Architecture Portfolio

Karishma Susan Kurian

Architecture Portfolio M. Arch (2020), College of Design, University of Minnesota, USA B. Arch (2014), Visvesvaraya Technological University, India

Experiential section from phenomenology studio at UMN(2018).

INDEX Rise

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Resilient community living

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Stabilized Adobe home

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Ancestral House: Memory Home (Master’s Final project) Recipient of a Richard Morill Final project Award

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RISE International competition entry Boinitei valley Romania, 2017 An international competition entry in Romania, called for a pavilion design to be integrated with the existing structures in place in the outskirts of the Country.

The new pavilion had to be integrated with the existing structure of library and music room / sauna and Japanese garden (ground floor), also at the attic level with the sleeping places. The pavilion was aimed to host a number of multi-disciplinary workshops and activities during the

We proposed a wood pavilion constructed out of local wood in the area with pivoted frames that held fenestrations and openings along with perforated metal sheets to attain privacy in the sleeping spaces. The roof was designed to as a butterfly roof so as to maximize the scenic views around the hilly site.

Concept sketches

Photos of the site and existing structure

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DOOR TO ATTIC AND G.F

PIVOTED WINDOW/ DOOR

PERFORATED METAL SCREEN

WOODEN VERTICAL GRILLES

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Attic floor Plan

Ground floor Plan

Process sketches

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Site plan

Roof plan

+7.8M

+5.4M

+3.1M

+0.00M

Phasing

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RESILIENT COMMUNITY LIVING Net positive Studio, Richard Graves St.John, Virgin Islands Spring 2019 The cluster was developed keeping The love city foundation would benefit from having to propose a clustered housing community with integrated energy and water supply derived from within the site.

By understanding the local culture of St. John, it was apparent that they are used to communal living, they are an agrarian or from a labour force community and they would benefit from shared community spaces.

They would essentially love to build, grow Estimated daily per capita residential water needs gpd and thrive on their own, thus a proposal for Recommended sustainale minimum 13 Developing countries 13-26 communityEuropean as countried well as 65-92 Australia (50% external, 25% toilets) 92 private garden to grow United Kingdon 89 United States (75% interior use, 25% toilets) 106-145 their own food produce will greatly benefit from not having to purchase basic food produce.

The project utilised energy software like sefaira and climate consultant in order to achieve maximum solar potential, rain water harvesting, wall thickness to ensure a net positve energy solution.

HYDROLOGICAL ELEVATION MAP

Cinnamon Bay

Hawknest Bay Battery Gut

Caneel Bay

Coral Bay

Cruz Bay

Guinea Gut Fish Bay Gut Fish Bay

Great Cruz Bay

Reef Bay

Rendezvous Bay

<200ft altitude

At least 50ft above sea level and up to 200ft above sea level At least 50ft above sea level and up to 200ft above sea level Alluvial and beach sand areas that contain ground water

Site map

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;To foster community living in a vulnerable geographical location by designing spaces that value community participation, upholds the older population by means of active participation in gardening, and sustainable efforts.â&#x20AC;?

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Master plan

1.Solar panels

Photo-Voltaic

2.Grey water treatment system in each unit

3. Shared cistern for storm and roof water run off

4. Mesh openings to filter winds and continuous air flow

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Master plan sequential planning 5. Private gardens in between units cooling winds

6. Open still water drain around as barrier for reptiles

7.Gabion walls with perforated structural wall to recharge ground water

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Floor plan: Level 1

Floor plan: Level 2

Floor plan: Level 3

Rendered view of the housing units when its rains depicting the overflow of rainwater from the Gabion walls and the retention ponds in the garden.

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STABILIZED HAMSADHWANI

ADOBE

HOME,

Junior architect Biome Environmental Solutions Published in architecturelive.in Bangalore, India, 2015

The plot has an area of 1462.5 sft on paper. The site is a 30â&#x20AC;&#x2122;x 50â&#x20AC;&#x2122; plot and is bound on the south and east side by roads, which are internal roads within the layout. The other two sides are bound by unbuilt sites. The Northwest part of the site had rock outcrops which initially proved difficult for us to determine the natural slope of the site.

The site posed a fantastic challenge in designing a perfect home for the young family and after discussions opted to

retain the rocks and derive a design around it so as to minimize the damage to the land as well as utilized it as a landscape element.

Initial Conceptual massing scheme explained by retaining the rock outcrops

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Stabilized Adobe block making and stages of construction on site

1. Pictured above are two types of soil.

The light colored gravel soil attained from site and the darker red soil purchased from the market. The blocks are made from proportions of these soils stabilized with quarry dust, cement and lime to attain the stable adobe bricks which could withstand the load of the structure.

2. This mixture is mixed with lime slurry, made into small balls and thrown into the moulds of size varying from 9”x9”x4.5” to a size of 12”x9”x4.5” as pictured above.

