Graduate Architecture Portfolio by Deepen Dighe

A R C H I T E C T U R E P O R T F O L I O A collection of designs and creative works by Deepen Dighe.

DEEPEN K. DIGHE deependighe@gmail.com deepen_dighe@neo.tamu.edu

979-229-8598 http://issuu.com/deepen_dighe http://www.linkedin.com/in/deependighe

Master of Architecture August 2011 | Texas A&M University Bachelor of Architecture May 2008 | Sir J.J. College of Architecture, University of Mumbai.

DEEPEN K. DIGHE 177 107th AVE NE #1406 Bellevue, WA - 98004 Mobile No. - 979-229-8598 Education — • TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY | 2009 - 2011 College Station, Texas, U.S.A. Langford College of Architecture. Master of Architecture (M.Arch) - Class of 2011. •

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI | 2003 - 2008 Sir J.J. College of Architecture, Mumbai. Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) - Class of 2008.

Work Experience — • KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING LABORATORY, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University – Nov 2010 – July 2011 - http://kelab.tamu.edu Graphic Design Student Worker 1. Encyclopedia on Southern Pine Beetle – (Under review for Publication) (http://kelab.tamu.edu/spb_ encyclopedia/index.html) - Worked on the layout design and publication of the encyclopedia. 2. Book on Landscape Ecology – (Published) (http:// www.kelabpartnersinc.com/) - Worked on the illustrations and layout design of the book using softwares - Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. •

TRANSCARB ENERGY P. LTD (previously VEW Engineering Works Pvt. Ltd.) – Feb 2009 to July 2009 Junior Architect Worked on designing and execution of Industrial layouts. (Employed Full Time).

•

MANI & MALLI ARCHITECTS, Hyderabad – June 2008 to Jan 2009 Junior Architect Worked on several Mumbai based residential and commercial architecture projects. (Employed Full Time).

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HARSHRAJ MANE & ASSOCIATES, Mumbai – Dec 2007 to May 2008 Intern Architect Worked on several residential & commercial architecture and interior projects. (Employed Full Time)

•

AR. SUCHITA SAYAJI & ASSOCIATES, Navi (New) Mumbai – July 2005- August 2006 Intern Architect Worked for projects - Nerul Gymkhana (Sports Club) at Navi Mumbai and Residential project at Goa (Employed Part Time).

deependighe@gmail.com deepen_dighe@tamu.edu webpage – ht t p :/ / w w w .link edin .com/i n/d eepend i ghe Objective — Seeking a Full-time position in an Architectural / Designbuild firm as an Intern architect. To become a LEED AP. Skills —

HUMAN Hand Drafting Sketching Model Building Communication Teamwork Craftsmanship

TECHNOLOGY AutoCAD 2D & 3D Sketchup Revit Adobe InDesign Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Microsoft Suite Mac OSX Artlantis 3D Studio Max

Certifications — • LEED Green Associate The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) - July 2010 - License 10597831. • Licensed Architect Council of Architecture (COA), India. Extra Curricular Activities — • Participated in 3rd IAHH International Student Design Competition, 2005, Mumbai. • Participated in ‘Extreme Architecture’ – International Student Design Competition, Istanbul, Turkey, 2006. • Participated in HUDCO Trophy, NASA (National Association of Students of Architecture, India), 20052006. • Class Representative for two consecutive years - Third year (2005-06) and Fourth year (2006-07) of B.Arch and organized study tours for the entire class of 75 students, at Sir J.J. College of Architecture. Achievements — • Awarded second place in the Landscape Design Competition of the Kalina Campus, University of Mumbai, on April 2006 at Sir J.J. College of Architecture, Mumbai. • One of the finalists for Faculty Medal Project, 2006- Public Toilet in Urban Context at Sir J.J. College of Architecture, Mumbai. RECOMMENDATIONS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.

GRADUATE WORK:

@ Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.

Spring ‘11

Design Dissertation:

Mixed-use Community in a proposed Transit-Oriented Development (T.O.D.) @ Bellevue, Washington.

Fall ‘10

Historic Preservation Studio:

Fall ‘10

Historic Preservation Studio:

Prairie Center of the Arts @ Peoria, Illinois.

Visitor’s Center for The Alamo @ San Antonio, Texas.

Spring ‘10

Healthcare Architecture Studio:

Spring ‘10

History of Architecture:

Fall ‘09

African Children’s Hospital @ Kpong, Ghana.

MVRDV : The Space of Optimism & Big Green : William McDonough. Sustainable Urbanism Studio:

Hotel @ Downtown College Station, Texas.

