Gauri Sarang - Architecture Portfolio

Gauri Sarang

Mumbai, India

Over the past five years, as a designer I have always tried to be sensitive, humble and empathatic; be it while approaching the site in the first place, while interacting with the user or eventually working with the people involved in the process.

Contact -8767806757

E-mail - gaurisarang1810@gmail.com

2002-2015 Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Vidyalaya (DSRV) Borivali(W), Mumbai

SSC - 93.2%

2015-2017 Shri. T. P Bhatia College of Science

Kandivali(W), Mumbai

HSC - 81.2%

2017- 2022 School of Environment and Architecture (SEA)Borivali(W), Mumbai

CGPA - 8.63

Vocations

May 2018 Architecture BRIO (1 month) Summer Intern

Aug 2020 Studio E5 (Shrikar Bhave), as a (1 month) part-time intern

Dec ‘20-May ‘21 Vastu Shilp Foundation (6 months) Sangath, Ahmedabad

Dec ‘20 - Aug ‘22 Hatti & Giraffe, as a social media manager and backend helper

June ‘22 - Present Design Cell, Mumbai (1yr and 8months) Junior Landscape Architect

July ‘20 - Nov ‘20 We Can We Will, as an online educator to underprivileged students during the unfortunate times of Covid-19

June ‘23 - Present Child Rights and You (CRY) Educator Volunteer at an underserved community in Kalina ,Santacruz

Autodesk Revit Certified Professional Certification

Aug 2023

Building Materials and Composites, IIT Kharagpur

Oct 2021

Languages

English

Hindi

Marathi

Gujarati

Skills

Revit

Autocad

Sketchup

Rhinoceros (Beginner)

ArchiCAD (Beginner)

Lumion (Beginner)

Twin motion (Beginner)

Photoshop

InDesign

Powerpoint

Model making

Hand Drafting/ Rendering

Site sketching

Water colouring

Workshops/ Courses

Monuments of Everyday Practice - Living Memorials to Gandhi, Carneige Mellon University

Wattle and daub hands on workshop, Design Jatra.

Concrete (Material Sense - Milind Mahale and Samir Raut)

Building Materials and Composites , IIT Kharagpur (certificate course - Oct ‘21)

Watercolour workshop, Varsha Pandit.

Urban Gardening, Julius Rego.

Science and Cooking, Harvard school. (online course)

Hands and Body workshop, Sanyukta Wagh.

Looking in/ looking out, Prajakta Potnis

Bandra Art Festival, Carter Road (Nov 2018)

Personal Branding and Leadership, University of Virginia (ongoing)

In our city, we often come across unused and abandoned structures. Most of these are old and have been deserted as they might have been programmatically and spatially unable to adapt or adjust over time. In a city like Mumbai, economic shifts have led to the occurrence of several dilapidated and unused buildings within the city. These forts, docks, mills, occupy large portions of the city land and are often placed within dense life which has emerged.

The materials we see in these structures respond to the time that they were built in add to the old grace of these abandoned structures which are contrasting yet somehow weave perfectly with the urban fabric. They become curious spots in the contemporary everyday life of the city. We become curious about them because either there is restricted access or they are sealed. This is why we know very little about their history as they are screened from our everyday transactions with the city. Yet, people in the immediate surroundings engage in multiple ways with these peripheries due to their own exigencies.

Through my research, I was looking at the questions that we have in our minds on encountering abandoned sites in our urban environment. How does the city survive abandonment? What do abandoned sites offer to the city? What were these structures, what context produced them, and what was the life it sustained?

Through the study of 3 such cases - Vasai fort, Sassoon Docks, and Khadi Gram Udyog, the thesis tries to understand ways in which abandoned sites adapt or adjust to the altering socio-economic needs of the society. In order to construct an architectural ethnography of these sites through the documentation of historical narratives of abandonment, as well as a close observation of their material conditions, that led me into a phenomenological understanding of decay.

Further, to spatially explore the possilities of intervention in a ruined site the Khadi gram udyog campus was choosen.

(Top left ) Activities that take place in the ruins of Bassein fort. (Bottom left) A dilapidated soap dept in a ruinious condition at The Khadi gram udyog, Borivali.

The Decaying spaces form voids in the city and take up a new life for plants, animals and rodents. While some spaces get repurposed with newer materials that contrast with the exisitng ones. The Khadi gram udyog is an old campus which has been used for the production and packaging of various khadi products. Over a period of time, there have been various changes in the buildings materials and the functionalilties of certain programs which has led to the abandonment and decay of certain builtforms. The above drawing was one of the method in which stories of this site were documented and archived.

Site documentation of The Mumbai Khadi Village Industries and Association, Borivali. Obervations from site and the nature of private and abandoned spaces which give rise to different movement patterns on the site.

