PLACEmaking

To the trained mind, Architecture can be found even in the ordinary

Zoom in, zoom out; adjust and capture!
Engage and dive in, the past and present always narrate their stories,
Ever wondered about the ‘what ifs’ and then about the ‘what ifs, again’?
Or tried to just slice and recreate the places’ story?

Above image is a map representing an abstracted and distorted map of Mumbai

The Aim :
1. Data collection and representation - To create a palette of alternative ways to look at collecting data and
representation which act as tools for driving a design program and intervention.
2. Lens and non-linear Program/Design Generation - Understanding of some critical lenses through which
Architectural sites can be decoded, narrowed down to, looked upon with precision – paving the way for
strategic program development and subsequent Tangible design interventions.
3. Design Investigation: To study the architectural potential of the social spaces of the street, which are in
need of an updated design investigation.

This semester will begin with five conceptual lenses through which the students will study and analyze the fabric
of the neighbourhood and eventually arrive at an Architectural proposal that best suits their narrative. The five
lenses will provide a framework for an experimental studio dealing with non-linear design processes. Through a
rigorous series of Representation, Mapping, and Modelling, students will arrive at unique Architectural / Urban
Interventions.
// Studio Instructors //
Yagnik Bhatija Ashley Fialho Rishi Vora Mythili Shetty Karan Danda Esha Tipnis Neha Panchal
 (A) PROCESS
STEP 01 As the class commences on June 03, each student will get the chance to pick a lens based on
a “chit system”. (See section ‘Lenses’)

STEP 02 As per the structure of the studio, there will be 12 students with the same lens. The students are
then advised to pair up with one person who has the same lens.
*This group will last term long and will also present their final proposal together.

STEP 03 The class will be further divided into groups to work on initial site documentation (See section
‘Research Deliverables’) which will be covered in the first two weeks of the term along with other
deliverables.*Site Documentation: the idea of this exercise is to look at the site based on the pa-
rameters listed in ‘Research Deliverables’ while also looking at the site through the assigned lens.

Through a series of rigorous representation pin –ups, individual and mixed group design and
STEP 04 representation reviews, desk critiques, and model making, the students will arrive at unique de-
sign interventions at the end of the term. (See section ‘Project Schedules’ )

(B) RESEARCH DELIVERABLES

01 FIGURE GROUND ANALYSIS /

SATELLITE IMAGE ANALYSIS

Includes Built Massing of Structures, Inner court-

yards, Road networks, Building-Footpath-Vehicular
Roads’ Mapping, Hardscape-landscape pockets
study.
Vienna Nolli Map

02 ELEVATIONAL STUDIES

Includes Elevation structure heights, visual style of

buildings as seen from the street/ as experienced
by the users, Signages study , Building elevation
patterns- Motifs, Screens, Balconies, offsets, Over-
laps (Structural, user based overlaps) study, Day-
night elevation modulations, in-between building
spaces, basic roofscapes.
Salt City Street Elevation - Hala Heshan. Sarah Tawalbeh and Reem Marji

03 SECTIONAL STUDIES

Includes Elevation structure heights, visual style of

buildings as seen from the street/ as experienced
by the users, Signages study , Building elevation
patterns- Motifs, Screens, Balconies, offsets, Over-
laps (Structural, user based overlaps)study, Day-night
elevation modulations, in-between building spaces,
basic roofscapes.
University Teknologi Petronas Research Cluster - Sasaki
04 SOCIO-ECONOMIC, CULTURAL STUDIES
OF STREET
Includes Social , Economic activities w.r.t. spatial
configuration of the street and time of the day, User
demography/ Types, Day-night usage , commerce-
typology/systems, Leisure spaces at edges, Unseen
conflicts, community dining spaces , Cultural
Buildings/Mythology/ Stories.
Stockimage

05 ECOLOGY / SUSTAINABILITY /
PHENOMENOLOGY / MINDSCAPES
Includes Street systems that sustain the place, Water
networks, Fuel networks, Hand cart network, Eat-
ing joints, Services, Shadow patterns, Temperature
variations, micro climate, trees, winds, sound, smell,
light analysis, Experiential value of the space. Mind-
scapes Includes documenting how a mind sees/
feels/ receives impressions of the space.
Stockimage

06 BYE LAWS / LOGISTICS / OWNERSHIP

Includes Redevelopment Buildings, By laws, up-

coming typology, proposed master plans, its critical
analysis.
Ownership / rental patterns of land/shops/ resi-
dential buidings.
Stockimage

07 PROGRAMMATIC ANALYSIS

Includes Mapping of all activities on site wrt space

and time.

