P O R T F O L O

SURABHI KHANDERIA
CEPT UNIVERSITY | B.ARCH
CONTENTS
Pg. No. Project
Professional work

1 ..............................................The Yellow Box | Exhibition

2 ..............................................Gharaunda | Sustainable Rural Development Project
4 ..............................................Louie’s Wine Dive | Bar/Restaurant
6 ..............................................The Sickler’s residence | Barndominium design
8 ..............................................Pad Thai Sushi | Restaurant

Academic work

9 ..............................................Children’s Library
10 ..............................................Housing Studio
12 ..............................................Ginitopia - Urban design Studio
14 ..............................................Mukti Bhawan- Urban Insert Project
17 ..............................................Documentation Programs
18 ..............................................Research Thesis- Designing for the circular economy
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 1

The Yellow Box Professional work

Ahmedabad | 2015 In association with Vilayati
Archiprix International- The Yellow box, 2015:
An exhibition was to be designed for welcoming the team of Archiprix International 2017. The Exhibition
showcased 21 nominee entries including 7 winner entries from Archiprix International, 2015 (Madrid) and 5 entries
from CEPT University. The form of the exhibition was inspired by the world map by Buckminster Fuller which is
used by Archiprix international. The entries were designed to instigate curiosity among the
passerby. Customised lighting was designed to complement the form. It created an introvert space within a public
corridor.
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 2

Gharaunda Professional work

Noida | 2017 In association with Drishtee and BrickUp.
PARTICIPATORY DESIGN APPROACH: Building with mud and bamboo using traditional techniques has not only reached a stage of functional obsolescence
but also one of percieved obsolescence. To make this kind of social change affecting architecture of the village, a participatory approach was required, which
also helped us empathise with them and truly understand the challenges of a rural setting. The Gharaunda prototype was discussed with villagers, several
surveys were also conducted before and after the construction. Local men were involved in the production of mud bricks and construction process. We still
strive to find better solutions every day.
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 3

Gharaunda Professional work

Noida | 2017 In association with Drishtee and BrickUp.
2,251 1,750 2,250 2,250

Bamboo and mud are abundantly available in Saurath, a

village in Madhubani district, Bihar. The villagers have over
generations made their “kacha” (temporary) houses with

2,500

2,625
bamboo and mud. Those who can afford a little more, incline
1,400

towards building a”pakka” (permanent) house using concrete

1,500

1,250
and red bricks which are transported from another village.
The primary occupation of the villagers is agriculture and

8,355
animal husbandry. Here are some of the main problems that

2,375
2,250
CL1 CL1

“Gharaunda”- a low cost housing initiative for rural India aims

0,035 0,250

0,035 0,250
at addressing;- Longer lasting homes- The village is under
floodprone zone because of which the kacha houses weather

1,820

1,820
off and have to be rebuilt every year. Also roofing materials
Plan
Pormenor Varanda

like thatch easily catches fire in the heat direct sunlight.

CT2

CT1
Alçado Principal

-Building safer homes- Analysis suggests that workers who

build permanent houses are unskilled and build them without
foundations and other basic structural requirements. The
villagers are ignorant about it and supportive of it as it cuts
down the cost of the house. However, this is a very hazardous
building practice in Saurath that is also an earthquake prone
Section
zone.
-Reviving the local economy and decentralizing water
resources: Several parcels of land in and around saurath have
been disparaged of top soil by the kiln owners of
neighbouring
villages, making the land infertile and disturbing the natural
topography of the village, which led to drying out of lakes in
the village. Production and use of mud bricks from these land
can solve both the problems.This project not only gave me
architectural learnings but also enhanced my collaborative
skills and gave me an interdisciplinary learning. I gained alot
of knowledge about social entreprenuerships.
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 4

Louies Wine Dive Professional work

Lexington, Indianapolis, Overland Park ,Clayton, Nashville, Liberty, Tulsa | 2016-2018 In association with B+A architects.

While interning at B&A Architects, I

worked on interior architecture of several
Bar/Restaurants. Louies Wine dive was
one of the most regular client for which I
designed 7 outlets.

Responsibilities for this project, being an

interior architecture project, majorly
involved working with details, especially
for designing the bar in each outlet and
the clients wanted different kinds of lights
and partitions designed using the empty
wine bottles that they had in stock.

Details 3D views

Views
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 5

Louies Wine Dive Professional work

Lexington, Indianapolis, Overland Park ,Clayton, Nashville, Liberty, Tulsa | 2016-2018 In association with B+A architects.

