Nisarg Shah | Urban Design - Architecture Portfolio

PORTFOLIO Urban strategies to regenerate public space Nisarg Shah nisarg.shah.bud17@cept.ac.in +91 9106815995

occupied

graphic anatomy of everyday urban monsoon semester 2019 | Semester 5 cept university

NISARG SHAH  OBJECTIVE Energetic community outreach person experienced in creating and designing community driven architectural spaces  EXPERIENCE Ratan J Batliboi Architects

May 2019 - July 2019 Urban design Intern Collaborated on conceptual design, 3D modelling and rendering and physical modelling  EDUCATION CEPT University

2022 Bachelors in Urban design Zydus school for excellence

2017 Higher secondary education Zydus school for excellence

2015 Primary education  PROJECTS Smart and sustainable urban development, Research study by GIZ The project aim was to inquire how do two smart cities namely, kochi and Frankfurt respond to rapidly changing surrounding and address sustainability challenge Exploring lifestyle and culture of Majuli, Research study by CEPT University Analysed world's largest river island to study their traditional architecture, culture and lifestyle Earth construction training programme, Bhuj, India Involved in learning unique architecture design to comfort the temperature and space within by using soil in construction process  EDUCATION Primary education - Zydus school for excellence Higher secondary education - Zydus school for excellence College - CEPT University

 CONTACT  nisarg.shah.bud17@cept.ac.in  +91 9106815995  C-27 Nand bungalows, Arohi club road, Bopal, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India -380058  https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisargsh  SKILLS AutoCAD ArchiCAD Adobe creative suite Rhinoceros SketchUp V-Ray ArcGIS Lumion Revit 3D printing CNC Routing Laser cutting  ACHIEVEMENTS & AWARDS Semester 3- Project cited as honours project Semester 5- Project published in university catalogue and cited as honours project  PERSONAL DETAILS Date of Birth

: 10/03/1999

Nationality : Indian Languages : English, Hindi, Gujarati

STUDIO BRIEF Public spaces in the core walled city of Ahmedabad, India are powerful expressions of cultural and historical fabric of the city. They serve as breather spaces and are generators of social and everyday events. Currently, many valued historic spaces of city have turned into parking lots, or storage areas, or have been occupied by vendors/ residents as private areas.

The Unit ‘Occupied: graphic anatomy of everyday urban’ looked at six stressed public areas from which one site had to be selected in the city and to do bold experimentation and innovation to uplift these area. While doing so, the current usages, patterns of everyday life, and relations people hold to the site were to be extensively studied to arrive at appropriate and sensitive solutions to the challenges detected.

The unit followed a drawing-based methodology that was structured in three modules. The first and second module ‘narrative cartographies’ and ‘visual essays’ show detail and precise drawings of the space from an ethnographic viewpoint. In the third module, developing design interventions to provide a spatial solution addressing the real and wicked problems of our cities, such as alternatives to contested or neglected heritage sites, design projects to address accessibility/ traffic, or new ways to organise marginal

productivities.

STUDIO STRUCTURE -01- Narrative Cartographies: In this part, the intent was making detailed mappings of the everyday, capturing the hidden and contested narratives of the public spaces -02- Visual Essay: Developing a 3D representation of the public space and a concept / idea that is able to able to give shape to the challenges understood through cartographies -03- Design Interventions: In the last, spatial strategy that can bring about urban transformations in the public space

STUDIO SITE The studio selected six public spaces in the core walled city of Ahmedabad for improving the area in the context of the theme. Area which was selected for study is Dhal ni pol, A historical place which has a rich culture and unique house typology which is more than 350 years old. Pols are housing clusters which are generally two to four stories in height wherein the houses are joined to each other which are linear and narrow, the houses are made porous by having a small court which is open to sky. The plot is fully used without leaving any margins. Therefore the otla becomes a space where most of the everyday activities takes place.

MODULE 1: narrative cartographies In this part, the cartographies had to communicate in a graphic way the sensations, unseen actions or patterns of the public realm.

Cartographies: _Depiction of the physical space along with mapping the moving, unseen, intangible relations in the context. _Identifying particular elements (such as edges, trees, benches, tombs, stairs, etc.) and their usages related to the everyday behaviors and patterns. _Visualizing and communicating through drawings the events/ actions/ bodies in space through cartographic representation and building a narrative.

