Dhwani Mehta Portfolio by dhwani mehta

design portfolio

DHWANI MEHTA

selected academic and professional work 2014-2021

narrative People x Built Environment

The Architecture of Seva (Service) Analyzing belief systems as tangible space and form in the Golden Temple of Amritsar City. Re-looking at the relationship of the city with its genius loci.

01 Undergraduate Thesis Urban Research and Architecture Design KRVIA | 2019

City x Built Environment

Agrocity, Dehradun Speculating the nature of highland urbanization of the twotier city in the Himalayas

08 4th Year Design Studio Urban Design and Planning KRVIA | 2018

Neighborhoods x Built Environment

Humanizing Neighborhoods Investigating the relocated communities of Shanghai Downtown (lilong) Natives during urban renewal; and strategies for the development of newly built neighborhoods.

11 Exchange Program Urban Research Shanghai Jio Tong University x KRVIA | 2016

Public Space x Built Environment

City; Park; Memorial B.R Ambedkar Memorial Park Re-imagining the idea of a ‘memorial’ and a ‘park’ to create a space for dissemination, social equity and leisure.

14 Professional Competition Urban Park, Public Space Design Mobile Offices (MO-OF) | 2020

Institution x Built Environment

Collective Learning Central University of Gujarat (CUG) Creating diverse community experiences by planning interdependent academic, residential, and social spaces.

16 Professional Competition Master planning, Educational Institution, Student Housing Mobile Offices (MO-OF) | 2021

Landscape x Built Environment

Knitting Landscapes Housing, Public Space and Landscape design in the developing village of Naigaon

19 Design Studio Landscape and Public Space Design KRVIA | 2019

Informality x Built Environment

Mapping Livelihoods Preparing landuse maps for communities neglected by the Development plan

22 Research Landscape Design KRVIA | 2016

Pedagogy x Built Environment

Unschool An ideas competition to imagine a school without the traditional classroom typology.

24 Academic Competition Institution Design 2017

Documentation x Built Environment

The Lucknow Portfolio Documenting the monuments of Lucknow

26 Drawing and Representation Documentation KRVIA | 2015

Drawing x Built Environment

Thinking Narratives Mind mapping and storytelling

28 Drawing KRVIA | 2015

People x Built Environment

The Architecture of Seva (Service) The Golden Temple in Amritsar

Undergraduate Thesis | Urban Research and Architecture Design | 2019 The First prize (Gold reward) presented at the Future Exhibition 2020, organized by the Yangcheng Design Alliance and the Guangdong University. Citation Award (Top 10) at the KRVIA Design Dissertation Colloquium, 2019. Location: Amritsar city, Punjab Advisor: Rohan Shivkumar

Belief systems have influenced the way in which space is

in the name of philanthropy and make it an everyday practice.

appropriated, designed and produced.The Golden temple is

However, the complex has become an object in the city today.

the most important Sikh shrine and the focal point of the city

The kind of connection and porosity that once existed between

of Amritsar. The Golden Temple thus becomes that institution

the temple and the city has thinned out.

through which the belief system of Sikhism is manifested. This has happened because of the problematic way in which The thesis, uses the Lefebvre’s triad of the ‘perceived’, the

temple complexes are imagined today. The idea has become

‘conceived’ and the ‘lived’ to look at the Sikh religion and the

to take away everyday life from the complex. Thus, temples

Golden Temple as an institution where the ‘perceived’ idea of

become objects in the city catering to the tourist rather than

the religion, is ‘conceived’ spatially by various methods, giving

the people of the city.

it a tangible character, a space, a form to propagate its belief systems and the way in which it influences the practices of

What can be the nature of space, what can be the organization

people and how this experience is ‘lived’ by them.

and typology of architecture such that it makes the temple complex a true transition between the shrine and the city where

Thus, a methodology of documenting and analysing existing

the boundaries of the temple and city are blurred out?

spaces that have emerged out of the Sikh religious belief system and mapping activities of people who inhabit these

The langar (community kitchen) of the golden temple is a

spaces, is used to trace the production of space triggered by

place where all the beliefs come together and thus it used as a

belief systems.

program to re-imagine and re-link the city and the shrine by a

The idea of seva (service) and sangat (community participation)

new diagram of the langar, inspired by the scale and materiality

is to give everyone the opportunity to worship, come together

architecture of the temple complex.

