The selected works try to encompass at different scales. Various master-planning to street-scape, professional practice, investigate centered urban grain. It is a narrative process and understanding of
encompass public interaction Various projects, ranging from street-scape, through academic and investigate the creation of humannarrative parallel to my thought of the scope of urban design.
Fluid planning; community initiatives; natural wetland systems
Site: Comuna, Cartagena, Colombia
Project Type: Community Masterplan
Instructors: Kate Orff, Geeta Mehta, Dilip Da Cunha and Adriana Chavez
Team: Robyn Marbil, Shrey Patel, Hamza Jamjoom and Palak Shah (Co-designer, Co-producer, and presenter)
Graduate Academic Project, 2024 at
Collaborating with the Comuna 6 community, we envision to ‘sow’ the seeds of change in the neighborhood fueled by the local knowledge and expanding existing eco-initiatives.
Ciénega de la Virgen, an essential resource for Cartagena’s ecosystem, is currently threatened by severe pollution, primarily from untreated sewage discharges, and is at risk of flooding.
Our approach envisions the ciénega as a dynamic system characterized by temporal gradients rather than fixed edges. This proposal aims to cultivate a sense of care, provide housing, and enhance filtration in the neighborhood, drawing inspiration from the existing initiative, Seeds of Mangrove.
Cartagena’s Cienagas system for resiliency and flood risk mitigation.
Promote ecological care and stewardship through climate education
Empower communities through collective decision making Strengthen Cartagena’s identity and foster economic resilience
Colombia faces a severe water crisis, where extreme rainfall and droughts affect the environment and amplify struggles for communities reliant on stable water.
Shipping industry
Sediment collection
Coral reef depletion
ChokagE of CIÉNaga C
CLImatE mIgRatIoN
Socio-economic tensions have driven many locals to migrate to precarious water edges, at risk to flooding and erosion, resulting in displacement.
Sediment collection
Hospitality
Hydro carbon
Petroleum Direction of Flow
Sewage Effluents
Quarry drill and impact area
centres
loss
Overflowing Canal regions
aeropuerto and rinGroad
The Ciénaga’s once vibrant communities and thriving ecosystems are now struggling against pollution and waterlogged shores, as climate change threatens both nature and the livelihoods that depend on it.
Water composition and flow altered making the area susceptible to flooding A connector that ended up choking
The Comuna 6 community has took on ‘mingas,’ or collective work actions, to enhance resiliency. Initiatives such as mangrove plantings, plastic cleanup efforts, and the creation of community water retention ponds are few of the self-efforts.
A starting point for the community to plant a project and cultivates it to tackle their needs over time.
Increasing Mangrove Nursery
The high-low ground built supports mangroves growth and migration over time.
This seed aims to cultivate nurseries and serve as an educational hub.
The imperative of this seed is housing resiliency to mitigate risk of flooding.
fILtERINg SEEDS
This seed creates natural filtration systems for clean water access and agriculture.
Vocational Nurseries
Introducing Native Plants
Integrating Bioswales
Expanding Green Businesses
Improving Public Spaces
Building Resilient Housing
Floating Green Beds
Community discussions local learning institutions to create adaptive participatory design flexible vision that evolves and agreements, ensuring in addressing environmental
discussions with partners and institutions will enable residents relocation strategies. The design approach, will create a evolves with community input ensuring it remains effective environmental challenges.
Alternative possibility of area constructed with ponds
Alternative possibility of area occupied by housing
Alternative possibility of terrace ponds and farms
Alternative possibility of filtration and agriculture through camellones
Biowetlands
Biofiltering plants Mangroves
Filtered water
Waste control barrier walls
Canal
The community vision plan with multiple possibilities of seed interventions.
It is about raised resilient housing built incrementally by community agreements and participation.
Filtration terraces formed to treat and oxygenate wastewater by using native plant species
The raised resilient housing is designed to follow the flood-plain integrating permeable streets and absorbable landscape.
