0.99 0.86 0.89 1.19 1.21 0.94 0.94 0.92 0.86 1.11 0.96 0.99 1.13 0.82 0.98
Order of visual Control C>D>L>MB>K D>L>MB>K D>L>MB>K D>C>MB> L>K D>L>MB>K D>L>MB>K D>L> C>MB>K C>D>L>K>MB D> MB> L>K C>D>L>MB>K C>D> MB> L>K C>D>L>MB>K C>D>L>MB>K D>F> MB> L>K C>D>L>MB>K D>F>L> MB>K C>D>L> F>MB>K F>C>D>FL> MB> L>K D> L>F>K> MB D>F> MB>L>K D>F> FL>L>MB>K D>F> FL>L>MB>K D>F> L> MB> FL>K C>D>L>MB>K C>D>L>MB>K C>D>L>MB>K D>F> MB>L>K D>C>MB>K> L D>C> L>MB>K D>L>MB>K D> MB>L> K D>C> L>MB>K D> L> MB>FL>K D>L>MB>K> F L>D> MB>K> F D>L>MB> F>K C>D>L>MB> F>K D> L> MB>FL>K C>D>L>MB>K F>D>FL> MB> L>K F>D>FL> MB> L>K C>F>D> L>FL> MB>K C>F>D> L>FL> MB>K D> C> MB> L>K D> FL>F>L>MB>K D> FL> MB> L>K F>D> FL> MB> L>K F>D> FL> MB> L>K D> MB> FL>L>K F>D> FL> MB> L>K
336
Appendix 6.08 : Response of the Female Heads Regarding Foyer Economically non-active Female Head in apartments with Foyer size small medium
large
apartment B-6 B-7 C-11 D-8 D-9 D-11 B-1 B-4 B-5 B-9 C-10 D-6
Foyer 0.83 1.30 0.83 1.22 1.22 1.39 1.32 1.04 1.01 0.78 1.61 1.08
Living 1.41 1.41 1.01 0.75 0.75 1.18 1.23 1.01 0.68 1.20 1.30 1.05
Integration=1/RRA Dining Kitchen 1.82 1.08 2.27 1.22 1.22 1.64 0.83 1.54 0.98 1.54 0.98 2.13 0.99 2.94 1.39 1.96 1.82 1.09 1.47 1.61 0.81 2.17 1.10 2.63 1.16 1.95 1.13 Cir
F.liv
M.Bed 0.96 1.08 0.87 0.89 0.89 0.94 1.12 1.14 0.95 1.02 1.30 1.08
1.33 1.33 1.47
1.15 1.65 1.83
Not Satisfied Not Satisfied satisfied satisfied satisfied satisfied satisfied satisfied satisfied Not Satisfied satisfied satisfied
Response of the Female Head needs larger foyer & segregation needs larger foyer & segregation
needs larger foyer & segregation
Economically active Female Head in apartments with Foyer size medium large
apartment C-1 B-3 B-8 B-10 C-8 C-9 D-1 D-2 D-3 D-4
Foyer 1.75 1.32 1.10 1.47 0.83 1.39 1.07 1.07 0.79 0.79
Living 0.83 1.23 1.15 1.32 1.41 1.39 1.02 1.02 0.77 0.77
Integration=1/RRA Dining Kitchen 2.22 0.93 2.94 1.39 1.75 1.05 2.94 1.39 2.27 1.22 2.94 1.39 1.96 1.12 1.96 1.12 1.82 1.17 1.08 1.82 1.17 1.08 Cir
F.liv
M.Bed 1.20 1.39 0.91 1.39 1.08 1.39 0.99 0.99 0.98 0.98
1.05 1.26
1.57 1.57 1.54 1.54
Response of the Female Head satisfied satisfied Not Satisfied satisfied Not Satisfied Not Satisfied satisfied satisfied Not Satisfied Not Satisfied
needs larger foyer & segregation needs larger foyer & segregation needs larger foyer & segregation
needs larger foyer & segregation needs larger foyer & segregation
Economically non-active Female Head in Apartments without Foyer size small medium
large
apartment B-2 C-6 A-5 A-1 A-10 A-12 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-12 A-2 A-4 A-7 A-8 A-9 D-5
Foyer Living 0.85 0.95 1.33 1.01 0.79 1.14 0.87 1.10 1.30 1.20 0.92 1.47 1.13 0.91 0.76 1.10 0.83