Building stories: Documenting and analysing existing spaces in and around the temple complex

Connecting Streets

Museum Spaces

Edges

Public Plaza

Garden

Parikrama; Th

Spaces

he ritual path

Nooks and Corners

Women

Prayer

Serving spaces

Evolution of The city and the ‘genius loci’ 1500 Major commercial route passing through the Punjab region, connecting India to central Asian countries.

1530 Amritsar district formed between two rivers, along the trade route.

1560 Inception of the Golden temple. Settlements begin to grow around the water tank.

1700 Four zones with fortified walls developed. The only way to pass from one zone to the other is through the temple

1800 Emergence of the fortified walled city with 12 gates. Elaborate road network and settlements developed.

1900 Fortified walls replaced by thin walls . More radial growth in the urban form .

Ravi

old city area old city area Akal Takht

Entrance plaza

market area

heritage museum

reference library Golden Temple Amrit sarovar

Kaulasar Tank

Santokhsar

Darbar Hall

Gurunanak niwas and guesthouses

Proposed langar (community kitchen)

Gardens

old city area market area

Site sections through the langar (community kitchen)

GURU KA BAGH GARDEN

STREET

PLATES

LANGAR HALLS

FLOUR MAKING MILL

SUNKEN COURTYARD WITH THE WATER BODY

LANE

UTENSILS WASHING BLOCK

FLOUR MAKING MILL

EXISTING STRUCTURE

existing gate from the temple

existing buildings of the temple complex

current langar block under expansion

residential and market area

cooking spaces

vegetable cutting

eating spaces ‘langar halls’

utensil washing

flour making

EXISTING The existing Langar block under repair and furthur expansion. The cooking, cleaning and eating spaces are distributed vertically across floors

PROPOSED MASSING The existing Langar is zoned with the cooking, cleaning, preparation spaces on the periphery where they open up to the city and the eating spaces are in the centre.

MOVEMENT PATH As one moves from the service spaces to the center for eating, they experience the philanthropic beliefs of the sikh religion being manifested as spaces of seva (service)

MULTIPLE ENTRY POINTS The langar opens up entrances from multiple edges, creating thoroughfares and breaking away from monumentality. Courts and squares formed where the langar meets the street. North

West

East

South SUNKEN GREEN COURT The interstitial spaces between the different programs is imagined as a green court with shaded spaces. The sunken level and halls on stilts enable activities to spillover.

CLIMATE MASSING Sun from the south and west is blocked by the langar halls and the court welcomes winds from north. Owing to the langar halls, the courtyard remains in shade 90% of the day.

08 Plaza

04 residential and commercial areas

water tank

parikrama path

05 guru ka bagh garden

03 residential and commercial areas

04 05

An imagination of the activities in and around the langar (community kitchen)

site The langar opens up to the garden next to it thus enabling activities to spillover.

The public square opens up to the vegetable cutting and utensil washing areas

The activity halls are lined with a colonnade to create semi-public shaded areas

Various halls lined with colonnades create narrow shaded lanes for movement.

The ‘pangat’ act of eating while sitting in straight lines with the community.

Cooking areas where people volunteer for serving

building

activities

The entrance from the main market street brings people in to the courtyard through the flopur making and utensil washing areas.

The existing structure of the ‘bunga’ with the minarets, is connected with the courtyard.

A waterbody is created in the center of the courtyard as a reminisce of the gurudwara typlogy.

Stilted halls free-up the ground space for other activities.

Vegetable cutting and sorting areas connected to the street.

‘Atta’ flour making and storage areas.

Site model and building detail sections

East and North facade section having platers and drains along with a light shelf to direct light to the back of the hall.

South and west facade section having terracotta tubes that are wetted regulary to cool the air as it passes through them.

