Architecture
portfolio 2016 - 2019 ASHNA SE TH I
Architecture is the expression of values.
- Norman Foster
Education Sacred Heart Sr. Sec. School, Chandigarh 2014, graduated 10th grade: 10 cgpa 2016, graduated 12th grade: 92.4%
Hi! I am Ashna Sethi, a 6th Semester student at Chandigarh College of Architecture, Chandigarh, India. I am motivated and enjoy exploring new ideas. Seeking the position of an intern architect at your firm, I aspire to learn and grow in the field of architecture and design and contribute to the community. The following portfolio is a collection of my selected works, which show my passion and appreciation for architecture. I hope to contribute the same to your firm.
+91 97790-86060 ashnasethi98@gmail.com ashnasethi.cca@gmail.com Address: House Number- 173, Sector-4, Panchkula, India Date of Birth: 16th February, 1998
Languages English
Chandigarh College of Architecture, Chand 2019, pursuing 6th Semester, Bachelor of Architecture
Softwares Autocad Archicad Rhinoceros Grasshopper Revit 3DS Max Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator V-Ray Lumion
Interests Hindi
Punjabi
digarh
ashna sethi | CURRICULUM VITAe Skills Studio Projects/ Workshops
Photography Research and Writing Hand Rendering Sketching Model Making Laser Cutting 3D Printing
Studio Apartment Kiosk
2016
Conducted by CCA
2017 Residence Kindergarten Health Care Center
Competitions 2018-19 NASA: Landscape Trophy Morphogenesis
2018 Police Station Design Consultancy Project by the Punjab Police, India elementary.
2018 120 Hours: room for Communication 2017-18 NASA: Landscape Trophy Landscape of Commemoration
2017 NASA ANDC: Top 60
University Campus Library Office Mall
Clay Sculpture Workshop Conducted by The Government College of Arts, Chandigarh
IALD India Light Workshop Featured in Mondo Arc
2018
MARGIN
References Ar. Sujay Sengupta Assistant Professor, Chandigarh College of Architecture, Chandigarh +91 98554-47530 sg.sujay@gmail.com
Police Station Training Center: Vernacular Study
Global Summer School
Conducted by Institute for advanced architecture of Catalonia, Spain
Problem solving by Design Thinking
2019
Art and Architecture Museum Ar. Disha Singh Assistant Professor, Chandigarh College of Architecture, Chandigarh +91 99158-04753 dishanmsingh@yahoo.co.in
Earth and Bamboo Workshop
Conducted by Auroville Green Practices
Evoke
2017 Unbox, Volzero 2016 NASA G-SEN: Juror's Choice Award
Bamboo Workshop , CCA
Conducted by Ar. Siddhartha Wig
Guest House Market Hostel
2018 NASA ANDC: Top 60
Brick Masonry Workshop
Conducted by SOIL, India
The Architectural Imagination Conducted by Harvard GSD (undergoing online course)
NASA: National Association of Students of Architecture, India ANDC: Annual NASA Design Competition
contents
Police Station
01
Morphogenesis
02
Digitise
03
Elementary.
04
Photography
05
Fifth Semester (competition floated by Punjab Police)
Mohammad Shaheer Landsape Trophy, NASA
Global Summer School: Chandigarh Edition IaaC, Barcelona
Annual NASA Design Competition
Miscellaneous
Installation Art, Sketching, Model Making, Hands on experience
06
01/02
01
Police Station introvert planning | community involvement | transparency
5th Semester Studio Project
This project was floated by the Punjab Police as a competition, aimed at redefining Police Stations through architecture.
The concept focused on engaging people with daily activities of the police station to normalise and educate them.
A lot of crimes go unreported in areas of the state where people lack awareness. In many cases people, especially women and children do not feel comfortable being in a foreign environment.
Transparency and visual connectivity also formed an important part of the approach. Hence the design is community centered and aims for maximum comfort and interaction.
Hence the question arose, How can architecture help?
