portfolio abhilasha bisht
a b o u t
m e
born on July 9 1990, i was raised in new delhi, india. living 25 years of my life in a fast growing metropolitan city comparable to new york, i have grown sensitive to the diverse culture, religion, rapid urbanization, swelling population, pollution and a working model of cohesive society. my education and professional experience has further reinforced my growing interest in neighborhood stabalization, activating or creating public spaces and sustainability. My interest also aligns to research-based analysis to determine demographics, soci0-cultural behavior, infrastructure and community structure essential for anticipating demand for suitable market. photography, traveling and reading calms me and are my most valued source to this dynamic ecology surrounding us. i draw my inspiration from charles darwin’s theory of evolution and firmly believe that evolution in architecture is a step towards progressive city.
abhilasha bisht
e d u c at i o n Master of Architecture University of Houston, Houston Graduating May 2018 bachelor of Architecture Vastu Kala Academy, IGNOU, New Delhi AUGUST 2013
skills Autocad |Revit |SketchUp | 3ds Max | Rhino adobe Photoshop | Illustrator | InDesign GIS Grasshopper | Ladybug | ComCast | IESVE
MODELINg Graphic MAPPING Environment
languages english hindi german (basic)
hobbies Photography Sketching Community Works reading traveling Indian Classical Dancing
experience Student Assistant Facilities Planning and Construction, University of Houston January 2017 - Present Assistant MANAGER - ARCHITECTURE Ameya Group, Gurgaon, India January 2014 - JULY 2016 ARCHITECT INTERN The Phogat Associates, New Delhi, India JUNE 2012 - MARCH 2013
achievements Designed Non-Pavilion installation (Hear Here) for Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) and received honorable mention for team prototype (Silent Gateway) | November 2017 Volunteered CDRC (UH) and Project Row Housing (3rd Ward, Houston) community development initiative | 2017 Architect license from Council of Architecture, India | January 2014 Conducted two-day design seminar with 2nd year B.Arch students at Lovely Professional University - Punjab, India, invited by former Architecture and Design Dean - Professor Rupinder Singh | June 2010
c o n t e n t
puppets, snakes, & courtyards eastex jensen | community design installation | mfah uli hines competition Biome cube | wetland house u r b a n
c a n o p y
masters project | social housing
Puppets Snakes and Courtyards comes together to create a mixed-income community that
thrives on performing arts culture and a long standing tradition of puppetry and street performance. While the artists reside in the low-rise courtyard houses and townhouses, this proposed neighborhood attempts to anchor the civic life of the community by introducing theater district including workshops that serves as public gathering places. It further sparks additional private investment, aiding to incubate the neighborhood and aligns to the government’s strategy of bringing higher-income population to subsidize social housing.
a view into courtyard - space for communal activities and social interaction
kathputli (puppet) colony is a 5.2 hectare site located in west delhi shadipur region at the intersection of a freeway, a railway track, a bus transit center and an elevated metro corridor with two metro station within quater mile radius. due to it’s proximity to kirti nagar - light industrial area and asia’s largest furniture market- the area experiences heavy footfall of approx. 7000 everyday commuters.
site area
- 5.2 ha (12.84 ac) 5,59,723 sf
proposed area for
- 64,000 sf (11.4%)
high-rise development theaters and public space - 70,300 sf (12.5%) courtyard units townhouse units total residential units retail stores unit density
-
372 222 594 74 60 du/a
kathputli colony could potentially become the new theater district defining character to west delhi’s industrial face
existing trees on site regulates public-private spaces
the proposed zoning derived from site information
analysis to synthesis : the design development is informed by physical and social fabric of the community
the urban fabric and internal accesses
EXISTING UNIT
courtyard houses 30’ x 30’
This type is an “L” form with one courtyard that can be rotated four times inside the square lot to give four different orientations. In the two-story house, the second story is an independent unit with separate entrance through external staircase which provides opportunities for future expansion. traditional technique of brick jali along terrace and staircase wall serves as double skin, passively shading the house and allowing natural ventilation. the courtyard houses are inward looking, arranged along linear promenade and clusters encouraging social interaction.
town houses 40’ x 16’
This type is a sophisticated and rigorous solution to dimensionally constrained problems of housing. The linear progression of these row houses establishes a frame for conscious development of public space. The ground level commercial activity reinforces the vitality of the street while the private functions are clearly zoned to upper floors. Its repetitive and systematic approach is sober and emphasizes the sense of continuity and urban decorum.