02 12 20 24 30 34

M IX ED -USE C OM M UNIT Y IN A P R O P O S E D T R A NSI T ORIEN TED D EV EL OPME N T ( T .O .D.) @ B E L L E VU E , WA.

“In a

quality city, a

person should be able to live his entire life without a car, and not feel deprived.” –Paul Bedford.

Site: The selected site is located in Bellevue, WA (near Seattle). The site is adjacent to the proposed transit metro rail, on the proposed Bel-Red transit corridor, which connects Bellevue downtown (to the south-west) to Redmond (to the north-west). The headquarters of Microsoft is located in Redmond, and the transit line is proposed to help employees to commute daily to work by public transportation. The King County’s Department of Transportation, along with the Planning Department of the City of Bellevue, have planned a transit-oriented development along the Bellevue-Redmond (BelRed) corridor. They intent to develop Bellevue in to a major mixed-use developed city and provide a commercial and entertainment neighbor to the Microsoft office headquarters in Redmond. The site is on a prime real estate land; located in the Bel-Red corridor. The site admeasures approximately 2.8 acres. The proposed transit metro station – 130th Ave Station, is located on the south of the site. The site is divided – approximately into two equal blocks by the 130th Ave Street.

Project Description: My aim while designing was to accommodate a complex urban mixed-use developed program in an urban area. It was a design challenge to accommodate such programmatic complexity on a restricted site footprint, to understand the surrounding urban context, and develop a suitable program for the development of the real-estate value of the site.

Birds-eye View.

S pr in g 2 0 11 Texas A&M University

Prof. Weiling He Prof. Marcel Erminy Prof. Chanam Lee

Mixed-use Community in a proposed Transit - Oriented Development (T.O.D.) D

Form Development:

Two Blocks - Max. volume buildable.

Union of Blocks.

Volumetric Division into 3x3x3 blocks.

Setback of 3m according to building regulations.

Creating Road Access.

Opening the center for maximum sunlight penetration.

Opening the south side for views of Mount Rainier.

Creating terraces to maximize views of Mount Rainier.

Creating community spaces.

Program Development:

GYMNASIUM + BANQUET HALL Total Area - 39,676 sq. ft.

- Weight & Fitness Training. - Basketball Court. - Swimming Pool. - Steam & Sauna. - Banquet Hall. - Meeting Rooms. - Terrace for Functions.

RESIDENTIAL No. of Type A Modules - 78 Carpet Area - 800 sq.ft. Built-up Area - 872 sq.ft. No. of Type B Modules - 89 Carpet Area - 810 sq.ft. Built-up Area - 872 sq.ft. Total Residential Area - 436,872 sq.ft.

Total No. of Resi. Units (78x2 + 89x3) = 423 No. of Bachelor Units - 345 No. of Family Units - 78 Density (Units/Acre) - ~ 150 Units/Acre

- Two Modules of Resi. Units. - Each Module 9x9x9m - Mix of Bachelor & Family Units, approx 60-40 division. - Terraces at multiple Levels to promote sense of community. - Covered Community Spaces.

OFFICE LEVEL Total Area - 45,208 sq.ft.

BASE LEVEL Total Area - 61,476 sq.ft. Cinema - 20,928 sq.ft. Retail - 14,824 sq.ft. Grocery Store - 19,620 sq.ft. Restaurant - 6104 sq.ft.

- Multiple leasable Office Spaces. - Each Office Space faces the street or terrace. - Seperate office lobby & service core, to divide public and private (Resi. spaces).

BASEMENT Total Area - 366,261.87 sq.ft. Total No. of Parking Spaces (One per Unit) - 423 for Residential + 200 for Public Parking.

- Retail Spaces along main roads. - Four Screen Multiples. - Grocery Store. - Restaurant. - Urban Plaza.

+ - Basement Parking Levels. - Level 1 for Public paid parking. - Level 2 and 3 for Resident Parking. - 1 car per unit - to encourage dependancy on public transit.

S pr in g 2 0 11 Texas A&M University

Prof. Weiling He Prof. Marcel Erminy Prof. Chanam Lee

Mixed-use Community in a proposed Transit - Oriented Development (T.O.D.) D

URBAN PARK

TO BASEMENT PARKING

RESI. LOBBY

RETAIL SHOP #16

RETAIL SHOP #14

area - 1551 sq.ft.

area - 1378 sq.ft.

RETAIL SHOP #15 RAMP TO BASEMENT PARKING

area - 4263 sq.ft.

RESTAURANT area - 6104 sq.ft.

RAMP TO BASEMENT PARKING

RETAIL SHOP #10

RETAIL SHOP #11

area - 1162 sq.ft.

