“When humans invented architecture they could adapt the physical surroundings to them which was the other way around until then. This marked the beginning of an era where the biggest force causing geological change is from humans. Architecture played a significant role in giving us the power to transform the planet. So I believe, it is a very powerful tool which must be handled with a very careful attitude in order to produce positive social and environmental side effects as a result of this planetary transformation.�
CONTENTS STUDIO
SOCIAL HOUSING TRANSIT HUB NIFT
COMPETITIONS
MASSIVE SMALL CHANGES FAIRY TALES
WORK
JUNIOR ARCHITECT OPEN CORRIDOR INTERNSHIP FREE LANCE SET DESIGNS
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SOCIAL HOUSING
AMBATTUR l CHENNAI l INDIA
SOCIAL HOUSING
AMBATTUR l CHENNAI l INDIA This is an affordable housing project comprising of 768 residential units in total with a mix of units for the economically weaker section, low-income, and middle-income groups. The primary objective of this project was to create a thriving, socially healthy community in spite of the inherent economic constraints of a social housing project in a city like Chennai or any urban city for that matter. Usually, these constraints make an affordable housing project struggle in striking a balance between being economically feasible and socially successful where most of the times the latter is sacrificed. So this project’s objective was to play the balancing game carefully right from site selection to the design of individual units and their components and produce a stable neighborhood for a long-term and increasing the quality of life at every level namely the public realm, the private dwellings and the shared community spaces. In the scale of individual units, the focus was on meeting the users’ needs, that is to provide maximum within their affordability ranges respectively. Attached semiopen spaces for each unit is maximized in the form of private and shared covered balconies thus psychologically the users won’t feel detached from the land. Private and public spaces with landscapes or vegetation are accessible both visually and physically from all the units. In the scale of the site, the intention was to create a multitude of routes and spaces of varying qualities that create an unbroken 3-dimensional neighborhood that seamlessly induces interaction between people and also the people and nature thus increasing the quality of life making it a socially sustainable community. To make this project economically feasible and also to meet the rising housing needs multiplying this in different sites in different configurations was the solution. For that design and prefabrication of modular building components were adopted. The design of the individual components and the building as a whole was climate responsive to maximizes human comfort in the buildings.
1.The Site
The site is located in Ambattur has the outer ring road abutting it to the east. Also, it has Puzhal lake and korattur lake in close proximity towards the north and the East southeast directions respectively which can affect the microclimate of the site.
2.Zoning Moving the residential zone away from the main road, restricting the vehicular circulation in the site and parking to the periphery and services towards the road to provide ease of access and easy drainage as the natural topography slopes to the southeastern corner of the site.
5.Massing (a)
Massing (b)
6.Landscape - Ground level
Landscape - third floor level
The mass in the ground floor upto the second floor is the EWS dwellings.This makes the footprint of the blocks.
The playgrounds ,the landscaped corridors between the blocks and four internal courtyards are connected by an uninterrupted network of pedestrian pathways. Even where the playground is seperated fron the rest of the landscape by a road an elevated pathway connects them.
Above the EWS units following the same grid but with alternating solids and voids towers are placed with LIG dwelling units from the third to the eighth floor. The resultant mass makes it easier for the wind to flow in between the built volumes.
The roof of the EWS block in between the towers is landscaped and are connected by landscaped bridges across the blocks making it an elevated landscaped street common to the dwellings above and below.
3.Masterplan
4.Orientation
Massing (c)
Massing (d)
Landscape - roof of the internal towers
Landscape - roof of the peripheral towers
Creating different types of landscaped courtyards and corridors as necessary punctuations between the buildings’ footprint. Residential blocks Landscaped open spaces and playgrounds Services Supporting commercial spaces
On top of the towers a three floored mass of MIG units are added which has the view of the lakes.
The roof of the internal towers are turned into gardens accessible from individual towers.
The residential blocks are oriented in such a way that it directs the wind flow not obstructs it.Car parks are on the periphery and the bike parks are distributed along edges of the blocks and the road inbetween them.Blocks in the ground are punctured in equal intervals to let pedestrians through.
This volumetric stacking has resulted in enclosing of the internal courtyards with high blocks which reduces the width to height ratio of the courtyards. To increase that the height of the towers surrounding the courtyards is reduced and the volume is added to the towers in the periphery.