SECTION THROUGH THE SITE SHOWING COURTYARD HOUSES, TOWN HOUSES (SNAKES), THEATERS AND HIGH-RISE DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNITY DESIGN | EASTEX-JENSEN
E a s t e x / J e n s e n area is a part of north-east Houston outside the North Loop on both sides of the
important Eastex Freeway and Jensen Drive corridors. Facing dramatic inequality, unequal environmental burdens and risks and uneven access to opportunity, this projects focuses on the values and strategies for creating a more just city, by working to address the challenges and build on the assets of the Super Neighborhood.
knowing
ethnic population
median household income
grocery stores
health facilities
(not an individual work)
(not an individual work)
INSTALLATION | MFAH
H e a r H e r e translates rhythmic linework into three-dimensional space to create a continuous flow of
communication. It serves as gestural abstraction of sound evoking emotional and subjective responses from the users. Each of the sound tubes is designed to create opportunities for the users to interact through a: tete-a-tete, conference, broadcast or interviewer-interviewee. The tubes are arranged in an interlocking geometry to create varied spatial experiences. The interview takes place beneath a peanut roof shell structure providing isolation and privacy.
30x40 inch fabricated wall panel
Cold Mountain Series, Zen Study 5 Brice Marden
I THINK ABSTRACTION IS A VERY RICH AREA. AND IT IS UPSETTING THAT PEOPLE SEEM TO HAVE SOME FEAR OF IT. I'AM CONSTANTLY MAKING THESE STATEMENTS HOW YOU SHOULD JUST LOOK AT IT AND REACT TO IT ON YOUR OWN; JUST RELAX AND LET GO. BRICE MARDEN
interviewer- interviewee
Interv
conference
tete-tete
broadcast
Design Credit : Martha Salinas, Franco Fabrication credit: Martha salinas, franco, abhilasha bisht
uli hines 2017 | urban design
r o u t e 6 i x is a major revitalization effort to transform toronto’s don river back into a highly connected
livable core. In Toronto’s industrial past the Don river played a critical role in both commerce and recreation. However, in recent decades flooding issues and the creation of an impassable divided highway along the river have relegated the area to low productivity industrial usage. Once complete, Route 6IX will be adjacent to major new rail transit stop with direct access to the city core and international airport.
wetland | house design
B I O M I C U B E LOCATED ON THE EASTERN BAY OF GALVESTON AIMS TO PRESERVE THE DIMINISHING WETLANDS ALONG THE GULF OF MEXICO AND PROPOSES A MORE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DESIGN WHERE THE ARCHITECTURE CAN HELP RESTORE AND PROTECT THE EXISTING ESTUARINE WETLANDS BY FILTERING THE WATER GOING INLAND. THE ARCHITECTURE WHILE HAVING MINIMAL DISRUPTIVE IMPACT ON THE LANDSCAPE, HELPS FILTERING SEA WATER SEEPING INTO FRESH WATER LAKE IN THE SITE.
DUNE ZONES - PRIMARY ZONES, BLOW-OUT ZONES, DUNE HOLLOWS, FORE DUNE RIDGES, DEFLATION AND PARABOLIC ZONES.
WIND FORCES AND BUILDING SAFE ZONE RELATIONSHIP.
FLUID SITE CONTOURS AND SAFE ZONE RELATIONSHIP. DIAGRAM SHOWING DUNES’ PRIMARY ZONES, BLOW OUT ZONES, DUNE HOLLOWS, FORE DUNE RIDGES, DEFLATION, AND PARABOLIC ZONES.
RECTILINEAR CONTOURS AND BUILDING SAFE ZONE RELATIONSHIP.
BIOMI COMMUNITY WITH FILTER ZONES (GREEN), WATER COLLECTION ZONES (BLUE) AND COMMUNITY GARDEN ZONES (ORANGE).
