Monica Patel
Curriculum Vitae and Portfolio// 2021
Selected Works
Monica Patel | RIBA Part II RCA / B.Arch UWSA Hello, I’m Monica. I view architecture as the place that holds our crafted identities, culture, memories, rituals, and sense of self. I have worked at architecture practices globally, which have all contributed to my growing desire to understand the relationships between people, culture, and place. I hope to continue to develop and contribute to work that considers social and cultural lenses within practice. Contact Details Telephone - 07895618394
2017
Theis + Khan Architects, Part I Architectural Assistant Tunbridge Wells, UK 05. 2017 - 08. 2017 | 4 months Worked on multiple scales of projects, specifically small family homes, a railway station, and an exclusive social club. Collaborated closely on design development, iterative design models, and orthographic drawings for proposals and client meetings.
2016
Burton Hamfelt Urban Architecture, Architectural Intern Amsterdam, Netherlands 09. 2016 - 12. 2016 | 4 months Collaborated and developed various concept designs for numerous projects by investigating the role of the urban fabric and users. Created material studies, concept diagrams, physical models, presentation booklets, and working drawings.
2016
Scott Henson Architect, Architectural Intern New York City, New York 01. 2016 - 04. 2016 | 4 months Contributed to design development and prepared presentations for historic preservation/restoration projects. Drafted plans, sections, and construction details for projects at various stages. Developed reports and proposals for new and ongoing work.
Email - monica-patel@hotmail.ca Dual Nationality: British and Canadian Education 20192021
Royal College of Art, School of Architecture (RCA) London, UK MA in Architecture with Distinction (RIBA Part II)
20142019
University of Waterloo, School of Architecture (UWSA) Cambridge, Ontario, Canada B.Arch, Honours, Co-Op Program.
Skills + Software Rhinocerous 3D Google Sketchup AutoCAD Adobe Creative Suite Vray Revit Vectorworks
Professional Experience Total Work Experience: 2 years Part I, 4 months Part II 2020-
2019
2018
2018
Trellik Design Studio, Part II Architectural Assistant / Freelance Work London, UK 06. 2020 - Current | Periodically for 1 year Worked on developing final graphics, drafting and modeling design proposals, and developing design iterations for small scale and residential projects. Brian O’Tuama Architects, Part I Architectural Assistant London, UK 01. 2019 - 04. 2019 | 4 months Collaborated on multiple design proposals for various private dwellings. Produced tender packages, construction drawings and details for various projects and client meetings. Bryden Wood Ltd., Part I Architectural Assistant London, UK 01. 2018 - 08. 2018 | 8 months Produced stakeholder review and tender drawings for various building plots of “Sugar House Island” a stage four, large scale residential project in London. Created modular schemes for a “catalogue” of building parts for early design of modular dwelling. Porta-Party, Nuit Blanche 2017 Toronto, Ontario 04. 2017 - 09. 2017 | 4 months Part of a team of students coordinating, designing, and building an installation for Toronto’s Nuit Blanche event held on September 30th, 2017.
Hand Drawing Model Making Lasercutting Plaster Casting
Awards + Recognition 2020
RIBA West Award Nomination Nominated for first year work at the Royal College of Art
2019
Dean’s Honour List Selected by recommendation of the architecture department Selected Works Exhibition Final Year Project, ‘Inter-Being’ drawings selected for a temporary exhibition Excellent Academic Standing Achieved each term, 2014 - 2019
2018
Dean’s Honour List Selected by recommendation of the architecture department Selected Works Exhibition Fourth Year Project, ‘Between Two Walls’ drawings selected for a temporary exhibition
2014
Waterloo Merit Scholarship Received upon entrance into the University of Waterloo Interests Textile Work Sewing Embroidery Reading Watercolour Painting
Film Travel
01.
2020 - 2021
A FIELD OF MARIGOLDS
4
02.
THE TACTILE RITUAL OF DOMESTICITY
04. 2019
12
03.