Details Elevations

UPCYCLING PROJECT: This project not only

uses empty wine bottles for partitions and
lighting, but we also colaborated with a
manufacturer to recycle the corks of wine
bottles to make wall tiles out of it which is
used in the project. It also reuses corks to
make a wall mural.

3D View
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 6

Sickler’s Residence Professional work

Missouri | 2016 In association with B+A architects.

3D View
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 7

Sickler’s Residence Professional work

Missouri | 2016 In association with B+A architects.

A barn + residence was to be designed at Johnson County,

Missouri, on the banks of Black water river. The site was in the
woods area which had to be cleared to make the house and the
house was designed to use the wood for siding, laminating and
paving purposes. The semi-hexagon living-dining-kitchen has a
breathtaking view of the river, while the master bedroom
overlooks the woods. The breezeway between the barn and the
house becomes an important functional element to keep the
foul smell of the barn from the house. The spiral staircase in the
centre of the living room and the structural trusses give the
house a rustic look. The drawings were made using Revit to
collaborate with the structural engineer while designing. Elevation

Elevation

Plan Section
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 8

Pad Thai Sushi Restaurant Professional work

Kansas City | 2017 In association with B+A architects.
Pad Thai Sushi Restaurant, Overland Park.
The restaurant has two bars with lightings made out of bamboo canes and an installation on the ceiling made out of bamboo. The bar, and lighting
details aim to give a Thai character to the place.
Two ideas in contrasting color schemes were explored. In the end it was designed with brighter colors making the space look large and bright.

Interior Elevation

3D views
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 9

Children’s Library
Ahmedabad | 2014 Academic project

Plan Section collage

Model explorations
A library building was to be designed in
Shreyas Campus. It was designed to be an
iconic building with playful elements like steps
and slides to attract children. The idea was to
create interactive and enjoyable so that it is a
fun learning process for the children. It shifts
from the idea of a library being a silent shell,
to a library giving a wholesome learning
experience to the kids.

Site model Sections

Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 10

Housing Studio
Ahmedabad | 2014 Academic project

By studying the economical and the sociological aspects of a locality-

Shilaj, in Ahmedabad, a low-cost housing project was supposed to be
designed. The site was right next to a highway and so a jungle
landscape was created at the highest noise reception edge as a buffer.
The designing started at an individual unit level, where family dynamics
were considered followed by designing clusters of those units. Along
with a contemporary design approach, I tried to create similar social
spaces as seen in the Shilaj Village. The individual units focussed on
having a large multipurpose spaces which can be personalized by
different families as per their needs. The clusters are placed on the site
to create an introvert community, which feels private to the home
owners. The site is divided in the centre by a canal, which gave a
perfect location to create some public gardens.
Site Plan

Unit Section Unit Plan

Ground Floor Plan

Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 11

Housing Studio
Ahmedabad | 2014 Academic project

Site Sections Cluster Section

Upper Level Plans

Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 12

Ginitopia
Ahmedabad | 2016 Academic project

The studio is about defining, characterizing and organizing built environment

of reasonable complexity in urban space. This will accommodate people who
are engaged in activities that serve a larger social purpose.
The site was selected at Gulbai Tekra, Ahmedabad, which is currently, a very
valuable piece of land, occupied by slum houses, and facing the social side-
effects of gentrification in the area. The current habitats of the land are idol-
makers and have a seasonal job during festivals. The aim of the design was
to clear the area, and develop a systematically organized workshop for these
people, in a part of the land, and designing a public plaza and a productive
landscape, to make the piece of land usable for other people from the city. It
becomes a fulcrum of interaction between the community and the city, and
helps the community grow out of its poverty. However the program aimed at
bringing two different economic sections of people together, and to decide
upon how to culminate of separate the spaces while taking care of scale of
the building was a challenge. My design, made use of the existing contours
on the site to determine the form of the landscape and existing public nodes
to determine the plaza are. Keeping the harsh climate of Ahmedabad in
mind, the building was designed by using structural elements like fins in
order to cut the sunlight. It also becomes one of the major aesthetic element
of the building.