Raised housing: Seeds of Housing
Introduces floating wetlands to filter canal water and terrace ponds for bio-filtration to reduce sedimentation and oxygenate water.
and waste.
Terraces are created for the water to slow down and naturally filter.
Sustainability, Community-driven; Green Industry, Carbon neutral
Site: Staten Island, New York, USA
Project Type: In-situ Compost Recycling
Project size: 3,23,500 sq.m
Instructors: Sagi Golan, Austin Eun Sakong
Team: Florentina Anastasia, SeungHyo Chang and Palak Shah (Co-designer, Co-producer, and presenter)
Graduate Academic Project, 2023 at
Can food waste become the cornerstone of a community-driven eco-conscious future ?
To ensure the success of the New York Citywide Compost project, it’s crucial to have facilities ready to handle the incoming waste. The absence of proper facilities will result in food waste being disposed of in landfills—a prevalent issue historically.
A radical shift in thinking and actions is needed to achieve Zero Food Waste 2050. We aim to redirect food waste from reaching landfills, reducing methane emissions and promoting environmental education and innovation.
re-purposed into greenhouses that aid public activities.
With reduced dependence on oil consumption, the facility will expand to collect food scraps from other cities and generate biogas through additional anaerobic facilities.
Green transportation, 15-minute city module, Sustainability Development Goals (SDG’s), Mixed-use development
Partnerships for the goals
Site: Mumbai, India
Project Type: Design competition
Project size: 6,47,500 sq.m
Team: Hitakshi Agarwal, Jil Salia, Toshi Tusam, Dev Desai and Palak Shah (Co-designer and presenter)
Academic Project, 2019 at In collaboration with
Won the Local Projects Challenge AwardInnovation in Education, 2020
Digital Publication of Proposal
Revamping the abandoned waterfront could unlock its potential, compensate for the lack of public spaces and boost job opportunities.
The project views this development through the lens of the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), aiming for a comprehensive re-evaluation of growth strategies. It seeks to connect the city through diverse green transport networks and pedestrian-friendly streets, enhancing accessibility for residents and attracting tourists as a vibrant urban destination.
A Mind-map exploring initial design ideas for master planning of Darukhana with Sustainability Development Goals
The project is divided into three phases, such that revenue-generating spaces like commercial, High Income housing, and the tourism sector are built first. They compensate the creation of public amenities, education, healthcare and Low Income housing.
33% higher density of people per km2
2,00,000 jobs generated approximately
60% reduction in vehicular needs
40% reduction in CO2 footprint
3,000 tons of vegetables grown per year
33% of plot vegetable needs sufficed
1000 Million revenue
A mixed-use neighborhood incorporating the SDGs to achieve a 15-minute city module. The program is distributed across zones: commercial and transportation hub at the entrance, residential and institutional spaces in the middle, and public spaces towards the edges for equitable use of land.
11.2: Transit-oriented development provides safe, affordable, and accessible transport
8.2; 2.3: Urban farms bolster economic productivity and integrate biodiversity
SDG 11 SDG 8 SDG 2 SDG 13
These SDG’s are primarly incorporated with certain targets that were used as basis to design the sectiona; character.
Hybridization of programs vertical planes
8.8; 13.1: Intermediate planes provide resilience to flooding, creating a safe environment
8.3; 11.2: The jetties are integrated into the multi-modal transport system
The cluster zoning transitions between public and semi-public breather spaces and commercial programs. A network of tram, cycle, and pedestrian pathways is elevated to distribute the crowd densities. Intermediate upper levels extend and connect adjoining buildings through recreational activities.
Urban farms engage the existing community on site, offering them alternate sources of income.
The ground plane is activated by diverse recreational programs such as markets, retail stores, and parks.
