The Drawing Board 2020 by RohanBuilders

I believe that the way people live can be directed a little by architecture. Tadao Ando

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© 2021 Rohan Builders India Pvt Ltd and Matter Design Services LLP 1 Modibaug, Commercial building, Shivajinagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411016 rohanbuilders.com | thedrawingboard@rohanbuilders.com The Drawing Board Competition 2020 Competition Chronicle AN INITIATIVE BY: Rohan Builders India Pvt Ltd Mindspace Architects

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Rohan Builders

THE DRAWING BOARD 2020

ABOUT

CONTENTS 2020

2020 is the fifth edition of The Drawing Board competition. This book chronicles all aspects of the process.

PREMISE the context of the competition

THE ORGANISERS the people that bring all this together

14 18 6

RETROSPECTIVE looking back at the past editions THE PROCESS the instituted platforms and arenas of engagement in each cycle

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

2020

THE BRIEF

100

LABOUR CAMP PROJECT

104

THE SITES

PARTNERS the energy that supports and fuels the endeavour

THE JURY

106

WHY PARTICIPATE? a unique opportunity to learn, grow and create a culture of exchange

108

INSIGHTS the winning teams share their experiences

40 96

COMMENDATIONS work by the winners and finalists EMERGING THEMES significant common ideas 7

IN THE PRESS

VISUALISING THE BRIEF Stills from video by The Leewardists

2020 TEMPORARY HOMES FOR TRANSIENT CONSTRUCTION LABOURERS

PREMISE 2020

The competition is representative of a collaborative spirit, of an unassuming partnership, working collectively towards a dialogue with students. The journey is the reward.

Conceptualised by Mindspace Architects and Rohan Builders in 2016, The Drawing Board competition is a national level platform inviting open ideas from students of architecture for site-specific architectural concerns and communities annually. The opportunity lies in an academic exploration and in designing for real challenges in real locations. It is a framework for students to test their understanding and skills on concerns of architecture, urban design and the built environment. The endeavour is to create a unique space for conversation, and to bring together students, professionals and ideas on a common platform. It helps instigate thoughtful research about design, by episodically suggesting tangible issues on architecture and design with each cycle. Presentations by the participants, and lectures by the invited jurors add layers of value. Each competition cycle thus becomes a novel revelation and repository of knowledge and sensitive ideas. The aim is to provoke reflections for spaces and places, and create a culture for engagement with different approaches for a particular site; a new opportunity arises with every site, every edition.

the drawing board 2020 / premise

We wanted the students to understand how architecture can play an important role in shaping the way communities live. Suhas Lunkad Chairman & Managing Director Rohan Builders India Pvt Ltd

Having a students’ competition was to motivate students to bring sensitivity towards the way of seeing things, unlearning and relearning. To create awareness of asking the right questions and an attempt to develop problem-solving skills. Sanjay Mohe Founder & Partner Mindspace Architects

the drawing board 2020 / organisers

Incepted in 1994 out of a rented space in a small garage, Rohan Group has built a name for itself across the Real Estate, Infrastructure & Industrial contracting sectors over two and a half decades. With a spectrum of work that began with a residence project of eight apartments, it has scaled tremendously to have a team of over 1000 professionals and landmarks sprawling over 15 million square feet across the country.

Rohan Group’s excellence in design & innovation is also woven into the nation’s infrastructure – the Amritsar Wagah NH1 that connects India to Pakistan, and other roads, tunnels, bridges across Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, to cite a few. It has also led large multinational clients such as Coke, Pepsi, HUL, ITC, Bajaj, Tata, Mahindra, Cairn to trust Rohan Group with repeat orders.

Making a selection of the things that matter most to great living, the group conceptualised PLUS Homes - Perfect Ventilation, Lively Light, Utmost Privacy, Smart Space, an integral aspect of all Rohan homes. Rohan has also introduced the Tunnel form technology, a rapid and advanced construction technique, that helps build one floor a day with much better quality and durability than conventional construction. Each project is representative of their commitment to safety, transparency, quality construction and timely completion. Rohan Group has been the recipient of many esteemed recognitions.

In everything they do, they believe in bettering the lives of people, and in giving the experience of great living! – by building homes that are beautiful, good quality, and efficient; by building factories for customers that are technically challenging and under tight timelines with given quality and under safe working conditions; by giving opportunities for their people to grow professionally. They do that by thinking differently, and not shying away from trying out new things. The Drawing Board Competition is one of such endeavours. With feet firmly on ground and vision far ahead in the future, Rohan Group continues to inspire and lead the industry.

the drawing board 2020 / organisers

Mindspace, formed in October 2004, is a Bengaluru-based architectural firm. Founded by Sanjay Mohe, Vasuki Prakash and Suryanarayanan, the firm is known for its architecture works which are seamlessly integrated with nature. Architecture, for them, is always guided by local context, culture, and most importantly, the climate, which has always been the influencing factor on lifestyle-culture, behaviour, eating habits, fashion and architecture. Hence the central idea of their architecture lies in its response to climate, context and integrating nature into the built where ‘Experience’ takes precedence over ‘Form’ and ‘Soul’ over ‘Skin’. The buildings designed are not focused on capturing attention from the exterior but utmost importance is given to creating spaces which are unique in its “feel” providing the inhabitant with a series of experiences - experiencing elements of nature within a space, experiencing light, breeze, sound, unfolding of layers and volumes. The external form of the building is derived to complement the functions within. They strive to strike balance between man, his needs, emotions, culture, his

aspirations, elements of nature and technological advancement. The projects done by Mindspace have resulted in several national and international awards and consistent features in architectural journals. Mindspace presently comprises of the partners, Sanjay Mohe, Medappa, Suryanarayanan, Amit Swain and Swetha A, along with 21 architects, engineers and support staff, all of whom work as a team. Some of the awards won include - ‘J K Cements The Great Master award 2019’ awarded to Ar Sanjay Mohe, NDTV Award for CCMS in JNCASR Bengaluru in 2014, The Golden Architect Award by A+D & Spectrum Foundation Architecture Award (2009), A+D Award in 2006, J K Cements commendation award in 2011, J K Cements Architect of the Year Award -1991 / 1999 / 2001 / 2007 / 2008 / 2013; The Award of the Journal of Indian Institute of Architects -2002; ar + d International Annual Award of Architectural Review (1999), London, and d’line for JRD Digital Library; Gold Medal from ARCASIA (The Asian Forum for Institutes of Architecture - 1998).

RETROSPECTIVE 2016-19

The journey over the past editions have uniquely enabled the organisers and participants with a holistic perspective of the subject in focus. It has been witness to a plethora of sites, ideations and tremendous enthusiasm.

2016 Futuristic Expression for a Habitat

970 registrations 300 colleges

The first edition’s aim was to explore various ideas as a futuristic expression of a habitat - an idea which would reflect a housing typology for the future. The idea needed to cover environmental, social and economic aspects of future lifestyles. The proposed site was in Tambat Ali which is a settlement of tambats or copper craftsmen and is the oldest part of the city.

2017 Expansion and Contraction: A Restaurant

1292 students 388 colleges

The second edition called for ideas to explore intelligent designs that are flexible and allow spatial transformation and size variability. The site was located on the banks of Mula River where the water level changes seasonally. The building had to “expand and contract” as a reaction to this changing water level and had to be a place where people can gather together, celebrate nature or just enjoy its tranquility.

2018 Multipurpose Activity Center

1063 students 293 colleges

The third edition brought to focus a need to explore sensitive and intelligent designs that recognise the existing context as an important layer of the settlement. The proposed site was an integral part of the settlement located at the foot hills of Parvati Hill temple. The design had to evolve from the available resources of the place and needs of its people.

2019 Reviving a Lost Heritage

1086 students 327 colleges

The fourth edition deliberated on ideas to create a dialogue between the surrounding urban communities, citizens and a 140 year old heritage water tower which is a highly visible but an isolated segment of the urban fabric. The proposal has to be compatible with the established urban fabric and its emerging features with the tower as a very important element. The programme was envisioned to create the tower as strong reference for the city’s fabric and to have a connection to the natural, cultural and heritage environment of the city while offering a new formal and informal platform to engage the public.

THE PROCESS OVERVIEW

While each cycle of The Drawing Board is unique, it is anchored by a process framework which weaves in possibilities of mentorship, exposure to critical feedback, improving on the designs, one-on-one interactions and an opportunity to listen to eminent jurors.

the drawing board 2020 / process

01 REGISTRATION An annual competition, The Drawing Board announces an open call for entries each year with a set Design Brief, and Problem Statement. Open to all colleges across India and extending to other countries as well, the competition looks at gathering diverse perspectives and ideas.

MENTORSHIP The process encourages practitioners, alumni or academicians to assume the role of a mentor for the participating students and guide them in bringing new perspectives to light. It will help the students tap into the existing knowledge, skills, and experience of the mentor.

02 EVALUATION An interim evaluation is held internally, to carefully peruse and deliberate on the appropriateness and credibility of the submitted entries. Discussions, debates and cognizance of the brief statement inform the decision of shortlisting the participating projects. A shortlist of nine-ten teams is announced, and invited for a review. The evaluation process concludes with a day event where the participants present their ideas in short crits to the Jurors. Eminent jurors are invited to be a part of the panel presiding the presentations.

03 REVIEW + LECTURES The short-listed entries are invited to present at a prominent venue with an audience composed of fellow students, invited practitioners and academicians. Through engaging discussions, the students receive critical insights and inputs from this panel. A selection of commendations are awarded as the Winner, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up. The incentive is the holistic feedback that the participants become privy to, and the a symbolic amount that is presented as the prize. The eminent jurors deliver inspirational lectures on their work in between the sessions. The sessions for 2020 were conducted online.

2020 OVERVIEW

2020: The year that changed everything - notions of lifestyles, perceptions and attitudes. As the year of unprecedented crisis came to a close, humankind saw slivers of hope - in resolution and the way people came together to counter the challenges. The brief responds with the same optimism of hope and change.

THE BRIEF 2020

How does one approach the ideas of temporariness, aspirations, and resilience through building? What potential does design have to solve challenges that society faces? What are the processes of community engagement that architecture can inform?

the drawing board 2020 / the brief

TEMPORARY HOMES FOR TRANSIENT CONSTRUCTION LABOURERS Affordability, Modularity, Community, Feasibility, Materiality DESIGN BRIEF

The colony should accommodate common toilets, clothes washing and drying areas, medical rooms, and shops for essentials. A multipurpose activity center of 1500 sqft should be able to adapt itself into a crèche or a playschool during the day, workshop or a training center for the younger age group to develop skills to become a plumber, electrician, fabricator, carpenter or mason, a place for social gatherings or TV watching/entertainment hub. Drinking water facilities and sanitation are integral to the colony.

Home is not a place; it is a feeling. The competition aims to provide humane living conditions for transient construction workers in India. To create successful housing for construction workers, they must feel that they are rooted in a given place. They should be able to create a sense of community with their neighbours despite their short-term stay and change in families as per the construction demand. The design should foster a sense of community and participation.

“Dismantle and reassemble” units of size 100 sqft with a maximum height of 12 feet each has to be designed. The module has to be easy to dismantle, assemble, and transportable in a truck.

DESIGN PROGRAMME The housing colony has to be designed for 200 labourers. 40 units for a family of three adults and a child with basic amenities like sleeping area for three adults with adequate privacy, storage including a kitchen. 20 units for bachelors shared by three adults. A separate communal cooking area has to be designed for bachelors.

The module has to be stackable, grow vertically up to G+2 floors in a compact site situation, or spread out horizontally up to G+1 on a larger site. The module should be scalable, flexible, and adaptable to house various activities.

Housing for Construction Workers Rohan Builders Mindspace Architects

The setup of this programme was circumstantial because of the COVID-19 situation. The brief was predominantly contextual. Transit housing was being studied across institutes and the students would be aware of the issue. In the brief, the emphasis was on how to create the feeling of a home and community, despite all the challenges and ever-changing factors? Especially since the stay of the residents is for a short duration and the neighbours keep changing. SITES There was no historical or traditional background prescribed. There was a socio-economical aspect, as well as kind of a communal living that was more temporal in nature. The sites were selected to make the approach more climate specific and generic since the students would not have been able to travel to study the site. Two climatic zones were chosen, and the terrains were evaluated – for instance, one site is a flat one and the other is a sloping site – so that the students could explore different possibilities. A few trees were identified on site and the design was to respond to these elements. There was potential to prioritise outdoor and spill-over spaces. MATERIALITY The brief designated that the materials should be planned in a way that it would easy to execute, easy to transport and engender a feeling of comfort and home. The expectation was to focus on the local, easily-available materials and technology. PLANNING An important aspect was how well the brief was understood and translated into design. The entries were also reviewed on the basis of how well their ideas were communicated, in terms of presentation and drawing representation. The brief was also informed by projects that Rohan Builders and Mindspace have been working on. During their research, different sites were visited and problems were listed; for instance, the way smoke accumulates in the kitchen, lack of storage space, supervision of kids when the parents are at work etc. Based on interactions, an appropriate size for the unit derived - a specific module of 2sqft by 4sqft, and elements were created using that. With minimal changes, a basic framework was adapted to address all these issues that included practical common areas. It seemed like a good opportunity to explore more such ideas where it could be taken forward and incorporated. It became the starting point for the 2020 brief.

