Alay Thakrar Portfolio by Alay Thakrar

Portfolio Alay Thakrar

Alay Anil Thakrar

Experience:

Achievements / Awards:

alaythakrar96@gmail.com (812)215-4107

- School of Architecture, UT Austin | Teaching Assistant Austin, USA | January 2022 - Present Teaching Assistant for ARC 335T Architectural Details/Materials course (Spring 2022) by Professor Juan Miro

Austin, TX

- School of Architecture, UT Austin | Success Scholars Program Assistant Austin, USA | August 2021 - January 2022 Editing content, writing weekly announcements, group meetings and peer discussions with scholars, creation of a digital handbook for the position - College of Liberal Arts, UT Austin | Student Affairs Graduate Intern Austin, USA | September 2021 - January 2022 Created the campus map for the College of Liberal Arts, analyzed literature for sophomore and transfer student programming

Language Skills: -

English, Fluent Hindi, Fluent Gujarati, Fluent Marathi, Intermediate

Software Skills: -

Autodesk AutoCAD (2D Drafting) Autodesk Revit (BIM) Adobe Photoshop (Post-Production) Adobe Illustrator (Post-Production) Adobe Indesign (Post-Production) Adobe Lightroom (Post-Production) Rhinoceros (3D Modeling) Sketchup (3D Modeling) QGIS (GIS) ArcGIS (GIS) Vray (Rendering) Lumion (Rendering) Enscape (Rendering) Climate Consultant (Energy Design) Microsoft Office (Management)

Education: - The University of Texas at Austin Master of Science in Urban Design August 2021 - Present GPA: 4.0/4.0 Recruitment Scholarship: Sinclair Black Excellence Fund in Urban Design - Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture, Mumbai University Bachelor of Architecture July 2014 - April 2019 CGPA: 8.11/10 Professional Affiliation: Member, Council of Architecture (COA), India

- Freelance Architect | Architect Mumbai, India | January 2021 - June 2021 Design, execution of a residential house project & an international design competition - Studio LAB | Architect Mumbai, India | November 2019 - November 2020 Design proposals for commercial, residential, and hospital projects. Lead the design, resolution, & execution of a commercial office project in Delhi. Managed site work & oversaw coordination with consultants, vendors, and execution teams. Involved in technical resolution & producing working drawings for a large-scale hospital project - Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture | Teaching / Studio Assistant Mumbai, India | June 2019 - May 2020 On-site research & survey during study trips for Architectural Design V & VI. Monitored student coursework, oversaw submissions, reviews & grading. Performed studio documentation & compiled the documentation to create college publications - Studio POD | Architect Mumbai, India | September 2019 - November 2019 Design proposal for Raja Ram Mohan Roy street for ‘Mumbai Street Lab’ competition - Little River Architects | Architectural Intern Bangalore, India | January 2018 - May 2018 Design proposals & technical drawings for a villa, a yoga centre, and an art exhibition. Technical drawings and furniture details for a cultural art exhibition - JJP Architects & Planners | Architectural Intern Taipei, Taiwan | November 2017 - January 2018 ‘Taoyuan Museum of Art‘ competition in collaboration with MVRDV. 3D modeling and rendering for the Taoyuan Metro Green Line Project 2017/18

Exchange Programs: - Urban Design Workshop | Held at University of British Columbia (UBC) & KRVIA Vancouver, Canada + Mumbai, India | February 2019, May 2019 - Asia Networking Design Workshop | Held at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Chongqing, China | April 2017 - Cultural Student Exchange Program | Held at Eberhard Ludwigs Gymnasium Stuttgart, Germany + Mumbai, India | January 2011, May 2011

Certifications: -

Publications / Exhibitions: -

Workshops: -

Extracurricular Activities: -

Table of Contents

The Seam

Graduate Work | Urban Structure and Landscape Systems

Preserving the Sense of Place

Undergraduate Thesis | National Urban Rejuvenation Scheme

Taoyuan Museum of Art

Professional Work | Urban Vision + Museum Design

The Urban Carnival

Undergraduate Work | Urban Redevelopment Scheme

Nomadic Abode

Competition | Mixed Housing Development

De-Nucleate

Urban Exchange Workshop | City Centre Master Plan

Terraria: Gardens of Display Competition | Urban Follies / Micro Ecosystems

The Seam Interbay, Seattle Cascadia Chronicles II Urban Structure and Landscape Systems Graduate Work - Urban Design Studio I Period - 2021 Team - Ashwini M, Aubry K, Brent R Nominee: UTSOA - Fall 2021 Design Excellence Award The Interbay neighborhood of Seattle has historically been a site of high productivity. Before white settlers developed the region, the native Salish tribes used the area to hunt, fish, and gather food. Today, the area is a hub for the Pacific North West fishing industry as well as small-scale manufacturing. However, the infrastructure which supports these industries has not only created an enormous barrier within the city, it has also wreaked havoc on the ecology of the site. The Seam proposes to reverse this reality by reinventing an infrastructure of connection and employing strategies of ecological protection, all while retaining the productive identity of the neighborhood. Digital Workflow: QGIS + AutoCAD + Rhino + Photoshop + Illustrator + Indesign

