SCI_Arc 2015-2016 by Meenakshi Natraj Dravid

FUNKED* Selected Academic Works of MEENAKSHI DRAVID SCI_Arc MArch2 2GAX //FALL 2015 - 2GBX //SPRING 2016

Funked: A state of doing something non-conventional, groovy, trendy following a very disciplined style, obsessing over minute details, to form a product that is apparently against the norms, but completely conforms to established standards and methods. Much like this work!

CONTENTS 01 THE SYMBIOTE - Annexe to the St. Genieveve Bibliotheque, Paris

02 VIRTUALITY - Documentation of Visual Studies

03 TECTONICS - Studies of Tectonics

04 THE ESTRANGEMENT MEDIAN - Commentary on Architecture and the Object

05 PUBLIC APPEARANCES - Federal Courthouse, Los Angeles

06 ADVANCED STRUCTURES - Study of Various Long Span Structures

07 ADVANCED SYSTEMS - Study of Building Systems

08 STUDIES IN REFLECTIONS - Visual Studies Precursor to Design

09 PUTTING IT THAT WAY - Commentary on the work of Zaha Hadid

THE SYMBIOTE

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MEDIATHEQUE PARIS, FRANCE

2015 PROJECT DATA Site Area: 3500 sq.ft Program: 20,000 sq.ft Human Population: 120 visitors Instructor: Marcelyn Gow Project Stage :Fall 2015 Design Studio with Neeraj Mahajan Video Link: https://vimeo. com/151729044

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Complex Morphologies The Symbiote, an alien life form, the amorphous and the undefined. Symbiote, derived from the symbiosis, alludes to a quality of entities, that are interdependent but are mutually exclusive. The Symbiote, ever so malleable, draws upon its archetype, exaggerates its qualities and assimilates itself into the context. The Symbiote bonds with an entity with shared qualities. Developing this concept further, the design derives from the qualities of Paris. Then it is processed through alienating digital processes, an intentional intervention to form the Symbiote.

The Pantheon, Paris

The Symbiote

Sainte-GeneviĂ¨ve Bibliotheque, Paris

Feature walls screen the windows from direct light, providing daylighting to the interiors. The walls also mimic the pitched roofs of the buildings in the immediacy of the mediatheque.

+15.50m

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The mediatheque draws in ample light through the skylight, provding ambient lighting to the reading floors via atrium.

The street level entry is designed to resemble a colonnade, ensuring aesthetic ans spatial continuity of the Parisian facade. 11

Simple Morphosis The mediatheque is a conscious effort to fit and otherwise alien structure into the Parisian rationale. Sculpted according to both the needs of the program and the aesthetic cues from its context, the building tries to emulate familiarity through various hints in itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final from. The process intensifies and exaggerates the notion of texture, details, resolution and scale. The Mediatheque, the symbiote, becomes the antagonist to the bibliotheque, as it reveals itself through sneak peeks and tries to combat the cityscape.

Design Process

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Object Development

The development of the final form is derived from the alpha images, which are processed through scriptting. These images lined along the X-Y-Z axes of a virtual cube act as the plan-elevation of the resultant form. .

The images selected are not only from the vicinity of the mediatheque but also from historical references in Paris, integrating many styles of architecture across not only geographical divisions but also through time.

Elevation from Pantheon 14

Detail View for Top : Skylight and openings

Plan The mediatheque follows proportions similar to its immediate surrounding, trying to blend in spatially despite its very unique tectonic and surface treatment. The planning allows for multiple entrances through sidewalks like any other Parisian corner building.

Short Elevation The facade has arcade like feature at the entry, that tries to establish visual continuity with its neibouring structure. The shorter elevation corresponds to not only specific ornamanetal and spatial features of its neoghbours but also the visual proportions of the Parisian cityscape.

VIRTUALITY

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2015 PROJECT DATA Program: Processing Area of Focus: Interactive Machine Vision Project Stage :Fall 2015 // Semester 1 Visual Studies with Nithya. S. Video Link: https://vimeo. com/151729274

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Graphic Composite

Perspective Composite

Satellite Composite

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Resultant Behaviour Controlled distortion of images via Processing allows for generation of a different image by re-arrangement of existing pixels. On the opposite page, is a still from a video that employs various pixel manipulation techniques and combines them with real time video response based on facial recognition. An interactive component causes aberrant behaviour, engaging people with an otherwise inanimate component.

ADVANCED TECTONICS

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2015 PROJECT DATA Architect: Herzog & DeMuron Design: Tenerfie Espacio de Las Artes Tectonic System: Concrete Wall Instructor: Maxi Spina Project Stage :Fall 2015 // Semester 1 Applied Studies with Indhumathi V, Amritha Varshini, Yi Zhou & Xinlei Li

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Building Components Render showing the overall scheme of the project gives an overview of the main tectonic systems employed at the Tenerife Espacio de Les Artes. This helps in deciding a viable system that has tectonic ingenuity.

The tessellated roof has 2 thin slabs that are attached to a steel truss at intermediate intervals. The gap in the roof is supposed to house various services viz. mechanical ventilation, lighting .etc.

The external wall is a heavily reinforced structural wall with apertures that correspond to the pixel design. This external wall takes maximum structural loads that act upon the building. The wall takes brushed concrete finish. The apertures and their placement make the otherwise monolithic concrete look lighter.

Skylights in the roof are supported by the tessellated roof slab. The glass in the skylight is toughened glass and is held in place with aluminum sections.