The roof gardens of all the peripheral towers connected by landscaped bridges makes it the top layer of what will be a man made valley consisting of four different layers of landscapes form the ground to the top.
Key
The view of the bridge connecting the landscaped terraces between the towers at the third-floor level. These bridges act as a catalyst in the process of creating variety and adding a new dimension to the landscaped pedestrian pathways enabling seamless interaction among the people and with nature in the site.
The view from one corner of the first internal courtyard with the children play area and the crech nearby and is visually connected to other courtyards in a diagonal axis. Also the height and positioning of the enclosing bocks is in such a way that it allows appropriate light and ventilation into the courtyard and in turn into the dwellings.
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TRANSIT HUB VADAPALANI | CHENNAI | INDIA
TRANSIT HUB
VADAPALANI l CHENNAI l INDIA This project of designing Vadapalani metro station with a programmatic mix is an extension of an urban study of Vadapalani and its surrounding areas. And the design is in response to the observations and the comprehension of the area in that study. The main observation is that along the metro corridor the land values are sky-high which results in densification in the structure of the urban fabric with very minimal green open spaces. The objective was to tackle this problem in the design of the transit hub by breaking it up, making the volumes porous that make up the structure of the urban fabric. This way the urban fabric can be made breathable and a project like a transit hub can be perfect for this idea. The architectural manifestation of this idea would result in a built volume with intertwined green open spaces. The inference from the study is that there was a deficiency in parking.so the project was to design a structure with a metro station and a mix of parking and commercial spaces. The intention was to make the metro easily accessible from all the possible directions the pedestrians can come from. And To tap the potential of the populating flowing through the metro to benefit the commercial spaces.And to create a dynamic urban space.
1.The site
2.Movement
4.a.Metro and Link bridge
4.b.Platform viaduct and vertical circu
5.Breaking the volumes
6.The Plaza and the connections
The site has two parts one with 100 feet to the east and Arcot road to the south. Another to the east of 100 feet road. The viaduct is running on the 100 feet road so the metro station has to be on both the sides to cater to the population from both the sides.
Pedestrian movement Vehicular movement Metro viaduct
The volume of the metro station and the link bridge connecting the station volumes. The position The intention was to connect create a variety of of the metro station and link bridge is determined by the minimum height clearance required the ATGs and the vertical circulation to the platfo above the flyover on the 100 feet road. The volume in the ground is recessed to let in te popula- level to make it easier provide controlled access tion from the bus stop to the east and for landscaping to the west.
The office and the commercial floor volumes are broken to let natural light in and to create a street through the program mix that leads to the plaza connecting the metro station.
The plaza is a landscaped plane connecting diffe is a significant public space hosting crowds from public park like space which makes this metro a
ulation leading to the platform
connections to the metro’s different levels. So orms should be condensed to the link bridge to both the platforms.
3.Volumes
Maximum buildable volumes with setbacks and height restriction by the CMRL which states that the buildings should not exceed the height of the viaduct.
4.c.Other programs
Offices (Third floor) Shops (Second floor) Parking (Basement, ground floor & first floor)
7.Resultant transit hub with the skin
erent metro levels to the commercial street and The final form with the skin which acts as a screen against solar heat gain and doubles up as a m different directions. It is also envisioned to be a light shelf. In places it warps into staircases and also a breakout space in the office floor. a garden metro with this plaza in its heart.
The view of the staircase in the public plaza connecting the product mix with the metro stations’ link bridge level viewed from the office floor.
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NIFT
PERUNGUDI l CHENNAI l INDIA
NIFT
PERUNGUDI l CHENNAI l INDIA National Institute of fashion technology is a pioneer in fashion education in India and designing one of its institutes was an interesting design challenge to create architecture that inspires the occupants. The objective was to create a campus that enables encounters within students that sets in motion a chain reaction of creative processes and critical thinking and dialogue which in turn makes the students more receptive towards the design education. Being a fashion educational institution this is a rather small campus in comparison with other multidisciplinary institutions. So the primary design intentions were to make its spaces as versatile as possible. To achieve this the campus should be given the image of a city. Characteristics of Kevin Lynch’s city elements like the nodes, paths, edges etc were adapted to the campus’ scale and the spaces were treated accordingly. The design intent was to create forms that are dynamic, unconventional, pragmatic yet visionary. This objective was satisfied by the sloped roof forms of the easily accessible and boundless academic blocks. The green cover mitigates the heat gain due to the larger surface area of the roof. The orientation is in such a way that it facilitates maximum passive ventilation and lighting. All the studios are designed with informal discussion spaces that can fuel the creative minds.
