Portfolio_Architecture X Urban Design

Urban Design X Architecture

Nandja Chopra Vaid

Thesis (M.Arch - M.U.D)

Negotiating Urban Informality within Formal Systems

Live-work strategy for In-Situ Jhuggi-Jhopri Cluster Transformation in Delhi

Present V/S Future of urban poor in slums

What Does Right to the City means in 2023 ?

The thesis aimed to examine the spatial implications of the current in-situ slum policy and identify methods within the domain of urban design to bridge the gap between practice-led systems and policy-oriented approaches.

Problems with in-situ redevelopment projects undertaken in Delhi

How have live-work interdependencies between the JJ cluster and formal forces of the city produced a new urban system in the city? How can Urban Design bridge the gap and become basis of approaching in-situ works ? Analysis of chosen precinct

ACTIVITY LINKAGES : COMMUNITY MAPPING URBAN TISSUE MAPPING

AESTHETICS STUDY

MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY

Analysis of chosen site : Chunna Bhatti (kirti Nagar)

A. Cluster is back to back

B. Cluster aligned with street

C. Inward looking closed cluster

The urban life and incremental nature of Jhuggi-Jhopri clusters are dynamic in nature.

Hence, the VISION is to DESIGN for TRANSITIONS.

The goal is to create a neighborhood that bridges the gap between formal city and informal settlements, enhance their live work relationship and transform the character of the place

Proposed structure plan I VISION of the area

Old Networks : New Spaces (Retaining the urban tissue)

The Busking Project, New Delhi

For the buskers and artist community of Kathputli Colony, New Delhi

Who are Buskers ?

Buskers are street artists and performers who earn living by performing on streets.

Cities and street that bustle with performances and Dharohar of various cultures will make the streets of those cities more exciting, vibrant and soundscape that will add to thr sounds of Delhi.

- Author (Self)

TAXONOMY OF ELEMENTS : URBAN ELEMENTS AND MATERIALITY : All the elements can function in isolation as well as with each other as a system

Taxonomy of elements can curate the areas like a set piece, almost like a stage for the buskers to perform.

OBJECTIVES

Bringing back the Lost Integrity and cultural legacy of the Busking Artists and street performers in Delhi by designing a facility in public spaces. To create Busking Zones in the city - formalizing an area for traditional buskers at dediated spots. The use of zones to ensure buskers are within a designated area, spaced adequately from another performer.

The design ensures no hinderance in existing pedestrian movement and also ensures safety and security. Acts as an active edge a and intergrated into urban fabric

Kota is city in Rajasthan. The city is under Smart Cities Mission and undergoing an Image change since almost a decade.

Kota Studio : City Studio

Chosen Site: Prem Nagar Industrial area

Settled on Chambal river, the city has acquired an image of EDUCATIONAL HUB. It is popular for preparing students for engineering and medical entrance exams. Approximate 2 lakhs students register every year for coaching coming from different parts of the India. This city has endured various

PREM NAGAR - Selected Swatch for design intervention

A settlement on a strong ecological setting that grew from Hindu Samaj core precinct to a lower income group settlement that took over after early 2000’s on the edge of industrial setting. Today it is nestled as a residential area in between industrial belt of kota Area of the Swatch - 1.7sq.km

Everyday networks of the city

Important routes V/s Present condition of Precincts - Urban Decay of swatches

More preference to mobility instead of public-ness of the city

Mobility V/S Everyday Life

Image (left) highlighting 4 swatches studied in the city and urban extents

Prem nagar is a highly dense residential area catering a population of around sixty thousand which have been majorly dependent on its surrounding area of large scale and small scale industries.The area has a High value historic precinct that is Kansua temple ( that dates back to 700AD) . The site is connected well through major roads yet faces a dichotomy of disassociation with the city.

Ecological Interface:

The site has many open drains flowing through it. The main nala, on a larger precinct terminates into Chandrelohi river through a system of intermediate drains. The city has grown along the drain edges towards south west gradually building over drains and encroaching into ecological territory.

Mapping and Opportunities

Issues

Opportunities:

Development plan aims to bring public utility on the edge of the swatch. There is a scope for revival of abandoned factories through urban regeneration of the area on north - connecting it back to the city and opening up new employment corridors for the residents.Livelihood opportunities through skill development centres to uplift the strata in terms of its earning capacity and bringing an economic resilliance to the swatch. plans or master plan.

