Sanjeeta Patil Portfolio

FRAME S

SCHOOL OF ENVIROMENT & ARCHITECTURE

PORTFOLIO SANJEETA PATIL

SELECTED WORKS

ABOUT ME

I am Sanjeeta Jeetendra Patil, a fourth year student studying at SEA (School of Environment and Architecture), in Borivali Mumbai. I am a kneen learner and have I have immense interest understanding the logic and conceptual thought process that goes in curating and crafting spaces. I have also developed in interest in understanding the city from a praactice of derives. Besides that I am a keen reader, writer and enjoys to travel and explore different cuisines and cultures.

QUALIFICATIONS

2006-2018

2018 - 2020

2020 - 2025

St. Mary’s Convent High School. Mulund West, Mumbai 400 080.

D.G Ruparel

Matunga Road, Mahim, Mumbai.

School of Environment & Architecture

Eksar Road, Borivali West, Mumbai.

WORKSHOPS

2021

In City, parts make a whole

Prasad Shetty

2022 Bricoleur

Rupali Gupte

2022 Psychospatiality

Drishti Desai

2022

2022

2023

2023

Disobidient Subjects

Aastha Deshpande

Tactical Interventions

Studio Matter, GOA

Bodies, Cities, Ecologies

Rohit Mujumdar

Landscape Design

Mugdha Sathe

PUBLICATIONS

COVID GLOSSORY

Website for Volumes Exhibition

https://contentcommittee.wixsite.com/mysite-7

Afteread_ A book review blog

Personal practice

https://aftereadbooks.blogspot.com/

VOLUNTARY WORKS

2020 - 2022

2023

2023

2023

Content Comittee

Content Writer, Website Management

Content Comittee

Head of the Website Team

Annual Exhibition

Website Creation and compliation

Continuum ( student initiative film club to watch and discuss movies )

Managing Social media & Finance.

LANGUAGES

English Marathi

Hindi

French (Basic)

SKILLS

Hand Drafting

Autocad

SketchUp

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Illustrator

Basic Modeling Making

Website Designing

Writing and Research

Teamwork

Organization

Semester 4 / Mass Housing Module /

PHENOMENOLOGIES

Semester 4 / System Ontologies

WHAT IS A CONTEMPORARY HOME? BUILDING DETAILS

Semester 3 / Typology and Material Phenomenologies

Semester 6 / Working Drawings

NEGOTITATIONS

Semester 6 /Architectural compositions in tropical monsoonal grounds

Semester 6 / Settlement Studies

Semester 5 / Specialization Course with Studio Matter (GOA)

Semester 1 / Forms

Skills which become a practice and lens through which i understand architecture.

MASS INHABITATIONS

SEMESTER 7

The urban fabric of a city is an ever-changing mesh of many social, political and cultural forces that shape and built the cityscape. For a city like Mumbai, the city records time and changes in lifestyle. The city of Mumbai, even though absorbs multiple cultures and communities that have emerged and thrived, the city still fails to resolve the daunting issue of affordability. One such example of a thriving community is in the Thakkar Bappa colony in Chembur, Mumbai. Emerging during the early 1950s, It appeared as an after-effect of the partition. Initially set up as a refugee camp for the post-partition migrants, the cluster emerged and absorbed 240 houses made of mud and grass, with ample land that could be cultivated and used for agricultural purposes. Slowly this community acquired an identity in the shoe-making industry due to increasing demand with the growing industrialization and urbanization. Overall this was labelled as informal settlements or slums, The identity of this community was layered with culture and caste but also their occupation became the main focal point. The main intent is to intervene with the ruptures of the everyday and everyday politics of the space through quality spaces that inspire and afford joy, interaction and celebration of uniqueness based on local culture and materials. Being accepted and able to take advantage of opportunities to engage in the environment and community irrespective of age

SITE : Thakkar Bappa Colony, Cembur, Mumbai

this community acquired an identity in the shoe-making industry due to increasing demand with the growing industrialization and urbanization. As the shoemaking industry caught up with the pace and the demand increased, many of the residents invited their relatives and family to grasp employment opportunities and make capital out of the growing demand. The cluster of houses started multiplying with the increasing density of the population. However, as the concept of nuclear families emerged, the long affordable houses got split up into smaller households.

Current Ground Floor Plan

houses

the dead walls

Area of Intervention

Formation of the Courtyard

The main vulnerabilities of the entire cluster is the mainly congested living spaces, lack of light and ventilation, increase in diseases due to inadequate hygiene measures and lack of infrastructure. But the demolition isn’t a solution to this. The way to intervene is to interact with the existing housing conditions and explore it’s potential in terms of its programs and scooping out spaces and niches that can create or change the existing typology into a more feasible one.

