drip-dry urbanism a laundry list for urban vibrancy In the laundromats of Bombay and New York, water and power go hand in hand. Not only do they com- prise the infrastructure required for the laundromats’ operation (water for washing and electricity for drying), but their availability as resources determines both how and how much space is claimed by this banal activ- ity. The architecture of the Bombay Dhobi Ghats — a generations-old Indian public laundry — and the New York City Laundromat unveils the impact of infrastruc- ture on people, activity, and architecture.
culture | dhobi ghats and laundromats by aniket shahane
laundry Bombay
New York water use labour urban visibility
Like many other Laundromats, Bombay’s Dhobi Ghat provides complete laundry services for its clientele including clothing pick- up/drop-off, washing, drying, and ironing. However, in contrast to Laundromats that have a stronger infrastructure at their disposal, the Ghat survives on a spartan attitude towards water and energy consumption. It works like this. Upon request, a courier from the Ghat is dispatched to a client’s home to pick up dirty laundry. The clothes are wrapped in a brightly colored sack and swiftly delivered to the Ghat by the courier, usually on a bicycle or other man-powered vehicle (water and electricity are not the only resources that are hard to come by in Bombay). Upon arrival at the Ghat, the clothes are
India’s infrastructure can be characterised as fragile at best. Although improving, the supply of both water and electricity are unreliable. Power outages are not uncommon and water is often unsanitary, if running at all. Low levels of water and electricity instill in Indians a frugal mindset towards the consumption of these resources. Water needs to be carefully allocated. Electrical loads must be at a mini- mum. But what India lacks in resources, it more than makes up for with resourcefulness. In Bombay, a city of 18 million individuals, the human hand is the best means to monitor the quantity of water that flows from a tap. Reliance on manpower is critical and is most evident in the architecture of the Dhobi Ghat.
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