Functional Structure of the Site

Human resilience through Urban Regeneration

AIM : To design the area extension of prem nagar in the public utilities land adjacent to the site and to design the facilities lacking for the neighborhood.

PROMOTION OF LOCAL ECONOMY RETAIL EDGE FOR THE COMMUTER RESIDENTIAL ABOVE : EYES ON THE STREET : SAFETY

CONNECT INTEGRATE PLAY I LEARN I EARN

Conceptual Hand Sketch of the area

Area Study: Old Rajinder

nagar, New Delhi

Network Diagrams : Mobility X Road Hierarchy of the site

Open- Green Network

Internship : Project 01- Nepal

What Materiality ?

Material is a physical form that not only embodies the culture but rather becomes one with it. The physical material provides a background or rather a backdrop for the procession. The material however, changed its meaning completely during the night time of the procession, overpowered by the sound, music, tradition embodied almost in a diverse manner by women and men of the community.

Then is it really intangible ?

Space with overpowering and earthy materiality almost becomes insignificant at night, becoming almost like a spatial counterpart of the procession

The Final Act

The culmination of various processions at Indrayani Pith is overpowered by “intangible” facets - the spiritual agenda being the supreme power governing emotions, community dynamics, laughter, suddenly women dressed in newari traditional wear merge with the final space. Where is the line between tangible and intangible heritage ? Or is there even a line that exists ?

As material becomes intangibility and vice versa. Then what is intangible anyway ?

The materiality during the final act finds its “HOME” to the narrative of urban space. The bells, the temple, the final space allows culture to penetrate through it. Sensory and Tactile features of stone, wood, rubble and on a larger scale, the earth and the sky are all encompassing.

The Light

Kathmandu valley and the setting - Irregularities and consistency in grain of materiality.Women, their dresses, the ritual - all dissolve into the ground and lights stand out. The cultural connotations of a diya, bringing the light into the world, the hearts of people and also to pay respect to deities. Everyone is following the light.

In this moment, in this particular event of time - heritage becomes one with the city and lights in background amplify the diya lights in foreground.

The bodies, their movement, the material and culture, everything becomes” SACRED”

Only at this moment of time, it’s hard to define and the culture lights up the valley.

When every single body in space, follows the light !

Doors and Windows of Kathmandu valley tell a different story of the heritage. The doors are not just entrances to homes, but also a member or rather a separator to various realms of public and private areas. They weave a complex network and bind together various thresholds of public realm, religion, culture and people. The doors have evolved rapidly during the 17th to 20th century but there are few places which still retain that heritage. Sometimes tucked away in small lanes, many a times preserved by people and put on display in their homes, and they have found a new home even in the localized museums of the valley. The doors and windows are usually made out of timber, brought from outside the valley. The doors overlooking the streets have frames with symbols carved on them, these symbols are pertinent to the householder. These openings are also a tool to understand the archaeological evidence and dating of the buildings. Elaborate openings like san jhyah, depicts the Mughal influences. The central windows have wooden lattices (tiki jhyah), they are larger in size and have more elaborate carvings. This is peculiar to Newar Architecture of Nepal. The windows extend themselves into the balcony with lattice work in front sloping outwards from the bench to meet the edge of the roof. The doors on the other hand are later additions to the morphology of the urban form of buildings. Since, 19th century the usage of the ground floor changed from storing animals to weaving. Since weaving required more light and ventilation, the ground floor introduced the doors. The entrance door on the front wall had a kumara mandala in front of it while the rear area needed access to kheba, the backyard or garden. The openings in the residential units and urban morphology were a way of social organization of the Newar community. These liminal artifacts are peculiar and typical to this region. Rapidly changing times are changing these urban artifacts. They need to be mined, preserved and catalogued.

Urban Mining : The Thresholds of Kathmandu Valley: The Openings

Internship : Project 02- Delhi

Dharampura Mohalla, Purani Dilli - 6

Dharampura Mohalla (neighbourhood) is tucked inside Old city of Delhi marked by prominent edges like Kinnari (Edging of fabrics) Bazaar on one side and Chawri bazaar on the other. This quintessential residential block has seen a landmark change in the form of Dharampura Havelli renewal from 201116. The naturally aged and unstable havelli was renovated to a luxury hotel inside the Mohalla giving a new life to the whole neighbourhood. It put Dharampura on map for visitors. Through the course of workshop, Facades have been looked at in understanding layering of transformation and aspirations of habitants.

