Asmitha Prabhu | Architecture Portfolio

ARCHITECTURE

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit”

ASMITHA PRABHU

EDUCATION

2017-2022

B.Arch (First class with distinction) CMR School of Architecture

2013-2017 NPS Koramangala, Bangalore 2003-2013 IISR, Riyadh

Date of Birth : 16.08.1999

Languages : English,Hindi, Konkani,Kannada

Address : # 3, Asha Deepa, 24th D cross Egipura, Bangalore

Contact : 9591623534

Email : asmithaprabhu16@gmail.com

PROFESSIONAL WORKS

Pragrup, Bangalore : 2021, January-June Architectural intern

Projects : Vitrium Homestay, Mudigere Villa Jardin, Bangalore Kevin Homestay, Africa Amaresh Residence, Bangalore Villa Tierra, Bangalore

All About Architecture, Kolkata: 2021, Sept-Dec Architectural intern

Worked on researching various sustainable materials and finding vendors in Bangalore, connecting with them while creating a platform to bring them into the market and making them more accessible

The Gathering, Riyadh : 2022, July-October Concept Visualisation

Projects :

KA Financial District

Saudi Founding Day Al Ula Workshops

The Citrus Festival FIFA event

SKILLS

Autodesk AutoCad Adobe Photoshop Adobe Indesign Adobe Illustrator Sketchup Rhinoceros Lumion

WORKSHOPS

2021 : Cement workshop CMRUSOA

2019 : Tensile structures CMRUSOA

2018 : Mud and cobb structures CMRUSOA

DOCUMENTATION

2022 : Hebbal, Bangalore, Karnataka STUDIO 10, Thesis

2021 : Shivajinagar, Bangalore, Karnataka STUDIO 7, Urban Design

2020 : Traditional Balinese Architecture STUDIO 6, Study tour

2019 : Traditional crafts of Kutch STUDIO 4, Study tour

2018 : Dakshinchitra, Chennai STUDIO 2, Study tour

01 BETWEEN TRANSIT

SITE LOCATION : HEBBAL | STUDIO 10 | JANUARY - JUNE 2022 | GUIDED BY : PROF. ANAND KURUDI

METRO STATION WITH MIXED USE SPACES LIKE RETAIL, RESTAURANTS, MALL AND CO WORKING OFFICES

Between transit is a project that redefines a metro station, by not just addressing the functionality of it, but also the experiences it can create. Transportation has been a crucial part of a metropolitan city like ours, but it is always viewed as a part of the journey and not a destination. Transit spaces like metro stations, bus stations and parking lots have always had a negative perception to them, and the idea is to change them into something more positive. Metro stations connect people across the city and are centres of constant movement, yet despite being such an important space they are looked over in terms of design and spatial experience.

A well designed transit system has a lot to offer to a growing city.It gives people the choice as to how they would like to travel to other parts of the city A space that encourages collaboration, leisure and as a whole acts a lively public realm. A space that caters to the user experience and talks of the cultures and experiences of the city, through design and function.Since they are present at every few kms in the city,they truly have the potential of becoming a major urban node and transforming the landscape of the city Bangalore.These structures will be present in the city for years to come, so the challenge here was to not just design a metro station but also the spaces around it

SITE ANALYSIS

SITE LOCATION : HEBBAL FLYOVER

The site is located in Hebbal next to the Hebbal flyover, where the site is on either side of the flyover stretch. It is located next to the BMTC Bus Depot.

VENDOR TYPOLOGY

LAND USE

The SE side is majorly residential while the SW is majorly Institutional. Towards the North, the area is majorly commercial.

OPEN SPACES

Private Spaces Semi Public Spaces Public Spaces

FIRGURE GROUND

1.Dense fabric with residential area

2.Sparse fabric with private properties

3.Spread out with Agricultural lands

TEMPORARY 1.2 sq.m. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

TEMPORARY 0.8 sq.m. TEMPORARY 1 sq.m. TEMPORARY 1.5 sq.m. TEMPORARY 1 sq.m. TEMPORARY 1.8 sq.m. PERMANENT 1 sq.m. PERMANENT 4 sq.m. PERMANENT 1.5 sq.m.

