NATASHA AFZAL ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO
PROJECTS 01
02
HOW MUCH DO WE NEED
PARISIAN WALL
HYBRID HOUSING COMPETITION
PARIS PAVILION COMPETITION
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[p.8]
03
04
INDETERMINANCE OF SPACE
AHQ
A housing cluster Bachelor thesis
Facade design for a hosiptal in Balochistan
05
06
BZP
DERIVE
A Mixed use plaza
A metropolitan hamlet for the residents of islamabad
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[p.15]
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07
08
AN ARCHITECTS PERSPECTIVE
GALLERY F-7
A metropolitan hamlet for the residents of islamabad
Exploring form finding to create an Art gallery [p.23]
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09
10
URBAN INTERVENTION
ARRABY’S BAZAAR
A metropolitan hamlet for the residents of islamabad
Translating James joyces work through Architecture
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11
DRAWINGS EMBRONIC ARCHITECTURE
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01
compact Rethinking how we occupy space
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A
PROJECT TYPE: Hybrid Housing Competition Natasha Afzal TEAM:
In todays world we live in a culture that promotes having things we dont need, consuming more space than needed. This culture of over consumption hinders us from analysing how much space we actually need. Imagine a world where the culture of over consumption is taken over by us taking less and giving more. The project proves that is possible to live a pleasant life with the necessary space.
Ejaz Qadri ( supervisor)
DATE: LOCATION:
October 2015 Hamburg, Germany.
INTERVENTION SITE
°32'57"N 9
ctrl+space
HAMBURG HYBRID HOUSING open ideas competition
TOTAL AREA: 61822m GOOGLE MAPS: 53.549203, 9.965818 GEOGRAPHICAL COORDIN 53ATES:
Through the basis of 4 prinicples we are able to create a space that instead of just providing for itself critically looks at what a house is and can be.
WHAT SPACE DO WE NEED? WHAT DO WE DO? THE PROJECT IS GOVERENED BY A MODULAR SYSTEM WHICH IS FURTHER DIVIDED INTO THREE DISTINCT ZONES; STATIC SPACE INCORPORATES ALL THE NECESSARY FUNCTIONS. HOBBY SPACE ALLOWS INDIVIDUALS TO INDULDGE THEIR INTERESTS. SOCIAL SPACE IS THE PLATFORM FOR INDIVDUALS TO SHARE IDEAS AND SERVICES 4.5 m
01
One space should be multifunctional
FUNCTION
02
ATTCAHED URBAN CONTRIBUTORY SPACE
SERVICES
03 CREATE
PRODUCE WHAT YOU NEED
ENERGY
STATIC SPACE
HOBBY SPACE
SOCIAL SPACE
04
TAKE LESS AND GIVE MORE
REUSE
4.5 m
7.5 m
PRODUCT + SERVICES
3m
7.5 m
WALL COMPONENTS
rethinking what a wall is and can be
2.5 m
2.5 m
ITERATION
7m
01
7m
DOUBLE TABLE 8.5 m 3m
8.5 m
ITERATION
02
HOUSE FOR ELDERLY
BED
MUTLI FUNCTIONAL SPACE
CREATE ENERGY
REUSE
STORE LESS
LARGE TABLE
ITERATION 8.5 m
01 WALL SOFA
8.5 m 10 m
ITERATION 3m
02
10 m
WALL BED
STORE
WALL SEAT
GRID SHELF
HOUSE FOR ELDERLY WALL COMPONENTS
HOUSE FOR A COUPLE + 1 CHILD WALL COMPONENTS
SIDE SHELF
SIDE SHELF
FOLD SEAT
HOUSE FOR A COUPLE WALL COMPONENTS
Form rationale LEVEL 07
HOUSE FOR UNIVERITY STUDENT
SITE
FOLD TABLE
LEVEL 06
HOUSE FOR SINGLE PERSON
HOUSE FOR A COUPLE
FORM VOLUMETRIC BOUNDARY
HOUSE FOR A COUPLE + 1 CHILD
FOLD TABLE
HOUSE FOR A COUPLE + 2 CHILD
CENTRAL COURTYARD LEVEL 04
HOUSE FOR ELDERLY
BACKPACKERS HOSTEL
ENTRANCE ALLOCATION LEVEL 03
SPATIAL ALLOCATION LEVEL 02
WALL BED UNIT BLOCK LAYERING
VERTICAL CIRCULATION
01
UNIT SPACE
02
SOCIAL SPACE
LEVEL 01
FOLD TABLE
02
Parisian wall Spreading peace through communication
I PROJECT TYPE
Pavilion, Competition
DATE
March 2016
LOCATION
Champ de Mars, Paris
STATUS
Top 50 selected designs
WALL PANELS To allow people of the globe to step out of their restricted worldviews these panels act as portals between different places