1.The site
2.Zoning
4.Breaking up the volumes
5.Dynamic volumes
7.Paths
8.Nodes
The site is in perungudi on the Anna main road. To the south next ro the road is the Perungudi lake which will affect the microclimate of the site.
The volumes are broken up to induce movement and the transitional spaces between them can become hubs of interaction.
The broken volumes required generating paths across the site connecting all of them. Inside the academic block, the varying plinth heights on both axes creates a sense of movement.
The idea was to spread out the campus to give divided into zones of varying areas from academ
Making the rigid academic blocks’ forms dynami in a different level. This makes it interactive and th psychologically improving creative productivity.
The multitude of pathways tends to intersect in d acteristics which act as the interactive hubs in th
it the image of a city. Accordingly the site was mic to the parking.
3.Volumes
Volumes laid out in respect to the design intentions. Instead of making it a compact singular block, the academic block was made to be spread out on the ground with a series of volumes with breaks in them that facilitate movement and also aids the function.
6.Courtyards
ic which allows movement where its the longest The volumes are broken to create courtyards around which the movement happens and these he green roof makes the breaks more effective, courtyards with varying characteristics will add on to the versatility of spaces inside the academic block.
different places creating nodes of varying charhe campus.
9.Edges and districts
The tree lines form the edges between different zones in the campus. Academic Play grounds and auditorium Parking Accomodation
This image shows the vision for the kiosks in the courtyards. It has seaters and also acts as a transition between the corridors across the courtyard.
The image on top is the envisioned entrance of the academic block. Climbing up the stairs on the sides will lead to the plinth level of the academic block and going down the central stairs leads to the admin block’s offices. The image below is a node where the pathways from the edge of the academic zone to the southeast and from the accommodation area intersect with the central axis. These steps will act as an open-air theater for informal events and also as an interaction space.
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MASSIVE SMALL CHANGES BESANT NAGAR l CHENNAI | INDIA
University of Westminister International Design Challenge Awarded
a
special
mention
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excellence
in
design
The challenge was for a four member team to take an unused site in an urban environment and revitalize it with a design intervention. It was a two stage competition where by the end of stage two team was supposed to finish executing what was designed. The site selected was an abandoned brickwork of some sort at one less used corner of the beach stretch. The design intent was to reactivate the place with an informative and recreational design that can create an image for the spot. This was short listed in the top seven among designs across asia.
Besant Nagar beach stretch footfall analysis The site Footfall density
The site
Event seating Rotating display panels Informal seating An organised seating space, To add to the imageability of A set of informal seatings for envisioned to be an interactive the beach with informative illusthe community. Made from spot which will eventually be- trations about elements in the the fallen tree trunks during come a space of community beach clearly seen from any the cyclone Vardha one of the events and gatherings. point in the beach because of worst cyclones the city had the height and rotating nature. witnessed.
Old wooden pallettes repurposed as seaters. The pallets were cut and modified to adapt to the worn out brickwork in the site
Painted canvases were attached to 3’ X 4’ frames. The frames on top and bottom are attached to ball bearings enabling rotation due to the breeze.
Musical installation A segment of the intervention to appeal to a much younger age group. Interactive musical play equipment put together from junk that would gather attention through sound.
The framework is constructed with wooden posts. Used buckets of varying sizes were installed as drums. Used aluminium pipes of different diameter and length are used to create chimes to produce different sounds when struck.
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FAIRY TALES COMPETITION
TITHONIUM | VALLES MARINERIS l MARS
FAIRY TALES The competition brief was to write a short story of 3000 words and present it with 5 illustrations. It was a 3 member team project in which I worked on the story, the basic virtualization for the illustrations and the final compositing of the illustrations. I believe that architecture has the power to shape the planet we live in and this story is an extension of that belief. The story is set in the context of a few decades into the early human settlement on Mars. After research, we developed a few pragmatic components that can fictionaly aid in inhabiting Mars. It follows a video log of a sector commander about the most significant day in the human history on Mars. It is about how his mundane day on Mars ended with a pleasant surprise that the planet gave to the mankind.
An illustration show The map of the m the Tithonium stretch canyon system overla
Working on this competition was a great exercise of exploring utopian possibilities, yet researching to discover ways to bring in a sense of believability and logic. The Infrastructure The imagined infrastructure for oxygen production pragmatically enables mars inhabitation possible in the story.
