Saloni Shah Institute of Design Environment and Architecture , Indus University , Ahmedabad Email - salonishah.13.barch@idea.indusuni.ac.in
About me I try and collect inspiration from various sources – not only buildings or objects, but people, nature or moods to derive forms and spaces. I believe in sustainability and I am fond of working in non-conventional or vernacular materials and self-sufficient building systems. I am interested in exploring vernacular or sustainable materials and work towards understanding construction details and building systems of the same. I am looking forward to learn the construction systems on site with an enhancement in my understanding regarding the construction for different materials. I also want to learn to representation of drawings for unconventional building materials.
Allied Involvements
Skill
Vernacular Architecture of Kutch
AutoCAD, SketchUp
A walk through Himalayas
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign,
Narratives in East Coast, India
Microsoft Office
Bamboo Workshop
Rhino - Basics
Exploration in Balsa Introduction to the discipline of Terracotta Engaging the tactile and visual senses to shape material (Red Clay) into different forms Origami Workshop
Exploration Centre
Bamboo Workshop
public urban
1
architecture construction detail
11
Compact Housing
Building Construction And Details
public residential architecture
architecture construction detail
3
13
Extracting A Space From A Painting
Building Detail Design
architecture construction detail
architecture construction detail
5
19
A Look At Himalayas
Furniture Design
vernacular construction
miscellenous
7
21
Unplugged
Material Exploration
sustainable architecture
9
miscellenous
23
Exploration Centre Optically Looking at the site, it did not have any trees additionally it had a 9m high fort wall on its longer edge which added a strong historical context. The site is situated on the periphery of the city with fields around it. There is 9m wide road adjacent to our site. This institute will help in development and creating employment. As the longer edge of my site has fort wall, I would relish preserving it. As the site was near Agara Darwaja one of the gates of Patan the possibility is that the extensive rain water might come to site, So first of all I decided to plant a purifier which accumulates all the rain water from Agara Darwaja and site, and utilizes it on site for construction and sundry activities. The other most paramount decision was planting a plenty of productive trees and creating a landscape availing to engender a microclimate on site. the building would have solar panels which would help preserving electricity. The entire centre is made of First class bricks.This institute would avail students to train themselves in sundry skills and withal would encourage and fund sundry explorations. This institute would collaborate the conceptions of an architect or a designer with skills of artisan. Optically canvassing centre, the centre consisted of sundry semi open workshops such as carpentry, masonry, plumbing, recyclable materials, and sundry other materials. The peculiarity is all the units in institute welcomes north light white the brick jali wall on east and west helps in cross ventilation.
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Admin Block
Library
Material Lab
Discussion Room
Exhibion space
Workshop
Canteen
Classroom
Storage Space Residential Units
Architects Office
Process of Deriving a Unit for repetation
Discussion Room
Workshop
Material Lab Agara Darwaja
Library Fort Wall
9M Residential Units Admin Block Storage Classroom Architects Office
Process of Siting
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Compact Construction
Abstract Fins
Abstract Model
Slit for light to Penetrate
Research Cell
Conceptual model of Art Gallery.
Residence
Sectional model of Art Gallery.
Elevation of Art Gallery.
Quality of Light in Art Gallery
The initial model abstracted the quality of light I wanted in my project. Different curves were created with the help of POP fins and those fins were placed in such a way that the slit between two fins became an opening for light. Transforming similar concept for my studio I took perpetual straight fins placing them at different distances longitudinally hence creating pockets for light for a compact art gallery. Levels of mezzanines are created for increase in curiosity of visitors. While the form enables stack effect for better ventilation. The stripes grew from the ground level, and consequently form the skin as well as roof of the building. The fins were utilized latitudinal in similar way for research cell. Wind tower helps in ventilation, while the skylights on north helps getting in adequate light for the experts working in research cell. The compact house consisted of fins longitudinally as well as latitudinal. The house consisted of linear arrangement of spaces with openings in partitions promoting cross ventilation, while the aperture at the top of the staircase avails in stack effect of air. The light enters from the slits between the fins promoting the functional utilizations of the day spaces. The night spaces are placed on the top covering day spaces and keeping them cool during the day. The night spaces cool down facilely as it has felicitous room for heat to move out and make spaces comfortable for nights.
