Renu Vardheesh_Architectural Portfolio by JayathiRenuka Varadheeswaran

Po rtf oli o Ar ch ite ctu ra l

Va r

I firmly believe that the experiences you have, the people you meet and the places you see shape who you are and who you will become. I hope to be able to continue combining my passions for both architecture and trave l to make a positive impact in the world. My goal is to create sustainable housing solutions in low-income and under developed regions of the world because I think that everyone has the right to a healthy and safe shelter. Rather than imposing western ideas on these communities, I want to engage them in the conversation of the design process in order to create lasting solutions that they can benefit from.

TABLE OF CONTENTS NERVES AND NODES (THESIS) OBJECT | ABSTRACT (THESIS) WATERCOLOR/SKETCHING LA CUCINA SICILIANA PARALLELS: VR COMPANY KHARCHE & ASSOCIATES CONVERGE: THEATER PLAZA BAMBOO CONSTRUCTION DIGITAL FABRICATION PHOTOGRAPHY

NERVES + NODES

... and the connections in between The feeling of loss is difficult to process, often avoided, ignored and unresolved. We need architecture for loss that creates pause and hesitation, provoking emotion and thought, in order to facilitate healing after loss through adaptable spaces that cater to different people’s needs. Hospitals are infamous for being monotonous, with endless, sterile, white hallways. The idea is to disrupt this to create pause or moments of hesitation. These moments don’t fight the programs that are dependent on time and efficient circulation, but rather act in conjuncture with them to expand the treatment of physical health to encompass emotional trauma, focusing on the overall wellness of the whole community. These spaces are adaptable to the individual or for a group, achieved through variety in size, color, emotions, providing the necessary variability and adaptability to allow for diverse and effective spaces of loss. The goal is to address these perceived negative emotions through the experience of circulating through spaces, creating a more effective, balanced hospital, not only for the patient with physical trauma, but for their family, friends and community that have endured the associated emotional trauma. This proposed typology of a Level 1 trauma care center and wellness center is intended to alleviate the repetitive cycles of violence in large cities, in this case, Chicago, through a redefinition of how loss and recovery are addressed. Existing architecture fails to accommodate for the more negative, difficult emotions that humans tend to

experience. Architecture that provides adaptability is necessary for individuals experiencing private, intimate emotions in the same space to address these feelings in their own ways. The interaction between the city and the hospital can be seen through the extension of the city’s streets into the hospital. The pedestrain walkways extend from the cityscape to various areas of the hospital, leading further into the publically accessible interior spaces within. The street interactions with the hospital create efficient connections for ambulance access and patient drop off. The sprawling greenery provides a needed connection to nature, serving to improve patient physical health and family and friends’ mental health, while creating a better experience of going to work for the health care workers. Focused atrium spaces intended for the health care workers allows them to have spaces of high quality specifically allocated for them, aiding in making them more effective and efficient for their patients. Metropolitan cities have high population densities, with an incredible variety of race, socioeconomic classes, gender, age, religion, etc. They also require hospitals that are easily accessible and close in proximity wherever you are in the city. Exploring how to create a space that is adaptable to the needs of how different people grieve, handle loss, and react when experiencing stressful negative emotions requires a diverse group of users. A highdensity city would offer the necessary diversity to create highly adaptable spaces.

Form Explorations

Behavioral Exam Room

Waiting Room

Entry

Lobby

Operating Room

A typical hospital environment is infamous for creating unappealing spaces, and often, the first image that pops into mind when thinking about a hospital is a long, narrow, white, sterile hallway flooded with fluorescent lighting. How do you take a building typology that is heavily dictated by the efficiency of the space and focused on utility to be better for the user experience? The form generation method began with a grid. The grid is necessary to retain the organization of a space that is easily navigable and provides order. A repetitive curved geometry was then introduced to this. A simple quarter circle or arc was overlaid in a repeating sequence on the existing grid. The goal was to study the intersectionality of the rectilinear and curvilinear. These intersections provided a third type of space. The circulation and program were apparent, but the third type of space was the unusable spaces in the intersections, were the arch met the grid. The emotional spaces can bleed into this third type of space, taking these “unusable spaces” and elevating them to thought provoking moments throughout the hospital rather than it being constrained in set room like environments. These moments can then instigate emotions, cutting through the monotonous nature of a typical hospital, allowing people to process their grief or emotions.