Demarcation of six

Identifying

Through this process, a play of masses was created which allowed to intervene and change the exisiting typology of the cluster. This middle courtyard becomes a syntax language for the entire Pada, where the rearrangement of exisiting masses is more or else spontanenous creating iterations of this network of corridors and Balconies.

Volumetric diagram of the cluster

Formation of Courtyard on the First Floor

Rearrangement of the existing units

A network of corridors connecting the rearrages mass.

The formation of the courtyard became and extended public space. For the redesign the ground floor type was kept untouched except retrofitting a few common staircases for better access to the courtyard above. The courtyard also allowed better ventilation and improved the transcational capacity of this cluster.

The ground floor after the redesign turned into a commercial space which accomodated shops, storages and workshops. The second floor, due to the new staircase access creates a network of corridors. The third floor accomodates extended balconies.

Ground floor plan with retrofitted staircases

Second floor plan with Network of corridors

Third floor with extended balconies

The section shows the how the masses have been rearranged due to the formation of the courtyard.

Section across a long house

MATERIAL PHENOMENOLOGIE

SEMESTER 4

SITE : Mithaghar Road, Mulund East, Mumbai Sanjeeta Patil + Anika Pugalia

This studio intends to understand the relationship between behaviour, experience, meaning and living that is crafted through the structure, materiality and systems thinking for any configuration of space. The module shall explore communitarian, artisanal, exploratory, temporal dimensions in the process of design thinking and building making. The materiality and structure that are the derivatives of form and experience of the space at the same time requires to provide thermal, visual comfort to the users. The climatic response here hence becomes inherent to the design process. The location of the site is Mithaghar, an area that lies in the Eastern Mulund, Mumbai. It has a historic settlement of the people who used to work in the nearby salt creeks, now known as the Airoli- Vikroli creeks. The program is to provide an information centre, providing information about the History of the Mithaghar region and salt curing occupation. Providing an episodic space (which will be temporary), it will change according to the events which are mainly influenced by the lifestyle of locals. This temporary part can become a skillshare centre where people can come discuss and share their skills and knowledge, a system shaped by the natural flows of the people in and out of the site and its surrounding context(the lake, Agari settlements, school, Mithaghar garden)

Objective - The chosen 600-750qm site and defined user group by the student pair will define what will the designed space and structure be used for and as. The build area of 450-500qm shall accommodate 150-200 pax. As a given requirement the clear span of the structure should be minimum 15 metre.

PROCESS OF WORKING OUT THE PORTAL FRAME STRUCTURE

In order to achieve the 15 meter direct span, an idea of using I-section portal frames emerged The positioning and placements of the portal frames allowed an interesting play of light and ventilation and also helped in crafting the space acording to the various programes that were curated for the design

Mezzanine partition wall details (Bamboo + Polycarbonate sheets attached to I - section framework).

Mezzanine flooring details. (Bamboos bolted in an I - section framework).

The details were worked out seperately based on the different materials used in the designed structure and also a process to explore the different ways in which these materials respond to each other.

Roof Details - GI Corrogated sheets fixed on the C-section purlins.

Toilet Layout - Pipe layouts and fixtures

The design process also allowed to explore a playful set of iterations of furniture that also help in crafting the space and curating the experience and porousity of the designed structure.

Folding seating spaces

Shelves with seating spaces

Iteration of shelves with seating spaces.

WHAT IS A CONTEMPORARY HOME?

SEMESTER 3

SITE : Baba Padamsingh Chawl, Devidayal Road, Mulund West, Mumbai

Typology is the study of types. Type is not static, it’s dynamic and changes based on its variation, modulation and synthesis. Spatial Patterns encompass architectural form and space and their relationship with life and living which are intrinsic. This module mostly focused on understanding design typology and its intrinsic relationship to Spatial Patterns of Life and Living and Material Phenomenologies. . The site chosen includes a historic settlement which has evolved from settled social, cultural and climatic forces over years and has coherence in architectural form. The module involved an interpretation of the idea of home and inhabitations leading to an insert in the neighborhood, ranging from rebuilding a house for contemporary inhabitation to facilitating home through an extended programme. Mulund is a suburb in the northeast of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is nestled alongside the foothills of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, with easy access to the Eastern Express Highway and Navi Mumbai through the Mulund-Airoli bridge. It also marks the end of Mumbai city. The history of Mulund is said to be dated back to the time of the Mauryan Empire. Referred to at that time as Muchalind, its name changed to Mul-Kund, which then modified to its present name. It was home to a large number of industrial factories and engineering companies but they have shifted out of Mulund. Their locations have been converted into shopping malls and residential areas. Mulund is also said to be one of the earliest planned neighborhoods of Mumbai city.