Spaces for communal eating and a public library also form part of the proposal.
redefining police stations
03/04
Conceptual Section
Conceptual Plan
Concept for Courtyard A prototype had to be designed which would then be replicated at 95 locations across the state. The average area for a site was given to be around one acre. Since the approach was not site specific, the building plan was made to be rather introvert, by including open spaces inside the building envelope as well. Site Plan
Exploded Axonometric View
lvl +8.30m The roof level.
lvl +5.00m The first floor comprises of areas of controlled access and trauma rooms meeting into a common footbridge from where the entire complex can be seen.
01 01 Trauma Room, Counselling Room
02 Barracks 02 03 Offices for on duty personnel
03
04 Lockup
04
lvl +1.6m The office level, higher than the community level provides a visual advantage. 05
05 Investigation Room 06
07 06 Entry 07 Library
lvl +0.60m The community level with an open plan engages the public with activities and helps them gain awareness regarding the functioning.
lvl +0.45 to lvl 0.00 to lvl -0.75 Central courtyard allows for visual connectivity and gathering spaces.
08 08 Armoury
09 Storage for ceased property
lvl -2.4m The basement contains areas of restricted access. 09 05/06
By bridging the gap between people and police, this design aims for interaction and direct contact. Hence architecture can help build trust and stronger communities.
07/08
Morphogenesis Are waste and abandonment a by-product of progress? The brief called for transforming a marginalised wasteland into a valuable resource via a landscape approach. Wastelands refer to lands which contain nothing positive or productive, the creation of which begins with gradual and unintentional decline. Dereliction attracts waste. People avoid direct contact with waste related sites. Hence, these wastelands spill outwards and continue to grow. We chose the Landfill in Daddumajra Colony of Chandigarh. The city, well known for its planning, parks and greenery has an unsanitary, unplanned landfill in close proximity to a residential colony which stands for the exact opposite of Chandigarh.
02
Landscape Trophy, NASA 2018-19
Odour
Visual Blight
Health
Sanitation
The Problems
Garbage Processing Plant Landfill The Site Residential Area
As bad as the condition of the site is, the situation is much worse. The rate of migration is steadily rising as more and more people are moving out. The locals experience a strong sense of alienation and abandonment due to indifference of the officials and residents of the city alike.
The Site: Waste Dump at Daddumajra, Chandigarh
The Situation 09/10
People need an identifiable spatial unit to belong to. Using the principles of placemaking, Morphogenesis aims to transform the periphery between the landfill and the colony by reinterpreting waste. Waste is an element which is in a state of transition; a substance that gains and loses value relative to the being that uses it.
Poplar
Neem
Peripheral Buffer The buffer aims at absorbing leachate using trees like poplar and neem which help in restoring degraded soils.
Our intervention aims at challenging pre-existing notions and generating a new identity out of the waste. It unfolds in three parts: the peripheral buffer, the vertical landscaping and a recreational area. Involving communities to help catalyse the process can create possibilities for new perspectives and help develop a restorative relationship with the environment.
Anthurium
Pothos
Vertical Landscape The vertical landscape has been proposed on the walls of houses adjoining the landfill where there is no land available. It uses a drip irrigation method and houses oxygen producing plants.
Landfill
Garbage Processing Plant
Green Buffer
Parking
Site Plan for Recreational Area
N Waste Segregation
Parametric Canopy
The recreational area has been proposed on a vacant land lying inside the boundary of the landfill; land already being used by the community.
Upcycling
A central wave-like structure has been proposed to act as a landmark, generating a strong identity. Contoured steps opening onto the side of the colony flow into the existing urban fabric. Red parametric seating provided in the park strike a strong contrast with the context. Dustbins for waste segregation and upcycled street furniture promote the idea of the circular economy and explore possibilities in reinterpreting waste.
Parametric Seating 11/12
"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will change it." -Robert Swan
Humans have replaced nature's endless cycling and recycling of materials, with a system of one way flows, which directly causes a result that does not exist in natural systems: waste. Hence to tackle that some of these strategies can be implemented now, while others can inform long-term goals. All of them together can improve quality of life.