Conceptual idea was for the user to experience the space in the form of trails.

Design process through drawing the nature and scale of the spaces in sections with respect to the exisiting structure.

Overlap and intersection of the new built form with the exisiting retained structure.

Volumetric exploration of the overlap and intersections giving rise to new spatialities and programs that can dwell in them.

Ground Floor Plan

The proposed layout works as one unit but also divides the site into various spillover spaces and courtyards which give rise to congregation spaces. The central courtyard is divided programmatically into smaller ones.

The intervention helps open up the exisitng museum beyond its four walls and flows into object museum, art gallery, amphitheatre, discussion spaces and library. The site which has such a strong history of production is rethought in the newer context with co-working spaces and workshops. The new open plan layout of the workshop space breaks the existing box like structure. There are public spaces like the performance area, amphitheatre and flea market. The spaces like library and the reading spaces are strategically placed at the back.

There are also internal circulation paths from one program to another. The scale of openings differ on the programs and their publicness. The Project aims to blur out the idea of backyard spaces. By making it more active and lively but also giving opportunities for intimate spaces. There are spaces where one can sit and enjoy underneath the dense foliage of trees.

(Top) The sections show the intersections between the new and old which is indicated in red. Parts of the old structures like walls, roof are retained.

The Machan ( SEM 4 )

Baba nagar is a small self built settlement in Govandi. For a self built settlement they have really adapted their houses according to the cheap and locally available materials.There was a balwadi(pre school) in the settlement which was centrally located, most of the activities revolved around it. The balwadi acts as a shelter when the demoltion takes place. There is a health camp which is held in the balwadi for the kids to assess their health. This is how the idea of care revolves around the balwadi itself.

The current structure of the balwadi is not allowing for multiple functions to function simultaneously. To regulate the movementand for the structure to provide multiple functions at the same time without any disturbance, varying levels are created for a particular function.

The ground floor accquires the clinic, a small chemist or space for the compounder and a waiting area.The space underneath the staircase is used as storage which has access from the clinic and a part of it is a community space which is open to access from the outside. The first floor comprises the balwadi. The staircase that connects the first and second floor itself forms the seating for the balwadi, this space can also be used for movie screenings. A part of the second floor flooring can drop down transforming into a blackboard for the balwadi.The space underneath the staircase has a reading place and bookshelf.

Both the first and the second floor have balconies on the back side to allow continous ventilation of air. The parapet wall of the balcony also has a attached bench to it for people to sit and see around. Such community spaces are formed for the women of the basti to come and inhabit during the evenings.The second floor is a community space/ meeting space/ play area for kids. This floor also has a mezzanine.The facades are of two different materials, some walls are of cloth (4 layers to resist water but the air can flow to and fro) and rigid gypsum walls. The entire structure has steel framing.

(To the left ) Isonometric, (Top left) Observational sketches of the site, (Botton left) Model photos with and without context, (Top right and bottom right) Sections with the intervention.

Community Care Centre ( SEM 6 )

As we approached our site on our very first site visit , we realised because of the location of the settlement being on such sloping terrain and due to the lack of facilities available on the upper side of the settlement the locals have to go up and down the stairs a lot of times throughout the day. The slope of the terrain is very uncomfortable to access even for young childrens, the struggles for the older people are even more.

After doing a neat site analysis of the site and considering all the requirements of the people of the settlement, the programme list was customised. The proposed project acts as a care centre for all.The entire project acts as a community care centre. It has a reading area for the elderly men in the community and balwadi and play area for kids. The workshop area for the women looks over to the child care centre where their kids can play or rest when they are working and they will still be able to look after them. It has a health clinic which will provide basic facilities and also an awareness center which will educate the community about hygiene and diseases.

The architecture of care here is characterised by such spaces which allow you to take care or look after the loved ones. In the section of the balwadi, the teachers staff room looks on to the classroom which is a double height space. The light movable louvered doors open to the outside when open but allow the passerby to peak in when closed.

The entire project is made with thick rammed earth walls and wooden framework with traditional mangalore tiled roofing. The proportion of the spaces is very humble and the building material makes it even more grounded and homely. The characteristics of the public spaces is that it is a simple post and roof structure which allows for continuous flow of air and light in the space. The closed spaces also have suitable sized windows as per the directions which allows good naturally light spaces throughout the day. The proposed project acts as a care giver for all catering for the needs of the community.

(To the left ) Design process sections, (To the right) Isonometric of the school with roof detailing.

On the left page - Proposed Ground floor plan which has a open layout for activities and users to flow into different spaces. On the right page - (top to bottom) The scale of the spaces is humble and has balconies and openings to overlook from, which provide a sense of being looked after and cared for.