Existing Conditions

06 equal structural grids

the drawing board 2020 / project

OPTION 01

the drawing board 2020 / project

OPTION 02

the drawing board 2020 / sites

THE SITES Pune, Kochi

Two sites, two climatic contexts, two terrains, two approaches, two scales

the drawing board 2020 / sites

News of millions of migrant workers walking home in an alarming plight caught India’s attention in the lockdown. The selection of the site was in response to the situations worldwide owing to the pandemic. Students confined to their own homes would not be able to study any sites in real time. Two sites were chosen in a way that the brief was generic yet climate-specific. The areas assigned were larger so that more outdoor and spillover areas could be explored. Another significant aspect was how the response to the terrain was considered. One was sloping site and the other one was mostly a flat site. There were a few trees which were identified on site and it was significant for the design to respond to these elements. The design programme for both sites was stipulated to be the same. The unit design had to adapt to the above sites. The climatic conditions had to be taken into account. By retaining the modularity, a maximum of 15% of the unit design could be changed to suit two different site contexts and their respective climate zones. Setbacks were not required.

SITE 01 PUNE Located in Hinjewadi, the site for construction workers housing is adjacent to a busy approach road. It is a flat parcel of land with few existing trees. The opportunity on this topography is to develop a community that is spread out horizontally. The height can be a maximum of G+ 1 floor.

Site for Proposed Construction

Site for Construction of Workers’ Housing

SITE 02 KOCHI The site is along the outskirts of the city and is off a quiet road and sloping down from the main access road. The area located for construction workers housing is close to the road. Here, the idea is to develop a community which on a compact site. Height can be up to a maximum of G+2 floors. The climate of the region is hot, humid, and with high rainfall patterns.

Site for Construction of Workers’ Housing

Site for Proposed Construction

THE JURY Rahul Gore Tezuka Takaharu Bijoy Jain

The reviews for The Drawing Board are based on a constructive system of academic enquiry and live discussions. The evaluation encourages a balance of communication of ideas, meaningful intents and presentation skills.

As with all years, The Drawing Board hosted a series of lectures by the eminent jurors consecutively online. Rahul Gore, Bijoy Jain and Tezuka Takaharu shared their creative processes, and approaches to architecture, both personally and professionally. The lectures were held on 18th24th November 2020. The evaluation forum, also conducted online, consisted of the students presenting to this set of empanelled jurors. Post the presentations, the jurors exchanged thoughts and weighed in all the parameters and nuances before delineating the winning entries. The review concluded with a valedictory announcement.

the drawing board 2020 / the jury

While there are skills that students need to develop, they need to start thinking critically. That is what is going to set them apart and make leaders out of them.

RAHUL GORE

Bihar Museum

Rahul set up _OPOLIS in January 2001 along with Sonal Sancheti. _OPOLIS is a young practice doing architectural, interior and urban projects in Bombay and Pune. Bringing their individual aesthetic strengths, technical expertise, creative inclinations and artistic vision to the table, the duo has made _OPOLIS one of the leading firms in the country. Their commitment to style combined with simplicity has led them to do a wide range of architectural, interior and urban projects. _OPOLIS has won numerous National and International Awards in the past few years. Their work has been widely published in leading national and international architectural magazines. The Bihar Museum, Patna – won as an international competition along with Maki and Associates, Tokyo has been inaugurated recently.

House in Panshet

Bihar Museum

Rahul has studied architecture at Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) in Ahmedabad and his Masters Programme in Urban Design at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). He has worked a year with world renowned architect, Fumihiko Maki, in Tokyo Japan. He was the winner of the prestigious Bunka Cho Scholarship awarded by the Japanese government. Before this he has worked with Rahul Mehrotra Associates for a period of two years on various architectural and interior projects. He is a Associate member of the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) and a visiting juror at the various Schools of Architecture in India. More recently, part of the award winning Indian team that won international acclaim at the International Urban Design Competition for the Design of Sustainable Cities hosted by Japan at the World Gas conference in June 2003. Rahul is a visiting faculty at Kamla Raheja School of Architecture in Mumbai.

the drawing board 2020 / the jury

When I read the brief, I thought it was a wonderful idea. One is always sympathetic with the construction sites and how the developers and the contractors tend to treat the labour class. What was more interesting was that it was being initiated by a developer; especially, a competition of this kind with a live site, in a live location and in a way, a live programme because they deal with it every day and they were aware of the issues and the concerns there. The size at a city level was good and for a student, it was set with a manageable site and issues they could deal with. To take a competition to the realm of education and research is a great initiative. I understand there were several hundred entries and we evaluated only the nine shortlisted entries. It is very heartening the see students take actively to this. The Drawing Board has built up to take this reputation of being this competition for students that makes sense and it has built up the reputation that gets students to put in their best efforts. The entries we saw were very good, were well presented, and there was enough thought that had gone into it. Even the ones that were not in sync had some promise to them. When I was addressing the brief, I had also set my own criteria. All the jurors were in diverse locations but we have all reviewed such work to know that the jury may examine the problem itself, will look at how people have addressed it, presented it and expressed their ideas. The most important part was the simplicity and that somebody could touch your heart somewhere with their ideas. Two or three presentations were such. For instance, green buildings are becoming a norm. While I am not much for a market-driven rating for the building itself but what made me aware about GRIHA ratings when we did the Bihar museum, is how much emphasis it lays on the construction process and the people executing it. I was mighty impressed and taken aback actually. When they come on the site, they are not so interested in what the site is doing but they want to go and see how the labourers are living and what the facilities being provided are. Through these rating processes, as a responsible architect not only would I have to do this but also force

the contractor to undertake it. I think mandatory norms like these if are principled and included as policies, it will be very encouraging. It is a marginal cost overall but a worthwhile one, knowing that the labourers and people who are actually building are living a respectable life. I think all the jurors, Tezuka, Bijoy and me looked at such concerns of housing. Housing means more than just accommodating people. It has to have a life and beyond that. How do you give it a soul? What does it mean to people? What is it like to go back after a hard day’s work? - all those issues had to be addressed. Some students had addressed that. Their interest lay in how do we get a community set along this ideas. In some cases, we looked at the durability of materials and impact. The housing that we see on sites are materials that are transient in nature and often, they do not even last the lifetime they were meant to endure for. To take this further, I think what could also go on is taking the ideas of one of the winning teams and go live with it - get it executed at a site. That will give great encouragement to students who see competition ideas getting translated. It may set a strong precedent for future competitions and the students get an incentive to participate. The students are full of ideas and energy and I would encourage them to keep pursuing. In these tough times, where all of us as a profession are at crossroads, there are students graduating every year, more than what the economy can absorb. While there are skills that students need to develop, they need to start thinking critically. That is what is going to set them apart and make leaders out of them. One important aspect for the students is to choose their first place of work carefully, because I think it sets the direction in which they evolve. I have seen amazing results with very ordinary students who joined very good practices, and also good students who joined other offices and got very disillusioned in the profession. That is just one concluding thought because these are all students who will be going out in the profession. Architecture is a slow profession, they have to take it slow. Opportunities do not come fast, but if you persevere, keep doing the same thing again and again, you will definitely succeed.

D12 House, Deonar

the drawing board 2020 / the jury

Matsunoyama Natural Science Museum. Photographer: Katsuhisa Kida/FOTOTECA

Asahi Kindergarten. Photographer: Katsuhisa Kida/FOTOTECA

TEZUKA TAKAHARU Tezuka Takaharu is the President of Tezuka Architects and additionally is a Professor of Tokyo City University. He completed his undergraduate studies from Musashi Institute of Technology and pursued his post-graduate studies at University of Pennsylvania. After a brief stint with Richard Rogers Partnership, he established Tezuka Architects in 1994 with Yui Tezuka. The firm has been a recipient of many awards and accolades, such as OECD/CELE 4th Compendium of Exemplary Educational Facilities (2011, Fuji Kindergarten), Prize of Architectural Institute of Japan for Design (2008, Fuji Kindergarten), AR Award 2004, the Architectural Review (Echigomatsunoyama Museum of Natural Science), Global Award for Sustainable Architecture 2017, UNESCO and, World Architecture Festival 2018, School Completed Buildings Winner (Muku Nursery School) to name a few. They have also been a part of exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale of Architecture (2004, 2018) and Carnegie International (2013). Apart from being published widely, Takaharu has also been a speaker at the renowned TED forum.

Fuji Kindergarten. Photographer: Katsuhisa Kida/FOTOTECA

The criteria should be reality because reality is the most important aspect of this competition. Architecture is not an object, it is real life.

The brief was very interesting with a dimension of social enquiry. These students had a lot of potential as empathetic human beings. They showed a lot of potential not only as students, but as future architects. One could question if the students grasped the intention of the brief or misunderstood it. Many schemes had expensive constructions. May be the brief can be sharper and can introduce restrictions, of budget, of density or an affordable material palette. For example, in a temporary housing such as this, could there be a stipulation of 20 people living in 100 sqm, a budget of 200 or 100 thousand dollars etc? The presentations expressed the master planning of the space and its response to the location rather than these aspects. For example, I was expecting someone to understand Bamboo construction in a house where you can tie all this together. How can we trim the brief down to address the social need directly is pertinent? How can we talking about surroundings and histories of these sites? The real feeling is missing. We need to have a much more realistic view.

Chigasaki Zion Christian Church/Mihato Kindargarten. Photographer: Katsuhisa Kida/FOTOTECA

The criteria should be reality because reality is the most important aspect of this competition. The ideas I selected were closer to reality, at least they were trying. Architecture is not an object, it is real life. That is something they need to think about. Competitions are very important. I have also participated in many. It helped me develop some kind of logics in my mind. Most importantly, with these competitions you can make friends. At the end of the competition, I met many interesting architects and kept in contact with the juries. If you keep that kind of connection, it is going be for life. For example, one of my tutors – Mohsen Mostafavi who used to be the Dean of Harvard GSD, was part of a competition where one of my projects was a winning entry. I kept that relationship for a long time. Students might be able to get this kind of connections. The winners should try to keep in touch with the jurors or some architects who contributed to this competition, keep in contact, keep in touch. That is the most important thing. Since it is students, I am not expecting anything wonderful yet; a lot in architecture depends of process. For the students, I must say that being an architect is a ‘very-very’ good job, and if you keep trying, you will help the future. Secondly, architecture is an awful job because you have to keep trying all the time, and you have a headache every day. So you have to keep trying. Naturally it is a job of a lifetime; as you get older you get more experienced, things get better and better. That means when you are young, you always fail. Do not worry, if you fail. Something is going to come up.

Muku Nursery. Photographer: Katsuhisa Kida/FOTOTECA

Roof House. Photographer: Katsuhisa Kida/FOTOTECA

Bijoy Jain Bijoy Jain is the principal architect of Studio Mumbai. He received his Masters in Architectutre from Washington University in St Louis, USA in 1990. He then worked in the office of Richard Meier at Los Angeles and London between 1989 and 1995. His works have been presented in many venues including the Alvar Aalto Symposium, the Architectural League of New York and the Canadian Centre for Architecture, which holds several of his project archives. Founded in 1995, Studio Mumbai is a human infrastructure of skilled craftsmen and architects who design and build the work directly. Gathered through time, this group shares an environment created from an iterative process, where ideas are explored through the production of large-scale mock-ups, models, material studies, sketches and drawings. The essence of their work lies in the relationship between land and architecture, it requires coming to terms with the presence of the environment through the succession of seasons. Bijoy has designed and built significant works in India and abroad.

All Images: © the architect Screen Captures from the lecture presented by Bijoy Jain on 18th November 2020

the drawing board 2020 / the jury

Resolution can take place over a period of time, with maturity, with exposure. What concerns can you bring to the core to make these dwellings more meaningful?

In the competition, I liked the ability of some students to articulate, and at least bring to the core, things that are actually necessary for what is missing in the context to the concern of what this project is about. For me, that is far more important than the actual resolution of the project. Resolution can take place over a period of time, with maturity, with exposure. I was looking at it as more of what concerns are they bringing to the table which could make these dwellings more meaningful. There was an inherent enquiry into statistics and researching information, to delve into what are we looking at. Some schemes have taken concerns of what infrastructure should be provided based on that. I think one needs to be sensitive to at least acknowledge that these are the concerns. That was how I was gauging these projects.