Our place in the star wing the story’s context. martian terrain showing h in the Valles Marineris ayed with the imagined human inhabitation.
The Habitat The illustration showing the imagined habitats or the places of living placed inside the valleys due to various logical considerations.
The Acceptance The illustration showing the climax of the story showing the most significant moment where the planet becomes an accepting cradle for human life
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WORK
RESIDENCE | CHENNAI
Design objectives were to squeeze in the requirements inside a 45 x 45 feet square site area but to acheive a clean facade without any projections because of vastu preferences. These were achieved through the following architectural Characteristics of the Residence. 1.Porous volumes The external surfaces of the building will be porous, allowing diffused light to reach the interiors. It also facilitates better ventilation as the whole surface is able to breathe. 2.Screen wall A conventional solid wall with openings has more privacy but less openness restricting views, lighting and ventilation Instead a Screen wall in the exterior and a transparent glass wall in the interior strikes a balance between privacy and openness both visually and physically. It also facilitates a play of light and shadow throughout the day which makes the spaces visually dynamic. 3.Green spaces Along the periphery between the two layers of the external wall a belt of plants has been planned which creates a connection to nature from all the interior spaces. 4.Sky light and courtyard skylight along the exterior walls and above the courtyard screened from the road makes the interior spaces dynamic with the time of the day. 5.Flowing spaces The floor spaces are vertically connected by the space between the screen wall and the glass walls along the edge of the building creating a continuous flow of spaces.
CONVENTIONAL WALL Opacity & transparency embedded in one plane 50 - 50 privacy and connection to outdoor
SCREEN WALL Opacity and transparency in 2 seperate planes Max privacy & connection to outdoor Virtually expanded volumes Protects the indoors from harsh sun
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OPEN CORRIDOR CHENNAI
A non-profit initiative founded by a group of friends and I to serve as a bridge between the people in the city and the city itself using design as a medium. Personal contribution to this was to head a team to conceive ideas and execute urban street art and community engaged art installations at various venues, work in the design team to create branding and content. It is a volunteer-based initiative founded as a platform for people to interact with the city (its tangibles and intangibles) through community based participatory urban art and citizen outreach for urban development projects (in collaboration with city administrators). The vision was to create and build a community that is actively engaging with the city, its processes and development in all different aspects. We collaborated with multiple private and public organizations like Chennai Smart City Ltd., Chennai Tricolour Initiative, Warhorse Educational Enterprises, Nippon Paints, etc.
Nageshwara Rao park installation
The rising trash tide - Installation
This installation was conceived as a celebration and a reminder of the significance of green open spaces in the Chennai city. It was installed during the 378th Madras week celebration in August 2017.
It was designed as an entrance installation for a public consultation event about solid waste management in Chennai city. The event was hosted by CAG an NGO focused on waste management.
It was designed as a pavilion that can be taken over by nature and can become an integral part of the park over time. Collaborated with the Greater Chennai Corporation.
The intention was to make the people entering the event venue feel the volume of waste we generate. Also to make people acknowledge that the waste we throw leaves our mind once it leaves our sight, but it never ceases to buildup and engulf this planet.
Images - 01 & 02
Images - 03 & 04
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Subway wall art - Parry’s
Drops making up the Ocean - Installation
This project was for an NGO called The Tri Colour Initiative whose vision was to make the city vibrant and reflect its culture and heritage through various wall art projects. This is one of the significant wall arts done in the city.
The installation was designed as stage backdrop for a fund raising party. It was hosted by an NGO called spoken waves for constructing libraries for orphanages in chennai.
Images - 05 & 06
Image - 07
We designed and coordinated the volunteer-driven event for materializing the envisioned design for the wall art in a very short period of time. The location is one of the arterial subways in that part of the city which created many challenges that we managed to tackle.
The installation metaphorically states that the little contributions by everyone makes up an ocean of difference in materialising their vison. Also it responds to the site’s(the beach) context by use of small reflective pieces that keeps shimmering in the breeze, making a great stage backdrop for a concert.
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Press releases about Open Corridor - Chennai 01 - An article about Open Corridor’s events - in THE HINDU. 02 - An article about the installation -in the INDIAN EXPRESS.