Operating Room

Entry Traige

Trauma

Testing Room

XRAY

Testing Room

Storage

Isolation Room Isolation Room

Trauma

Isolation Room

Storage

Check-in

Physician’s Office

AICNALUBMA

Section

JRV 02/05/20

Objects

abstract

The abstract pieces served as a first exploration of how people’s comfort levels and needs vary. The focus was on how as a society, we typically avoid dealing with emotions of loss and grief. We use borrowed architecture as spaces of loss so how could the solution be represented in a physical object? How do you create a space that accommodates the different ways in which individuals process emotions? How do you create spaces that have a tangible variability where someone could be having a personal intimate experience while others can process their emotions collectively? As a first exploration, the abstract pieces collectively conveyed this. The three objects express the same effect of overstimulating the sense of vision, yet in a spectrum of variability in regard to how much the user can see through the object and how much of the user is visible to others while the object is being used The first object is a simple eyepiece with lights on the inside, with which the user has no visibility through the object, yet the eyepiece doesn’t cover much of the user. The second object allows the user to see shadows through the object but obscures the user’s entire face. The final object provides the most visibility through it but encompasses the user’s entire head, making the user far less visible to on-lookers. It was interesting to see who was comfortable enough to put their head inside a large glass bowl and who chose to stick to one of the two other objects. Some were even more comfortable or found the third object the most enjoyable, and others were a bit disturbed by the lighting effect produced by placing the mask on their faces. Overall, the three objects reiterated the need for variability to allow different individuals to feel comfortable.

The focus of the second exploration was to take what was successful in the abstract pieces and combine them into one piece. Since it had to be a full scaled object, the approach was to create a piece of furniture that was occupiable. The concept behind the occupiable light fixture was to create an immersive experience that the user could control. The double ring of the structure, with the undulating central ring, creates different amounts of space between the two layers of fiber optic cables, altering the amount of visibility that the user has to the outside, as well as the visibility from outside to inside. The second variable is the length of fiber optic cables, resulting in different amounts of the surroundings outside of the fixture being obscured depending on the direction the individual chooses to face. Similarly, this also affects how much of the user is obscured to the passersby, determined by what side of the fixture the onlooker is viewing the user from. This second exploration combined the variability of the three objects from before into a single, full scale occupiable furniture, giving the user full control of the adaptability of the light fixture. In addition, it also engaged the users senses through a similar, but more subtle display of light that they could also control the hue of.

Ganzfeld Effect

the inhabitable light fixture

SWITZERLAND SUMMER ABROAD ‘18

Form generation diagram

LA CUCINA SICILIANA

1. existing

2. ﬁll

3. split

4. pitch

learn

grow

cook

Sicilian cuisine is characterized by its signature feel of home cooking. La Cucina Siciliana strives to unite the community and students through the experience of cooking and food.PA L A Z Z A LO A C R E I DE , SI C I LY

5. tilt

6. push

7. pinch

Program diagram private

Site Plan

public

greenhouse

Exterior view from student dorms Student lounge

student lounge

test kitchen

lobby test kitchen

library

section C-C

farmer’s market auditorium

0 B D

View during Farmers’ Market

C B

D C A

-1

Floor plans

0 1 2

Virtual

reality is all about the experience that the user is placed into. this

concept has been directly translated to this building that serves as a virtual

reality company’s head quarters, through a form created with the experience in mind.

the office spaces are floating pods, nestled into the slanting rectilinear mass on the northern face of the building, creating an office space focused on the experience. an emphasis on duality is drawn from the way that the circular portion of the space

and the rectilinear portion of the space conjoin.

contrast between the circulation pods and the massive

the

envelope form play on the duality between the two elements of virtual reality, the formal arrangement of the strict hardware and software, and the creative programs

that can be created using the technology.

