Projective Works

Wrench, 2013

projective works 2012-16

Vivek Vijayan, M. Arch, Syracuse University

Vivek Vijayan 315-708-9957 808 West End Avenue, Apt. 902, New York, NY, 10025 vvnjanap@syr.edu

Academics

Master of Architecture

[July 2013- May 2017] Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY- GPA: 3.686 / 4 Thesis Title: “Gold: Stories of a city”

Bachelor of Architecture

[May 2011] National Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, India- GPA: 7.85 / 10

Professional

BIM Architect, Studio Parametric, Bangalore, India [October 2011- May 2013] Rendered services to FX FOWLE, New York. Worked as part of team that produced design development to construction documentation drawings for the “Greenwich Lane” project.

Design Teaching assistant, Syracuse University

[2016 - present] Work with first year undergraduate students and design studio faculty.

Position awarded to select graduate students with academic merit.

Honors

James Britton Memorial Award, Syracuse University [May 2017] Faculty prize awarded for best Thesis at the School of Architecture.

Gentrification Lab Exhibition, Van Alen Institute, NYC [July 2015] NYC Urban studio, Project designer and presenter, worked under Rotterdam based architects, Zones Urbaines Sensibles [ZUS].

Interests

Dance Troupe of NIT, Trichy

[September 2007- May 2011] Member since 2007 and president between 2010-11. Participated and won in multiple state and national level dance competitions.

Photography

Software

AUTOCAD 2015, ILLUSTRATOR, INDESIGN, PHOTOSHOP CS5, REVIT 2015 + VASARI, RHINOCEROS 5.0 + GRASSHOPPER, V-RAY

Table of contents

City Sencity

Overline

01-04

05-06

Whiteread Museum

M.O.S.F

07-10

11-12

Architecture

Profession Screen house

Greenwich lane

13-16

17-20

Thesis Gold: Stories of 21-26

a City

Sencity, 2016 Smarts sports city and infrastructure, Montpellier, France

Drone amenities Shelter

Light

Wi-Fi Data

Drone infrastructure in the old city

PV charged drone module

Array of drone modules

Description International sports city and drone infrastructure, Montpellier, France. Visiting critic studio lead by Elodie Nourrigat from NBJ architects. Software: Rhinoceros 5.0, Grasshopper, Photoshop, Illustrator CS 5. All images produced by Vivek Vijayan.

01

Iterative drone configurations

World

International Twin cities >

Trade, culture, education

France

European sports cities > Sports & medicine

Montpellier

River Lez

New city

Old city

Site

Mapping the city

L’Place de Comedie in downtown Montpellier during Chinese new year

02

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

LEGEND

03

08

01 Drone modules

04 Steel frame structure

02 Tensile cable structure

05 Auditorium facility

07 Market complex

03 ETFE roof membrane

06 Public access stair

08 Sports research complex

Top, Drones eye view of the city; Middle, Main research and commercial facility; Bottom, View of the sports field

04

Overline, 2015 Gentrification Lab, Van Alen Institute, NYC

Evolving Highline

RIVER HUDSON

Hyper Gentrification along 14th street

Model of the Overline proposal

Description New industrial spine over the Meatpacking District. Visiting critic studio lead

by ZUS architects, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Collaborative effort with Shuya Washido. Individually involved in graphic presentation, laser cut, modeling & exhibition at the Van Alen Institute, NYC.

05

LEGEND Existing Marijuana Housing Un/loading Shipping Power Trucking Factory Trolley stop Woodwork Public space Metalwork

Above, view from the Highline, Below, exhbition discussion

Plan for the Overline proposal

“ We will grow atop these roofs, an industry of old and new; while you maintain the land for the privileged few....�

- Excerpt from the Manifesto

Section through proposal

06

Whiteread Museum, 2015 Highline, Meatpacking district, NYC

Existing Parking lot at Highline

Museum block with parking formwork

Pathway through Museum to Highline

Void space containing Whiteread scultpures

Openings to indirect natural light

Core locations to private and public blocks

Description Museum dedicated to the works of Artists Rachel Whiterad, most famous for her Anti-Space drawings and sculptures. Museum site adjacent to Highline at NYC, replacing a parking lot structure. All drawings and renderings produced by Vivek Vijayan using Rhinoceros 5.0 with V-Ray and Adobe Photoshop. Illustrator CS 5. Instructor: Larry Bowne.

07

North East aerial view of the Whiteread Museum

North West aerial view of the Highline & Museum

08

Above, Interior view of main Exhibition space; Below, Opening to public leading to Museum entry near Highline

09

HIGHLINE

PUBLIC

STAIR

PRIVATE

N

Schematic plan for Whiterad Museum design

Walkway through Museum to Highline

10

M.O.S.F, 2014 Preview Museum of Science Fiction, Washington DC

EXHIBITION

U.S.S ENTERPRISE

EXHIBITION

EXHIBITION PUBLIC

LOBBY

Stack

GIFT + LOBBY

Lift

PUBLIC GIFT

LOBBY

Occupy

PUBLIC SPACE

CORE

ENTRY LOBBY

Left below, View of Exhibition Space and Right, Exploded Axonometric View

Description Design competition for Museum at Washington DC. Special mention for best student entry. Design collaboration with Christian Martinez.

