shamika desai
01 BHULESHWAR STREET STREET SCAPES BHULESHWAR SCAPES Year 2 Design Studio | 2013 Bhuleshwar, Mumbai Connector between streets | Market | Cafe | Theatre 250 sq. meters built up area The intent of the project is to explore and identify parts of Bhuleshwar through parameters observed on site, eventually generating an insert as a reaction to the existing fabric. Walking through Bhuleshwar one is in constant negotiation with the organic nature of the streets as a result of staggers in built form in order to navigate around the area. It is a continuous unfolding of alleys, roads, intervals, open spaces and junctions. These sequentially define ones bodily movement in it. The design takes shape using planar derivations of existing street patterns and aims to be a continuation of the street with a permeable ground floor.
Sequential mapping of the unfolding of streets, junctions and open spaces
Theatre
Kitchen Ticketing
Cafe
Temporary walk-through market
Connector between Krishnalal Jhaveri Road and Atmaram Merchant Road
Axonometric Views
Process Models
Final Model
Site Plan The site is situated between Krishnalal Jhaveri Road and Atmaram Merchant Road, Bhuleshwar, Mumbai
West Elevation
East Elevation
Plan at +7m
Plan at +4m
Plan at +1m
Foundation Sections
Wall Sections
Spontaneous/periodic community interventions
Socially Engaging Spaces
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SOCIO-SPACIAL SOCIO-SPATIAL ENGAGEMENTS ENGAGEMENTS Design Dissertation | 2017 Andheri (W), Mumbai Bus Depot | Fabric Market | Public Space | Stands and Stalls The thesis aims to understand the social construct of Mumbai through certain activities, characters or objects using architecture as the tool and vice-versa. It attempts to understand the direct engagement of the social with the spatial, using small mediums and targeting the spaces that everyday life occupies, decoding them as a series of systems and inter-connections. Architecture, objects and people are documented and studied based on the shifts that shape them individually. Eventually producing a collective idea of certain parts of Mumbai and the architecture that gets produced in it, in order to understand the spatial outcomes of social processes, interactions and interventions. The idea is not to glorify social interaction but to see if spaces and their inherant geometries, elements and characteristics can determine the kind of interaction and social life we have. One way of doing this is by addressing small nuances of social practices and arrangements, to observe how shifts in our social behaviour are evident in the material world we produce and occupy and in turn influence our social responses. These together would be eventually used to understand architecture in its physical existence as well as the social constructs that shape it.
Brooklyn - against anti-loitering design measures. Chair bombing. Visual resistance.
Brooklyn night market
The Ancient Agora of Athens
Meet to sleep Sienna, Italy. Palio Dinner. The Palio is an annual horse race thay pits neighbourhoods against each other. Before the race, a big dinner is held in each streets and neighbours come to eat. The event is fleeting but it is an intense memory of civic transformation that lasts.
Roman Baths
Turkish Hamam
Mile Long Pizza, Naples, Italy
Equal Streets, SV Road
Banganaga Tank, Walkeshwar
Mohammad Ali Road, Mumbai - during ramzan
Langar at the Golden Temple, Amritsar
1. DEFINE When studying spatial outcomes of social processes it is very clear that the relationship does not function in only one direction. It is not just the kind of social interaction that defines the spaces we produce and occupy but also the character of the spaces themselves that direct social behaviour in a certain way. The thesis aims to understand the kind of relationship that exists between the two and to what extent. To begin, it is crucial to define what one means by social engagement but one realises that it occurs at a variety of scales and scopes without having a limit to define it. It can range from two people sitting in the common areas of their building to large scale community interventions. Hence in order to begin recognising some of these activities and spaces, a few examples are studied across different scales, time periods and geographies.