Stockimage

08 BUILT FORM ANALYSIS / SPATIAL ANALYSIS /

INFRASTRUCTURE
Includes Housing Typology, Temple Typology , Shop
typology,(Their Overlap) Buiding materials, Structur-
al Documentation of specific Interesting buildings,
Shop typology, Cupboard shops etc, shop exten-
sions, basements, materials, Visual Fabric, colors,-
Textures, Types of spaces (shared / interaction /
independent / outdoor / coloured / textured /
shaded / transition), Edge spaces, , Temple Ameni-
ties Buildings, trust owned spaces, Security layers,
access control, inner courtyards and connecting by
lanes-opening up to either sides of the street.
Stockimage
 (C) LENSES
LENS 01: SCRIPT ABSTRACTION
(Non-Architectural Texts)

Stockimage
Can we take the stories of allied artisits and use tem as filters through which we can formulate linear or non-
linear narratives for our architectural intervention ?
Can we re-interpret the creative narratives of the poet, story-teller, the song writer, the movie producer ?
Can we re- write their stories in brick , mortar, stone and plaster ?
Alternatively...
Can we use stimulus and energy from the street…people, objects, colours, chaos to create a story line of the
place and then architecturalise it into a built form, which has a sense of belonging to the place?

The intent is to train the mind to explore allied art forms / non architectural situations as a stimulus for
an architectural intervention.
SCRIPT SOURCES
1. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Caroll 5. Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
2. Ravan & Eddie - Kiran Nagarkar 6. A Strangeness in My Mind - Orhan Pamuk
3. Ephemeral Urbanism - Rahul Mehrotra, Felipe 7. A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami
Vera, José Mayoral **Any script which inspires to formulate an Architectural
4. Such A Long Journey - Rohinton Mistry argument / narrative is open to discussion.

LENS 02: MICRO + MACRO DIAGNOSIS

The Salt Series by Tom Hagen

Physical documentation of the street to understand various layers of information
a. Figure ground analysis
b. Height of buildings
c. Entry thresholds of buildings
d. Vehicular Pedestrian movement patterns
e. Roofscapes
f. Drainage and Sanitation
g. Material palette
h. Types of spaces (shared / interaction / independent / outdoor / coloured / textured / shaded /
transition)
i. Individual to systemic.

The intent is using the unique character of the programme and site as a starting point of an Architectural
Idea
 LENS 03: BINARY CONFLICTS
(Paradoxes inherently existing on location)

Art by Malte Mueller

“Paradox”- a situation or statement that seems impossible or is difficult to understand because it contains two
opposite facts or characteristics.
“Binary” - 1. consisting of two parts 2. consisting of two of something 3. Binary also describes a numbering
system using only two numbers, zero and one . 4. Two ends of the issue

Eg. Day / Night, Centre / Edge, Prospect / Refuge ,Public / Private, Individual / Franchise
Permanent / Ephemeral, Individual / Systematic

This section will deal with identifying engaging conflicts at multiple levels using analytical tools with a base in
social, political, economical, materiality, etc.

The intent is to use this contrasting / conflicting energy as a stimulus for intervention or a critical lens
through which the site can be analysed and an architectural idea generated

LENS 04: KIKA STREET 2050

(Unearthing layers of History)

Image found on ilikemaps

Creating a visual time line of the place, studying evolution over the last 50 years, broken into 5 decades and
proceeding to create a vision for the future. Students are advised to study and assemble archival and empiri-
cal collection of data.

a. Volumetric growth of built form

b. Population growth
c. Layers of material which inform the place
d. Demographics

The intent is to bring logical understanding to layers of information and unearth lost information, through
informed inferences, so as to create a design solution which can spatially project into the future.
 LENS 05: VOLUMETRIC APPROPRIATIONS
(Subtraction, addition, multiplication, division)

Installation by Oyler Wu Collaborative

“Morphogenesis” - the biological process that causes an organism to develop its shape.

