Chinmay Shidhore's Portfolio by chinmay.thesisstudio

Making with hands! Chinmay Shidhore

Contents 1. Thesis : Water Engines: Schools for Ecology 2. Competitions A. City & the Water’s edge: Edge as a System B. IAHH Student Design Competition: Conservative surgery, Rethinking Affordable housing in Dharavi 3. Documentation Measure Drawing Shillong, India 4. House project : Chaul, MH 5. 3D Visualisation A. Band Lamp B. Conference room C. Corner Table D. Hiranandani Parks Masterplan, Oragadam, TN

6. Advanced Modelling A. iMET B. La Cubierta C. Structures of Landscape 7. Resolution: Ski House 8. Built Project Vayam Lokshaahi Jagar Kendra, Jawhar, MH

1. Thesis 2017

Water Engines: Schools for Ecology Guide: Vikram Pawar This thesis is based in the Vasai-Virar sub-region(VVSR) of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The region is geographically located on an estuary of the Ulhas river to the south and the Vaitarna river to the north, which makes it an extensive ecosystem of it’s own. It also lies in a heavy rainfall zone. The region is peppered with innumerable lakes that contain sweet water, mainly used for agriculture.Over these years, these lakes have developed ecologies around them facilitating life around them by providing a number of ecosystems services to the people living in the vicinity. It is therefore important to establish a relationship between this new landscape and the ancient ecosystems prevailing in this region through the architecture of this urbanism.

This thesis examines the spatial strategies across the urban sprawl of Vasai-Virar. It identifies the lakes that are interspersed across the region as intervention opportunities to create a symbiotic the local ecology. It aims to do so by performing a conservative surgery on the various public institutions near these lakes. Following is a set of sample interventions, one of which is detailed as the architectural thesis.

1. School for ecology at Agashi: The school will be joint with a public library in the immediate context to provide for a public interface. 2. School for ecology at Gaas: The school will study groundwater since Gaas village still operates using open wells for irrigation. 3. School for ecology at Nirmal: Nirmal lake comprises of two lakes, Vimal and Malai. It is also situated very close to a farmer’s market which is a common distribution centre for Vasai. This market can be imagined as a platform for the farmers to interact with the rest of the city. 4. School for ecology at Chakreshwar: This school can thus specialise in archeological studies as there are archeological sites nearby. 5. School for ecology at Papdy and Bondli: Papdy already has an existing school. It also serves to be a major fishing market for the precinct. A timber workshop also exists between the two lakes. The architecture will thus weave these programmes with each other. Fishing also takes place within the lake. This project is detailed below.

Site plan : Papdy lake precinct.

*Drawings not scaled. Please see humans for proportions.

Module Detail

2. Competitions A. City & the Water’s Edge, 2016 Collaborations: Mihir Desai, Lekha Samant First Prize Entry

Edge as a System: The water’s edge is a continuous dialogue encompassing this ever-growing complex relationship. Thus, there is no space in the city independent of the water’s edge. The very notion of nature as a garment needs to be questioned, for we are the fibres that make up the garment. A problematic relationship between man and nature emerges, which leads to the ignorance of the landscapes we live in. Institutions are formed to control and contain this “nature” which in turn leads to severe dereliction of the systemic relationships. How can land participate in urban ecology with underpinnings of culture, livelihood and aspirations, through an architecture built for a symbiotic spaceprogram in relation to other properties in the city? How do we transform the idea of ‘land as property’ to ‘land as ecology’? We look at ideas of systemic interventions within the catchment of the Goregaon River (Nullah) to mitigate the risks of creek pollution and absorbing the impacts of local flooding and to create synchronization between ecological processes and the built environment. These interventions will become strategies to integrate water into the development plan for Goregaon, PS ward, Mumbai. The interventions, therefore, oscillate between different scales of planning, right from the individual household to the larger wetlands, in order to understand the complexity of the ‘water’s edge’.

B. International Association for Human Habitat Competition,2016 Conservative Surgery:

Rethinking Affordable Housing in Dharavi, Sector 4

First Prize Entry

3. Documentation Measure drawing Shillong, India, 2014 Building: Brahmo Samaj INTACH Heritage Awards, 2014

Second Prize Entry

This exercise was carried out in order to document undocumented buildings in Shillong, in Meghalaya in North-Eastern India. As a part of the study, the building tectonic was kept at the epicentre. Hence, an exploded axonometric drawing fills in aptly to show the method of construction techniques used in the region which also happens to fall in an area with relatively high seismic activity.

4. House Project Chaul, MH, 2020 (Unbuilt)

5. 3D Visualisation A. Band lamp ,2020

B. Conference Room ,2021

C. Corner table ,2020

D. Hiranandani Parks Masterplan Oragadam, TN, 2021

6. Advanced Modelling A. iMET, MIT Campus, 2015 Project by Studio Ensamble, Madrid, Spain Material: Steel Profiles

B. La Cubierta, Exhibit at Triennale Di Milano, Milan, 2016 Project by Studio Ensamble, Madrid, Spain Material : Steel Profiles + Porex Pan (Thick Foam)

C. Structures of Landscape, Exhibit at Venice Bienalle (Arsenale), Venice, 2016 Project by Studio Ensamble, Madrid, Spain Materials : Concrete casting + Porex Pan (Thick foam)

*Mock-up for the exhibition in the Studio backyard

6. Resolution Ski House, Madrid, 2015 Project by Studio Ensamble, Madrid, Spain

7. Built Project Vayam Lokshaahi Jagar Kendra, Jawhar, MH, 2020 Tribal Orientation Centre

Thank you!