Reinforced cement concrete being the structural system being used in TEA, A few of the internal walls use the same system. Dry wall / partition wall systems are used for internal walls. Toughened tinted glass is used at the courtyard, and covers full height. The glass is held in place by steel channel sections and is divided by vertical square sections.

Exercise Objectives The exercise aimed at an in-depth study of existing tectonic system and replicating it in a physical model to understand the characteristics of that particular system. Here, the TEA employs perforated concrete as its main tectonic system, which is analysed through the drawings shown and is replicated in a physical model. The drawing shows the peeled back layers of both the materials and the technology used in the construction of TEA. The heavily reinforced surfaces like the wall and the slabs use steel bars laid out in cross pattern. This ensures the stiffness of the reinforced member in both directions.

Precedent Study: Tenerife Espacio De Las Artes, Spain Facade System: Perforated Concrete Wall

DETAIL 1 1. 32MM TOUGHNED GLASS 2. ALUMINIM SECTION WITH RUBBER GASKET 3. INSULATION 4. 100MM THK REINFORCED CONCRETE SLAB 5. STEEL I SECTION 1 6. 30MM STEEL DETAIL FLAT 7. STEEL JOINT 8. 25MM DIA STEEL REBAR AT 150MM C/C 1. 32MM TOUGHNED GLASS 9. 40MM THICK2. REINFORCED WALLRUBBER GASKET ALUMINIMCONCRETE SECTION WITH

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3. INSULATION 4. 100MM THK REINFORCED CONCRETE SLAB 5. STEEL I SECTION 6. 30MM STEEL FLAT 7. STEEL JOINT 8. 25MM DIA STEEL REBAR AT 150MM C/C 9. 40MM THICK REINFORCED CONCRETE WALL

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Detail 1

1 32mm Toughened Glass 2 Aluminum Section with Rubber Gasket 3 Insulation 4 100mm thick Reinforced Concrete Slab 5 Steel I-Section 6 30mm Steel Flat 7 Steel Joint 8 25mm dia Steel Rebar at 150mmc/c 9 40mm thk Reinforced Concrete Wall

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DETAIL 2

1. 25MM STEEL REBAR AT 120MM C/C 2. 25MM DIA STEEL REBAR AT 150MM C/C 3. 25MM DIA STEEL BAR VERTICAL REINFROCEMENT 4. 25MM DIA STEEL REBAR AT 175MM C/C

DETAIL 2 2 Detail 1. 25MM STEEL REBAR AT 120MM C/C

DIA STEEL REBAR Rebar AT 150MM C/C 12. 25MM 25mm Steel at 120mm c/c 3. 25MM DIA STEEL BAR VERTICAL REINFROCEMENT 24. 25MM 25mm diaREBAR Steel Rebar at 150mm c/c DIA STEEL AT 175MM C/C 3 25mm dia Steel Rebar Bar Reinforcement 4 25 mm dia Steel Rebar at 175mm c/c

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Physical Model 3

Materials Used: Cast Plaster for walls, Plastic for reinforcement, Acrylic and mount-board for roof.

Advanced Tectonics 3200 Meenakshi N Dravid, Xienlie Li, Amritha Rambalakrishnan, Indhumathi Venkatachalam, Yi Zhou

THE ESTRANGED MEDIAN

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2015 PROJECT DATA Premise: Paper providing an alternate view for prevalent theories of estrangement. Main source: The Estranged Object, Micheal Young Instructor: Zachary Tate Porter Project Stage :Fall 2015 // Semester 1

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Fig.1 Old town of Girona,Spain, PC: Pixlr Fig.2 New York city skyline PC:Photobucket Fig.3 Mashup of the above two illustrations

1 Harman, Graham, ’Weird realism: Lovecraft & Philosophy’ (Zero books 2011) 2 Hesse, Carla, “Books in time” in The future of the book: University of California Press, and Gow Marcelyn, Ivarsson Jonas, Karlsson Ulrika, “Architecture in the penumbra’’1997 3 Young, Michael, The Estranged Object : Realism in Art and Architecture (Graham Foundation 2015) 36 35-37

The Seen The dependence of the human species on the sense of sight is excessive, if not crippling. All animate and inanimate objects of our environment elicit a response largely based on visual stimuli. Qualities like identity, iconicity, familiarity or the lack of thereof has a lasting impact on the perception of the objects. This response is heavily dependent on visual inputs and the legibility of the objects1 that are being viewed. In case of the built environment where the quality of render is often as important as the utility, legibility plays an important role in identifying within the surroundings. To forge an association with the object and its surroundings, it is imperative to take into account the legibility of the object, as understanding this will help to manipulate the perception of the interacting environment. Architecture constitutes towards a large chunk of the inanimate environment, and the animate surrounding constantly interacts with it, albeit on various scales. When we think of certain cities, and the skylines that are associated with them, we are but thinking of the image we have seen before, even though the image is a highly filtered render of the actual city. Here the legibility of not only the image, but also of the architecture comes into play. The ‘visibility’and the ‘legibility’ of the object are quite different from one another, the former being in close relation with the appearance of the object, and the latter catering to the understanding of the object being viewed. This disjunction between the two seemingly interchangeable phenomenon makes the inanimate environment totter in the realms of psychological phenomenon

of estrangement between a very familiar environment. The comparison of images of a quaint European town to that of an American metropolitan will be based on the visibility of architecture unique to each, but mashing up both together will elicit a response not based on the visibility of the resulting image, but rather on the legibility. Legibility here implies the ability of the image being read with regards to the distortion in scale, surroundings, the edge condition of the resultant image and the obvious disparity between the two originals. To, further this understanding, Carla Hesse quoted the following while discussing recasting knowledge of forms2“In fact, knowledge is no longer conceived and construed in the language of forms at all (“bodies of knowledge”, or a “corpus”, bounded and stored), but rather as modes of thought, apprehension, and expression, as techniques and practices.” Although Carla Hesse, clearly argues for collective knowledge being in terms of abstract thoughts, their absolute representation poses a difficulty in terms of built environment. Michael Young in his book, ‘The Estranged Object’3 argues that some of these phenomena can be generated, with a set of guiding rules that create the tension between the physical and the mental abstract. The medium specificity that deals with the defamiliar as a concept, has its roots in the visual understanding of the objects, ‘the seen’.