City x Built Environment

Agro-city, Dehradun

Investigating highland urbanization in the Himalayas Academic | Urban Design and Planning

Urban Design, 4th Year Design Studio | 2018 Location: Dehradun city, Uttarakhand

Advisor: Kalpit Ashar, Sonal Sundararajan

Team: Dhwani Mehta, Maitri Parekh, Vyoma Popat, Ayushi Drolia, V. Satyanarayan (Mapping food networks and research on the canal system and land use patterns of Dehradun city) Individual Work: Agrocity development strategies, design and drawings The rapidly transforming second-tier Indian city of Dehradun is used as a case for investigating the nature of highland urbanization in the Himalayas. The group study investigated the transforming nature of the terrain and its relationship with the livelihood of this region. Food networks across Dehradun were mapped, including a nascent network of organic farms that have developed in recent years. The existing and lost canal system was mapped via survey and old canal drawings. Agriculture has been on a decline in Dehradun as more and more areas continue to urbanize. This urban design project speculates different scales of possible strategies on different scales of the city. The core idea is to develop agriculture-based livelihoods where ecology and economy go hand in hand.

CANAL SYSTEM A network of the canal system has been constructed by overlaying old survey maps of Dehradun to unearth the lost and covered canals.

FOREST Forest zones continue to be enc The areas demarcated have been m

T ZONES croached upon as the city grows. maped and overlayed over the city.

UTTARKASHI RUDRAPRAYAG

DEHRADUN

ALMORA

UDHAM SINGH NAGAR

National and State food network connected through Dehradun

AGRICULTURE Agriculture lands are on a constant decline in Dehradun as the city expands and more and more land is being taken up for development.

AGRO-CITY MANUAL

Different scales of potential strategies at different scales of the city for developing Dehradun as an agricult

city

neighborhood

plot

building

XXL

Forest agriculture with

Conservation of the existing

polyculture food production

canal system

Integrating urban and farm

Green corridors connecting

Agri block; residential block with

neighborhoods around canals

shared growing space

training centers

Planning farmsteads

Building Restaurant farms

Garden zones

Greenhouses

Rainwater harvesting

Water management

Farmer housing settlements

using kitchen water for wate

tural city

areas

s and

ering

Learning centers for agriculture

Developing Organic Farms

Creating a Food Hub

and ‘agropreneurship’

across the city

as a city center

Agro-parks and Breeding

Plantation paths along roads

Farmers Markets

Organic food shops and local

Community gardens /

Yard gardens

food shops

edible gardens

Green roofs and Facades as

Vermiculture and Composting as

strategies for new buildings

backyard practices

Nurseries

Kitchen and balcony gardens

Potential manifestation of the agro-city manual strategies on the Saharangpur region of the city

Plantation paths

Community

along roads

gardens

Agri block; residential block with shared growing space

MAJRA

h Sa

o rR

Developing Organic Farms across the city

Farms

Institutions; organic farming zones

Agro-parks and Breeding

Integrating urban

Nurseries

and farm areas

Food Hub

Planning

Integrating urban

Learning

city center

farmsteads

and farm areas

centers

pur

an har

Roa

PATHRI BAGH

Farmers

Restaurant

Farmer housing settlements and

Canals

Markets

farms

training centers

conservation

Neighborhoods x Built Environment

Humanizing Neighborhoods

Relocated communities of (lilong) Downtown Shanghai Exchange Program with Jiao tong University | Urban Research | 2016 Location: Shanghai, China

Advisor: Prof. Aneerudha Paul, Prof. Fan Wenbing

Team: Dhwani Mehta, Ashwini Gawli, Zero Dai, Fero Lee (Interviews of the relocated community; Mapping and modeling of a neighborhood in Qingpu) Individual Work: Converting Interviews into Research; Strategies for the development of the newly built neighborhood; diagrams and drawings of the lilong and new hosusing Many lilongs have been destructed since the late 1980s, while Shanghai steps into the course of urban renewal, just as many other cities in China. Currently, the urban renewal programs of the municipality relocates residents from their original communities and construction of large amount of stereotyped buildings in the city’s outskirts. People lose their social interaction and are deprived of their opportunities from ground-related living. The sense of security and social cordiality, being a part of a collective are lost. Jia Fu Ya Yuan and Hua Zhong Yuan are two housing complexes built in 2013, in Qingpu district, a suburban area in west Shanghai to house the relocated communities from the lilong settlements in Putuo and downtown Shanghai. The research attempts to understand the lilong lifestyle and habitancy configurations of the settlement and critique on the new neighborhoods to propose suggestions on current policies and design strategies for urban renewal. Various strategies were devised to apply the essence of lilong housing to the newly built high-rise housing developments to make the neighborhood and dwellings, not only physically but also socially, culturally, and environmentally, more livable.

