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OFFICE BUILDING AT PROVO
Provo, Utah
Graduate Studio Fall 2022
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Supervisor: Ar. Roberto Pinon
The building codes applicable to Provo City were considered while designing the site and building. About 300 parking spaces were provided and multiple vehicular entries to the site (two from State Street and one from the west road) were designed. The entrance doors to the building on both East and West facade were emphasized by creating portals with recessed slant wall. The planning was carried out in such a way that there would be gradual change in the degree of publicness (from South to the North part of the building).
Construction-wise, the building incorporates a moment frame system and the construction type is II-B. Different materials like brick cladding, metal panels, and glass were used throughout the building keeping the architectural expression of the surrounding context. Curtain walls were used to provide abundant daylighting to the working spaces and views of the mountains around the site. Operable vertical shading devices and internal shade were proposed to cutoff glare and excessive heat coming from southwest direction.
The urban design class focused on redevelopment of one of the blocks in Main Magna Street as an exercise and example to follow for the rest of the blocks along the Main Street. It was a team project where my other team mates focused on 2D planning, data collections, and presentation and I was mostly involved in conceptualization, program finding, 3D model making and visualization.
Magna Main Street Block Redevelopment
Magna, Utah
Urban Design Fall 2022
Supervisor: Mark Robert Morris, PLA
Team: Aastha Shrestha, Corey Bishop & Rachel Stein
Street Magna's Main Street was a major shopping hub in the 1970s
Neo-classical and Beaux Arts style theatre building in the vicinity
Concept: Creating programs that celebrates the history and advertises the Image of Magna Main Street (Food, Gallery/Museum, Photo Booth, etc.)
Important building within the site
The goals of this project was to i) Increase Economic Activity, b) Improve Connectivity, c) Emphasize Storytelling & Culture, d) Integrate Biophilic Design & Landscaping, e) Maintain Architectural Integrity, and f) Focus on Universal Design. We proposed new housing units which were setback from the main street to provide density, privacy and maintain the commercial corridor intact. Another important point was to think of the entrances of the buildings and corners of the block where we proposed recessed entrances and chamfered corner that respects the architectural language of the place. We also proposed different signages, awnings, outdoor dining areas, seating, and scooter station to activate the street and increase flow of pedestrians.
Irradiance tower is the outcome of an extensive study of it’s site, context and the wish of the client to make it an iconic building. Market study of various kinds of buildings (hospitals, malls, hotels, schools, apartments, showrooms,offices etc), within an area of 2 miles radius from the site, guided to propose the tower as an office building. This 12-storey building houses rentable spaces for Class A offices, a rooftop cafeteria, a car showroom at its ground floor and a double basement for parking and utility. Open floor plans were designed to maximize rentable office spaces which not only provided flexibility for future tenants but also reduced construction cost drastically.
In this project, I was mostly involved in Site and context study, Research, Facade design, Design development, Interior design, Modelling, Visualization, and Presentations.
Office Building
Balkhu, Nepal
MAP - 2020
Design Team:
Site and context study
The volume and tapering shape of the building was guided by the existing byelaws in Nepal which restricts buildings to exceed 17metres without further setback. In order to build taller, the facade needs to recess back in the ratio 4: 1 and comply with the required setbacks.
Several massing options of the tower were created considering the byelaws and iconicity of the forms. Out of the options, Chevron massing was chosen and further worked out. After many iterations, shell option was chosen.
The Shell option had 250mm wide ductile link radiated from the bottom to the top like the lines of shell. 346mm wide ACP panels wrapped around the ductile links. The composition created privacy in lower floors and allowed views in upper floors.
[Facade
The Cube is the revised version of the previous Irradiance building. With the outburst of worldwide pandemic,COVID-19, and economic crisis, the client asked for redesign of the building. Accordingly, The 12 storey building was reduced to 7 storey with planning as same as the previous. The new facade consisted of fritted glass panels obtained from simulation studies of annual amount of sunlight recieved by each faces of the building.
In this project, I was mostly involved in Interior design, Modelling, Visualization, Construction drawings, HVAC planning and Cutsheets preparation .
Balkhu, Nepal
MAP - 2020
Design and Documentation Team: Kiran Mathema, Dipesh Shrestha, Bipin Niraula, Bibek Shrestha, Anu Maharjan, Aastha Shrestha, Parmila Maharjan, Sareena Manandhar, Angela Subedi
Each floors were planned in such a way that they could hold one to two tenants. Planning focused on utilizing maximum daylight into working zone and placing least use spaces like conference room, presentation room, meeting room, etc. in the spaces with minimum daylight. Moreover, Private cabins and breakout areas were well lit with ample daylighting and views to the outside. Overall planning ensures maximum utility of the given space and resources.
Raathi Residence is a 2 storey residential building for a family of 4 individuals. The local weather and urban location guided the overall design of the house. As a response to the very hot climate there, the exterior fenestration are minimized which helped to manage heat gain as well as privacy.
In this project, I was mostly involved in Design development, Interior design, Material Selection, Modelling, Visualization, Construction drawings, and Cutsheets preparation .
Residence
Biratnagar, Nepal
MAP - 2020
Design and Documentation Team: Kiran Mathema, Dipesh Shrestha, Anu Maharjan, Aastha Shrestha, Parmila Maharjan, Sareena Manandhar, Angela Subedi
The house is organized around a landscaped courtyard which becomes the central space and a source of light and ventilation. The tall and regular height rooms are combined to create sloping roof form with cascading gardens that insulates the roof during harsh summer.The overall height of the house is the tallest on the southwest corner. The roof gradually descends to a one story volume at the northeast corner to allow the prevailing summer breeze.
