City: MUMBAI

Salient Feature of the Project.

Name ‘location. Student Housing — Wardha, Maharashtra.
Built up Area = 61,375 SQ/FT.
Description of Project.

Culture, evolves and develops over a period of time. The design of the student housing hence had to be flexible to be able to accommodate and evolve along with these cultural developments. Our emphasis is on envisioning ‘ the culture of the campus’ that evolves from the
social construct of communities. The competition brief required for dedicated hostels for men, women, married scholar and transit scholars which, was questioned and further challenged. The hostel typology works, as a mechanism for social control and surveillance.

‘We envision a social construct based on community interaction’.

The built form is fragmented in nature and essentially comprises of basic units of different scales that take on an organic form. The organization and orientation of the units is primarily determined by the undulating nature of the site. This makes the relationship of each unit to a neighboring unit unique and specific. The sloping site gives rise to various interconnecting levels, where the terraces of some units overlook courtyard spaces of others. Three different types of units exist — single, twin and married scholars rooms function individually as a personal space and is physically disconnected from neighboring units, but programmatically connected by a common area, which is shared by 10-12 students. The common area includes the kitchen, small dining area and living area. The common room and a toilet block with ‘n’ number of units forms a basic cluster.

Terraces, courtyards connect, extend and animate movement and interaction. The units are constant and the relationship between the units is the variable. This allows a high level of flexibility in the design.

An individual spending a minimum of 2 yrs to a maximum of 5 yrs in this campus as a student would find such a space extremely interactive and non-restrictive as opposed to a typical dormitory or hostel block which is extremely uniform and impersonal and constricting. A basic cluster would have students not only from the different schools of the institution but also from different academic years. The density of the units in combination with elements like trellises gives rise to interesting shade and lighting conditions throughout the year.

Materials of construction details

All materials used are available or manufactured with a 100 km radius making them local. The project tendered cost is estimated at Rs.800 per square feet. Use of Flyash bricks creates a symbiotic relationship between the nearby thermal power plant and the university campus to foster a clean environment. As the flyash bricks have shown better compressive strengths while tested, it was prudent to work with a load bearing structure which works as the building envelop as well as the load carrier. This brings the cost down by as against a frame structure. The traditional mud bricks have been strongly prohibited on the campus site as they have eroded the valuable soil of the region.

Special Features

Sustainibility has always been a ‘Gandhian concept’ whose value and significance today cannot be stressed enough. The environmental effects of this include cycles of land, water and air, as well as those of energy and waste management which are of primordial importance in creating a sustainable environment.

Builtform:

The lower floors of the buildings are looked at as a day space that are tucked into the hill with thick retaining walls that sheild the spaces from thermal gain (summer day tempratures range from 40 degree centigrade to 45 degree centegrade). The fenestration are minimized to avoid the solar radiation there is also minimum use of glass in the fenestrations. The sloping of the roofs allows for a larger volume with a clearstorey opening for hot air to rise and exisit on the higher floors. Deep verandahs with large roof over hangs create shadows and reduces thermal gain.

Site development:

– Using minimum cut and fill, as the site is contoured.
– Rain water harvesting and collection in catchment areas
– Contour bunding to minimize erosion of top soil and creating green areas on the slopes
– Effluent treatment of the waste generated root zone treatment and recycling the water for gardening purposes
– Afforestation by planting trees/ multiple textures: soft paving, hard paving, gravel pits, lawns, flower beds
-Use of trees to provide natural shade to south & west facing structures and to hamess wind for proper ventilation of structures.

Landscape & Circulation elements weave themselves into the textures of the •programmed & ‘non-programmed spaces. Trees, lawns, flowers, stones and other such elements engage the architecture in an ‘integrative’ manner. Once again opposed to the idea of a static & inflexible organization, the ‘timing’ & ‘sequence’ of planting becomes integral to the constantly varying experiences by the students & faculty. It also aides in maintaining the ecological balance with respect to the natural resources existing in and around the site.

