PORTFOLIO Sharmishta Ravindran
Internship at HOK International, London Kamchia Park, Eco- resort Design Competition Entry by HOK 06.01.2010
HOK work experience While on my Internship at HOK London, I worked with the Planning Team on a competition project of an Eco-resort locasted in Kamchia, Bulgaria. The brief was to create a high quality resort that targeted luxury and upscale markets, while be driven by the highest levels of sustainabilty and be the best in Europe. The site consists of two plots, a 350 acre land area by the sea with a 7km beach stretch and an inland 400 acre plot adjunct to the forest reserves. The submission was made in January’10 and we won the project for HOK in August’10. DESIGN GOALS: •
Establish Kamchia Park on the map of Global Resorts
•
Leverage Nature and Culture to create unique selling proposition
•
Preserve the tranquility of the site
•
Taking precedents from the principles of One Planet Living,
•
one of the design goals was also to create a sustainable resort and bring benefit to the people of the region.
•
The
topography
defines
the
pattern
for
development. The natural zones on site are
Atmoshpere Sunlight
guiding the zoning for the •
development of Kamchia Park.
•
The goal of the development is to enhance the
Wind
biodiversity of the site by treating existing valuable landscape carefully and enhancing biodiversity in areas where there is little. •
An extensive use of sustainable utilities like solar aquatic qater purifi cation, biomass heating, reed
Earth
beds for, mussels for water decontamination are proposed.
Cut and Fill
SW Water
ECO CONSIDERATIONS NE
Plantations and views
HOK work experience
HOK work experience
DESIGN STRATEGY • One of the main design strategies was to recreate the Kamchia river. The river will serve as the connective route between the two sites, as well as an identity feature for the inland plot. • In order to create the new Kamchia River arms a cut and fi ll strategy will be applied. The amount of excavated earth necessary for the canals will be used as infill to create raised land for the housing near the water. • Uninterrupted beach views.
Image of proposed areas of restaurants
Image of proposed areas of living and recreation
UEL Urban Design Student work
Journey of a Drop of Rain
Sugar Lane House Manipulating the speed of flow of water
Olympic site
Sugar House Lane site
Thames Gateway
Lee Valley
Site in the context of London
Elevation through the site - existing
Stratford
Pudding mill
Sugar House Lane is located in East London, in the region of the Lower Lea Valley. Situated on the south end of the Olympic Park, it is a heart shaped isolated island with the Lea river and the Canal on two sides and the A11 running to the north. The site has been recognised as a Conservation area and a few buildings and yards have been marked as ‘Buildings of Note’.
Arieal view of the site
West Ham Bromley-bybow Canning town
View to the sire from the tow path
Site and its connections
Sugar Lane House
Less derelict Tidal Semi tidal Canal Hidden rivers
Corporate Communal Individual
Degree of dereliction
Impassable More derelict
Scattered open land
Flood risk analysis
The site being in the fluvial flood plain, I decided to investigate the site with regards to the sensitivity of how water flows and what it does on the site – an environment created by the play of water that falls on the site and surrounds the site. My intention was to introduce elements and moments that would increase the awareness of the user to the presence of water around the site and also encourage an increased interaction between them. My proposal is to introduce a sequence of elements that decrease (stop, store or gradually discharge) the speed of discharge of storm water into the canal and river. Journey of water - existing
Existing site connectivity
‘People are attracted to other peoople.’ -Life between buildings, Jan Gehl
Sugar Lane House My design also intends to add different textures to the site in terms of functions at different times of the day. I intend my proposal to introduce urban blocks that would be designed to function (in parts or whole) at different times of the day. Strategically placed, along the site and the waterfront, these will create nodes in the site that connect with each other, making the site accessible as well as creating spaces for social interaction. In addition, my intention is
Phase III
Phase IV
also to achieve a design that allows users from outside to enter the site and use it, occupy it temporarily or maybe permanently at different times of the day. My intention is be to increase the connectivity within as well as through the site. Also, increase the interaction of people as well as the site with water.
