pavithra sriram
URBAN PLANNER | ARCHITECT
EXPERIENCE
Undergraduate Thesis Cultural Center on the Yamuna Riverfront, New Delhi, India Measi Academy of Architecture, Anna University Studio Projects Affordability, Resiliency, and Access, Jackson Heights, New York Pratt Institute with Chhaya CDC Mott Haven: Home, Health, and History, South Bronx, New York Pratt Institute with South Bronx Unite Urban Pursa, Chennai, India Measi Academy of Architecture, Anna University Competition Projects Chicago Blue Strings, Chicago ULI Hines Fostering Utopia, Utopic Land National Architectural Student Association Madrassapattinam, Chennai, India National Architectural Student Association Public Installation Find Your Park Twin, Manhattan, New York Civic Art Lab
RESEARCH Graduate Thesis
Design and Social Equity Paradigms in Urban Blue Spaces Pratt Institute Internships, Fellowships and Collaborations Alternative Spaces in Tokyo Pratt Institute Building Forward LA Rebuild By Design Rebuild Boulder, Colorado Sustainable Mobile Home Park Rebuild By Design Measuring Residential Displacement, Two Bridges Neighborhood Taconic Fellowship, Pratt Center for Comunity Development Basement legalization Project, East New York BASE Campaign, Pratt Center for Comunity Development Digital Reckoning, Chennai, Jaipur, New Delhi Reboot and Wikimedia Foundation Urban Floods, Chennai Citizen, Consumer, and Civic Action Group Unplannable Cities, Ahmedabad Center for Environmental Planning and Technology and University of British Columbia
WORK SAMPLE CONTENT
Mott Haven: Home, Health, and History, New York Urban Pursa, Chennai Chicago Blue Strings, Chicago Oceanique, Chennai Design and Social Equity of Urban Blue Spaces, New York Building Forward LA, Los Angeles Digital Reckoning, Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai Unplannable Cities, Ahmedabad
Studio: MOTT
Working options for the waterfront recommendation.
HAVEN
PROJECT
A semester long studio in Mott Haven (MH), an environmental justice community in South Bronx, n collaboration with our community partner South Bronx Unite (SBU). The primary goal of the studio and the partner was to address physical access to the post-industrial waterfront and develop strategies to activate its water edge by programming. Mindful of the decades of municipal negligence in the community we aimed to support SBU’s initiatives by identifying innovative actions to advance their goals. The individual research I worked on this project was an analysis of the Willis Ave access to the waterfront and reprogramming the southern edge of Mott Haven.
ROLE
In-depth qualitative analysis through observational mapping, interviews with community, stakeholders, and extensive community outreach. In charge of the design and graphics of the Studio presentation and report.
Community workshop with school children in MH.
Recommendations for a working accessible waterfront by creating Tidal terraces at the Harlem River Yards site.
Final presentation to SBU and other partners at Pratt.
Schematic representation of the proposals and recommendations for the South Mott Haven waterfront.
An analysis of Willis Avenue’s linear connection to the waterfront and section of 138th Street and Willis Avenue
Section across the Willis Avenue to study the urban design and bulk conditions of the neighborhood.
Willis Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard site pictures.
Analysis of Willis Avenue’s street intersections.
Studio: MODE OF ACCESS
URBAN PURSA
PROJECT
Purasawalkam us a major commercial district in the city of Chennai. As a part of a studio project, we analysed and proposed urban renewal schemes for the area. The historic nucleus of a major metropolitan city in India, faced issues with unregulated hawkers, traffic, and congestion. Pedestrian injuries and fatalities on the street further intensified the problem. Reimagining the neighborhood and its commercial corridor was our most critical task in the project.
ROLE
A detailed study of the area involved land use and zoning analysis, observational mapping, interviews, traffic studies, street elevations, and manual sketching.
VEHICULAR TRAFFIC
Existing Site Conditions. SHOPPING TRAFFIC
PEDESTRIAN COUNT
Sketch of a critical commercial juction at Pursawalkam - promoting a pedestrian and user friendly experience.
Sketch of the inner streets of Flower Bazaar.
Existing Land Use.
Concepts for the recommendations.
Analysis of the urban design and bulk characteristics of Purasawalkam’s commercial street.
Competition:
View of the Clybourn Park in Chicago Strings.
Site programming and implementation strategies.
Programmatic section.
CHICAGO BLUE STRINGS PROJECT
Chicago Blue Strings is a competition entry hosted by the Urban Land Institute that is envisioned as the future for enterprise, learning and living. The project aims to complement the established fabric of Chicago downtown with the new age vigor in city life, spreading its wings with passion and soaking in the fresh breeze of the makers of our future. We developed site-specific designs for the waterfront district and developed implementation strategies for the project.