3. This mixture is compacted using a rod or by settling the mould with pressure by hand before letting it to dry out in the shade of the sun.

4. The Adobe blocks laid out to be dried in the sun.

5. The client sourced reclaimed windows and doors from a vendor to be utilized in the home. Retrofitting the current context.

6. The layout of the foundation marked on site.

7. The site after excavation and during the laying of the stub column foundation.

8. Adobe blocks after being placed in the first few courses of the ground floor.

9. Shuttering of ground floor lintel and sun shade.

10. Casting of the filler slab in ground floor.

11. The in built window seat and reclaimed window pictured above.

12. The structure after first floor lintel being cast.

SECOND FLOOR

FIRSTFLOOR

GROUND FLOOR LEGEND

1. Entrance 2. Sit out 3. Foyer 4. Study 5. Car Entry 6. Porch 7. Hobby Area 8. Toilet 9. Puja 10. Living Area 11. Dining Area 12. Kitchen 13. Utility 14. Mother’s Bedroom 15. Battery Storage 16. Children’s Bedroom 17. Master Bedroom 18. Wash Area 19. Shower 20. Drying Area 21. Terrace

LONGITUDINAL SECTION WITH DETAILS

Arch panels being made on site

Photo credits: Vivek M

Photo credits: Vivek M Photo credits: Vivek M

Photo credits: Vivek M

Existing boulders on site before construction.

View of the entire site from the approach road on the east. The rock outcrop on the western side of the site being integrated as part of the compound wall.

The entrance porch with the pot lid filler slab detail with the reclaimed window inserted on the wall.

5.

Photo credits: Vivek M

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Pesdestrian entry to the house through reclaimed wooden entrance gateway in mud plastered compound wall copped with local chappadi stone.

Stairway leading to the living room with the swing and inbuilt seating as pictured in the photo.

Photo credits: Vivek M

East facing front facade: MS gate integrated with reclaimed wooden railing design, solar panels on the southern face over the sun shade. The house also recycles its grey water and the provision for the same is done on the terrace.

Photo credits: Vivek M

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Ancestral house: Memory Home Masters Final project, Patrick Lynch Recipient of a Richard Morill Final Project Award Published in studyarchitecture.com Spring 2020 A house, as it is now, is a container of memory over time. An ancestral house is no different except that it is a plural typology which exists in parallel realities of time and memory. An ancestral house is an autobiographical container.

The narrations collected across three generations in my ancestral house in Kerala, in India, revealed not just tangible realities but more certainly the validity of intangible realities of memories, spaces over time to uncover the meaning of â&#x20AC;&#x153;homenessâ&#x20AC;? within a house.

The project aims to discuss the study of architectural memory over time explored through narrative speculation. The result is a Memory House that transcends the physical known realities of the world into the memory realm of the ancestral house.

Fourth generation

House 1984 House was vacated and rented out.

House

1988 House was occupied by the heir’s son’s family.

1984 House was occupied by a film company

അചാഛൻ (Brother)

ഞാൻ (Myself)

2004 House was vacated and converted into a kindergarten.

Third generation

മ്�ാസ് ��ീ (Aunt)

Single family House

അ�ാ (Mother)

1960 House was inherited by the eldest son and family.

അ�ാ (Father)

Second generation

േസാഫി അ�ചി (Grand aunt)

Family House 1927 House was built, a family of 10 eventually lived in the house.

സ�ി അ�ചൻ (Grand uncle)

ABOVE: Diagram of the ancestral house in its various morphological stages.

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1988 Fourth generation Myself+ brother

1961 Third generation Father + 2 siblings

1932 Second generation

Grandfather + 7 siblings

1927 First generation

Great grandfather + greatgrandmother + great great grandmother + 7 children + periodic extended family

Nuclear family Individuality Domesticity as women’s duty Liberal Lack of discipline and routine Social gatherings Degrading physical conditions Growing Urban conditions Inherited Patriarchal foothold Domesticity as women’s duty Reverence for the father Discipline and routine Initiation of nuclear family Farming as a potential resource Business oriented Urban conditions Individual isolation identified Growing spatial demand Prayer Communcal spirit

Education Communal spirit Familial identity Reverence for parents Discipline and Routine Liberal towards women Prayer Town

Predecessor Education Christianity Discipline and routine Large family living Domestic servants Central location/urban

ABOVE: Documenting tangible parameters of the ancestral house spanned across the four generations.

Christian Missionary School 1st and 2nd generation

Baker School 3rd generation

Thirunnakkara temple 4 generations

Mar Elia Cathedral 4 generations

Pallipurathukaavu temple 4 generations

Star Theater 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations

Pallipurathukaavu temple 4 generations

ABOVE: Collage of the regional architectural typologies and symbolic relationships.

ABOVE: Documenting tangible parameters of the ancestral house spanned across the four generations.