2019 - 20
A SCHOOL OF BRICKWORK
18
04.
2016 - 2021
PROFESSIONAL WORK
26
Selected Works
01.
A FIELD OF MARIGOLDS A field of marigolds, wrapped and layered with veils of volumetric textiles, subverts the perception of the existing land being a space of divide. The introduction of the marigold to this new form of inhabited landscape holds the power to reclaim the land by subverting the view of nature as being a space of divide. The heightened political nature of landscape within South Africa no longer can be seen as idle nor dividing, but rather it becomes a form of resistance through its inhabitation. Designed under the framework of the Indian diaspora and subcultural groups like Kutti Collective, the new form of landscape becomes a form of resistance through the creative, celebratory, and artistic production. During apartheid, natural elements within the landscape were used to enforce racial separation leading nature to be strongly tied to feelings of divide. By appropriating one of these sites, the inhabitation of the landscape becomes a new form of resistance. The marigold, a flower brought to South Africa by the Indian diaspora, embodies a symbolic connection between places. A linear sequence of spaces draws from the Pol House typology, moving from a built defined edge at the base of the hill to an open field above. Curved, stone retaining walls create spaces for inhabitation while allowing earth to hold onto water despite the dry climate, creating opportunities for new and indigenous plants to establish themselves. Intricate layers of textiles fragment this linear sequence forming moments of in-betweeness. As the marigold blooms again, the light temporal textile structures are constructed, leaving tracings along the heavy elements embedded within the land. It is through these different forms of landscape that new identities tied to the specific piece of land emerge. Distorted intensities of colour, openness, and density mediate between blurred conditions, where celebratory and creative gatherings can now occupy and resist the divided land.
MA Year 2 2020 - 2021 Cape Town, South Africa Thesis Work
4
Academic Work
A Field of Marigolds
2020 - 2021
Inhabited Landscape: Temporal Textile Structures Along the Hillside
5
Selected Works
Overall Plan of Inhabited Landscape 6
Academic Work
A Field of Marigolds
2020 - 2021
Site: Natural Barrier Vegetation and Landscape
Longitudinal Section and Plant Taxonomy
7
Selected Works
8
Academic Work
A Field of Marigolds
2020 - 2021
Inhabited Landscape Ground Plan (Below), Temporal Roof Plan (Above)
9
Selected Works
Inhabited Parks: Clearings of Marigolds
Inhabited Plinths: Collective Performative Spaces
Inhabited Grounds: Artist Studios and Temporary Living
10
Marigold Dyeing and Textile Experimentation
Academic Work
A Field of Marigolds
2020 - 2021
Temporary Silk Organza Roof Structure Axonometric
11
Selected Works
02.
THE TACTILE RITUAL OF DOMESTICITY
In an age of increasing technology use, we have become desensitised to what we feel, touch, and experience. In the most intimate sphere of our lives, the home can embody a type of sensory intervention that addresses the ritual of daily life in its purest form. The home has been designed for an urban residential neighbourhood in East London, an area surrounded by many small businesses and entrepreneurs, many of which are based out of their own dwellings. Domesticity has evolved to intertwine both practice and living in order to afford the cost of living in a city like London. Far beyond the dwelling, domesticity is a tool in which one must consider the landscapes, materials, cultural layers, and social implications that exist within contexts. The home approaches ritual and its influence through formal relations to site and internal function. The specific functions required in a home each embody one of the following principal ritual influences: time, memory, passage, and freedom. The kitchen embodies the ritual of time by utilising its linear space as a “time scale”, demarcating zones that are occupied at various times. Designed for a ceramist, the home also includes a pottery studio. The repetitive act of making, specifically with pottery, creates a memory association with each object. Cleansing is a daily ritual which acts as a spiritual transition to a