3
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 13

Ginitopia
Ahmedabad | 2016 Academic project

3 P
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 14

Mukti Bhavan | Hospice Design

Varanasi | 2016 Academic project
Studio IX Mukti Bhawan, Varanasi: Varanasi is a 4000 year old city in Uttar Pradesh, where thousands of religious Indians migrate towards the end of their life
as it is believed that one can attain salvation by dying in Varanasi on the bank of river Ganges . The aim was to facilitate these people with a hospice on the
Ghats of Varanasi. In the dense, complex urban fabric of the old city of Varanasi, the site was chosen to have easy access from a primary street, and in close
proximity from the Burning ghat and the city hospital. As an Urban insert project, the site was studied throughly to come up with design strategies.
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 15

Mukti Bhavan | Hospice Design

Varanasi | 2016 Academic project
The hospice, which was going to hold a
spiritual value in the minds of people,
required a symbolic form. Thus the following
concept developed : The hospice building, is
a ghat in itself - a threshold between life
(symbolized by the city) and death
(symbolized by the river). It borrows its
stepping form from the steps of Hindu
temples and manifests into itself a hospice
building with complete functionality.
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 16

Mukti Bhavan | Hospice Design

Varanasi | 2016 Academic project

The sections very clearly demonstrates how the building connects both, with the city and with the river. The bedrooms of
patients, prayer hall and grieving hall are placed towards the river while the administrative spaces are towards the city.
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 17

Documentation Programs
Ahmedabad | 2016 Academic project

During the 5year course, I attended several documentation programs, at Jamshedpur

(documenting vernacular architecture), Auroville (Study of sustainable practices), Ajanta
& Ellora caves and Cambodia.(exploring spaces through sketching)
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 18

Research Thesis - Designing for the Circular Economy

2017 Academic project
The thesis builds on the Framework of designing principles for Circular
economy (in building industry), as prepared by Ellen MacArthur foundation, by
inquiring what impact does design desision have on looping for circular
economy.
Chapter 2 is a critique of the current scenario of the linear economy and draws
out the adverse effects of linear economy that makes it necessary for the world
to look at Circular economy as hope for the future of a developing nation like
India
Chapter 3 looks into the concept of circular economy, as an economic principle,
and looks at the building construction industry with a circular lens. It discusses
the scope of circular economy in Indian cities and in building construction
sector.
Chapter 4 summerizes the framework developed by Ellen MacArthur
foundation for designing in circular economy in cities and building construction.
The chapter then discusses the looping strategies necessary for architects to
keep in mind while taking design decisions for a circular economy. It unfolds the
principles by Ellen Mac Arthur foundation into design strategies and discusses
each of them and inquires which design strategies complement which looping
strategies.
Chapter 5 uses case studies and finds out, which design strategies have been
incorporated in the building and which combinations of design strategies
promote looping in different ways.
Chapter 6 draws conclusion from the case studies and looks at which design
strategies complement or contradict each other in different cases and tries to
find out the barriers of circular economy by analysing the contradictions, in
order to be able to look at circular economy for mainstream construction
industry.

Sample drawings from case studies of Druk White school (Arup associates) and
the Atelier (Biome Environmental solutions), for the purpose of thesis are
shown..
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 19

Research Thesis - Designing for the Circular Economy

2017 Academic project

Druk White school, Ladakh was chosen because it tries to create a structure that would celebrate and enhance local values, while at the same time
making the most of cutting-edge technology and construction methods from the West.In a harsh, high altitude, desert environment where water is
scarce, sustainability had to play a major part in our plans for the school from the very start. They created cutting-edge systems that pump water from
melted snow to the site, both for drinking water and for irrigation. The school's toilets don't require water at all, and have state of the art passive
technology to eliminate odours and turn waste into compost. Ladakh has hot summers and very cold winters, so they installed passive solar heating.
Even in winter, energy from sunlight is stored and used to heat the school and accommodation.
The study of these design strategies helped determine, which combination of strategies promotes what kind of looping.
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 20

Research Thesis - Designing for the Circular Economy

2017 Academic project

‘The Atelier, Bangalore’ was chosen to study because, unlike the longstanding notion of
everlasting buildings, it is not uncommon to see built spaces being renovated or redone
entirely to keep pace with people's changing needs. The permanence of a building may
no longer be a prerequisite in its design. This being accepted, it is necessary to allow
material recovery and recycling, or reconstruct the same building elsewhere – anything
but create debris that will occupy landfills. This helped in getting a lot of insight about
strategies like- design for disassembly, where all the materials used in the making of a
building are tracked and its afterlife use is also determined. It is made sure that the
biological nutrients are kept separate from its technological nutrients and thus in order to
do so, only a certain types of joineries between the materials are noticed. After studying
what all strategies have been used in the building, it was determined whether the
combination of these design strategies are helping in looping. Loops are categorized as
tight loops (using as less material as possible), Pure loops (keeping the material closest to
its natural form before use), longer loops ( the material is used in a way that it stays in the
loop for the longest time possible before discarding it., and cascading loops (This refers
to diversifying reuse across the value chain. Cascading loop deals with the number of
times the material cycle should be repeated through strategies like reusing or recycling.)
Surabhi Khanderia Portfolio 21