1

1

Threshold as a place for commerce

1

0.74

1

0.15

1

0.36

Threshold and street occupied by vehicles

2.5

2

3

2

0.42

Threshold as a place for watching/ interaction

Threshold as an inactive space 1

1.51

2

1.24

1

0.49

3

1.28

The active and inactive edge

3

3

Threshold with high plinth stimulate parking

Threshold as a place for discussing and sharing thoughts 1

1.07

1

0.18

1 1

2 1

Frontages and life

Play

0.08 0.25

1

0.33

2

0.09 2.53

3

0.67

0.15 0.31 2.36

4

3

0.2

4

Gated threshold becomes a private space

Threshold as a place for sharing and showing belongings

5

5

Threshold as a place for elderly women to chat

Active edges

Pach of land occupied by parking

Parking

Inactive edges

ANALYSING THE CARTOGRAPHY Several underutilized and abandoned spaces and edges were identified and therefore having a comparative study about its nature of being active or inactive

Vehicle

Cow

Vendor

Dog

Women

Men

Children

Women gathering

Men gathering

Children gathering

Parking area

Avoided space

Parking area

Vehicle movement

Cow movement

Dog movement

Vendor movement

Breeze

Food smell

ABOUT THE CARTOGRAPHY Cartography reveals all the different activities in public and semi-private areas in pol, it is represented by different icons showing people, animals, vehicle, interaction spaces, avoided spaces. Along with it the built form has been examined which further shows different instances of active and inactive spaces and edges.

MODULE 2: visual essay In this part, intent was to develop 3D imageries of the site to communicate the space.

3D views _Depiction of the physical space, drawing typology of buildings, elements and the usages of space. _Identification of careful attention to particular elements, typical characteristics, local businesses, had to be translated to 3D imageries where complex space and daily activities can be seen at a glance.

Houses having otla

Vacant land not being utilized

Central space occupied by vehicles VISUAL ESSAY The study reveals that the houses which does not have a threshold that is otla becomes a dead space. Pol houses have otla which makes people feel connected to each other and becomes a space for interacting and participating in everyday activities also some houses are demolished and the vacant spaces have become dumping ground.

MODULE 3: design intervention In the end, developing spatial strategy in an urban context that is able of respond to the real needs and challenges of the public spaces and the communities residing nearby. _To be sensitive with the local aesthetics and techniques and use them for their contemporary designs and to avoid imposition of spatial constructions that are out of context. _To be able to constructively draw to visually communicate ideas relevant to the scale of intervention.

ABOUT THE DESIGN INTERVENTION Several underutilized, abandoned spaces and edges were identified. Creating lightweight and transitory structures which can be arranged according to the area available and proposing the activity space which currently happens in that particular khadki(lane).

The temporary structure would be in two scales, first, the one which will be installed in the vacant spaces and in spaces which acts as cow and bird feeder, second, near the threshold of house which doesn’t have otla. Thus, the project aims to create admissible intervention for gathering, interactive, playful, within the pol fabric.

1

Work and study pod

A space where children, young adults can study, work that an act as a co-learning and play space

2 Exhibition pod A street that is visited by lots of tourist, the empty plot will serve as a space for exhibition where local craft and community work can be displayed

3 Community pod A space for seating, craft making, work space for women

4 Play pod A small area carved for a hide-out play space

1

Visualizing the Work and Study pod along with the domestic life

2

Visualizing the Exhibition pod along with the domestic life

3

Visualizing the Community pod along with the domestic life

4

Visualizing the Play pod along with the domestic life

5

Visualizing the intervention at threshold along with the domestic life

6

Toolkit for making the structure

Utopia to heterotopia values of time, density and culture monsoon semester 2018 | Semester 3 cept university

STUDIO BRIEF The studio introduces the concepts of `housingfor-mass’ across space and time. The evolution of housing settlements through linking and stacking; their processes, determinants/generations, and resulting patterns are to be explored in their respective contexts exploring the balance between order and complexity. The idea, here, is to create an adaptive habitat for migrant communities associated with the very dynamic and socially interactive live-work environment.

Here, “adaptability� is visualized and represented as a real space which is accommodating people from diverse cultures and traditions over a period of time. The spaces, thus created, should have their own characteristics; the occupants should have the opportunities to alter these spaces in certain extended patterns.

Eventually, this fluctuating habitat, over time, should be able to maintain a balance between generated orders and identified contextual complexities. We had to learn to analyze and identify issues with the linking and stacking of modular housing units. This helps in planning and organizing various ensembles in response to the open spaces and adjacent urban context. Thus, explore housing clusters & ensembles by balancing the underlying orders and complexities.

STUDIO STRUCTURE -01- Site Analysis: In this part, the intent was making detail house plans of the site and studying about their everyday space occupancy -02- Design Intervention: A housing for the community which blends with their everyday occupation and activities.

STUDIO SITE The studio selected a stressed public area surrounded by people of various caste, belonging to different professions in Rakhial, Gujarat. The site has a huge land owned by the government which is now being proposed to have housing for the people belonging to lower strata of the society to help them by giving a house, such that it becomes a place of their work as well.

The intent behind this is to bring back the activeness which was present years ago in the Indian context where people used to work and live together.