The layer is also significant of TIME across various GENRES of materiality, aspirations and transformations. Here, Urban stories are communicated via static element of materiality and is representative of dynamics of change and construction trends. Edges of the residential block have been studied as internal lanes have already gone through change and process of rebuilding while edges struggle to keep up with increasing traffic, heavy pedestrian flow and pressure of change created post the renovation of Dharampura Havelli.

Edges are a way to understand what community understands by “transformation”. Either they are an image of change or in transition of change. From the course of workshop, listed below are few conclusions, based on the documentation above: The edges towards North of Dharampura are fragile and quite do not know what they aspire to be. Migration-out and aspirations to own a four wheeler are stronger than holding onto the past. The area is on way of becoming mixed use residential and commercial by diversifying the functional usage of various buildings.Buildings built edge – to –edge have strong possession over streets and sky.

To study transformations, Built edges and edge conditions show signs of transformation before the inner lanes but in case of Dharampura, it is opposite. Here, inner residential lanes have transformed faster than the edges.

Standing on a havelli in dilapidated condition, one can see the contrast inside residential lanes closer to edges. On left side, the building is renovated and Newly constructed, whereas on the right side, the building is abandoned and in state of despair. The tree in the middle stands out as a symbol of resistance

As the nature of dynamics of old city are changing, more warehouses are finding space in these inner residential lanes and Dharampura is absorbing that change.

Mission Amrit Sarovar : Purana Qila, New Delhi :Urban Renewal

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, New Delhi

Sections by: Riya Sadawarte

HOMES IN THE STREET - PLUGGED- IN COMMONS

Z Cities Winning Entry 2020 (Homes in the Street)

Excerpts from the movie made on topic

Project partner : Sindhuja Sarasram

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLxdRrjlPL5f0MYb1rVCoZ_SB5gcocAOTk&v=JlcPH3TILNU&feature=emb_logo

TARA MANDAL, Darbhanga, Bihar

A project realised in Darbhanga, Bihar. The project is commissioned by Bihar Government and under construction. The building is built with RCC framed structure and exposed fly ash bricks masonary.This project is designed as an iconic building intended to generate and foster scientific thought process through learning using interactive exhibits, digital projection system for immersive space for 3D realistic films and presentations. Intended as a model design by dept. of Science and Technology Govt. of Bihar, site area 3.88 acres, BU area approx 10000 sq.m. and a budget of 150 crores, this under constructiopn facility includes a 100 seater orienation theatre, 150 seater dome planetarium, 250 seater auditorium, workshop for scientific research, library, exhibition galleries with a walkable sloping rooftop garden equipped with astro telescopes for star gazing.

Reflected Ceiling Plan

LAXCON STEEL PLANT OFFICE HEADQUATERS, Ahmedabad

The 18,000 sq. ft. office building for Laxcon Steels ltd, located in Ahmedabad, was designed to respond to pivotal questions such as; why do office buildings feel the need to stand out in an industrial complex? The design of the building navigates the limitation of a 12-meter width mandated by the bye-laws. It creates a linear structure with courtyards, triple-height spaces with connecting bridges that bring the space together. An interpretation of the product created by the factory is extensively used in the interiors in panelling, door handle, furniture along with a lot of the scrap that the factory receives or used furniture. This celebrates the process and acknowledges the raw material for the finished product. The interiors are minimalist in nature with ribbed oak panelling and exposed RCC work. Stainless steel being the raw and finished material of the factory, is used for the main staircase, bridges, door handles, panellings and furniture.

Construction Drawings : Sample - Floor Plans I Electrical I Plumbing

Floor Plans

Electrical Drawing : Front

Sectional Details

Detail : Door Panel

Plumbing Drawing: GF

Strategy For New Master Plan of Udaipur 2031

My Role: Designing the Master Plan "ROOTS OF HERITAGE" I WORKSHOP: : Eco-mobility workshop by UNESCO, Indian Heritage Cities Network and University of Strasbourg

IF WE DO

NOTHING

Revealing Heritage Assets of Green Belt

DESIGN VALUES and BASIS

_ Integration of landscape, urban and rural as an heritage in master plan

_ Preservation of all the green areas and controlling the urban sprawling and defining the limits

_ Making rural areas self-sustainable with agriculture, water harvesting, waste management and eco-filteration of lakes passing by the areas

_Trying to maintain perennial flow of water by building dams and anicuts with eco- filtration stations at frequent intervals

