Urban Design and Planning Portfolio - Vaishnavi S (2017-23)

Vaishnavi Subramanya | Portfolio | Selected works 2017 - 23

“Cultures and climates differ all over the world, but people are the same. They’ll gather if you give them a good place to do it.“

-Jan Gehl

Hello! I am a 24yr old Architect from Bangalore, India. College exposed me to a plathora of cases and conversations, and further fueled my enthusiasm to learn. As a professional “Jack of all”, I have embraced my eclectic interests in designing this portfolio. Graduated from R.V. College of Architecture, and with a over 6 months of professional experience, I come looking for opportunities to broaden my horizon, enhance my skills and enrich my experiences.

I. Architecture of Slowness adaptive re-use | Bangalore, India

II. City is not a Tree urban design | Bangalore, India

III. Confluence

institution design | Mysore, India

IV. Shel khang

residential extention | Ladakh, India

Dedicated to my love for art and history, each project is inspired by specific architectural theories that have increasingly made me fall in love with the profession...

I. Architecture of Slowness Typology: Adaptive Re-use Exploration: Academic Studio: Thesis Sem 9/10 Studio Mentors: Archita B, Bakul Jani, Meera Vasudev, Smruthi B

CONCEPT | SLOWNESS

STRATEGY | MOVEMENT IN MUGHUL GARDENS

When Pallasma writes “Acceleration of speed has collapsed time and man has lost his sense of self as a historical being”- he’s talking about being robbed of the human experience, of being present and aware of the slow, healing flow of time. That buildings and cities are not are not just adobes of inhabitation, they are instruments and museums of passing time and social systems. Slowness can enrich the architectural experience. But where does slowness lie? This research is a story of that quest.

A Mughul complex is quintessentially the celebration of moving through a labyrinth of its gardens; spaces that are so similar yet they make us want to pace differently.

Movement in the gardens is governed by • demarkated and strong boundery wall • reinforcing axes and 4 quadrants • empty centre for activities • increasing levels of privacy from trivial to scared spaces • breaking established order to induce interest

4/20

KHANAVALI | eat and rest space

WHY THE GARDEN? DISPERSE

TRANSIENT

ENTER

REST

bound and unbound

GATHER

quadrants of privacy

SLOW

FORMAL

INFORMAL

gardens of movement

CONTEXT | CHIKKAJALA VILLAGE

Approaching a village from the airport, a broken old wall to the left and a few yards ahead, a faded sign board...

Chikkajala is a 600 yr old settlement in the outskirts of Bangalore city that is getting wipedout of the map owing to gentrification.

1800s

Linked to the settlement is an ancient temple and step-well, protected by a fort and Mughul summer-house that was built subsequently.

TEMPLE MARKET PUBLIC ENTRY

SECTION A | FORT COMPLEX

6/20

EVOLUTION | CHIKKAJALA FORT The evolution maps try to understand the morphology of the ancient settlement using landmarks such as temples and fort as historic markers.

1900s

2004 cricket ground

fields

2010 flyover

shopping complex

fort

LIBRARY

exising designed

+5.1 m +3.5 m +1.7 m

-3.0 m

PLAN AT GRD LVL

BUILT/UNBUILT RELATIONSHIP

1. TEMPLE AND TANK | 0.

An abanoned fort infested with playfulness of children finds silver lining in everyday activities and usual banter.

44

0.0

+ fl yo ver

UP

NH

10m

0 EXIT public

+1.2 +1.7 UP

2

UP

DN

+0.6 +0.75 UP

A

+1.05

B

+0.45

5m

+0.6

0m 2m

DN

designed

ENTRY public

0.0

0.0

exising

UP

exising 1. GRAMA SABHE | panchayat 2. KALI NALI | local library 3. KHANAVALI | eat and rest 4. ANGANWADI | preschool & care 5. TARAGATI | emergency classrooms 6. DHYANALAYA | prayer space 7. MARUKATTE | market & play area 8. PRADARSHANE | performance area

+0.45

0.0

UP

-1.05

DN

+1.5 0.0

UP

+0.3

+2.4

-0.6

ENTRY/EXIT villagers 1 6

5 UP

UP

-0.45

-0.6

+1.5

DN -0.6 +0.6 UP

-0.6

4

-0.6

-0.3

UP

-0.6

8

3

-0.9 UP +0.3

-0.3 +0.3 UP UP

-0.9 -0.9

7 OLD WALL

NEW WALL

CIRCULATION

8/20

II. City is not a Tree Typology: Urban Design Exploration: Academic Studio: Urban Design Sem 8/10 Studio Mentors: Bikramjit Chakraborty, Debashree Pal, Shalini P, Archana V

work

talk

meet

learn

talk

linger

eat

CONCEPT | URBAN STREET

Urban is a funny word; it has too many definitions and too vast a scale. But if one had to explain it to a mathematician, it’d probably look like-

SYSTEMS

Space

Time

According to Christopher Alexander though, “City is not a Tree”. He argues that a ‘natural city’ functions rather as a Semi-lattice. The different units that form the city do not coincide, neither are they disjoint. They overlap.