Unplugged
Interior view of the space
The exercise was creating a system which would give different qualities of light in hot and dry climate as per the programme. There were two qualities of light that were to be achieved i.e. diffused light for Art gallery and play of light for cafeteria beside it. The build form surrounded from east and west and roads were accessed from north and south. There is typical problem of dusty winds in hot and dry climate hence we decided to create a system where light is taken from the roof. The diffused light system was inspired by checkerboard of Chess. The eccentric squares on the even lines and even squares on eccentric lines were at same level, while the even squares of even lines and eccentric spares of aberrant lines were at other level engendering skylights on north south and beams pass through east and west. The overhang on the top squares does not sanction direct light to perforate. Thus the light in the art gallery is diffused and even giving opportune vision to the visitors optically canvassing paintings. While on the other side the cafeteria has different proportion of rectangles and apertures engendering light shafts distributing light unevenly on cafeteria. But the system remains same, apertures on north and south with overhangs and beams pass through east and west. The system does not require any external support for electricity as each panel in the roof acts as a solar panel which lit up the space during nights.
A Look At Himalayas The winter school took us to explore Himalayas and we landed to a village named Naddi. The small settlements had lot of things to deliver. The houses were placed along the contours with verandahs opening up in courtyards. The foundations are constructed and the plinth are filled with local stone which then perpetuated as a wall for ground floor; While the first floor was made of lighter material like timber or mud bricks. The cattle were kept on the ground floor in most of the cases as they radiate heat. In other cases bedroom and sitting space are on ground floor while kitchen in on first floor for smokes to let out. The roofs in most of the cases are slopping roof for snow to move out and are made of slate nailed to each other and purlins. All the documentation has been done propositionally using Anthropometry and sketching as a medium.
Purlin Batten Rafter
Mud Brick 18” X 9” X 6”
Cluster 2 House no 13 Ground Floor Plan
Cluster 1 House no Section AA
Stone
Typical Wall Section
Bamboo Workshop
Exploring Bamboo Joineries
Executing the explored joineries in the bamboo structure.
Building Construction Details Staircase Details
Plumbing and Fixure Details
Building Detail Design We had to design the layout of school and design facades details for the same. For East and West, We came up with a system of full height adjustable vertical louvers divided in two parts with metal frame which folds itself and becomes sun shed for the window behind it. The system can also be computerized. We have designed a jali for the courtyard on the south west corner which creates funnel effect for the wind entering in central playground. The jali is made of steel sections with different pockets filled colorful glasses, terracotta plates and some of them are left vacant for air to pass through. On eastern side and western side we came up with a system of fixed horizontal louvers with hydroponic vegetation which helped in cooling and cleaning air. On eastern faรงade part of corridors flooded with light as glazing was used. We made different details of our faรงade for this exercise.
The Iroquois of North East America The league was formed between 1450 and 1600 in Newyork , New England, Ontario and Quebec They knew how to bend and shape wood when green or after steaming. Longhouse dimensions – 80x18x18 ft. (24.5x5.5x5.5 m) 4 families dwelled in a longhouse.
Material And Technique Exploration The images next are my explorations in Basic design, Material exploration and History. The materials I have worked with is Cane, Balsa, Concrete, Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Terracotta, Mud, Timber, Stone, Cardboards, PVC, POP Strips, Acrylic, POP, Wire mesh, Bamboo. The techniques I have learnt are Poshe, Abstractions, Wall Paintings, Oil Paintings, Origami, Glass Painting.
Creating a space by using different elements of brick.
Abstacting human expessions
Creating a space by using timber construction system.
Material Exploration - Using POP strips for enclosure for my conceptual spaces
Abstract forms creating play of light and formation of spaces
Abstracting Torroid for creating structure system
Abstacting the Evolution of City
Introduction to the discipline of Terracotta, by creating basic pottery and murals.
Conceptual spaces created by undulating surfaces.
Creating Façade out of pigmented concrete for my case-study IET – Ahmedabad.
Breaking the abstraction in grids and creating a compostion using poshe as a technique.