QINGPU

SHANGHAI

PUTUO

LILONG

NEWLY BUILT

HOUSING

main entrance

commercial units

main lane

main road residential towers

residential units

inner road

housing complex

side lane

Layout of a typical lilong settlement

Layout of the newly developed housing complex

“Li” means residence, “Long” means lanes or alleys. These settlements are quiet, safe, and pleasant neighborhoods to live in. The street and the house together form public, semi-private, and private zones that balance privacy and community interaction to create social cohesiveness.

street

residential

commercial

Though the floor-area standard per person is improved in the new developments, people lose their social interaction and are deprived of their opportunities from ground-related living. The sense of security and social cordiality, being a part of a collective is lost. Difficulties in transportation and access to amenities arise.

residential

Elderly men

Elderly women

Children

People with children

Actors

Population percentage Amenities needed 20

Time spent outdoors Lilong New housing

Site strategies to revive the

ExistingRoad network and water system with the residential complex for the communities. The two highlighted zones show the housing complexes named Jia fu Yuan and Hua Zong Yuan where people have been relocated from the lilongs.

TransportNew proposed bus and bicycle routes and stan new transport system will connect with the large with the rest of Shanghai.

Existing farmsRetain existing farmlands and encourage farming activities to stop people from losing their livelihood that depends on farming.

Gardens and parks Parks are created for senior citizens near childre Various gardens and green lungs are developed balance.

Working people

Disabled

Family

Commuters

Sellers

e newly built neighborhoods

nds; Multimodal stops to be developed. This er network of transport that connects Qingpu

en’s schools to develop a healthy interaction. d along the neighborhood to maintain ecological

Riparian edges and zonesDeveloping and maintaining the riparian zone along the Qingpu river to stop the encroachment on the river. Public spaces are then created along these zones for leisure in form of parks and waterfronts.

AmenitiesBased on the interviews and age-group analysis amenities like a school, a hospital, a supermarket zone, community centre, and senior housing are proposed.

Potential manifestation of strategies to develop new neighborhoods

Proposed Park with areas for the elderly next to the children’s gardens

Di p an u r ve Ri Riparian Edge

Possible Elderly Housing

Proposed Supermarket/ Cinemas Housing Complex Hua Zhong Yuan

Existing Farmlands

Proposed Communi

Riparian E

Existing Farmlands Proposed School Complex

Housing Complex Jia Fu Ya Yuan

oa nR

iji Hu

u np

Riv

oa nR

Dia

Riparian Edge

ity Centre

Proposed Superspeciality Hospital

Edge

Riv

Existing Farmlands

Public Space x Built Environment

City; Park; Memorial B.R. Ambedkar Park Memorial Professional | Competition: Urban Park, Public Space Design Mobile Offices (MO-OF) | 2020 Top three contenders (national) Location: Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

Organizer: State Government of Andhra Pradesh

Principal Architects: Shantanu Poredi and Manisha Agarwal

Team: Dhwani Mehta, Sanket Kamdar, Nilay Shah, Tarjani Samani Contribution: Design Development, Drawings, Presentation

The competition brief required a statue memorial for Dr. Br Ambedkar, who was a scholar, a social reformer and a leader who dedicated his life to annhilate the caste system that perpetuated discrimination against the ‘lower’ castes in India. This project was envisaged as an urban public park, that represents the identity of Vijayawada and resonates with the ideals of Dr. Ambedkar like equality, education and, empowerment. The idea of a ‘memorial’ is reimagined as a park for all as against an elaborate built structure. The earth berms create spaces within the landscape. The site is located in the middle of hills along the main road connecting different zones of the city. The entire outer edge is made public by creating plazas on the outer edges of the earth berms. Different parks are created and local species are planted. Different commercial, educational, recreational, and cultural programs are introduced to create a socially sustainable and environmentally conscious public space.

igh

tio

Hills of Vijayawada

tion

al H

igh

Hills of Vijayawada Krishna River

M.G

. Ro

The park is located midst the hills of Vijayawada city, along the primary road across the city

Non- Building

Seamless site edge

S PROTEST PATH The outer edge of the park is created as a walking and cycling path that doubles as a protest path.