Kitchen
Daughter’s Bedroom 1
Dining Room
Daughter’s Bedroom 2
BIRUWA: RESPECTING THE ROOTS
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BIRUWA: RESPECTING THE ROOTS
Sustainable Green Home Resilient to the Changing Environment
Janakpur, Nepal
SONA Design Competition - 2020
Professional Category
Winner Team: Aastha Shrestha & Prakriti Bhandari
The design competition was a Research and Design Competition. It was about coming up with a conceptual design for a sustainable green home resilient to the changing environment. The challenges involved were:
1. Communicating our understanding of Sustainability and Resilience.
2. Choosing a location appropriate for the proposal
3. Conceptual Design of the house
It was one of the first competitions in which I participated after beginning my professional life.
“Biruwa is a Nepali name for Sapling. Biruwa embodies a new idea that has still a place for improvement. Biruwa metaphorically represents the budding stage of good sustainable practice needed in the city. If many seedlings are grown, the city becomes the forest gradually. It embodies the idea of growth and multiplication to create ultimately a self-sustaining biome”
1. Concept of Sustainability and Resilience
The concept of sustainability has three pillars: Economic, Environmental, and Social. However, the emphasis is given only on the environment. The other two aspects are overlooked most of the time. Sustainability, for me, is a balance among these aspects. On the other hand, resilience is the ability to recover from calamities, expand, repair, and build and heal from difficult situations.
Janakpur is a sub-metropolitan city in Province no. 2, Nepal. Janakpur being the birthplace of Sita, wife of Lord Ram, is rich in culture and practices. Located in the Terai region, it experiences a sub-tropical climate (hot humid summer and cold-dry winter).
Various factors like climate, uncontrolled population, and unorganized urbanization led to a number of problems in the city like flash floods, high humidity, drainage problem, pollution, mosquito-borne diseases, etc. In addition to that, the prevalent pandemic in the city has aggravated the situation. Another major problem faced is the rise in modern buildings that looks out of place and the subsequent loss in the identity of the city.
Janakpur was an appropriate location for the site to draw attention to the problems faced by the city and try to solve them through design. Solving the issues became the foundation for the conceptualization of the house.
3. Planning and Design
The house was designed for a family of five members. The design was based on the concept of resilient planning. The overall volume of the house was divided into two rectangular blocks ( North as Block A and south as block B) with due consideration of the orientation towards the road and the climate.
The ground floor consists of two bedrooms in block A and a semi open space in block B which could be used in a flexible manner. Stepped plinths, pervious pavers and bare ground in front yard of the house could help tackle the flash floods during rainy season. The open plan allowed the building to expand in the time of need.
Moving up from the airy staircase placed inbetween the blocks, one can reach to the first floor. The first floor consistsof two bedrooms in block A and a living, a kitchen and a dining area in the block B. The top floor comprises of a bedroom, a workspace and a terrace.
The spaces were designed focusing on every individual’s need and separated yet visually connected to each other making them suitable for the changing environment.
Sculpture Studio
Mound Park
Inner Road
Isolation in restriction
No interaction among students of various studios and classes lead to dull learning environment
10 Rethinking Architecture Department
Architecture Department
Pulchowk Campus, Nepal
Kaleidoscope College Round Architecture Student Design Competition 2018-2019
Winner
Qualified Chaos
Sweetspot of both quiet and noisy environment to students for effective learning.
Immersive environment
Intensive learning restricted in rooms and other remaining spaces for circulation
[Traditional pattern]
Immersive & Interactive environment
An extra space for interaction and collaboration among studios and classes
[Modern pattern]
Architecture is about creativity and it cannot evolve in a single room. The learning should extend beyond classrooms. The new architecture buillding was thus designed to provide effective learning environment with focus on 3I environment i.e. immersive, interactive and inspirational learning environment. Understanding the archi culture and site were the progenitors for the conception of the overall design. The planning emphasized on having learner centered classrooms, open studios with collapsible doors, multipurpose spaces, exhibition hall, crit spaces, interactive zones, research facility, gallery and other necessary spaces.
3Is environment
Immersive, Interactive & Inspirational Nature and art for better learning in addition to the immersive and interactive spaces
[Holistic pattern]
The department was designed simply with the combination of cubicle blocks interconnected to each other and surrounding the courtyard. The simple form ensured maximum utilization of the space and greater flexibility of the space. Moreover, this form helped to match the existing fabric of campus architecture.
-Main entry -Secondary path -Service entry ACCESS
The new building allows the dialogue between the site situation and itself which is missing in the existing building where there is no interaction with the historical buildings and surroundings. Thus the new one is more engaging and permeating providing more opportunities to explore the site.
Vegetation
-Green
The building ensures least destruction of any vegetation and thus the idea of protecting the trees in the site was the progenitor of the entire concept of formal development. Also, the building is oriented in a way to have green roofs and be sustainable.
-Entrance
Besides interactive spaces in the inside, there is also the need of outdoor interactive spaces which boost the social aspects of the students. These places allow to enjoy views of the historical buildings, organize outdoor events, and also to relax and work outdoor enjoying winter sun.
-Public
The building is moulded in a way to give user friendly experience where the students, teachers, workers, differently able people, visitors etc. get the type of environment they need.
-Admin
-Masters’ -Bachelors’ MAIN PROGRAM BLOCKS
The department is overall divided into three blocks :
1. Administration
2.Bachelors‘ block
3. Masters’ block
-Entrance
-Interactive bridge -Multipurpose hall CONNECTORS
The connecting spaces are the liveliest and the most interesting spaces in the entire department allowing for better communication with each other and interactions regarding their field of study. It acts as the forum for meeting, exhibitions, gallery, Wi-fi zone, discussions, etc.
UNDERGRADUATE DESIGN STUDIOS
EXHIBITION HALL
ATRIUM
GRADUATE LECTURE CLASSROOMS