A PEACE - A STRESS FREE STATE OF SECURITY AND CALMNESS. The current state of affairs that instills insecurtiy, prejudice, fear is the lack of understanding and communication between cultures. This aspect feeds into the notion of I and the other. Through the placement of wall portals that peek into the daily lives of different cities this projects elimates this notion of othereness.The wall proposes to elimate the difference by generating a communication between different cultures beyond just Europe. The ability to accept different world views can only be acheived by eliminating the gap this leads to the feeling of other-ness.The project proposes visual access to the beautifuly mundane that lies in far-fetched places. The mundane that links the globe together. The project is not just for Paris it is for the globe. The project scheme divides the given area into longitudanal wall panels of 7’ height with the remaining activity spaces acting as daytums for the placement of walls.
Peshawer
Kabul
Ankara
Conference
Promenade benches allows informal gatherings and ahs the potential to hold diverse activities.
Reception + cafe
RECEPTION CENTRE The reception centre incorporates a reception space to provide information to visitors, a small cafe space and a conference room accessed through a vertical stair case.
MEMORIAL While the pavilion functions through a collaborative behaviour, the memorial opens itself to only individual experiences. The restricted space allows light through an over head occulus generating an ephermeral experience for the user. The digital screen panels project images of people fallen victim to extermism.
03
Indeterminance of space Rethinking a dwelling
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PROJECT TYPE: Housing cluster Bachelor thesis DATE:
July 2015
ADVISORS:
Asim hameed Sannah Ejaz Distinstion
STATUS:
Architecture is created to serve certain predeter-mined functions. It is the physical incarnation of people’s behaviors; it reciprocates the way we perceive the world. The new media has fundamentally altered our perceptions and has induced an indeterminance into our surroundings. This thesis explores the indeterminance that it generates; questioning our preconceived notions and destabilizing the existing hierarchies. It is explored through the medium of Drawing through the rehearsal of inhabitation. This allows us to test the conventions we hold so tightly and consequently the thoughts behind the conven-tions. For this thesis a house was used as a building typology to be studied since its usage and perception have been static over the years.
06 | Final layout
04 | Commercial layout
02 | Space layout
05 | Corporate layout
03 | Pop culture layout The porous nature of the new media ludiclly adds on to how we interact with our spaces. These impossible qualities were translated into conventional plans, sections and axos; if only to get a peek inside. The conventions of Architecture are defined only by our use of them. By making a ‘plan’ we force ourself into a framework. The translation of these ideas culminates in a drawing with parralel layers. This parrallel usage of space breaks the drawing into layers of usage whether it is corporate, commercial or residentiial. This translation allows associations to be found on an individual level. The divisions we create in terms of living rooms, dinning rooms, drawing rooms do not react to the same thought processess that created them. They react to the rules media brought into the game. Rooms no longer have divisions but layers of activities ranging from commercial activities to corporate to infusing ourselves into the pop culture.
Porous boundaries
We share
No storage
We reuse Water from the basin is reused in the toilet
01
us
se
u ho
e0
2 se
u ho
03
ho
This change in reality means we can no longer reply on the strict divisions that used to define us. The layering method of the media world changes how we divide houses externally and internally. The strict divisions of land gives way to houses defining eachother. The internal spaces give way to the porous nature of the layers. There can no strict divisions but a nature that can easily be transformed to cater to the changing nature of usage. It becomes a space full of potential instead of strict definitions.
EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC LAYOUT
01 CLUSTER PLAN PHYSICAL LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR LAYOUT
FIRST FLOOR LAYOUT
04
A
H Q
Rethinking the staticness of a facade
I PROJECT
A
LOCATION
ARBAB HOSPITAL Facade design QUETTA, PAKISTAN
DATE:
July 2015
PROJECT ARCHITECT TEAM
Natasha afzal Natasha Afzal, Ejaz Ahmed Qadri
The AHQ answers to challenges that Quettas buildings face in terms of the monotony of the street- where they are characterised by homogenous linearity. The project required the the facade of the hospital to be rethought. The proposed design extends the usable space by 12 m2 and creates alcoves that results in a cascading facade. The break in linearity and induced with playfull colors results in a refreshing view
PARKING
|Alloted plaza|
|+220 m2 facade extension|
|Alloted programs|
PARKING
|Reajusting Parking|
z beams to support the extrusions
Vertical steel panels
horizontal steel panels
FACADE EXTENSION EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC
Application of mdf boards
brick slabs for reduced weight
metal plates
05 BZP
A mixed use plaza I PROJECT TYPE: Mixed use plaza Retail, Corporate, residential
DATE:
Feburary 2016
LOCATION:
DHA , islamabad, Paksitan
A The BZP project answers to the challenges that islamabads buildings face which create a disconnect between the users and the built spaces. Through creating a dominant exposed space, its identity transforms into one where the users enter and create memories. It reinvents the spaces by extroverting the program and its configuration. The project considers the fact that a communal building is based on individuals from different backgrounds who require diverse activities rather than a common public building where all are considered the same. This strategy reflects the multipilicity that exists in our community. The stategy frames a variety of social interactions for instance open spaces for events and activities, balconies for observations and retreats, internal spaces for interactions and personal activities.
45’
80’
plot
PLOT
LINKING PROGRAMS
ALLOTED AIR SPACE
ALLOTED AIR SPACE
CREATING INTERNAL BALCONIES
CREATING COMMIUNAL SPACE
EXTENDING SPACE
Iterative development
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Sectional axonometric 01
Retail
02
Communal space
03 04
Communal space Corporate
05
Residential
06
Connecting bridge
Third floor layout
Second floor layout
First floor layout
Ground floor layout
above common communal space
06
derive re thinking interaction possibilities through potential spaces I
A
PROJECT TYPE: Commercial and Residential DATE: January 2013 LOCATION:
Blue area, islamabad, Paksitan
02
03
04
05
Site location
05
01
01| retail 02| offices 03| third spaces 04| residential 05| communal spaces
FAMIARITY BREEDS INDIFERENCE We walk the same paths every day. We become oblivious to the life that surroudns us. The sights, the smells, the textural heaven becomes mundane. We look but dont see, we touch but dont feel. I took the human movement as an inspiration. i wanted my space to become like passages acting as multiple possibilities for people to reach their destinations. The passages act as potential spaces of unexpected encounters. -
|roof top recreation space|
|exhibition space|
|out door patio|
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An a r c h i t e c t s perspective A Community centre
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A
PROJECT TYPE: Community centre DATE:
May 2013
LOCATION:
Jasmine garden, islamabad, Paksitan SITE PLAN
For every architect it is imperative to self inpect and find an anchor, a world view, that defines how the world operates for them. For this project i let this be the guiding principle. My worldview is modern scientific naturalism which dictates natural processes and self organisation through evolution. The inspiration for the project was taken from the processes of cellular automata and improvised on it to reach as building solution. The resulting spaces provided were focused on communal zones with a central stage for activities with stacked additional spaces.
DEVELOPMENT ITERATIONS
STAGE
Eye line wind movement
above: Narration room right: Message room
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g a l l e r y F-7 design intervention I
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PROJECT TYPE: Art gallery DATE: December 2013 LOCATION:
SITE PLAN
Jasmine garden, islamabad, Paksitan
the project explores the relation of form and force- creation of form through form finding that doesnt focus on its traditional idea of form follows force but by its modern alternative; form finding as a description of geometry and the process of finding an appropriate architectural and structural shape. The process is an exploration of finding form through the hyper bolic curves. This exercise is to act as an intervention in a retail oriented concrete jungle where the vehicle is given more importance than the man.
