Selected Works- Aurea Dcruz

ARCHITECTURE | RESEARCH | STORYTELLING SELECTED WORKS

AUREA DCRUZ 2022

SAMPLE OF WORKS

FROM THE CITY

OF THE REGION

1. OF LAND OR WATER?

Planning for resilience : Rward, Mumbai

Semester 9

With the rapidly changing environmental conditions over the past few decades, Mumbai has witnessed extreme pressure on the land for housing and other infrastructure. The issue of flooding, in the face of increased instances of heavy rainfall coupled with tidal action, leads to increasing socio-economic aggravation and even loss of life and property. In the face of projections about rising sea levels, the instances of flooding in the city will only increase further. Hence this studio aimed to sensitize the public towards developing an understanding of climate change, terrain, and built form.

Mumbai, India

Academic Group design September 2019 - October 2019

Head Supervisor: Ravi Punde | ravi@sea.edu.in

The studio debated and discussed the positions architects and planners need to take concerning making way for the flooding water and the idea of reclamation by negotiating some land for water.

Upon observing the city at a macro level, the development of roads has been perpendicular to the natural flow of water, creating dam-like situations, eventually leading to flooding. This furthered into an understanding of what steps can be taken to construct a resilient city that will be able to handle the current flooding situation.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

The studio brought together components of the landscape and the urban design studio where the students attempted to understand the complexities of terrain and built form in the light of the recent discussions on climate change and rising sea levels to be specific. This came from studying the terrain using Geographic Information System (GIS), simultaneous fieldwork, and ethnographic documentation.

STAKEHOLDERS

The larger focus of the studio was also to collect an ethnographic narrative of stakeholder experiences of flooding within the study area. The module addressed three larger groups of stakeholders; a) the locals inhabiting the area or individuals and collectives sustaining their livelihood on the study site, b) the elected representatives and c) the administrative wings of the city.

OBSERVATIONS

With certain projections and interactions, the approach revolved around the larger framework of four main objectives to be addressed by the strategies being adaptability, awareness, recovery, and relief and redevelopment

Some of the narratives and observations from the sites identified issues of inadequet water systems, improper construction system and ukept disposal systems, all adding up to cause flooding.

To achieve these larger objectives four main systems were considered for intervening within the watershed a) The open space system - System for holding water to avoid flooding b) The infrastructure - connect areas to larger urban ecosystem and allow water to pass c) The built form - changes in housing in response to the logic of the terrain to allow for the movement of water. d) an awareness ecosystem - devic policy frameworks and information systems.

SLUM REHABILITATION

The goal was to rehabilitate slums into the immidiate vicinity to maintain the connections the residents have already establishedTo optimize space in a light site, we started by providing 2 common washroom blocks per floor plate. The form thus developed as a staggered “E’ plan 11000 people from Bhim Nagar Slum had to be accomodated in this rehabilitation project.

Existing Dwelling Units = 2200

Size of existing dwelling unit= 12sqm

Proposed Buildings = 12 Dwelling Units = 2400 Size of proposed dwelling units = 20sqm Increase in size 25%

To achieve this, the logic of the watershed, as opposed to the administrative boundary, was adopted. Keeping these in cognizance, three overarching milestone time periods evolved.

1) The immediate electoral term, where the strategies for the year 2021 were fixed to provide a realistic image of immediate vulnerability for the citizen group.

2) A series of reconciliation strategies for a mid-term period aimed at the year 2034 emerged from the development plan year.

3) Long-term redevelopment for the year 2015 formed the next milestone where a sea level of 0.5 meters was predicted by the IPCC due to climate change.

DESIGN FOR BUILTFORM

DENSIFICATION

Parts of the scheme lies in Zone 1 and needs to be relocated at a higher priority. instead of relocation, Densification strategy was chosen.The ground floor chawl typology would be densified into a G+4 structure.This new typology is to be located in Zone 2 in the areas of the sites and services scheme.

ZONING FOR 2051

The strategy for the year 2051 is zoning the site in 5 major zones based on their topography and levels. The high risk zone annotated as ‘Zone O’ essentially marks the no build zone, whereas Zone 4 acts as the emergency zone wherein all emergency rehabilitation is provided along with no restrictions on built form for future densification.

