Portfolio of works Akash Jagadeesh
Kumar A selection of projects from ongoing Masters in Architectural design & History, B.Arch & Professional experience 2010 - 2022
Manju
ManjuRegards,Akash J K
Architecture to me has always been the art of building and doesn’t end at designing and this has always drawn me towards architecture as a practical domain and pushed me to be a more hands-on individual. This perception of the profession was only emphasized further when I visited Meghalaya in North East India which houses the only kind of bridges in the world - The Living Root Bridges. Yes, a bridge made of roots woven together from two trees on two sides of a river. A man made intervention that evolves over years by a small act of construction and the motive to co-exist with nature. The people passing by, drag these roots and drop it in slit bamboos with water and the roots get channeled end to end and intertwine forming suspended cable like structures that eventually form a bridge. These are structures that had evolved over 100’s of years and by common people, kids to adults, who passed through these forests and this belittled me as an architect and my capabilities and only led me to push myself beyond the field of design into the building domain. Having been an architect for a few years now I still look forward to learn new things and share my learnings through teaching and workshops passionately.
Curriculum Vitae & Portfolio of selected projects
Details
2014October Awarded Runner-up, Top 10 Thesis - India National Awards for Excellence in Architecture - Thesis 2014 by Council of Architecture, India 2015October Thesis Published - in Council of Architecture-Archiving Thesis, University Newsletter & Yearbook 2016February Commendation for outstanding Thesis from Indian Institute of Architects at Architecture PRAXIS + Thesis plus 2016 2017January Mentor for Architecture visulaization & Presentation for Indian participants at ETHOS - Asia Young Designer Awards 2017September Awarded as Top 50 designs worldwide
VOLZERO - Tiny House - International Design Competition 2019October Panelist - Panel of Discussion - DESIGNURU 2.0 a discourse on Design & The Ecology
Manju Akash J K Skillsets Autodesk AutoCAD Trimble Sketchup Rhino Graphisoft3D ArchiCAD AgisoftArcGIS V-RayEnscapeLumionAutodeskMetashapeRecap Adobe Photoshop Adobe Lightroom Adobe InDesign Adobe Fresco Adobe After effects Adobe CorelDRAWIllustratorGraphic Suite Manual ModelArchitecturaldraftingsketchingmaking Microsoft Office suite Pursuing Masters in Architecture Licensed Practicing Architect
Workshops, Awards & Publications
What started of as a childhood fascination of playing with my father’s drafting instruments, turned into my passion of pursuing Architecture to use these drawing tools. This passion to express thoughts through drawings and curiosity of the art of construction led me to explore how to create and design. Taking up Architecture gave me a new line of thought to channel my ideas efficiently & pursue the profession with passion. Acquiring a strong design sense through my academics, proficient technical skills to express my ideas efficiently on a vivid set of projects. Functioning as an architect and having been into teaching architecture has led me to diversify my experience on multiple fronts of this profession. My ongoing Master’s degree has broadened my horizon towards Architecture in challenging Heritage landscapes, creating sensitive interventions and preserving the essence of a place. Needless to say, Architecture has taught me a new way of learning and unlearning things. This progressive self learning has led me to explore my own niche in this profession & in turn influence my designs and further their contexts.
2012 Design competition - Revitalising Urban Markets by National Association for Student’s of Architecture 2013 Historic Documentation of 120 year old Gavipuram Temple, Bangalore, India with INTACH - Indian National Trust for Art & Cultutal Heritage 2019 UNESCO workshop - Urban Regeneration of World Heritage Trail in Kathmandu, Nepal 2014 Rammed Earth building & Adobe construction workshop with Designer Jackson Poretta
Professional experience Aug 2014 Jun 2015 Architetcural Intern at Mistry Architects Project Architect at Mistry Architects Architecture documentation & media curator at Mistry Architects Architecture media curator at Dwar Ecodesign Private architecture practice - Ergate Designs Visiting faculty for History of Architecture & Architectural visulaization techniques Jul Education 2010September2020Enrolled-2015 M.S Architectural design and History, 4th semester Politecnico Di Milano, Mantova campus Bachelor of Architecture BMS School of Architecture, Bangalore, India
Appropriating Urban Space - Workshop to invigorate unused Public spaces, Bangalore, India Bamboo Construction - Bamboo Symphony design studio
SocialLanguagesNationalityLocationContactEmail manjuakash.jagadeesh@mail.polimi.itmanju.akashjk@gmail.com +39 EnglishIndianMantua,3279995571Italy|Tamil|Telugu
| Kannada | Hindi
JunFebOngoingSepMarSepSepMarJun201520172018201920182019201720182020
Part I
Thesis (2014) & Works from my professional experience
The design at an Architecture thesis level attempts to create a responsive & sensitive architecture that not only adapts & relates to the site but also narrates its archaeological context - as a Palimpsest that complements what remains of the past. The design aims at liberating historical architecture from its constraints of being understood through its past and facilitate a dialogue with the present that we are familiar with.