Finding form | development exercises
10 DRAWING - EMBRYONIC ARC
c
b
a
|section dd’| c’
b’
a’
a a’
b b’
First floor
Ground floor
c c’ Floor plans
CHITECTURE
Section drawings
MASTER PLAN
02
intervention on site
01
03 04
01 VEGETATION
THE INFUSION OF GREEN SPACES ENHANCES THE CHARACTER OF THE SPACE AND ALLOWS THE AGE GROUP OF VISIOTRS TO BECOME MORE DIVERSE
PIZZA HUT
SAEED BOOK BANK
02 Advertisments
05
interactive advertisment spaces allows the space to
03 PLAY SPACES
This intervention allows visitors to relax in a playfull environemnt
04 SOCIAL STEPS
These steps in a public space infuse an informal character into the space allowing the character around tehe structures to become alot more relaxed
05 UNDERGROUND PARKING
freeing the space on the ground allows more space for interaction between visitors.
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rubric Urban intervention through an element of play
I PROJECT TYPE: Urban Intervention DATE:
March 2015
LOCATION:
F- 6 Islamabad Pakistan.
skyline
5%
transportation modes
A The make up of f6 is heaviliy monotonous- it lacks any visual or haptic excitment. The language fails to create a dialogue between the passer and the street. The intervention proposes a way to induce playfullness in the form of color and interactivity. A rubrics cube is placed in the main F6 markaz as it is the central node for the sector and its residents. Fragments of the cube are scattered across f6-1. By introducing a rubrics cube and scattering peices of it creates a harmonised distribution. The co ordinates of the missing pieces are also attached to the original chunk which generates a level of curiosity as well. By installing them on a necessary passage there will be a constant contact between the passerby and the peices; where by it is to sit for a couple of minutes or walk through teh same area in a new manner. It targets all age groups that will walk through these areas
|location|
10%
20%
10%
15%
40%
30%
70%
routes
most liked spaces
70%
70%
30%
30%
Nullah 40%
parks 17%
streets 50%
shopping reas 33%
places of interaction
disliked spaces
pollution 32%
narrow street 20%
nothing to promote street culture 48%
| Ped shed analysis|
|User analysis|
|Design iterations|
LUNCH
LUNCH
The mundane routine that the surroundings allow are infused with an element of play to re invigorate the movement of people
WAKE UP
FREE TIME
WAKE UP
FREE TIME
MARKAZ 0800 HRS
1500 HRS
ST 34
0800 HRS
1500 HRS
0800 HRS
1500 HRS
BUS STOP
1900 HRS
1900 HRS
1900 HRS
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Wanderers’ Bazaar Architecture and narrative
An alternate way of representing architecture
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A
PROJECT TYPE: Bazaar DATE:
December 2012
LOCATION:
G-6, Islamabad Pakistan
The proposed project explores how the geomtry of the narrative can become the geometry of the built. It explores the duality present in the main character of james joyces story, Araby. The title holds the key to the meaning of James Joyces story, Araby. Araby is a romantic term for the middle east, but there is no such country. The word was popular through the 19th century - used to express the romantic view of the east that has been popular since Nepoleons triumph over Egypt.
The projects intention was to develop an attitude towards architecture as well as the specific ramifications and potentials that exist with in the relationship between architecture and narrative. It is obvious that a building is not text and a work of fiction is not the same as the built form. Both, however, hold the capacity to make a world and to ground ones actions. interestingly much of the language used to determine each floats between the two world.
One reads architecture plans. one discusses the structure of a novel. one plots drawings in an architecture office. part of the human condition is the ability to understand our existing world and contemplate other worlds. The task fo the architect and the writer then may be to contemplate possible realities , and real possibilities.
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drawings embryonic architecture
ONGOING Drawings articulated in a variety of studies over the past couple of years |Plan|
A Studio 07
Exercise examining whether one function can carry diverse contradictory functions.
A | i t e r a t i o n 01 | -
| i t e r a t i o n 02 |
| i t e r a t i o n 03 |
A PRIVATE PRIVATE - PRIVATE PUBLIC This is a basic exercise of the objects of the house. Objects are the mediator between us and the world and this exercise is basically for identifying the grades of privacy attached to them. Which ones would we show to a guest; for which ones would it be ok if they were found roaming online.
A
DESIGN EXERCISE - SIMULACRA
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NATASHA AFZAL
I was born and raised in Islamabad, Pakistan. I hold a Bachelors of Architecture and design from Comsats University which i obtained with a distinction in June 2015. natashafzl1@gmail.com Islamabad, Pakistan +92 342 957 9940