Site Plan | QGIS + AutoCAD + Illustrator

Master Plan | AutoCAD + Photoshop

Multimodal Transportation Outdoor Recreation Mixed Use Neighborhoods

Connection

Washington - Agriculture

Sea Level Rise Mitigation Stormwater Infiltration Salmon Habitat Restoration

Production

Protection

Greenhouse District Fishing Industry Cut Flower Fields Clean Energy Small Scale Industry

Interbay, Seattle - Historic Productivity

CParti Diagram

Warehouse District

Vehicular + Pedestrian Circulation

Program

Open Spaces

View Corridors

Greenhouse District

Central Interbay

Central Interbay - Cultural Street View | Hand Sketch + Photoshop

Central Interbay - Section

Greenhouse District - Entrance View | Hand Sketch + Photoshop

Preserving the Sense of Place Inner City, Junagadh National Urban Rejuvenation Scheme Undergraduate Thesis - Design Dissertation Period - 2018 / 2019 Guide - Nemish Shah Honourable Mention (Urban Design): RTF - Architectural Design Competition 2020 Human beings have an elementary necessity for familiar buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes to remind them of what their lives have been and how their lives are changing. They serve as reference points that establish a stable image of their environment. The thesis attempts to study the inner-city precinct of Junagadh by looking at its cultural heritage. The project aims to explore adaptive reuse as an alternative strategy to a conventional urban redevelopment scheme for the heritage precinct of Junagadh, which not only complements but challenges and reveals the history of the city through tectonic character and original intent of the design by preserving the spirit of the place. Digital Workflow: QGIS + AutoCAD + Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop + Illustrator + Indesign

Junagadh - Site Plan | AutoCAD + Illustrator

Circle Chowk - Sectional Axonometric | AutoCAD + Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop

Once the center of Junagadh, the inner-city today faces deterioration and negligence. Heritage structures in the entire precinct are neglected due to the absence of a local heritage body. The project endeavors to promote conservation and rejuvenation of the entire historic precinct by creating a dense network of newly introduced programs around existing place-markers of the inner-city. These interventions along with the intricate city fabric form the ‘Urban Collage‘

PRE 400BC

Public Institutions These form place markers for the people of the inner-city 400 BC - 875 AD

Chowks, Gates, Uparkot Highly public spaces that host a mix of activities and events throughout the day 875 AD - 1747 AD

Mohallahs Highlights the locations of different communities in the urban fabric 1747 AD - 1947 AD

Important Axes Define the old and the new, creating four spines of the city 1947 AD - 2000 AD

Market Streets Provide formal and informal points of encounter for the people of the city

2000 AD - 2018 AD

Evolution Maps

Exploded Axonometric - Structure and Form

Urban Collage - Future Imagination | Hand Sketch + Photoshop

Circle Chowk

Civil Hospital Chowk

Cinema Chowk

Jagmal Chowk

Jail Chowk

Once the Administrative centre of Junagadh during the Babi dynasty, most of the buildings in Circle chowk now lie defunct. The entire complex was the epicenter of the planning scheme of Junagadh

The hospital complex, built during the Babi nawabs boasts a large area with lots of green spaces. It is located on MG road between Chittakhana chowk and Azad chowk, along with several other signifcant buildings

Located on the road connecting the railway station to Uparkot, Cinema chowk is mostly residential in nature (some more than 100 years) except the buildings lining the main street, which are all commercial in nature

Jagmal chowk has a strong presence of Jain community and is located on the road connecting the new city to Uparkot. Devchand Laxmichand trust owns several houses, havelis,dharamshalas and upashrays

Jail chowk is at the edge of the inner city. It has been in a state of flux after the growth of Junagadh outwards and has faced the burden of urbanization. It is named after the district jail located on one corner of the chowk

Transect Map | AutoCAD + Illustrator

Site Activities | AutoCAD + Hand Sketch + Photoshop

Site Axonometric | Sketchup + Hand Sketch + Photoshop

Circle Chowk Master Plan

Adaptive Reuse

The Master Plan restores the deserted complex by housing a newly established local heritage cell. The complex also boasts public programs such as a Cinema theatre, shopping complex, skill workshops, all of which aim to restore the Circle chowk to its former glory

