Truck Driver’s Village, at Chitradurga, by Rohan Chavan Architects.

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 project designed for the truck drivers community, it sits on a 2.5-acre site. The building occupies only 7% of the site area and the remaining area is open space, parking and fuel station. Conceptually the facilities are arranged as a series of courts and verandas referencing the courtyard houses of the south. The courts are equipped with facilities to eat, to sleep, to hang out and to recreate. These facilities 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 in the courtyard is rendered with huge boulders and discrete vegetation to create a micro-climathtt