more meditative state. The sunken bath is inspired by the traditional Japanese Onsen where cleansing is viewed as a passage between mindful states, resulting in a sense of equilibrium with one’s tactile sense. Finally, the ritual of freedom is expressed through two external courtyards. The exposure and release experienced when one is within one of these courtyards can liberate the senses, leaving the change to nature. Domesticity must embrace technological advancements within architecture, while maintaining a sense of honesty to material and tactile response. The materials chosen express an understanding of modern advancement in efficiency and construction while continuing a sense of purity to the architectural language. The overall form of the home is organised maintain an internal focus, creating an environment where the individual can embody the ritual of daily life in a tactile sense. // Entry for the ACSA Housing Competition
Completed during B.Arch Spring 2019 London, UK Competition
12
Competition
The Tactile Ritual of Domesticity
04. 2019
Perspective View of Main Courtyard
13
Selected Works
Site Map
Street Elevation
14
Competition
The Tactile Ritual of Domesticity
Ground Floor Plan
04. 2019
First Floor Plan
15
Selected Works
Pottery Studio Section
16
Kitchen Section
Competition
The Tactile Ritual of Domesticity
04. 2019
POTTERY STUDIO Ritual of Memory
0m
Main Courtyard Rainwater Pond Collage
0.5m
1m
2m
3m
4m
5m
Pottery Studio Section 1:40
Rear Garden Collage
Sunken Bathtub Collage
SUNKEN BATH Ritual of Passage and Cleansing
Board-Form Concrete Wall
Brick Gutter Metal Capping
Header Wooden Frame Glass Tile
Concrete Tub Bath Filler Tap Concrete Block Sill Rigid Insulation Concrete Ties Linear Drain Gravel 0m
0.5m
1m
2m
3m
Kitchen Section 1:40
Timber Supports Bat Insulation 0m
0.5m
I-Beam
1m
2m
2m
3m
4m
5m
Time Diagrams
3m
Bathroom Section 1:40
L Bracket
Rigid The bath provides an opportunity forInsulation the mind to focus elsewhere, creating a meditative space. ThisBoard-Form spiritual transition within the space brings everything to a level of equality, leaving one feeling mentally Concrete Wall lighter and more in touch with a tactile relationship to ritual within the home. The materiality of the space further emphasizes the ritual of passage. Raku glazed tiles are a nod to the ceramic studio and the Japanese influence of cleansing rituals.
Kitchen Roof Detail Kitchen Roof Detail
0cm
5cm
10cm
20cm
30cm
1:5
Bathtub to Window Alignment Detail Bathroom Window Detail 0cm
5cm
10cm
20cm
30cm
1:5
17
Selected Works
03.
A SCHOOL OF BRICKWORK The school of brickwork responds to the idea of understanding processes of brick production as a ritual experience. The tactile experience of making thus forms a sequence of rituals choreographing a distinct relationship between craft construction and labour. The education through making emphasises a holistic way of learning, celebrating a culture around brick, from the scale of the individual to the collective. Resting in a valley, the school acts as a cultural signifier within the landscape. Defined by four concepts: carving, treating, assembly, and enclosure, the making process is extended, pushing for the sequence of ritual to be experienced as a procession of material and people. The school’s platform consists of a series of four terraces, where each one relates to one of the four processes that create distinct qualities of mediations between the ground and the rituals of making. The scale of the platform offers a bounded place of making, while its articulation responds to the landscape, extending the ritual sequences beyond formal reading of the architecture. The landscape surrounding the school forms a park, changing the reading and public dimension of the land. The scale of a single brick is rather a mundane object while a multitude creates a sense of monumentality and permanence. The school of brickwork is a representation of this monumentality within the landscape, unifying the ground with production or rituals of making. By understanding collective rituals as a procession, the four concepts of the school, carving, treating, assembly, and enclosure are experienced as a movement, rediscovering the relationship between craft, construction, and labour, ultimately creating a culture around brick.