But not all overlaps are good, or even necessary.

The city functions as a right ecosystem of systems only when the right overlaps occur.

10/20

work buy gather

EXISTING COMPLEX

wait rest

fly-over across road

SECTION | road vs. street WHY URBAN STREET?

Socialise Linger

Work Wait

Learn Eat

Rest NECESSITY

RECREATION STREET

By introducing a central spine of spillover spaces in circulation - the “street”, this project creates complex urban spaces at the overlaps of different activities.

CONTEXT | KORAMANGALA

Koramangala 3rd block is diverse community in the heart of the Bangalore that is blessed with plenty of raintrees, paks, wide roads and, in the recent times, also become a commercial hub.

The site chosen is a delapiated BDA(Bangalore Development Authority) commercial complex - a prime piece of real estate that has fallen to neglect and irrelevance.

LEGEND bus stop visual barrier traffic BLOCK PLAN | SITE

ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE ST. JOSEPH’S AUDITORIUM VEMANA INSTITUTE BDA SITE

12/20

DESIGN STRATEGIES

STAKEHOLDERS & NECESSITIES • • •

students - accessibility residents - safety commuters - entertainment

A

C

D

OPPORTUNITIES A. Open up the auditorium/ institute to the site B. Include bus stop as a part of design C. Create a continuous walking path D. Visually connect across the road

B

vehicular access

ACTIVATE/ENTERTAIN pedestrian access

• • •

Active zones on both ends - theatres Passive zones in the centre - offices, eateries, washroom etc Moving from public to private spaces as we move away from the main road

ACCESS • • DESIGN ISOMETRIC

Pedestrian access- next to the bus stops Vehicular access- away from the main road

PLAN AT GROUND LVL 1. INNER STREET 0.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

THEATRE SCHOOL ARENA THEATRE SCHOOL HOSTEL EATERY TAKE - AWAY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OPEN AIR THEATRE PARKING BUS STOP

8 4

3 6

5 7

14/20

0 5m 10m LVL 03

LVL 02

0 1

LVL 01

2

LVL 00

DESIGN | MASSING 1. The theatres on either ends of the site spill over to the plinths.

2. Masses grow farther from each other, increasing the privacy as we move up.

III. Confluence Typology: Institutional Exploration: Academic Studio: Architectural Design Sem 6/10 Studio Mentors: Shiny Prabakar, Gaurav

lake’s walking path

university’s main road

conserved heritage area

CONCEPT | CONFLUENCE

WHY CONFLUENCE?

“There are two things that people of Mysore love to do - climbing the Chamundi Hills and walking around Kukkralli Lake. With so many birds and their chirps ringing all around, I tend to get lost.” warns a jogger by the lake. Yet, for students of Mysore University, getting lost is a privilage.

The site, snuggling between the University campus and the famou lake, offers a unique expression of the poetry of the earth. It brings together the site’s two biggest elements - the land and the green and the project is an attempt to sustain this ‘confluence’ using the simplest way known to man - WATER.

16/20

WATER | EXPERIENCES

•

wetness

•

coolness

•

reflection

•

flow

•

transparency

SITE ANALYSIS

•

Part of Mysore University Campus

• •

Adjoining Kukralli Lake edge Buffer between vehicular and pedestrian movement

•

Stepped farming area

•

Unique clusters of trees

ROOF PLAN | activities

With on other br road, th public -

ne edge meeting the lake front and the ranching off the Mysore university’s main he site provides a perfect opportunity for - private intercation.

PROGRAM PLANNING

18/20

Inspired by the calm of nature around and Mysore city’s artisnal roots, a Design Institiute is planned as an entension of the university in the true spirit of collaboration.

DIAGONAL CLUSTERS PERPENDICULAR CLUSTERS PARALLEL CLUSTERS ENCLOSING CLUSTERS

• • • •

Open spaces within the clusters of trees draw attention to the dense background.

Dense edge of trees creates habitat for birds.

Line of trees draws attention to the horizon.

Specimen trees draw attention to themselves.

SPATIAL ANALYSIS | CLUSTERS

•

Block clusters corresponding to site trees and fuction

sash wind fixed glaz

ELEVATIO

KEY PLAN

Typology: Architectural Intervention, extention Exploration: Professional Studio: Field Architects Studio Mentors: Suril Patel, Faiza Khan

SECTION

IV. Shel khang | Winter Room

PLAN

20/20 Shel-khang is the winter living/dining room of a traditional Ladakhi house when temperatures drop to -10 C or lower for 4 months of the year. It always exposes the South /South-West sun and is typically made of Poplar wood and glazing.

The KAH (column) supports the MARDUM (beam) on top of which sit the DUNGMA (rafters) and subsequently, the TALU (purlins). Regions around the openings are painted in black to prevent hot air from going out.

dow zing

ON

B

A

N

EXPLODED ISOMETRY

JOINERY A | scarf joint

JOINERY B | double coumn