EARTH BERMS AND WATER LOOP The earth berms mimic the hills of Vijayawada and enable the park to create a seamless edge with the city by opening up to the surroundings. The water swale connects different parks.

Through Auditorium and food plaza

Through Children and Elder’s park

Main Axis celebration plaza

FOREST ZONE With the statue in the center, a ‘forest zone’ is created within the water loop where existing trees are retained and new trees are planted.

THOROUGHFARES Various thoroughfares are created to arrive at the statue located at the center of the park.

PATHWAYS PARKS SPORTS CULTURAL COMMERCIAL/ RECREATIONAL

SET OF GARDENS Children’s park, Senior citizen’s park, yoga park, food court, butterfly and bird park, sculpture park, skating park and reading area

VARIED PROGRAMS promote social/ economic/ political equity for diverse ages

01. Entrance Public Plaza 02. Park Office 03. Reading Area 04. Sculpture Park 05. Bioswale 06. Bird Park 07. Butterfly Park 08. Skating Park 09. Car Park Ramp 10. Food Court 11. Picnic Area 12. Exhibition Area 13. Outdoor Exhibitions 14. Auditorium 15. Corner Amphitheatre 16. Bicycle Parking 17. Senior Citizen Park 18. Children’s Park 19. Yoga 20. Amphitheatre 21. Community Garden 22. Museum 23. Statue

MASTERPLAN FOR THE MEMORIAL PARK

Central green zone with the spaces around water

The children

n’s park area

Senior citizen’s park with medicinal, ayurvedic, herbal plants, aromatic species etc

The children’s park uses play on and within the mounds. Sandy areas, varied textures and the play of surfaces stimulate and engage children of different ages. The landscape around the base of the museum building gently sweeps which allows for multiple vantage points of engagement around the building. The leeward side of the mound is lined by trees along the water swale, creating a shaded pathway along the parks.

The mounds create a non building attitude to the urban edge with soft scapes for citizens to appreciate the vastness of open spaces

Central community garden

The shaded pathway acts as a continuous thoroughfare starting from the corner plaza towards the statue located diagonally on the other end of site. Sculpture park and Reading areas nestled between the mound and the swale

The plaza entrance creates an uninterrupted vista along the mounds, water swale edge and various pause points with landscaped gardens Surrounding pedestrian and cycle pathway that doubles as a protest path

The swale and connecting bridges

Institution x Built Environment

Collective Learning Central University of Gujarat

Professional | Competition: Master planning, Educational Institution, Student Housing

Second position (national) Mobile Offices (MO-OF) | 2021 Location: Vadodara, Gujarat

Organizer: Central University of Gujarat (CUG)

Principal Architects: Shantanu Poredi and Manisha Agarwal Team: Dhwani Mehta, Manan Vikam, Yash Salian

Contribution: Design Development, Drawings, Presentation The tradition of disseminating knowledge and innovation relies in the diverse community experience. This interdependence of a community and the individual is vital for the growth of an educational institution. Focusing on the diversity of individuals and the vastness of a community creates opportunities of variation and thereby learning. Interdependent programs offer a multitude of interactive spaces that would be beneficial for a community experience. The institutional character of a university campus is shaped by the nature and use of its programmed and non-programmed spaces. These relationships have been structured into a network of social (informal) and academic (formal) meeting spaces. The academic and the social spaces have been woven into a seamless fabric with an emphasis on fostering collaborative working between students and faculty across departmental boundaries.

ZONING The campus Master plan attempts to segregate Academic zones from the residential zones by proposing a combination of green zones and recreational zones in between.

LANDSCAPE A contiguous green spine runs from east to the west and extends in all directions. It has been strategically placed at the low lying areas of the site. Local and native species are planted.

CIRCULATION Movements exist in a ‘multi modal constellation’. North-south avenues looped by a peripheral road. Pedestrian and cycling paths form multiple loops. Multiple journeys with possibilities of reaching varied venues.

PROGRAM DISTRIBUTION The south side of the campus is envisioned as the Institutional zone. The south-west side of the campus is earmarked for faculty housing and the north side student housing. Common amenities are distributed evenly.

