Issuu

ADMINI AJAN P O

Syracuse University SOA B. Arch

Minor in Environment and Society

Minor in Sustainable Construction Management Class of 2024

Welcome!

MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITY

My name is Padmini Rajan. I am a fifth year architecture student at Syracuse University School of Architecture. I have a specialized interest in eco-friendly designs and in researching new ways to manage our constantly evolving environment at various scales. I enjoy spending my free time sketching and painting as well as playing around with digital art softwares. Throughout this website I have compiled some of my work from internships, schoolwork and personal projects.

TDS ARCHITECTS

MICROHOME

SYRACUSE FIRE STATION #7 CITIES AT RISK: RESILIENCY RESEARCH

PERSONAL MIXED MEDIA

DUXBURY MCINTOSH ARCHITECTS

TRANSYSTEMS

BORGO DIGITALE

LPC CIVIC CENTER

Spring 2023

Professor

Greg Corso Studio VIII

Located in Colombus, Indiana, our prompt was to work in pairs to create a fire station to be situated within the community. My partner and I had a heavy emphasis on 3 solid massings that work as 3 buildings on the exterior but work as one in the interior. Precedents include the Freeland Buck House. We also allowed the volumes to work as one within the plan by using a central corridor inspired by the San Francisco proposed Fire Station Headquarters. My partner and I experimented with multiple configurations within the facade, the program of the plan, the location of the corridor, the orientation of the volumes and more.

Once we established our volumes we kept in mind sustainable features that could help our comfiguration and organization of our building in order to create a efficient station. Such details include details such as the solar panels due to the expansive roofs facing South.

Since we have a modest configuration of our volumes, we decided to allow our facade to take over the rest of the design. Our facade consisted of a series of triangular ceramic panels that were colored red and white on either side. This would allow the building to change color as the viewer walks by.

During this studio, our class was centered around learning about waste management and its’ influence on the surrounding community. Syracuse has various illegal dumping sites and vacancies. My groups proposal was to direct materials that can be recovered from those dumping sites and through ours while educating the public on effective waste practices. Our site was a steel factory located off of Onondaga Lake. We decided to keep two of the existing buildings and build off of them. One key feature is a central ramp that leads to elevated pathways where pedestrians can overlook the process of materials recovery.

Another assignment we had in this studio was to reflect on our own waste management practices. In one of the pages below I tracked the types of waste I produced over the semester and estimated how much could be recovered in a facility like we proposed.

Fall 2021

Professor Lori Brown Studio V

Fall 2022

PROFESSOR IVI DIAMANTOPOULOU AND RAMI ABOU-KHALIL STUDIO VII

Our studio this semester revolved around researching into the LPC or the Landmarks Preservation Commission in New York City. Through studying existing (Cast Iron District) and proposed landmarks (Rockaway Beaches) we learned how to respect and integrate a clients purpose into the design. My partner and I aimed to not demolish the landmark that was located on one lot of our site, but instead create a rotated monolithic insertion that pivots and forms a new centerpoint in the building that borrows from the language of the facade in order to preserve the historical typology detailed in the facade of 315 Broadway. Our insertion was made out of channeled glass to emphasize the hidden and reveal system that creates a dialogue with our intentional peels. In our design we are suggesting a juxtaposition of the landmark’s articulation and this counterpart while allowing the user to see how new design can be inspired by preservation through studying the standing landmark within the LPC.

Padmini Rajan

Spring 2022

Professor Luca Ponsi

Studio VI

Our Syracuse Florence Study Abroad program allowed us to study with Borgo Digitale, the Syracuse University School of Architecture Research Program. Our individual studio focused on combining the cultural/social usage of thermal baths along with the land management of material extraction from the quarries (shown in the diagrams on the next page).

My group used the precedents of Turkish Thermal Baths to create a specific experience for the users while incorporating our surrounding context. Our main design revolved around the circulation through the thermal baths where the person hikes up the quarry and sweats out their toxins while following a specific sequence formulated by the Turkish that allowed for spiritual, physical and mental cleansing.

We incorporated the specific material extracted from Roselle into our design by making it the primary material of the thermal baths as seen in renderings. One of our main focuses was on the model as we wanted more experience in different materials. We used Peter Zumthor’s precedent from a model he showcased at the Venice Biennale.