RETAIL SHOP #12 area - 1162 sq.ft.

RETAIL SHOP #17 area - 1551 sq.ft.

RETAIL SHOP #13 area - 1162 sq.ft.

RETAIL SHOP #18 area - 1551 sq.ft.

PASSAGE WAY

URBAN PLAZA ATM MACHINES TICKET COUNTER

RETAIL SHOP #9

PASSAGE WAY

area - 872 sq.ft.

CINEMA HALL #2

URBAN PLAZA

CINEMA HALL #3

OFFICE LOBBY

OFFICE LOBBY CINEMA ENTRANCE FOYER

STORAGE SPACE BELOW

RETAIL SHOP #8 area - 872 sq.ft.

REFRESHMENTS

STAIRS UP

F.E./ACCESS STAIR STAIRS UP

RETAIL SHOP #7

area - 872 sq.ft.

STORAGE SPACE BELOW

GROCERY STORE #1 area - 19620 sq.ft.

RESI. LOBBY

RESI. LOBBY CINEMA HALL #4

CINEMA HALL #1

STAIRS UP

RETAIL SHOP #1 area - 872 sq.ft.

RETAIL SHOP #2 area - 872 sq.ft.

RETAIL SHOP #3 area - 872 sq.ft.

RETAIL SHOP #4 area - 872 sq.ft.

RETAIL SHOP #5 area - 872 sq.ft.

RETAIL SHOP #6 area - 872 sq.ft.

TO BASEMENT PARKING

130TH AVE LRT STATION

<- TOWARDS BELLEVUE DOWNTOWN TOWARDS REDMOND (MICROSOFT HQ CAMPUS) ->

LEVEL A'

B' 0

10m

15m

scale - 1 : 2 5 0

20m

25m

South-West View.

South View.

S pr in g 2 0 11 Texas A&M University

Prof. Weiling He Prof. Marcel Erminy Prof. Chanam Lee

Mixed-use Community in a proposed Transit - Oriented Development (T.O.D.) D

Key Goals and Evaluative Criteria: The main goal while designing was to achieve the ‘sense of community’ in the proposed design, based on the guidelines of transit- oriented development. The design aims for an active and vibrant urban community, through the integration of a mixeduse program. The following goals shaped the concepts for the planning and architecture for the proposed development and where the evaluative criteria for the design: • Designed on the guidelines of transit-oriented development. Providing easy access to public transportation and strategically planning to encourage people to use public transportation and reduce the dependence on automobile usage. • Create an active and lively environment, both during the day and night, by skillfully deciding the mixed-use program in the community. • Promote pedestrian activities in the community. This was achieved by indirectly encouraging the residents to walk with the help of strategic design. • Provide accessible outdoor spaces for fostering the idea of sense of community. • Integrate a mixed-use program to help in the economic development of the community. • Integrate sustainable design features in the design such as rainwater harvesting, solar thermal, PV, harnessing wind energy, bio-engineered waste water systems, etc., as part of the development. Incorporating LEED principles and/or government incentives and planning methodologies can achieve sustainability.

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View of passage connecting the two blocks.

View of Basketball Court.

View of Swimming Pool.

Prof. Weiling He Prof. Marcel Erminy Prof. Chanam Lee

Mixed-use Community in a proposed Transit - Oriented Development (T.O.D.) D

Module 01 - One Family + 2 Bachelor Units

Module 02 - 3 Bachelor Units

Module 1 - Lvl 3

M 01 - Lvl 3

Module 1 - Lvl 2

M 01 - Lvl 2

M 01 - Lvl 3

Section FF’

M 01 - Lvl 1 Module 1 - Lvl 1

M 01 - Lvl 2

M 01 - Lvl 1 Section GG’

Residential Module Development:

Sun Diagram:

Structural System of 9 x 9 x 9m module.

View through Community Terrace.

View through Community Space.

S pr in g 2 0 11 Texas A&M University

Prof. Weiling He Prof. Marcel Erminy Prof. Chanam Lee

Mixed-use Community in a proposed Transit - Oriented Development (T.O.D.) D

PR A IRIE C E N T ER OF T HE A R T S @ P E O R IA , IL L IN O IS. Adapti v e re u se an d re v it a liz a t ion of a n ind u st ria l w a reho u se.

PEORIA CITY

SITE

This studio project involved the development of a program and design for an adaptive reuse and revitalization of an industrial structure. Site: The historic building is located just outside the warehouse district of Peoria, which ends at the northeast end of the site. The freeway on the east, an ethanol factory to the south and a car scrap yard to the east bound the site.

Larger Workspaces on the upper levels.

Artist Workspace.

