The sight of a tropical dense evergreen forest amid the bustling metropolis of Chennai, India would seem utterly surreal. Standing inside Adayar eco-park on mounds of laterite soil with more than 172 indigenous species of trees and plants, where once there were 60,000 tons of garbage, I was in awe at the remarkable transformation the city’s dumping site had undergone and the person behind it. Joss Brooks, the restoration ecologist, proudly said, “Here’s a wild space in the middle of the city, giving a bit of Chennai back to Mother Nature.” At this moment, I was amazed by what landscapes like this can do to ameliorate a place, and I wanted to become someone who could do that.
I believe our actions impact the world around us, and I hope to make a positive difference wherever I can. I aspire to design landscapes for streets, parks, and cities and partner with local communities to create sustainable and resilient landscapes that will evolve but endure.
Favourite Quote - “The universe falls in love with a stubborn heart”
01 THE CLOSED LOOP
: Productive Landscape Design - A Proposal for Continuous Productive Landscape (Spring 2023)
: Prof. Kelley Lemon
: Gate District, St.Louis
The Gate district is the area that is sandwiched inbetween two major interstates. The area has historically evolved since 1875 but was brought together after1960 due to various policies by the federal government as an act to provide housing for people with low income.
Waste water from household and rain water.
THE CLOSED LOOP
I believe a landscape becomes sustainable when resources are taken from the community and given back. Creating a cloosed loop will ensure the landscape will sustain and evolve but endure.
ECO MACHINES
Eco machines was first developed by John Todd in 1974 under the name Living machines in New Alchemy Institute, perform ecological sewage treatment by mimicking and accelarating the natural purification process of wetlands. Eco machines are cost effective methods to treat water from communities and can be incorporated into several small scale projects. Their aesthetic as productive water features offers oppurtunities to integrate them indoors and outdoors. source: Eco-cities to Living machines by Nancy Todd and John Todd.
Rain water conserved through harvesting
Constructed wetlands
Green house
Urban farms and Community gardens
Anaerobic plants
ROADS
The Gate district is located in between two major road systems. On the north is the state highway and on the south is Interstate 44.
1. WETLANDS
Wetlands provide a wide range of benefits to both people and wildlife, but Missouri has lost over 87% of its wetland over the years due to urbanization. The wetlands in Missouri have been altered or drastically reduced in size. The management and resoration of wetlands is necessary to maintan these vital systems. More than 300 species call the WETLANDS home for at least part of
BOARDWALK OVER THE WETLAND
OUTDOOR SPACES THAT FUNCTION AS ECOLOGICAL RESERVE AND ENCOURACE PHYSICAL ACTIIVITY
ABANDONED EXPERIMENTAL URBAN FARM LOTS OF SLU
2. PARKING AREAS
PERMEABLE PARKING WITH STANDARD 400W SOLAR PANELS
Permeable Pavers
Open Graded sub-base Reservoir
Underdrain
Uncompacted sub- garded soil
Ground Surface
TRELLIS WITH PLANTS IN THE STRUCTURE
3. HERB GARDEN
DESIGNATED GARDENS WITHING THE HOSPITAL COMPOUND WITH HERBS TO PROMOTE HEALING AND GENERATE ECONOMY
Chamomile Lavender Calendula Basil Rosemary
4. FRONT YARD FARMS
PROTOTYPE OF A STREET IN GATE DISTRICT WITH FARMS IN THE FRONT YARD
WETLANDS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE
Benefits of wetland include improving the quality of water, erosion control, flood control, habitat protection, supporting the food system, water supply, migration of species, recreation and for education.
Urban farms in front of residences in alleyways.
URBAN FARMS
Urban agriculture allows for the development of a variety of environmental, economic, and social benefits to the surrounding communities. Urban farming can reduce transportation costs, help reduce runoff associated with heavy rainfall, and lead to better air quality.