Solsette Parsi Conoly, Andheri
Navy Nagar, Colaba
Dadar Parsi Colony, Dadar
2. DISSECT
The plaza outside Gateway of India is studied observing social behaviour in the light of certain pararmeters that define it. A few conclusions are drawn from it such as : -Movable furniture increases choices and hence draws more people in. -Empty and large open spaces are left unused and avoided. -People need elements or objects to arrange themselves (eg. trees/lamp posts/ columns) -A primary object of focus is needed to organise people around it (eg. a water body, a performer, an installation) -The space needs to be free of strict protocol but still have a sense of direction
Sittable space Open space Sun Activity at centre/corners Pedestrian flow Object of focus Where do people stop/speed up/ circle/slow down? No. of people
P A R A M E T E R S
Activities performed Time spent in one place Spacing between people Placement of steps Level of social comfort External stimuli eg. food vendors/shops
Gateway of India, Mumbai
3. APPLY
The examples studied earlier of the Roman baths and the Agora transformed fundamental everyday activities into something much more. The Baths, essentially meant for bathing, became hot-spots for match-making, gymnasiums, perfumeries, reading rooms, libraries and much more got attached to them. The Agora, traditionally a market place became the centre of political debate in Ancient Greece. To find a contemporary replacement of what these spaces did in a city like Mumbai, one would have to look at the length of commute as a major factor and activity of everyday life. The aim is to introduce pauses at intervals to allow an enriching social experience to occur in transit, slowing down the pace of the commute in parts. One began studying sites with high pedestrian flow where pauses were already occuring or had the potential to occur. Most of these were to and from railway stations with pauses in the form of retail and small scale eateries already existing.
The site is between S.V. Road and Andheri Station (W). Andheri is one of the most important stations on the western line . It currently has a bus depot, a fabric and household goods market (NADCO Market), tuition classes, other mixed retail shops and very congested bus and rickshaw flow.
4. DESIGN
Government Utility Offices Bus Pass Office Fast food Take-away Fabric Market Public Amenities Public Space
The design process involves strips to give a sense of direction, variations in volume and length and inherant gaps for skylights to be placed at intervals. It fuses the courtyard and column to develop the design. As a whole the design addresses the way a stilt and podium can be designed in a heavily pedestrian area.
Aims on Site : (1) To see how existing programs (fabric market, bus stops, tuition classes) can compliment or lend to each other. (2) Create an exclusively pedestrian route by modifying the existing bus route. (3) Create inserts that instigate dialogue eg. Art exhibits, news, sports, theatrics etc. (4) Create spaces where periodic commute, retail, leisure, food and interaction related rituals can take place. (5) Allow choices in levels of engagement based on time spent. (6) Analyse and utilize activities that have a before and after as well as inherant pauses eg. waiting for a bus. (7) Assign the bus pass office and public amenities to the island that gets formed due to the change in the bus route.
References : Reclaiming (the urbanism) of Mumbai Edited by Janina Gosseye and Kelly Shannon Domus India, June and July ‘16 edition At Home - Bill Bryson Housing and Urbanism - Charles Correa Mumbai Reader 2010 Extreme Urbanism - Edited by Rahul Mehrotra and Victor MuĂąoz Sanz Housing Typologies in Mumbai - CRIT Critique of Everyday life, Volume 1 - Henri Lefebvre Why Loiter - Shilpa Phadke After Diagrams - Pier Vittorio Aureli The Production of Public - Prasad Shetty and Rupali Gupte Editing the city - Rob Dutton Shifting Centralities - Mrudhula Koshy The social life of small urban spaces (film) - William H. Whyte
PARK multiple nodes different distances infinite permutations and combinations
03 02
PROCESS AS AS AGENCY AGENCY PROCESS
Analytical diagrams of BIG Architect’s Generative Diagrams TALLIN TOWN HALL
Year 4 Design Studio | 2015 Juhu, Mumbai Park | Parking | Student Housing 5000 sq. meters built up area (2nd Prize in Banana Bandy/ISDI Parsons Design Mela 2015)
1
2
The project makes an inquiry into the nature of the design process. Discarding all stylistic notions, this method is determined by a strong set of parameters for each program. The hybrid design manifests purely from the following: Depth of Research: What are the most important features? Identification of critical parameters within each program's various components.
Connections not satisfied
Analysis: What larger logic is at play? Diagram of an underlying logic within each program based on the focus/understanding of it. Programmatic Understanding: How are the different components related? Or can they be? Relationships / connections / inter-dependencies between the various components of each program based on their analysis.
PARKING 8 TALLET
Penthouse
Row House
Apartment
Commercial
Landmarks Characteristically different zones
HOUSING
Dedicating a 'flexible space' to every 'fixed space', on the periphery, acting as an envelope to the building with a possibility of combination vertically and horizontally.