The Unseen We associate certain landmarks with certain spaces, and could feel familiar with such spaces without ever interacting within them. Eiffel tower in Paris could serve an excellent example of such ‘mind render’, where anyone who has ever seen a picture of the tower can recall it with great ease owing to its uniqueness. On the other hand, the details of the tower are quite indistinct in such scenario. The Eiffel tower owes this iconicity to its figure and its ‘strangeness’ in its surroundings. It was once the ‘defamiliar’ object of the Parisian skyline. In a way, it still is. By vague definition, defamiliarization includes play with existing conditions of medium specificity, and that which can be manipulated to bring about desired effect4. The Eiffel tower then played on scale, material, tectonics that were unfamiliar to the cityscape, and by default became the defamiliarised object, maybe even alien enough to be estranged. Although the temporal understanding of the tower has changed, the spatial quality still resonates with strangeness. This is most apparent when a passer-by, stops seeing the tower in the distance but comes to the Eiffel through very mundane alleyways that don’t acknowledge the existence of Eiffel in anyway. Here the Eiffel gets the power of being defamiliar and an icon by the virtue of the legibility and the context. The legibility is very apparent, and plays a major role, while the context becomes ‘the unseen’, but without which the legibility has no power to invoke any reaction. As opposed to the icon that is truly unique and uncommon, the mundane becomes iconic when context is reversed. The unseen that helped the strange become the icon, now offers

the mundane the same pedestal with a slight change in the context. In 1999, the Tate Gallery exhibited ‘My Bed’, an installation of Tracey Emin. The unmade bed, a very commonplace object, became a defamiliar object when placed in the gallery space, out of context, invoking reactions that bordered on ‘strangeness’. The unseen here assumes a greater role than the seen components of the object, thereby reinforcing its place in the dynamics that govern defamiliarization and maybe even estrangement. Playing on the legibility and the context, the seen and the unseen components of a system guarantees reactions that force us to take cognizance of the strange and defamiliar. By assumption, defamiliarization is a condition that can be recreated. In 1925, Victor Shklovsky introduced ‘estrangement’ as a literary technique and went onto ascribe a qualitative effect to it as opposed to an action. In ‘The Estranged Object’, Michael Young5, asserts of estrangement being elusive and not attainable with intent; rather it happens on its own accord. According to him, estrangement is not a recurring event but a unique condition that occurs infrequently and regardless of the play on the seen and the unseen. The Unforeseeable In architecture, where spatial understanding is akin to the legibility, the built can imbibe any complexity of expressions with play on latter. It is observed that ‘estrangement’ occurs more frequently if the object has become defamiliar. The rendering techniques of 17th century watercolorists like William Gilpin, take cognizance of the final outcome, where the legibility of the object and its

Fig.4.Eiffel Tower as seen from nearby buildings PC: Google earth

Fig.5 ’My Bed’ by Tracey Emin as shown in Tate Modern, 1999 PC: Telegraph, UK

Fig.6 A high resolution portrait of Abraham Lincoln alongside a low resolution portrait

Fig.7 Breakfast in Fur, by Meret Oppenheim, 1936 PC: khanacademy.org

4 Young, Michael, The Estranged Object : Realism in Art and Architecture (Graham Foundation 2015) 35-37 5 Young, Michael, The Estranged Object : Realism in Art and Architecture (Graham Foundation 2015) 35-39 6 Atwood, Andrew, 2015, ‘Rendering Air: On Representation of Particles in the Sky’(Log 31 on the 37 subject of Gilpin) 48-49

Fig.8 Images for y,x,and z axes, plan of church, Sorbonne University façade, Republic Square and their respective alphas

7 Young, Michael, The Estranged Object : Realism in Art and Architecture (Graham Foundation 2015) 38 35-37

surrounding was real enough for the yet strange enough that it becomes a surreal phenomenon6. This aids us to understand that every change in the technique of representation impacts the legibility and in turn the perception of the object being observed, it would be safe to say that enough understanding of the ‘estranged’ will allow to recreate estrangement with the same ease as defamiliarisation. Estrangement, a psychological phenomenon, can be best explained through ‘Der Sandmann’a story by E. T. A Hoffmann. The routine, banal and familiar transforms into something unfamiliar and strange and it alienates the observer. The magnitude of the phenomenon, though is purely psychological, inducing ‘estrangement’ would be possible to change within known the parameters. A familiar, widely understood and represented visual could be rendered estranged with changes in the way it is perceived. For example, a picture of Abraham Lincoln, from high resolution if reduced to the bare minimum coloration that divide the pixel legibility, it would take a while to realize the picture you are staring at is indeed the 16th president of the United States. The 8-bit Abe, is an example of the familiar, that appears distant and strange, a quality not purely psychological as Young says7 but choreographed into tricking the observer into alienation. The ‘Breakfast in Fur’ by Meret Oppenheim, simply covers a teacup, saucer and a spoon in fur. The primary reaction for this surreal exhibit could easily be estrangement, and at most disgust. Will Gompertz, a former director at Tate described the exhibit as follows-