Software: Revit, AutoCAD 2014, Photoshop and Illustrator CS 5.

All images produced by Vivek Vijayan

11

Sectional perspective view through exhibition, public and lobby space

12

Screen house, 2013 Virugambakam residence, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Elevation drawing and rendered view, 2013

Multiple screen appropriations

Description Multi-residence structure with duplex private home for a family of five at the first floor. Worked as project architect producing initial concept drawings to all site execution and coordination documents. All images by Vivek Vijayan.

13

Photographs of the screen house, 2016; Right below, screen during day and night

14

Phototographs of the living room space

Light, screens and seating The interior design of the project was choreographed to the natural light streaming through strategic openings and filtered through screens that envelope the exterior of the building. Built-in seating slabs are located to witness this effect.

15

Interior sectional perspective, 2013

Construction document with stair details

16

Greenwich lane, 2012 [BIM] Building Information Modeling services, NYC

155W rendered view, 2013

155W, Revit 2014 model & typical floor plan

Description BIM services and analysis rendered to FXFowle, New York as Architect at Studio Parametric, Bangalore, India. Part of team that produced SD to CD drawings for the “Greenwich Lane� project at NYC. All images and drawings courtesy FXFowle.

17

Photograph of the Greenwich lane at night, 2016

155W

N Greenwich lane site plan

18

Photograph of completed Greenwich lane project at night, 2016

155 West, Elevation drawings

19

Sheet from Window Schedule for building 155 West

20

Gold: Stories of a City, 2017 Graduate Thesis Project

“Cities in the City�, Gold & its divergent narratives

Description Winner of James A Britton Memorial Award, a faculty prize for Best Thesis at the School of Architecture at Syracuse University. Studies the role of gold in the urban Geo-politics of a South Indian city. Advisor: Greg Corso, assisted by Oswal Perez & Vanessa Poe. 21

“To perceive the aura of an object we look at means to invest it with the ability to look at us in return.�

-Walter Benjamin, The work of art in the era of mechanical reproductions

The intention of the thesis is not to merely speak of a specific commodity nor is it to narrate the history of a city. It is an attempt to overlay and map the synthetic geographies of the city and to perhaps articulate a method of engaging its future implications. The Thesis devalues the very precious and staid nature of the commodity in question, it instead employs it as an operative element; cutting through the most interesting sections of the City.

22

i.

Surveillance Ports “Close to Two hundred tons of Gold is smuggled into India every year.� -Economic Times, 2014 Smuggled gold has entered the city through sea and airports as it has grown and developed. Security systems are unable to pick up minute traces of gold hidden in passenger bodies amidst heavy air traffic. A new invisible threshold is introduced at the edge of the city, an architecture of hyper surveillance. Jet bridges act as scanning machines and passports as recording devices, archiving the footprints of those entering the city.

23

ii.

Elephant Paths In some south Indian cities, the embellished Elephant is a symbol of prosperity & auspicious beginnings.

Every year city streets that were once elephant paths are reclaimed by temporary pavilions known as “pandals�.

The festival has rows of elephants embellished in gold symbolising the rich culture of the city. Eventually, the festival becomes a global tourist attraction. The city center is converted into an eternal elephant path. Temporary pandals turn into permanent infrastructure in the form of viewing bridges looking down at the passing elephants.

24

iii.

Temple Vaults Religious shrines embody the geopolitics of ancient dynasties while idols of gold embody their “divine� authority.

Royal wealth in the form of gold was hidden under the ancient temple; marked by a sacred tree at the center of the city. It protected the wealth from plunder at the end of the colonial era. Decades later the Temple with the tree was announced a heritage site and the treasure worth trillions of dollars was discovered. It is turned into a museum that chronicles the history of the city in gold. It represents the geo-political clout of a single tree at the center of the city.

25

iv.

Wedding Stores “For a decade, India has been the largest consumer of gold jewellery, accounting for 75% of its total imports.�-WGC The city consumes most of its gold in the form of jewellery. Business that started with traditional craftsmen eventually were replaced by big box stores selling jewellery for festivals and weddings. A new typology is born where massive stores incorporate entire event and marriage halls.Hyper-advertised traditions are impregnate gargantuan boxes of commodities creating an eternal cycle of consumption.

26

v.

Investment Islands Gold is considered a safe investment against the dollar, stock values rose during the 2008 financial crash.

Gold as a safe investment against the dollar sees a great spike in its stock prices. In addition generations of Non Resident Indians (NRIs) working in Gulf countries return to the city. Paddy fields at the edge of the city turn into suburban islands. Developments have little to do with the city they abut nor do they successfully mimic the grand cities they aspire to be. Generic towers with display facades meant only to be seen from the sky.

27

Thesis Exhibition Layout Light box, Memento & Projection

Below, Exhibition layout; Above, photograph of research presentation

tion Layout

to & Projection

28

Narrative compositions on light boxes

29

Final presentation, 25th April, 2017

30

vvnjanap@syr.edu / 315-708-9957