Cuttack

Narrow, deep plots

A plot with buildings tight on both sides gets light and air from only two ends. That single fact drives the whole design: rooms that need daylight go to the ends, services and circulation take the middle, and a courtyard or light well is often the only way to make the centre of the plan habitable. It is a traditional solution in this part of India for good reason — it also drives ventilation, which matters through the long hot months.

Building next to a neighbour who is already there

Construction on a tight urban plot is as much a logistics problem as a design one. Material has to be delivered down a street that may not take a truck, there is nowhere to stack, and any work near a party wall has to be sequenced so that the neighbour's structure is never at risk. These constraints belong in the programme from the start, not discovered in week three.

The CDA sectors

On the planned side of the city the plots are regular and the questions return to the familiar ones: coverage, setbacks, floor area ratio, parking and how to shade the west. Work here looks much more like Bhubaneswar practice.

Approvals

Cuttack falls under the Cuttack Development Authority and the Cuttack Municipal Corporation rather than the Bhubaneswar bodies, and the submission requirements differ in detail. We establish which authority and which rules apply to your plot before design begins.

Our work nearby

Our office interior for Mahalaxmi Promoters and Developers is at Phulnakhara, on the road between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, and we work across both cities regularly.