“The sexual connotations of Object (Le Déjeuner en Fourrure) are obvious: drinking from the furry cup is an explicit sexual reference. But there is much more to it than a saucy joke. The image of a fur-lined cup and spoon would not be out of place in the first chapter of any book about anxiety nightmares, in which any pretense of being in control is subverted by sinister happenings. In this instance, a cup and spoon has grown hair, turning objects from which one should derive relaxation and pleasure into something aggressive, unpleasant and faintly disgusting. It has connotations of bourgeois guilt: for wasting time gossiping in cafés and mistreating beautiful animals (the fur is from a Chinese gazelle). It is also an object designed to engender madness. Two incompatible materials have been brought together to create one troubling vessel. Fur is pleasing to touch, but horrible when you put it in your mouth. You want to drink from the cup and eat from the spoon—that is their purpose—but the sensation of the fur is too repulsive. It’s a maddening cycle. The perception of the object is highly altered by the material change, making the object illegible, here the illegible solely being the ability of being read with ease. The estrangement that is caused by the fur cup is barely unique, meaning that every viewer will have some degree of estrangement from the cup. Tension between what the teacup usually represents to how the visual contradicts the simple understanding of the object causes alienation from the object, making it the estranged object.

The Apparent Concluding from above, estrangement can be created through changes in variables of legibility, making legibility one the most effective tools of inducing desired results. In case of simpler objects, like images or artworks, where the legibility is limited to one or two key aspects of the object, the complexity of architectural objects makes it rather difficult to ascribe estrangement blithely. However, architectural objects, and especially buildings, possess same components of legibility as the artworks. The spatial components of buildings, viz. the scale, material, form, shape, and the context allow for the estrangement of the architectural object, comparable to artworks. The inherent complexity however makes it difficult to establish an estrangement median, whereby the amount of shift required for each parameter to make the object estranged would be more or less undefined. The success of this estrangement may not however be as apparent as in works of art. However, play on the legible aesthetics of the building leads to an expected estrangement, the quality of which is not without the context. The 2GAX design studio exercise for Fall 2015 at SCI Arc, titled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Speculations in Cameraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, was an exercise concerning the resolution of objects8. Based on the inquiries of speculative realism and object oriented ontology, the design was a purely visual exercise that pushed the understanding of legibility and its role in aesthetics. To give a brief description, the exercise focused on developing a mass through alpha images along the x, y and z axes of a cube.

The resultant mass was then used as a building object for the proposed mediatheque. At first glance, the use of three planar drawings to generate a volume does not strike to be a novel one; however the process of generating the mass makes the resultant object unique in terms of its aesthetic qualities. In this exercise, there was a freedom to choose the alpha images based on any images of Paris, a direct reference to the context. This would obviously generate building mass that look very similar to the buildings from which the original alphas are derived. As compensation, the alphas were processed by various scripts. The scripts altered the alpha images by pixel manipulation, but retained the overall structure of the image. These images, when used to generate a 3d form were very different from their predecessor, and looked markedly different from their neighboring context. The site for the project being the city Paris, the visual impact of an alien object that deviates from the regular Haussmmanesque appearance of Paris lends the building a sense of being estranged and an icon. The render of the object was completed by mapping processed candy jar images, and images from nearby buildings. The resultant mediatheque is truly an alien object, which is derived from the familiar. The digital processing of the images allows the building to retain some of its original characteristics constantly referencing it back to its contextual familiarity in terms of details, profile, material or overall form, but the spatial quality is what causes the estrangement. The mediatheque is amorphous, accommodating only about enough information pertaining the original as it needs for being

Fig.9 Images of process models from the 2GAX studio. PC: Meenakshi Dravid and Neeraj Mahajan

Fig.10, 11 Model in site from design exercise, PC: Meenakshi Dravid and Neeraj Mahajan

8 2GAX Studio brief, 2015 at Southern California Institute of Architecture

Fig.12 Model in site from design exercise, PC: Meenakshi Dravid and Neeraj Mahajan

familiar and estranged both at the same time. This design exercise with architecture as a core concern highlights the importance of legibility and context in attempt to create estrangement at a greater complexity. The play on legibility and the visibility of the object with respect to its surroundings alienates or estranges the observer. The intent of the exercise was not to create an estranged object, but the resultant invariably became an estranged object owning the intentional alienation and familiar nature of the aesthetics of the final form. The Obscure In his book, ‘The Estranged Object’, Michael Young, states that estrangement is not reproducible, at least by intent. There might be some truth to it, but it would be better to say that the estrangement might not occur as intended, but there will be some degree of estrangement if the final appearance of the object in case it is intended to. As in the 2GAX design exercise, the intent was not estrangement, but for the designer there was real possibility of trying to create some semblance of estrangement in the final render. Here the render, refers to the final outcome of the legible and the visual qualities of the mediatheque. There might be success in bringing about the estrangement of an object, even an architectural one, but the degree to which this estrangement is brought about is in an obscure spot. Between the familiar and the alien, lies the estrangement median, which promises something that, is neither banal nor shocking but maybe something that is both at the same time.

The allure of the estranged that seems to evade its replication can very well be bound by its ‘seen’ and ‘unseen’ elements that are integral to it. Yes, each estrangement is unique to the object, but it can be replicated. With the cunning understanding of its constituent factors, every object can be specifically be manipulated to have at least simulacrum of estrangement. The recipe for estrangement lies but in the familiar territories, a small manipulation of which makes manifold changes. The obscurity now remains only in terms of how much of ‘dial up’ or ‘dial down’ would be necessary to meet the estrangement median.