Multiple interventions were explored during the design process, each dealing with specific conditions in the existing structures. These interventions define the relationship between the old and the new and provide the built environment new attributes that help enhance the overall Masterplan

Intervention Strategies The project uses three main design strategies to deal with the site - Redesigning existing floor layouts to accommodate new programs, Adding small strategic interventions into voids, and Connecting spaces with the help of a circulation spine. These help redefine the relationship between the old and the new

Upper Ground Floor Plan | AutoCAD + Photoshop

Cinema House Courtyard View | AutoCAD + Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop

Circulation Spine Ramp View | AutoCAD + Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop

Circle Chowk View | AutoCAD + Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop

Taoyuan Museum of Art Taoyuan, Taiwan Urban Vision + Museum Design Professional Work - Design Competition Period - 2017 / 2018 Team - JJP, MVRDV 3rd Place: Taoyuan Museum of Art Taoyuan City Council 2018 Taoyuan is a land of thousand ponds. This unique feature in the landscape was originally created as small reservoirs in an irrigation system that served surrounding fields. A park around one such pond will be used to house a major cultural institution: the Taoyuan Museum of Arts. This will enliven the park and form a strong identity for the city. Specific Tasks: - Site survey - Community intervention design - Urban planning diagrams - Urban Vision drawing - Museum 3D modeling - Museum drawings (plans & sections) - Facade & Fenestration design - Roofscape design

Taoyuan Site Plan | ArcGIS + Illustrator

Bird’s Eye View | AutoCAD + Rhino (Rendering outsourced)

Urban Planning Vision A series of public spaces can be found within the new extensions. They can be used to concentrate the main new program around them and make better usage of the parks, thereby enliven them. This can lead to a series of urban green ‘rooms‘. The city messages itself as a city for green, water and blossom peach trees. Why not make that even stronger?

Jungle room

Urban Mix: Create a district with an urban mix to attract new young residents

Water Plaza room

River room

Nature: Expand the existing green to make connections with multiple activities

Peach Flower room

Icons: Create icons in the district to give it character and attract visitors

Sport room

Museum Design Concept The park around the Blue pond or the ‘Peach Flower Room‘ will be used to house a major cultural institution: The Taoyuan Museum of Arts. This can enliven the park and can form the start of a new and strong identity. By fragmenting the program, a nice human scale can be created and avoid blocking the routes through the park. Pathways can go in between and open the program. By overlaying the petal-like volumes they create connections and nice shadows while providing overhangs.

Step 01: Follow the maximum building coverage ratio and required programs

Step 02: Programs form three groups according to the vising sequence, access and site context

Urban Vision Drawing | Hand Sketch + Photoshop

Step 03: Shape the three groups into peach flowers

Step 04: Stack the flower petals, to bend the petals up or down

Step 05: Connect the bridge and the landscape with the overall peach flower concept

Step 06: Finalize the design of the “Pink Room“

Site Master Plan | AutoCAD + Rhino + Photoshop

Bird’s Eye View

Interior Exhibit View

Blue Pond View

Connecting Bridge View

The Urban Carnival Astley Hall, Dehradun Urban Redevelopment Scheme Undergraduate work - Urban Design + AD VII Period - 2017 Guide - Kalpit Ashar 1st Place Citation Award: Vowels India - Scholarchs 2017 1st Place: KRVIA - 4th year Architectural Design 2018 2nd Runner Up (Mixed Use): Design Whack - Star Students Awards 2019 The idea of the project is to accommodate the various existing uses of the plot in a superstructure while opening up valuable public spaces for the city. The project is a redevelopment scheme for the entire plot, with a superstructure located on the opposite side of the Astley Hall. Digital Workflow: AutoCAD + Rhino + Photoshop + Indesign

Dehradun Site Plan | AutoCAD + Photoshop

Astley Hall - Bird’s Eye View | Rhino + Hand Sketch + Photoshop

Astley Hall Indira Market

Land Ownership Private, Government body, Abandoned, Tenant, Trust

Tibetan Market

Building Condition Good, Average, Degrading

Clock Tower

Historical Evolution 1880-1930, 1930-2000, 2000-present

Landuse Residential, Mixed use, Amenitites, Commercial, Institutional, Defunct Guru Ram Darbar

Figure Ground Built, Open

Paltan Bazar

Transportation Highway, Main road, Arterial road, Pedestrian, Parking

Urban Heritage Trail A Heritage trail through the heart of Dehradun was proposed as part of an Urban rejuvenation scheme. The idea was to improve the quality of public spaces by introducing small interventions across the length of the trail. It begins at Guru Ram Rai Darbar and ends at the Astley hall Astley Hall Mapping

Astley Hall Masterplan

Process Axonometric

The superstructure tries to showcase the identities of all the programs it houses. Hence it becomes a collage of different programs, with each program having an identity of its own in the form of materials, language, and nature of spaces. The large Public space is divided into horizontal strips of land perpendicular to both structures, with changing landscape conditions, and is completely open to the people of Dehradun. It houses smaller structures that act as follies and create a domain for a specific use or function. The whole site acts as a large public carnival space while the superstructure houses all the major programs which previously existed on-site, with the addition of new programs.