MICRO SITE ANALYSIS

VEHICULAR MOVEMENT

No zebra crossing Towads KR Puram Towards Kengeri

PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT

Movement Pedestrian crowd Crucial junction

VENDORS AND LIGHTING

Vendors Lighting

PARKING

Bus Auto Car Motorcycle

CONCEPTUAL IDEAS CONCEPTUAL EVOLUTION

The edge has scattered buildings with pockets of open spaces.

Wide roads with flyovers and service lanes present on sides.

The site and it’s areas are constantly busy with pedestrian movement, traffic movement as well as vendor activity happening throughout the day.

Yet the context is such that the roads are really wide and the built spaces around are not as tall and as densely spaced at the edge of the road.

SENSE OF ENCLOSURE

UNDERGROUNDACCESS

The existing character of the edge is loose and has no sense of enclosure.

BUILDING CONCEPT

Theatre Restaurants

VOIDS TOO OPEN CATERING TO BUS USERS

The central space is open with built spaces around the edges that aren’t inviting and block movement and interaction.

Transit

Enclosed

Breaking of the edges to create a sense of arrival along with underground connections.

The massing receding with height while the adjacent spaces react to the underground volumes.

A vertical core along with strong horizontal connections with vendor zones creating transitions into the project.

14.

8. 9.

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12. 13.

10. 11.

7.

6.

A A’

2. 3. 4. 5.

1.

MASTER PLAN

1.VENDOR ZONE 2.PUBLIC PARK ACCESS 3.METRO ACCESS 4.CAFETERIA 5.HOPCOM/BAKERIES 6.STEP DOWN DINING 7.STEP DOWN RETAIL ZONE 8.RESTAURANT 9.ANCHOR STORES 10.OFFICE SPACES 11.ACCESS TO CAR PARKING 12.CONNECTING TO THE OTHER SITE 13.VERTICAL CIRCULATION CORE 14.CANTEEN

Horizontal section AA’ cutting through the site starting with the horizontal and vertical circulation going to the vendor zone and further ending with the public park.

Scale : 1:100

DESIGN STRATEGIES

ACTIVE URBAN EDGE

FOOD COURT

EASTERN EDGE

As the front of the building has an active edge with the vendor zone, the idea is to carry the character forward to the Eastern side of the building.

The entire side is opened up to the public with activities like hopcoms, grab & go and dining experiences.

The existing restaurants that open out to the spaces outside.

1.

6. 7.

Raising the edge to engage the ground plane and opening it to the city.

1. 2. 3. 4.

Creating play of volumes inside the restaurant while having a start and end part of the journey

The public park starts near the vendor zone and goes up with pavements, seatings and walkways that lead up to the food court.

TEXTURED TRANSITION to show differences between sidewalk,the street and planting areas

DEGREE OF ENCLOSURE to create a safe space that is separate yet still being visually connected

NIGHT LIGHTING to create spaces well lit at night and make them visible and safe

FLEXIBLE SEATING to accomodate small and large groups pf people at different times of the day

1. 2.

2. 3. 4. 5.

5. 6. 7.

WIDER CENTRAL PATHWAY of 4m to provide space for circulation and conversations

DINING EDGE to give an open dining experience with a view towards the active front edge as well

HOPCOMS AND PARK to have a grab and go concept along with a vertical park that looks into the edge

VENDOR ZONE

PUBLIC PARK

SHADING STRATEGIES

As the design progressed and the connection between solids and voids became stronger, the voids despite having a good large volume lacked comfort.

The design led to a square like pattern of different sizes and distances to create a play in light and pattern, while maintaining the same language.

Start of the journey with Vendor Zone at a height of 4 m The double height zone with step down plaza being shaded by the tensile structure

It’s a tensile structure that is light weight and has enough porosity to shade and at the same time provide good light and ventilation.