Artist Gallery on Level One.

Resident Artist at work.

Ethanol Factory to the South-East.

Fall 2 0 1 0 Texas A&M University

Project Background: The owners of the property approached Prof. Robert Warden, who decided to introduce the project in our studio. With one-onone interactions with the client and the artists during our site visit, we gathered ample data to develop a program for the adaptive reuse of the factory. The studio worked in groups, each handling certain parts of the site/ building. Each groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work was later combined to form a master proposal for the development of the site & structure.

Tri-City Machine Shop in basement.

Prof. Robert Warden

ARCH 607

Context: The historic Peoria Cordage Company building is a grand old brick building - 115 years old and 140,000 square feet, near the Illinois River. The building served as a rope factory until the 1970s. The Tri-City Machine Products, a full service machine shop, is housed in the facility, and through its collaboration with Tri-City, Prairie Center has studio spaces, equipment/technologies/tools, and a gallery space in the building. Studios are on street level and range in size from 40 x 70 to 20 x 30 and are shared spaces. The display gallery offers 6,000 square feet of space, which is used for exhibitions, installations, and gatherings. Prairie Center of the Arts was founded in 2003 as an Artist in Residency (AIR) program to attract emerging and established artists from Illinois and around the world; to provide these artists and local artists with an accessible facility for art and creativity that embraces the Peoria area community offering equipment and new technologies not currently available to the general public.

Prairie Center of the Arts @ Peoria, Illinois H

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Site Design: Reuse of existing structure. Flexible studio spaces for

Amphitheatre for concerts

artists

Exhibitions/congregation space Student and Artist Housing designed using shipping

Commercial space along the street

containers

promoting urban active living.

SW Washington St.

Gallery

Cafe

Restaurant

Bookstore

Amphitheatre Studio Spaces

Site Plan

Parking Grocery Store

Design Considerations: • A community that integrates the Prairie Center of the Arts, TriCity Machine Shop and the Bradley University, such that they co-exist with each other. • The city of Peoria has an industrial past and is predominantly concentrated in the warehouse district. • The site should morph in the context of the Warehouse District. • The industrial aesthetics is an inspiration for the artists. • The art students from Bradley University frequently use the water jet in the Tri-City Machine Shop. • The owners have a vision to make Prairie Center of the Arts as the destination hub for artists and the general public to experience art, leading to revenue generation. • Affordable housing for the students and artists.

Performance Arts space above the Machine Shop.

Warm-up space behind the Performance Space.

Gallery Space to display Artist’s work.

Flexible Studio Spaces for Resident Artists.

Fall 2 0 1 0 Texas A&M University

Modular Furniture in Studio Spaces.

Prof. Robert Warden

ARCH 607

Prairie Center of the Arts @ Peoria, Illinois H

15 D

View of Amphitheatre â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Performance Space.

View of Entrance Plaza.

View of Housing from courtyard.

Sectional - Elevation through courtyard, towards Bridge.

Sectional - Elevation through residential units, towards street.

Fall 2 0 1 0 Texas A&M University

Prof. Robert Warden

ARCH 607

Prairie Center of the Arts @ Peoria, Illinois H

17 D

View of Apartment Complex.

Housing for Artists & Students:Design Principles: • Sustainable • Modular • Industrial aesthetic look • Economical • Structurally resilient Design features: • Designed using shipping containers to compliment the industrial feel of the warehouse and to reduce construction costs. • Size of containers – Length – 40’ and Height – 9’ • Prototype module of two interlocking units was designed with access corridors on every alternate floor. • Double height spaces within apartments, create a sense of openness.

8 ft

Plan at Lvl 2

Plan at Lvl 1

Area of each single unit – 576 sq.ft. +

Section through housing unit.

Fall 2 0 1 0 Texas A&M University

Prof. Robert Warden

ARCH 607

Prairie Center of the Arts @ Peoria, Illinois H

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V I S IT O R â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CENT ER FOR T H E ALAMO , S AN ANTO NIO , T EX AS. An addi t i o n t o t h e e x is t ing A la m o C om p le x .

THE ALAMO COMPLEX

RIVERWALK

A RW

RI Site: The Alamo, originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and now a museum, in San Antonio, Texas. The Alamo played a very important role in the battle of Texas and is a sacred ground and shrine of Texas Liberty. It receives more than 4 million visitors a year.

The Alamo Shrine.

Long Barracks

Memorial

Cottonwood Leaf Branch.