Educational pedagogy, Socio-culture inclusivity, Reclaiming unused spaces
Site location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Type of Project: Educational campus
Project size: Undetermined
Team: Florentina Anastasia, SeungHyo Chang, Angel Langumas and Palak Shah (Co-designer, Co-producer, and presenter)
Graduate Academic Project, 2023 at
The landscape of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in Atlanta presents a complex tapestry of culture, education, and urban development. This project delves into the intricate dynamics at play within these institutions, exploring the intersections of property, brotherhood, and education and the influence of capitalist forces.
Central to this exploration is the philosophy of W.E.B. DuBois, who warns against the excessive pursuit of wealth at the expense of culture and education. He advocates for universities to transcend their conventional roles, emphasizing their responsibility to nurture knowledge and civilization. This ideal forms the foundational ethos for HBCUs, challenging them to be more than vocational centers and instead act as guardians of culture and kinship.
The increasing perception of education as a business venture with property speculation, such as the fires at Gaines Hall and Furbar Cottage, can be hypothesized as institutional funding strategies. This approach risks diluting the rich socio-cultural diversity intrinsic to HBCUs. Though physically in ruins, these buildings have the potential for embracing unconventional learning environments.
The concept of ‘fire commons’ proposes communal and unregulated learning spaces that serve as sanctuaries. They offer refuge from the structured confines of formal education. The fire commons foster anti-capitalist sentiments and represent the resilience and adaptability of HBCUs, providing platforms for challenging social norms and reimagining educational spaces.
Public realm, Inclusivity, Public crawl, Street edge revitalization
Site: Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, India
Project Type: Public-private hybrid
Project size: 9,500 sq.m
Academic dissertation, 2020 at
Mentor: Shilpa Ranade
The thesis attempts to demonstrate the incorporation of a public realm in upcoming commercial districts for revitalization.
Throughout history, public spaces been a vital role in fostering a functional democracy, instilling a sense of belongingness and identity among different communities.
The thesis aims to study and evaluate the role of public spaces in the city demographic. Parameters are selected based on an understanding of literary review. This will aid in identifying the constituents for success or the elements for failure of spaces. This analysis is an attempt to emphasize and define the character of public spaces in an urban context.
Cutting through all three buildings, the relationship of the crawl with the building is shown. A central food street is created on one side and a market street on the other. These sections cut through the central square, which is the prime activity hub surrounded by retail, food joints, and markets.
The public crawl is highlighted architecturally by more open, outward looking spaces with wooden louvers for easy recognization. Multiple terraces and courtyards act as spill-out spaces with the potential of being active during the daytime and night for different uses. Unique combinations of public activities are created when different programs come together for more variations and different nature of spaces catering to all age groups.
1
3
2 Co-Working
& markets
Giving a visual of the public crawl inside the building. Unique combinations of public activities will create to more synergy of functions and variations of spill outs.
Sustainability, Cloister, Re-development, circular construction
Site: Indian Institute of Tech Bombay, India
Project Type: Hostel project (On-going)
Project size: 16,500 sq.m
Team: Quaid Doongerwala, Shilpa Ranade, Indrajeet Pawar, Shahzad Mohammed, Rahul Kustagi, Krishikha Poojary and Palak Shah (Production of design drawings from competition to tender stage. Led the green sustainability and universal accessibility initiative)
Professional Practice, 2022 at
Won the Design competition, 2021
Website publication
The proposal intends to strengthen the IIT Bombay legacy as a leading institute in socially responsible innovation in invaluable natural habitat and unique social life.
The IIT Bombay campus is situated at one end of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and the continuity of the flora along its lake side makes it a critical part of the larger ecosystem.
In line with this, a large, cloistered courtyard is suggested between the cluster of three hostels. The two boys hostels (Hostels 7 and 8) and the girls hostel (Hostel 21) have a distinct form with shared amenities.
Campus map
Proposed Redevelopment Gymnasium
The cluster of three hostels preserves the site’s dense tree cover with minimal disruption. Common amenities: the dining, study, and recreational areas are located on the lower levels. The hostel blocks are elevated and positioned along the site’s periphery.