Nodes where park and parking meet Dormitories Studio Rooms
Fixed and Uniform
Studio Rooms (en-suite) Studio Rooms Material and Light
Landscape
Program
Dormitories
Flexible for individual intervention Possibility of merging
VAIKUNTHLAL MEHTA ROAD
PAVAN HANS AD NO. N. S. RO
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The site is situated on Vaikunthlal Mehta Marg, Juhu. It abuts Pavan Hans Site Plan (Juhu Aerodrome) on the southern side and is located in an area with several colleges and a lack of parking facilities. Node
Parking
Dormitories
Cycling and Jogging Track
Mess
Studio Rooms Lawn
Studio Rooms (en-suite)
+11.5m +8.5m Gym
Ground Floor Plan at +1.5m
+5.5m
+14.5m
+
Fixed
+20.5m
+23.5m
Flexible
+26.5m
+17.5m
Section through park, parking and common + private areas of student’s housing
FLEXIBLE SHARED MULTI-AXIAL CONNECTED
Elevation facing Vaikunthlal Mehta Marg
The flexible units of the housing act as an independant plug on to the fixed spaces and hence allow smaller shared loops to get developed between residents based on similar programs. The verticality of the flexible circulation, not only becomes a natural divider between opposing programs but allows it to act independant of the primary circulation, almost forming a building of its own.
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TRANSMOGRIFY TRANSMOGRIFY Evolo Sky-scraper Competition | 2016 Team: Priyata Bosamia, Navaz Bilimoria, Rivka Unadkat, Shamika Desai One of the well known mill lands was the Bitia mills started in 1905 which closed shop in the 1980s after a strike between the owners and workers and soon got revamped to form a mall and residential complex. The mall now called High Street Phoenix has been successful but with the growth of e-commerce what is the future of such a colossal space? Does it become a junkspace?
‘Junkspace’ is the space created by piling matter on top of matter, cemented to form a solid. A space which has the ability to mutate over time when required, is free of ‘junkspace’.The city of Mumbai has been inoculated by the virus of ‘junkspace’. For the longest time the mills were the economic reinforcements of the city. Large lands were allocated for production thereby increasing job opportunities. There was a major population influx in the city due to this industrial boom. In the early 1980’s the mill workers called on a strike for higher wages eventually leading to their lockdown. These spaces turned into abandoned spaces and lay as the remains of modernization. Transmogrify is a skyscraper that aims to self evolve in order to compliment the external changes. It’s sustainable yet not permanent in form. Transmogrify helps to curb the unplanned urban sprawl. It’s structural flexibility allows the walls and slabs to be re-arranged as required. The walls and slabs are stacked and move to organize themselves to suit the program. It’s an adaptive design capable of intelligent growth through the self-regulation of it’s own system. The skyscraper as such has no shelf date and can continue changing infinitely.
2001
1939
1905
Recreation Housing Environmental E-commerce Retail Industry Parking Public Transport
36% 24% 3% 12% 5% 16% 4%
+44 people / hour
15% 30% 10% 14% 2% 4% 15%
9% 37% 25% 11%
8% 37% 35%
9% 9%
5% 15%
Elements
Movement Plans
Primary Rails and Vertical Supports
Secondary Rails
Slabs
Walls
0325
Futuristic Predictions Part Sections
Section
Housing Industry
Recreation Space
Housing Units Gravity Free Zone Oxysphere
Laboratories
Air Purification
Retail Chutes
Restaurants Online Goods Storage and Delivery Packaged Food Industry
Parking
The city constantly resonates with economic, social, cultural changes. The adaptableness of the building averts stagnation. The movable walls and slabs facilitate modification for future scenarios.
