SELECTED WORKS
Raj Chowdhury
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CONTENTS WORKS Montessori School 1 urbanLAB 5 Thesis: The Body in Space
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Sliced Towers 19 Lamp 23
SKETCHES RESUME
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MONTESSORI SCHOOL SPACE FOR ACTIVE LEARNING Education should be something children yearn for not abhor. The Montessori system of education is based on independence and curiosity. Learning happens through all the senses and the children learn by actually working with physical materials rather than being instructed. The structure emphasizes the children by dividing spaces into the world of the adult and world of the children. All aspects of the building have been designed to be interacted with by the children and while certain areas are for just the adults. The architecture is designed so as to offer the children an awareness of the space they are in.
MEDIA Rhino AutoCAD Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Modelling
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MONTESSORI SCHOOL
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CHOWDHURY | 4
urbanLAB RESEARCH AND INNOVATION SPACE The urbanLab is designed as a hub for innovative research and as a space for the Local Motors 3D Printed Car. The ideal structure in nature is derived from a hexagon and so is the urbanLab. The structure of the building also helps create its form. Massive glulaminated beams come out of the ground at both ends and meet at a point. The structure is carefully crafted together through steel sleeves and joints. The roof of the structure is a type of wooden grid shell with an aperture mechanism above and a fabric below to diffuse the light. The pattern of the roof is derived from the hexagonal grid which gave form to the building.
MEDIA Rhino AutoCAD Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator V-Ray
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THESIS: THE BODY IN SPACE URBAN MOSQUE The human body is our primary filter of experience and perception. Our understanding of space, and thus architecture, is through our body. The study of this key relationship is the basis of the thesis. By studying how the body inhabits and interacts with an enclosure and the space within gives us a deeper awareness of not just the body, but also architecture. A building typology that has a unique interaction with the body is the mosque. Islamic prayer is a ritual sequence of postures with the body. Yet, the body is rarely taken into account to the fullest potential in the design of most mosques. Interestingly, the only criterion laid out by Islam for mosque design is that prayer must be oriented geographically towards Mecca. The formal response to this simple edict is open for interpretation and thus offers up opportunities for architectural exploration. The mosque is two mosques in one, because the building volume is partitioned by gender. To provide balanced accommodation, the mosque has almost the same amount of space for both genders. Both sexes’ spaces form a sequenced procession that culminates at the top floor where one prays. The procession is designed to nurture inner reflection and connect with a higher self. Moving from public to private, from the physical world to the spiritual, the mosque enhances this spiritual journey.
MEDIA Rhino AutoCAD Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Modelling Hand Drawing
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THESIS: THE BODY IN SPACE
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CHOWDHURY | 10
THESIS: THE BODY IN SPACE
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THESIS: THE BODY IN SPACE THE SCREEN The screen, which adorns the façade of the mosque, is an integral part of it. The design of the screen comes from the lines derived from a circle and the connections of those lines that form new geometries like the five and ten pointed stars. The lines are then repeated throughout and offset to further highlight the shapes and remove the traces of the foundational construction lines. These shapes become apertures through which light is filtered into the building. The size of these apertures change from large to small going from the bottom floor to the top most. This parallels the building’s functions; the top floor is the most private and also where the most inward concentration is needed, while the lowest floor is the most public. Ornamentation for the mosque is minimal and emanates from the three forms of Islamic ornamentation: calligraphy, floral patterns and geometric patterns. Geometric patterning is the focus due to its simplicity through abstraction. Typically, the abstract elements consist of circles, triangles, and squares that are combined and interlaced, then repeated throughout, to create highly intricate designs. Repetition is an important aspect of Islam and stresses the importance of a homogeneous unity and order throughout a system. The repetition represents the idea of infinite growth and that the pattern can continue endlessly. The basic shapes combine and form new shapes that further combine more of the geometries to create much more complex shapes and arrangements.
