Portfolio 2010 - 2013 Reshma Xavier
Personal Information
Education
9/255, Pearly Shell, Puthunagaram, Veli, Cochin-682001, Kerala +91 4842223510
+91 9496153734
2006 - 2011
The University School of Design, Mysore Bachelor’s in Architecture
B.Arch
Overall Third in batch for Design Thesis 2011
xavier.reshma@gmail.com
Naval Public School, Cochin High School and Senior Secondary School
Professional Experience August 2013 Present
Technical skills Independent Project Architect for the Kottayam Residence Project Execution Coordination with various consultants Direct communication with the client, site and workers
November 2011 July 2013
Studio Mumbai Architects, Mumbai Architect Project Architect for the Kottayam Residence Team for secondary design development and GA publication for Saat Raasta Team for Phase 1 design submission for China tower Team for TOTO exhibition in Japan
Auto CAD Google Sketchup Pro
Kerkythea Render Plugin
Rhino 5.0 ( Basic ) Adobe Suite
Photoshop CS5 InDesign CS5 Bridge CS5
Microsoft Office Suite
Language skills Malayalam ( mother tongue ) Hindi ( proficient ) English ( proficient )
July - October 2010
Navkar Architects, Pune
Honours and Awards
Ar. Girish Doshi Internship
Member of the NASA Panel Discussion 2011 held in University Lead Louis I Kahn team for 2009 NASA Convention which received a Special Mention Member of Louis I Kahn team for 2007 NASA Convention which received Citation
Contents
Studio Mumbai Kottayam House China Tower 561/63 Saat Raasta TOTO: Praxis
Navkar Architects Film Archive
Undergraduate thesis
Kottayam House Studio Mumbai
Two courtyards, with rooms loosely arranged each, form a house within a dense tropical plantation, located in the backwaters of Kerala, Southern India. The idea of the courtyard is to give space to the occupants without being constricted by the forces of nature that can be very strong and powerful. Spaces are needed where you can recede into, much like the way early man would recede into the cave. Nature is unpredictable and in continuous flux. The courtyards provide a sense of being able to just take a breath, be comfortable and not be anxious. As the project architect since the start of construction, made me in charge of the coordination and execution of every aspect of the project. Working directly with Bijoy Jain on this project, I was responsible for communication with the site and workers. Through a number of site visits and client meetings the work on site and progress was followed up. The project also involved coordination with: Tom Stuart Smith, the landscape consultants; Boris Vervoordt, the interior designers; Jean-Marc Moreno - Master Roofer; Kate Dineen Muireen - artist for colour sampling of the IPS finish.
Ground floor plan
First floor plan
Worked with artist Kate Dineen Muireen in preparing IPS colour samples for all the ongoing projects
Lime and dry wild grass Fine Plaster
Lime and dry wild grass Rough finish
Lime and rice husk Fine plaster
Lime and rice husk Rough finish
Worked with Lime expert Reudi, from Switzerland who had come to experiment with Indian Lime. A number of lime wall mockups and plaster samples with various materials were prepared which was communicated to the local masons and documented.
561/63 Saat Raasta Studio Mumbai
The walled enclosure of an old Mumbai warehouse, adjacent to the railway tracks is designed to contain seven courtyard homes/ studios. The grey weathered exterior wall of the warehouse contrasts with the pristine white interiors. Sheets of white metal slope down into the courtyard reflecting sunlight into the living spaces. During the monsoons, the rain flows in, blending the outside with the inside to create a wholesome environment. Fluted/clear glazing framework wraps the courtyard’s perimeter ensuring visual connectivity. The entire structure is supported by slender steel sections keeping in line with the lightness of the infill. Collaborative work within the team during the secondary design development stage involved preparing drawings necessary to define the spaces. Models were prepared which represented materials and textures close to being realistic. Research and experimentaion with various materials and textures were carried out before being implemented into the final model. The project was published in GA and TOTO publication on the Studio for Praxis as a part of the exhibition in Gallery MA, Tokyo.