Analysis of Area/person and Density
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REVITALISING REVITALISING SUBURB SUBURB Urban Design Studio | 2015 Malad, Mumbai Team : Misri Patel, Shriya Sanil, Kushal Saraiya, Harsh Jain and Shamika Desai The studio has identified the suburb of Malad as a study, situated the in north western region of Mumbai. In the past, it was inhabited by hamlets that were sustained by fishing and small scale agriculture. A vast expanse of the land was a mangrove forest abutting a creek that brings in the Arabian Sea. Over the past 40 years, a series of waves of urbanisation brought in small scale industries, government and public housing colonies. Malad today, like many suburbs in the city, is a multi layered sprawl tending towards car-dependant, gentrified communities. The aim of the studio was to search for new identities for Malad. In the process it would reflect upon changing ideas of living space and domesticity, urban ecology, new commerce and public space. The effects of Somwari Bazaar in the neighborhood of Kumbharwada are studied. The intention of the insert is to give greater value to the area around the Somwari Bazaar which is an important node between the S.V.Road and the Link Road. It aims to serve as an important primordial stretch which caters to both; the bazaar, adjoining workshops and residential areas. The periodic Somwari Bazaar and public spaces housed within the design supports the idea of diversifying social networks, neighborhood services and businesses reinforced in the community.
2000
Area/person 3-5 sq. m 2-3 sq. m 2005
1-2 sq. m 0.5-1 sq. m
2012
Density 2-3 / sq. m 1-2 / sq. m 0.5-1 / sq. m 2015
0-0.5 / sq. m
Somwari Bazaar Small Residential Settlements
1700s 1800s
Residential Settlements with shops Bazaar
1820s 1850s Temple
Workshop
1880s 1900s Chawl
Public Housing
1950s
1980s
Retail Religious Public Housing Colonies Tower
Workshop
2000 2016
Residential
Plan
+0.00 +7.00
+7.00
+3.00 +3.00 +4.00
+3.00
0.00
+3.00
As an overall impact, the project promotes a community transition to a mixed income, mixed wealth and diverse community through various inserts.
COMPLEXITY COMPLEXITYININNON-LIVING NON-LIVING NATURAL NATURALSYSTEMS SYSTEMS
06 05
Year 2 Design Workshop | 2013 The workshop studied structural and functional complexities found in natural non-living systems. These include geological formations, rocks, minerals, salt, ice etc. Complex systems are signified by two or more components that are distinct and integrated. Systems in nature exhibit an inherant complex structure based on their process of formation. These systems react with dynamic environmental factors (such as heat, pressure and agents such as wind, water, lights etc) that cause functional complexity so as to achieve a natural state of equilibrium. Graphite to Diamond Under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure, graphite re-aligns and re-orients to eventually form diamond. From a linear hexagonal system, it transforms into a cuboidal,complex and stable structure. One geometry re-arranges and transforms into another through shifts in graphene layers and compression. This geometric change was explored through models and diagrams.
Graphite
Diamond
1.1
1.4
1.2
1.5
1.3
1.6
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
5.
Honeycomb Weathering Team : Priyata Bosamia, Misri Patel, Rivka Unadkat, Nihar Mehta and Shamika Desai 2.
42
4
11
73
7
1.1
8
0 11
1 15
54
With a simple pulling mechanism with co-related elements, the installation moderates the size and character of the opening (pore) being formed. The materials used are Deodar Wood, MS Rods and plates, and nylon thread.
10
73
54 20
1.
15 14
2
30
3 4
2.
15
30
38
23
1.3
246
5.
3.
15
1.2
34
3.
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Honeycomb weathering, also known as fretting, cavernous weathering, alveoli/alveolar weathering, stone lattice, stone lace or miniature tafoni weathering is a form of salt weathering common on coastal and semi-arid granites, sandstones and limestones. It forms polygons of different sizes on the rock surface under the influence of Salt. Salt is deposited on the surface of the rock by saltwater spray or by wind. Moisture allows the salt to settle on the rocks so that as the salt solution evaporates the salt begins to crystallize within the pore-spaces of the rock.
30
4.
Fabrication Details of 1. Flaps, 2. Thread Supports, 3. Hinges, 4. Cleats, 5. Frame (all measuements in mm)
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
WHAT -------------------------- WHERE one learns
one learns
Learning Types and Activities
Studying Individual Interactive Lectures Physical Peer to Peer Creative Collaboration MultiPerformance Reading Learning Activity & Group Learning disciplinary Based
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RESOURCE BANKBANK & CROSSRESOURCE AND DISCIPLINARY INSTITUTE CROSSDISCIPLINARY INSTITUTE
Courtyard Library
Year 4 Design Studio | 2015 Bandra, Mumbai 8000 sq. meters built up area
Lecture Hall Amphitheatre
The project explores whether where and how one learns is more defining of education than what one learns itself.