MA Year 1 2019 - 2020 Rome, Italy Academic Work
18
Academic Work
A School of Brickwork
2019 - 2020
Corridors and Enclosures, Assembly Terrace Collage
19
Selected Works
Enclosure
Treating
Carving
Assembly
Terraced Platform Oblique Plan
20
Academic Work
A School of Brickwork
2019 - 2020
Series of Plaster Cast Models: Exploring the formal conditions of the four terraces of making - Carving, Treating, Assembly, and Enclosure.
21
Selected Works
School Platform from the Valley Landscape
Pavilions in the Neighbourhood
Main Entrance and View of the Industrial Kiln
22
Academic Work
A School of Brickwork
2019 - 2020
Interior Studio and Cleaning Space
Brick Glazing Pools
Brick Assembly and Testing Space
23
Selected Works
24
Academic Work
A School of Brickwork
2019 - 2020
Treating Terrace Section: Curing and Glazing Formed Bricks
Assembly Terrace Section: Brick Laying and Stacking Basic Forms 25
Selected Works
04. PROFESSIONAL WORK During my undergraduate degree, part of the program included 4 – 8 months of work experience between study terms over the course of 5 years. In total, I have 2 years of Part I experience and around 4 months Part II/ freelance experience. The following are a selection of projects I have contributed to over the last 2 years, ranging in scale from private residential dwellings to large scale public and urban development. I have worked on various stages of projects from early concept design, to on site stage 4/5 technical development. Theis and Khan Theis and Khan is an architectural practice in Tunbridge Wells, UK with a very thoughtful approach to a wide variety of projects ranging from small private homes to churches and community centres. I worked at Theis and Khan for 4 months (May to August 2017) where I focused mainly on the development of orthographic drawings for planning applications as well as preparing drawings and diagrams for project reports including the stage 3 Bat and Ball Centre in Sevenoaks, Kent. I also contributed to larger scale projects by creating physical models to understand spatial and light qualities, elevation studies, and client presentation drawings. Bryden Wood Bryden Wood is an architectural practices in London, UK. The practice follows a rigorous, logical, and data-driven approach to design at typically large-scale developments. I worked at Bryden Wood for 8 months ( January to August 2018) where I focused mainly on one project – Strand East, a large stage 4/5 residential development. I worked on technical drawings, GA’s, mechanical and fire safety plans and other revisions to the project while it was under construction in Stratford, East London. BurtonHamfelt Urban Architecture BurtonHamfelt is an architectural practice located in Amsterdam, Netherlands with a focus on urban design, landscape, and the architectural relation to the contextual fabric. I worked at BHUA for 4 months (September - December 2016) where I focused primarily on the design of a small vocational college; the work from this project is featured here. I created many material and facade studies, concept diagrams, physical models, presentation booklets, working drawings, project planning schedules for multiple projects, and finally, I designed and created a new office website.
26
Professional Work
2016 - 2021
Bat and Ball Community Centre, Stage 3 Design Rendering
Theis and Khan Work Experience
South-East, South-West Elevations
27
Selected Works
Bat and Ball Community Centre, Initial Project Phases
Theis and Khan Work Experience
28
Bat and Ball Community Centre, Ground Plan Main Uses
Professional Work
2016 - 2021
none relevant
A8
A7 B1
B2
BurtonHamfelt Work Experience
MBO College Almere Poort, Netherlands, Initial design Proposal and Physical Model
E CAD E FA RSID E IV R
B4
B3 B1
P01 REV
2018-07-13 DATE
Issued for Tender DESCRIPTION
TE EB DWN CH
B2
A6
A5
1
A8 B1
A4
A7
A1 A7
B2
C A2
A8
B3
A6 A3 B4
A3
A5 A4
A2
Sugar House Island - Plot R3
A1
3D Axonometric Views
NO RT H
Bryden Wood Work Experience 2. 3D Axonometric View - NW Corner 1:250
FA CA DE
R GA SU
E US HO
NE LA
Strand East (large scale residential development), Stage 4/5 Technical Design Development
SE-R3-BWL-ARC-ZZ-ZZ-DR-0002
NTS
A1
D2
29
P