DENSIFICATION

Zone 4 & 3 are the safest zones and are regulated to have the densest population. It consists of Co-op Housing Societies that are expected to go into redevelopment in the next 10-20 years. Plots of the same colour are proposed to become one, while the same colour buildings are combined to aid densification and avail space through self redevelopment.

DESIGN

LONG TERM STRATEGY FOR BUILTFORM

This phase proposes new kinds of resilient built forms for various zones responding to their respective vulnerabilities. A new urban fabric is imagined for 2015 Incubator and slub rehabilitation typologies for vulnerable settlements is developed in the new proposed safer zones. A high rise dense typology is developed for the safest zones in the area.

INCUBATOR BUILDING TYPOLOGY

Slum often grows in the realms of informality on negotiable land becoming sponges for migration.

Zone 3-4 being the safest zones are looked as the densification sponges for the settlements lying in the to be vulnerable zones. The top 12 units of the proposed G+4 typology function as these incubator blocks which can be occupied by the migrants. Therefore it becomes a high density unit, with good light and ventilation, with the possibility of future densification

CONCLUSION

In addition to the three tier development proposal, the team also proposed a series of soft strategies that work in tandem with all term proposals progressively as frameworks, regulations and government-citizen systems to aid this mega transformation of R-ward.

The future prediction map begins to look a lot like the historic maps of the marshes, and it is imminent that the water will try to reclaim from the city in the near future. It is this realisation that prompts our design approach - working through resilience and not resistance. Climate change is an inevitable future, it is important for us to have a paradigm shift in the way we build, occupy and work with the land and water. More than anything, the studio reveals harshly the bare minimum time we have left for action against and for climate change.

KOCHI MUZIRIS BIENNIAL 2016

Semester 2

Kotchi, India Acedemic Group Research March 2016 - April 2016

Head Supervisor: Anuj Daga | anuj@sea.edu.in

Through the lens of heterotopias we studied 1O neighbourhoods in the fort Kochi and Mattencherry area. These were ethnographic studies conducted through on site engagement with the context and people. The data was then recorded in enormous maps and dioramas, on top is a map of Cutchi Memon Jamat that I worked on with a team of 4 more. The essence is captured in hand-drawn techniques on large A0 sheets. The drawing were displayed during the kochi muziris biennial in 2016 along with installations made during another module called, “What is a home ?”

A segment from the interview

“ phir aapko mumbai inti kyu pasand hai?’ “kyu matlab? ghar hai humaara yahan, apne pati ke saath yeh ghar banaya hai humane. Bombai too shaher hai, shaher ki baat hi kuch aur hoti hai”

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3.

WHAT IS A HOME?

Study of Eastern Suburbs of Mumbai

Semester 3 Mumbai, India Academic Research Group Work 2016

Head Supervisor: Prasad Shetty | prasad@sea.edu.in

Histories of cities are at the same time stories of migrations, displacements, and settling. These are as much about movements as about setting up homes. This process of settling and the making of homes are complex processes with deep phenomenological resonances in the spaces that people create.

With the study of various neighborhoods of the Eastern Suburbs of Mumbai, we posed the ontological question “What is a Home?”

It is through this question that we studied neighborhood histories of various sites in Mumbai that have seen intense migrations/displacements and then acts of settling and consolidation to (re)make homes.

Amidst chai vendors and rickshaws filled with men playing cards, is a small broken gate that leads to the 44 acre Bharat Nagar in Bandra East, at the edge of Bombay’s new central business district, Bandra Kurla complex. Here home isn’t just the 12 sq. ft. room hoarded with utensils and clothes, but also the space outside where the community begins to bloom. House is appropriated not by spaces but by objects. A sari for partition or a metal suitcase for a chair to name a few. When moving from house to house these objects like a kit of parts, carry on the sense of home for many residents in Bharatnagar.

We also made installations from that concept that was showcased in the Kochi Student Biennial 2016.

So why do you like Mumbai so much? What do you mean why? This is where our home is. have made this home with my husband. Bombay is a city. The city has another charm.