20 Building Elevational Model | Physical Model + Photoshop

Nomadic Abode Worli Village, Mumbai Mixed Housing Development Competition - Arch out loud, Reside Period - 2018 Team - Rahul Pingale, Nikhil Salunke What if humans were not meant to settle down? What if humans were better off as nomads, living on the move, living in several contexts and playing roles in smaller communities? Why build a static structure when the process of transformation is much more engaging? Nomadic Abode challenges the idea of ownership based, settled housing while encouraging a rental based, adaptable model. Digital Workflow: AutoCAD + Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop + Indesign

21 Site Plan | AutoCAD + Photoshop

Bird’s Eye View | AutoCAD + Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop

Main Axis View | AutoCAD + Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop

Design Process

Public Space View | AutoCAD + Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop

Nomadic Abode - Tokyo | Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop

Home

World Map

Site Info

Nomadic Abode - Istanbul | Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop

Profile

Masterplan

Unit Selection

The idea is to create a vast and diverse network of housing communities worldwide to encourage the idea of nomadic living. In today’s world of Uber, Netflix and Amazon, technology plays a very integral part of human life. Nomadic Abode encourages people to live a nomadic lifestyle using a smartphone application. It gives the user multiple options for several stages such as subscription period, selection of city, property, job availability, and type of units

Nomadic Abode - New York | Sketchup + Vray + Photoshop

De-Nucleate Surrey, BC, Canada City Centre Master Plan Urban Exchange Workshop (UBC + KRVIA) Period - 2019 Guides - Sara Stevens, Rohan Shivkumar The project is an urban proposal for the new City Centre of Surrey. The existing complex is large but fails to attract people and businesses of the city. The idea is to de-nucleate it into multiple smaller city centres which serve individual communities and neighborhoods. Each community center can then form its own unique identity in the form of its functions and design. Digital Workflow: QGIS + AutoCAD + Sketchup + Illustrator + Photoshop + Indesign

Existing City Centre

De-Nucleated City Centre

Master Plan | QGIS + AutoCAD + Illustrator + Photoshop

Existing City Centre

Parks / Open spaces

Sky Train / Bus stops

Built Environment

Road Network

Contour Map

De-Nucleation Process

Parking Lot Site | Sketchup + Illustrator + Photoshop

School Site | Sketchup + Illustrator + Photoshop

The city centre is surrounded with commercial complexes and large parking lots. Most of these spaces are dysfunctional, and can be transformed into public spaces by introducing new activities and programs

The secondary approach is to introduce temporary cultural events, workshops, and fairs around existing public spaces. Schools, parks, and junctions can house such activities, hence creating smaller community city centres

Terraria: Gardens of Display Rome, Italy Urban Follies | Micro Ecosystems Competition - Non Architecture Period - 2021 Team - Anjali G, Kartik J Finalist: Re-Nature Rome - Non Architecture 2021

The Eternal-city of Rome is populated by parks built throughout its history, which are now degrading due to urban pressures. Terraria attempts to combine an ideological adaptation of an urban park with an architecturally unexplored concept of a Terrarium, to permanently change the ecological boundaries in cities. The idea is to create micro-ecosystems in the fabric of Rome, by sealing biodiversity in lifesized Terrariums. The self-sustaining systems will combat environmental challenges such as urban heat island effect, pollution, and loss of natural habitat. While the formal strategy introduces a new typology of accessible and vibrant public space in the city. Digital Workflow: AutoCAD + Sketchup + Illustrator + Photoshop + Indesign

Terrarium Network (Connect)

Axonometric | AutoCAD + Sketchup + Photoshop

Data Monitoring System (Detect)

Photovoltaic Glass Shell (Collect)

Adaptive Reuse (Affect)

Urban Heat Island Effect (Combat)

Terrariums are introduced into urban typologies such as heritage, Tiber-edge, neighbourhoods, parks, and plazas within Rome. Adaptive reuse is implemented, infusing new life into abandoned heritage. Colosseum, once a theatre for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles is reimagined as the centre-stage for a mega-Terrarium, filled with ornamental flora that once adorned the walls of its own grandiose skeleton.

Terrarium Detail - Exploded Sectional Axonometric | AutoCAD + Sketchup + Photoshop