Akshita Mandhyan
PORTFOLIO
Selected works: 2018 - 2024
Urban
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Public Design Corps | Spring 2024
Buildkraft, Raipur: Professional Project |
Buildkraft,
42mm,
Re new pair Detroit
Detroit, USA
Urban Design Technology Studio | Winter 2024
Instructor: Prof. Cyrus Peñarroyo
Team: Akshita Mandhyan + Cameron Blakely + Ehsan Alam
Academic Project, University of Michigan
Well before the “digital age”, Detroit was experimenting with innovations like the automobile and technologies like the highway. However, urban renewal, redlining, and urban freeway construction created an unequal impact of these technologies and instead lead to displacement and a loss of opportunity for many Detroiters. Today, the city outwardly seems to be making a comeback, but revitalization projects like District Detroit and the University of Michigan's Center for Innovation (UMCI) continue to ignore harmful legacies and, in many ways, only exacerbate the sense of exclusivity downtown. What could be a counter proposal to the UMCI and District Detroit?
Current Proposed Interior Rendering for UMCI (Image by KPF)
Counter Proposal for UMCI as a space for repair and maintenance
UMCI (University of Michigan Centre for Innovation)
DESIGN STRATEGY
Rather than blindly embrace innovation as our only way forward, can we instead foster a culture of maintenance and repair that reflects on our history and empowers communities to be able to shape their own futures?
This project recognizes looks to rescript the UMCI and District Detroit program as a way of contemplating the university’s assumed responsibility to Detroiters. It proposes viewing innovation not just as new, but as a complementary step, along with maintenance and repair, to create a stronger and more resilient Detroit.
Through reporgramming, reparations, reconnection, and remembrance, this counter proposal aims to repair some of Detroit’s urban injustices while simultaneously attempting to construct social and economic resilience. From reactivated streets and alleyways to reprogrammed b uildings and new transit connections, this alternative District Detroit acts as a network that interacts with and draws in existing communities dispersed throughout the city. Through these attempts, we propose viewing innovation not just as new, but as a complementary step, along with maintenance and repair, to create a stronger and more resilient Detroit.
District Detroit
+ REDISTRIBUTION: of UMCI Programming from one building to spread University’s infrastructure and resources for the city
+ REDISTRIBUTION: of District Detroit Programming towards a more resilient Detroit
+ REPARATIONS: through District Detroit
Towards Resilience
Detroit, USA
High Density Seminar | Winter 2024
Instructor : Claudia Wigger
Individual Project
Academic Project, University of Michigan
Dequindre Cut Greenway which was formerly a GrandTrunk Railroad line is a two mile greenway which was opened to the public in May 2009 as a result of a public, non-profit, and private partnership to create a pedestrian link between the East Riverfront, Eastern Market, several residential neighborhoods and sites in between. One of these many sites which is south of Lafayette Towers sits between two beautiful green spaces - Dequindre Cut Greenway and Lafayette park. This site is a massive parking lot with an unimpressive strip mall but I wonder if this could be more than that?
This proposal for a high density development on this site in Detroit is inspired by the mixed-use neighborhoods in Central and South Delhi which are walkable and diverse. The project proposed retail uses on the lower floors to activate streetlife and plaza environment, residential in the middle floors, the office or commercial uses on the top floors, and parking in the basement. While ensuring a blend of architectural aesthetics, my attempts are mainly directed towards a mixed-use composition of every building to ensure more economic and social resilience.
Site Plan
Changing Ratios : Redirecting Urbanisation
Canton, MI, USA
Urban Design Justice Studio | Fall 2023
Instructor : Salam Rida and Prof. Gabriel Cuéllar
Team: Akshita Mandhyan + Jess Chen
Academic Project (Click here for video), University of Michigan
This project is concerned with identifying and developing spatial design strategies that address processes of suburban expansion of Canton. It includes articulating three scenarios projecting possible future transformations of that place, with special attention to the role of urbanization and suggesting ways to rethink and redirect urbanisation in the suburbs. Canton is one of the most rapidly growing cities in Michigan. Its proximity to Detroit and lower housing prices compared to its neighboring townships have accelerated this urbanization. One of the alarming consequences of rapid urbanization is flooding which is a regional issue affecting Detroit, Plymouth, and nearby townships as well. If this rate and scale of urbanization continues, further flooding might even drown the city. Even the future land use map of Canton City council shows continued residential growth.
These three interventions together have the capacity to make existing fabric of urbanization more efficient to increase permeability of land in the city and parallelly, creating a more pedestrian friendly and inclusive environment - to address the notion of justice of rights of people and nature over cars in cities. And, perhaps even inspire changing ratios in the neighboring towns which are on their way to becoming present day Canton!
+ Addressing inefficient urban units (vacant homes and offices)
Through the help of a community trust, single family homes can be converted into local grocery stores or cafes that people can walk to. Parallely, vacant office buildings can be bought and converted into multifamily affordable homes. This simultaneous swapping of land use will create a mixed-use mixed economy walkable environment.