HOUSEFORMS IN TRANSITION:

New temporalities of sociability and entrepreneurship

Thesis Dissertation and Design

Mumbai, India Academic Individual work May 2019-October 2020

Mentor: Rohit Mujumdar | rohit@sea.edu.in

A personal story:

I come from Vasai, which is a place with a unique character. It holds on to its rich historical importance as a strategic Portuguese port, its spiritual vibrancy, and its breathtaking natural beauty. Urbanization in Vasai has been a long ever-growing process that has been carried on for almost 30 years. This slow process is usually seen as an outside force to transition due to the influence of the builder economy. One would think with this emerging economy one would only see the builders take up lands for free-standing tall apartment buildings. But if looked closely, the residents of Vasai have themselves been a part of this transition. In cities along the periphery, one sees a certain type of development either that of a holiday home of a sustainable housing typology, or large-scale building apartments.

My research ended with the question ‘What is the new form of temporalities of sociability and entrepreneurship of households in an urban transition?’

RESEARCH

While conducting fieldwork in Sandor, a mainly catholic village on the edge of the green zone of Vasai, I undertook a series of interviews of households to collect local histories and learn about transformations of spacial and social relationships in the town while also recording their aspirations for the future. My research ended with the question, as a practicing architect what are the different approaches that would be needed to collaborate with these households by creating new temporalities of sociability and entrepreneurship in an urban transition?

In the existing language of transitioning, the farmers are selling their land for mass housing, informal housing or experiments for weekend homes. My research ended with the question, as a practicing architect what are the different approaches that would be needed to collaborate with these households by creating new temporalities of sociability and entrepreneurship in an urban transition?

Initial drawing of the site in Vasai from 1998 to 2009

CONCEPT

My true inspiration came from the historically important Portuguese fort in Vasai. This fort used arcades as community gathering spaces and at times also become markets for trade. This led me to think of the various other elements that can be seen around Vasai that show similar tendencies. Upon pondering over the different house forms in the current Vasai town one can notice a lot of similar elements. For example, the verandahs or puvels in front of or surrounding homes.

One of the sites I studied was the one with the GROTO house. This plot belongs to the Gonsalveses and aspired to multiple programs based on the stories of the individuals. I documented these as comics depicting every invidiual story through graphics. The name grotto house was derived from the element of a GROTO which is a small religious figurine that’s situated in the front courtyard. This had developed into a space for religious gatherings and prayer groups. The other story is that of another family member who wished to expand her household shop where she sold baked goods. I analyzed these households through certain typological strategies like built form, livelihood, property, infrastructure, social relationships, and commons. The analysis displayed a narrative of households generating entrepreneurial opportunities strategically deployed in their everyday life as well as creating spaces for social networking.

Comic strip illustrating several stories of the induviduals and their aspirations living in the GROTO house.

The diagram of this house is a redevelopment of the existing footprint to allow for public gatherings in the courtyard, a new enterprise of a bakery with the arcade as the café seating spaces. Thus allowing gatherings for micro commons. The development of the interior spaces of the house come from the stories of the different owners

GROTO HOUSE DESIGN

Here I used the elements of an arcade and the tower as an exaggerated form to not only develop attraction but also distinguish the house from the rest of the house forms in the neighborhood. Similar to the fort, here the arcade offers users the promise of an enclosed space away from the chaos that characterized the noisy, dirty streets; a warm, dry space away from the harsh elements, and a haven where people could socialize and spend their leisure time. The tower as an element comes from the use of the cross in churches at higher altitudes as a symbol of religious buildings. Along with the tower, the symbol of the cross is embedded in the arcade as a subtle religious drape over the entire structure.

In each site, one notices an abundance of water bodies. Bawkhals is a term used is Vasai as small manmade water bodies that can be seen in large numbers. Each site involves at least one such bawkhal which in current times seems to be abandoned and hence it became important for me to involve these bawkhals and its proximity to my sites in my design.

FARM HOUSE DESIGN

Another site is the farmhouse that lies on the main road that connects the railway station to the plantation zone of Vasai. The plot belonged to the Misquittas. The larger aspiration of this site was to develop an existing bar into a restaurant and a lounge or homestay with possibilities of blended public spaces.