Integration=1/RRA Cir Dining Kitchen 1.56 1.56 0.74 2.22 1.89 0.83 2.63 1.10 1.52 1.66 0.92 2.63 1.52 1.14 2.63 2.63 1.32 2.08 1.49 1.04 1.89 1.89 0.90 3.85 1.30 3.85 1.12 2.04 1.01 4.00 1.39 1.54 2.44 1.32 1.39 1.96 1.12 2.63 1.32 1.32 2.94 1.39 2.27 1.66 1.07
F.liv
1.79
M.Bed 1.00 1.02 1.33 0.96 1.30 1.32 1.16 1.10 1.56 1.56 1.08 1.56 1.27 1.12 1.32 1.39 1.21
Response of the Female Head Not Satisfied Need Foyer Not Satisfied Need Foyer Not Satisfied Need Foyer Not Satisfied Need Foyer Not Satisfied Not Satisfied
Need privacy with Foyer Need privacy with Foyer
Not Satisfied Not Satisfied Not Satisfied Not Satisfied Not Satisfied Not Satisfied Not Satisfied Not Satisfied
Need Foyer Need Foyer Need privacy with Foyer Need Foyer Need Foyer Need Foyer Need privacy with Foyer Need Foyer
Economically active Female Head in Apartments without Foyer size small
apartment B-12 A-6 medium A-11 A-13 B-11 B-13 C-13 large A-3 C-7 D-7 D-10
Foyer Living 0.85 1.47 0.99 0.99 1.12 1.05 0.78 1.22 1.22 1.30 1.18
Integration=1/RRA Cir Dining Kitchen 1.82 1.85 0.79 2.22 0.88 1.39 1.89 1.10 1.49 2.08 1.16 1.56 1.96 0.91 2.38 1.75 1.15 2.94 1.39 1.22 3.03 1.22 4.17 1.39 4.55 1.40 1.57 0.91
F.liv
1.05 1.39 1.21 1.32
M.Bed 1.10 1.20 1.10 0.87 0.99 1.28 1.39 1.41 1.39 1.65 0.88
Response of the Female Head Not Satisfied Need Foyer Not Satisfied Need Foyer Not Satisfied Need Foyer Not Satisfied Need Foyer Not Satisfied
Need Foyer
Not Satisfied Not Satisfied Not Satisfied Not Satisfied
Need Foyer Need Foyer Need Foyer Need Foyer
337
Appendix 6.09 : Foyer in the apartments with economically non-active female heads
Respondents in B–6 and B-7 are not satisfied with the present foyer because of its size. The foyer leads to living space and cannot create the choice in access.
B-6
B-7
Respondents in D– 8, D-9, B-1, B-4, B -5, D – 6, C-11 and C-10 are satisfied with the foyer. C-11
D-9
B-1
Female heads in D-8 and D-9 are satisfied with the foyer. Living, dining and guest bed room is approached from the foyer.
Respondents in B-1, B-4, are satisfied with the foyer. Foyer leads to living and dining having a ring of movement among these spaces that gives choice in access to these spaces without interrupting the others. Foyer in B-5 does not have a choice of movement in the access.
B-4
B-5
Female head in C-10 and D-6 are satisfied with the foyer.
C-10
D-6
338
Appendix 6.10 : Foyer in the apartments with economically active female heads Respondent in B– 8 is satisfied with the foyer with respect to choice in movement but not satisfied with its size. B-8
Respondent in C-9 is satisfied with the foyer with respect to choice in movement but not satisfied with its size.