Therefore, interviewing people and then understanding the type of space the community imagine to have is the motive of the studio.

MODULE 1: site analysis In this part, the intent was making detail house plans of the site and studying about their everyday space occupancy _Depiction of the physical space along with the space usage of the community. _Drawing the materials which are locally used in gathering space or the streets. _Understanding the relationship of the threshold with the street through plans.

ANALYZING THE SITE Studying about the space usage and activities of the site, their daily work space was taken into account, their preference of working space and their requirement for it, was analyzed

MODULE 2: design intervention A housing for the community which blends with their everyday occupation and activities. _To be sensitive with the local architecture and drawing the activities of houses in detail. _To be able to productively draw to visually communicate ideas relevant to the issues identified during the analysis and give a proposal bring their everyday life in the proposal.

A’

A

B’

B

Proposed site plan- Rakhial, Gujarat, India

Section AA’

Section BB’

Design sections of the proposed modular housing units

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

Base plan

Stacking and the unit cluster plans

ABOUT THE DESIGN INTERVENTION Relentlessness in imagining and re-imagining the collective spaces among repeated housing modules, and drawings that deals not only with the physical context but also imagines inhabitants actions which depends on the space requirement and their occupation. The basis of this was formed from the site analysis and intent was then developed to give them a space which has the character of small collective areas, community spaces and interactive spaces which makes people more connected to each other.

Rakhial- Site model ( group work)

Design model

Design model

Design concept model

Streets and the city spring semester 2019 | Semester 4 cept university

STUDIO BRIEF Streets and the City, this unit will introduce design as a speculative process of inquiry and experimentation in the field of street design and its associated builtenvironment.

It comprises of knowledge acquisition and the preliminary development of skills to conceptualize, resolve and present well reasoned street design ideas through drawing, modeling and essays.

The studio introduces techniques of analysis and critique of design outcomes as well as fundamental and sustainable principles applicable to the transit and street design.

It also engages to design the existing streets and to intervene its associated environment in a very sensitive and holistic approach, which needs both, anthropometry and ergonomics.

STUDIO STRUCTURE -01- Site Mapping: In this part, the intent was to study the site and understand the dominant stakeholders on the street and their space occupancy through 3D views.

-02- Design Intervention: Designing the street such that different stakeholders on the street other than the vehicles should also be given priority. The street should not be vehicles dominated but also respond to the context and the activities.

STUDIO SITE The studio selected a street, Ankur road in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which is a major thoroughfare and is dominated by vehicles throughout the day. The intent was to have sensitive intervention such that the presence of landmarks such as religious institutions are taken into account and designed accordingly.

Street design is very relevant in Indian context as only the vehicles are given the priority on the street, neglecting the fact that there are equal number of pedestrians, risking their safety, how long can such design sustain. Therefore, analyzing the different stakeholders and considering their view the design implementations could be universally accessible in nature.

MODULE 1: site mapping In this part, the intent was to study the site and understand the dominant stakeholders on the street and their space occupancy through 3D views. _Depiction of the physical space where dominant stakeholders of street are identified _Identifying the area of carriage way, footpath while drawing of the axonometric view. _Visualizing and communicating through 3D views of the site

First impression of the site showing dominant stakeholders

View of the site

MODULE 2: design intervention Designing the street such that different stakeholders on the street other than the vehicles should also be given priority. The street should not be vehicles dominated but also respond to the context and the activities. _Deeply studying the edge conditions b the sections and activity at the threshold . _Drawing the design in detail such that it communicates clearly. _Making the street sections with the intervention showing its impact on the surrounding and the context

ABOUT THE DESIGN INTERVENTION The idea was to have the central patch occupied by vendors, play area and sitting space.

As there is a temple, commercial shops which demands a social space where people can spend time, the street arrangement has been done in such a way that each stakeholder feels safe. The central patch would be protected by the parked vehicles and green space.

This decision would also reduce the effect of thoroughfare on the central patch where most of the activities would happen. The intent was to create a balance between the vehicles and pedestrians which would make both the activity compliment each other in terms of activeness of the space.

Section at DD’

3m 3m Footpath Utilities and green space

Section at EE’

3m 3m Footpath Utilities and green space

Section at FF’

Section at GG’

6m Carriage way

3m 3m Footpath Utilities and green space

3m 3m Footpath Utilities and green space

6m Carriage way

6m Social space

6m Carriage way

6m Carriage way

3m 3m Utility and Footpath green space

3m 2.4m 0.6m 6m Parking Social Park- Carriage way space ing

3m 2.4m 0.6m 2.4m Parking Social Park- Carriage way space ing

3m 3m Utility and Footpath green space

6m Carriage way

3m 3m Utility and Footpath green space

6m Social space

6m Carriage way

3m 3m Utility and Footpath green space