Name & Location: TRIOSE, LONAVALA

Built-up area: 30,000 SQ.FT.
(In case of Public Building minimum built-up area should be 1000 sq. meter)

Description of Project:

Angled spaces projected towards different directions encapsulated in an organically folded concrete skin create a two level building on this site in Lonavala housing a few retail shops, a food court, two restaurants, a lounge bar and an entertainment gaming area.

The entire frontage of the site along the main road overlooks large trees and a riverbed and hills. The axis of the building changes constantly from one side to the other allowing each space within to look out towards different views of the surrounding landscapes.

The building is comprised of three volumes which emanate from a central circulation spine that interconnects them. One of these three large framed openings cantilever out at the first floor housing a restaurant within and accentuating the entrance below. The building is entered through a 120° high lobby that leads into a 240° high volume housing a food court beyond which are a few retail shops. The 240° high volume of the food court overlooks shallow pools of the water on either side and sweeps down in the center creating a large open frame looking outwards and opening onto a sheltered deck.

The central area of the first floor houses an entertainment games area leading into a lounge bar on one side and a restaurant on the other.

A natural slope in the site towards the rear allowed an entire parking level to be created to facilitate the high traffic expected for the building with natural light and ventilation from the rear housing over 100 cars.

While different areas are intentionally used in different ways the spaces visually flow uninterruptedly all through the building from one end to the other and across the two levels. Each of the internal spaces open outwards dramatically encapsulating the external surroundings to the interiors, creating a seamless integration of the inside with the outside.

Materials of Construction Details:

The entire exterior is in painted concrete, glass and aluminum windows and internally the flooring is in yellow sandstone with bison board partitions and painted walls, all done within a very economical budget.

Special Features:

The concrete folded skin that forms most of the building creates large open frames towards the external views and the plans of the building too open out towards these large frames accentuating the beautiful natural surroundings to the inner spaces.

The building is comprised of three volumes which emanate from a central circulation spine that interconnects them.

The building is created sculpturally from within & externally and is a unique manifestation of abstracted volumes that are fluid in the interior and perceived as a dramatic juxtaposition of trapezoidal volumes on the site.

Name & Location: D CAVES RESORT, HYDERABAD

Cost of Project: (INR) 12,00,00,000

Built-up area: 45,000 sq ft
(In case of Public Building minimum built-up area should be 1000 sq. meter)

Description of Project:

Fifty feet high boulders sit in the centre of this small 1 acre site that rises up steeply from all sides with a thirty feet level difference from the edges to the centre. Skirted by small roads on all sides, the site at its highest level enjoys unrestricted open views in all directions while being picturesque in itself with the sculptural formation of large boulders traversing the site.

The client’s requirements were to create a midscale small resort hotel, with the rules not permitting a structure of more than 2 levels. 27 residential rooms are created in 3 linear blocks on one side of the plot stepping down along the natural slope of the site.
Service areas and food & beverage spaces including a restaurant, a bar and a sky deck are grouped together occupying North West corner of the site.

A health club & gymnasium form another small building on the East side of the plot while a conferencing facility is created in a separate small block on the South side.

Materials of Construction Details:

Conventional R.C.C. framed structure with brick infill walls and glass.

Special Features:

To preserve each of the majestic boulders that predominantly occupies the central portion of the small site, the design creates a series of spaces fragmented around the boulders. This allows the built space to be seen as an assemblage of small blocks interspersed with the boulders while creating spaces that enjoy uninterrupted views of the natural surroundings on the outside by elevating them and interesting views of the sculptural boulders on the inside. The interspersed rectilinear built spaces with the natural boulders create interesting juxtapositions and the internal spaces within the plot are perceived in varying compositions from each functional part of this small hotel.

The design thus retains the natural landscape of the site in the entirety with minimal intervention by the built forms that contrast in their linearity with the verticality of the boulders on site creating a movement pattern that constantly allows one to feel the natural surroundings both within the site and the surroundings.