C-9
D-3
Respondent in D-3 not satisfied with the present foyer as these are too compact to hold activities
In C-1 Living, dining and guest bed room is approached from the foyer.
C-1 Respondent in B-3 is satisfied with the present foyer. She does not have visitors frequently. The foyer type plan in her house separates the inner spaces from the visitor’s zone and she does not require extra curtain in her house. B-3 Foyer leads to living and dining having a ring of movement among these spaces that gives choice in access to these spaces without interrupting the others.
B-10
D-1
Foyer leads to living and dining having a ring of movement among these spaces that gives choice in access to these spaces without interrupting the others.
339
Appendix 6.11 : Apartments without foyer of the economically non-active female heads
B-2
In apartment B-2 access to the inner space is through living. The female head feels strongly for an entry foyer space which will give access to the dining and living separately and preserve the privacy of the inner spaces. In apartment C-6 access to the inner space is through living. The female desires an entry foyer space.
C-6 In apartment A-1, the respondent feels strongly for separation at the entry as it reveals the total indoor space to the outsiders at the door. A-1 In apartment A-4 access from exterior is with two doors and female head keeps one door to living closed most of the time.
A-4
In apartment A-9, access is from the exterior lobby leading to the dining first and then to living and kitchen, bed rooms. The female wanted an entry which will give access to the dining and living separately. A-9
In apartment C-2, respondent is not satisfied with the entry situation of her house where she has to enter through the living room. She requires separate entry for outsiders and for family members. C-2
In apartment C-4 access to the inner space is through living. The female head feels strongly for an entry foyer space which will give access to the dining and living separately. C-4
In apartment C-5 respondent has closed one door from lobby to living as she wants to control entry in her house by one door. C-5
340
Appendix 6.12: Apartments without foyer of the economically active female heads In apartment B-12 access from exterior is with two doors and female head keeps one door to living closed most of the time. B-12 In apartment A-6 access to the inner space is through living. The female head wants entry foyer space which will give access to the dining and living separately. A-6 In apartment A-11, the respondent feels strongly for separation at the entry as it reveals indoor space to the outsiders at the door. A-11 In apartment A-13 access to the inner space is through living. The female head wants entry foyer space which will give access to the dining and living separately.
A-13 In apartment B-13 dining have access from the exterior lobby.
B-13 In apartment A-3 the dining and living both have access from the exterior lobby. The respondent has closed one entry door from lobby to dining to preserve the privacy of the inner spaces. A-3 In apartment C-7, access is from the exterior lobby leading to the dining first and then to living and kitchen, bed rooms. The female head feels strongly for an entry which will give access to the dining and living separately. C-7 Respondent in D -7 is not happy with the entry and Instead of two separate doors she desires to have one entry in the house.
D-7
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V - Verandah
341
Appendix 6.13 : Plan , J-Graph, VGA graphs showing VI and VC of the MIG Apartments Apartment
J graph
Visual Integration
Visual Control
A-1
A-2
A-3
A-4
A-5
342
Apartment
J graph A-6
Visual Integration
Visual Control
A-7
A-8
A-9
A-10
343
Apartment
J graph A-11
Visual Integration
Visual Control
A-12
A-13
B-1
B-2
B-3
344
Apartment
J graph B-4
Visual Integration
Visual Control
B-5
B-6
B-7
B-8
B-9
345
Apartment
J graph B-10
Visual Integration
Visual Control
B-11
B-12
B-13
C-1
346
Apartment
J graph C-2
Visual Integration
Visual Control
C-3
C-4
C-5
C-6
C-7
347
Apartment
J graph C-8
Visual Integration
Visual Control
C-9
C-10
C-11
C-12
C-13
348
Apartment
J graph D-1,2
Visual Integration
Visual Control
D-3
D-4
D-5
D-6
349
Visual Integration
Visual Control
D-7
D-8
D-9
D-10
D-11
Legend: F- Foyer, L- Living, D - Dining, C - Circulation, B - Bed room, K - Kitchen, T - Toilet, V – Verandah
350