An engineering office located at Madurai inbetween the dense urban fabric and the outer green zone with a clear view of the lake adjacent to the site. A compact two storey office space is designed with visual connections to the outer landscape. The use of structural elements inside is minimalised to create a flexible open office space. There handrails on the first floor are steel rods put together as planterboxes. Landscape in the interior and the materials chosen ensure that they have a positive effect on the user.
Program of the building. Exterior development. Openings in the building.
landscaping.
Strategically positioned opening in the eastern facade with tall plants immediately afterwards provide just the sufficient amount of light. Metal rods are put together to make 6 feet tall planter box partition between discussion tables. A small open garden space on the north can be used to have lunch and unwind.
Planterbox detail
The rest rooms are provided as an extension from the main building. An attempt to connect with nature is made by proving visual connection to the court space behind. Sustainable materials like Terrazzo, made from stone ofcuts in site is used for walls. The design makes the wash room experince more relaxing.
Flooring detail
03 PLANTING DESIGN
Graduate Studio
Project Type Guide : Planting design for GIES college of business , Champaign, IL (Fall 2024)
: This design would add value to the school, students and the environment. The plants chosen are native to illinois and are of seasonal interest.
Project Type : Coastal Resiliency Hub for Audubon Society, CT
Team : Jacob Johnston, Audrey O’Brien, Chloe Minas, Kyle Snyder, Rebekah Takash, Olivia Knoechel
New Haven : Gary Sorge, Travis Ewen, Phillip Champagne, Jeff Olszewski, Gavin Figurelli, Chris Hampton, Luviana McLean
The internship project at Stantec was establishing a Coastal Resilience Hub in West Haven, Connecticut for the Audubon Society. The area we looked at to create the Hub includes Sandy Point Beach and Bird Sanctuary, home to famous local birds. It is the most important area in the state for Piping Plover with 20 nesting pairs in 2022. The Coastal Resilience Hub will serve the municipality of West Haven as well as other coastal municipalities by providing one space where individuals, community/ neighborhood groups, local governments can learn and receive resources on natural infrastructure, nature-based solutions and planning for climate change. The physical hub will illustrate these principles and the surrounding areas will be restored using best practices.
View of the Board walk into forest area
View of the Board walk into the marshland
View of the Board walk leading to the bird watch tower
05 VOLUNTEERING
1. RED BISON
Registered Student Organization , University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
Red Bison focuses on practicing restoration ecology throughout native Illinois landscapes in ChampaignUrbana. We maintain local grasslands and forests by controlling invasive species, promoting native species, performing prescribed burns, and learning more about native wildlife. Red Bison also often collaborates with other ecological student organizations on campus, with a focus on sustainability. Like the Red Bison of folklore, we also hope to be a positive agent of change in what is left of Illinois’ natural landscape. Apart from meeting on Saturdays, we also have book clubs, prairie project and gardening.
2. URBAN ROOTS
Non Profit Organization , Austin, Texas.
Urban Roots envisions a thriving food system cultivated by youth and community that is sustainable, equitable, and just. To achieve that vision, they work with youth leaders to grow fresh food and build a community dedicated to achieving food equity. The past year, Urban Roots has shared 88,789 servings of fresh produce with the community through food access programs, hosted 1,085 community volunteers through seasons. Each year, Urban Roots dedicates at least 75% of their harvest for food access projects and donations to local food banks, community kitchens, and other organizations in Austin.
06 ArcGIS
DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL using R studio and ArcGISPro Great Smoky Mountains, Advanced GIS for Environmental Management
Scope of work : Study the relationship between the plant and the environment. The impacts it has on the ecology and the organism wich depend on it for its own habitat needs.
Cup Plant is a flowering herbaceous perennial with triangular toothed leaves and daisy like yellow composite summer flowers thatis native to Eastern and Central America.
Habitat : Sandy moist bottomlands, floodplains, stream beds, open woodlands.
Height : 3 - 8 ft.
