Architectural Portfolio SandhyaSeshan
The Lair
Nexus
Street Furniture Design
Urban Betwixt
Urban Housing
Architectural Design Detailing
The Drift
Rebranding
Misc
o1 The
Lair
Retreat for Satyajit Ray A modest abode for the greatest filmmaker of all times, nestled in the heart of rural Calcutta with bustling life to call its own, just the way he liked it.
Permeable built form integrated with nature.
Narrow passages flanked by the built.
Verandas, balconies serve as a vantage point for a silent observer.
Courtyard space
Diffused soft lighting that sculpts the subject and the space.
Gateways that frame spaces whilst posing as thresholds.
Frames
by Ray
Concept
Value Proposition model. Need, want and demands as values to be delivered
Rectangular form mimicking the traditional bengali abodes with spaces stacked similarly on levels keeping the nature of function seperate and private.
The wants as the link between the two, binding both nature of functions
Zoning
Section A Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Baranda
The vertical connect
Courtyard
Master bedroom
Kitchenette+Dining
Private balcony
Need, want and desire
translated into spaces of interest inducing Ray to ponder over his thoughts. Here, architecture poses as a medium for expression of self.
Studio + office
Bathroom
o2 Urban
Betwixt To create a transition space with an induced positive influx that ensues concocting an experience for pedestrians moving from on point to another.
URBAN
STATIC
PROGRESS
SITE
A BRIDGE
IDENTITY
The site chosen is a hypothetical one inspired from the characteristics of the fabrics that the Brooklyn bridge connects.
The typology of a bridge is chosen in order to create a transitional space.
The structure apart from attempting to solve a need, adds value to the space and sculptural beauty to the identity of the city.
Connecting Point A and point B.
Inducing interactions through provision of varied functions.
B
A
A
B
PROCESS Soap bubble structures that form within a boundary condition (wireframe), tend to have minimal surface areas possible within defined parametric physical constraints, with intrinsic stability based on the constraints. This intriguing concept has been explored.
Temporal halt spots
Halt Spot A
Experiential path
Halt Spot B
Iteration 1 Iterating module on an arithmetic progression to create an oblong stable shape.
Iteration 2 The oblong spiral drives the user towards the centre where the structure opens up to a well-lit space.
Iteration 3 A minimal surface generated within the constraints to form variable spaces along its main axis.
Min. Ht - 10m Max. ht - 20m Span - 200m
Elevation
The dynamic nature of the flooring in terms of its peaks and lows, width, and texture, throughout the circulation, takes full advantage of the unpredictability of the minimal surface, while also effectively transferring its load, back on the structure. This overall unpredictability of the morphology makes it unique and intriguing in an otherwise predictable and regular urban fabric.
Cafe + Shopping
Details
o3 Urban
Housing To take up a live project for the rehabilitation of the Tsunami survivors of slums at Perumbakkam, keeping in mind architecural response, form, aesthetics, integrity and user experience.
Rehabilitation of the residents of the Slums after the advent of Tsunami.
Site - Perumbakkam, OMR, Chennai 3 acres (12,000 sq.m approx.) Maximum building height - Stilt +4 F.S.I - 1.5
Surrounded by Slum Clearance colonies of similar nature, high-rise concrete jungle of sorts.
User Groups: Housing for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Low Income Groups (LIG) and the Middle Income Groups (MIG)
Concept :
Corridors, the symbolic streets, as congregational public spaces with active niches in all blocks to call their own. Vertical placement of the same with view points to ensure visual connectivity on all levels for the inhabitants.
Circulation in slums mostly horizontal in nature through streets and voids.
SITE PLAN
Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) block 24 Number of floors : 2 Number of units :
Number of units per floor : 12
Carpet area of individual unit - 25 sq.m
Block Plan
EWS Unit
Section A
Lower Income Group (LIG) block 80 Number of floors : 4 Number of units :
Number of units per floor : 20 Carpet area of individual unit sq.m
LIG Unit Block Plan
Section A
60
Middle Income Group (MIG) block 64 Number of floors : 4 Number of units :
Number of units per floor : 16 Carpet area of individual unit sq.m
85
MIG unit 1
Block Plan
MIG unit 2
Section A
Corridors - Circulation - Community interaction
o4 Nexus An urban node bringing in varied social groups in an attempt to initiate and propagate interaction for holistic communal well-being.
Leisure - the standard definition noun “Time when one is not working or occupied; free time.”
Decoding the meaning of the term “ Leisure” and the manifest of the same in the city context for a particular site.
The construed definition : Work, usually monotonous and tiring. Leisure, synonymous with heterogeneity and hence, something to look forward to. Only, work and leisure can be one and the same. Day - to - day activities, even though monotonous can induce leisure and careful integration of the two can prove useful for the effectiveness of both functions.