References Graham, Harman, ” Weird realism: Lovecraft & Philosophy” (Zero books 2011) Young, Michael,‘The Estranged Object: realism in Art and Architecture’, 35-39: (Graham Foundation 2015) Atwood, Andrew,“Rendering Air: On representation of Particles in the Sky”,48-49: (Log 31on the subject of Gilpin 2015) Bogost,Ian,‘How to do Things with Videogames’ 2012 Shklovsky, Victor,’Defamiliar and Estranged’, 1925 Hoffmann E.T.A,’Der Sandmann’, 1817

PUBLIC APPEARANCES

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FEDERAL COURTHOUSE, LOS ANGELES

2016 PROJECT DATA Site Area: 50,000 sq.ft Program: 650,000 sq.ft Human Population: 1200 visitors Instructor: Elena Manferdini Project Stage :Spring 2016 Design Studio with Nithya Subramniam Video Link: https://vimeo. com/164024560

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Federal Courthouse The courthouse has great significance as a public building, often shrouded in opaque monumental forms that signify dominance. Our version of the courthouse tells its story, quite frankly, with colours, opacity, reflections, often distorted giving a fair idea of where the action takes place, while hiding the actual proceedings. With our play in material transparency we are trying to strip away the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;blackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cloak of mystery that usually tends to be associated with the aesthetics of a courthouse. This transparency is orchestrated through both materials and actions. The facade colours inspired from LA skyline photographs, merge, stand out, fade in the ever changing cityscape.

Tell-Tale Facade System The louvered facade changes colour through the day. The movement of the louvers indicate whether the court is in session. The louvers not only change their position but also their colour, changing from transparent and light when the court is in session, to dark and reflective when the court is not in session.

Special proceeding courtroom housing multi-deSpecial proceeding courtroom housing fendant trials have larger areas for public to watch proceedings. The public entries are segremulti-defendant trials have larger areas gated from law personnel entry. for public to watch proceedings. The public entries are segregated from law personnel entry.

Multi-defendent Multi-defendent Courtroom Courtroom

52 Courtrooms do not follow the typical plan at the Courtrooms do not follow the typical plan at multi-defendant courtroom level. Smaller En courtrooms populate the floor in case of the multi-defendant Banc courtroom level. Smallthese levels. er EnBanc courtrooms populate the floor in case of these levels.

En Banc Courtroom En Banc Courtroom

are re-orientedat at the second Ancillary programsAncillary are programs re-oriented the level for multi-defendants court. These include judge’s chambers, offices, holding cells, attorney second level for multi-defendants court. offices amongst others. These include judge’s chambers, offices, holding cells, attorney offices amongst others.

Judge’s Suite Judge’s Suite

Private libraries for judges and law clerks are Private libraries for judges and law clerks located in the tallest building, without public access. It is served by a private elevator. are located in the tallest building, without public access. It is served by a private elevator.

Library +Library References + References

Federal Courthouse, Los Angeles

PublicPublic Lobby Lobby

entries arefor provided all kinds of proDifferent entries are Different provided allfor kinds of gram users. Judges and defendants enter directly through their designated parking, whereas the jury program users. Judges and defendants enter enters through a separate entrance from the level. directly through theirstreet designated parking, whereas the jury enters through a separate entrance from the street level.

MultipleMultiple Entries Entries

Public lobbies are stacked on top of each other, Public lobbies are stacked on top of each and have limited access to programs within. To ensure that the space and access is perceived other, and have limited largeraccess than given, theto wallsprograms of courtrooms are mirrored and the offices have a high gloss finish. within. For larger spatial perception courtrooms are mirrored and the offices have a high gloss finish.

1 s t

Ground Floor Plan

S t r e e t

Federal Courthouse, Los Angeles

Pedestrian Entry

Jury Entry

Judges Entry

Jury

Emergency Stretcher

B r o a d w a y

Public Public Public

H i l l

S t r e e t

Public Entry

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2 Service Entry Defendent Judges Entry

Jury

Jury Entry

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Vehicular Exit

Lobby Sallyport Records Room Mail Room Server Room

Elevational StudyStudy Elevational

1_mass 1_mass

2_mass 2_mass

3_mass 3_mass

4_mass 4_mass

5_mass 5_mass

Massing Developemnt Massing Development

Front View

Program Program

Left View

Right View

Back View

Program In-Situ Program In-Site

Division of Massing Division of Massing

Object Object

Outer Layer Outer Layer

Despite the apparent transparency, the secure programs stay within the core, giving just glimpses of what usually stays hidden. With the public at the periphery, the building screens itself with the people it serves. The courthouse interacts with the city, through its tectonic systems, indicating its hours of work.

Inner Layer Inner Layer

The building is framed within the site with the help of its context has brought about decisions of material finish, accesses, and even program orientation. Our design process entailed controlling and balancing its object like features with actual mandatory requirements. This can be seen through planning, material finishes and tectonic elements. 55

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Jury

Emergency Stretcher

Segregated Circulation

The public circulation is restricted to a singular tower. The access is limited to only a certain courts, that allows for audience during proceedings.

Public Public Public

Defendent Judge

Jury

Typical Floor Plan Federal Courthouse, Los Angeles

Tell Tale Facade The louvred facade changes colour through the day. The movement of the louvres indicate whether the court is in session.