The Architectural heritage walks We deviced and conducted walks for different age groups including school children on Chennai’s Indo-Saracenic architecture buildings. The extensive research and reconnaissance led us to discover a lot about the significance city’s past infrastructures and the city itself.
03 - An article about the team - in the DECCAN CHRONICLE.
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WORK - Internship ARCHVENTURE-BENGALURU
I assisted in projects ranging from residences to hospital renovotions which helped me get a strong grasp of various stages of architectural design and be trained in producing construction documents, co-ordinating with various consultants and designing residential interiors.
Temple Green villas
01 - Conceptual view for the designed villa typology 04 - Entrance designed for the project
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Ananth reddy residence
Halstead Hospital
02 - Interior view of the living room 03 - Detail drawings for the doors and fixtures 05 - Plumbing drawings for toilets 06 - Detail drawings for toilet
07 - Drawings for OP room interiors 08 - Detailed drawings for OP room furnitures 09 - Photograph of a completed OP room 10 - False ceiling drawing for the hospital ground floor 11 - Finished interiors of the ground floor from reception
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WORK - Internship ARCHVENTURE-BENGALURU
I assisted in projects ranging from residences to hospital renovotions which helped me get a strong grasp of various stages of architectural design and be trained in producing construction documents, co-ordinating with various consultants and designing residential interiors.
Temple Green villas
01 - Conceptual view for the designed villa typology 04 - Entrance designed for the project
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Ananth reddy residence
Halstead Hospital
02 - Interior view of the living room 03 - Detail drawings for the doors and fixtures 05 - Plumbing drawings for toilets 06 - Detail drawings for toilet
07 - Drawings for OP room interiors 08 - Detailed drawings for OP room furnitures 09 - Photograph of a completed OP room 10 - False ceiling drawing for the hospital ground floor 11 - Finished interiors of the ground floor from reception
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WORK - Internship DESIGN QUEST - CHENNAI
I worked on two studio villa projects, a beach house project and an urban house extension project while i was working for Design Quest architects. Working on these villa projects in Kodaikannel helped me understand the potentials and constraints of contours in live projects. Also frequent site visits to the urban house extension project enabled me to start thinking more about the construction process of the lines we draw.
Studio villas Kodaikannel
01 - View of the villas from the mid level 02 - Ariel view of the project showing the volumetric scheme designed in reaction to the contours. 03 - Exploded views showing interiors and floor plans for the brochure.
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Thapovan studio villas
Thiruvanmiyur beach house
04 - Ariel view of the villas 05 - View of the villas from the drive way 06 - Master plan of the Thapovan resorts
07,08,10 & 11 - Floor plans for the proposed beach house 09 - Front view of the beach house from the drive way 12 - View of the house’s beach side
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Urban residence Extension 01- The view of the house’s front elevation with the compound wall 02 - Construction drawings for the Compound wall 03 - Electrical layout for the new living room 04 - View of the landscape and Porch 05 & 06 - Steel fabrication drawings for the porch
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WORK
ARCHITECTURE INFINITY - SALEM This is in collaboration with a startup firm. We worked on the proposal for a guest house for Southern railway in Coimbatore.The schematic design has been approved. 09,10 & 11 - Schematic floor plans 07 & 08 - Conceptual views showing the volumetric stacking of the entrance and the units.
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SET DESIGNS
The hunger to convert my imaginations and drawings into material reality quicker and in large volumes made me explore the potential of design in the visual medium. My perception is that its similar to architecture but the priorities and primary objectives changes which demands us to change our approach in designing the sets. I worked on four projects of different scales from a set for a promo song to a set for a feature-length movie. This includes sets for a TV show and an Amazon Prime web series. I have designed sets, produced drawings for construction and overlooked the construction of sets.
Amazon Prime web series - Vella Raja Images 05, 06 & 07 Worked right from breaking down the script to identify the key characteristics of the set to the construction of the set. Movie - Kaidhi Images 08, 09 & 10 According to the script the building was an old british building in chennai so we researched on similar buildings and their elements and designed a set with elements recreated from the Indo-Saracenic style.
Promo - The Mercury song Images 01& 02 For the given concept i assisted in selection of a location and arriving at a layout for the set. Designed and selected props in correspondance to the concept. TV show - Kings of comedy juniors - Star Vijay Images 03, 04 & 11 I was a freelance set designer for this project. Worked on the proposal of different themes and presented them. Developed the finalized concept into a set and produced detailed drawings for construction.
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