Ground floor plan
First floor plan
China Tower Studio Mumbai
Located in the Longhu District of Zhengzhou City, the two towers are part of a masterplan designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki & Associates. Seven international architects were chosen to design two towers each which comprised the office block for the new township. The preliminary design development and scheme for the Phase one stage of design submission was done in collaboration with three American architects - Jason Dontje, Frank Clementi and Mitchell De Jarnett who were the design guides for the team. Within a time period of two months the conceptual schematic design was developed and presented. As a part of the team we were involved in preparing detailed drawings and scaled models. The presentation was layed out as books and printed on boards.
Praxis
Exhibition in TOTO gallery, Tokyo Studio Mumbai
The exhibition at TOTO Gallery MA, Tokyo was titled ‘Praxis’. ‘Praxis’ refers to the process of enacting and realizing something — the evolution of an idea into a practice. Designed to showcase the ways of making and doing at Studio Mumbai, the exhibition sought to capture the essence of everyday living in the workshop and replicate it in the TOTO Gallery. The scaled bronze models of the projects were the most important part of the exhibits. The jewel like hand crafted trees adorned the models. Mock ups, plaster samples and project books were also part of the exhibition. The exhibition saw a diversity in materials which brought together various craftsmen ranging from bronze caster, carpenters and masons embracing the true nature of the studio.
A quick and temporary mock up of the gallery space was made were the exhibits were arranged and set up. This gave a sense and feel of the actual space and later provided reference for the final setting up in the gallery. The exhibits included mock ups of joinery details, wooden screens, plaster samples, mock ups and models in stone, project photographs, sketches and various other objects acquired from various parts of India. All the project models were cast in bronze using the lost wax process, which was finished off with the hand crafted jewel like trees.
Navkar Architects July - October 2010 Internship
College
zoning and initial draft for college 3D modelling
Dhumale Residence alternative design options 3D modelling
Farmhouse in Mulshi working drawings and details
Dhandekar Residence drawing sets
Elevation
Section AA’
Plan
Navkar Architects headed by Architect Girish Doshi is one of the leading practices in Pune whose design elements and spaces have a close relation with the historical buildings in India. After seven years of professional training under the renowned Indian architect B.V. Doshi, Navkar Architects has been dealing with a range of projects from residences, instituitions and housing.
Section through tower
Placement of truss in Plan
Film Archive
Preservation and appreciation centre for movies Undergraduate Thesis
The proposal is for a Film Archive in Chennai (the hub of films and its related activities in South India), which is a centre for preservation and appreciation of movies. The centre aims at safeguarding movies and documentaries of all kinds of South Indian languages and make avail to various organisations and interested people. Various activities are carried out which contributes to the appreciation. Film festivals and tributes are organised which recognises the noteworthy works of art. Short term appreciation courses and workshops are organised for all ages which gives a broader perspective into films and film making. The archive also provides grants and scholarships for research and publications relating to movies. These works are recognised and are added to the library.
West Zone
Private Zone Quiet Zone Restricted Entry Public Zone Noisy Zone Main Public Activity Zone
green spaces in the line of axis emphasising and enhancing the axis
the main axis meets the existing trees to form a culminating focus at the end of the axis
Semi Private / Public Zone Segregation of crowd and function
Less massing exposed to harsh west light
North Zone Favourable lighting condition Massing increases gradually with respect to site contours and functions which is visible from the entry level
South Zone High massing buffering the south light Function which require lesser openings
first floor plan + 0.45 m lvl
ground floor plan + 0.45 m lvl
section through
section through
section through green
north zone
south zone
spaces in line of main axis
Section BB’
Section AA’
Pietro Belluschi defined communal architecture as “a communal art, not produced by a few intellectuals or specialists but by the spontaneous and continuing activity of a whole people with a common heritage, acting under a community of experience.� It may be argued that this art has no place in a raw civilization, but even so, the lesson to be derived from this architecture need not be completely lost to us. Bernard Rudofsky