SOCIALLY INCLUSIVE ARCHITECTURE & THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH’S IDENTITY I YEAR 2022
[ THE NEW PARLIAMENT BUILDING AND CENTRAL VISTA
REDEVELOPMENT ]
INTERNSHIP I YEAR 2021
[ ARKTIDE - SEA STEADING ]
FREELANCE PROJECT I YEAR 2022
[ THE ART SCHOOL COMPLEX ]
ROME INTERNSHIP I YEAR 2019
[THE MEANDERING
Integrated studio Instructor: Elizabeth Team: Raj Dungrani
Meander & Flux Patterns of creeks cutting through the landscape
Meander of the Trails, Paths & Creeks through the Site
MEANDERING CANYON]
studio I Year 2024
Elizabeth Bishop
Dungrani & Rishita Nanda 4
Meander created on site inspired by forces and patterns of the waterbodies & creeks cutting through wetlands
Meander cutting into the 2 masses creating an engaging canyon with circulation movement inspired by flow of water in creeks
Expanded metal mesh veil covering recreation building to soften the larger mass & blend with the context
Built, Unbuilt, Green spaces and Wetlands area
Existing landuse Plan showcasing Zoning and building uses
The Interweaving builtform, nature & transit, the project envisions Martinez as a vibrant “recreation destination,” that is not just a ferry terminal but also a social hub for the local community. The design is an intersection of 2 masses which start off on a grid that uses the existing roads and marina as the datum. The orientation of the buildings are such that the N-S solid mass is the transit building which creates a thoroughfare and the E-W mass is the recreation building which hopes to be more porous, acting as the viewing deck.
Ground Floor Plan
Initial Concept Sketch
The concept of meandering was explored as a way of waiting in our design that can introduce a more fluid, relaxed experience, contrasting the usual rigid, linear waiting spaces. This meandering pattern run through the building, slicing it off to create socially activated Canyons in between in between the buildings
Cleveland Nexus addresses this gap through a mixed-use development designed to provide equitable waterfront access to a historically underserved community. Embodying the guiding principle of “Learn, Share, Grow,” this new neighborhood prioritizes community and economic vitality, creating a space where everyone feels included and empowered
The open spaces are designed to provide opportunities for recreation, community gathering, and ecological balance. These act as social and environmental lungs, creating a network of shared spaces that foster well-being and interaction among diverse multi-generational groups of people on site.
PHASE 01
PHASE 02
PHASE 03
Cleveland has the potential to thrive, but achieving this requires connecting disjointed improvement efforts across the city. This is where Cleveland Nexus enters, to serve as exactly that, a Nexus. By bridging Downtown, University Circle, and the Metroparks, the development celebrates Cleveland’s rich cultural diversity, builds a stronger sense of community, and creates new opportunities for the industrial area and surrounding neighborhoods.
Gateway To The Stanford Research Park
Spring Semester l Year 2024
Instructors: Lydia Tan, Briana Harney, Joseph King.
The Nest represents a revolutionary step forward at the iconic Stanford Research Park, designed to seamlessly integrate the nature with a modern built environment. This unique development champions the creation of a fl exible, resilient, and diversifi ed community hub, emphasizing connectivity, sustainability, and creativity. The Nest aims to foster a nurturing ground for innovation, keeping community members connected to the dynamic pulse of Stanford, and contributing positively to the local economy
The development is strategically positioned to serve as an inviting gateway to the Research Park by blending work and nature. This integration is achieved through the introduction of 51 individual pods, interconnected by beautiful winding pathways and lush natural landscaping. These pods are designed to enhance creativity and collaboration, providing a tranquil yet stimulating environment for entrepreneurs, researchers, and creators to thrive
It further expands its commitment by featuring a curated selection of 30,000 SF of retail space and a state-of-the-art 100,000 SF R&D building. This setup not only fosters the commercial and research synergies that Stanford is known for but also ensures that the community and its graduates have robust platforms for launching and realizing innovative ideas.
The design acts as a transition from the low rise highly dense residential to the east of the site to a low density big structures of the Stanford research park. The site is connected via two central public streets these streets act as a transition point between different spaces. The central pods area which is surrounded by all of our other functions creates a dense and highly active street-level portal where different functions spill out
1. R&D Building
Total area: 103,000 sq.ft
2. The Pods
Total area: 62,400 sq.ft
3. Showroom Block: Total area 22,000 sq.ft
4. Retail Block Total area: 36,192 sq.ft
5. Multi-storey Parking
Total area: 189,900 sq.ft 600 slots
Total ground coverage: 196,690 sq.ft
Total area for FAR: 223,592 sq.ft
The pods were oriented in a very specific way such that we had our longer sides of the roofs facing towards the south and west sides on which we places the solar panels to maximise solar gain, while the shorter sides facing the east and north were designed to have skylights for a good indirect sunlight exposure. This diagram helped us design our building orientations in a very climate responsive way.