The use of the trellis in orchards became my main element for the diagram in this site. It not only holds the site together but allows to treat different spaces with different functions.

I call this site farmhouse not only because one of its existing programs is farming but because of what experience it gives to the people staying in it. The existing bar now becomes the kitchen and the lobby for the restaurant. The trellis takes the main structure of the kitchen and divides it into a smaller-sized grid. Like in an orchard this trellis can be used to plant fruits and vegetables in a controlled manner and allows closed spaces at different levels along with restaurant seating. On higher levels, it became rooms with balconies overlooking the farms.

The rightmost double-height space becomes a public corridor with seating spaces. Closing some parts of the trellis also creates diversity, it created unexpected connections and the curiosity to discover the unforeseen. Hence creating a new form of social space and occupation.

PLAY HOUSE DESIGN

This project aims to respond to an existing heritage home by treating it as a film set. The house is called Raut wadi and is almost a hundred years old. It housed 4 big families who have now migrated and built new houses across the road. The house has since been kept in its best shape by the family itself and is sometimes used as a set for movies. The families’ aspirations for this plot was to not only give the house on rent for film sets but also allow a more public interaction to the site as a celebratory response. Verandah and corridors as an element was very important in olden houses in vasai. It allowed neighbors to feel welcomed in the house but at the same time to not disturb the daily functioning of the house. It was a core feature to avoid a large, iconic structures that overpowers the existing landscape but blends itself in it.

The intention was to create a village- like typology that can be explored by visitors. All the elements that are in the visual zone of the camera imitate the existing architectural tectonics. Whereas the structures behind have an irregular structure as means to break the strict structural grid of the existing houses. The different programs include a market space. At the entrance of the site, parking for public as well as vanities for shootings. Kitchen and public toilets that take you up to a viewing deck. Farmhouses that can either be given out for rent or can becomes homestays for the crew members, dinning area, a community kitchen a museum of heritage and an office space.

HOUSE WITH ONE WALL

Renovation

Mumbai, India

Professional Individual Work March 2022 - September 2022

Located in the green zone of Vasai, this is an old house built before 1960 and renovated 3 times since. The swapping of spaces for different functions were key when it came to developing this functional home that avoids a conventional refurbishment. The original state of the house was none other than what one might expect from an old home: a dimly-lit corridor and many partitions that separated each function like dining, living and kitchen. This space posed a challenge because although a rectangular floor plan is practical, when it comes to distribution, an extra room had to be housed, while avoiding new partitions and thus making the most of all the light that came in.

The owners wanted a house with plenty of open space, and also nodes of privacy for intimate interactions. Hence, the common areas where most of the living space was, had to be an undivided open space, while the bedroom would get tucked away under the staircase.

The materials were chosen taking into account the open space we had in the central area. large beige tiles maintained continuity and . Similarly, we made the most of the light coming in by choosing a reflective white for the ceilings and walls of the living room, and the tiles of the kitchen wall. As a counterpoint to the cold appearance of the white floor and walls, the furniture is made of pine wood to provide a touch of warmth worthy of a home. The choice of fixed furniture is also part of the particularity of this project.

The colour palette is none other than a continuation of the functional and atypical discourse we are looking for. We played with colour shots that worked well with each other, avoiding turning the house into an amalgam of colours.

Hence the dark brown granite stone of the bathroom, halfway between the earthy textiles of the living room and the green spotlight of the kitchen.

After Before

Housing circulation is intuitive and practical, but far from a typical renovation. We achieved this thanks to a carefully studied floor plan that allowed all the areas to fit together and to the choice of elements that help them to do so. A good example of this is the central wooden piece of furniture, which separates both common and private spaces and allows pockets of intimacy to the home. It is a multifunctional piece of furniture as in the same element we have a separator, wardrobe, coat rack, shelf and passageway; as well as housing a concealed book shelf. It was one of the first ideas when designing this project; it was necessary to provide permeability to the entrance hall of the house, avoiding finding a wall as soon as you open the door of the house.

Before After