COMMENDATIONS 1300+ Registrations 14 Countries

In an overwhelming response, the 2020 edition received ideas of multiple scales and sensitivities. They brought to the forefront concerns that were progressive, impactful and consequential in this informally organised realm in their own ways. Nine projects were shortlisted and three were awarded with honours.

WINNER Purushottam Deth, Nikhil Patne, Somesh Kachawar VIT’s PVP College of Architecture, Pune FIRST RUNNER-UP Faisal Hossain, Sumaiya Sultana, Raihan Md. Sadman Ali Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET), Bangladesh SECOND RUNNER-UP & VIEWER’S CHOICE AWARD Anusha Mukherjee, Naman Shroff Amity University, Kolkata

FINALISTS Vivek Wanarase , Atharva Ghogale VIT’s PVP College of Architecture, Pune Nidhi Joshi, Rahul Karmi Bharti Vidyapeeth College of Architecture, Kharghar Sanidhya Shah, Anuj Shah, Abhijeet Pardeshi VIT’s PVP College of Architecture, Pune Vojesh Pahwa IDEAS, Nagpur Dhrubajyoti Biswas Om Dayal College of Architecture, Kolkata Sanjana Aggarwal, M Sharoom University School of Architecture and Planning, New Delhi

WINNER

Purushottam Deth, Nikhil Patne, Somesh Kachawar VIT’s PVP College of Architecture, Pune

SOCIAL TIES The very key note of the brief fuelled up our discussions in a direction towards temporal housing solutions for the transient community. After a certain amount of research, we understood that the challenge was not to design a modular housing solution but far more than that. The challenge was to make sure that this community of transient workers, themselves knowing that they would be displaced within months, had to organically accept the space as their own, as their home. Post pandemic, one thing that we, as a society and community have realised is,

how dependent we are on each other! By absence of even one of the smallest possible parameters in the society, the entire system comes to a standstill. The very same observation led us to the concept of social ties; the transient workers on the construction sites. This community not only needs to be facilitated for what they serve but also what they deserved. Taking forward this idea, it became crucial for us to understand the constraints and the scope of the project, and thus we tried to analyse how has the housing for transient workers earlier been dealt with around us and the existing living conditions of this community.

To achieve a sense of belonging for a temporary space in a permanent relationship, a unit had to be visualised having a junction which is strong enough to last long and minimise possibilities of maintenance also easy to transport, whose dimensions are governed by available standards in the markets, and whose form governs minimum amount of material wastage.

Through this, we streamlined an extremely critical aspect which further helped us strengthen the design; the definition of a home. How subjective can the definition of a home be, is something which amused us. The most critical aspect of this definition was that of time and space. Time is relative and hence the definition of a home does not change at the frequency with which you change your space. The most challenging and important thing to achieve was a sense of belonging for the community to feel towards a space that they can call a home; which in reality did not belong to them. To achieve a sense of belonging for a temporary space in a permanent relationship, we had to visualise a unit having a junction which is strong enough to last long and minimise possibilities of maintenance also easy to transport, whose dimensions are governed by available standards in the markets, and whose form governs minimum amount of material wastage. What we observe once the community starts to inhabit in such spaces, the idea of shared spaces is enhanced. To reach this geometry it was important to draw observations from what was analysed of the existing living conditions as well as those from the earlier ways. When we share a space which is relatively tiny, the user tends to depend very heavily on the spaces immediately outside their house.

Arrangement of Units

Hence these spaces create a potential for a fostering community. This is where passages, shared common spaces play a vital role in community building. The skeleton is designed in a way which gives an idea of a space being temporarily permanent structurally as well as visually The unit is further developed in a cluster by a combination of alternate semi-covered and covered modules following the same geometry. The arrangement of units was then worked out in a pattern that would both provide efficient use of the available space and breathers in between. Introducing passages and semi open skeletons alternately stacked on top of the other forming a cluster with the common shared spaces. The integration of the unit with that of the cluster aims for the same principle of fostering the community together. Along with offering shared spaces, it is important for the units to be in connect with the ground. The units on the top have a connection with the ground in the form of passages and semi-covered spaces in the cluster.

The relationship between the cluster and community

The structural arrangement therefore responds in an extremely efficient way for assembly, dismantling and transport.

The cluster then starts having a dialogue with the community and the surroundings by having an individual identity and a character. The colours add life and vibrance within the space making it dynamic in nature. There then lies a decent chance that we identify each unit not with the unit numbers but by the colour palette.

The integration of the unit with that of the cluster aims for the same principle of fostering the community together. 44

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The solution for achieving the sense of belonging was by making the community a part of the process of organising a house of their own. This idea gave rise to developing a unit, and a form which will act as a tool that synthesises complexity. The details and logistics of the unit are worked out keeping in mind the material which is economically feasible and also durable. The corner joint in the structure is designed in order to cater to loads as well as to help in controlled future expansion. The structural arrangement therefore responds in an extremely efficient way for assembly, dismantling and transport. The importance of every inch of space needed to be understood as these spaces provides primary spend for a family and thus the space had to be flexible enough to adapt to the needs.. The solution and the geometry thus evolved with the idea of expansion and incrementality.

The solution and the geometry thus evolved with the idea of expansion and 45incrementality.

The idea was simply that we provide them with the modules and from then, the families take over. Along with the modules, the ancillary and connecting spaces played an important role in space binding. The staggered arrangement of cubical units will help in formation of open, semi open and covered volumes, which eventually will serve as shared interactive spaces, balconies and courtyards. The aim was to focus on the mass and a space which allows the community to breathe. The outdoor areas adjacent to units create buffer zones between public spaces and private domain creating privacy among neighbourhood, also encouraging interaction.

Modules

The clusters were now to be integrated in order to build a strong social network and to ensure the porosity within the built mass. What we further did was to strategically place the public spaces such as multipurpose hall, workshop spaces, social spaces and services, all within the routes of people’s daily circulation system. Being compact, the units and the shared spaces still cater to optimum sunlight and ventilation. The public spaces in between support social life. Designing them led us to design the physic structure of social network.

Staggered arrangement of cubical units

The aim was to focus on the mass and a space which allows the community to breathe

The clusters were now to be integrated in order to build a strong social network and to ensure the porosity within the built mass

Strategic placement of the public spaces such as multipurpose hall, workshop spaces, social spaces and services, all within the routes of people’s daily circulation system

The public spaces in between support social life. Designing them led to the design of the physical structure of social network.

The design had to be organic enough which could easily adapt the terrain and would be easy to install by them. As a result, the module, cluster and the services act as constants and the public spaces and levels can be altered according to the site.

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While providing the solution, we ensured that the design was versatile enough that it could be dismantled and assembled in an altogether different context, keeping intact the fundamental idea, as this would be just an inspiration module which could be repeated across varied contexts and terrains. The design had to be organic enough which could easily adapt the terrain and would be easy to install by them. As a result, The module, cluster and the services act as constants and the public spaces and levels can be altered according to the site.

In this process of giving a solution to the community, we went back to the community itself for answers! And the answer which we got solved the project in its true sense.

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The intermediate services acts as linkages between the community and the activities around introducing a sense of normalcy and routine. The semi-covered ambiguous spaces between two units and between two clusters enables the community to maintain social ties or make new ones. This space was not only for the mere purpose of giving the community shelter but also helping each individual to grow with the help of each other and this is where social spaces, workshop area, multipurpose areas allow the community to connect across boundaries.

Looking back at the aim that we were trying to establish: In this process of giving a solution to the community, we went back to the community itself for answers! And the answer which we got solved the project in its true sense. We realised that the natural tendency of these people is to acquire whatever space they are provided with and to make the utmost use of it. While doing so, in limited space their expansion is remarkable. In our quest of designing, we wanted the community to be in the driving seat and that is what we aim for!

This space was not only for the mere purpose of giving the community shelter but also helping each individual to grow with the help of each other and this is where social spaces, workshop area, multipurpose areas allow the community to connect across boundaries

First Runner-up

Faisal Hossain, Sumaiya Sultana, Raihan Md. Sadman Ali Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET), Bangladesh

Scan the QR Code to watch a design walkthrough

3D View of Bachelor Cluster (Type A2)

TRI-HOUSE In the design brief, we understood that this competition aims to provide humane living conditions for transient construction workers in India. The main issues that are to be addressed is to create successful housing for construction workers, with a sense of community and participation, and the unit should be dismantled and reassembled.

3D View of Bachelor Cluster (Type B)

While analysing the design group, we have seen that construction workers are an important part of the entire eco-system of the real estate industry, as well as the economy of India. This is the largest employment generator in India. The country will need approximately 76.5 million workers by 2022. This is the economic condition of skilled workers, semi-skilled workers, and unskilled workers of India. In the gender ratio, the majority are male workers, approximately 79.3% and their living conditions are unhealthy, with polluted water source and poor sanitisation. Working conditions indicate heavy construction work.

3D View of Family Cluster (Type A)

In the design programme, we had to design 60 living units, where 40 units are for families and 20 units are for bachelors, with services like common

toilets, clothes washing and drying areas, medical rooms, shops, and community facilities for multipurpose activities, which could be adopted for a playschool, workshop, training center, or for other social gatherings, etc. In our design, we tried to attempt a more humane approach towards migrant construction workers. We planned to offer construction workers with: • rudimentary temporary housing of compact unit for their use during the construction process.. • free schooling for their children, basic medical support. • sufficient water source and sanitation facilities for all user groups. •“Dismantle and reassemble” idea to be implemented for all cluster types. Such housing could be leased out on low rents to migrating construction workers for the duration of the project’s development, and to other needy sections of society after that. While analysing the site, we saw that site one is located in Hinjewadi, Pune, with an area of approximately 0.8 acres. This is a flat parcel of land with a few existing trees and the climate is hot, semi-arid with tropical wet and dry. There is a busy approach road on one side of the site and a 24 feet wide internal road on the other side of the site. The wind direction is from the west side. Our site two is located near Cochin, which is in the region of Kerala, approximately 0.2 acres in area. It is sloping down from the main access road. The section of the site locates an existing tree. It slopes down from 0 feet level to minus 15 feet level from the main access road. There is a 16 feet wide internal road on the other side of the site. The climate is hot and humid, with rainfall.

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CONCEPT From the very beginning of our perceiving we always imagined and drew home as walls and a pitched shed above our head. What if we omit the walls and imagine the SHED as the main structure as well as HOME? We selected the triangular form as the building envelope, for its rigid and stable form, which protects us against environmental hazards, is cost-effective and structurally versatile. It also allows us to dismantle and reassemble the unit easily. While designing on site one, our initial approach was to establish access from the main road as well as the internal road with primary zoning. In phase two, more scalable areas are depicted for the house clusters and other facilities with circulation pattern. The design considerations for Site 01 were mainly to preserve the existing trees and

integrate them into the design. Water sources are placed at minimum distances from the clusters. The main building material is bamboo and corrugated tin sheet for cost-efficient design and easy dismantling and reassembling. If we see the design of the final master plan of the site in Pune, we can see that there are family unit clusters and bachelor unit clusters at the corners of the site. There is a multi-purpose activity center surrounding the existing trees. There is a medical room and essential shops along the main axis of the site. At both corners of the site, there are common toilets and water sources for clothes washing and drying, as well as for bathing. In the site section, we can see that there is one common toilet and two family clusters with their respective water bodies, a multi-purpose activity center surrounding the existing tree, and the section of the bachelor cluster with stacked units. In context of the functional details of the multipurpose activity center, we designed a more open plan, to be adapted as a playschool, workshop, training center, or a place for social gathering. The shop area is also surrounded by the existing trees alongside the main axis of the site. It is for groceries, vegetables, fish, etc. Services include medical rooms which have one doctor’s chamber with two checkup rooms from the main approach of the site. The common toilets include two blocks at the cardinal points of the site for easy accessibility. It is also built with temporary materials like bamboo and thatched floor. If we see the design development of Site 02, you can see that the initial design approach of phase one was to keep the main access from the main road, as well as the internal construction road. Functional zonings are articulated according to the user’s needs and the slope of the site. In phase two, more scalable areas are depicted for living and basic services. The circulation pattern and functional approach are articulated with the slope of the site.

