Architecture Portfolio
Priyanka Manoj Rajani
PRIYANKA RAJANI EXPERTISE Model Making Drafting Welding Wood Work Site Inspection Graphic Design Content Management Photography
SKILLS Auto - CAD Rhinoceros Revit V Ray Maya ZBrush Cinema 4D Unity Illustrator Photoshop In-Design After Effects Fuse Premiere Pro Processing SketchUp Word Powerpoint Excel
LANGUAGE English Hindi Tamil 554, 300 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90013 priyankamrajani@gmail.com www.issuu.com/priyankamrajani +1 646 643 6486
EDUCATION BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE DEGREE
2013 - 2018
R.V. COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
The program focused on the discipline of architecture in terms of history, theory and principles of architecture in terms of building technologies, innovative means of construction and professional practice. MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE DEGREE
2018 - Present
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE
The program focused on the discipline of architecture in terms of experimenting with design, techniques and skills by pushing the limits of architecture in not just the traditional building sense, but also in terms of applying architecture in mediums of art.
EXPERIENCE - Project Architect/ @641 June 2018 - July 2018 - Intern/ Arun & Associates January 2018 - April 2018 - Intern/ White Ink Studio July 2017 - December 2017 - Intern/ Arun Karki Architects June 2016 - July 2016
REFERENCES - Natasha Sandmeier natasha.sandmeier@gmail.com
LA, CA
+1 818.257.0405
- Timothy Ivison tim_ivison@sciarc.edu
LA, CA
+1 213.675.1079
VOLUNTEER WORK - Sirutulli Organization A non-profit organization to solve the common water and environmental problems by taking small steps like water resources management, afforestation and waste management. 3
Content
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Discrete Urban Landscape Design Studio
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A Model Flower Shop
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The Apollo Project
Design Studio
Design Studio
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Train Station Advanced Structures
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Solemn Geographies of the Sacred Urban Design
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Center for Environmental Education Urban Design
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Deconstructing Facades Tectonics
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Residence Work - Internship
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Discrete Urban Landscape
The intervention is a prototypical urban garden which can be sited in different parts of the city. It is located in between the Bradbury building and the Million Dollar Theatre on 3rd and Broadway. By using different principles of geometry, our component tries to play with an idea of complexity in different layers. It creates a sense of porosity when assembled with each other. This component was designed so that it looks different in every angle while being functional. The design looks at interfacing functionality of our day-to-day lives with a more social and public front by introducing a prototype of green communal spaces by juxtaposing it over the existing city. It would be personalized based on location as it would be a composition of its neighborhood. This intervention promotes the use of external void spaces, all along the edges of the busy city.
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The model is assembled in parts - the staircases emerging from void spaces beside the sidewalk which supports the boulevard, the decking system sits on top of the platform of the boulevard. By orienting this component in various ways, we came up with 2 different staircases.
Platform Component
Platform Component
Stair component
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The facade acts as a mask which frames certain parts of the building. The design is like an island floating on the street and is only grounded by 2 sets of staircases. By taking advantage of the void spaces in the city beside sidewalks, our design emerges from these spaces to join and make a wide boulevard scale cultural space for a garden above the street.
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A Model Flower Shop
The idea behind the curiosities workshop is to take elements from our day-to-day life and de-familiarize them to an extent where we still know their origin but have a different function to it which the might not be directly associated to. The initial step of the project was to 3D scan the Westin Bonaventure hotel, deconstruct and rearrange these scans in 1:1 scale using digital softwares. What was interesting is the gain and lose information during this process, or how it even creates a sense of false information by embracing errors or glitches that were encountered during the process. The limitations of the softwares became advantage for the design. While 3D printing the model, a layer of information was lost because of its limitation to print higher resolutions. It also created certain patterns and textures from the orientation of printing. Experimenting with dipping the model in resin added a layer of complexity by giving the model some new textures and added depth to the existing ones.
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The flower shop is placed in the garden of Hauser and Wirth on 3rd street as the garden could be an extension to the shop. The model is oriented in such a way that it is close to the entrance of the garden creating an interactive circulation path along the axis of the site. This creates a sense of flow when you walk in and around the shop.
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The model is made of different scans from the Bonaventure hotel to form an interesting geometry. The section lines were used to make a wireframe for the roof and a display space for the program. In this we extracted information from the scanned objects and reassembled them to make our final design. The 2 main spaces in the shop, one is the public space which is public (where all the potted plants would be displayed) and the other which is more private (it would have workstations for customized arrangements and the cashiers desk).