Entrance plaza, central avenue and interconnected pathways starting from the institutions to the housing

Courtyards as gathering spaces; connecting corridors; roofs with skylights creating a play of light and shadow

Student avenue with extending plinths that connect courtyards of different schools

SERVICES Services such as the STP have been placed on the northwest corner of the site by mapping the predominant wind direction of the region to ensure foul odor is not carried back on the site.

29 GREEN SPINE A contiguous green spine ensures that the campus would have ample open spaces without any building activity or functional programs. The green spine runs from the east towards the west. It’s been strategically placed at the lowermost level of the site with the thought that all the water runoff of the site would gather in this area and would support growth of dense vegetation

31 27 30 26

28 FACULTY HOUSING The Faculty housing is set on the southwest of the campus to allow for a higher degree of privacy for the families. The housing is envisioned as a community that fosters exchange between families.

25 38

39 35

4 5

18 3 2

ATTITUDE TO THE SITE BOUNDARY The site boundary is viewed as a soft edge at the periphery of the site. The boundary wall condition could be softening by introducing a gentle earth berm with vegetation planted on the slopes of the berms

THE SCHOOLS In the academic zone the schools have been clustered based on a broad classification of the Arts and Humanities departments being placed together and the Science departments also have been placed in close proximity to each other. They have been designed to foster crossdisciplinary exchange with dynamic movement across buildings and their respective courts.

Local Plant species for the campus

Ruellia Rosea

Santolina

Portulaca Portulaca Rhoeo Spathaca Oleracea White Oleracea Yellow

Syngonium Podophyllum

Hymenocallis Liriosme

Allamanda Plant Pennisetum

Pennisetum Macrourum

STUDENT HOUSING The Housing forms the second layer of the Master Plan, of which the student housing has been set into a more active zone by positioning the dining halls at equal proximity from the east and west ends of the housing. ‘Common Program’ and open recreational activities have been buffered between the Girls and the Boys housing.

WETLAND AND WATERBODY Water can be collected at the lowest level of the site with help of the surface and stormwater runoffs of the entire site once the campus is developed. This presents an opportunity for the creation of a water body that would introduce an enriching aquascape into the ecosystem.

MASTER PLAN LEGEND SCHOOLS OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES School 1 1. International Studies (SIS) 2. National Security Studies (SNSS) 3. Diaspora Studies (CDS) School 2 4. Education (SOE) 5. Management (SOM) 6. Librbary and Information Science (SLIS) 7. Health, Culture And Personality Development School 3 8. School of Social Sciences (SSS) School 4 9. Language, Literature and Culture Studies (SLL&CS) SCHOOLS OF SCIENCES School 5 10. Chemical Science (SCS) 11. Applied Material Sciences (SAMS)

School 6 12. Nano Sciences (SNS) 13. Earth Sciences And Remote Sensing 14. Pharmaceutical Sciences

School 7 15. Life Sciences (SLS) 16. Environment And Sustainable Development (SESD)

8 10

12 14

13 15

Brassia Latifolia Thevetia Neirifolia

17. Future Expansion 18. Future Expansion- Schools 19. Future Expansion- Student Hostels 20. Parking Hub 21. Parking 22. Administrative Block 23. Canteen 24. Library and Seminar Halls (5 Nos.) 25. Recreation Centre/ Clubhouse 26. Bakery/ Cafe 27. Convinience store 28. Football Field 29. BB Court 30. Dining Hall 31. KitchenA 32. Amphitheatre 33. Service Block 34. Type II Staff Housing 35. Type III Staff Housing 36. Type IV Staff Housing 37. Type V Staff Housing 38. Type VI Staff Housing 39. VC House 40. Lake 41. Swimming Pool

Gliricidia Sepium Lantana camara Jatropha Spp

Putranjiva Roxburgii

Anthrocephallus Bombax Cadamba Malabaricam

Michelia Champaca

Sterculia Foetida

䤀一吀䔀刀一䄀吀䤀伀一䄀䰀匀吀唀䐀䤀䔀匀

一䄀吀䤀伀一䄀䰀匀䔀䌀唀刀䤀吀夀

倀䄀一吀刀夀

Section through two school blocks cutting through different courtyards

Exploded block of a school b

Wall Section through a school block

Courtyard Module: Large

䤀一吀䔀刀一䄀吀䤀伀一䄀䰀匀吀唀䐀䤀䔀匀

building

䐀䤀䄀匀倀伀刀䄀

Cluster typology of one school with three scales of courtyards

Courtyard Module: Medium

Courtyard Module: Small

Landscape x Built Environment

Knitting Landscapes Housing x Public Space x Landscape Academic | Housing, Public Space, Landscape