Beside is the detail of how the tensile mebrane sits with the built structure around.

The triple height zone of shopping and retail being shaded by the tensile structure

The same journey continuing into dining and shopping spaces being well lit but also shaded and ventilated

Vertical section BB’ starting with the vendor zone going to the step down plaza and further ending with the restaurants and dining spaces. Scale 1:100

OFFICE SPACES

ATRIUM SPACES

Spaces getting pushed to create landscape and outdoor space for all floors

LIGHTSOURCE

The facade consists of timber louvres alternating such that it provides a view and shading

The spaces recede back and front while creating self shaded outdoor spaces

WALL SECTION OF OFFICE SPACES

Wooden louvres 100MM x 100MM

Wooden louvres 100MM x 200MM

Artificial wooden ceiling

Glass windows Concrete railing Planting

Concrete flooring

Outdoor deck

The spaces on the inside of the complex had their services and circulation on the interior facades such that the constant movement was visible from any of the spaces that people would experience.

The idea was to break the monotony of the shopping block where the stores tend to recede back as the floors go higher, creating play in the centre.

Each space looks into the other while creating interaction and visual connections and at the same time bringing in natural light through the skylight.

SECTION OF MALL ATRIUM SHOWING THE LAYERING AND VOLUME AS THE FLOORS GO UP

3” extruded aluminium pressure plate cup Heavy gauge metal flashing SS Bolt with Neoprene washer

Dual glazed glass

Insulated tempered glass

Once the metro station was established, multiple iterations were tried out for the roof form and a pitched roof with a skylight was arrived at.The idea was for the metro station to stand out yet still belong to the hub.

Insulated tempered glass

Extruded aluminium retainer cap frame Neoprene setting block adhered Rubber draft seal Cont. seal Assembly screw Fastener Sealant Wooden roof membrane

Metal flashing

The entire node is well lit and porous and has the same alternating louvre design that the office spaces have, to cut down on the intensity of sunlight.

The roof is a permeable roof with a skylight that brings enough light to the volumes underneath while it also stands out as a form and brings in language to the entire curve and the metro station itself.

The views are of the step down plaza and restaurant spaces looking at the vendor zone shaded by the horizontal spaces of the food court.

The view below is of the edge showcasing the metro station at the front, with the park below that leads to the foodcourt while the edge acts as a grab & go area with resting and vendor spaces.

02 FURNITURE HUB

SITE LOCATION : SHIVAJINAGAR | STUDIO 9 | AUGUST - DECEMBER 2021 | GUIDED BY : PROF.CHANDRABHANU

MIXED USE COMPLEX WITH FURNITURE SHOPS, WAREHOUSE,THEATRE, RESTAURANTS AND A HOTEL

The site present in Shivajinagar is present in an already existing furniture shopping area that is filled with many types of vendors and retailers as well. The area well known for it’s wood work and furniture products, grew so expansively with time that the existing built environment and infrastructure didn’t cope up. The proposal for the hub involves the idea of studying all the existing types of shops and vendors and creating a hub and space for them such that their craft is celebrated while creating spaces for workshops and F&B that compliment and add to the space.

The idea was to reorganise the existing stores by creating a main retail node near the shivajinagar bus stand and Bowring hospital, and creating a space that handles the pedestrian density of the area. A courtyard and open exhibition node provide a much needed breathing space and void to balance out the built volumes.The craft of furniture making and it’s intricacies needs to be celebrated in a way where people can also exhibit their work and have spaces to relax and enjoy, redefining the entire furniture shopping experience that has existed for decades in Shivajinagar.

DVNL, PROF. PRASAD ROTTI

SITE LOCATION : SHIVAJINAGAR

The site is located in Shivajinagar next to the Bowring hospital road and Central street

CONCEPTUAL

LAND USE

The area around is predominantly commercial while the northern region has many institutional typologies.

PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY

Pedestrian density happens towards the north side due to the bus stand and hospital.

Vehicular density Pedestrian density Massing on opposite street Traffic node

3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

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1. 2.

A A’

7. 1. 13.

MASTER PLAN

1.ENTRANCE

2.RETAIL SHOPS

3.HOME CENTRE

4.UPCYCLING UNITS

5.HOTEL

6.MULTI-CRAFT WORKSHOP

7.EXHIBITION SPACE 8.DINING SPACES

9.OUTDOOR EXHIBITION SPACES 10.FOOD COURT & DINING 11.OPEN COURTYARD 12.RESTAURANTS 13.ACCESS TO PARKING

Horizontal section AA’ cutting through the workshop and exhibition spaces into the courtyard with spill out spaces.

OUTDOOR VOLUMES AND THEIR CO RELATION

View of the brick workshop and the courtyard node from the spill out areas near the dining spaces.

View of the courtyard node with the open exhibition area from the restaurant and outdoor dining spaces.

Entrance to furniture stop Outdoor workshop Lounge and seating Display areas Exhibition spaces Exhibition spaces Dining spaces

Seating plaza Theatre entrances

DIAGRAMMATIC EVOLUTION WALL SECTION DETAIL

Public, semi-public and private nodes : The northern part is more private while the southern part is more public. The central node binds it all.

Nodes and connectivity : The retail store node on the top right connects to the food court node, while the exhibition node connects to thecourtyard node

Pedestrian and vehicular access : The pedestrian access is from the NE point as well as the Eastern point, while the vehicular access is from the SE side.

Circulation zone : The areas highlighted in yellow are the semi open areas of circulation between the commercial and dining areas

CONCRETE WALL LEDGER SCREWED TO WALL RAFTER ATTACHED WITH L ANGLE

1/2 '' BOLT AND WASHERS

Concrete wall Ledger screwed to wall Rafter attached with L angle 1/2 “ Bolt and washers

Concrete beam

Brick facade

Sliding window and frame

Brick Jaali wall 6 mm th glass 10 mm plaster

CONCRETE BEAM BRICK FACADE SLIDING WINDOW AND FRAME BRICK JAALI WALL 6MM TH GLASS 10MM PLASTER

Shelf angle to support brick

SHELF ANGLE TO SUPPORT BRICK

Initial linear stores that are pushed and pulled to create voids that increase circulation, interaction and create more niches

03 URBAN DESIGN

SITE

LOCATION : SHIVAJINAGAR | STUDIO 7 | AUGUST - DECEMBER 2020 | GUIDED BY : PROF.AKSHAYA NARSIMHAN, PROF. ANAND KURUDI

STUDYING AND REDESIGNING MARKETS AND URBAN LIFE | GROUP PROJECT

The commercial street area as a whole has been an active market space of the city, holding the heritage and culture of many different people and professions. A market space like this arose as a central area at the beginning of urbanisation that quickly evolved into a dense and crowded space. The project for this semester involved studying the history and culture of the area and understanding the urban planning of how different stores and road networks evolved to create a dense fabric like this. It involves a study of the different vendor and building typologies, and how each street developed a character of it’s own.

Focussing on the Russel market junction, the study evolved to understand the people and market culture of this particular zone. To see how the existing market fabric functioned with multiple complex layers of pedestrians, vehicles, food supply and dense built volumes. The final proposal involved redesigning the 7 road Russel market junction which has multiple issues from auto and taxi crowding to lack of a proper system and Urban planning and design of the roads and spaces.

FIGURE GROUND

The area near the commercial zone is more dense while the area above the nala is more of a fine grained area.

RUSSEL LAND USE

The area is more commercial in the centre with residential to the North and institutional to the South

LAND USE

The area is predominantly commercial with residential pockets in between and above the nala.

WASTE DEPENDENCIES : TYPES OF WASTES

The north produces wet waste, the market produces solid waste & gujri on the west produces metal wastes.