The project revolves around Muziris, a 2000 year old Heritage site, a former port town on the Spice route that carried out brisk trade with Rome - a maritime parallel of the Silk route.
The spaces are created to envelope the visitors’ interest with various sensory experiences & carry home a holistic understanding of archaeology; narrated through architecture.
Narratorium - A thesis Narrating history through Architecture - An Archaeological center 01 Area: 4750 sq.m Location: Pattanam (Muziris) - Kerala, India Year: 2013 - 2014 Materials & Construction: Laterite stone, Corten steel, Mild steel, Reinforced Concrete, Glass elevation aerial view
The BIEC - PHASE 3 was an extension to the earlier designed two phases designed by Mistry architects between 2003 and 2012. The existing 41 acre facility houses 3 halls with several training facilities. A requirement of two more halls with an adjoining food court and parking facility was requested by the clientele - Indian Machine Tools Manufacturer’s Association in 2014. The program sprung with conditions of efficient utilization of the 22 acre parcel of land which would also need to be LEED certified whilst being one of the largest single span buildings in the country. The halls each size at 75m clear span and 235 m in length with supporting facilities such as toilets, offices, services and utilities to efficiently host some of the largest exhibitions & conventions in India. The integration of structural and service elements into the program proved the most challenging and fruitful accomplishments.
Bangalore International Exhibition Center One of India’s largest clear-span exhibition facilities, LEED Gold Certified02 Site Area: 22 acres, Built up Area: 481,130 sq.ft Location: Bangalore - Karnataka, India Year: 2014 - 2016 (Hall 4), 2016 - 2017 (Hall 5) Materials & Construction: Mild steel, Reinforced Concrete, Glass, Aluminum, Galvanized steel, Insulated wall and roof structure, Pre-Engineered building, Expansive PHE services
Project executed in collaboration with my former studio - Mistry Architects in the role of a Junior architect project photo - entry facade construction images
axonometric cutaway site section
Home for a Home Preserving a 60 year old ancestral home with a new home around03 Area: 2800 sq.m Location: Coimbatore - Tamil Nadu, India Year: 2015 - 2017 Materials & Construction: Mild steel, Reinforced Concrete, Glass, Aluminum, Teak wood, Terracotta, Clay bricks, Reused & refurbished wood
Project executed in collaboration with my former studio - Mistry Architects in the role of a project architect./ Sketches prepared by me model view reuse of retrieved bricks from old structureconcept
A 6 decade old home on a 2 acre property - the family wished to build themselves a new home whilst retaining the essence of their ancestral home. Our design proposal was shaped by this unique and uncommon requirement. However, the old building posed some shortcomings with it’s weakened structure and spatial requirements. This enthused us to protect the home with the new home we were to build by integrating the existing into the new plan. We decided to retain the Ground floor of the structure while the rest of it was meticulously dismantled -retaining the old walls & floor, retrieving old bricks and windows and wooden joists. These were later re-purposed & treated to give the old a new life. The home went on to take shape in a contemporary outlook with the soul of the old home intact.
intervention strategy work in progress of the old + new
Location:
Wooden
Restoration & preventive
Year:
The workshop was done as part of the preservation program organized by the UNESCO post the earthquake of Nepal in the year 2014. Heritage structures around the Durbar square were identified to be restored and made seismic resistant. As part of the brief, workshops were conducted for architects to identify & stabilize homes in the vicinity as an extension proposed by regional non-profit organizations. This culminated in the study & analysis of the wooden architecture of the typical Newari homes of Kathmandu in order to further intervene and seismically stabilize the wooden structure. The larger part of the workshop involved the revitalization of the Heritage trail ans several nodes were identified to create places of public interest and restore the cultural & architectural heritage of the region. view of restored columns column - stone pedestal joinery emergency support systems detailing of the support pegs
Workshop for Seismic restoration conservation of the architecture in
Nepal 04
Area: 2 sq.km Durbar Square, Kathmandu - Nepal 2019 (2 week workshop) & Construction: Seismic adaptation techniques, wooden detailing & joinery, scaffolding systems, earthquake emergency support systems
Materials
detail wall section details explored during the workshop
Part II Works from the Master’s degree
05 Area: 1900 sq.m Location: Mantua
Year: 2012 - 2013 Professors: Luigi Mario Spinelli Materials & Construction: Mild steel, Reinforced Concrete, Glass, Aluminum, Wire cut bricks, Perforated brick wall system
The project revolves around the intent of offering a space in a place, a pavilion in a piazza without redefining it’s historic significance. The design progressed into a facility that’s shared between the university and the city of Mantova at different levels. The structure shaped into a public space that amalgamates functions of the university with study, activity and performance spaces for the university linking at the upper floor whilst the lower floor housed a public domain with a bar and restaurant for the public. The vision of the program was strongly adhered to maintain the permeability and connection through the piazza as it’s predominant function. The upper floors are planned with utmost fluidity, minimal walls for visual and physical accessibility from end to end. The materiality helps render the form into the heritage surroundings expressing a sense of contemporaneity. view of