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01 01 05

07 08 06

07 07 02

01 01

Master Plan of Site 01

Section of Site 01

01 Family Unit Clusters 02 Bachelor Unit Clusters 03 Multipurpose Activity Centre 04 Medical Room 05 Shops for essentials 06 Common Toilets 07 Water Sources 08 Clothes’ Drying Area

Design considerations for Site 02 include the existing trees. The multi-purpose activity center is articulated surrounding the existing trees. The housing is designed for temporary basis. The main consideration was not to manipulate the slopping site. The communal cooking area is designed under the elevated platform of the Bachelor Unit clusters. From the main site approach, shops are designed below the elevated platform of the housing cluster. As the site is situated in a hot-humid, and rainfall-prone Kerala area, unit clusters and other amenities are designed on an elevated platform so that rain rainwater can flow down easily under the constructed structures. In the masterplan, located at the corners of the site, are the Family Unit clusters and Bachelor Unit clusters, and the multi-purpose activity center surrounding the existing trees. There are medical rooms and shops for essentials alongside the main approach of the site. There are common toilets setup in front of the site and water sources, clothes washing and drying area is at the corner.

In the side section for Site 02, we can see the common toilet and the cross-section of the multipurpose center with the existing tree and the family cluster with stacked units. As for the functional details of a multi-purpose activity center, it takes an area of 1500 sqft. It can be adapted as a playschool, workshop, training center, as well as for social gatherings. The services include medical rooms with a doctor’s chambers and one checkup room that is situated at the main approach of that site. The services also include two common toilets, temporary toilets, water source for bathing, and washing clothes. For commercial functions, we have our shops for essentials, groceries, vegetables, and fish under the elevated platform of the cluster. As a concept, we were talking about efficiency. We wanted to show that if we designed a square on a rectangular stylish design, it will take at least 12 bamboos just to make the whole framework, and not any other structural element.

01 06 03

01 Family Unit Clusters 02 Bachelor Unit Clusters 03 Multipurpose Activity Centre 04 Medical Room 05 Shops for essentials 06 Common Toilets 07 Water Sources 08 Clothes’ Drying Area

06 02

01 04 05

Master Plan of Site 02

Section of Site 02

In a triangular design, there will be nine bamboos. Three members can be omitted per unit. As per the design consideration and the design requirement, there were 60 units to be designed. If three bamboos per unit can be omitted, there will be at least 180 number per unit, only for the framework and if we consider the whole structure, there will be more. It felt more logical for us to go for a triangular design rather than a square or a rectangular design. Various types of triangular design, such as this one have been proposed. TYPE A – 8’X12’ FAMILY UNIT This is for the family unit where we can see that it is for three adults and one child where two adults can be on the ground floor and on the mezzanine floor, there will be one adult and one child. The plan and the section show the mezzanine floor. Each has six feet plans. This ‘Type A’ is proposed

for both sides, which is the family unit. The design can be dismantled and reassembled. Each facade detaching from the unit in the exploded axonometric shows how the dismantling and reassembling process is going to work. In the middle, we can see the total framework of this structure. And on the right side of the diagram, one can see the joinery details. On the bottom part, one can see the selected material palette for the design. TYPE A2 – 8’X12’ BACHELOR UNIT Here, the interior is different. This is for a bachelor unit. So it is for three adults and no child. This is proposed for the site in Kerala. We can see on the ground floor, there will be two people and on the mezzanine floor, there will be another adult. So in total, there will be three adults. In the section of the ‘Type A2’, we can see the 6 feet clearance.

TYPE B – 9’X11’ BACHELOR UNIT In the ‘Type B’ plan, which is a right triangle design. This design is for the first site in Pune. Here we can see the dismantling and reassembling process. In the right triangle design, on the right side one see the joinery detail and on the bottom is the material palette. CLUSTER FORMATION We wanted to stack a bunch of units and make a cluster design. On stacking and staggering them, enough circulation and ventilation could be facilitated. For the site in Pune, it will be a G+1 structure, so units were stacked 12+12, which is 24 units. In the ground floor plan and section, one can see the chemistry between people. This is the vision for the unit cluster as integrated on site.

In the second type, the interior is different. A bunch of them were stacked and then clustered them so that proper air ventilation occurs. For this type, there was a G+2 consideration. So we stacked them until it reached G+2. Here, this cluster contains 20 units. Hence, there will be 40 units for the family cluster. The same cluster will be for bachelor units, that is 20 units. There will be 60 units in total. The last module is a right triangle design for the bachelor unit. It was also stacked and staggered it in a similar fashion to the other designs until it reached G+1. That will complete the final composition for it. These are the configurations we are envisioning.

Second Runner-up

Winners of Viewer’s Choice Award Anusha Mukherjee, Naman Shroff Amity University, Kolkata

Temporary homes for transient laborers are something we see on a day-to-day basis. There is construction activity in the neighbourhood context we live in. Some of the images are of the shelters that the labourers have been currently provided with, in New Town, Kolkata. It is a temporary habitat or shelter provided by the Government and it is mainly for the labourers who are working on the streets, and repairing the footpath. The Government contractors have provided materials for these shelters. They have used tin roofs, and bamboo sheets. And as a structure, they have used bamboo as a material. This is the current scenario, with around 50 labourers, all-male. A corner is the communal kitchen, open kitchen, and two WCs. The washing area, the bathing area, are all open. They have a tube well near the kitchen. This is the condition right now. Three other blocks are the sleeping spaces or the habitable spaces for these labourers. These kinds of spaces grow naturally. Initially, it was just these four blocks. Then, there is this tea stall, a temporary shack that came up after around ten days. This all becomes a part of the ecosystem. Now it is like a permanent home to them. In the morning, they just disperse out and return in the evening. This is the condition right now, the situation they are living in. These shelters can be seen every day, where they use sarees or any kind of drapery to wrap up the place and make it more habitable for them.

Concept Sketches

What could be the possible reason to refrain from providing basic living conditions for these workers near the site?

We talk about modular structures, PVC, FRC materials, and ply boards. However, they are still going for brick and cement, masonry walls, even for toilets. Implementation of construction of such temporary shelters will be entirely in a developer’s hand, and this is a true fact. Therefore, we decided to think of the possibilities of such projects from the developer’s perspective. All these temporary shacks that he or she needs to provide as a developer will always come from their pocket. But if we have any law, concerning the living conditions of labourers, then there might be an incentive. That is not the case now. The materiality for our design uses shuttering plyboards. Shuttering plyboards are very common. They are used for digging the trenches. These are really durable depending on the thickness and the quality. These are used in lift wells and in the casting methods.

View of Site 01 (Pune)

What could be the possible reason to refrain from providing basic living conditions for these workers near the site? The first thing that the developer may think about is the cost of materials and the cost of transportation of the materials. The other factor is the longevity of the materials or the products that he/she is going to invest in and the time to be invested in the construction phase. These habitats need to be erected before the construction starts on site. The last point is about the rent or the return value of the land. Currently, if it is a small plot of land, the contractor does not take any return or any rent from the construction vehicles and it gets added to their wages, it gets compensated. If there is an incentive or law that the contractor gains from the Government, then of course he/she will take the rent from the labourers. And if the habitable conditions are good, then the construction labourers may pay a basic daily or monthly rent.

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The second material that are these gunny bags. These gunny bags are also very common. We see it on every site during the curing process. The design employs the use of these materials for the temporary shelters. By doing that, we aim to cut the carbon footprint and the extra transportation costs that the other materials which are not used in day-to-day practices will cost. If we choose to go for FRC panels or some other kind of plywood, which is not there, or which is not very common in our construction practices, it will add to the transportation costs and the contractors will refrain from doing that. Therefore, we are using the same materials that are easily available in construction sites.

Site Zoning

Courtyards

Section of Site 01 (Pune)

While designing the family unit we had to consider that they are not going to change their way of living. We are just giving them a modular structure to fit in.

So the contractor or the developer can fetch those materials in bulk. Therefore in the future, it stands even if the count of labourers for his/ her site decreases. As a structural material, we thought of scaffolding like bamboo. What happens with scaffolding is that the load is limited to certain heights, the maximum we can go to is G+1 and that is very risky.

Views of Multipurpose Halls

With bamboo as a structural material, what may happen is that even if we reinforce the bamboo, and the habitat stays for around three to five years, after dismantling the whole site, the bamboo may warp. So if you are dismantling and the bamboo gets damaged, then of course it would be of no use the next time. So again, the contractor would need to re-invest in the housing materials for the construction labourers. View of Family Unit Type Courtyard

DETAIL OF A SINGLE UNIT In the design of the single unit module, we have allocated an area of 10 square meters, to accommodate three people at a time. In the plan, there are three beds - two bunker beds and one single bed. We are not providing lavish storage or cupboards but rather just basic storage hangers and shelves. If the unit is at the upper level then the roof is insulated with gunny bags. The gunny bags insulate and cut off the direct heat that the galvanised steel sheets are gaining. Thick shuttering plywood has been used for the walls. And the plywood can be fetched from an ongoing construction site. The contractors may alternatively go for newer ones. We are recommending 25mm thick shuttering plywood and each panel to be 600mm by 2400mm. These are placed in such a way that the complete wall can be assembled at once. These can be assembled with the help of MS square sections, with L brackets. And for the structural ones, we are recommending 150mm by 200mm square MS sections, so that it can take the load of G+1, and G+2 as well. DETAIL OF A FAMILY UNIT While designing the family unit we had to consider that they are not going to change their way of living. We are just giving them a modular structure to fit in. To just fit in, not to adjust their lifestyle according to it. The first thing that came up to our mind was that why not give them an open multipurpose area, a verandah, that they can be used as a common cooking space for the whole family, or it can also be used as a leisure space. We have a couple of steps, and then a 1500 MM deep open verandah so that the women of the house can use it for cooking. Inside, the private space, we have provided a cooking counter, hanger’s shelves, and two tiers of bed. The bed on the lower level can accommodate one person and the bed on top can be accommodated by two people, ideally, for couples. This is a common practice in the unplanned housing conditions of the economically weaker sections of society. For area calculation, each unit is less than 20 sqm.

01 Segregation of single living from family zone

02 Multipurpose and common courtyard within close proximity to the construction site

The minimum area requirement for a habitable space is 11 to 13 sqm for family members. We have designed it to be 19 sqm considering that the families living might grow and may require some extra space. 04

INTRODUCTION in Cochin, the predominant wind direction is east to west. Therefore, each unit is arranged in the east-west direction. The walls are going up to 2,400mm, and the clear height is 2,700mm. We get a 300mm clerestory window that enhances the stack effect in the internal microclimate of the structure. We have not recommended installing a framed window but rather have an MS jali window with an extended roof so that the extra costs can be cut off. The roofs on the upper floors are layered with gunny bags to prevent the heat

05 Site Zoning

Section of Site 02 (Kochi)

03 Segregation of toilets and amenities

coming from the galvanised tin sheet. This is how the whole ventilation may work. The gunny bags can also be rolled down and brought up to a certain height to cut off the direct sun rays. The gunny bags can also be used as curtains or blinds which can just be opened up. In the kitchen and toilets, for single living units, we have kept it together. As per NBC standards, it is recommended that one WC cubicle has to be provided for every 10 users. And in the case of bathing, one cubicle has to be provided for every 15 users. There are seven number of WC cubicles and six bathing cubicles. There can be partitions of 600mm or there can be no partitions at all. In that way, we have arranged these bathing areas and WC cubicles, and the same way we have our wall panels of shuttering plywood.

View of Site 02 (Kochi)

The number four is a common basin, and that will be on the outdoor area. The overhead tanks will be just above the toilet. And talking about the kitchen, they prefer an open kitchen, for open cooking, and not in an enclosed area because they have at least 27 people to serve. Which is why we have thought of giving the storage in a sheltered way in a covered unit. But the kitchen will be open and that will be inclusive in the courtyard. Because the family zones are spread out, their toilet departments cannot be in just one block. Hence, we have distributed it in two zones. Again, we have four number of WC cubicles for each male and female and four in number each for the shower cubicles. We have also provided washbasins. We have provided a buffer zone. All the female washrooms have a seating area, a waiting area because there will always be a queue. It is for around 160 to 180 family members. Women may be left waiting outside, so that is why we have provided a buffer zone on the inside of the toilets. SITE 01: PUNE For the site in Pune, we will be talking about the design programme and how we approached it. Since it is located in Pune, the site for construction is located near a busy approach road. There is an internal road which is connected to the construction site. The site we have proposed is located in between the main road and the construction site. There are a few trees existing on site.

Site 01 (Pune)

Site 02 (Kochi)

View of Family Unit Type Courtyard.

