Karan Matta - Work Samples by Karan Matta

Karan Matta Work Samples

Southern Courtyard

TREE HOUSING Air Filtration Through Vegetation Site: The Bronx, NY Program: Housing Partner: Yong Yeob Kim Instructor: Erica Goetz Columbia GSAPP Fall 2020

The project is tackling the issue of poor air quality through vegetation as a means of filtration. The massing follows a series of bars that stack from the street to the north-east corner of the site. When looking at the building in section, the bars ascend vertically and are suspended/cantilevered at moments. This creates a healthy amount of void spaces at the ground level allowing plenty of daylight into the lower levels while giving some units a feeling of levitation. The ground floor consists of public programs that serve the residents and the public. Since most of the building is covered with glazing, a double-skin facade of operable louvers has been designed to reduce harsh sunlight in the interior spaces.

2021 Paris Prize Runner Up

South Elevation

Rooftop

Floor 5

Unit A Floor 4

Unit B

Floor 3

2BR + 2BR

Typical Unit Aggregation

3BR + 3BR

Unit Types for 3BR and 2BR Apartments

East - West Section

Exterior View from the North Side

Interior Courtyard

100 ft

50 ft

25 ft

0 ft

Level 3

North-South Section

Shared Balcony Space

Unit Scale Model

Skip Stop Hallway

Duplex Unit Section Detail

Shared Balcony Section Detail

Between Walls A Living Library

Site: Esopus, NY Program: Vaccination Center/Food Library Partner: Gizem Karagoz Instructor: Phu Hoang Columbia GSAPP Spring 2021

‘Between Walls: A Living Library’ is a proposal which sees the vaccine rollout as an opportunity to initiate a locally sustainable cold chain that will be used well beyond the current health crisis to connect communities with fresh produce. In the near future, one cold storage room sits below four rammed earth wall pavilions, which are constructed as open air spaces to accommodate the vaccination process. The open air structure of the pavilions allow for natural ventilation through the space, while allowing daylight to enter to keep the spaces thermally comfortable. In the distant future, the site expands below ground to utilize the earth’s insulation properties to store agriculture. Using a mixture of passive and mechanical interventions, varying temperatures throughout the underground cellars create hot-dry to very cold-moist conditions depending on the crop. The backmost cellar is 20ft deep and stays at the average year-round temperature of 50-60F.

Semi-Underground Greenhouse

distant term enclosed pavilion

formwork

near term open air pavilion capping

rammed earth wall

plinth beam

excavation grid

Rapid Deployment Construction and Long Term Excavation

Distant Future Construction

Thermal Properties of Root Cellars

Floor Plan

cold storage near term vaccine pavillions

-20 ft. Temp = 55F year round

uit Walls

Subrtactive: Excavation

Cut & Fill: Rammed Earth Walls

Standard Wall B

Excavation

Cut & Fill: Rammed Earth Walls

Standard Wall A

Addative: Fruit Walls

Subrtactive: Excavation

composting area

Standard Wall with Window

Cut & Fill: Rammed Earth Walls

Greenhouse Wall

Wall Types and Formal Movements

community kitchen

fruitwall garden food hall

Rammed Earth Wall + Fruit Wall

BEK Grou Ethan Ben F Karan Nash

Architectu Joe H

Structural Amy H

M e c h a ni c a Chris

Enclosure Kathe Gaby B

BEK S 1

20' - 0"

10' - 0"

20' - 0"

10' - 0"

BRONX

COVER ROOF 58' - 0"

MELROSE COMMUNITY CENTER

13' - 0"

Melrose Community Center

Project Number Date LEVEL 4

363-381 151st Street as was East developed Bronx, NY 10455

The project a community center in the Bronx, providing recreational and educational facilities for the Melrose neighborhood. The concept revolves around transparency and access. The majority of the programs are elevated off the ground level and hover over the basketball courts and bleachers easily accessible from the street. The building uses a steel frame structure, and the cantilever is made possible by a two-story-tall truss.

