India has a shortage of 25 million housing units. An investment of Rupees 3610 Billion is needed to fulfill this requirement. 99% of this requirement is generated by people belonging to economically weaker section. To quote Minister of State for Urban Development " massive urbanization in India has led to severe housing shortage for urban poor, providing affordable housing is a formidable challenge that our country faces today.

"The gap in infrastructure between India and China is so large that for India to catch up with China by 2015 its GDP expenditure in infrastructure should rise to 12.5% from the present 3.6%."

RIBA attempts to give a perspective on the need to have a good design. Follow the link to read the PDF titled Good Design it all adds up.

Creating focus

Creating a focus is essential to the concept generation process. It is not about blocking out the thoughts as one would in meditation. It is about “funneling” the accumulated creative inputs to solve a specific situation. This process again could be intermittent, switching on the focus and then switching it off. Switching off helps in keeping the mind open and to accept inspiration, influences that enrich the concept.

Often in architectural design the architect will need to shift the focus from whole to part and vice-verse. This is quite like zooming in and out a telescope. This is an empowering exercise that none could afford except the architect. In a single design problem the architect would pay attention to city level design as well as minute details of street furniture.