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DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS The red blocks are the family zones. These blocks will accommodate all the family members and their requirements. These are spread out. The grey ones are designed as a single living unit to accommodate bachelors. The reason behind accommodating these two in different ways is to create a sense of security for the women coming from those strata of society. Less interaction between a woman and a labourer man is generally recommended in our society. So, we have provided different private courtyards for both of these spaces. There are three private courtyards for families and one single private courtyard for the bachelors. This is the multipurpose area that we have designed in front of it, which is in close proximity to the construction site. The toilets are arranged on two different ends. The red ones are for family and the grey ones are for the bachelors. There is a common space for common functions. So the trees are used as meeting spaces and leisure areas. And there is a central gazebo there that is sheltered. There is a communal area, a cooking area which is inclusive in the private courtyard. So the entries to the site have been kept open. So any person, any labourer can just walk into the site. There 40 family units, 27 single living units, shops, and other medical departments as well. There are two private courtyards. The red ones are the public courtyards that will be accessible by all. We have shops and a multi-purpose area having the same courtyard.

SITE 02: COCHIN In the Cochin site, the climate is hot and humid and receives heavy rainfall. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS This is a contoured site with just one existing tree. We have tried to accommodate all the common facilities around that area. Which is why the greenish-blue block is the multi-purpose area that has just been encapsulating that tree. And on the corners, on one end, we have family units on the other end, we have a bachelor’s area or the single living area. The planning and the internal layout of the toilets remains the same. There are separate toilets provided for the family and the bachelor’s area. The courtyards are connected through steps. We have not covered the whole soil or the whole ground with steps and the soils are left untouched wherein only the digging will take place. But we have provided a few steps just to have that access from one courtyard to another. The steps are used for washing and bathing purposes. The multipurpose area is a double-storeyed space and on the upper storey, there can be spaces for creches or for activities for children. On the lower levels, the whole activity will take place from time to time. In the morning the construction workers can acquire the place, but in the daytime, the whole place can be used by the children. The soil has been kept untouched and there are few steps just to connect the courtyards.

View of Multipurpose Hall

FINALIST

Vivek Wanarase , Atharva Ghogale VIT’s PVP College of Architecture, Pune

PRACTICAL RADICAL 8’ X 8’

8ft X 8ft 12ft height with mezzanine floor at 7ft

8ft X 8ft 8ft height with bunk beds for four persons

We consider ourselves really lucky to be a part of this brief where we get an opportunity to plan and built a space for space makers, who make our dreams, spaces come to life. The photo-montage (bottom right) is our first impression about the settlements observed in and around the city and the interpretation of the same. After understanding the brief, we came across few building typologies with minimum requirements and space. Like chawls, wada, Belapur Housing, Aranya Housing, Titan Housing etc, we referred to some chawls where the planning is such that open space is centrally located which is open yet safe and corridors are connecting individual units creating interactions. We attempted to outline various activities in central spaces. For our studies, we looked at temporary dwellings and the way spaces are utilised to their need - where every inch is used and every structure has its own unique identity. Buildings such as Belapur Housing by Charles Correa were also inspiring because of the scale of open spaces they organised and their ratio with the built. Certain aspects from these studies that we absorbed in our design were flexibility, image identity, accessibility, connectivity, climatology etc.

8ft X 8ft 8ft height openable Front partition for extension and shade

In the process for cluster development, the following strategies were employed: - the basic planning delineating the open space. - opened out two sides to make it accessible. - staggering the modules to create small semiprivate open space. The addition of services is indicated in blue and the community kitchen and shops are indicated in green. The upper units were stacked, possible up to G+2 based on the site requirements. Staircases were added in between all units. Corridors were added and clusters were created in this way. The idea behind designing cluster was to maintain the character of the space which can be placed as per the site. With the help of this cluster, we started planning on the site which is located in Hinjewadi, Pune.

The cluster was placed according to the existing site conditions. We started connecting this cluster forming a central open space for various uses. The services corridors and staircases were added for the G+ structures. We have added multipurpose space in the centre which strengthens and connects all the spaces. The sections show the graduation between open to built spaces. One can also see the celebration of everyday life. There would also be different festivals taking place. We have a section showing different types of celebrations over the year, where one can see different festivals seasons and also different activities gathering happening. The sectional perspective view shows their regular activities in the space provided. The highlighted part it showing common spaces used for their daily activities, directions and for other uses.

There are semipublic spaces which behave as an extension to their modules. There are separate places which are their private spaces where they have their privacy but at the same time, they are visually connected with outer open spaces through doors and louvers. Many activities such as shops community kitchen occur with many other activities in between. At the Kochi site, the terrain is small and sloping. Hence, we decided to have a G+2 structure keeping the concept as it is. The clusters were connected to each other and the site through services in the central space. A multi-purpose space is placed in between. The section along the site shows how modules are placed and stacked above one another. In comparison, different modules in clusters have the same area but vary in volume based on the user group. For instance, in a family module, a mezzanine is provided which acts as a private space. The central module is used by the four individuals. In a shop module, the front Open common space of the cluster - shops, bachelors’ common kitchen and activities in semi-public areas

1 feet X 1 feet grid to design and arrange the internal space of the module

Circulation inside the module is replaced with an openable shutter which acts as an extension. In a single module, the space distribution is in consideration of the circulation, storage and activities inside. A basic electrical layout with provision of tube light, bulb, fans and charging points has been drawn. The module being 8ft x 8ft, the ventilation was articulated through the fixed louvers provided on the front, window on the back. The shed net on the top helps release the hot air, instigating air circulation. This module is flexible it can be placed on sloping site or a flat surface as required. It is placed at a height of 1ft from the ground which will cause less disturbance to the natural surroundings such as water flow and other factors. The cost of the module has been calculated on the basis of individual materials. Here, one can understand when two modules are placed together the cost drops as one face is shared in-between. Similarly, if more modules are coming together then costing will reduce eventually. The design also includes joinery details for the module such as structural joinery, partition wall fixing etc. Waste reinforcement bars from the construction site for all railings and also for small internal furniture have been used. The flooring is made of precast ferrocrete slab, as it is lightweight and the thickness is less. They can be moulded in such a way to increase its strength. Thus, we are not required to provide intermediate support. We have created 8ft x 2ft modules so they can be easily transported, installed and dismantled.

We have created 8ft x 2ft modules so they can be easily transported, installed and dismantled.

Electrical layout for the module

Furniture and storage space layout for the module

Internal View: Family Unit

A chain-link is provided on the front face of the module to create a sense of identity or even a sense of personal belonging to their space with their choice of available material such as bamboo, wattle and daub, terracotta, coconut coir etc. They can even dry their clothes or used it for growing plants like creepers. A multipurpose space plan shows spaces with openable shutters. With the underlay of an internal 8 feet by 8 feet grid, few activities which can be like Anganwadi vocational courses, vegetable markets and many more can be planned. Openable shutters can be made with plastic bottles clothes to create an extension of the space. If they require a partition between the spaces, it can be easily done by installing mats which will create space division as per their requirement. Additionally, the multipurpose space can be converted to one space based on any type of function, celebration or any such activities which

Internal View: Unit for Bachelors

requires a larger space. Inspiration has also been taken from the Bala School Initiative where children learn from the building itself. Similar ideas have been adapted here. For internal spaces, partitions with sarees and clothes make the space more vibrant. These spaces can be converted as per the activity’s requirement throughout the day.

creating pits. The toilet being portable, can be towed from one site to another.

With respect to utilities, we wanted to avoid wet areas in the individual modules which would lead to inconvenience on leakage due to constant mobility as per the works. Here, we have placed them in front of the clusters on the side, providing areas for washing clothes, utensils bathing areas and toilets. This not only creates convenience but also interactive spaces during their daily routine.

The structural part of the module was resolved keeping durability, ease of maintenance and availability in mind. Owing to individual disadvantages like overheating, dismantling, durability, maintenance loading, we selected MS Box sections in the structure because of their availability, its life and less maintenance. For the partition walls, we will use sandwich sheet which is a good sound- as well as heat-insulator. Also, it is easy to assemble and transport. The implementation of a grid makes it easier to design on a contoured site, responding and maneuvering the design as per the site requirements.

For the restrooms, portable with storage toilets have been designed which will be cleared and cleaned on day-to-day basis. We wanted to avoid the unhygienic conditions in and around the site which would be caused by digging into soil for

As architects, we believe that providing them with comfort and hygiene is our responsibility and so through this, we can give them a sense of belonging, healthy lifestyle and also a positive perspective towards everyday life.

Multipurpose space integrated with the 8x8 ft grid

the drawing board 2020 / commendations

This module is flexible; it can be placed on sloping site or a flat surface as required.

Site Section, Kochi

Cluster

Utility area and open space

Multipurpose Space

FINALIST

Nidhi Joshi, Rahul Karmi Bharti Vidyapeeth College of Architecture, Kharghar

Steel Scaffolding acts as an easy, fast and flexible solution for construction on-site.

BUILD APART a temporary home The core idea of the project is – COMMUNITY. Community is an amalgamation of feelings within a group of people who may or may not share same cultural or geographical backgrounds but display strong unity and sense of belongingness within them. For us, Community is what binds people.

Ring-lock scaffolding allows flexibility and sturdiness.

FLEXIBILITY

Their nature of interdependence, Interaction, Celebration, Recreation, and Occupation along with sense of belonging is what makes community

Box Steel columns and beams with bolting joinery allows durability and more strength.

Normally, a home is associated with permanence and in the case of the construction workers, home is temporary and ever-changing. Up to G+4 construction can be carried out in a cramped up site.

They build a house just to take it apart. In this transient lifestyle, their sense of belonging is lost and the living conditions are neglected. The existing typology of such housing lacks light, ventilation and comfort. They normally use welded steel sections as the primary structural material. Corrugated GI sheets are used for their walls which increases the temperature inside the structure. As they lack seating areas, they use old doors or windows with stones as their outdoor seating. Based on these findings, our goal was to provide them with adequate and comfortable living conditions.

DURABILITY

6x4m Grid for single module.

The brief demanded the idea of ‘dismantle and reassemble’, and in this case we needed a setting which will be light and flexible and could adapt to different surroundings. So, we came up with an idea using steel scaffolding as primary skeleton of the building. Steel scaffolding acts as an easy,

ADDING SKIN TO FORMWORK

the drawing board 2020 / commendations

Using soil to create earth walls on site gives us flexibility to dismantle and give it back to the soil.

Steel section as primary structural material

Interaction

Old door/ windows acts as outdoor seating with stone Lack of light, ventilation and support comfort inside existing typology

Celebration

J bolt connection for GI sheets to MS channels

Corrugated GI Sheets as wall cause heating

Recreational Space

fast and flexible solution for construction on site, whereas ring-lock steel scaffolding would allow better sturdiness and flexibility. Since steel scaffolding has load limitations, it was important to include box steel columns as the load carrying members. Bolting box section allows easy, fast flexible and construction. The dimensions of a single module is 6mx4m. All of these become the framework for a module, and an appropriate material could act as skin according to the context. To begin with the design approach, the first step was to create a framework. Then, to create an adaptive skin which could modulate itself to different site contexts. For example, if local materials are not available, MS frame & tetra pack sheets can be used as walls. If materials like bamboo, straw or coir are available locally, different combinations of walls can be created. Local materials can be used as explained in walls, as well as in different building elements such as screens made out of bamboo, or wooden sticks. Next, for ease of transport and optimisation of the space, foldable furniture is used for seating, storage and desks. Open spaces are provided in hierarchy to give the community different common spaces for different uses. Since these modules will move to different places, it will adapt to the given climatic context, the framework will remain the same but the skin will differ from place to place. A common cultural space is the heart of any community, and its flexible nature will adapt to different time frames. In the unit design, the framework of 6x4m is divided into two parts with a single unit of 4mx3m. In this grid, activities are distributed such that the primary functions like cooking, sleeping

Interdependence

and storage are at the edge. This creates a central movement space, and all other activities are at the edge the perforations provide cross ventilation in the unit. The plan of the unity works on the following principles: The usable space is restricted to 2.9m X 2.9m. The passage of 1.1m is provided outside each unit. The plan shows how furniture is modulated according to its function. The section show how openable screen are incorporated in passage which creates a visual connect and also allows air flow inside the structure. The usable height of unit is 2.85m. The section also shows the activities taking place in the unit. Indicated are also passages which act as interaction points with a window that transforms into a seating area. The isometric details elaborate on each element of the unit. Primarily, the window at the passage transforms into seating giving them outdoor seating area, and is used for interaction. Sliding folding door allows it to be compact and allows for space optimisation with easy transport. MS framed screens are used in the façade with bamboo grating, if locally available. Aluminum grating could be used as a substitute. These screens could be vegetated to make the spaces cooler. MS formwork with corrugated tetra pack roofing sheets are used to create a sloped roof. Drain channel and water inlet channels are provided outside the kitchen wall. The square hollow section of column and beam of 150mmX150mm is bolted to a single connector. Ring lock scaffolding is used to connect the framework of the unit. With respect to the furniture in the unit, the multifunctional bed comprises of four components which can be dismantled.