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The Apollo Project
We live in a world entirely dominated by the production, proliferation and consumption of images. Image literacy is, arguably, one of the most crucial skills we need in order to go about our daily lives, distinguishing the real from the fake, the authentic from the artificial, the relevant from the frivolous. The idea of the room has been under speculation for a long time. It is a space where you invent and combine your findings, where you transgress the authentic with the subjective. The world we currently live in is one in which perfection is expected, documented and commented upon. It’s a world in which control is paramount and where we no longer have time nor patience to wait for nature to deliver what we can apply with a filter and a few photoshop operations. Space, experience and beauty, all fundamental qualities of architecture, have been stripped away, leaving us with merely an image. Where we can control everything from the weather to traffic, from construction to technology; 'The Architect' controls sunsets. In this room and world, it is ‘the architect’ who delivers these environments, effects and aesthetics. Using all aspects of his training, the architect designs, renders, casts, sculpts, illuminates, textures what begins as a leaden sphere and transforms it into a glowing fiery orb. The architect transforms the micro-climate and introduces aspects of atmosphere to his surroundings. Once he is satisfied with the effects of the sunset for that day, after the whole process, the sun comes up from the control table projecting vibrant colors and casting shadows.
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Deconstructing Facades
For our transformation, we are proposing a material change from GFRP to ETFE. In the Kolon One and Only Tower, the GFRP panels had two major functions: sun-shading and cross-bracing the facade. We believe ETFE can address these two issues while bringing other additional benefits to the table. First, in terms of sunshading and visibility, the ETFE will be covered in a custom frit pattern, thus allowing for an even higher degree of specificity than the GFRP offered. Second, the ETFE system is one of tension and as such makes it suitable to function as cross-bracing on the diagonal of the curtain wall. The additional structural benefits of ETFE are in regards to wind. The lightweight quality of the material and its ability to deform under live load make it particularly suited to dampening wind. This is especially an asset as the Kolon Tower is located in an area prone to monsoons. ETFE also brings with it a higher degree of sustainability than GFRP. Where GFRP may collect dust and need to be cleaned, ETFE is non-stick and self-cleaned by rain.
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Our proposed change utilizes ETFE in two major ways. First, there are be double-layer inflated ETFE panels where there was originally GFRP. Second, there will be an additional single-layer ETFE system which sits behind the inflated panels. These are outfitted with frit to control and harness the sun as well, thus taking material advantage of spaces which were completely empty in the original building. When this system meets the corner, the whole set up transitions to single layer ETFE patterned with the shape of the front facade. In the current building, this facade is totally solid GFRC. The single layer ETFE allows for controlled light where it was originally monolithic. The transition of the frits from the front to the side facade highlights the curvature of the inflated ETFE and the flatness of the single layer ETFE.
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TRANSFORMATION
INFLATED ETFE STEEL CONNECTION STEEL POST AIR PUMP CURVED STEEL FRAME FRIT
INFLATED ETFE
INFLATED ETFE, SINGLE ETFE, + GLAZING SYSTEM
SINGLE ETFE CONNECTION
STEEL TRANSOM INFLATED ETFE STEEL MULLION LOW-E GLAZING SINGLE LAYER ETFE CURVED STEEL FRAME
STEEL PLATE CONNECTION AND POST
GLAZING LAYER SINGLE ETFE LAYER
INFLATED ETFE LAYER
SINGLE ETFE + GLAZING SYSTEM
STEEL TRANSOM LOW-E GLAZING
SINGLE LAYER ETFE HORIZONTAL WIND STRUT STEEL PLATE CONNECTION AND POST SOCKET FOR TENSIONED CABLES
GLAZING LAYER
SINGLE ETFE LAYER
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Train Station
The idea was to design a structurally stable train station based on the concept of repitition (balancing out all the forces and moments). The idea behind the design was to make it contemporary yet economical. The station brings about a sense of transparency and openness. It is a surface active system which is made of branching columns and a doubly curves roof (a doubly curved structure is more stable) which skylights in between each module. The columns are slender and anchored to the ground. The roof is made of stainless steel panels making it light and durable. The skylights are made of glass louvers.