ROAD NETWORK

The area is well connected by the road network towards mg road and has great bus and taxi access

PEDESTRIAN NETWORK

The major pedestrian activity is due to the commercial and religious activities along with transport hubs

WASTE DEPENDENCIES : PHYSICAL OWNERSHIP

Public spaces/markets are managed by the BBMP but have higher waste dumping compared to religious institutions.

PSYCHOLOGICAL OWNERSHIP

Public spaces/markets have low ownership & more waste but the religious spaces have high ownership and less waste.

BUILDING TYPOLOGIES

A. SHOPS ON SPLIT LEVELS

Pavement created by shop for dead width

Smooth transition

Invitation due to height difference

Frontage created by shop

B. BRANDED INDEPENDEDNT SHOPS

Shop going in to create enclosure

Wall running up for advertising and more attraction

D.

RESIDENTIAL ON UPPER LEVEL

Products on footpath push people to road

Footpath occupied by vendors from inside to outside

Awning as extension to provide shade and enclosure

Defined entrance : Change of environment

Brand name takes same share as glass facade

10.5 M

Shops spill onto footpath

No frontage created by shop

Signs on footpath pushing people to road

4 wheeler parking on one side interupting flow

E. TRADITIONAL MIXED USE

Residents on first floor with balcony

No dead width by shops, it directly opens to street

Parked bikes disturbing the transition to shops

7 M

Footpath used by shop to display products

No frontage created by shop

No frontage created by shop

C.

COMMERCIAL SPILLING ONTO THE STREET

No physical transition

Shops spill onto footpath

No frontage created by shop

Real estate/ consulting on first floor

Awning shading furn. shops and products on road

Parked bikes disturbing the transition to shops

E. TRADITIONAL RESIDENTIAL

Vendors on the footpath pushing people to road

Upper houses project out as shading

Traditional thinnai creates seating space for all

Traditional Thinnai bridging gap between street and home

Footpath crowded due to vendors and people

RUSSEL JUNCTION ANALYSIS

PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC

This junction is usually over crowded with people coming from all directions with no proper footpath

EXISTING PROBLEMS

VEHICULAR TRAFFIC

It is a directionless junction with 7 entry roads meeting at the centre causing accidents and traffic

JUNCTION EDGE

The shape of the junction is a trapezium shaped irregular junction, with 7 incoming roads with a central space

PARKING

Top of the junction, mostly autos are parked waiting for the market customers, while towards the south and in between the roads, taxis and cabs take space

CONCEPTUAL EVOLUTION AND ITERATIONS

Empty plot in front of shops causing waste disposal

Atleast 10 autos occupying space since afternoon

Old light post

No defined footpaths and sharp edges pushing people to main road

Fruit vendors and stalls occupying edge of taxi stand

Private cabs waiting and being repaired

Customers parking cars along edge of russel market

Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3 Final Iteration

FINAL DESIGN

Properly defined footpaths with terminating green paths

Seating plaza with shaded places for resting/dining

Designated parking for autos away from roundabout

Properly defined footpaths with termination green paths

All junction edges defined by green walk through and restriction to parking

CIrcular roundabout made to create clear movement of traffic Green walkthrough to restrict vendors and give shape to the junction edge

Vendors provided designated space on paved path reducing congestion on road as well Parked and maintained taxi and auto space

Docking ramps for supplies to markets and vendors

Shaded seating spaces near the vendors

Shaded vendor spaces with arch like openings to reflect russel market

View of the vendor stand and shaded seating near russel market

View of the taxi stand and shaded seating near russel market

Top view of the taxi stand and roundabout with green walkthroughs

04 VITRIUM HOMESTAY

A BEAUTIFUL HOMESTAY ON THE HILLS OF MUDIGERE

The project located on the hills of Mudigere was that of creating a cozy, lightweight and porous design for a homestay accomodating four people. The initial design process involved creating a space that has each part with it’s own individuality but when put together it acted as a whole. The spaces needed their views but also such that it has it’s own privacy. The design used an angled pitch roof at a height, to create good volume on the inside and have a defining look on the outside. The challenge was to use lightweight materials like steel, gypsum boards and wood to make the structure and understanding the joinery of these to achieve the conceptual framework in mind.