EXISTING CONDITIONS

If there is a single user, a single base can be used and if there are two users, the two extended panel can be used to form a twin bed. If there are three users, two bases can be used to form a combination of a twin and bunk bed.

4m x 3m Grid

Activity Distribution

Movement & Perforations

The extended panel can be removed and used as a table for dining, studying or seating. The kitchen counter and storage shelving units can be folded into a flat surface for easy transportation. They use the same system but only the sink is added to the kitchen counter. Walls can be made of locally available materials such as wattle and daub, traditional wet loam, or formed earth. If no materials are available locally, tetra-pak, corrugated GI sheets can be used and these material are fitted to frames and these frames are attached to scaffolding. Using soil to create earth walls on site gives the design the flexibility to dismantle and give it back to the soil. The extended panel can be used in multiple ways, it can be used as a dining table, as well as for sleeping and seating in the bachelor’s unit.

Unit Plan

Unit Section

the drawing board 2020 / commendations

These clusters are placed in such a manner that a hierarchy of common spaces is formed

MEN

WOMEN

6 x 4 Unit Grid

Toilet Detail Creche 36sqm

Shop 9sqm

Workshop 27sqm

Cooking & storage (Family unit)

Multipurpose furniture (Family unit)

Seating & sleeping (Bachelors unit)

Multipurpose furniture (Bachelors unit)

Communal Kitchen 108sqm

Modular Unit for Multipurpose Activity Centre

As for the communal space planning, a single unit is created out of basic scaffolding elements. This unit is multiplied to form different volumes to accommodate different activities such as shop/ medical unit, creche, workshop, and communal kitchen and dining area. The similar 6X4m housing unit framework is used to create the toilet unit with washing and drying area. The 4x3 unit becomes the primary module and a linear arrangement is adopted to optimise the space and to provide a common passage. This creates interaction as well as provides ventilation and shading to the units. This makes an intricate common space with passages and units on both sides providing visual connect, imitating a streetlike character in the cluster. These clusters are placed in such a manner that a hierarchy of common spaces is formed, with a larger central common area and smaller spaces on either side. This configuration became the basic cluster planning approach for both sites. At the site in Cochin, Kerala, its hot and humid climate with heavy rainfall was taken into primary consideration. The site is located such that the western edge is connected to the main road and the southern end connects to the access road. It also slopes down from west to east.

CLUSTER PLANNING

HIERARCHY OF COMMON SPACES WITH CLUSTER

4m x 4m Unit

Linear Arrangement with Common Passage

VARYING SCALE OF OPEN SPACES

Cluster Formation with Common Space

The zoning on the site is done to create a central common space which is surrounded by the units. This creates a linear arrangement with a longer north-south facade. Massing on the site is done such that there are G+2 units on the periphery with a central space for the multipurpose activity center. The site slope allowed us to have steps which could be used as an open amphitheater. Toilets are located at a central location for better accessibility to residents. The staircase connecting upper levels in the structure acts as a small common space for interaction. The site plan shows the arrangement of clusters, common spaces and toilets. The entry to the site is provided from the access road at a central location and common spaces merge with the existing trees on site. The point of entry is at the lowest level of the structure along with communal kitchen, toilets and housing units. The staircase at the entryway connects units to the crèche area. The workshop area steps down to the communal kitchen on the lower level where these steps act as an open amphitheater or eating area. Smaller intermediate staircases can be seen which act as an interaction space. As the longer facades face north-south direction, the common spaces are shaded throughout the day. At the topmost level of the structure, sloping roofs are seen. If locally available, bamboo can be used in the external walls of the structure and earth walls in the internal areas. Bamboo will help in protecting the external structure from rains. Wooden crates are used for seating. The multipurpose activity center with openable screens is also seen which can be used for playing, movie screenings, and festivals. The site activity diagrams outline the variation in uses and how the modular scaffolding structure can be used for workshop, communal cooking area, movie/TV screening area, crèche.

SITE PLAN

ZONING

MASSING

SITE SECTION

Site Area - 963.49 sqm No. of floors - G+2 Area of 1 unit - 9 sqm

SITE PLAN Common Open Space + Workshop Area

Communal Cooking Area

ISOMETRIC DETAILS

Crèche+Shop

Movie/TV Screening Daily

SITE SECTIONAL VIEW

76 Site Section BB

Intermediate Common Space

Multipurpose Activity Center

Multipurpose Activity Centre

Private Communal Area

Intermediate Common Space

In the site in Pune, Maharashtra, the semi arid climate with moderate rainfall is taken into primary consideration. The northern edge of the site is connected to the main road and western edge is connected to the access road. Due to its larger area, the site is divided into three zones, two of them being housing clusters and the central zone dedicated to community activities. G+1 blocks are added to the massing to create two identical clusters on either side with toilets provided centrally for each cluster. The communal space is at the centre of the site which is merged with the existing trees on site. Through this, a hierarchy of open spaces is created with each cluster getting its own common space. Longer facades are oriented in the north-south direction. The site plan shows the entry from access road on the western side. At the entrance is a shop which leads to the central common space for workshops or crèche. On one side is an open ground for various activities and the other is a communal kitchen. Each cluster opens up to a small common space. As seen in the isometric details, toilets are provided at the two corners of the site. Intermediate open spaces are provided in between two units. The multipurpose activity centre also has a central open space for recreational purposes. All intermediate common spaces are shaded by the clusters surrounding them. In this region, considering its climate, if locally available, thicker earth walls could be incorporated for thermal comfort. In the section, smaller open spaces can be used by children to play, and parents can be visually connected to them through the passages. This space can also be used for papad drying, and other such daily communal activities. The intermediate common space can also be used as an open reading area with wooden crates used as seating.

ZONING

SITE PLAN

Access Road Shop Communal Space

Entry Open Ground

Main Road

SITE PLAN

Common Open Space + Workshop Area

SITE ACTIVITIES

In conclusion, the main goal was to retain the sense of community in temporary structures and provide them with better housing conditions. SITE SECTION

Communal Cooking Area

Movie/TV Screening Daily

Crèche+Shop

FINALIST

Sanidhya Shah, Anuj Shah, Abhijeet Pardeshi VIT’s PVP College of Architecture, Pune

Scan the QR Code to watch a design walkthrough

METAMORPHOSIS INTRODUCTION We got a chance to go on a labour camp site visit and observe how labourers live in India in the present day. It was a large work camp with shelters that do not have proper light, ventilation, or privacy. These homes feel temporary in a way. There is no permanence to them. What we thought and what we feel is that the construction labourers have one of the most physically intensive jobs in the world. Our whole approach is to bring a permanent notion to their temporariness. The primary thing was to make these structures with the least amount of physical input. Hence, we came up with the idea of metamorphosis, meaning a change of form, shape structure, or substance, transformation, as in science or myths. We have taken this idea in the physical sense but we also see of changing the lives of these transient labourers. In the dwelling unit, the main frame is designed in a way that critically hinges at deployable junctions, making it possible to create a frame just by opening it and collapsing it again. At the close position, these frames only act as columnar structures, which are stable. When opened, these become the main frames for their homes. There are the dwelling units for the bachelors, as well as for families. In the transformation of the main structure, one can observe how it evolves with the skin itself.

The Dwelling Unit

With respect to the structural details, there are two different joinery details. One is ‘A’ which is in the center and one is ‘B’ which are the corner joints. These framing joints are connected by hinges.

For the skin, we closed off two shared walls which the labourers could use for stacking or keeping their belongings. We opened up two sides and we treated the skin with opaque fins and jallis. These create good light and ventilation and also aids in privacy. As for the materiality, for panels vacuum insulated panels are used. These retain heat during the winter and reflect the heat during summer. For the floorboards, we have used fiber cement boards, FCB boards, which are very durable and lightweight and as an additional option, sheet roofing has been given above. An air gap has been created with the help of the space frame sockets which happens that the structure is not directly exposed to the sun and rains. There is a gap in between so the structure is harmless. We thought that instead of getting two different units for the families and bachelors, we kept the structure the same, with minor interior changes. Their life could happen. This helps on site. If there is a requirement, and bachelors are more or if there is a rotation in the structure of who is going to stay there, it can be adopted to various possibilities. In the bachelor’s unit, both of them have a mezzanine which gives them one and a half times the space they can use. Three people can easily sleep in the mezzanine where we have given a rack to keep their belongings for the bachelor’s unit.

Bachelor’s Unit: Exploded Axonometric

In the family unit, we have created a folding table kind of a thing where if the families cook in the house itself, they can use them to keep the stoves, which could be folded back and they can sit on the ground itself. The same main frame has been used to accommodate the site essentials, and we have opened them up creating semi-open voids. These will be ambiguously placed throughout the cluster, and these will be smaller pause points for the communities to meet. These will form the general stores and the medical shops and will also act as the common washing area. We have tried to incorporate Panpoi’s, which are traditional Indian pots as water dispensers, where people can drink water all day. Even the temporary hawkers every day can set up their stalls with vegetables, etc. The multipurpose space is a contemporary take on the traditional Tambu. A tambu is a canopy-like structure or a mandapa, where people have been gathering under it for social events throughout India for ages. We wanted to make this structure also easily collapsible and openable. So we use the principles of tensegrity, where there are telescopic steel members joined by tension cables when the whole structure folds up and could be transported in a truck and it could be opened up.

Family Unit: Exploded Axonometric

Community Kitchen for Bachelors

Rapid Deployable COVID-19 Testing Centre

This remains as the main open space and the form of it is to symbolise and celebrate the idea of the labour community. They can gather for labour unions, they can gather for Navratri etc. It can accommodate all of their large community rituals together. And to use this community space during the daytime and evening, the main unit, the closed collapsed unit, the dwelling unit, acts as a column for making partitions. As one can see the collapsed partitions are used to create partitions for various determined functions. In the morning, these could be preschool layouts where the structure could be just a closed door with these partitions where the children of the workers could still have their classes in the daytime. And by afternoon and evening, these could become a skill-building layout where the women, who may not have gone to work on site, can take up culinary classes or any other activities still weaving, bamboo weaving. It can also accommodate other skills such as electricians, plumbing, etc.

Temporary Hawkers setting up their stalls

General Stores and Medical Shops

With respect to the design of the toilets, when we went to the site, we saw portable toilets. But the problem with portable toilets is that there is no transition to use them. Men, women have to just have to go in and come out in the open. They are deployed on a very light scale. Some of them are used more than others. So we thought of using shipping containers, which could have Indian toilets with Orissa Pan. Basically, these could be broken down into clusters. Every cluster has a toilet for itself with a water tank above. Hence, a transition is created, going towards the area of the toilets and then one can move ahead. The community kitchen is only for the bachelors. This is similarly materialised with shipping containers because these things are easy to transport, easy to maintain, and durable enough. The community kitchen for bachelors is a place along the multi-purpose hall. They can have outdoor as well as indoor seating. They can cook their food in a hall together.

Common Washing Areas

Panpois: (Traditional Indian Pots as Water Dispensers)

Solar Panels substituted for roofing creating energy more than it will consume

Portable Toilet

The whole structure sits on the site with the voids being for essential shops and other services that people can have, people can meet at the pause points during their day to day life. The landscape was also made in a temporary format. We want to stick to that main concept of having temporary and simple things and not elaborating or making them do efforts on the landscaping itself.

Staggering vertically makes one roof the passage for the other

The same structural unit of the home, in a collapsed state, is used as columns

SITE 01: HINJEWADI, PUNE The idea of stacking is used here. The stacking of blocks is placed in such a way where the center mass has been pushed backward, which creates a courtyard to form a cluster within them. The stacking of upper blocks creates the entire ambiance of space, leading one towards the courtyards. This cluster is repeated to make multiple connecting courtyards. Furthermore, voids are carved out to create multiple semi-open spaces in between for essential services and leisure points like water dispensary, general store, relaxing spaces, etc.

(i) Pre-School layouts during morning time

(ii) Skill building layouts during evening time

Stacking blocks on top of each other normally creates a need for internal passage and additional structural system and materials. Instead, we decided to push this stacked block so that it can not only get a passage above but also semi-open space for the user below. The majority of the site, having a larger site area of 3,150 square meters helped us to gain multiple open and semi-open spaces within them. The courtyards are arranged with connections, which creates a street of courtyards. The lifestyle of these users is rich with the idea of living in a community; therefore, the aspect of a community was the most important. As the user enters, the first thing he/she encounters is the community space which leads further to the private spaces. Community spaces also help us to connect to the above and below open spaces and also to highlight the factors of a festival, and other celebrating activities.