Riverwalk

Visitor’s Center

Alamo Shrine

Alamo Plaza

Grounds

Alamo Complex Landscaped pathways Visitor’s Center

Concept: The design concept evolved from the word “Alamo”. Alamo in Spanish means cottonwood. After studying the vein patterns in a cottonwood leaf, I was inspired to adopt the branching pattern for connecting the various parts of the Alamo complex – the Alamo Shrine, the Long Barracks, the landscaped ground (behind the shrine), the plaza in front of Alamo Shrine, the memorial, the Visitor’s Center and the famous San Antonio riverwalk.

ALAMO = (in Spanish) HISTORY

COTTONWOOD

Interlinked & Interdependent

Chronology / Chain of Events.

Roots

STRUCTURE

Culture / Society / Politics

Branching-out Diagram

Fall 2 0 1 0 Texas A&M University

Prof. Robert Warden

ARCH 607

Visitor’s Center for The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas. H

Design Considerations: • To choose an appropriate site for a visitor’s center for the Alamo complex. • To retain the focus on the Alamo by not hindering the visual experience of the visitor. • Make use of the space in front of the Alamo complex. • Provide an informative passageway, connecting the river walk to the Alamo shrine. The design intention was that the visitor learns about the history of the Alamo before entering the complex, thus the visitor’s center is submerged in the ground in front of the Alamo. • The visitor’s center acts as a connection in both the axes. In one direction connecting the river walk and the Alamo shrine, and in the other the two parts of the downtown buildings. • The steps leading up to the Alamo complex can also act as informal gathering spaces.

View showing the landscaped pathways.

THE ALAMO COMPLEX ARCHITECTURE The Alamo Shrine + LANDSCAPE The Long Barracks + URBAN DESIGN The Visitor’s Center. View of the Visitor’s Center towards the memorial.

View of the Visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Center towards the memorial.

Memorial Visitors Center to River-walk

The Alamo Connecting Passage

Section showing connection of the River-walk to the Alamo Shrine.

Fall 2 0 1 0 Texas A&M University

Prof. Robert Warden

ARCH 607

Visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Center for The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas. H

AFR IC A N C HI L D R EN ’ S H O S P IT A L @ KP O N G , G H A NA. Ho spi ta l f o r th e A m a ni M e d ic a l Fou nd a t ion.

Africa

Site: The site for the proposed African Children’s Hospital is located in a town called Kpong in East Ghana, near Accra city. The site approximately measured 25 acres. The client was also going to acquire an adjacent plot of 23 acres for future development. The natural-physical features bounding the site are, a mountain range far on the north-west, Volta lake to its east, and mango orchards adjoining the plot on the east and west sides. The site has only one access road in the east-west direction, from which the services – electric and water lines ran.

Site

Project Background: Dr. Victor Agbeibor, President and Co-founder of the Amani Medical Foundation approached FKP Architects, to design a Children’s Hospital as part of the Amani Medical Center. Collectively they approached Prof. Kirk Hamilton, who decided to conduct the project as a studio project. The studio aimed at fulfilling Dr. Agbeibor’s vision of making Amani Medical Center campus a selfsustaining medical campus, with facitilies like: 1. Transport Center – Hub 2. Medical Departments – • Emergency and Surgery. • Critical Care • Pediatrics • Bed Tower • Clinics 3. Medical School 4. Cancer Center 5. Staff Housing 6. Student Dormitories 7. Logistics. The studio worked as a team, like in an architect’s office, with direct contact with the client. Each student was asked to design a facility, which later contributed to the development of the master plan. I choose to design the Bed Tower, which was a major component in the development of the master plan, with respect to its location and as a brand image to the Amani Medical Center.

Preliminary Master Plan - Individually proposed.

“Can we combine traditional construction values or self-sufficiency with the contemporary

technological advances?” - Self-Fab House, Cappelli L.

S pr in g 2 0 10 Texas A&M University

Prof. Kirk Hamilton

ARCH 606

The African Children’s Hospital @ Ghana H

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Form Development: Adinkra Symbols – Akan Architecture Symbols

FIHANKRA “house/compund” symbol of security and safety”

Typical of Akan (Asante) architecture, the communal housing compund. Birds-eye View of Bed Tower.

Asante Architecture.

Akan architecture is not only elaborate in terms of function and building technology. It also presents, as a reflection of the perople and their spirit of independence, a variety of forms and design principles that encode expressive messages, which continue to astonish foreign observers. The fihankra (compound house) style of building consists of a central quadrangle, which is enclosed on all four sides with rooms. The fihankra symbolizes protection, security and spirituality. The concept of fihankra reinforces the idea of close family ties and unity.