+ Addressing housing crisis (affordability, availability, and accessibility)
Co-ops can take up parcels of single -family homes and convert them into medium rise multi-family homes giving some open permeable land to the community as gardens or other public spaces.
+ Towards a cultural shift (pedestrian friendly urbanism) A series of tactical urbanism interventions to challenge policies that support current planning practices can catalyze a more pedestrian friendly urbanization. These interventions can happen at three different levels of hierarchies – main roads, inter-community roads and intra-community roads by pedestrians claiming these certain parts of the roads for a day, a week, or even a month to make car movement difficult.
This model was an interactive model which engaged peers and reviewers to participate in envisioning a mixed-use pedestrian friendly neighborhood.
Peripheral Urbanisms
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Public Design Corps | Spring 2024
Instructor: Prof. María Arquero de Alarcón
Individual Contribution: Mapping, Informational Video for the project (Click here for link)
Public Design Corps, University of Michigan
In Spring 2024, I participated in a Public Design Corps field trip to Sao Paulo for 3 weeks along with 12 other students. The purpose of this trip was to document ground realities to countermap PIU Arco Jurubatuba project which threatens the existence of Favelas (informal housing) and those residing in it.
The PIU Arco Jurubatuba is a project that will define the urban transformation of a large area in the South Zone of Sao Paulo along the Pinheiros, Guarapiranga and Jurubatuba rivers. Originating from the Strategic Master Plan (PDE 2014), the aim of the plan is to update and expand urban infrastructure, increase green areas, redensify through the development of additional housing and public facilities, and growing the employment nodes to generate economic opportunities. The anticipated impacts the PIU Arco Jurubatuba, one of the city's largest urban operations, opens up a huge frontier for property speculation from Vila Andrade, to Santo Amaro, Socorro, Interlagos, and up to the Autódromo region and the Billings Dam region. Based on this real estate agenda, the municipality is proposing a huge number of road works, such as the extension of the Marginal Pinheiros with new bridges and the destruction of the existing linear park, the Gaivotas - Graúna Bridge, Waterway Terminals, and Linear Parks, among others. At the same time, much of the development of much needed social interest housing will be left in the hands of the private sector. As a result, the favelas and occupations in the project footprint will experience a new wave of threats, with evictions and dispossession due to land appreciation and insufficient funding for upgrading and social housing provision.
This was done in partnership with several local partners in Sao Paulo which included several housing rights movements, community leaders, popular lawyers, and architectural firm such as Peabiru who work to raise awareness on housing rights amongst people residing in informal housing.
Bastar Trade Fair
Jagdalpur, India 2021
Team: Akshita Mandhyan + Isha Riza Khan
Contribution: Concept Design Development
Professional Project (Buildkraft Engineering and Architecture, Raipur, India)
Bastar Trade fair is a project with the purpose of promoting indigenous art and culture of the city. As the city grows, it requires a public place that ampli es its identity and gives the people a sense of belonging. The key considerations of this project were accessibility, inclusivity, and safety. Located along NH 30(National Highway 30) in the developing city of Jagdalpur, this project takes a site with some existing development to be merged with a landscape and public utilities. The existing developments include a sports complex, a toy train, and vending kiosks. The new developments include a Bazaar(market place), an OAT(open air theatre), parking, and landscaping.
Key Plan
Bakehouse
Team: Akshita Mandhyan + Isha Riza Khan
Contribution: Design Development and Execution
Professional Project (Buildkraft Engineering and Architecture, Raipur, India)
This 300 sqft gazebo is located in the lush green lawns of a private residence in one of the posh localities of the city. Through a process involving design and dialogue with the clients, it was converted into an intimate baking place with minimal intervention to the structure and the landscape surrounding it. For the interiors, a very neutral color scheme dominates the space which blends in with the greens of its immediate environment.
Courtyard House
Nagpur, India
Team: Akshita Mandhyan + Sukhpreet Kaur
Contribution: Concept Design Development
Professional Project (42mm Architecture, Delhi India)
Nagpur is the third largest city in the state of Maharashtra. It has a dry and semi-humid climate, witnessing extremely hot weather during summer months(March to June). It is imperative to use passive cooling solutions to reduce usage of non-renewable resources of energy. This 14 acre site has a rich green environment, an existing waterbody, a Gaushaula (cow stable), and a biogas plant. The entrance to the site in the Northeast is done as per Vastu Shastra(traditional Indian system of architecture).
The client brief was to design a house which is connected to nature. The Courtyard House conceptually is an earthy built mass which uses passive cooling techniques and interacts with its unbuilt surroundings visually, physcially, and experientially.
Layer 1: external large and medium deciduous trees for privacy Layer 2 cow-grazing
Layer 3 lawns and smaller trees