Receding Slabs The receding slabs allow for visual continuity. This also ambiently lights all floors by creating an atrium like effect.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Courtroom En Banc Courtroom Judgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chamber Jury Suite USMS Offices Public Lobby Law Clerk Offices Holding Cell Open Administration Offices

Typical Plan A typical floor plan had all the programs arranged according to adjacency as required by the guidelines of the federal courthouse. This plans does not change much in succeeding floors, except for the addition or subtraction of courtrooms depending on the nature of adjacent programs.

57 0

100 ft

58 + 330.0 ft Elevated Ground

+ 450.0 ft Last Floor

Federal Courthouse, Los Angeles

Transverse Section

+ 0.0 ft Entry Level

+ 45.0 ft Lobby Level

+ 145.0 ft 6th Floor

+ 157.0 ft Mezzanine for Defendent 7th Floor

Interior Views The interiors of the building reflect the similar layering as can be seen on the outside. The interior finishes are a constant interplay between transparent, opaque, reflective and translucent finishes that allows for internal and external reflections creating ambiguous moments within the building.

Entry The entries are raised so as to accommodate steps, to mimic the usual â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;climbâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; seen in typical courthouses. The raised entry also allows for screening areas for various visitors before they are admitted in the building. The reflective finish allows for interaction amongst outsiders that are generally not allowed in.

ADVANCED STRUCTURES

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2016 PROJECT DATA Structure Component: Steel structures, Analysis and Building Area of Focus: Long Span Structures through Repetition Instructor: Greg Otto Project Stage: Spring 2016

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Long Span Repetitive Structure

Skylight beam

View of a Single Module

View of a Single Module with Membrane

Repeating Modules to Increase Span

Tertiary Column

Secondary Column

Primary Column Concrete Base

Side Elevation

Front Elevation

Parallel View Showing Member Assembly

The design is intended to be used as an entry for a large volume space like airport terminal or mall space. The column are split columns that split twice. The columns have a common concrete base. The column splits to take the I beam flat above that change their profile according to the profile of the roof.

The column takes truss for skylight as well. The structure is modular and a single module can be repeated to add span. The module however is a A-B repetition module.

Perspectile Elevation

Internal View

Height of the Structure : 23m Distance between columns c/c : 45m

Skylight RHS @ 1500mm c/c

Structural I Beam

Split Column

Concrete Base

Anti-Skid Floor Column Detail

Stadium Design

External View

Forces along ring beam

Primary Truss

Edge Truss Ring Beam

Truss Column in Triangular Arragement

Basic Structural System

Structural System The main aim of the design of the stadium was to make a lightweight structure, ridding spaces of steel. The stadium is small, with 160 ft at its highest. The main structural system is 2 primary trusses that span longitudinally. Since the roof doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a mechanical moving component, the edge beam is enough to ensure structural stability. Thrust

The stadium roof cover is tensile fabric, and spans from the main truss to the edge beam. Columns are triangulated to ensure maximum stability. These are tied at the bottom under ground, countering the splaying action. The stadium is designed with minimal main structural components.

Thrust: avoid splaying

The area of the stadium is about 2,50,000 sq.ft

Column Truss The column is a composite of three components that are arranged in a triangle, maximising stability.

Primary Truss The arched truss carries maximum loads. The form of the truss is triangular.

Edge Truss This ties the main truss to the edge beam.

Ring Beam The beam anchors the tensile fabric and allows the two trusses to act as one system.

Fabric Membrane The fabric allows for lighjter structure.

Structure

Hinge Joint The hinge joint allows the trusdjeust according to changing loads, also relieving thrust.

The stadium has minimal components to reduce complexity of structure. The columns are sleek are arranged in triangular geometry to ensure maximum stability with minimum components. The design is fairly simple with only 3 primary structural load carrying members.

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ADVANCED STYSTEMS

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2016 PROJECT DATA Systems Component: Advanced Building System Analysis Area of Focus: Specialised Building Systems, Sustainibility Instructor: Randy Jefferson Project Stage: Spring 2016

2014

2015

Individual Project: Glazing systems, ARTIC Group project: Analysis of Sustainable design of Emerson College, LA.

2017

Glazing System

Curtain Wall; Tesselated Glazing: View, Elevation, View

Curtain Wall System for 50’ x 50’ Surface The curtain wall system is designed in two layers. The wall is divide into panels of 5’ x 10’. The primary layer has 3” x 6” mullions and transoms. The glass is held in place by silicone joint. The glass is tessellated as it negotiates the curve. The glass to glass joint is sealed by silicone. The secondary layer is the structural layer of the curtain wall system, and bears the entire weight of the wall and transfers the loads to the main structure. This is done by 3” x 10” tie backs that hold onto the adjacent slabs. In addition to the horizontal tie-backs, diagonal steel rods have also been used. These rods are 1” in diameter and maintain the rigidity of the support system.

Technical Details For Glazing System: Panel : 5ft x 10 ft, 1” thick glass held in place with silicone joint Mullions & Transomes: 3” x 6” hollow steel box sections For Structural System: Connection System: 7” x 3”x 0.75” Steel Channel section, 1.5” thick steel plate, 3” x 6” x 0.5” thick gusset plate. Strcutural System: 4” x 7” x 1” Steel hollow box sections, 1” dia steel chord.

1. Glazing System 2. Curtain wall supports system (Primary Support System) 3. Connecting System 4. Secondary System

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1. Glass Panels 2. 7” x 3”x 0.75” Steel Channel section 3. Structural Slab

4. 4” x 7” x 1” Steel hollow box sections 5. 1” diameter steel rod 6. 4” x 7” x 1” Steel hollow box sections

7. 3” x 6” x 1” Steel hollow box sections 8. 3” x 6” x 0.5” thick gusset plate 9. 3” x 6” hollow steel box sections

ARTIC - Sustainability Analysis

The radiant heating and cooling floor system and optimized HVAC system will help reduce ARTICâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy consumption by 50 percent.