Green Patient lab 3.0 Axonometric Diagram Source: Ashen + Allen www.ashen.com

Typical Floor Plan. Scale : 1/16” - 1’ 1st to 4th Floor - 28 Patient Rooms on each floor. + 5th Floor - Shell Space for 28 Patient Rooms. Thus Total = 140 Patient Rooms.

Area Statistics of a Patient Room: Patient Zone - 203 sq.ft. Family Zone - 60 sq.ft. Toilet - 57 sq.ft. Terrace - 50 sq.ft.

S pr in g 2 0 10 Texas A&M University

Prof. Kirk Hamilton

ARCH 606

The African Children’s Hospital @ Ghana H

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Development of Facade: The inspiration for my facade comes from the traditional African weaving pattern. The weavers use bright colored threads and create fascinating designs by overlapping different colored threads. Applying the weaving pattern to the facade, we get an interesting design overlapping bands which breaks the otherwise monotonous facade of the bed tower. The bands can be of either aluminium or steel and can be painted in any color.

Consider a weaved fabric with tight bound - minimum sieve. This will not favour views and ventilation.

If the sieve between the bands is increased we get punctures which allow views and entry to fresh air and natural light. Consider each puncture as the window of the patient room and each band covering the other less important areas. The bands also help in sun shading and prevent direct entry of sunlight into the patient rooms.

South-West View â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Entrance.

Patient Room.

Decentralized Work-Station.

S pr in g 2 0 10 Texas A&M University

Prof. Kirk Hamilton

ARCH 606

The African Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital @ Ghana H

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M V R D V - THE S P A CE O F O P T IM IS M

Gwanggyo City Center, Seoul, Korea.

Westerdok Apartment Building, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Luis Moreno Mansilla and Emilio Tunon, in an interview with Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vriesl, give the reader an insight into the design philosophies of the firm MVRDV. Their design ideas and practice, is unique in the architectural profession and is well known for its philosophy of densification and multiple space use. The design statement on their website states, “MVRDV pursues a fascination for radical methodical research: on density and on public realms.” Cristina Diaz Moreno and Efren Garcia Grinda discuss this strong implementation of research in practice in their second interview, conducted in spring 2002. The first interview was conducted in autumn 1987, and as a young architectural firm, Winy, Jacob and Nathalie showed an optimistic approach to design. Holland was emerging as a healthy economy after the World War II, and there was an increased demand for housing. As young architects they where given a chance to “experiment and prove themselves”. They emerged as the extraordinary and the unusual. The flexibility in the administration of the Dutch government made them state that, “…. although we don’t exactly know what progress means, it does provide space for experimenting and argument, for renovation and for new ideas”. Thus we understand that due to their optimistic culture, anything ‘new’ was considered normal and

provided some freedom of design for the architect. New ideas where readily accepted which facilitated progress. One characteristic of MVRDV, which helps them stand out from the rest, is their clarity in design representation. Each project, however complex, is presented in the most simplistic way, to communicate with the client, the situation, the users and the observers. The principle of “architecture for all” is adopted, i.e. their language of architecture is such that even a layman can understand it. Each project is explained with the help of a “chest word”, which summarizes the architectural proposal. Their strong diagram development easily explains the project. For example, a folded up strip of paper with diagram is enough to explain the Meent Department Store Building and in the Molensloot housing, the word ‘carpet’ is able to give shape to the entire project. They have a unique approach to any design problem. They begin designing by attaining a traditional brief from the client. Then, they rewrite and rearrange the programme after deeply thinking about the project and thus gain an opportunity to criticize the brief and develop a new concept. In the interview, they mostly talk about their project Villa VPRO, which is a hybrid of a villa and an office. I believe the design of the Villa VPRO is an extensive development of the principles invented by Le Corbusier –

‘the five points of architecture’. The idea of open floor plan is developed when the line between the landscape and the user space, i.e. between the exterior and the interior is blurred. On the upper floors, office spaces have an open plan. The structure incorporates pilotis and a roof garden. The architects have played with the surface planes of the structure, by bending and curving them, to form free facades at places and large glazing windows to provide exterior views. They state that, “Surface provides a possible continuation and looseness.”, i.e. a surface makes space for the unplanned – the future expansion aspect. They visualize architecture as a ‘multiplicity of surfaces and of spaces’. MVRDV’s trademark is the method of manipulating the surface planes, to redefine the idea of the exterior and interior. They have invented the concept of ‘Missing Facade’, which eliminates the effect of the traditional facade, and creates a barrier free design. It leads to the interior to be built as if it were an exterior space. In the Villa VPRO, the use of a continuous surface plane breaks the traditional facade. Floor to ceiling glazing dissolves the boundary between the exterior and the interior. This facilitates unobstructed views to the interior and vice-versa to the exterior. MVRDV challenge the notion of privacy and redefine the social classification of public and private spaces. They state that, “… the way people show their privacy on the television in order to attract attention. In such a condition the ancient limitations between privacy and publicity seem to be irrelevant.”