Phase III
Phase IV
Phasing guided through rain water flow Existing
Proposed
Sugar Lane House
Sugar Lane House
The guidelines aiding the slowing down of the rainwater runoff could lead to water senstive urban design focal points created within the development.
The development for the urban blocks and the infrastructure for the rainwater strategy would work in tandem through a course of time to eventually lead to a development that is not only sensitive to
A probable scenario of how the framework could guide a social, economic and environmental sustainable development over time.
the climatic and geographical location of the site but also enable trade and community activities. Sugar Lane House
UEL Urban Design Student work
ACCESS INFRASTRUCTURE IN CANNING TOWN Emphasis on Legibility created by a tactile Interest Zone
Olympic Site Lower Lea Valley
Canning Town
Thames Gateway
Nodes created at junctions of infrastructurewith pockets of left over land
Access Infrastructure - Canning Town Canning town has historically been a town centered on its infrastructure. The introduction of the railway line in 1846 triggered the development of industry in this otherwise marshland. The industry triggered the development of settlements around it for the workers in the factories. Since then Canning town always has had infrastructure as one of the main features of the site. Infrastructure has always been an inseparable part of East London since its development. Infrastructure is established in a settlement as a need for connectivity, but the entire area of East London had its infrastructure in place long before its need. Canning town at present is a chaos of this infrastructure laden junction. There is no continuity in the visual connections and the area has poor legibility. Negative spaces created due to the presence of infrastructure
Site uses
NEGATIVE SPACES: Earlier the rail bridges and flyovers created an associated territory around them. Infrastructurerelated activities could be easily plugged into the footprints created by these bridges. Present age technology makes it possible to build leaner structures for bridges. This means smaller footprints of the incision but leaves scars and induces left-over spaces under and around them. It creates odd shaped pieces of land isolated in the midst of movement. These kinds of pockets have been noticed to be generated around junctions of major traffic interchanges and stations. Priced land pockets are left barren because of the difficulty of access.
My proposal is the introduction of an element of access that would open up these blocked patches of land and maintain the continuity of movement in the area. This element caters to different function at different places. It connects the various parcels of lands; under, through and over. These elements would induce the formation of various activities around it; from being commercial, offices, residences or community places. One of the major intention is to achieve legibility in connections that would help ease of movement through the site and increase familiarity as well as connection to the other parts of Canning town; unlocking parcels of land to enable its use for activities currently unavailable to the area.
Access Infrastructure - Canning Town
Connections - concept sketches
Tactile interventions- bus station with an aquarium
Connections- model study
TACTILE INTEREST ZONE: There is a range of heights that a person on an average touches or comes in direct physical contact at. This range is from 1’-6” to 7’-0”. This is the zone of tactile activity. If this zone has tactile sensitivity, it heightens the experience (personalises) of the person with the object or site. Tactile interventions
The connection cores could be introduced in phases so that the existing users are discomforted to the least. The access element would be intruded first with a minimum optimum use around it. The envelope of development around the access element can grow with time according to the maximum capacity of the land pocket.
New connections introduced - shown in red
Work Experience
workshop on making perspectives...
Some of the 3D images I created during my tenure as a junior architecton the residential projects I wored on.
TA .E.R.
3-d ’s o f r e si d e nti a l proj e c ts
r o j e c t s
practical on using computers to generate 3-d ’s!!!
my tenure firm my at Udaipur These in areaaprivate few of consultancy my works during tenure in a private consultancy firm at Udaipur
Work Experience
One of my first projects I designed for an indivdual client, this propsal is a residence for a government official in India. One of the main requirements in the brief was to have spaces that were well defines as formal and private areas. He wanted a spread out plan and spacious in keeping with his lifestyle and status. The elevation has been treated to exude a stateliness that is commanded by his position by using locally available but quite ezquisite Jodhpur pink and red stones, similar to the ones used in the palace of Jodhpur, a city in India.
Work Experience
One of the working drawigs made for the project.
Work Experience