Manisha Agarwal is an Architect, urban designer, academician and the founding partner of MO-OF Architects/Mobile Offices in Mumbai. She studied at the School of Architecture at CEPT, Ahmedabad (1996). In 1994 she received a fellowship for the student exchange program at the Bezalel Academy of Arts. Jerusalem, Israel. After a brief professional training period at Reinhold Pingel in Auroville, she worked with Kiran Kapadia Associates, Bombay after finishing from Ahmedabad.
She further pursued her Masters in Architecture (Urban Design) during 1998-2000 at Cornell University, New York where she received several scholarships. In 2000-2001 she worked as a project architect at Rafael Vinoly Architects in New York.
In 2001, she founded MO-OF along with her partner Shantanu Poredi in Mumbai. She is also currently visiting faculty at Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture, Mumbai where she has been teaching since the past 12 years.
Her areas of interest and concern are community housing, educational institutions, hospitality

MO-OF/ Mobile Offices is a design practice set up in 2001 in Mumbai which focuses on Architectural, Urban and Interior design. The studio is led by two principal architects Shantanu Poredi( AA, London; C.E.P.T. India) and Manisha Agarwal (Cornell, NY ; C.E.P.T. India).
The firm has completed projects of various program categories such as educational campus, hospitality, residential communities, offices, exhibitions and healthcare. The firm has also won the ‘Architect of the Year Award’ for a university group housing project in 2010 amongst several other awards. The firm had been invited to design the visitors pavilion at Urbanism and Architecture Biennale at Shenzhen, China in 2013. They have exhibited at the Aedes Gallery in Berlin and have been invited by the NAI and Dutch DFA for workshops and as speakers at conferences in Netherlands.Our project, Shifting Voids: Student Housing at the School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada was awarded first place at the XIV International Competition of Architecture and Design “EURASIAN AWARD 2018” in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
MO-OF’s interest in architecture and design stems from the debate on the evolving cities and the potential it offers a designer. The engagements with communities, the context the works are situated in, create design frameworks for the architectural rhetoric. The primary issues that the practice engages with are Social, cultural, environmental sustainability – these issues usher explorations that transform building types and typologies.

Ideas are tested through the various competitions the practice engages with at all levels. This has led to an opportunity for realizing some of the largest projects of the practice. The firm has anticipated research areas that have raised curiosity with diverse subjects and ushered the practice towards an unsolicited architectural realm. The belief is that a repository of design knowledge is available to each member of the team working towards growth within the firm’s life cycle. The essence of the practice is embedded in the idea of collaboration with diverse co-creators. The practice has been informed by pedagogy and academic research through a multidisciplinary approach to design and its execution.

 

Salient Feature of the Project

Name & Location : HOUSE ON A STREAM ,ALIBAUG, MAHARASHTRA
Cost of Project : (INR) 1.5 CRORE
Built-up area : 300SQ.M.
(In case Public Building minimum built-up area should be 1000 sq. meter)

DESCRIPTION

With a stream running through the house. this retreat in Alibaug is delicately woven into the landscape, alternately opening up and closing itself to the different characteristics of the site. A multitude of medicinal and fruit bearing trees provide for an intimate and comfortable microclimate. Though seasonal, the streambed allows for an interesting landscape feature throughout the year. The house is placed on the banks of the stream where it makes a sudden S-curve. A short walk along the stream before entering the house builds up an element of anticipation.

Like an organism trying to make most use of its resources and surroundings, the house with its several limbs reaches out into the landscape making full use of the views within the site and dramatizes special moments: a beautiful tree, a view of the mountains beyond or the cascading stream during the monsoon rains. What started out as a Cartesian response to the site became deformed stretched and pushed in.

Materials of Construction Details :

The house is cast in plank-finished concrete with a vertical grain. The homogenous materialization emphasizes the sculptural quality of the house that is moulding itself about the site. Concrete being left exposed in the humid Indian climate, attracts a patina that becomes more rich and alive over time. More so the grey textured surface provides a muted surface against the vibrant green surrounding.