(i) Staggering of units to create courtyard

(ii) Staggering of units on upper floor creating transition to a courtyard

(iii) Cluster formation repeated to create multiple connecting courtyards

(iv) Voids carved to accommodate essential services and leisure spaces

(v) Parallel links are connected creating an ambiguous series of courtyards

The existing trees were quite helpful to describe and define open spaces for the children’s playing area and other activities, which also helped in demarcate zoning on this site. The view expresses the way in which the macroenvironment of this connecting courtyards responds to the user, not only physically, but also, intangibly by connecting the clusters directly from one point to another, and defining the small aspects of interaction with each other, such as coming out of the courtyard and doing their daily, day to day life activities. The entire structure acts as one. After removing all the partitions, it acts as a platform for the celebration of marriages and other festivals, responding to their community.

Plan: Pune

Section

Axonometric View

SITE 02: COCHIN, KERALA The site was contoured and it was a tight space. The site area was approximately 950 square meters. Reference images of chawls inspire the planning of the Cochin site. This was done to achieve a community living in a very tight space. The design adapts to a linear arrangement of the units. The buildings have been kept in a regular arrangement along the contours. The central multi-purpose area intrinsically acts as a binder for the entire community. The units have been stacked up and staggered so as to get a passage on the first floor. The ground floor units have a private verandah for themselves. The stacking gets replicated again. The secondfloor stacking gives us a covered passage on the first floor. In the entire system, the voids have been created to incorporate essential services and these voids on the first and the second-floor acts as major pause points. Streets have been created because of the planning. The streets are common verandahs for the people. It gives a sense of space to the entire site.

(i) Linear arrangement of units to recreate the Indian Chawls.

Section

(ii) Staggered stacking to save space and material for access passage.

Plan: Kochi

(iii) Replicating the stacking thus providing shade for the passage below.

(iv) Creating voids to incorporate essential services such as water dispensary, washing areas, general store, medical and leisure pause points.

Apart from this, consideration was extended to other issues where this module could be used in today’s situation. Two examples for the same are: first, a rapid deployable COVID-19 testing center. This openable collapsible model could be of use in such a module. The second example is a refugee crisis housing, during an emergency crisis or during disaster management. We wanted to explore this idea to its fullest so we decided to make a prototype scale model. It is a 1:5 scale prototype. It takes a very less amount of time and effort to open up and close the main structure in these units.

Prototype Scale Model – Process Photos

The whole idea was to see a change or an evolution in the lives of these transient labourers. We think that metamorphosis is a change of form, shape, structure, or substance, or maybe life, in a transformation as in science or myths.

FINALIST

Vojesh Pahwa IDEAS, Nagpur

Modularity

Mentor: Majid Abidi

NOMADS ODYSSEY OF EPHEMERALITY Not with a statement but I would like to start with some questions: What is Architecture? Is it really for all? Is it about needs or aspirations? Well, Personally for me, Architecture is a sheer resultant of needs. As Mies Van Der Rohe says, “Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins.” Yes. ‘Architecture begins where diversity unites.’ This unison may be between two bricks, a brick or cement, spaces for living, cooking, sleeping etc. or different people or activities to form a public realm. The point of note is that Diversity is the law of nature and Unison is the human response to it for the very existence of life or for that matter, a city. But we do not tend to respect this law anymore. We humans ourselves make this pigeonhole by dissociating diverse human groups on basis of their social and economical backgrounds, thereby not giving them the privilege and rights that they deserve. This ends up making these unprivileged people homeless, including migrant labourers to a great extent. These migrant labourers are Nomads. And the project is named thus, NOMADS - ODYSSEY OF EPHEMERALITY. Where, Odyssey means, a long and eventful journey or experience. Standing at their place, with the hardships and struggles they do, its an Odyssey. Yet Ephemeral, which lasts for a short time only.

Module Evolution

Cluster Evolution

This short journey of their life is very intricate and eventful. The migrant labourers spend their whole lives as Nomads and it is really disheartening how they end up being homeless - as exemplified during this pandemic. This whole jugglery never takes the foreground, rather it becomes a background to the other prominent activities happening all over the city. In the developing cities these issues like homelessness is something that the people do not even care about, which puts a question on the basic right of living of a human being. The statistics indicate otherwise about this national issue. There are 78 million homeless people in India out of which 37 per cent is comprised of labour class including 11 million street children. The migrants have faced increasing homelessness if the latest figures are compared to 2011 census.

Module Details

The journey of unpredictable lives of migrants is a fragile aspect, which is rooted in their everyday lifestyle and customs. A few scenarios from the current situation are outlined below: - The migrant labourers make their temporary homes with tin, shed and tadpatris etc. which eventually becomes their permanent habitat, giving formation to the slums. - These homeless migrants celebrate Navratri Festival with the picture of Goddess Durga on the abutting wall to their residence. - The immediate shared space in front of their dwelling is interactive and vibrant due their participatory nature. - The unique character of their dwelling and the immediate surrounding is yielded by the chaotic organisation of their spillover spaces.

One of the core principles was versatility. It can be also developed in the sub-urban context. 85

Exploded Plates

The design intends to build a prototype that ensures a subtle balance between affordability and technology, which could be replicated at various locations due to its flexible nature of dismantling and reassembling. A solid prototype, which would be sustainable in all contexts, flexible and user friendly, that could be transported, attached or detached by the user itself. The basic idea of evolution of module was to attain maximum privacy and comfort within the unit. - The unit taken as clear space of 2.5m x 3.7m x 3.6m (height). - The unit is then broken into two parts: Private and semi-private. - The shaded shared space is given in front to each module for interaction. - The intermediate space in the upper volume further provides privacy to single and double occupancy sleeping. - The extremities of the module provide light and cross-ventilation to the unit. - Each unit is given an independent light weight structural framework. The very basic idea of evolution of cluster was to maximise the shared space and interaction. There are many possibilities of evolution of cluster to be developed but the primary aim of clustering was to retain the introvert nature of interaction induced due to clustering. - The units are multiplied in a linear fashion to generate a continuous shared space.

- The units are then stacked on each other for vertical growth of the module. - The units are then staggered in X-axis to generate a continuous shared space adjacent to the corridor at upper level. - The units are then staggered in Z-axis to break the monotony of the shared space. - The units are further staggered in X-axis to double the shared space at upper level. - A vertical core is then provided for every four to six units and smaller circulation steps for access to intermediate level differences and easy physical interaction and participation between each units. The concept and planning or designing of the module, i.e. 33.3 cu.m volume adheres to the idea of making a self-sustaining bubble with adequate privacy in a compact manner to maximise the habitable space within it. Each module has its private, semi-private and shared space. The upper level or mezzanine floor is totally designated to the private activity of sleeping and the Lower level Ground Floor is divided into two parts: 1/4th and 3/4th, out of which this 3/4th part goes to the semi-private activities of cooking and living along with attached toilet to it. This 1/4th part extends as an interactive shared space which is calm and shaded with the projection of the mezzanine floor. This thin channel section plates are used to sandwich these 3-layered wall panels which are supported in the vertical framework and are joined

by flat and L-section plates. The Floor - On the uppermost layer there is a prelaminated HDF board. - Then, there is insulation underlay; any water and heat resistant Insulation sheet can be used. - Thereafter, is a Super DHDF board. - Then there are super stud steel joists with round cut sections to support the whole assembly of the floor and to transmit the load to the base pads. - Then is a timber plank covering over the joists. - Then there are concrete base pads to increase the contact surface area on the Ground and distribute the load uniformly to the ground. The Wall - The wall is made up of three panels which are sandwiched between C-shapes MS section plates which are further supported by MS Box section Struts. - On both the opposite longitudinal sides, these wall panels accommodates MS window frames with openable glass panels to ensure thorough light and cross-ventilation within the unit. The Roof - The very first layer at the lowest part is the gypsum board which gives a good finish from the underside. - Then comes the GI corrugated sheet, which gives stiffness and stability to the roof and also carries the electrical conduits within it. - Above that is the fiber cement board which is

Axonometric View: Pune

Section

covered with a coat of damp proofing sheet and again repeated with a layer of Fiber cement board. - On the topmost again the MS Box section struts to provide stability to the form. In order to achieve the adaptability and temporal nature, a unit is created of several wall panels, each designed for some special purpose. A unit is designed to be easily dismantled and easy to reassemble as per the requirement of the user. These variants of wall panels can be used to scale the module as per the function to be catered and number of users to be accommodated. Within the framework of the finished module, if desired, the unit can house three or more members as per the need of the habitant. The broader idea is that when it is stacked and staggered, it results in formation of different open, semi-open spaces at different levels which adhere to the idea of community interaction and belongingness making it vibrant and active. The aim of the master plan developed on the site of Pune was to spread out horizontally with the height of G+1 in terms of stacking. This was a wide parcel of land with no contours and thus,

with maximum opportunities to create wide open spaces. Hence, aspects taken into consideration were, - Creating wide, shaded interaction spaces. - Maximising the use of natural landscape present on the site. - Creating alleys for face to face interaction. - And maximising the participation and involvement to create a sense of belongingness. One of the core principles was versatility. It can be also developed in the sub-urban context. Because, what is seen ubiquitously is a result of manipulation and humans are good at manipulating. If this could develop in this context, at least this manipulation would be in certain manner and make some sense. The module can also be developed in an urban regular context when it has to be developed in parts with small parcels of lands, if at all. The intention was to create different play of levels by virtue of stacking and staggering, to create interesting terraces and shared spaces and to create an interesting skyline along with a local character of its own.

The design also outlines the estimate of the module and its development on the site in Cochin. The aim of the design developed for the site in Cochin was to grow vertically in a compact manner to the height of G+2. This is a small site with number of contours, thereby giving opportunities to create more interesting spaces. Hence, aspects taken into consideration were, - Creating compact, shaded, interaction spaces. - Creating a good play of levels. - Creating alleys for face-to-face interaction. - Generation of interaction spaces below the module by virtue of lifting them with respect to contours. The module is easy to adapt in an urban context under different scopes and conditions. It can be a free-standing structure anywhere on the ground or it could be attached on to a blank facade of a structure or a billboard or it could be stacked up on an independent structure such as a bus stand. As with the former approach, the intention was to go vertically and create a different play of levels by virtue of stacking and staggering, to create interactive terraces close to each other and to create different open, semi-open and shared spaces to generate interaction and an interesting skyline thereafter. The module can be dismantled and carried to some other location. An approximate estimation of the overall materials used to build the module indicates that the tentative cost of a single module would go around INR 70,000/-.

Section When I think of the journey of the nomads, how they are hovering around, what they face and what they feel, this is what comes to mind: Without knowing the journey, without knowing the destination, Ten days without a bath, I am in search of a destined path. Sometimes in cities, sometimes in towns, Sometimes in seclusion or in middle of the crowd. With a bag full of pain and nobody to complain, Yet a sense of ownership I need to attain. I want to live a life, bit easy to survive, Not just to be alive, but with a meaning to derive. Where the rituals and rites forms, When the community combines. Living my life to make others live in comfort, To give them luxury, I live in dirt. Give me a space where alive feels my heart, Where each time I go, could make my life’s new start. This is just a kind of autobiography from their side which I tried to feel with my heart. And then there are these two site plans of Pune and Cochin. In the ambiance created on both the sites, Architecture takes the foreground and plays a vital role into shaping an idea, shaping an environment, shaping a community. The clustering, or for that matter, the whole design in Pune aims to foster a sense of community and build a symbiotic relationship between the modules by spreading horizontally on the ground

and creating wide open spaces to maximise the use of natural landscape present on the site. Each space and pocket has its different nature and ambience. The design in Cochin aims to foster a sense of community and build a symbiotic relationship between the modules by vertical stacking and compact planning to respect the compactness, natural terrain and landscape of the site to its utmost potential.The primary idea here was to make the vigilant use of the contours to make the spaces like these underneath the module, which could be used for informal activities like interaction, playing for kids and etc. What you see, is an organised formation of spaces, which is very normal to us, but this is way beyond what they expect in their life. And normal is happiness.

On Billboard

On Bus Stand

What I feel is, nature is the inherent part of Architecture. And Architecture is not always about building up but its also about opening up. You have to look out, live out. These labourers are craftsman, and what they do is craftsmanship. And sometimes what they make for us is nostalgic and Architecture is perhaps a nostalgia to me. And that reminds me of the saying by Wassily Kandinsky, “That is beautiful, which is produced by the inner need, which springs from the soul.”

On Blank Facade Adaptability of the module in a urban-context under different scopes and conditions

FINALIST

Dhrubajyoti Biswas Om Dayal College of Architecture, Kolkata

ICCHAKRITI Shelters are very essential element of our life. Although a building is a product of an architect’s creativity and imagination. It requires the hard work and labour of a construction worker. These people play a major role in turning a dream into reality. But the sad reality is that numerous workers around the globe are deprived of a proper shelter with desirable amenities. The design aim was to provide these people with an appropriate and suitable environment.