S pr in g 2 0 10 Texas A&M University

The application of this statement is that, the missing facade creates a shopping window, which puts up the life of an individual on display. Thus, the architects believe that a structure should not only provide unhampered exterior views, but also provide interior views, such that the false concept of privacy does not exist in a glazed building. “An Architect should be both a creator and a technician.” This combination helps him/her to invent new ideas and achieve unseen results. I think that MVRDV are distinctive for their innovative ideas. They are very creative in their design and implement their ‘radical methodological research’, like sustainability, social study, historic aspect, programme development, etc to develop the project to a new level, hardly ever imaginable.

Prof. Sarah Deyong

ARCH 639

Villa VPRO, Netherlands.

MVRVD - The Space of Optimism. H

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BIG A N D GR EE N – W IL L IA M M CDO N O U G H In the book, Big and Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century, Michael Braungart writes the preface to the book, talking about the new material awareness used in sustainable architecture in the 21st century. Michael talks about the current problem, the architecture community worldwide is facing. With large-scale projects getting build in every corner of the city, and at a rapid pace, the amount of waste produced is tremendous and this awareness had led to the new concept of “Sustainability”. With sustainability being a vast subject, he explains his point of view on a single sub-topic - the materials currently used in the building industry and how we architects can be more environmentally responsive and choose energy-efficient materials. Sustainability follows the most popular mantra of the 3-R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It is based on the principle of cradle-to-cradle. But is it really following a circuitous route? Like the author, I don’t think so too. It appears more to be cradle-to-grave situation. All materials produced today have a path to down-cycling rather than recycling. Take plastic for example, all recycled plastic have a diminished value as compared to its parent source. So the resultant final grade (rather degraded) plastic, which goes in to landfills is more harmful than the original. So is recycling really

helping the environment? What appears to be a solution is more a strategic economic philosophy used by businessmen to fool their customers. I feel the whole concept of sustainability lacks concrete evidence to back itself. Are the natural resources really going to end? Is the CO2 level in the atmosphere really increasing? Are the ozone holes really due to our pollution production or due to natural sources of pollution like volcanoes? For a layman it is easy to scare him by saying the ‘world is in great trouble if the ecological balance is disrupted’, ‘your future generations depend on your current actions’, etc. Recently, I asked my roommate, who is a petroleum engineer, whether the oil supply is really going to end? His answer was simple; “No one can predict the future, till then let the world leaders and economist play with the common people – their puppets”. The people in power have scared the common man, whether it is a good thing or bad, only time will tell. If this scare tactic is reducing the waste production by 80%, then I would continue with the awareness/scare-people tactic. But, experts are busy doing just that, or are busy inventing new materials. What is lacking, is the potential to research on other aspects of sustainability, like are the new methods of energy efficiency really working, are the new materials used instead of the

traditional ones really helping to save the environment. I feel, how a PostOccupancy Evaluation is conducted on a building, similarly, a Post-Success Evaluation should be conducted on these methodologies. The concept of sustainability has different interpretations in different countries. In the United States, it is all about saving money and using the 3R’s mantra, but many developing countries like India have gone a step ahead. It is said that, “You don’t feel the magnanimity of a problem unless you yourself experience it” (I have no idea who said that, so cant quote the source). In India, a billion people each day face the major problem of adjusting and utilizing the available space. A train commuter in Mumbai locals, very well adapts to his 20cm x 20cm area, in which he commutes to work everyday. While in the US, people waste space. Just because the U.S. country’s size is 4 times, and its population is 1/3rd of that of India, it is not justifiable to waste available land. There are more cars in a U.S. city than there are people in it. So when you make the comparison, is U.S. really sustainable? I have only been to United States and not other developed countries, but I guess with the current trend others will also be similar. Recently, I saw a video on YouTube, showing the lifecycle of plastic water bottles. The point, which the video made, is that, when pure drinking water is available from your taps (atleast in urban cities), why do people waste money on bottled water? Advertisements are the ones to be blamed here. Ads scare the common man about the health hazards of drinking tap water.

S pr in g 2 0 10 Texas A&M University

Leaving the economic and health aspect aside, what most people don’t know that the millions of plastic bottles produced every day as waste, around 40% of it are not recycled, rather it is dumped as waste in foreign developing countries like India and Africa. Now, is this the rule of sustainability? With the fancy and marketing outlook of ‘Sustainability’ as an emerging concept, what lacks is the proper universal approach to it. If human race has to survive, it has to unanimously, with the same set rules (without exception), move ahead in the 21st century. We as emerging architects in the sustainable building industry have just begun to understand the applications of its ideas and principles. We know the cause of implementing sustainable, energyefficient practices, but we are yet to find out the effects of it.