Work Leisure
The required result
Site - Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai Site area - 5 acres ( 20,000 sq. m) Landmark - Adjoining Ashok PIllar Existing built - Abandoned Storage warehouse.
User Groups : Residents Worker Community ( specifically Migrant Workers) IT professionals IT Workers
Evident seperation of the Worker community from the rest due to growing concerns of security and taboo. Residents
Leisure for Ambattur deemed a holistic approach which dealt with improvement of existing and the provision of new function that would resonate with the user groups on social, economical and cultural grounds.
Consideration of existing concerns and problems and provision of an indirect solution through means of recreation was the primary aim. Selection of a site with potential of transforming into a primary lung space and a pause for the Ambattur community.
Lack of uninterrupted footpaths due to constructions and encroachments. Plausible solution: Provision of shaded walkways flanked by functions of recreational nature.
Breach of security, a constant fear due to increasing migrant worker community. This tackled through provision of high grounds and placement of over head functions serving as vantage points through intact visual connectivity.
Elevated cycleway to instill a new typology to promote active use of public space; which is now evidently lacking in Ambattur.
The cycleway reached a maximum height of 7m at the central node.
Strategic landscaping (Play mounds) to provide intimate yet safe surroundings which would deem useful for all groups of the community.
Shaded walkways to promote public to embrace nature and to instill communal interaction. Cycle racks for storage and renting of cycles for users who wish to stroll/ride through the park.
Transformable workshop spaces to conduct occasional classes for the interested. When not in use, it serves as rest spaces.
Transformable retail space and food court for the satisfaction of users.
Other works
Houses of Mylapore - Documentation Triple O studio, Chennai
Detailed Drawings
The threshold of the threshold, the path from one’s abode brings in emotions of initial shock and denial. Whilst some see this procession as a celebration of the lost life, the kin go through emotional trauma.
o6
The
Drift
Meandering through a boundary-less realm.
Unnoticed, invisible rules imposed of oneself, inducing humility and obedience as one enters into a burial ground/ crematorium. The excitement is mellowed down to a subdued form of ambiguity where one feels lost or ready to surrender.
The ultimate seperation. Final manifestation of an imposed void: the final minutes with the departing soul and the subsequent physical absence that ensues. This is to be endured organically which is not the case.
The lack of a neutral medium to pose as a catalyst in accomodating the grieving process of those alive.
A reversible state of mind, Liminality in all sense is capable of engineering a flux which further catalyzes a strong action to follow. A space with this quality holds in itself the varying intensities of the extremes it connects. The transition between life and death is a liminal one with the flux being linked to the state of mind. The reversed scenario additionally talks about the fludic transition to reality with induced mentality to change for the better. This transition progressively increases or decreases in terms of the destination in question, here life or death.
Facilitation for Re-assimilation. The image of the space for the dead resonates with array of tombs and forbidden spaces for cremation.
By the replacement of the tombs by foliage, the deceased seem to have now metamorphed to another form which generates positivity on the visitors breaking the stigma associated with such spaces.
This need to address the lack of such spaces that facilitate the grieving process proved to be necessary. Â Â
Proposal :
The already rigid, closed off cremation space is made spacious with generous openings to let in light.
Eerie, hostile grounds transformed into urban green pockets  possibly acting as lung spaces.
o7 Street Pull
to form an elongated seat as per accomodation needs.
Furniture Design On-the-spot design competition
Pinch
to demarcate a seating space for an individual, hence a divider.
Task: To design a street furniture model conducive to local context.
Intent : Furniture design with a social impact.
Extrude
the seat to form a makeshift bed spanning the width of the pavement. Hence, during the day proving to be a disturbance and is to revert back to functioning as a seater.
Context based problems like sleeping on pavements during nights which proves detrimental to other functions and crude based on humanistic values.
Polycarbonate roofing (translucent)
Polyethylene seater (telescope mechanism) Seater layer Make-shift bed (extrusion)
A shelter during the day to sit on and a make-shift shelter at night, this prototype would improve sleeping conditions of the homeless.
Branding
o8 Branding
Logotype
graphic design
Task:
Specifics
Construction
Branding/rebranding for a water bottle packaging, including logotype, specifics and labeling.
Label
The unique taste of AIS comes from the careful balance of naturally enriched organic minerals that serves a purpose for greater than jut quenching your thirst. AIS is enriched with 300% more oxygen and other vital organic minerals that enhance the experience of taste and feel which can be senseed in every sip. Bottled at the source, AIS water is a taste hand crafted by nature and one that cannot be replicated by human hand.
Hands-on Workshop
Rurals - Vallimadurai
Urban design - Srirangam
Spatial Exploration - Cubes
Model Making
Urban design - Srirangam
Acrylic on Canvas
Sketching Sketching ++ Painting Painting
Satire in Architecture
Photography
Sandhya Seshan E-mail ID : sandhya.seshan96@gmail.com Contact :+917904906329