Glass Louvers
Steel Paneled Roof
Steel Column
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Solemn Geographies of the Sacred
Hindu cities and temples were planned based on the ideas on mandalas and retaining the cosmos on the site. These methods are now obsolete even though it had a very structured and organized planning. The objective is to replicate ideas of town planning based on linking the earth with the heavens by adding a touch of today’s techniques and methodologies. Space within the city was designed to mimic the geometry of the larger cosmos by constructing a grid work of mutually perpendicular lines aligned to true north. These geometrical figures interconnect the earth with the heavens or could be a mythological association where many believe that the spirit can cross between different realms or locations of divine intervention. It could be seen as a place where the four cardinal points of the city may have represented the two solstitial and two equinoctial directions. The entire cosmos in its spatial and temporal dimensions was thus contained in the city. It could also be seen as a place where the heavens and earth seem unusually close like fording of rivers, summits of hills, etc. Perhaps heaven and earth are seen as a seamless whole, and at night when the horizon may have vanished, eliminating any boundary between the celestial and terrestrial realms. By creating a sacred path around a historical precinct could not only add a feel of modernity to the existing space but also add another function. In temples, the pradakshina path is considered sacred so creating a circumambulatory path around the temple which doesn’t hinder with the functionality of the temple instead provides another level of interaction and enhances the experience that one gets there.
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Section through Atrium
Section through Exhibition Gallery
Section through Studio
Section through Urban Market
Section through Auditorium
Section through Information Center
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Center for Environmental Education
The design premise was to design a campus for Centre for Environmental Education (CEE) in a devastated site like the Bettahalasuru Quarry in Bangalore. The quarry was closed down few years ago. There is a small settlement whose main livelihood was quarrying but since the quarry shut down they had to find work elsewhere. By understanding the watershed pattern and by creating dams on the quarry edge, the water can be collected in these catchment areas and flow of water down the quarry edge is reduced. A dam is created along all the quarry lakes to store the excess water from the quarry edge. This becomes another catchment area which changes the micro-climate of the surrounding, making it considerably cooler. Once you enter the site you move along dense mango and coconut groves and then you move into more fertile lands with test farms and farm lands. You reach a turning point which connects all the pathways. On one side you have the campus (which is built under a green cover to give a feeling like walking on a field rather than a campus) and on the other side you have the settlement.
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The whole campus is made up of different moments and experiences with the site. One can enter from bettahalasuru cross road into the site and move towards the campus through a dense mango and coconut grove with no view of the quarry, while the outreach and research centers of the CEE campus has an on and off experience with the quarry and the quarry lakes. The campus is built in such a way that it isn't visible from the settlement. This doesn't affect the settlement life as it feels as if there's no change in their surroundings (also by retaining their existing pathways) so that the campus doesn't feel like an alien object and also the people using the campus don't disturb the settlement.
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Gallery C
Reading Space D
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I J
K L M N
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P Q R
Plan
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Quarry Lake
Deck
Lift
Lift
Cleaning Space
Reception
Greenhouse
Hiking Trail
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The new institution would be accommodative to it’s surroundings and not be a hindrance. Retaining the circulation patterns of the locals was an important aspect. Rejuvenation of the barren lands beside the settlement by growing crops which would be beneficial to the locals and also provide jobs. Controlling the water at the edge of the quarry was a main focus. This was done by creating dams along the quarry edge. This would also change the micro-climate of the surroundings. The institute would sit along the edge of one of the lakes, away and not in sight of the settlement. The interface between the institute and settlement would be a public plaza and ground on the highest point between the institute and the quarry, bridging the gap between the locals and students/ researchers.
POLYCARBONATE SHEET PURLIN(BOX SECTION)
A
MS PRINCIPAL RAFTER B
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D
MS TIE MS CLEAT ANGLE CLEAT GUTTER WITH TRAP
Roof Detail
2MM ZINC SHEET
230 TH BBM WATER PROOF FLOOR FINISH ANCHORHEAD TO WALL 230 TH BBM
GROOVE TO FIT LOUVERS WOODEN LOUVERS
RCC COLUMN
Parapet and Wall Detail
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Residence
The design principle comprises of required space ans flexible space.
The flexible space can be split in 3 ways based on the proximity to program.
By rearranging spaces based on the “outside in�, the flexible space is an introverted courtyard.
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Ground Floor Plan A2:01
First Floor Plan
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North Elevation
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