Working Drawing ( SEM 6 )

We worked towards making a complete construction drawing set of a design project from the previous semester. While doing so we realised the set back regulations, toilets and circulation requirements by reading through the NBC.

We had designed a co- living space while working on the drawins we modified the design based on the building requirements and regulations and further detailed the project with respect to the materials used and the smaller details that one has to keep in mind before starting with the construction process and thus are a must in the working drawings.

(To the left top) Basement plan. (To the left bottom) Ground floor plan. (Below) First floor plan.

On the right page - (To the left top) Staircase detail (To the left bottom) Sections (To the right top ) EWS and other details (to the right bottom) Toilet detail.

The design brief was of a mixed used high rise about 200m tall. The basic form emerged from the transition between different shapes. The overall form ended up looking like pieces of a 3D tangram puzzle put together. Programmatically, the building is divided into three main functions - assembly functions like multiplex theatre, cafe, retail shops, cafeteria and restaurants up to the eight floor, commercial functions like office spaces and service apartments and restaurants.

The main structural members are of steel encased in concrete, the sizes of which vary according to primary and secondary members. While resolving the design programatically and structurally we also made sure we were following all the regulations according to the NBC and did the necessary calculations of the ground open spaces and FSI. We also made a set of approval drawing for the same project.

On the left page - ( To the left) Section. (To the right) Iso of the structure showing the services throughout the building.

On the right page - ( To the left from top to bottom) Primary members, Secondary members placed vertically and horizontally respectively. ( To the right from top to bottom) View of the front and back facade of the building.

During my time at Design Cell, I had the opportunity to work on various scale of landscape projects right from commercial residential projects in Ahmedabad to as big as an international airport. While working for the landscape of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, I got to understand how masterplanning is done for a huge area of land and then further detailed out at a smaller scale.

Irrespective of the scale, the attention to details, choice of materials and planting truely makes all the difference.

Design Cell

( June 2022 - Present )

(Top and Bottom) - Renders for a conceptual presentation, Pariyavaran Bagh, Jawahar Bal Bhavan, Charni Road.

(To the left) Planting plans and Planting palette for shrubs in a terrace area.

Internships

During first year, I worked as a summer intern(May,2018) at Architecture BRIO for making a contoured site model.

In my fourth year, I interned at Vastu Shilp Foundations for a period of 6months where I had the opportunity to work on various residential projects.

(Below) Handcut contoured site model of ‘MiCabin’ for Architecture BRIO , May 2018. (To the right) Massing models and working drawings done for a residential house ‘Kairavi’ in Ahmedabad.

Miscellaneous

(Below) An design intervention besides the Mahatma Phule Mandai in Pune (Sem 3, 2018)

(To the right) Concrete cityspace from the ‘Material Sense’ workshop conducted by Milind Mahale and Samir Raut (Sem 3,2018)

(Below and just besides) Design of a Co-living space, a shared living space for people of different age groups and nature. (Sem 5 Design, 2019)

(To the right most part of the page from top to bottom) Long span Exhibition space of 3 domed structures. Detailed model at 1:25 scale. (Sem 5 Technology, 2019)

Workshops/ Exhibitions

The Wattle and Daub workshop conducted by Design Jatra was a 3 day workshop in which we were taught how to cut the bamboo to make the wattle panels. We also practically learned the process of making and applying the daub mixture.

For the Bandra Art Festival, We made an interactive mutli-user parametric seating was made along the Bandra Promenade from corrugated sheets. The sheets were held togther with supports inserted through them. The seating allowed users to sit in multiple positons and was designed keeping in mind the different ways one sits.

(Below) Wattle and Daub workshop conducted by Design Jatra in 2018

(To the right) An parametric seating out of corrugated sheets for the Bandra Art Festival in 2018.

I started cooking and experimenting new recipes as a way to destress during architectural school. I enjoy documenting the cooking process and the stories behind it. Out of this love and passion I started a small food page on Instagram where I share these stories for them to be a part and to savour it in some way. Because of which I was able to reach out out to like minded people who share similar passions.

Personal Endeavors

I have always had an inclination towards wanting to teach especially to the younger age group. It has always been fun interacting and getting to know how they look at different things.

During covid, I had the opportunity to mentor a couple of kids from an small community in Dahisar through an non- profit, We Can We Will Foundation (WCWW)

Last year, I started volunteering at Child Rights and You (CRY) as an educator to tutor a bunch of kids from Kunchi Kurve Nagar, a small underserved community in Kalina, Santacruz.

(Top) Independence Day Celebration at the Shed, where we conduct learning sessions through CRY.

(On the right) Online learning sessions with the kids during COVID.

(To the left ) Site Plan of a small village Buhari in Gujarat, from the book ‘ Buhari : An open village.’ (SEA,2018)