Niharika Mathur Portfolio

DLF ALAMEDA

July 2021 – Ongoing

ARCOP Associated Pvt. Ltd.,

Gurugram, India

Client: DLF

Location: Gurugram, India

Strategically located in Gurugram’s Sector 73 on Southern Peripheral Road. Alameda offers the perfect balance of seamless connectivity and peaceful surroundings. Within its tranquil ambience of lush tree-lined avenues filled with sculptural elements and water features a gated community creating a secure and peaceful world. It’s a home for those who want to step out of the fast lane, get away from the constant buzz of the city and still stay connected.

REINVIGORATING COMMUNITY ROOMS

Project Overview: Gurugram, a major satellite city of the capital of India has developed drastically in the past 25 years and become home to a wide variety of people from different backgrounds. Amidst all this development the element of social activities and community life has been lost impacting the Quality of Life of the residents of the city. The Aim of the thesis has been to understand how social activity impacts Quality of Life of the residents on an intimate level and to propose a prototype to reinvigorate a series of existing community centers in the city.

Studio IV:Thesis; M.Arch (IA)

A unified body of individuals, such as, people with common necessities living in a particular area broadly. All these elements collectively impact the Quality of Life (QOL)

Categorization of elements of QOL

Physical Social Psychological

Region of Study: Gurugram, Haryana

User Group:

Upper Economic Group

Middle Economic Group

Lower Economic Group

HUDA Provisions for Community Activities & Social Interaction

Spaces of interaction on a group/community level are important as the quality of social interaction of a human impacts their various relationships

Private Relationships

Public Relationships

Relationship with self Community Rooms: Spaces (centres or halls) that are at provided public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information & other purposes as social interaction is essential to every aspect of human health.

Renew a series of existing community spaces to improve the Quality of Life of the user in an urban context, thus creating a prototype for future developments of similar nature.

Possible product or end goal

Keeping in consideration elements of sustainability & healing architecture

Tool

VISION

Programmatic Ideologies

Ideology

User Group

Large Flexi Spaces (Site, Space Planning, Surface, Stuff)

Intimate interactive spaces (Space Planning, Surface, Stuff, Services)

• Formal/Informal events

• Exhibitions

• M edia Centre

• Children cluster

• Formal/Informal events

• Sales & Exhibitions

• Cultural events

• Children cluster

• Meetings

• Private support groups

Dojo Spaces (Surface, Stuff, Space Planning)

• Self defence training – RAKSHA

• Cultural activities

• Incubator space

• Private group activities

• Literature groups

• Formal/Informal events

• Creative groups

• Vocational groups

• NGO activities

• Child cluster

• Day care activities

• Private learning space

• Gender specific vocational & training activities

• Self defence training – RAKSHA

• Cultural activities (Dance/music, etc.)

Green Rooms

(Site,Skin,Surface, Stuff, Services)

Existing Typical Elevation

Double Storey

• Amphitheatre

• W alking track

• Group gatherings

• Formal/Informal gatherings

• Community event space

• Private event space

• Children cluster

• Organic farming

• Indoor greens

• Self defence training – RAKSHA

• Cultural activities (dance/music,etc.)

Existing Typical Elevation

Single Storey

Proposed Typical Elevation

Double Storey

Proposed Typical Elevation

Single Storey

Proposed Typical Floor Plans GF FF FF GF Existing Typical Floor Plans

Section

Horizontal

Vertical

M ovable wooden partition being used as an aesthetical element

M ovable louvres & Vertical gardens

Cork wall as bulletin

Play of light indoors because of louvres

Landscape Interiority

Architectural Interiority

Luminous Interiority

Interventions on the 7S’s, i.e. site, structure, skin, space planning, services, surface & stuff are proposed in order to create an aesthetically

pleasing as well as a functional, flexible space. This will help attract the users in to this currently dead space. The multiple levels of interiority created contribute to the users developing a deeper connection with the physical space and thus result in continued visits promoting social

interaction and community activities developing a sense of belongingness amongst the residents.

QUINTOPLE

Studio II;M.Arch (IA)

Metroworld Mall

HUDA MARKET, Sec 56, Gurugram Haryana

Project Overview: The project site was introduced as part of the second semester studio themed: Sustainability.

The deliverables were to understand the condition of the existing built, the needs of its targeted users and propose architectural interventions to cater to these requirements keeping in considerations the elements of ecology, economy & equity. The goal was to introduce numerous design interventions to inculcate varying levels of interiority in an already busy space using organic, environmentally friendly means to do the same.

A continuous back and forth relationship between the building layers of the social surroundings, physical environment and the built conditions with the elements of sustainability was carried out leading to certain ideologies that contributed to the development of the final design proposal

Programmatic Ideologies

Stuff Services

Space Planning

Skin Structure

Site

Vocational Centre

Medical Centre

Sanitation Facility

Learning Centre

Guidance Centre

Rainwater

Harvesting

Grey Water Reuse

Solar Panels

Activity Halls

Co-Working Spaces

Multi-Purpose Halls

Community Spaces

Recreational Spaces

Retail Dine-Out

Organic Farming

Green Facade

Vocational Centres

Community Spaces

Guidance Centre

Retail

Home Away From Home

Flexi Spaces

Bio-Blanket

Interstellar Spaces

Optimum resource management, Flexibility

Utilizing available natural resources, Optimum combination of passive & active strategies

Optimum resource management of natural resources, Thermal comfort

Minimum Disruption, Optimum Resource Management

Minimum Disruption

Ideologies for Building Layers

Site Plan

Relation of the existing built with the surrounding: Sectional View

Terrace Floor

Fourth Floor Service Floor

The existing built comprised of 3 basement floor above and four floors the all with usable ground, varying clear heights since they were originally proposed for varying purposes.

(2.47 M )

(5.24 M )

Third Floor (4.20 M ) (4.20 M )

Second Floor Structure

(6.23 M )

First Floor Ground Floor Basement 1 Basement 2 Basement 3 (3.82 M ) (5.20 M ) (4.30 M ) (2.75 M ) (4.00 M )

Space Planning: Typical Floor Plan Open plan,colonnaded

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete & High Pressure Laminate was used on the façade, which works well for the indoor environment but created an uncomfortable outdoor microclimate

Skin:Built Envelope

Rolling shutters on along the entire façade on the ground floors making the space accessible from all sides.

Existing Condition

Proposed Interventions

spaces were outdoor, Interactive proposed commercial social indoor as promote social interaction activities for & well as, to and the of the surrounding community residents areas

Site Plan: Additional access points and a penetrable periphery making the space accessible from all sides

The large the third accommodate mezzanine floor height of floor can a to inculcate an additional work space area or storage rooms.

Transformable access into the structure

Closing the gap on the floors to make the space more accessible & usable.

ECOLOGY

Addition of the green in the indoor and the outdoor ads to the microenvironment which is surrounded by concrete blocks

EQUITY

Proposing user friendly programs catering to their needs enhances community interaction and

ECONOMY

Sustainable strategies and materials contribute to significantly decreased cost of running the facility working in favour of all stakeholders. fills gaps in the elements for the residents in the region.

INTERIOR URBANISM

When discussing space, interiors and urbanity are often talked about as opposites in nature. However, architecture being the common ground for both terms one can place interiors and urbanism adjacent to each other and often even juxtaposition them. It articulates the micro changes in the interior of an urban space, which collectively create an impact on the urban environment, hence creating successful human experience and successful public spaces by blurring the boundaries between the indoors and the outdoors.

Degrees of Interiority

Elements of interiority

Different elements defining the physicality of a space come together to create varying levels of interiority helping users create a deeper relationship with the space they are in