What if we had the physical capability to cut open (parts of) each building and do away with those
components that were redundant, and imagine something new in its place?
How would we analyse which half to keep and which to do away with, keeping in mind maintaining
volumetric balance and street character?
Where would that surgical cut through necessary and expendable be done?
What would our new intervention be and how would it enmesh with the existing built form?
What new and relevant functions would we assign these new forms?

The intent is to strip architecture down to the bare essential minimum, and then re-invent or re-connect
into the built form with new relevance and meaning

(D) SUBMISSION FORMAT

2’x 2’ 2’x 2’ 4’x 2’

PIN UP 01 PIN UP 03 MID
REVIEW

2’x 2’ 2’x 2’ 4’x 2’

PIN UP 02 PIN UP 05 INTERNAL
JURY

8’x 4’
{MAXIMUM}
FOR TRADITIONAL DESIGN
REPRESENTATION
 (E) RECOMMENDED READING
Along with the studio exercises, the students are advised to read the following set of books / articles. It dives
into the various aspects relevant to the studio, e.g. History, Statistics, Policies, Idea of Public and Private, Built
Environment, Future Speculations, and Philosophy.

1. Bombay, the cities within - Sharada Dwivedi, Rahul Mehrotra

2. Urban Explosion of Mumbai: Restructuring of Growth - Dr M.D.David

3. City Sense & City Design - Kevin Lynch

4. The Social Life of Small Irban Spaces - William Whyte

5. Life Between Buildings - Jan Gehl

6. Cities for People - Jan Gehl

7. The story of Utopias - Lewis Mumford

8. Of Other Spaces : Utopias and Heterotopias - Michel Foucault

(F) SITE EXPANSE

 (G) PROJECT SCHEDULE

WEEK 01 ELECTIVE WEEK + INTRODUCTION TO STUDIO

June 3, 2019 Introduction to Semester Project and Lenses

WEEK 02 SITE DOCUMENTATION

June 10, 2019 Basic Data Collection and Analyses, and Conventional Documentation

WEEK 03 GROUP PIN UP 01

June 17, 2019 Representation of Findings using Lenses and Formulation of Arguments

WEEK 04 DESK CRITIQUES

June 24, 2019 // Planning and Mapping techniques

WEEK 05 GROUP PIN UP 02

July 01, 2019 Formulation and Representation of Conceptual Design Approaches

WEEK 06 DESK CRITIQUES

July 08, 2019 Initial Design - First Pass // Volumetric Analyses

WEEK 07 MIXED GROUP PIN UP 01

July15, 2019 Representation of Design Proposal - STAGE I

WEEK 08 DESK CRITIQUES

July 22, 2019 // Spatial Investigations

WEEK 09 MID REVIEW : Progress of Arguments and Architectural proposals

July 29, 2019 Additional Submission for Book Publication purposes in the format provided

WEEK 10 DESK CRITIQUES
Aug 05, 2019 Design progress based on feedback - Second Pass // Sectional Breakdown

WEEK 11 DESK CRITIQUES

Aug 12, 2019 // First production of Traditional Drawings and 3D

WEEK 12 GROUP PIN UP 03

Aug 19, 2019 Represenation of Progress of Works produced through the semester

WEEK 13 DESK CRITIQUES

Aug 26, 2019 // Development of Traditional Drawings and 3D

WEEK 14 HOLIDAY
Sept 02, 2019 Ganesh Chaturthi

WEEK 15 MIXED GROUP PIN UP 02

Sept 09, 2019 Presentation of Drawings, 3D, and Arguments

WEEK 16 INTERNAL JURY

Sept 16, 2019 Based on Physical Models and Representation Panels

WEEK 17 PRODUCTION WEEK

Sept 23, 2019 Desk critiques on request

WEEK 18 FINAL JURY

Sept 30, 2019: Final Presentation + Models