[ ON SECURITY & SANCTUARIES ]
Oakland housing project
Sem 1 l Fall 2023
Guide Mia Zinni
This studio project is based on the notion that the spaces used to house those in transition can act as a “sanctuary” rather than simply a “shelter”.
The housing project aims to fulfill the need for 3 groups of people, Domestic violence victims, Human trafficking victims, and Youth. Addressing security concerns from both potential abusers and resistant community members, design strategies integrate seamlessly with the urban fabric. Various design methodologies were employed to instill a sense of security within the community and integrate it with the existing urban fabric instead of isolating it.
Today’s youth live and grow in a society that offers tremendous choices and difficulties during the formative period of adolescence. Urban Spaces need to be designed inclusive to all & should promote the social interaction necessary for people to learn about each other’s multidimensional identities and thereby foster social cohesion. The formation of a youth’s identity is an important developmental process of a person’s life. The nature of the environment in which this developmental process takes place creates the opportunity for an architectural intervention that will help facilitate and develop the process further
Theoretically, this thesis focuses on the youth and finding an identity, which refers to a person’s sense of self, who we believe we are. The study investigates socially inclusive spaces and their contribution to the design of more effective urban spaces. Thus this study looks, in detail, at Social Inclusivity and how it can be used as a tool for the integration of youth into society and also develop and test their identity.
Graphic summarizing the dissertation synopsis
Ground Floor Plan
Alignment Courtyards
The building mass runs along a central street that connects various public and semi public functions along with entrances of the two buildings. The form is oriented diagonally along the site in the North-west to South east axis. This orientation reduces the number of exclusively south facing facades and also a proper flow of wind throughout the site.
and Voids
The Street
The youth ‘streets’ embody the idea of the third space (Antony, 1985) describes as the interstitial space, a terrain between childhood and adulthood where the youth continue to test and construct their own social and cultural identity outside of the boundaries of their home and school. The ‘streets’ are a neutral testing ground where the youth have the freedom to express themselves without close parental control.
Youth’s search for identity is played out in the ‘streets’ because of the unique characteristics of these spaces. The design intends to define ‘streets’, as a space, can impact architecture for the very simple reason that architecture defines space. It creates ‘street’ environment to provide a set of design parameters for architecture, which has the potential to impact youth’s identity.
HCP Internship
Mentors Ar. Kahan Vyas & Ar. Rahul Panchal
Multiprupose Hall Flooring Plan
Hall Reflected Ceiling Plan
Multipurpose
[FLORIDA SEA STEADING]
Floating Communities
Arktide aims to sustainable and self sufficient floating communities in our oceans. As a part of the Arktide team, I worked on various designs and visualisations of these communities.
These structures are called ArkPads, these ‘pads’ are individual sections of a larger floating structure, they will be linked together underwater to create a single solid structure capable of carrying at least 7 metric tons, enough for one specially designed lightweight house. Larger numbers of ArkPads can be linked together to create larger platforms, the design is infinitely scalable, and the special homes built on top will be completely self sufficient.
Year 2022 l Arktide
[THE ART SCHOOL COMPLEX]
Community Arts And Education Center
Year 2019
Mentor: Ar. Claudio Greco
The project was a collaborative design proposal along with Ar. Claudio Greco and students of the University of Tor Vergata. The the proposed design was of an Art school complex in the periferical area of Rome called ‘la Romanina’ which was open to the community post school hours.
The design intervention thus achieved was separated by two volumes. The lower floor as a pubic zone available for all residents and the upper floor as a private zone. The core of the structure is an atrium wrapped around an exhibition space.
Structure oriented according to the existing grid of the surrounding buildings.
Creating shaded pathways and open terraces through structural offsets.
Narrowing spaces to reduce the number of openings towards North
Exploded Zoning Diagram
Spatial Ideation
The cafeteria acts as a center surrounded by all the other publicly accessible spaces i.e the gymnasium, auditorium, an the library. The basic form of the structure follows along the existing grid pattern of the contextual buildings.