Prof. Sarah Deyong

ARCH 639

Big and Green - William McDonough H

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Redevelopment of Northgate @ College Station, Texas.

DOWN TOW N R E V A M PE D !! Research and Design proposal for a new Downtown for College Station, Texas.

Project Brief:

The Studio project aimed at studying and designing a New Downtown for College Station. The city lacks its own major downtown, and students assume the conglomeration of discos and pubs to be its evolved downtown. The study was done collectively as a studio. The research focused on understanding the present site conditions and the implications of its proximity to the Texas A&M University campus and also to the neighboring city of Bryan. The project brief extensively focused on developing a sustainable, pedestrian friendly, walkable and bikable neighborhood. In totality, the project aimed at developing a sustainable mixed-use development.

Bryan city.

SITE Texas A&M Campus College Station city.

SITE

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Pedestrian Traffic

High Vehicular Traffic

Woonorf Street

Central Square

Flow of High Pedestrian Traffic

The Master Plan was collectively designed as a studio project. The site was divided into nine blocks of approximately 50,000 sq.ft., each by streets that were slightly bent to increase the visibility of the street facades as one travelled down the road. The street grid was proposed such that it provided continuity of the city grid to reconnect the existing roads. The proposed street layout was designed on the principles of active living, promoting pedestrian walkability, use of bikes and disabled-friendly. The mixed-use development was proposed with retail and commercial at the first and the second level to promote pedestrian activities. The proposed downtown as a whole was an attempt to create a sustainable development that was compact and connected where one could live, work and shop all in the same neighborhood.

Flow of High Traffic Woonorf Street Retail Street - designed on the lines of 6th Street, Austin.

Fall 2 0 0 9 Texas A&M University

Prof. Craig Babe

ARCH 605

Redevelopment of Northgate @ College Station, Texas S

H O TEL @ D OW N TOW N CO L L E G E S T A T IO N , T E X A S . Redevelopment of Northgate @ College Station, Texas.

STEP 1 : Dividing the plot into 3 longitudinal blocks.

STEP 2 : Organizing the services in the center.

STEP 3 : Retail spaces along major roads.

STEP 4 : Positioning the restaurant and lounge.

STEP 5 : Creating a split level lobby with drop-off area.

STEP 6 : Finalizing Public and service lift cores.

STEP 7 : Tower position and shape.

STEP 8 : Modifying the tower shape to make it look slender.

RETAIL SPACES

SERVICE FLOOR

RESTAURANTS

TOWER SERVICE CORES

LOBBY DESIGN

PUBLIC SERVICE CORE

CONFERENCE

TOWER DESIGN

Front Elevation

Site Plan

Retail Total No. of Rooms: • • • • •

Service

Single Bed – 1 Bay – 15 per Floor x 13 Floors = 205. Double Bed – 1 Bay – 6 per Floor x 13 Floors = 78. Suites – 1.5 Bay – 2 per Floor x 13 Floors = 26 Delux Suites – 2 Bays – 2 per Floor x 13 Floors = 26 Presidential Suite – 5 Bays – 2 on the Top Floor.

Service Trucks Entrance

Lower Lobby

Total No. of Rooms = 337.

Level 1 Plan

Fall 2 0 0 9 Texas A&M University

Prof. Craig Babe

ARCH 605

Hotel @ Downtown College Station, Texas. S

37 I

View of Entrance â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Drop-off.

Southâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;West View

Fall 2 0 0 9 Texas A&M University

Prof. Craig Babe

ARCH 605

Hotel @ Downtown College Station, Texas. S

39 I

Northâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;West View.

SERVICE FLOOR

SERVICE FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOMS

COURTYARD

BACK OF HOUSE - EMPLOYEE FACILITIES

UPPER LOBBY

LOWER LOBBY

UNLOADING BAY

NAGLE STREET

DROP-OFF

BACK OFFICE

BASEMENT - PARKING

Section through Lobby and Courtyard.

Fall 2 0 0 9 Texas A&M University

Prof. Craig Babe

ARCH 605

Hotel @ Downtown College Station, Texas. S

41 I

View of Entrance â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Drop-off.

View of Courtyard.

Fall 2 0 0 9 Texas A&M University

Prof. Craig Babe

ARCH 605

Hotel @ Downtown College Station, Texas. S

43 I