ROLE
Current market trends and analysis, GIS Mapping, developing concepts and design, graphic production.
Site Plan.
Professional projects:
Hand rendered conceptual Master Plan
Club House and Lobby Interiors
OCEANIQUE
PROJECT
Altis Oceanique, a luxury condominium, proposed 500m away from the sea overlooking the spectacular Bay of Bengal, on the East Coast Road in Chennai. The 20 acre property was designed for 180 apartments with supporting amenities, a total 300,000 sq ft built up area. The linear site boundary dictated the orientation of the blocks and the apartments to achieve mximum views to the sea and the city. The project began in 2013 and as completed in 2016.
ROLE
As a Junior Architect led the design development, construction drawing preparation and project management phases. Developed concepts for common area interiors and apartment unit mock ups.
Building Exterior 3D Model render
Building Exterior 3D Model render
Site management and construction phases
Graduate Thesis:
Design and Social Equity of Urban Blue Spaces
I
n recent years, waterfronts have been the new rave of the post-industrial cities. Expansive brownfields, for decades left to ruins, are now lucrative properties for the real estate market. Years of abuse and disinvestment at these post-industrial waterfronts have become eye-sores for the elite thronged by the city’s poorest classes. Today, these riverfronts have evolved to become symbols of aesthetic appeal, social exclusion, and city postcard material instead of using them as important platforms of social interactions. While developing countries are attempting to adopt models of the West, the Western ideas of waterfronts are being continuously criticized. Design in any urban project could be a trigger to, or a consequence of, major urban transformation. In almost all cases, the demographics and social characteristics of the neighborhood change forever. The argument for sustainable cities is that there is a need for more than manicured parks, quaint cafes, and riverwalks. Public interest designers who co-create cities while being conscious of the effects of their creations can be a part of the solution. If the needs of the proverbial faceless masses it is built for are not tended to, who are our cities for? This Graduate thesis investigates planning strategies of urban blue spaces through the lens of design opportunities and formal characteristics of the site, along with patterns of privilege, access and regional equity that are raised through its planning processes.
Greenpoint - Williamsburg
Porto Maravilha
South False Creek
Sabarmati Riverfront
Ironbound
N EW YORK | UNI TE D S TATES
R I O | BR A Z I L
V A NC O U V E R | C A NA D A
A HME DA BA D | IN DIA
N EWA RK | UN ITED S TA TES
Independent Research Projects
1. BUILDING FORWARD LA REBUILD BY DESIGN
The Building Forward LA project is an initiative upported by the City of Los Angeles to develop refreshing and ‘futurizing’ policies and processes tha shape the built environment. The San Andreas fault line that passes through the city makes it highly vulnerable to seismic disasters. The age of the building fabric and the socio economic conditions present an alarming story. I was involved as a research intern in the project with Rebuild By Design to identify strategies to make the city’s building codes more resilient to natural disasters. This was derived from extensive research on current building codes, progressive codes from other countries Age of Buildings
25%
20%
15%
Renter Occupied
64%
10%
LEGEND
5%
Soft Story Buildings Multi-family Dwelling Unit One-Two Family Dwelling Unit
Mean Household Income
Renter Occupied
0%
Owner Occupied
2014 or 2010 to 2000 to 1990 to 1980 to 1970 to 1960 to 1950 to 1940 to 1939 or later 2013 2009 1999 1989 1979 1969 1959 1949 earlier
Household Income
Below $20,000 $20,001 - $60,000
48%
$60,001 - $90,000
26%
$90,001 - $120,000
Occupied 18%
Above $120,000
8% Source: HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2015 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS) 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, L.A. County Assessor
Under $50K
$50K - $100K
$100K - $200K
Over $200K
Demographic Study of Los Angeles’ physical and social environment.
94%
Occupied
Vacant
2. UNPLANNABLE CITIES
IN COLLABORATION WITH UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
The Unplannable Cities project involved addressing of socio-cultural aspects overlooked by the physical infrastructural improvements endorsed by conventional planning methods. Through ethnographic studies we explored means to develop a Muslim majority settlement, Jhuvapura in Ahmedabad.Along with a team of four, I studied the social structure of a communally polarised community and its historical prejudices with gender and the causes of ghettoization and tensions between personal and institutional oriented planning.
3. DIGITAL RECKONING
IN COLLABORATION WITH WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION
The goal of the project was to understand the need for online educational materials in India. To achieve this, we conducted a design research analysis, to learn about what information people need, how people find and use different types of information, and what challenges they face. As a lead researcher in the project, I conducted interviews with different demographic groups across the country to look for general patterns or themes, which the Wikimedia team would further use for developing strategies.