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ROOF DETAIL

ESCALATOR SLAB DETAIL

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PARALLELS

Winter/ Spring 2018 virtual reality company headquarters San Fransisco, CA

SECTION A-A 1/16” = 1’

GLAZING DETAIL

VIRTUAL REALITY

STEM is all about the experience that the user is placed into. This concept has been AL SYdirectly translated to CTUR STRU this building that serves as a virtual reality company’s head quarters, through a form created with the experience of the user in mind. The office spaces are floating pods, nestled into the slanting rectilinear mass on the northern face of the building, creating an office space focused on the experience. An emphasis on duality is drawn from the way that the that the rectilinear meets the amorphous. The contrast between the light circular pods and the massive S AN RPL envelope form plan on the duality between the two elements of virtual O O L 1’ F S ”= RES reality, the formal arrangement of the strict hardware and software, 2 G 3 E / / 1 ON ATI and the creative programs that can be created using the CUL CIR technology.

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PODS TO FLOORPLATE

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1 2 6

4 3 2

FOUNDATION DETAIL

GLAZING CONNECTION

7 1/4” = 1’ DETAIL PLAN

SECTION B-B 1/16” = 1’

DETAIL AXON

PARALLELS_ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS INTEGRATIO

The focus of double quarter was to create buildings that took all the various systems into cons a cohesive space that took both the client/users and the environment into account. By focusing on in the design process, it made it easier to fine tune the details as the project developed, with causing a ripple of modifications in the other systems as well. It provided a real life take on a stud deeper about real world costs to build and operate a building.

architectural systems integration renu varadheeswaran

umut toker

winter

2018

water The sloped roof planes make for easy water encachments that direct water down to the rainwater cistern. This water can be used in the toilets, and other such uses. With an on site filtration system, the water harvested can be used for more uses as well.

sunlight The majority of the glazing is on the north face of the building, with ample horizontal shading devices on the southern face. This allows for daylighting in the spaces, with both summer and winter sun.

energy The sloping roofs allows fo southern facing planes to be locations for photo voltaic cell can be used to power subs portions of the buildings energ

t jority of the gla vent through

roof drain (rd)

cooling

photovoltaic cells

roof (vtr)

chimmney

roof drain (rd)

photovoltaic cells

branch vent

fixture branch

sidewalk

swale

parking lot

permeable pavers

storm cistern

vegetation By planting bushes and swales in this area, the outdoor gathering area will be shaded, allowing for people to relax on the steps in comfort. Also, the plants can be used to gather water from rain, into the greywater cistern.

waste The waste water from the site can be processed through various vegetation to create a closed water loop. Composting can also be used for the food waste produced from the cafe on site.

vents The exhaust from all the bathrooms, which are located in this region of the building, are carried out by a vent through the roof. This system runs along with the waste water system from the bathrooms.

HVAC system There is a combined system that includes both chillers and heaters. These are placed in the mechanical space on the southern end of the building, but allows for vents to reach the furthest portions of the space.

tower

sideration in order to create on the wholistic goals early modifications in one system dio project, making us thing

or the e ideal ls. This stantial gy use.

azing is on storm sewer

public storm sewer

building sewer

public

sanitary sewer

en Th

KHARCHE & ASSOCIATES

Architectural Intern

I worked on a high end private residence located in Chennai, primarily on the terrace design, post processing renders, bathroom detailing and general detail drowings for the project. I worked on detail drawings for other on going projects, and went on site visits to projects that were under construction.

CONVERGE: THEATER COMPLEX Model Materials Extended Site rockite poured in cardboard laser cut molds with wire and foam supports Project Site laser cut basswood with projection lines scored and stained with wood stain Buildings 3d printed and spackled laser cut wood and basswood sticks friction fit into openings in rockite

BAHIA BEACH CONSTRUCTIONS: BAHIA, ECUADOR

This social enterprise is focused on creating bamboo houses from locally sourced bamboo, decreasing the embodied energy of CMU structures, and creating homes that are safer in a siesmically active region. The structure is created with entirely bamboo, with the walls being made from steel mesh that is then plastered with a few inches of concrete. I have been working with this organization for nearly two years in varying capacities, and hope to continue working with them because I truley believe in their mission.

DIGITAL FABRICATION

rhino cam grasshopper cnc milling resin casting laser cutting 3D printing

PHOTOGRAPHY

Renu Varadheeswaran California Polytechnic State University B. Arch + Sustainable Environments, Architectural Engineering and Construction Management