_Introducing green fingers which dwelve with the urbanization and sprawling city

_ Using traditional tools and live heritage as building blocks to the concept of “Modernisation”

_All the villages that will be in the urban limits in future need to be looked upon carefully and taken care

Group Work : Group of five

Addressing Challenges

BLUE Fingers

A soft transition between green and city

A USEFULL AREA : FOR FOOD, CLIMATE AND LEISURE

GREEN Fingers

Gradation of Desity

USE VERNACULAR SYSTEM TO PRODUCT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY : GOD EQUALS NATURE

RED Fingers

Progressive Density in Red Fingers

DOWN TO EARTH : Auroville

Sound Studio Mentored By: Ar.Mona Doctor Pingel

Principal Architect: Mukuduvidu, Auroville

PITStudio 2015: Auroville - Bengaluru - Udaipur - Ahmedabad

RETRAINED REGIONALISM : COMMON GROUNDS

Bengaluru - Mentored By: Ar. Rajesh Ranganathan

Principal Architect - Flying Elephant Studio

The Changing Landscapes:

The viewing gallery unravels itself into a community space. The sensitivity of the lakebed, bund and sluece has been taken as a prime focus of design. Also, the space binds and then opens up for the common users of the grazing ground like shepherds, children, etc. into an open amphitheatre.

The Materiality: The space has wide variety of jaali trees, the landscape sets itself into the lake bed crowned with art pieces.

Project Site: Hessarghatta Bund

UNABASHED MODERNISM: URBAN INSERT

Udaipur - Mentored By: Ar. Gurjeet

Singh Matharoo

Principal Architect - Matharoo Associates, Ahmedabad

LIVELIHOOD RESOURCE CENTRE FOR SOUTHERN RAJASTHAN, Udaipur THESIS: 2015 (B.Arch)

The aim of thesis is to provide an approach to think through trade-offs by encouraging rural and socially marginalized people to think through their different livelihood activities focussing on skills people rely on most which will help them uplift their economic situation by designing a Livelihood Resource Centre. Deviced as a research based project in the heritage city of Udaipur, the project strengthens the cultural heritage by propsing green energy center, skill development, building material center,etc as a part of the project. The project explored through ocal building materials and techniques where architecture promotes building by the people”.

THE DESIGN FOR THE BUILDING TYPE IDEOPANIUM IS THE DWELLERS METAMORPHIC TRANSITIONS ACHIEVING COMPLEMENTARITY OF WHAT IS MISSING

Prashant Reddy Residence, Bengaluru

A piece of high-end contemporary architecture that comprehends architectural imagination of greek proportions in contemporary language.The minimalist design is subtle yet posh. First floor has been detached from the ground floor to give floating effect and to cut down the volumes of spaces inside.

Large volumes have been punctured through to let ample amount of light flow in. The colour pallete helps the building sit tall admist the city and a green paradise with in. The elliptical staircase contrasts the spaces and huge volumes. The spanish curves of the ramp uplifts the building significantly and tones down the intimidating brutal architecture.

first floor plan

second floor plan

Affordable Housing Design Challenge

United Nations Development Programme and Building Trust

The Journey of Life, Udaipur : Art piece (4 floor)

The rainbow strings are the path without any obstructions suspended on small bamboo logs. YIN I

The structure is suspended from the beams and railings and bears no load on them. A four storey suspended structure The art piece that reflects upon journey of life

Research and Experiments on Walled City of Udaipur, Rajasthan ( PARKING I TRASH I ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRITY )

Projected Accredited by : Maharana Pratap Charitable Trust, City Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan

Working Document

Research Partner to Ms. Madeline Li Middle Bury College, US

This project hoped to add the human element to existing urban conservation work. In conducting interviews and assessing out brief urban experiments, we found that the locals and the visitors were extremely receptive, encouraging, and helpful. Udaipur is largely dependent on the tourist dollar, but these urban needs of both the visitors and the locals absolutely intersect: both want for Udaipur’s rich culture preserved, in a way that improves the basic streetscape.

We have recommended specific steps be taken now that we have conducted brief experiments and explorations with these various urban ailments. These recommendations take the grassroots views and must be paired with the proper existing organization that is able to yield the necessary power to create meaningful change. Most importantly, we feel that everybody has a stake in preserving Udaipur’s heritage. The work cannot lie in the hands of one or two organizations alone. We hope that our few urban experiments and findings from talking with the local city dwellers can inspire others to contribute to Udaipur’s cultural landscape in similar ways.