Cover Image: Le Corbusier - Unite D'Habitation, Marseille, France. Image Courtesy of GoCompare EDITORIAL TEAM Parshav Sheth [Editor] Nakshi Shah Saloni Agarwal Krishna Jani Tanay Verma
Vishal Rohira Uroosa Petiwala Varun Vashi Meet Thacker
Shreya Chheda Nishiki Varma Urmi Nandu Raeka Tambawala Shivani Bakhru
FORE WORD
Dear readers, After careful consideration and mutual letting go of bygones, we present the second edition of our college-work subset of the newsletter: 'BLUEPRINT'. The way we see it, any guide or plan can be categorized as a blueprint. What makes us exclusive is that our 'BLUEPRINT' has our unique imprint, it is a personalized guide that serves to our school’s specific line of inquiry. The way you do your homework, every night, could provide a blueprint for your study habits; the BSSA blueprint (hopefully) helps you figure out what to do. The BLUEPRINT is our guide for making something — it presents processes that can be viewed, understood and followed. Want to know the culture of building around you? Draw up the BLUEPRINT and carefully follow the processes unfold. - PARSHAV SHETH
15082017
BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
2
INTERIOR DESIGN GROUP 1
Planning a space is a very important aspect of design. Every detail must be considered and worked upon. Be it the amount of light entering the space, or the effects created by that light in the same space. To understand this very concept of the shades and shadows made by various surfaces at different levels we started to create spaces using surfaces. The material we use initially was paper as it gave a great amount of flexibility to cut, fold, mould etc. in order to create the kind of space being visualized. After the paper models were ready, instances from these models were used to reflect specific properties into the oasis models. As the oasis gave a dense and solid feel it helped us in getting a 3-Dimensional space that was restricted in the paper models. Now, the next step is to make these spaces usable as per scale and their functionality.
- DIMPLE BHADRA
15082017
BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
YEAR2
GROUP 2
Observation is an essential part of a designer’s life. When we start observing, even the simplest of things become very interesting as we start to ask questions and understand various techniques that people have intuitively used in their daily life. From a simple hawker to even a permanent shop, we observed that each of them had optimized their space in different and interesting ways. We then started creating a third space or a hybrid space within the existing space to either divide or connect it in some form, so that it could be put to use accordingly. The maximum area of the third space so created was to be no more than 10 sq. m. This space is being developed into an informal set up for the protagonist (a shoe seller). A tensile, fabric structure, which can act like a shop for him and, at the same time be attached to existing natural and man-made features such as trees and parked cars, to optimally utilize pre-existing spaces in the market. The structure/ shed would be adjustable and adaptable according to the space available. The use of fabric would make it easily transformable and portable. It would serve as an openable or collapsible mechanism which fits with his paraphernalia and making it furthermore portable.
- RICHA GUPTA 15082017
BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
YEAR2
GROUP 3 One of the most essential parts of a design is its materiality. Different materials can frame the structure of elements that ultimately form a space. The flexibility, rigidness and other properties of materials are what ultimately define the practical design of any space or structure. Given BriefTo play with the surfaces of any material and channel it to transform into different architectural elements. The material chosen was paper and spaces were designed based on the properties of paper. Spaces were understood by the sole use of paper. By transforming the orientation of the paper strip the entire function of space changes, for example, curling it from a horizontal plane to a vertical plane an enclosure can be created. The entire phase of multiple operations in tranformation of one paper strip gave rise to pathways, enclosures and openings; sometimes all simultaneously. SHRUTI PATEL
16082017 15082017
BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
YEAR2
GROUP 4 Design is a constantly evolving field, where, from designing aesthetically advanced spaces, it has grown to transformable and movable spaces. The given project laid emphasis on this very idea of creating transformable and dynamic spaces for shopkeepers on Hill Road, Bandra. Given BriefTo take a volume/space of 4m x 4m and scale it down to 1:20 and use File card to create spaces, 'elements', volumes etc. in the given amount of area. Initially, the focus was to simply design withought a user in mind, albeit with the knowledge that at later stages it shall be important. The volume was free to be thought of being utilised as a space or elemental, like furniture. Project UndertakenMethodologies like surface development, hinging, sliding, folding, rotation were employed and the number of axes were maximised. The model, now being a convertible space, can be accessed in multiple ways. The different parts/surfaces/spaces can be used as a section/partition/fence /door /wall /staircases /floors / cubicles and more. The selected user was a Bean Bag seller on Hill Road. The focus then shifted on creating a meaningful space for him. Since a bean bag is all about the experience of comfort, the idea was to offer a Bean Cafe to the buyers in the shop where they may relax, while sipping on a cup of coffee. In addition to that, a BAB (Build a Bag) section was proposed which allows customization to the buyers. JEEYA SAVANI
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BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
YEAR2
3
ART DEKHO
THEORY OF DESIGN The following are studies of residential or commercial art deco buildings in Mumbai.
by Sanika Charatkar
by Jill Deliwala
15082017
BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
YEAR3
by Ashutosh Lohana
by Uroosa Petiwala
15082017
BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
YEAR3
4
The people within the cities itself are increasingly aware and open about the contraction that churns the reigns of this so called 'city life'. The person living in the city is constantly engaging in contradictory interaction, conflicting ideologies, antithetical notions and functions all at once. Ironically, this enables people to form subsets of the city (according to their image) within itself to coexist both metaphorically and literally. Thus, when differences within these fundamental aspects of life beamingly co-exist, the city itself becomes a host to several co-existing people, and varying worlds, within a highly interdependent volume. This is what extends the city beyond a tangible area of land into an intangible force creeping in our lives.