Drawn By Checked By

15' - 0"

45' - 0"

LEVEL 3

Scale

BEK Grou Ethan Ben F Karan Nash

15' - 0"

30' - 0"

LEVEL 2

Program: Community Center Team: Ethan Davis, Ben Fox, Nash Taylor

15' - 0" 15' - 0"

The project was developed from concept to design development and partial construction documentation. The design duties were a collective effort, and my specialty was structural design. LEVEL 1 0' - 0"

15' - 0"

Columbia GSAPP, Fall 2020

Architectu Joe H

B1 -15' - 0"

S t r uc t u r a l Amy H

ON LOOKING NORTH

ON LOOKING SOUTH

20' - 0"

10' - 0"

20' - 0"

M e c h a ni c a Chris

Enc lo s u r e Kathe Gaby

ROOF 58' - 0" 13' - 0"

LEVEL 4 45' - 0"

15' - 0"

20' - 0"

LEVEL 3 30' - 0"

15' - 0"

LEVEL 2 15' - 0" 15' - 0"

10' - 0"

BEK S

BRONX

SECTIO LEVEL 1 0' - 0"

Project Number

15' - 0"

.T0

Date B1 -15' - 0"

North - South Section

Drawn By Checked By

Scale

A30

Truss 2 1/16" = 1'-0"

W14x132

Roof 58' - 0"

W14x132

S301

S302

W14x132

Level 3 30' - 0"

W14x132

Level 4 45' - 0"

W14x132

W1 4x 132

W14x132

W1 4x 1 32

W14x132

W1 4x 132

W14x132

W14x132 W14x132

W14x132 132 4x W1

W14x132

132 4x W1

W14x132

S302

W14x132

132 4x W1

W14x132

S302

W14x132

W1 4x 1 32

F 5

W14x132

W1 4x 132

W14x132

W1 4x 1 32

Level 2 15' - 0"

W14x132

Level 1 0' - 0" 1 S301

Typical Truss

Truss 1 1/16" = 1'-0"

6" ENGINERED SOIL 4" GRAVEL PROTECTION BOARD VAPOR BARRIER RIGID INSULATION SLOPE TO DRAIN GLASS RAILING HORIZONTAL MULLION

Level 4 45' - 0"

BEK Group Ethan Davis Ben Fox Karan Matta Nash Taylor

EXTRUDED TERRACOTTA SLAB CAP 5 1/4" CONCRETE ON METAL DECK W14 DROPPED CEILING HANGER DROP CEILING 5 1/4" CONCRETE ON METAL DECK CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM HORIZONTAL MULLION

Level 3 30' - 0"

Architectura l Consulta nt Joe Hand

MINERAL WOOL INSULATION W14

S t r uc t u r a l Co n su l t a n t Amy Harrington

DROPPED CEILING HANGER DROPPED CEILING

M e c h a ni c a l C o n s u l t a n t Chris Ashton

DROPPED CEILING HANGER MINERAL WOOL INSULATION DROPPED CEILING

En c l o s u r e Co n su l t a n t s Katherine M. Chan Gaby Brainard

5 1/4" CONCRETE ON METAL DECK 6" CONCRETE SLAB ON GRADE XPS INSULATION

8" CONCRETE

Level 1 0' - 0"

BEK STUDIO BRONX CENTER B1 -15' - 0"

STRUCTURE DIAGRAM Project Number Date Drawn By Checked By

Scale

Structural Axon

INTEGRATED WALL SECTION 1/2" = 1'-0"

S106

Wall Section

0000001 11/30/2020 Author Checker 12/1/2020 3:20:16 PM

B1 -15' - 0"

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HIGHER GROUND

Volocopter conducted drone taxi tests 2019. This project explores the impact of UAV (Unmanned Areal Vehicles) in the city and how they will interact with existing infrastructure changing the way vertical space is designed. UAVs will reduce congestion at the street level, create a more integrated network with the MRT (Mass Railway Transit) and also allow for the hybridization of the street scape.

Site: Singapore Program: Drone Transportation Hub Instructor: Lucia Phinney

The designed building will be a vertical transportation hub that incorporates social programs at multiple levels, through public spaces that are activated by the mentioned transportation systems. Drones will serve multiple purposes apart from transportation, such as delivery, medical/emergency care, surveillance and gather data.

University of Virginia, Spring 2019

THESIS DIAGRAM

Demographics -Income -Popula�on -Travel distances -Cost

Land Use -Zoning Plan -Residen�al/Commercial -Travel distances -Ac�va�on of suburban area

Laws and Policy -Masterplans -Heigh limits -Ministry of transporta�on

Crea�ng An�-Car Zones in Public Spaces AUTOMATION

Land Transporta�on -Reducing ground traﬃc - Opening up the sreets for pedestrians

Public Transporta�on -Integra�on with existing infrastructure -Connec�vity on a smaller scale

Ver�cality -Elevator -Air rights -High rise public space -Ac�va�on of ver�cal social programs

Funding -Uber/Ly�

Precedents Data -Archigram -Census Informa�on -Super Studio -Volovopter Website -Virgin Hyper Loop -High rise public space -Ac�va�on of ver�cal -Norman FOster: Dronesocial programs port and DJI HQ