Architecture Design, 5th Year Design Studio | 2019 Location: Naigaon, Maharashtra Advisor: Riyaz Tayyabji

The project looks at the rapid urbanization in village like Naigaon, that lies on the outskirts of Mumbai. It attempts to prevent the hardening of the lake’s edge, which is a strong possibility, with the growth of habitation around the Juchandra lake, that has been happening and will continue to happen into the future. The project aims at creating a differentiated lakeside area such that the boundary lines lose their separating character and a usable transitional area between water and land emerges. To venture into the design of urban space around water bodies, it is imperative to establish connections between the three thematic fields of ecology, flood protection and amenity. The area between the lake and the land can be so designed that despite the naturally occurring seasonal flooding the area can be used as an open space for recreation while serving as a natural habitat for many riparian species at the same time.

boulders and rocks

pathway separating the riparian edge

bunds

constructed wetland

Three lakes exist in Juchandra village. Settlement begins to grow around the north lake.

present-day north lake with a hard embankment

2000

present-day dried up central lake area A concretized embankment has been made around the north lake and the central lake has began to dry up.

2009

present-day south lake and the proposed site for housing

The central lake has dried up and houses have been built around it. More houses are being developed towards the southern side near the south lake. present-day south lake amd the proposed site for housing

2018 swales

dhobighat aka washing spaces with plinths and bunds

central swale to absorb water runoff

The most interesting and charming spaces on the water bodies are those right on the bank to sit, dangling one’s feet in water.

LAKE

Constructed wetlands are designed as a connecting interface between water and land. They also filter out the water from the dhobighat before it enters the lake.

EDGE

Dhobighats are designed with bioswales that slow down the gushing water and absorbs it back to the ground and also carry it to the wetlands.

RIPARIAN ZONE

CONSTRUCTED WETLAND

The courtyard space used for various activities and festivals.

BUFFER ZONE

DHOBI GHAT

Stilts enables one to maintain the ground as a percolatory fabric and space beneath as a public space for various activities.

The common typology of the chawl is used here to imagine shared cooking spaces.

T AKA WASHING PLINTHS AND BUNDS FOR CLOTHES

Furniture is imagied as foldable and wall mounted to cater to the lack of space.

OPEN SHARED SPACE FOR THE

Terrace spaces for festivals, drying of papads, pickles etc

LOW INCOME GROUP HOUSING

CHAWL

Housing typology: Chawl

The corridor around the units

The inner corridor where kitchens from both the houses open up, creating shared spaces for cooking activities to.

Shared spaces for the units in front of the house.

Two kinds of units that are mirrored and repeated.

Informality x Built Environment

Mapping livelihoods

Preparing landuse maps for communities neglected by the Development plan Academic | Research

Landscape Design, 3rd Year Design Studio | 2016 Location: Macchimar Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai Advisor: Shweta Wagh, Ruju Rathod

Team: Dhwani Mehta, Kunth Shah, Hitanshi Mehta, Ashwini Gawli (Documenting and drawing the fishing village) Individual Work: Research, presentation drawings The fishing Koli community inhabited Mumbai originally. The community lives in fishing villages called Koliwadas- a home that is open to the sea. Over the years land has been reclaimed for building roads and expanding the city, thus destroying the fishing villages and livelihoods of the community. Koilwadas are not marked in the Mumbai Development Plan 2034 and thus are under the threat to be classified as slums (squatter settlements). This project is a research attempt to prepare a landuse plan that accounts for the living and working spaces of the community.

1700 RECLAMATION

2000

Fishing Villages of Mumbai

Mumbai DCPR Koilwadas are not marked in the Mumbai Development Plan 2034 and thus are under the threat to be classified as slums (squatter settlements).