An extension to the university & articulating the Piazza for the public - Lomabrdy, Italy
regionalpiazzaplan view of facade
Pavilion at Piazza D’Arco
enlarged elevation detail wall section detail plan
viewmasterplanatentry
Visitor’s center A ZERO ENERGY , recyclable-reusable public pavilion in the Mining valley of Burra 06 Area: 380 sq.m Location: Burra -Adelaide, Australia Year: 2012 - 2013 Professors: Adriana Granato, Manlio Mazzon Materials & Construction: Mild steel, Pre-cast Concrete, Glass, Aluminum, Galvanized steel, Insulated envelope, Clay tile roof, Rammed Earth construction, fabric shading, use of local mine stones for retaining walls, Solar and wind energy
The pavilion is envisioned to be used by Burra locals and towns folk as a lookout and rest spot with large open balconies providing a scenic view out over the water-filled mine and surrounding hills. Being less than 2km from the town center, the pavilion’s indoor activity rooms and gallery would be able to be utilized in collaboration with the Burra Open Air Museum and by local community groups such as Scouts Australia, OSHC, and hiking groups. With BBQ’ing being a popular weekend activity, the pavilion would also be able to operate as a BBQ area and hosts a small canteen. The materiality and construction systems employed make it a self sustaining building with zero borrowed energy and when demolished will return completely to earth or recycled or reused in entirety.
The design of the pavilion responds not only to the climate of the site, but the unique natural and built environment it sits within. Located on the slope of a large open-cut mine shaft, the pavilions levels adapt to the topography. Use of recycled brick and local stone from the remnants of a rich mining history, the expression of the pavilion connects it directly to the local culture and history of Burra.
view of explodeddeckaxonometric axonometric detail of construction
The vision of the proposal is formulated by a composition of 6 goals approached from the themes of Urban settlements, Public spaces, Environment and Landscape elements. The idea springs from the thoughts of creating a conducive atmosphere for the healthy shrinkage of the settlements of Sermide and Felonica linked by smaller settlements of Caposotto and Le Lame. The proposal longitudinally creates a chain-link through re-creative and regenerative measures. This scalable network of proposals stabilize the local population through urban catalytic spaces and act as a coherent eco-system that guide the conservation of the local Natural heritage. It is one that allows the people to coexist with the natural heritage of the Po River, a flood resilient system and builds an intimacy with the local biodiversity Incentivised design intervention, volunteering stakeholders, the balanced public and natural domains & scalability allows the design vision to be adaptable along the river belt of The PO basin. This strongly addresses the MAB UNESCO initiative for the PO river basin by not just conserving the natural heritage of the site but also giving it a natural purpose of a healing entity. urban vision plan urban design plan
Interlacing Landscapes Planning for conservation of the PO Natural heritage along Sermide e Felonica07 Area: 8 sq.km Location: Sermide & Felonica - Lomabrdy, Italy Year: 2021 Professors: Carlo Peraboni Strategies & Construction: Expansive green belts, re-creative river edge, responsible tourism, agro-tourism, increased livelihood opportunities for limiting urban shrinkage, public buffer parks, cyclable street design amidst agricultural and cultural routes
axonometric of urban interventions urban section typical details of riverfront interventions
Kindergarten, Sabbioneta
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Professors: Massimo Ferrari & Construction: Mild steel, masonry walls, concrete slabs, corten steel, gabion retaining walls, glass, brise soleil facade and fenestration
Materials
The proposed kindergarten sits adjacent to the past monastery of Sabbioneta. The design is an attempt to balance the visual language and purpose in manner that functions for a kindergarten and parallely complements the proposed archaeological site whilst melding into the urban fabric of the ideal city
Area: 1900 sq.m Location: Sabbioneta - Lomabrdy, Italy Year: 2022
Architecture as a Third teacher - an experiment where one learns from the building
This direction culminated into a plan that appears as an extension of the urban fabric by footprint that houses a courtyard for a playground that connects the two blocks for the kids within. The movement through he streets of Sabbioneta are subtly integrated into the circulation of the design. The facade reflects the underlying ruins towards the proposed playground and the school, thus complementing it’s existence. The construction is a rectilinear form that sits aligned to the predominant axes of the old. The voids of the monastery plan today house the kindergarten that on it’s edges levitates above the old walls as a physical continuation of the past.
conceptmasterplanmodel aerial view
rear gallery view section through plan gallery view
site ground floor