The design had multiple iterations where different roof forms were tried, along with alternative materials and multiple load bearing calculations. The final design evolved to creating steel t junctions with wooden floors and gypsum boards as walling, where the entire stay had 3 parts, with the dining and living spaces in the centre having a play of levels, while the bedrooms on the sides had their privacy and views.

SITE LOCATION : MUDIGERE | FIRM : PRAGRUP | JANUARY - JUNE 2021 | GUIDED BY : AR. SHRADDHA HEGDE, PRINCIPAL AR. RAVINDRA KUMAR

JOINERY DETAILS

The details involved figuring out the T and L channels and their dimensions, along with the joinery details of the supports

STRUCTURAL FRAMEWORK

This detail involved the pitched roof and the steel rafters along with how the tiles would sit with them. The challenge was the angled pitched roof with different heights at all four points, where one edge would be supported by a metal pipe.

05 CONCEPT VISUALISATION

SITE LOCATION : RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA | FIRM : THE GATHERING | JULY- OCTOBER 2022

FINANCIAL DISTRICT | WORKSHOPS | FESTIVALS | EVENTS

The projects that I worked with involved helping visulaise and illustrate concepts for various events that the firm got to work with. It involved collaboration with the team of designers who would explain different projects and the spaces they would like to create and I would help deliver their visions through different graphical ways of representations over multiple discussions and calls. Research would be done for the materials to understand the joinery and how the materials could compliment each other.

Each event and project would require different research and understanding of the spaces. There were large scale projects like designing spaces for the new financial district and small scale projects like designing spaces for workshops and festivals. Each project required understanding the best representation and presentation technique, along with learning to write about spaces from both the architect and the client’s point of view.

The initial staircase is not interactive and creates disruptions with no resting spaces.

The geometric touch of the installations along with resting and interactive spaces creates a free flow of the staircase as well.

A seating design that has been transformed with a unique overhead shading system that bends and semi encloses it.

The material’s transluscency allows to break the harsh sunlight and bring in enough beautiful light and shadows

Creating a children’s play area with interactive seating, educating design elements that keep the kids engaged. and a swing set with the language of arches continuing in this design as well.

A light art piece that has a modern structure that frames the surroundings while also illuminates it.It has various gold plates that create effects depending on the sun and the wind direction.

CITRUS FESTIVAL

Live kitchen counter : This porous structure has wooden frames that support the rope roof with orange and yellow ropes, creating a light and beautiful shading system.

The experience is enhanced by hanging lights and woven ottomans that end with a U shaped live wooden counter with the rope backdrop.

F & B Booth : The booths have a very cozy inviting feel to them where different citruses are laid out at the front as a vibrant display with a stone wall backdrop.

The entire structure is made out of mud making it a sustainable and vernacular design.

Organic ropes made of palm leaf fibre

Citrus display with hanging green leaves

Sustainable mud walls with cooling effect

Competition stage : The stage has been designed to be a light and porous structure but have vibrant elements to bring out the festival’s theme.

The backdrop is a wooden screen with crates of greenery and screens, The concentric seating has layers of curved wooden seats with woven palm leaves as it’s backing.

Central counter with woven palm leaves

Wooden screen with crates of green &screens

Concentric seating with orange edges

The workshop is designed in such a manner that it is a light and porous structure yet has ample shading and ventilation. The clay rock defines the entrance as people walk through and come across the F&B booth for refreshments. This further leads into the workshop spaces that are modern and sleek, and has a boho style for seating and discussion spaces.

Planting workshop : The pointed arch design made out of wood provides a cozy experience with wooden seaters provided for resting points. The archway ends with a wall of planting, tools and greenery.