Kochi

Pune

Site Sections

FINALIST

Sanjana Aggarwal, M Sharoom University School of Architecture and Planning, New Delhi

THE PUSH-PULL It is ironic how the people who build the fanciest apartments often live in hastily assembled, makeshift structures that barely provide any space, privacy, ventilation or protection from the weather. Working within the constraints of durability, assembly time and cost, we have designed a 3m X 3m X 3.6m unit that can be installed on site without any tools, quickly and easily.

The modularity and flexibility of the design allows for many configurations, with any number of units - acting not just as living quarters, but also providing space for other community functions. The stable yet lightweight structure provides an easily customisable, dignified space for their families, giving their transient professional lives a permanent home.

Ghar: Abdul Kayum, Nasir Ahmad, Mir Mohammad Akbar (Bangladesh)

Home for Home Makers: Manthan Kirdat, Roziya Pathan (Pune)

Aswanth Ajayan (Kannur

A GLIMPSE into promising ideas, perspectives and possibilities that were submitted across the span of entries.

Sharun Christo (Thoothukudi)

Sahjivan: Omkar Redij, Aditya Sharma (Mumbai)

J B M Deepthi (Madurai)

Priyamvada Gannavarapu (Hyderabad)

Dharti no Chedd

r,Thalassery)

do - Ghar: Sharmen Mehta, Siddhant Manpara (Surat)

Karmik: Deeksha Kamath, Dhanya Suresh, Hatim Cyclewala (Manipal)

Toolbox: Amal Nair, Yash Shetty, Kirthi Pillai (Mumbai)

Siddharth, Abhishek, Saqib (Kolhapur)

Lok: Priyank, Anisha, Akshay (Surat, Valsad)

Temporary Lives & Pipes: K Sanketh (Guntur)

Patrycja Baran, Karo Li Na Morawska, Marta Tazarczyk (Gliwice, Poland)

Cube: Romit Khurd, Jahnvi Dave, Purva Sharma (Ahmedabad, Pune)

Aashiyana: Dhyan Patel, Sonali Badapanda (Ahmedabad)

Kamil Barszcz

Temporary Village: Sinjan Das, Sreya Acharyya, Kunal Naskar (Kolk

Aalay: Aveline Thomas, Jeenus Shrestha (Bengaluru)

zewski (Białystok, Poland)

kata)

Oliwia Jagla & Karolina Kaczor (Gliwice, Poland)

The Modular Unit: Aashumi Shah, Nikeita Saraf (Mumbai, Thane)

Punrutthan: Adesh Dholi, Pranali Borhade (Nashik)

Basera: Disha Patel, Sai Suklikar, Shreya Mandlik (Pune)

Stack-fold: Saanchi Jain, Gunraagh Singh Talwaar (New Delhi)

EMERGING THEMES Notes on common ideas addressed by the entries

In the stages of evaluation and discussions, multiple ideas and deliberations emerge. These discussions are broader tangents related to the contexts of the subject in focus.

TRANSCIENCE

DIGNITY

Essentially embedded to support a community, idea or public place, transient architecture questions the very form of endurance that architectural discourse has been emphasising on. These concepts help rethink common conceptions of how our cities are shaped and occupied. Buildings are often thought of in a static manner. Within the landscape of moving populations, this idea charts the social, cultural and architectural layers of the built environment in a different way. This role of transience allows us to examine the construct of housing - an anchored object pivotal to the processes of any migration, whether refugees, the influx of construction workers or lastly, as a support for disaster relief shelters.

Architecture is an important marker for recording and representing the condition of the status of these workers in civil society. The supplementary infrastructure is as relevant as the housing being provided for. Institutionally, provision and design of basic access to sanitation, water, safety are elementary requirements. Can architecture work towards an equitable sharing of responsibility? The crisis that India faced during the lockdown presents an opportunity to rethink the way facilities and place-making is structured for accommodating these movements and lifestyles. More than ever, it is relevant now to build our cities as spaces with access to equitable access to services, that is conveyed in a language of dignity and rights.

BELONGING, IDENTITY & COMMUNITY

FRUGALITY, AFFORDABILITY & ASPIRATIONS

As a catalyst, architecture can negotiate process complex notions for the migrants around their identity, culture and isolation. In conceiving, building and administering an urban environment, how can architecture negotiate liminal and disciplinary boundaries to create a sense of community? It is imperative to facilitate a dimension of ownership for the people who work and live there. How can architecture create levels of connections, shared values and ‘local citizenship’ for a group that cohabits a place for a particular span of time? How can it be inclusive for a diverse nature of the community?

Frugality & Affordability are social values in the context of Indian society. An interesting and absorbing part of architecture is the designation of materials and amenities. Cost resolution may not be necessarily attached to the use of a certain kind of material palette. As Laurie Baker once said, “The equation that a cost-effective house is a house for the poor, implying a bad looking house, can definitely proved wrong.” Architects can be born from principles that balances materiality, cost-effectiveness, aspirations, a collective idea of structures, situations and events.

CONTEXTS

RESILIENCE

What are the few contexts to consider when responding to such a design brief? These produced spaces may be ignorant of historical or social contexts but they may respond specifically to the interdependencies, adjacencies and regional impacts they are rooted in. The spaces around expand and contract based on how these new places fit in. Relatively, at varying scales, the architecture can respond to tangible or intangible factors of terrains or sun/ rainfall patterns. How can the form and orientation be designed accordingly? Housing is also open to the wider challenges and practices of densities, land values and markets. The integration strategy becomes of primary importance when designing for a temporary housing such as this.

A more inclusive and comprehensive approach can be contrived based on the statistics and information available for the migrant population in India. A multivalent system or adaptable environments can be engineered that lies at the intersection of architecture and migration. These systems can be designed with interconnected networks across cities, feature diversity, display unit designs across micro-macro scales, and have the capacity to self-organise and adapt. It will lead to community- and society-based solutions and broader environmental, social, and economic sustainability. These adaptable environments may be scaled or personalised in order to sustain a happy life. A design such as this responds to many scales - micro and macro.

CREDITS 2020

Partners, friends, colleagues whose enthusiasm and support drives this initiative

IN THE PRESS 2020

The media coverage this year that spotlights The Drawing Board and the winning teams.

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Aaj Ka Anand 01 December 2020

Kesari 02 December, 2020

Saamana 08 December, 2020

Hindustan Times 02 December, 2020

Lokmat 08 December, 2020

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Maharashtra Times 11 December, 2020

Sakal 03 December, 2020

Navbharat 01 December, 2020

Punyanagari 01 December 2020

Pudhari 02 December 2020

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PARTNERS Acknowledgements

This edition of the Competition was supported by the due outreach and efforts of our team and esteemed Partners.

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MKSSS’s Dr Bhanuben Nanavati College of Architecture for Women, founded in 1994 under the able leadership of Mr Avinash Wardekar and Principal, Dr Anurag Kashyap is one of the eminent architecture colleges in India.

Amazing Architecture is an architectural platform for publishing architectural projects for architects and students.

Leewardists is an urban forum which creates awareness about the importance of Design, Architecture, Sustainability and Urban Design through the medium of simple art of ‘Comics’.

India Design World is an eclectic curation of the works of Indian designers, architects, photographers, product designers and artists.

ArchitectureLive! is an online portal open to everyone who wishes to share projects, stories, news, jobs or other information related to Architecture and Design.

Spaciux is India’s largest online marketplace, connecting Interior designer and architect professionals with homeowners and clients.

Matter is an architecture, design and curation studio. Apart from architectural projects, some of their content initiatives are thinkmatter.in, Folio, [IN]SIDE Journal, the Frame Conclave.

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WHY PARTICIPATE The Drawing Board

The curatorial agenda of The Drawing Board is to create a culture of exchange with interactions, mentorship possibilities and a growing archival collection of references and ideas in an annual cycle. A problem statement will be announced every year around June.

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A PLATFORM

The Drawing Board intends to play a motivating role for students of architecture across India to excel and offer a gratification beyond a prize incentive. With a progressive approach, the objective is to make possible an opportunity for students to gain substantial exposure, showcase their ideas to eminent architects and evaluate the multiple outcomes realisable for a single site. The competition encourages the students to adopt individual convictions and develop their personal aptitude.

It is an alternative forum where a student can showcase their ideas without the traditional application criteria that is often based on the level of academic excellence. The criteria of evaluation rests on the impact, context and live presentation of ideas. It is an inclusive, interactive and a live-judged event. TEAMWORK & COLLABORATION

OPPORTUNITY

The options are well-structured, and consciously designed to foster collaboration and team-work. Participants can apply in groups and in tandem, while creating the design, allocate specific skills and cohesive efforts that work well with one another.

Sites that the competition addresses are canvassing opportunities for the students to engage with ground realities within a short span of time. A student gains the opportunity to challenge oneself. It serves as an extension to their academic environments and to present a chance to apply their abilities to complex, societal and architectural questions of our time.

PEER NETWORK The platform facilitates beneficial peer comparison and creates a sense of community where the students can get together on the review day and gather multiple perspectives.

ACADEMIC EXPLORATION & MENTORSHIP The themes of the competition are directed at issues of India’s contemporary contexts and concerns. Concerted thought has been put to design a process that allows the students to have additional strands of knowledge and supports them to reach out to inspiring mentors who become part of their exploration. Integration of this resource helps the students place value on educational dialogues outside of their studios, and to strengthen their concepts.

IMPETUS The competition is incentivised with a cash prize for three commendations. It also receives exposure from media coverage featured in newspapers, social media channels and interdisciplinary websites. JOIN THE CONVERSATION

EXPRESS YOUR CREATIVITY

These are just a few of the broad spectrum of benefits that students can achieve in the process. The Drawing Board is a continuous process that grows and refines itself with each edition. Every year, the competition grows into this unique format with a new experience, new site and new jury. We welcome all students of architecture in India to be a part of this journey. The details of the annual cycle are available on the website – www.thedrawingboard.in and social media platforms.

With no restrictions on conceptual exploration, the competition evolves from a simple brief and programme. The students can indulge and test their ideas in formats conducive to their preferences and representations. EXPOSURE In a worthwhile effort, the students go through three sessions of submissions and shortlisting, a sequence that outlines an experience for a totally diverse form of learning. An experienced panel of jury provides a critical analysis and review for the finalists and a student is able to collect viable feedback. It becomes a source of exposure and self-evaluation for students to help nurture their confidence and learning further. With lectures given by eminent architects, a student gets desired inspiration.

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www.thedrawingboard.in

thedrawingboard.in

Rohan Builders India

Rohan Builders

“This was a really different experience because last time Somesh and me were in one team. We did not make it to the shortlist. But this time, we worked really hard and this is what we got. We attended the lecture by Rahul Sir (Gore) and got many inputs from there. We understood how the structure is going to be, how it will fit into different sites every time and blend into the landscape. Thanks to Rohan Builders & Mindspace Architects for this opportunity. ”

INSIGHTS 2020

The winning teams of this year share their candid thoughts on their experience and process.

Purushottam Deth

“When we read the brief, we first thought it was to design a housing solution. We understood the problems when we studied the references of how they live, how they behave in such a small space. We got to know that the solution here was not just to design a modular housing solution but it was far more than that.” Someshwar Kachawar Winner:

Purushottam Deth, Nikhil Patne, Somesh Kachawar VIT’s PVP College of Architecture, Pune

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“Since last year, I was just planning for The Drawing Board competition. I am actually surrounded by a construction site. Every morning I see these workers doing their daily job. I thought I have an advantage and I should definitely go for this, and have a unique solution. We visited the site and collected thought processes from these labourers, and eventually came up with this kind of planning. I was very nervous during the jury because it was the first time I was presenting to such reputed architects. When our names were called out as second runner-up, it was a big deal for us, and quite unexpected.

“We had actually a great experience when designing this project. It was kind of difficult for us because we are not from India and we are outside of the context even though our country and India have similar environments. After we presented the project, the jurors started to question us and gave us pointers. We had so much fun since we experimented with our designs, and took chances. We are still telling our juniors about how much fun this experience was and enjoyable.”

In your architecture course, you should definitely go for this competition once. The whole process is worth it.”

First Runner-up:

Faisal Hossain, Sumaiya Sultana, Raihan Md. Sadman Ali Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET), Bangladesh

Second Runner-up & Viewer’s Choice Award:

Anusha Mukherjee, Naman Shroff Amity University, Kolkata

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“Designers design for the 1% – it’s time to start designing for the 99%. ” Nille Juul-Sørensen

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Designed and Published by MATTER. ISBN: 978-81-953123-4-4