-These are 6 samples of a diverse cross-section of housing situations in the city Kabul, Afghanistan.
-It includes low to high income sectors, low to high population densities, and private self-help housing to government housing.
-The cases are presented in the time order that they were built.
(Models are made by DI Kan & YANG Haochen)
1. Shor Bazaar
Shor Bazaar is the oldest residential locality in Kabul. Most of the houses date back to more than 150 years ago. Although changing, it has always occupied and considered to be the heart of the city. The locality is a good example of the pre-industrial urban pattern described as narrow and tortuous streets with densely attached houses.
2. Shahr-i-Nau
As it is apparent from its name (the new city) this locality is the first housing development to be built outside the old city in 1930's. Located near the city center it is one of the prestigious residential sections of the city. It is planned for automobile circulation. So blocks are rectangular and streets are used by both automobiles and pedestrians. Lots are layed out back to back within the rectangular block. Houses are detached bungalow-type located in the center of a walled compound.
3. Karta-i-Panj
These dwellings are built in the 1950's. As usual land sub-division was carried by the government and then lots were sold to families who built their houses. A new element of semi-public cul-de-sac serves the interior of the block. Lots are layed out back to back; they cluster around the cul-de-sac access.
4. Nanabad-i-Dehmazang
Nauabad-i- Dehmazang is a good example of the new squatter settlements that are spreading up the city's hill-sides. The settlement is located on the slopes of Asmai near the Guzargah gorge. Lots are irregular in shape and they differ in size. Houses on the lower part of the slope are two story apartment-like structures overlooking the circulation path. As one goes higher houses are detached and spread out.
5. Noor Mohammad Shah Maina
The project is located on the eastern edge of the city. The government provide lots and house plans with construction guidelines to encourage the self-help process. The locality has some of the smallest lot sizes in the city. Plans of the dwellings are mostly formed by arranging rooms around an enclosed courtyard.
6. Settlement of the Qawals
These settlements are often transitional. They occur in the periphery of the city and belong to the migrant workers who may stay only for one season after which their camps may disappear; or else they may decide to stay longer and then will build more permanent shelters. Since the dwellers do not own the land, no property division exists.
Model of Serai Lahori in Shor Bazaar, Kabul, Afghanistan
References:
1. M. Rafi Samizay: Urban Growth and Residential Prototypes in Kabul, Afghanistan, B. Arch. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, U.S.A. 1969
2. William B. Bechhoefer: Serai Lahori, Traditional Housing in the Old City of Kabul, University of Maryland School of Architecture, 1975
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