The Type of this settlement is a Baithi Chawl. This settlement consists of a Bungalow, a linear settlement of 4 houses and two such clusters situated perpendicular to each other. The soil undulation and vegetation contribute as an important factor. These act as the small forces that help to form the quintessence of this space. The water well used to be a freshwater well until 30 years ago. Spaces with too much vegetation or unmaintained growth of vegetation and heavy and pebbly soil are the places that are not frequently accessed.

Axonometeric of the cluster of Baithi Chawl.

Cluster Morphology

Observing the routines and patterns of living across the cluster of 4 houses.

The study involved in understanding the routines and livelihood patterns of the residents. It also helped in analysing the basic type of a Baithi Chawl and how does the furniture and intrastructre along with their routines form the idea of home for them.

As observed in the Analysis, people living in this settlement follow a work-live culture. The idea is to design a home where the customer and owner interaction can happen without intimidating their family lifestyle. Whereas for the Cyber Café, the idea is to merge the deserted house and play with the concept of open and closed spaces.

The cluster plan of the design:

The reconfigured typology creates a slight segregation allowing comfortable spaces to accomodate the work-live environment, Where the house fronts turn into shops or workshops for the public to interact while the kitchen and extended floor habitats the living.

House 1

House 2

House 3

BUILDING DETAILS

SEMESTER 6

The project was located in Cheetah camp, which is a transit camp located in Trombay. The students closely observed and documented two public institutions, a primary school and a community toilet and the everyday nuances of self-shaped spatialities in order to become spaces of active exchange. The course helped explore many ways of reading these urban spaces beyond the lenses of crisis and collapse that allows for a newer form to cater to the needs of smaller neighbourhoods formed through varied societal conditions of caste, gender, etc. We understood that physical space is not neutral; it is a fixed resource with many interests that are formed through the networks on site, dependencies and linkages which at large contribute towards constructing the urban form. It helped to develop the ability to write specifications, generate bills of quantities and cost estimation for the project. The course oriented us towards the crafting of built form where the logics of spatiality are based on systems and details along with understanding the practices around construction documentation and project management. The built-form was detailed through a structural and material understanding for optimal use and the output of these interpolations was worked out. Efficient space planning and material choice guided the design as the students carried out market surveys for choosing material palettes to evoke a certain spatial quality in the given context.

SITE : Trombay Public School, Cheetah Camp, Trombay.

SECTIONS AND ELEVATION

STAIRCASE DETAILS

EXTERNAL WALL SECTION DETAILS

SEMESTER 6

SITE : Janatha Jetty, Kumbalangi, Kochii Group work

Situated in our contemporary context of climate change, this module is a conceptual and methodological inquiry into the changing relationships between human and other-than-human entities in the villages of Chellanam and Kumbalangi located in the periphery of Kochi, Kerala. Architecture, here, implies the will and act of constructing relationships between different human and other-than-human entities. And this study maps the different compositions that these relationships are taking in response to climate change and its related challenges. Standing on the Jantha Jetty as the tide recedes reveals textures and residues of life and the conditions of the water edge in the small scale fishing settlement in Kumbalangi. Trying to keep up with the man and simultaneously trying to follow the mangroves at the edge leads one to the realisation that the tide directly or indirectly affects major aspects of this settlement of fisherfolk. Meandering into open courtyards, one realises that the fisherfolk use the tides to their benefit by creating embankments and trapping water in their space and using it to grow krill- the food and bait for the prawn they catch. Attempting to trace this edge condition even further leads to the house of some fisherfolk. The water penetrates deep within the settlements as people use raised stone pathways to negotiate the conditions.

Houses that have mangroves on three sides, usually have the plinths raised to prevent the water from entering the houses. As the veranda at the back of these houses are open to the mangroves, water enters the houses during the high tides. To prevent this, a parapet wall around 300mm high is usually built. The form of the houses have stone bricks paved across the stretch of their verandas and loam soil slathered evenly in their front yards as it absorbs water into the ground and prevents the water clogging during high tides. As this house is surrounded by mangroves on three sides, is exposed to highly moist air and that is reflected on the damp moss-grown walls, though the owner takes care of the moss and services the built form every year.

Some houses are prone to flooding every day during high tides. The landscape of such houses are on the same level as the backwaters, and hence water accumulates on all three sides of them throughout the day. Though the plinth is at a height of 300 mm from the ground. The outer wall, due to its constant exposure to the water, has a thick layer of moss and salt growing on the damp concrete walls. The houses have 7-8 stone blocks paved at the plinth level (raised above the accumulated water) from the main gate to the house that acts as a walkway towards the house (the only path from where u can enter this house). The inside of the houses have stone flooring and detached metal-finished furniture which could easily be detached or stacked upon one another during high tides. The mangroves act as a fence to the backyard of such houses.