The main technical merits of the ventilation system are listed as follows: 1. The air conditioning is limited only to habitable spaces. This cuts down a lot of energy load on various spaces like storage, mechanical ducts.etc. Cutting down the volume of spaces that require air conditioning also reduces the initial cost of installation and later incurred costs of maintenance. 2. The ventilation system is a mixed mode system. This means that it employs natural passive air conditioning techniques along with mechanical ventilation. This helps in assisting the mechanical system, which thereby reduce energy load on the system. It also sets up a continuous flow of air which brings in a percentage of fresh air every ACPH (air changes/ hour).

Floor heating/cooling: Tempering of the internal temperature via the central air handling units

The HVAC system does not stand out as a building system within the ARTIC. This can be attributed to the smart placement of the otherwise visible elements of an HVAC system. Following are the aesthetic merits of the system: 1. The AC outlets are tucked at the periphery of the building below and above the structural slab. This placement hides the outlet from view. 2. The materials used in the system are finished similar to the other systems within ARTIC. Since the entire system is integrated with the architectural design, the aesthetics of the system cannot be effectively attributed to the system alone. This can possibly be a huge merit for the aesthetics of the HVAC system.

3. The placement of vents at high and low levels along the sides help build up an ambient air temperature as against a duct ventilation system that allows for various temperature pockets. 4. The radiant floor cooling system although not exclusively a part of the HVAC system, plays an important role in aiding the main ventilation system by optimising indoor temperature. However, the floor cooling system solves this problem and helps regulate both the temperature and the energy load on the HVAC system. 80

Sources 1. http://www.hok.com/design/type/aviation-transportation/anaheim-regional-transit-center-artic/ _HOK website 2. http://www.articinfo.com/about/leed-certification/indoor-environmental-quality 3. Archdaily.com

Operable Louvres South End

North End Maximum light drawn through the North and the South facade. This reduces heat gain. The openable ventilators are located at the top of these walls.

Facade with Louvres

Warm Air

Cool Air

Convection currents naturally ventilate the building as heat rises from the lower south end up to the north side and out through operable louvers.

Emerson College - Sustainability Analysis Energy and water saving strategies that also maximize operational cost savings • Natural ventilation via patterned screens shade semi-outdoor residential corridors and academic circulation spaces and residential suites with operable windows • Automated sunshades: horizontal fins outside the high-performance glass curtain-wall are connected to weather stations that track the local climate, temperature, and sun angle, to minimize heat gain while maximizing daylight and views • High-efficiency passive heating and cooling via radiant chilled beams, to ensure a comfortable work and study environment.

• Solar Energy is used to heat hot water through solar tubes on there off of the residential towers • Storm water filtration system removes impurities using onsite landscaping prior to returning water to the city sewer system • Water savings via efficient fixtures that reduce water use by 40%• Recycled and rapidly renewable building materials • Waste recycling • Building management and commissioning system to monitor and optimize efficiency of all systems

Cognizant-responsive Shading System Summer Sun

Digitised automatic louvre shading system on East and West Facade

Winter Sun

Vegetaion of Eats and West side of site, shading fropm winter sun North

West Solar Panel screen to provide diffused light to interior spaces

Water Management System Grey water from sinks and basins connected to storage tank. This is filtered and used for fire purposes, flushing and landscaping.

Stormwater from rooftops and Surface runoff water connected to harvesting storage tank.

Filtered water used in toilets.

Filtered Storage Tank Fire Tank

Filtered / unfiltered Storage Tank North South Section

Hybrid mixed Ventilation System Automated Louvre System: reduces heat gain Heat gain in EastWest facade

Solar Panel system : operable, allows for natural ventilation Cross ventialtion provided by facade systems

East West Section

STUDIES IN REFLECTION

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2016 PROJECT DATA Visual Component: Interacrtion of Masses Area of Focus: Transparency, Reflections, Illusions, Reflectivity Instructor: Elena Manferdini Project Stage: Spring 2016

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Configuration1 This configuration consisted of basic volumes that are divided into their constituent surfaces. These surfaces take various finishes from chrome to polished aluminium to metallic paint to interact with each other based on both form and surface finish. This configuration has 5 masses.

Configuration 2 This configuration explored possibilities of interaction beyond the original composition. All the masses in the composition are highly reflective surfaces that reflect distantly placed coloured panels to provide various effects of colours with change in perspective. The configuration consisted of 4 masses & 4 planes.

PUTTING IT THAT WAY

2009

2010

2011

2012

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2016 PROJECT DATA Systems Component: Advanced Building System Analysis Area of Focus: Specialised Building Systems, Sustainibility Instructor: Randy Jefferson Project Stage: Spring 2016

2014

2015

Individual Project: Glazing systems, ARTIC Group project: Analysis of Sustainable design of Emerson College, LA.