Workshop
Learning Spaces
Beginning with a matrix of learning activities and traditional learning spaces to understand how behavioural and learning patterns interact with and react to the constituent geometries and objects within these spaces. eg. The word classroom has a very specific spatial type attached to it, however purely looking at the activities taking place within it leaves the possibility of innovating a new space open. Links and common characteristics between these spaces were also studied. Taking these key parameters, each is partly modified to contribute to a larger arrangement of spaces. Essentially developing cross-overs between learning spaces, activities, objects and geometries in a way that they are constantly negotiating with one another. eg. The manner in which Buddhist monks debate is a mix of a bodily activity and debating and hence demands a certain type of space. It creates a new set of spaces that generate unique activities because of their inherant geometries.
Corridor
-Natural light -Trees -Introverted -Silence -Narrow Aisles -Storage -Hierarchy of seating -Viewer to performer relationship -Open air -Introverted -Allows pauses -Over-looking another space -Light -Clutter but yet organisation
Classroom
-Blackboard -Desks and Chairs
Open Ground
-Vast -Obstruction-less
Foyer
-Grand -Collection of people
Extentions
-Extentions to spaces serving as pockets of gathering
Canteen
-Possibilities to sit in large/small groups
Open Space
-Protrusions to the outside
Staircase
-Seating
Auditorium
-Hierarchy -Visibility to Stage
Assembly Hall -Large
Capacity
Conventional Unconventional
Parameters -Scale of Program -Physical Infrastructure of the Learning Space -Number of people involved -Distractions from surroundings
Individual Smaller Clusters Large Groups One to Many
Courtyard Corridor Open-ground Foyer Extentions Canteen Open-spaces Staircases Auditorium Assembly Hall Classroom Workshop Amphitheatre Library Lecture Hall Fixed Furniture
Library
Open Space
Workshop
Extentions
Corridor
Staircase
Classroom
Lecture Room
Amphitheatre
Courtyard
Foyer
Canteen
Auditorium
Parameters Assembly Hall
Fixed and Flexible Furniture Light Interaction No. of people
Courtyard + Amphitheatre
Foyer + Courtyard
Courtyard + Corridor + Amphitheatre
Corridor + Extentions
Reading Terraces
Different Levels of Interaction to Courtyard
1- Variations in the edge condition of the courtyard based on accessibility and contact to the surrounding elements. 4.3
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
4.4
8.4
6.3
5.3
2- The character of the surrounding elements and the extent to which they interact with the courtyard.
8.2 4.2
6.2
5.2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
8.3
6.1
5.1 4.1
3-Multiplying base geometry of 2 to generate more variations.
4.3- Parallel, Descending 4.4- Parallel, Ascending 5.3- Perpendicular, Ascending 6.3- Perpendicular, Along 7.1
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
7.2
7.3
Instead of being a barrier and separating the walls and steps, changing sizes and formation of landings as well as their levels allows them to interact with one another.
Publishing
Food (Cooking/Eating)
Writing
RANGSHARDA
Debating
TA R OAD
Discussing
Physical Activity Reading
MEH
Design Experimenting Illustration (Scientific/Social)