LOOKING THROUGH HISTORY

SEMESTER 4

SITE : Pangna, Himachal Pradesh. Group work

Pangna is a small village in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. It is located 97 km from the state’s summer capital, Shimla and can be accessed by road. Situated at an elevation of 5000 feet Pangna lies in the lap of Shikari peak overlooking a valley intersected by several streams like the Pangna khud (river), which runs along the side of the village. Known to be operational since the rule of the Suket king, the old market street stretches along the banks of Pangna khud (river). It is a narrow street reaching up to the Pangna Fort. It is lined with a chain of small shops on both its edges that sell various goods like stationery, sweets, baskets etc. The buildings on the street are oriented such that the shops line up to face the road and are more public in nature, compared to the attached living spaces that get concealed at the back. Characterized by their distinctive facades, they are primarily built of deodar wood, and locally procured slate stone. Since the introduction of the new market road, the retail condition of the old market has moderately subsided. While some shops are minimizing their functional area, others are compelled to shut down due to lack of business. What remains of the street is a small part of its rich history, as residents in this belt are demolishing older structures to rebuild them using RCC.

The old market street stretches upwards to the Pangna fort, which is the highest point of the settlement and is visible from almost all parts of the village. Factoring the terrain of the hill, the houses on this street follow the language of its slope and effortlessly weave into the rich foliage around. Unlike the general typology of the structures on the old market road defined by the shop in the front and the house at the back, this small scale commercial unit does not have any living spaces attached to its shop fronts and is made entirely of RCC. Water in the Pangna khud generally dries up during the hot summer months and increases by 3-4 meters annually during the monsoon and winter seasons. Although, the homes in this stretch don’t utilize this water for cooking purposes.

TACTICAL INTERVENTIONS

SEMESTER 5

SITE : I.C CHURCH, Panji, Goa. Group work

Panaji, the capital city of the state of Goa was a colony and a gateway town for Portuguese trade interests in India. Planned on a cartographic grid laid around the Altinho hill, the original blocks of the city have been increasingly densified over time with eclectic building use. The city also commands views and access to the mouth of the Mandovi river - a historic navigation channel that presents a modern-day hotchpotch with floating casinos, leisure boats, and fishing vessels constantly crisscrossing the relatively calm waters. Like most colonial towns, Panaji is built in layers. The town presents an opportunity for careful tactical interventions in critical parts within the historic grid that will help rejuvenate the neighborhoods and make them much more accessible for modern-day use.

The chapel, Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, was first built on a hillside overlooking Panaji in 1541, to serve the religious needs of Portuguese sailors at their first port of call sailing from Lisbon to colonial Portuguese India as seen in the above picture. In 1619, the old structure was ordered to be demolished and a new, bigger one was to be built instead, on its foundations. The new church, like the old ermida, stood on the western slope of the hill. As you see since historical times, this site has been integral to Panjim in terms of culture, religion, traditions, memory etc. Today, the church is popularly known as ‘the crown of Panjim’ owing to its central location.

The idea was to design an Urbanscape for the site of Immaculate Conception Church located in the heart if Panaji. The idea was to conceptualize and design the present streetscape in front of the church into a public space just for pedestrian. Where each and every designed element like the tourist center, amphitheatres, spillovers of cafe’s and library all are consumed and enjoyed by the pedestrians without tampering their view of this historical momument in middle of the cityscape.

SYNTAX OF A CHAIR

SEMESTER 1

The module was an excercise to better understand the concept of forms and how to break them down to their basic geometry by establishing the syntax of their shape. A number of everyday objects were explored and their syntax were established to scale. The final objective was to study the structure of a chair, by measuring the dimensions of that chair and study the geometry of it irrespective of the material constraint. The process allowed a playful deconstruction of the an everyday object like a ‘chair‘, where the strips of wooden was treated like tough ribbon which needed to be bended and manupilated to gain that desired shaped of the exisiting chair. An interesting play of geometry was explored through this process.

MY PRACTICES AND LEARNINGS

This is a compliation of my interests and a few skills and works which i was unable to complie in my academic projects. They also reflect on my way of thinking at looking at the world.

I was a part of an student initiative called “Continuum“ which intended in creating an ephemeral space to discuss some interesting everyday question through movies. This screening was organised where a movie of Anamika Haksar was played and an interesting discussion of the concept of dreams was explored in discussion with the director herself. This striked in the knack of understanding different concepts through movie.

Movies have been a very intricate part of my Architectural learnings. Many of my learnings about the everyday politics and ways to understand the city have been through movies. These movies also helped me develop an interesting lens of looking at the city, through Frames.

A frame is not just a static moment captured in time but it gives you the liberty and freedom to develop a story. A story to understand the world, or make completly new one of your own. This concept of Frames also shaped practice of derives and citywalks where as l wandering through the city understanding the intricate mesh of politics and stories that get formed, I am also creating, simaltenously, a story of my own.