India’s trade and transportation rely heavily on trucks and truck drivers, a profession that has seen a rapid decline in numbers, due to negligible amenities and excessive responsibilities. At present, truck drivers have little to no restrooms or pit stops during long-distance journeys. In 1982 for every 1000 trucks there were 1300 drivers available, this number has reduced to 750 by 2012 and predicted to be 450 by 2022. In other words, 50% of the country’s trucks remain stranded on road due to a shortage of truck drivers. We need truck drivers to make goods available to the doorstep of the shop. If this trend continues cities will fall short of food and groceries.
The Truck Drivers Village is a campus that hosts an array of facilities that serve long distance truck drivers. The cluster has several access points, defining separate facilities for separate user groups. The project sits on a 2.5 acre site out of which the building occupies 7% of the site area and remaining area is open space, parking and fuel station.
The village is designed as series of courts and verandas. The courtyards are equipped with community activities like eating, sleeping, entertainment and recreation. The community activities are supported with ATM, first aid, drinking water, toilets and bathing facilities, washing and drying clothes, salon, a convenience store and a workshop for trucks.
The landscape of the courtyard is designed with huge boulders and discrete vegetation to create a micro climate and to reference the landscape of Chitradurga.
Project Profile
Project name: Truck Drivers Village
Location: Chitradurga
Project Commencement Year: July 2020
Site Area: 2.5 Acres
Built up area: 8000 sq.ft
Architecture firm: RC Architects
Architect: Rohan Chavan (Principal RC Architects)
Design team: Prachi Kadam, Priya Anandani
Renderings: Priya Anandani
Video editing: Priya Anandani, Vrushabh Tekade