URBAN THEORY
EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A CITY AND A PERSON LIVING IN IT, THE ESSAY DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM THE OBSERVATIONS PRESENTED IN KINETIC AND OPEN CITY. THE ESSAY IS BASED ON PERSONAL OBESERVATIONS. One thing that has becomes apparent is that the relationship between a city and a person living in the city is increasingly complex. The city is, and will, become more involved and engaged in shaping our lives. More importantly, the city one lives in, serves to be the driving force behind constituting a person’s sense of perception as a whole; human beings, more often than not, reason with their sense of perception. Thus, the city and by extension, its image has a certain imprint upon people, whereas several imprints come together to form a city itself. This co-dependence of catering to, and being created by sense perceptions, is the foundation upon which cities may build, expand and die. The fundamental then resonates itself with the person. 17082017 15082017
When one lives in the city, the relationship he builds with the city is primarily that of home. However even if this relationship stems from the mere idea of shelter, it soon transcends into every system governing the interactions of a person with the city. This points to the fact that the living systems are dynamic. People living in the city are bits and pieces of which the city is composed of, and they interact with each other in such a way so as to continually produce and maintain their own set of bits and pieces and the individual relationships between them. This generates a certain sense of 'life': a clear offset of a strange relationship between ‘city’ and ‘person’. Thus, the city itself becomes an image that has to be remembered and experienced. The city becomes an organism feeding off and providing to the person. Conversely, the image of the city becomes an amalgamation of its tangible spaces and the plethora of experiences associated, attached, as well as imposed upon, the person. This establishes the presence of invisible forces of actions churning life forces within cities. One often observes this coming-to-’life' during festivals. The cityscape celebrates as a whole. For example, Diwali is the festival of lights. Lamps outside every house, several colonies and chawls across the city have identical lamps put up in perfect symmetry creating beautiful elevations. One is already a part of this when in the city, even if just visiting. The streets are loaded with illegally constructed temporary shops, carts and vendors-on-foot selling fire crackers, lights and sweets. This encroachment is embraced. For as long as I can remember, fire cracker shopping becomes a spectacle in itself. The encroachment is excused for celebration. Food vendors, lantern sellers as well as beggars become parasitic to the fire cracker market. Contradictions are hailed: Illicit crackers are purchased with zeal and enthusiasm, open air pollution is hailed upon, huge dumps of empty rocket canisters and red cracker bomb shells clog the street as enjoyment is imposed onto the person through the city.
BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
YEAR4
The one thing that always fascinates me is how, during the second day of celebrations, the shopkeepers, the vendors and the hawkers on the street, even the fast food cart-pushers, wash the street positions they occupy to set up a pooja. They pray to the God for their spot on the street, thanking the street itself for the gratitude it bestowed upon them. For them, the street is the most important aspect of the city- to an extent that streets become the only aspect that drives their perception of a city. Thus, the relationship isn't merely economical, it is deeply spiritual too, where thepeople living within the city haveaccepted the city as a being, an entity, whose soul lives on with the prayers of its citizens. Even at home, loud noises, sky filled with light, hails of celebration, smoke, ash and breathing difficulties shall engage you in the festivity. There are enumerating features of living systems that define 'life' within a city. The understanding to capture the invariant feature of living systems around which the growth of cities is governed, stems from understanding the way a person living within the city associates himself to the city. If we want to understand the relationship between a person and the city, understanding the living systems as a central feature is important, and hence the city should be thought of without recourse to referential concepts like 'purpose' or 'function'. The city does this itself by constantly evolving itself with respect to the citizens’ needs, making both its form and function devoid in front of the citizens’ perception.
The then dead pockets of lands, tailored for industrial processing have been systematically altered, stitching together their incomplete form and unresolved narrative into commercial plazas and shopping districts; segmenting the open areas within the mills to creatively create zones of entertainment and leisure. Constructing upon the surface to create business parks, newsrooms, arcades and bars. The people have been, are and shall always engage with these spaces due to their location and accessibility. However, the shaping of industrial mills into social platforms talk about the power of people in changing morphologies within the city through their inter-dependent relationship. They still preserve old mill exhausts, like memorabilia, under which the flashy McDonald’s joint sells Chicken Tikka Burgers. Such is the amorphous identity of a city. In my opinion, the relationship between a city and the person living in it becomes that of stewardship. The persons position entrusts duties upon him/her akin to a steward, not only managing property, financial affairs or the governing but also responsibly overseeing the protection of something that he/she has considered something worth caring for, preserving and changing. - PARSHAV SHETH
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The then textile mills of Bombay have embraced this life force driven dynamic of the city. Over the course of decades, post their decline and consequent exile from Mumbai's landscape, the mills have been transformed and altered.
15082017
BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
YEAR4
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BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
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-KSHITIJ MAHASHABDE, URBAN THEORY. 15082017 16082017
BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
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