2017

Architecture could be considered to be one of the more lasting remnants of any culture. Throughout history of human civilization (and by this it includes even those naked natives that built the ziggurats who the then colonial conquerors termed barbaric) architecture remains singularly powerful in determining the values and the lifestyle of any particular era. This claim can be easily substantiated by minutely analyzing anything else that defines culture. Culture according to the Merriam Webster dictionary (this is one of the definitions provided) is ‘the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations’. Now what do you give a progeny except the basic necessities which include food, clothing, shelter and of course psychological conditioning of traditional and intellectual belief? Food and clothing are more dynamic and change rapidly, but the properties of shelter tend not to change much, due to the anthropological similarities and material limitations and of course gravity. Bound by these obvious limitations and physical governing laws, architecture has had a lot of struggle trading its realm from being a necessity to being a profession. Without raising fundamental question of where a built form ends and architecture begins, it would be safe to simply define the profession by stylistic arrangements of spaces that serve their utility while being better at efficiency and aesthetics. Owing to its utilitarian aspect, architecture needs to find better alibi with the newer vocabularies it develops, as a part of both architecture the profession and architecture the discipline. Developing these new vocabularies has transcended architecture from being a representative of an entire culture to be a bulwark for a certain few, a crucial moment in which architecture could be spoken as being a profession on its own, and not ancillary to construction. Dabbling between design and technology, architecture, as it lies in bit of both, has

seen tremendous evolution as profession and discipline in the last century than ever before. And if the lists of the 100 most influential people, that Time magazine comes out with each year is to be taken as a measure for real influence, the increase of architects that feature in it could be equated to this rise in diversity in the way architecture is discussed and perceived. The design aspects of architecture have undergone radical and rapid changes in last 50 years than ever before, which has in turn given rise to a number intellectual discourses that foster different ideas. Communication on the other hand has enabled these discourses to reach far enough to foster newer discourses that have developed newer vocabularies. Architecture no longer is bound by buildings or architects alone but is a diaspora bigger than the original understanding of the field. Not limited by built-forms alone, architecture takes meandering ways that lead through art, technology, design and most importantly philosophy. If anyone needs further convincing of the positive impact of discourse in architecture, one has to only look at the architectural history, to understand that any intellectual stand has led to more arguments and counter arguments that developed new vocabularies that have further led into an actual building style. The progress of the profession is substantiated by progress of the discipline, which more or less is changing the ways of existing description. The way architectural dialogue within architects themselves varies quite a lot from faction to faction, each one emerging with novel styles and discussions that change architectural scenario. Few however have been ground breaking enough to deviate from the much sought after ‘develop a newer vocabulary’ to actually having an impact that developed a language of its own. The Koolhaasian prodigies probably did a good job at extending this discourse while making

the architectural manifestation possible. With the likes of Bjarke Ingels, Joshua-Prince Ramus, Winy Maas, Jeanne Gang, Alejandro Zaera Polo and even Farshid Moussavi working for Rem at some point in their career, all of these are currently actively engaged both in the architectural practice and the discipline. Most notable of one of the Rem Babies ( as called by ArchDaily) would undoubtedly be Zaha Hadid, rivaled probably only by Rem himself. Zaha Hadid, one of the first architects of what went on to become ‘deconstructivist movement’ can be described by both her finished and unfinished works. Without getting too romantic about the notion of a woman that competitively dominated the global architectural scenario for last two decades, Hadid can boast about her numerous successful building commissions as much as her role as an educator in some of the elite institutions around the world. In light of her recent demise, many people close to Hadid lauded her work and her style in addition to recognising the impact her work has had and continues to do, with respect to larger architectural context. One of the first proponents of parametric design and futurism, Hadid’s designs broke away from any vocabulary that existed during the start of her career. Breaking away from both modernist and postmodernist, Hadid’s design forced her critics to describe architecture in a way that hadn’t existed prior to her work. With fluid forms, high poly geometries combined with evocative designs,Hadid’s work is at thebest fantastical. Her recent works seem to have consolidated her original ideas with more finesse and clarity that was seen in the 1988 ‘Deconstructivism in Architecture’, and exhibition curated by Mark Wigley and Philip Johnson in New York’s MOMA. Heyder Aliyev Centre, in Baku, one of ZHA’s (Zaha Hadid Architects) most recent projects could be described as a culmination of Hadid’s philosophy and design style. Built as museum, gallery hall and an auditorium, this

61,000 sq.ft structure gathered international acclaim for its fluid forms and eschew angles. Although segregated programmatically, the building aesthetics is a singular monolithic fluid form that wraps around the structure. Hadid’s own website doesn’t divulge much about the project itself, save for that the architecture is a reflection of the Azeri sensibilities and optimism of the future and breaks away from the rather rigid language of architecture of the Soviet. ArchDaily, ran an article on the Heydar Aliyev, and much of the description of the project revolves around arrangement of elements in a cause -effect manner, and the technological barriers the structure broke while being constructed. A small section is dedicated to how it ‘feels’ to be in the Heydar Aliyev centre and the underlying conceptual meaning that Hadid intended. Much has been spoken about the design as an effect, or has been analyzed as geometry, but the intellectual discussion behind the design would lead not to a theoretical discussion about the philosophical process as with the postmodernism, or with the programmatic derivations as with modernism but take a completely different course that would be guided by technology, softwares and parameters that could only be defined by a newer style. It is an amazing building to say the least, and by amazing, it would be in the most emotional way as a layperson and to appreciate the geometry as an architect. Much to Hadid’s frustration she made it to the deconstructivist league. It is not just a singular building though, the Heydar Aliyev Centre could be read in many of Hadid’s preceding works, like the BMW factory, Galaxy Soho, Architectural Powerhouse, Vitra Fire station and even her design for Lacoste shoes. The style is familiar, and no longer creates the ‘wonder’ it did, but the narrative around the building still feels novel, un-building like and rightly so, deconstructed.

References: 1. Archdaily.com:http://www.archdaily.com/769864/baby-rems-and-the-small-world-of-architecture-internships 2. ZHA website:http://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/heydar-aliyev-centre/ 93