This plant is highly adapted to endure extreme weather and inhospitable conditions. During the winter, the roots remain dormant and can survive temperatures as low as −30 °C.
Ecological benefits
Improves the quality of soil and in regenaration of soil organisms. Reduces erosion and risk of floodwaters. Highly drought resistant. Attracts pollinators like sweat bees, leafcutter bees, small carpenter bees, digger bees and bumble bees.
08 GENDER SENSITIVE URBAN DESIGN
Competition entry
Project Type : Urban Design
Guide : Dr. Jinu Louishidha Kitchley
Scope of work : Research, Spatial Documentation, Activity mapping, Surveys and interviews, Graphical Representations, Design Ideation, Content writing.
Gender Sensitive public spaces are a sad, but a common scene in Indian cities. Safety and stereotypes rooted to the culture are the major reasons making spaces gender sensitive. However, the streetscapes of residential neighborhoods, especially in low income settlements, tend to have a contrasting character. While men dominate the public realm, it’s women who dominate the private niches of the city.
Thideer nagar and its context
Thideer Nagar in Madurai is a slum rehabilitation housing board. There was sparse sighting of female activities here. In a settlement with dense and compact housing units, the open spaces between the apartment blocks is the place to congregate. Women willing to stay within their units instead of enjoying the shaded and well ventilated open spaces raised several questions.
Where are the area girls ?
boys
Kids choose spots closer to their residence to play .
Small tiffin stalls run by
women of the neighborhood. 18. Men using the degraded open space as their drinking and smoking spot.
11. Teen boys using the available seating space as their turf / spot.
15. Space in-front of the living units used by mothers to bathe and care their kids.
19. Male dominant streetscape and cultural stereotypes.
12. Adult and old men use the streets as the meeting and resting space and to gamble.
16. Old ladies of the locality use the dormant niches of the area to play and gossip.
20. Unhygienic street conditions.
01. Dense apartment blocks with unprogrammed open spaces.
05. Residents tie their livestock in the open spaces closer to their living unit.
02. Narrow roads and no sense of ownership has made the streetscapes ambiguous.
06. Waste are dumped in the canal abutting the site.
04. Household waste thrown from the windows collected in the sunshade.
08. Unprogrammed open spaces are encroached by residents for their own purpose.
Images of Thideer nagar
03. Existing public spaces such as parks have degraded over time with no maintenance.
07. Narrow spaces between the apartment blocks filled with sewage leakage
Their mom never allow them outside da.
Through surveys and interviews, we identified the key street elements that affected women’s perception of safety and comfort. The entire streetscape was divided into 1.8m pedestrian point grid, and every street element was mapped with reference to these points. This gave a clear image of the zones within the site, where women felt inconvenience to engage.
60% of the available open spaces in the neighborhood have cattle sheds. But, they are not organized and scattered throughout the site, as per the residents convenience.
90% of the women stay inside a 50m bubble from their living unit.
Only 15% percent of the activities mapped on site were women activities and this drops further to a meager 1.5% when it comes to teen girls.
Every cattle shed in the neighborhood were well maintained with a contrasting heap of dump surrounding it.
75% of the teenage girls come out of their living units to draw fresh water from supply taps and to take care of their cattle.
Only 3 % of smoking and drinking happens in spaces with active surveillance.
Sketch
I wish we had a garden. Then, I could spend more time taking care of my garden and I can meet my friends there.
Section through the canal edge
by Kasi Viswanathan
Sensitizing the park
We conducted surveys to identify the potential site for intervention. We went with physical model of the site for them understand the space.
With the help of Madurai corporation and leaders of the community, we started cleaning the canal edge. But the residents continued to dump there.
Activating the water edge is both a elaborative and expensive process. So we took the existing park in the neighborhood as our site. Several events with local authorities were organized to invite the children to revamp their park.
Several kids showed up and actively participated in cleaning the park. They also painted the walls along with us.
Kids started using the park as the cleaning was in progress. Women started bring their kids to the park and the shared their previous experience.