Padmini Rajan

PRECEDENTS AND MODEL

Summer 2022

Brian Mah Internship

TDS Architects specialized in industrial and commercial buildings surrounding the Bay Area (for confidentiality I will not specify which companies). The experience provided first hand insight in the difference between residential and industrial architecture. I learned to be more precise and professional by attending several client meetings, adjusting markups sent by both the head architect and the city. I helped transfer AutoCAD details into Revit which allowed me to diversify my Revit skills. I was also provided assignments such as drawing out several preliminary elevations both exterior and interior. To do so accurately, I participated in several site visits for measurements.

Lastly, I helped the in-house interior designer by coordinating and updating her finish library. This task included reaching out to several vendors and collecting, tossing and organizing the newer samples as well as cross referencing samples that have been discontinued. In doing so, I was able to advance my organization, communication and other simple but useful skills in the field of architecture.

Fall 2020

Professor Daekwon Park

Intro to Building Systems Design

The following project’s objective was to collaborate as a group of 4 and explore in detail how to build a microhome. Unlike some of my other studio projects, this one was more structurally focused. I specifically worked on a series of precedent studies while helping specify our design. In addition, I worked on the diagrams that help detail specific design choices and the site plan. Our group focused on pulling from the precedents and creating a microhome that prioritized an abundance of light within the home while also establishing a sustainable system.

Spring 2022

Professor Adriana Chavez Cities at Risk

In this seminar course taught by Adriana Chavez, we learned about the infrastructure challenges that came from Hurricane Sandy in the New York City area. We researched the social, economic and political damages that affected the city by listening to various guest speakers in their field of knowledge. Such speakers included Kevin Gurley from the MTA, Amy Chester from Rebuild by Design, and even Frank Avila Goldman from Sea City that helped us understand the impact of resilience. From there we chose a neighborhood, ours being Spanish Harlem, and studied ways to mitigate the risks that come from stormwater flooding, sea level rise and extreme heat. This was done through mapping in ArcGIS. We also learned how to make a stakeholder map and generate a SWOT analysis in order to evaluate the aspects that go into designing a resiliency projects. Take a look at our final project in ArcGIS Storymaps in the link below: https://arcg.is/1rC480

Shows location of Spanish Harlem in relation to New York City and Upper Manhattan.

To the left: Diagram storm water flooding and sea level rise within Spanish Harlem.

To the right: Exhibits the overlap between sea level rise, stormwater flooding and extreme heat in Spanish Harlem.

Above:

Above shows our proposal of heat/ stormwater shelters equipped for emergency situation for the surrounding neighborhoods. The map on the right show the opportunities we have to implement these shelters in relation to other important places.

Padmini Rajan

Pencil Sketches

18” x 24” pencil (right)

Painting on Canvas: 8” x 10” black canvas with white acrylic paint. (left)

Padmini Rajan

Wall Mural: 108''x96'' Paint on Dry Wall

Summer 2021/ Winter 2021

Bill McIntosh Internship

In the summer and winter of 2021, I interned with Bill McIntosh for DuxburyMcIntosh Architects in Los Gatos, California. As showcased below, I helped with many of the digital drawings including a streetscape elevation and a set of plans, sections and elevations. In addition, I helped compile and send in numerous permit applications in our surrounding area. This helped me learn the distinct requirements that are needed to submit an application and how they differ from different counties. It also allowed me to focus on the technical details of what is needed to submit an application to build in a city. I also assisted in photographing many of their projects which allowed me to look at architecture in a artistic frame.

Pyper Residence

Summer Internship 2023

This internship provided a new perspective in ar chitectural design. Being a predominantely engineering oriented firm, I worked on national projects on vari ous large scale clients such as the United States Coast Guard and Navy, Hudson News and certain airports. Working under David Lee, I contributed to help ing a fellow architect with construction management by helping communicate RFIs and other design process documents to their respective contacts such as fellow architect firms, contractors and MEP personnel. I specifically worked on existing Revit models of the Novato Base housing as well as modeling preliminary designs for base bathrooms. In addition, I researched and assembled market assessments for future market sectors that Mr. Lee intended to pitch to headquarters. Working with architects from other offices, I edited exisiting and future plans for Hudson News for various airports including O’Hare, Newark, Atlanta and more. Lastly, I proposed two massing drawings for a new San Francisco Airport Cargo to scope out the extent of the

*Note: Due to confindentiality agreements there are some drawings that will not be exhibited in this portfolio. However, the following showcase new and existing skills