Macchimar Nagar Colaba Koilwada

A Ward- southern tip of Mumbai 22

Mapping the landuse patterns of the fishing village with a focus on livelihoods

03 05

04 06 Residential Boat parking Market and amenities Net making Offices Medical Green open spaces

MACCHIMAR NAGAR, COLABA KOLIWADA (FISHING VILLAGE)

Boat making areas within residential zones

Boat parking areas near the coastline

Amenities, offices and medical facilities

Small squares/ plazas where chldren play

Narrow alleys of residential areas where fish cleaning happens

Market areas set up in the evening on the outer edge of the settlement

Pedagogy x Built Environment

UnSchool

School without Classrooms Academic | Competition: Educational Institution | 2017 Awarded the top 10 Honorable mentions (International) Location: Templehof, Berlin

Organizer: Archasm- Ideas competition

Team: Dhwani Mehta, Aishwarya Gaitonde, Ashwini Gawli

Contribution: Design Development, 3D modelling, Drawings, Presentation Can we not re-imagine a school as an orchestrated assemblage of scattered spaces which tries to capture the openness in one of the largest parks in the city of Berlin? The design negates the present day ‘bench-table-chalkboard’ idea of aclassroom and a regularized building typology of a school. Multifaceted and flexible spaces build cognitive skills of children and enables interaction between different age groups, intangibly and spatially. The built environment of the school tries to capture not only the greens of the landscape but elements such as sun wind and water through follies that the children can relate to. Using a portable, readily available and recyclable material like paper tubes comes with an added advantage of triggering one’s imagination for its various possibilities as spaces, furniture, installations and toys. The color of grass, glass, building material and other elements create a welcoming environment of that of a playpark. The aim is to create a new pedagogical space that emphasizes on people-oriented design in behavioral terms as they interact and use spaces.

Templehof Damm

picnic areas

Templehof Field

Unschool

picnic areas

Railway

Siteplan of Templehof airport, Berlin

plant growing medium

planter pots

plywood shelves

steel plates

cuttubes

Learning spaces within a sunken courtyard

plywood top rings

papertube columns

steel brackets and bolts

Exploration with papertubes

Children’s play areas within curved papertube walls

XS Toys

S Seating

Stilted spaces for semi-public activities and outdoor learning M Benches

L Stands

XL Abacus wall

Possible furniture and play objects design with cardboard

Entance walkway to the school from the park

An imagination of the school campus and different learning spaces

accesible roofs provide spaces for play and exercises

exhibition spaces to display the artworks of children open activity spaces

handson gardening activities to develop a sense of ownership and environmental sensibility in children

technology area to encourage innovation and inquisitiveness in students

elements of a playpark as follies

sem create facil

mi-public learning spaces ed within the courtyard that litate interaction between different age-groups

changing rooms a double heighted canteen space near the sports arena

library as a semicollaborative space with private pockets

Documentation x Built Environment

The Lucknow Portfolio Documenting Butler Palace

Academic | Documentation | 2016 Location: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Team: Dhwani Mehta, Gautami Bhoite, Monica Thakur, Tanvai Patankar Individual Work: Documentation and measured drawings

Award for Merit (First Prize, Central Zone) in INTACH Hertiage Awards for Excellence in Documentation for the ‘Lucknow Portfolio’, 2016. Butler Palace was built by the Raja of Mahmoudabad for Sir Harcourt Butler in 1921. The measured drawings are produced as a part of the Lucknow portfolio, which documents palaces, tombs, gates and monuments from west to east along the Gomti river in Lucknow. The drawings are a set of plans, sections and elevations along with a three dimensional drawing to document the unique architecture style in the pre-independence era of Lucknow. The palace is large, elaborate and obscure but it is also pizellated down to human scale making it highly tactile.

Butler Palace

Lucknow city and the monuments documented as a part of the ‘Lucknow portfolio’ along the river Gomti

Axonometric view of the Butler Place

Roof Plan

Second Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

Ground Floor Plan

Site section

North Elevation

Cross section

Long section

Hampi design studio, A journey through the landscape and temples of Hampi

Drawing x Built Environment

Thinking Narratives Mind mapping and storytelling

I have attempted to think and communicate in the form of drawings. In the second-year design studio, we studied the informal settlement of Malvani. Thus I sketched the site from the perspective of an old woman and used hand-drawing as a tool to illustrate the woman’s relationship with the immediate spaces in and around her home, the street, and Malvani at large. In Hampi, I drew mind maps to capture my journey and experiences while documenting water, temples, and trails.

Malvani design studio, Kaashi Polekar, A typical day in her home