Drone Hub Axon

Industrial Office/Commercial Residential Airport/Seaport MRT Line MRT Hubs Drone Hubs

Transportation and Flight Connectivity Network

Drone Hub Section

Drone Port Iterations

Green Roof

Commercial

Mall

Sky Garden

Drone Parking

Take-off Spot Conveyor Belt Waiting Area

Landing Spot

Atrium

Public Space

Drone Hub Axon

Mechatronic

Dis-Continuity

INNER WORKINGS Site: Mong Kok, Hong Kong Program: Film School Instructor: Esther Lorenz

University of Virginia, Fall 2018 Film studies displayed at the Smithsonian Museum in 2019

The spatial division of the site is not based solely on program, but rather based on mass and circulation patterns. Connected by a series a of suspended bridges the building takes element of the elevated walkway to a higher ground and expresses its inner workings via the means of emphasized circulation and public interaction. The building utilizes the existing elevated walkway as a way to connect the site to Mong Kok East Station. Pedestrians pass through the three layers of building that are perpendicular to the direction of circulation. This glitch through the varying materiality enhances the cinematic feel of the space. The programs are divided up based on size small, medium and large. The elevated walkway pierces through these individual bars and connects the neighborhood to Mong Kok East Station.

Section A

Section B

3rd Floor Plan

4th Floor Plan

East Mong Kok Station

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Ground Floor Plan

Meditative Landscape

UVA Wellness Center Site: Charlottesville, VA Program: Wellness Mixed Use Instructor: Karen Van Lengen

University of Virginia, Spring 2018

This project is a proposal for the new ‘Student Health and Wellness Center’ at the University of Virginia. The aim was to create a new space that fosters wellness habits and design more biophilic spaces that appeal to our sensory systems. The main sensory spaces of the building are experienced through the circulation systems, both exterior and interior. These circulation spaces were designed to combine a multitude of programs based on their operational hours and usage by students. The proposed schematic arrangement catered to the mixed concept program. The connecting bridges allowed theses programs to connected without interrupting the landscape and the healing spaces.

Northwest - Southeast Section

Site Axon

KINETIC FACADE Site: TBD Program: Responsive Facade System Instructor: Lucia Phinney

University of Virginia, Spring 2018

Surface Manipulation

The objective of this project was to develop an understanding of responsive facade systems and how the use of computational design and agent based modeling systems can assist with the process. The project is an independent study and is still under development. The end goal was to create a test panel that responded to climatic simulation. Origami, folding techniques and patterns were a big component of the project. A triangular folding system was chosen out of the tested iterations with its efficiency to be manipulated from the minimum amount of vertices. Two methods of folding were tested. The umbrella frame system and the rigid frame system. The umbrella frame system proved to have more versatile motion.

Closed Pattern

Semi-Open Pattern

0% Foldable Panels

25%

50%

Foldable Panels

Panel Frame

Central Joint

Sliding Tube

Central Tube

External Frame

Module Assembly

Exterior Tube

Module Prototype

Module Iterations

Module Opening

75%

100%

Ostenda Prototype A

OSTENDA ILLUMINATA Program: Installation/Research Role: Design, Research and Prototyping Team: Mona El Khafif, Andrew Mondschein, Eric Field, Zihao Zhang, Gabe Andrade

Ostenda Prototype A

Ostenda Illuminata is a part of an on going project within the University of Virginia’s Next City Initiatives. The project is passed the research phase and now in its design and fabrication segment. Designed to be a kinetic and light installation, Ostenda communicates environmental data of its surrounding to those who inhabit the space. Its form has been developed from studying several plan species and the way they are able to interact with living beings. One of Ostenda’s objectives is to communicate weather an environment is healthy or not for people to be in. It does so through varying shades of color and light patterns. Using acrylic tubes refract light from the LED lights at the bottom and express data. The center rod acts as a structural core for the prototype.

Acrylic Casing and LED Strip

1/4” Diameter Plexiglass Needles

1” Diameter Plexiglass Core

Base for Wiring

Installation Modules

Base for Wiring

Installation Modules 60

Ostenda Prototype A

Using acrylic tubes refract light from the LED lights at the bottom and express data. The center rod acts as a structural core for the prototype.

The current prototype consist of 3 main sensors that are stacked at different levels and convey individual date through refracting light in plexiglass tubes.

The current prototype consist of 3 main sensors that are stacked at different levels and convey individual date through refracting light in plexiglass tubes. Installation Axon

Installation Plan