Existing building
Banyan tree
Rain tree
Ashoka tree
Fruit tree
Existing biotope
Proposed footprint with minimal tree impact
and terrace water harvested and retained
Boy’s Hostel (H7 & H8)
Hostel (H21)
Hostel amenities
Shading provided by recessed windows
Cross ventilating in the corridors through breakout spaces
The circular construction aims to reduce waste by reclaiming and reusing as much of the demolished building material as possible. Other passive design strategies like solar and rainwater harvesting, thermal cooling through the facade and cross ventilation using break-out spaces are adopted to reduce the embodied carbon.
Street Re-organization
Pedestrianization; soft mobility; lighting; street furniture
Site location: Vilsofen, Germany
Type of Project: Design competition
Project Size: 8 km stretch
Team: Juan Tur, Xosé Carro, Irene Almazán, Elena Noguera and Palak Shah (Documented the infrastructure pattern to redesign mobility, prepared base cartology plans, diagrams, modelization, and detailing of modular furniture) Professional Practice, 2019 at
Seamless integration of mobility and design to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists to create a sustainable and user- friendly urban zone.
The aim is to design a street where a car would be considered alien. For this goal, it is expected that the excessive existing traffic will be reduced by reversing the entrance and exit of the car park Bürg, so that the traffic directly leads to the church square without having to cross the town square.
A series of granite paving stones create a geometric mosaic on the floor, depicting the functionality of the streets.
StaDPLatz StREEt at DaYtImE
All the spaces are activated to merge into a single, continuous platform surface, ensuring accessibility throughout and eliminating barriers to shop entrances.
A flexible design that can be adapted to the various uses and to the useful life of the space, a family of street furniture elements has been designed. They can be grouped in different configurations to create their own recreation areas in their surroundings.
Configuration 1:
+ Planter Pots
Configuration 2:
+ Seat + Tree Planter + Litter Bin
Configuration 3:
StaDPLatz StREEt at NIght
The lighting design in the town square aims to create a lively and collective atmosphere and highlight the beautiful architecture of the city tower and church.
redevelopment; handstorm workshop; participatory planning; user-generated; material exploration
Site location: Mumbai, India
Type of Project: Redevelopment; Handstorm workshop
Team: Samidha Patil, Himani Naidu, Anushka Samant and Palak Shah
(Site supervision, co-designer, production of real-time working drawings, Communication with activists, local contractors, and inhabitants)
Professional Practice, 2019 at
In collaboration with
Interventions in the homegrown neighborhood of Dharavi are an attempt at devising solutions to some of the basic yet integral structural handicaps the residents face. Ethnographic studies and community participation are the crux of redevelopment in the abandoned and overlooked region of the city.
The collaboration with NYU Abu Dhabi students on the Hand-storm Workshop focused on innovating viable and cost-effective solutions at a household and institutional level. Prototyping and subsequent execution of these design solutions with local artisans was undertaken.
The locals collectively undertook the redevelopment. A user-generated urbanism that benefits the community.
Ethnographic study
Prototyping chimneys to subdue the effects of the smoke from kilns that is affecting the health of the residents.
Incorporating sustainable practices within the neighborhood for long-term economic benefits.
Creating a sandwich roof made out of locally recycled materials to reduce solar heat gains.
Utilizing the extension of houses onto the street for economic and social activities.
Using recycled cloth and plastic to shade large open spaces.
Vitthal Bhaskar Chawl redevelopment was a collective neighborhood decision. The new structure has additional renting spaces for income generation to fund the construction.
Numerous kilns run amounts of toxic smoke, residents. A chimney the effects of the smoke.
Conceptual design for the smoke-free kiln
run all day long, emitting large smoke, affecting the health of chimney was prototyped to subdue smoke.
Exhaust fan
MS L-section
HEPA filter
MS L-section
Sheet metal enclosure
Sheet metal plates
The creation of a sandwich roof that would reduce the heat absorbed into the space was prototyped out of recycled materials available in local factories in the neighborhood.