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House/Time

1988

1961

1932

1927 1

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Home

The Ancestral House

ABOVE: The plural ideas of home determined by time in the ancestral house.

The act of recalling memories transformed and reconstituted the self. Across all the narrations what was predominantly evident was the recollection of objects within the narrations and the memories of spaces.

"I remember sitting by the window with you and your brother in the old dining room. I could see the trees and the open well by my side.â&#x20AC;?

ABOVE: Narrator diagram of my mother identifying her â&#x20AC;&#x153;home-nessâ&#x20AC;? and object association within the ancestral house.

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In my time collecting stories and narrations of my ancestral house, a mere recollection of the events that transpired in the house instigated a conversation of the home and the self from the narrators.

Objects attribute to the memory of home and the people that make it a home. Hence a list of nine objects was found and each object becomes a passage or a portal to access memories that were once lost.

ABOVE: Sectional perspective exploration of the narrative discourse of the ancestral house.

Ancestral House typology that informs every succeeding habitable space

Home Informs the early development of architectural vocabulary across succeeding generations.

Self(s) Multiplicity of self(s).

Memories Embodiment of our sense of self.

Time Typology that has the capacity to exist in multiple timelines.

â&#x20AC;&#x153; The Ancestral House unfolds a plurality of homeness in time, and memory.â&#x20AC;?

ABOVE: The intangible attributes of an ancestral house.

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“The fans were so big in that house! Still beautiful.”

“Loved it to rea out at o had a d

“My aunt used to stand by the balcony all dressed up elegantly in the evenings so that she could greet her boyfriend at the time.

She wasn’t allowed to do that but her sister used to guard her whenever she stood there so that her parents wouldn’t catch her!”

Objects are the ancestral hous unchanged as we events play o

“The front porch was a constant for our daily school work. Grandfather used to sit on his easy chair and we used to work on our math and were supposed to ask doubts to him.”

“Grandfather always had the radio switched on to listen to the daily news and it was on throughout the day.

The entire house would echo it.”

ABOVE: The object taxonomy of the “home-ness” within the ancestral house.

Hence, Objects a physical entity th this recursive wo life-

sitting, and eventually lying down on ad my books, even though it was worn one point, I didn’t mind it because it dreamy quality to it.”

“It was mandatory that all of us had our meals with grandfather on the dining table. We used to only start eating once he started. Grandmother used to eat in the Kitchen though.”

“The easy chair could easily be the one piece of furniture that I associate my Grandfather with. No one dared to sit on it except for him.”

e only entities in the se that remained ell as have seen entire out in the house.

are the only tangible hat can be inserted in orld of life-form and -world:

“I remember sitting by the window and seeing the well. Sometimes I used to spend so much time just looking out the window.”

“Granfather used to write letters to me and I used to save all of it. But somehow I can’t find it now. Sigh.”

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A question that led itself to the memory realm was: How does memory lend itself to the physical manifestation of the house?

Over here we look at the possibility of visualizing the temporal plurality of â&#x20AC;&#x153;home-nessâ&#x20AC;? in the ancestral house and the chance for reconciliation wherein this list of 9 objects is storing memory.

A peek into the narrations lends a unique perspective of the ancestral house that reveals the ideas of memory, home, time, and the self. In that respect, there is an existence of the ancestral house which is beyond the known realm

MEMORY HOUSE

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S ABOVE: The memory house plan identifying the grounding of the memory realm.

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BELOW: The dreamer sits within her own memory world, which is a life-world existence.

ABOVE: Serving as a means to enter the portal of multiple identities the typewriter lends way to enter the memory realm to recollect identities attached to it by creating its own island of existence.

BELOW: Just like the lady with the lamp, the front porch signifies waiting. It has its own island of memory that remains as its figure ground. With the backdrop of the landscapes of its geographical existence wrapped with many written narrations, the front porch with the easy chair is a portal to the outwardly.

ABOVE: Serving as a means to enter the portal of multiple identities the typewriter lends way to enter the memory realm to recollect identities attached to it by creating its own island of existence.

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BELOW: For Freud “unhomeliness” was more than a simple sense of not belonging; it was the fundamental propensity of the familiar to turn on its owners, suddenly to become defamiliarized , derealized, as if in a dream.”

ABOVE: The portal of the ceiling fan was the one that was available to everyone. It inverted the ground plane in a way that hid stories within the sub tunnels of its own existence.

BELOW: The dreamer sits within her own memory world, which is a life-world existence.

ABOVE: Weaving around the front balcony the three surfaces encapsulates the geographical conditions of the 4 generations in an ancestral house. The monitor lizard making the uncanny appearance of suggesting the vivid relationship of personal memories suggesting that the house still made it a home despite its uncanniness.

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Karishma Susan Kurian karishmakurian@gmail.com linkedn.com/karisma susan kurian