L. K.
Exhibiting
MHADA HOUSING
BOMBAY ARTS SOCIETY
Arts and Crafts
Elocution/ Acting
Browsing SLUMS
WESTERN EXPRESS HIGHWAY
B
Site Plan
A 3
6
2
4
3
B’
A’
First Floor Plan
B
A
1 5 6 2 4
1
3
B’
1 - Reading, Browsing, Discussing 2- Food (Cooking + Eating + Experimenting) 3 - Exhibiting 4 - Acting, Elocution, Debate 5 - Writing 6 - Arts, Crafts, Design, Publishing
A’
Ground Floor Plan
1 - Reading, Browsing, Discussing 2- Food (Cooking + Eating + Experimenting) 3 - Exhibiting 4 - Acting, Elocution, Debate 5 - Writing 6 - Arts, Crafts, Design, Publishing
2 1
1 2
5
6
+9m Engage with exhibits +6m +3m +2.2m 0.0
Section AA’ Congregation, Conversation, Disperse
Watch, Learn, Interact
+2.8
0.0
Section BB’
View from West Entrance
08 NAVIGATING MCLEODPRACTICES GANJ CENTRE FOR BUDDHIST Year 3 Design Studio | 2014 McLeod Ganj, Kangra Centre for Buddhist Practices 2500 sq. meters built up area The terrain in Dharamshala and specifically that of a site behind the Namgyal Monastry allows for a type of movement within a structure which is unique to that terrain. Building boundaries are not defined, resulting from several gestures which indicate transition instead of disconnect. One keeps making infinite connections with what one sees, all generated from combinations of ridges and valleys. The focus stays on the feeling of the terrain and the voids around it. More than visually prominent structures, just connected levels are seen. At a given point on a certain level, one sees the possibility of reaching several other levels and the connection between where one was, is and will be is never lost. There is no distinction between roof, plinth, inside, outside, balconies and corridors. Each bleeds into the other and becomes a part of a unique circulation pattern. Several such 'grounds' which extend beyond the basic footprint of each building are created. The pattern of circulation is no longer from ground to first to second and so on but possibly from ground to first of one structure to second to first of another.
The experience of the terrain created by the unique circulation of the Namgyal Monastry
The Centre for Buddhist practices is spread along a water channel running from the Namgyal Monastry to the Parikrama Path making them the main access points for the monks as well as visitors. The structures are in constant negotiation with the terrain and the axial water channel.
Site Plan
View of pathways leading to meditation hall 2
View of residential block and cells
View of pathways leading to meditation hall 1
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ROYALPALACE PALACECOMPLEX COMPLEX ROYAL
Key Plan
Study Trip Documentation | 2013 Mandu, Madhya Pradesh The Palace Complex in Mandu was measure drawn by the class on a study trip. It comprises of several structures built in the 15th century, some of which are now ruins. Jahaz Mahal Situated between two artificial lakes, this two storied structure is so named as it appears as a ship floating in water. Made for the purpose of an assembly hall and a harem, the plan of the ground floor consists of three large halls, with corridors in between and narrow rooms at the extreme ends, and a beautiful cistern beyond the northern room surrounded by a colonnade on three sides. The terrace has a veriety of pavilions with different domes and turrets.
B
A’ A
A
B’
Ground Floor Plan
East Elevation
Section AA’
B
A’
B’
First Floor Plan 0
4 8
16
Section BB’ 0
4
8
16
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MAJHI METRO METROFESTIVAL FESTIVAL MAJHI Winner | 2013 Andheri Metro Station, Mumbai Team: Shriya Sanil, Misri Patel and Shamika Desai The aim of the competition was to generate artwork to be eventually executed on the newly built metro stations in Mumbai (winners) . Each would tell a story of the city in its own way. The project aims to show the contrast and diversity encompassed in Mumbai, with the perfect, natural co-existence of people from diverse cultures from all over the country. Mumbai is envisioned as a conglomeration of several small elements. In the same way, the small illustrations inclusive of memories, impactful moments, opinions, defining elements which may be insignificant individually, come together to form the map of Mumbai in the initial entry. The work around the station (9 wall murals) creates an experience of identifying and understanding Bombay in its true essence.The drawings have layers and layers of linework, connecting a mesh of stories, characters and geometries which force you to come closer to really understand their visual implications.
Entry for Competition
Initial sketches
Press Releases in The Hindu and Indian Express
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DISTANT DISTANTSYMMETRY SYMMETRY Pin Architecture Monthly Micro-competition | November 2015 Team: Shamika Desai and Mahek Rohra Symmetrical objects are composed of a balance between equal, yet opposite parts. It is not difficult to perceive symmetry when the two corresponding halves are adjacent to one another, but what if they were separated by a great distance? How can the two parts maintain a symmetrical relationship even when they are physically disconnected? What mechanism might mirror changes in one half to the other? What function or program can benefit from a remotely intertwined relationship? How can symmetry be perceived and experienced when it is not in the same space? What happens when symmetry becomes distant? The entry refers to mass production as a cyclical chain of events symmetrically taking place to generate the first few building blocks of development. Forming an endless loop of production, assembly and continuous growth.
thank you shamika881@gmail.com