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THESIS: THE BODY IN SPACE
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THESIS: THE BODY IN SPACE THE COLUMN The column has always been a critical part of architecture. It provides order, structure and strength. Furthermore, going as far back as Vitruvius, the column has also represented the human body. The proportions and details of both sexes and cultures have influenced the design of the classical orders. These classical orders from Greece and Rome are the Doric, Ionic, Tuscan, Corinthian and composite. These classical columns are more or less adorned with symbolic ornamentation. Islam on the other hand calls for the minimizing of ornamentation. The design of columns is influenced by and interacts with the human body at the same time. Within the thesis project, the column is repeated but reoriented by being mirrored on every row. The column is slender like the human body. Its shape is informed by its function. It angles out to prevent people from entering the aisle where people are praying. Contrastingly, the column opens up to allow people to walk through the other aisle and go to a prayer spot. The columns are arranged in a grid throughout the entire prayer hall. They form a wall without physically manifesting one. The grid is oriented towards Mecca and the shape of the column further enforces that orientation. The columns serve both as a separation and a body in the space. They also orient the occupant to the direction of Mecca.
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SLICED TOWERS ZERO WASTE MONOLITHIC BLOCKS The idea of a line is explored through digital fabrication and a zero waste process. Styrofoam blocks are cut twice following the same line then the four separate parts are rotated 180 degrees to give way to a new form coming from the once monolithic block. The forms are initially created on a smaller scale using an ABB IRB120 with a 14� hot wire cutter attached. We then recreated the forms on a larger scale using an ABB IRB 6640 robot controlled through Grasshopper and interfaced with Robots.IO. The work was done in collaboration with the Virginia Tech Center for Design Research and transLAB Studio. It was exhibited at ICAT Day at Virginia Tech and at the 2015 International Contemporary Furniture Fair in NYC. One of the towers is on permanent display in front of the LumenHAUS at Virginia Tech.
MEDIA Rhino Grasshopper Robots.IO Modelling *Collaboration with VTCDR and transLAB Studio. *Exhibited at The 2015 International Contemporary Furniture Fair in NYC
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SLICED TOWERS
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LAMP CORRUGATED PLASTIC LAMP The idea was to create a lamp that could be mass produced very easily. It was created using a corrguated plastic that can be made from recycled plastics. The pieces of plastic were cut diagonal to the sheet with a laser cutter so the corrugation lines are at 45 degree angles. The sheets were then glued together in alternating angles creating a ‘criss-cross’ pattern. The translucent plastic allows light from the small candelabra bulb to glow softly. Magnests are used to hold the top and base together so that it can be easily removed to change the bulb.
MEDIA Rhino AutoCAD Modelling Soldering
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SKETCHES
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RAJ CHOWDHURY Education 2011 - 2016
Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA College of Architecture and Urban Studies Major - Bachelor of Architecture Minor - Industrial Design
Fall 2014 2007 - 2011
Study Abroad | Fall Europe Travel
Travelled eight countries in Europe studying Architecture with a focus on precedent
Bronx High School of Science | New York, NY
Experience August 2015 - March 2017
Common Core Tutors | New York, NY
July 2014 - August 2014
Citizens Campaign for the Environment | Farmingdale, NY
November 2013 - June 2014
Avail Vapor | Blacksburg, VA
Design Manager
Canvasser
Sales Associate
Created all graphics for marketing and other purposes. Oriented and trained employees as well as set goals for their growth. Established marketing strategies for business growth. Collected signatures and donations to support successful environmental legislature being introduced into the New York State Assembly. Educate people on products and conduct transactions of products. Maintained and kept check of the inventory of all products in store.
Research Spring 2015
Virginia Tech Center for Design Research [transLAB]
Exhibitions
Institute for Creative Arts and Technology (ICAT) Day | May 2015 Moss Arts Center | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA
Sliced Towers
Conducted form studies through a zero-waste robotic process. Controlled a robot through Grasshopper code to slice foam into forms.
International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) | May 2015 Jacob K. Javits Center - New York, NY
Skills Analog
Sketching Hand Drafting Model Making Screen-Printing Bookbinding
Digital
AutoCAD 2015 Rhino 4 | 5 V-Ray 1 | 2 Revit 2014 Grasshopper
Adobe Photoshop CC Adobe Illustrator CC Adobe InDesign CC Adobe Premiere Pro CC Sketchup
Languages
Bengali | Literate and Conversational Hindi | Conversational Urdu | Conversational
Affiliations Fall 2011 - Present
Alpha Rho Chi | Metagenes
Professional Fraternity for Architecture and the Allied Arts Historian | 2012 - 2013 Alumni Delegate | Alpha Rho Chi 70th National Convention | March 2017 National Nominations Committee | Alpha Rho Chi 70th National Convention | 2016-2017
rajkomal@gmail.com 917-463-7844 618 N 47th St Seattle, WA 98103