WOODEN HIPPED ROOF WITH NO OVERHANGS AS TO REDUCE THE HEAVY WIND LOAD EFFECTS DURING HURRICANE
ADJUSTABLE ALUMINUM LOUVERS ATTACHED ON METAL FRAME that ACT AS A SHELL FOR THE INTERIOR UNIT WHICH CAN BE CLOSED DURING HARSH WEATHER, PROTECTING THE UNIT LAUGHING GULL FORSTER’S TERN
BLACK SKIMMER ROSEATE SPOONBILL CLAPPER RAIL
HERON
OYESTERCATCHER
using wooden stud wall - a VERNACULAR CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE IN GALVESTON. BUILDABLE ZONE ECOLOGICAL ZONE
WOODEN POSTS SUPPORTing 10 FEET high ELEVATED TWO-STOREy UNITs CONNECTED BY BOARDWALKS, ALSO GIVING VIEW OF THE SEA, WHILE PROTECTING FROM HIGHER STORM SURGES.
AQUATIC BED
MARSH & TIDAL FLAT
SWALE
RIGDGE
FOREBEACH
SALT GRASS
SWITCH GRASS
LITTLE BLUESTEM
PURPLE LOVEGRASS
GULF MUHLY
PANAEID SHRIMP
EEL
FRESH WATER ESTUARINE WETLANDS
CONCRETE PIER FOUNDATION SUPPORTING outer shell EXCAVATED 20 FEET DEEP FROM THE GROUND TO STABILIZE THE STRUCTURE FROM SOFT WETLAND SOILS AND HIGH WIND LOADS.
TERRAPIN
PASPALUM
OFFSHORE BARS
OYESTER
TERRAPIN
TRIPLE TAIL
STONE CRAB
TARPON
adapted from galveston’s vernacular beach house typology, biome cube is a double layered house with respective independent structure. while the exterior shell forms a protective barrier against the coastal wind conditions, the interior living space allows free flowing movement imitating wetland’s nature. however, under extreme climatic conditions, the movable fins of the exterior shell would shut-off, completely caging the house, thus enabling the biome cube to be functional.
FIRST FLOOR - 1160 SQ. FT. 1. BOARDWALK 2. ENTRANC PATIO 3. LIVING AREA 4. KITCHEN & DINING 5. BEDROOM 1 6. BEDROOM 2 7. TOILET
8. BACKYARD 9. LOUNGE 10. MASTER BEDROOM 11. TOILET 12. BALCONY 13. LOGGIA 14. STORE
SECOND FLOOR - 990 SQ. FT.
urban canopy | downtown
u r b a n c a n o p y seeks to develop a critical approach to integrate alternative adaptive solution to
Houston’s urban ecology. The three staged project- UPLOAD, UPDATE and UPGRADE investigates various form of adaptation found both in natural and manmade environment and proposes solution that instills versatility in the urban ecology of Downtown Houston.
PHYSICAL BARRIER
DISJUNCTION Houston’s potential assets as compared to other cities are inconsistant with its tourism status. downtown identifies three types of barriers that impedes tourism.
dead facade facing assets transit line through pedestrian oriented zone
VISUAL BARRIER open spaces islolates assets after operation hours
INFORMATION BARRIER absence of focal centre to navigate
PINNING
identifies the points of attractions throughout the district. The pins act as point of reference that helps visitors gain a sense of direction throughout the space.
threading
groups pins together, forming various possible courses to connect the attraction points. At the same time, it breaks the existing grid-iron pattern and offers new routes to access the district.
surfacing provides a cover to the thread connections which forms a conceptual framework for structure allowing multiple combinations of social activities to take place.
THEATRE DISTRICT
PINNING
THREADING
SURFACIMG
VOLUMIZING
Overlapping existing iron-grid with a new layer of URBAN CANOPY following systematic program
u r b a n c ata l o g URBAN BEDROOM B01
B03
View from Sesquicentennial park
URBAN CORRIDOR C01
C02
View below Freeway besides Aquarium URBAN PLAYGROUND P01
P03
View looking Jones Plaza
EMAIL: ar.abhilashabisht@gmail.com