Elegant timber screens further soften the greyness of the concrete. They not only form a buffer between the interior space and the exteriors, but also create an intensive play of shadow and light on the floors and walls.

Special Features

The house consists of two parts: the day areas of the house such as the dining/kitchen, the living room and entrance verandah are separated from the master bedroom by a bridge that spans across the stream. Since the owners are passionate about cooking, the kitchen is made the heart and centre of the house, a large, inviting volume with a high ceiling and a skylight that floods the space with light. This space forms the anchor of the house from where its various limbs branch out into the landscape around existing components of the site. The living room on the left is lifted off the ground to have a panoramic view of the mountain range in the distance. The guest room embraces an existing tree to create a courtyard and just peeks across the dining room to have a view over the length of the stream. The pool is aligned along the stream acting as a celebration of it during the monsoons, and a memory of it during the dry season.

The orientation of the program is based on climatic considerations. The bedrooms are mostly west facing with large verandahs and get the evening sun. The living rooms faces east once again with a large verandah. The kitchen, dining, and pool areas all look towards the north and are shaded by large trees. The south faqade of the house is predominately closed and more solid with the exception of a picture window that frames the view out from the pantry to the fields beyond

Name & Location: The Riparian House

Cost of Project: (INR) 1,50,00,000 INR

Built-up area: 300 m sq
(In case of Public Building minimum built-up area should be 1000 sq. meter)

Description of Project :

Homes in the periphery of Mumbai often are conceived as status symbols of people from the city trying to impose their importance on the agrarian landscape. They are often outrageous examples of design aesthetics imported from a different world, creating alienating invasions in a sensitive rural environment.

The Riparian House attempts to set an example of how this kind of building typology can coexist with its surroundings. Gazing down from the top of a hillock in Karjat, all you see is a cover of green. A cleverly camouflaged roof, looks like nature contrived to place it there, an imprint subtly left behind in the midst of a green cover. The Riparian House is a reflection at integrating homes into their specific environments without leaving a trace. The client has lived for a over a decade in the densely populated city of Mumbai. After retiring from an entrepreneurial corporate live the client founded an NGO in the outskirts of Mumbai and wished to live nearby during most part of the year on a plot abutting a river. The house was meant for him and his wife only, however during the duration of the project the family expanded with two young girls.

Materials of Construction Details :

The house is build I with a hybrid structure of reinforced concrete retaining walls for the part of the house that is embedded in the earth. The roof is made of a two way spanning reinforced concrete slab with inverted beams in between which the green roof layers are laid. The roof slab is supported by 4 steel columns of 150x150mm and is cantilevered by 1500mm to provide shade and rain protection for the glazed front facade. The verandah is suspended from the roof slab by 25mm dia tensions rods. The walls are made of a composite of brick and local Indian randomly coursed limestone of 100mm thickness. Both the living room in the western corner of the house and the master bedroom in the northern corner enjoy panoramic views to the river. Galvanised steel mullioned windows break down the scale of the front façade of the house. A rhythmic row of bamboo poles is placed at close intervals in front of the house to create a layer of privacy without obstructing the spectacular view of the river and the mountains beyond. The bamboo enclosure creates a dialogue between the interior and the dramatically changing landscape.

Special Features :

The natural landscape in the Western Ghats changes from a dense brightly green coloured jungle-like forest during the monsoon months to a pale brown shrubby wasteland during the dry and hot summer months. The plantation of drought tolerant fountain grasses mitigates this transition to a a dry landscape, while also relating to the riparian landscape that exists along the river. The building has to respond to these extreme conditions by allowing enough shade and breeze during the summer and providing a waterproof indoor environment during the stormy monsoons. The screen of bamboos creates an ever-changing pattern of light and shadow throughout the seasons and times of the day, making the building a ‘sensor’ of light.