13/14
Digitise digital facades | understanding paramterics | prototyping large scale systems
03
Global Summer School by IaaC Barcelona
This summer school conducted by Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Barcelona was based on the theme 'Facade digitisation of Smart Cities'.
The design proposes two layers, to make way for a fresh perspective, welcoming the urban street culture and integrating art in the urban context.
The concept of this design revolves around the drab look that strict facade control renders to buildings in Chandigarh.
Considering facade as an interactive space instead of a barrier, we propose two layers acting as a balance between the old ways and the new.
Pictured here: Administrative Block, Punjab University, Chandigarh
prototyping
Making the Grasshopper Script; Laser cutting the modules
01/02
Laser cutting parts of the frame; 3D printing motor parts
03/04
Learning basic Arduino codes; Assembling the framework
05/06 15/16
Taking a square as a basic module, the facade is designed consisting of differing module sizes which fan out to cover the facade and fold in to reveal the skin below.
The mechanism for the fan system was designed using a stationary arm and a movable arm between which the fan unfolds and folds in.
The fan acting as a sunshade
The fans act as sunshades during the day, whereas in the evening they form interactive elements of the public space. Ultrasonic sensors were used to detect proximity. Hence the closer you move to the fan the more it opens up to reveal the artwork behind. Hence this facade moves one step closer to the long subdued street culture of Chandigarh, by providing them a platform meanwhile respecting the vision of the city.
Interactive Facade
The fan module
17/18
04
elementary. urban interventions | streets for people | learn, unlearn, relearn
Annual NASA Design Competition, 2018
rural/urban/ metropolitan
The design brief intends to explore, identify and re-interpret liminal/transitional spaces in their respective context with a vision to inform a society. Liminality - literally the ‘threshold’ is deconstructive.
Our sites are defined by certain patterns that occur in them - pedestrian movement of the crowd, spaces defined by activities of a learning/ teaching nature, which means spaces where people are free to do as they please.
It has shapeshifting attributes. Old identities dissolve and new perspectives are born. Between what we know and what we can't imagine, we are remade.
In simpler terms, we could call them pedestrian streets. They are the living rooms of society; universal in nature. The space of the street belongs to the people.
8:00 am
12:00 pm
5:00 pm
9:00 pm
Elementary is one step towards a society that values thinking above learning. Over time the growth of our society has plateaued. We must unlearn to learn. Using a physical liminal space to generate a mental liminal phase; we encourage people to question pre-existing notions, to break the cycle of monotony and outgrow conventional boundaries. Hence elementary seeks to reform our streets without disturbing the chaotic nature of the public realm. Each element on the street is broken down into simpler parts which can then be used differently and/or combined with other elements to satisfy different needs of the user. 19/20
interaction_collaboration_communication
With the vision to make every passer-by intimately aware of his/her backdrop as they pass through it, elementary, potentially raises questions and urges the users to provide the answers to these themselves. A culture of inspiration, but not imitation. The street is always evolving and the process of unfolding makes it a creative act where the key is making.
We aim at a city vibrant with life— a city which, above all, belongs to us.
create your own street
All these permutations add to a public archive which can inspire others. This proposal is a prototype which can be adapted to the specific elements and context of a street, rendering it applicable in diverse scenarios.
“The illiterate of the future are not those who can’t read or write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” - Alvin Toffler
21/22
photography “There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.” — Robert Frank
warm thoughts
blank space
bleeding blue
05
spiralling
divinity
contrasts
23/24
miscellaneous Workshops and hands-on experience | Installation Art
Various Bamboo structures and joints/ Earth wall (at the Auroville Earth and Bamboo Workshop)
06
IALD Lighting Installation: Starry Night (top right)/ Labyrinth: Rejuvenating urban voids/ Mural on Deconstructivism (below)
25/26
miscellaneous Sketching | Model making
Water colours/ Pen rendering/ Pencil colours
06
Model for a research institute/ Model for a guest house
27/28