Architecture and Urban Planning Portfolio

ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING

B. Arch | M.S.Urban Planning and Policy Design Shikha Gadru

CONTENTS

URBAN DESIGN WORK FOR MIYAPUR METRO STATION Hyderabad, India

RE-MEANDERING OLONA

Olona Valley, Lombardia

CITTÀ STUDI AFTER HOURS Milan, Italy

BEYOND THE RAILWAY YARD Milan, Italy

URBAN REGENERATION OF PORTA ROMANA RAILWAY YARD Milan, Italy

MIXED INCOME HOUSING Manipal, India

ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Italy | India

PROFESSIONAL WORK

URBAN DESIGN FOR MIYAPUR METRO STATION

Street level infrastructure design for Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd.

Project Details

Shankar Narayan Architects Hyderabad, India

2017-2018

Client: Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited

The Metro Rail is a rapid transit system in the city of Hyderabad, India. It is the second longest operational metro network in India. In 2017, an urban rejuvenation project was launched by the Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd that aimed at providing urban facilities at the street level of the metro stations.

The project brief included the design of a 1.5km pedestrian stretch around

the Miyapur Metro Station precincts. Various facilities like bus stops, toilets and kiosks were designed, along with seating and an Inaugural Plaza.

The Inaugural Plaza was designed as an open garden with three arches representing the metro lines which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India.

Conceptual view of the Inaugural Plaza

Inaugural Plaza on the opening day

RAILING DESIGN

ELEVATION

PLAN

Main road

40ø C.R. Steel Pipes embedded in PCC bed

PUBLIC TOILET

Turbo fan for roof ventilation

oof in tensile canopy for good natural lighting pen for good ventilation

anel wall with polished stone slab

S structural member

amp

S structural member

anel wall with polished stone slab

ACADEMIC WORK

02RE-MEANDERING OLONA

Project Details

Sem 1: Urban Planning and Design Studio Olona Valley, Lombardia 2019-20

Prof. Antonio Longo Prof. Matteo Motti

Investigating the Olona Valley, this project led to realising four major themes that follow throughout the region. These include the themes of ecology, economy, heritage and a phenomenon of abdanoned buildings spread through the region. The valley, essentially a river system, has been used as a metaphor to describe the concept of re-meandering of the valley, with the formation of three tributaries of people, ecology and opportunities.

The three tributaries led to the concept: River made of people, river made of ecology and river made of opportunities.

In People River public events, meeting places, commuting and transportation were considered.

In Ecology River, the regional and national parks, agricultural fields and ecological problem of the region such

as contamination or vacant spaces were addressed. The Opportunity River focussed on tourism faculties, transportations, industrial heritage, and productive parts such as factories and research hubs.

Combining these three tributaries led to a proposal to re-meander the valley, introducing a new direction for Olona river. The flow of these tributaries is defined as goals leading to new levees or the strategies that have been proposed to develop the valley towards a new direction.

These strategies are multi-scalar in nature and can be applied to multiple municipalities along the river. A final confluence combining the actions of three tributaries was proposed in the form of a pilot project in Legnano.

Milan Reloaded: The Many Faces of Olona River

Ecological structure

Economic and demographic structure

Touristic attractions and cycle path

Vacant buildings

Concept of re-meandering

flows

Just like a meander has two major types of flow, our strategies can be divided

Just like a meander has two major types of flow, our strategies can be divided

Just like a meander has two major types of flow, our strategies can be divided

Create New a river made of people short termflows

Improve Daily Local Life

Create New a river made of people short termflows

Improve Daily Local Life

Improve Daily Local Life

Create New a river made of people short term

Re-generate the a river made of ecology

Implement Green fabrication

Implement Green fabrication Re-generate the a river made of ecology

Re-generate the a river made of ecology

Implement Green fabrication

Create a business a river made of opportunities

Create a touristic Experience

Create a touristic Experience

Create a business a river made of opportunities

Create a business a river made of opportunities

Create a touristic Experience

Strategy for improvement of green area

Improve the local accessibility to green area

Cultivation of native plants

Mixed-use spaces along Olona RIver

View of the redeveloped mill

OPPORTUNITY

Strategies for touristic experience

Multi-optional means of transportation

Conversion of industrial heritage into touristic facilities

ACADEMIC WORK

CITTÀ STUDI AFTER HOURS

Project Details

Prof. Alessandro Balducci Prof. Antonella Bruzzese

The neighborhood of Città Studi, located in the eastern part of Milan, within Municipio 3, derives its name from its original function, as an area born to host a main aggregational studying core. It boasts the presence of Politecnico di Milano, as a globally well-known competitive university, that allows the neighborhood to host every year students from all over the world, who systematically leave the area in different timing of the year, especially during the summer. The neighborhood embodies a high density core during the day, whereas at night and for the duration of vacations, is destinated to be a desolated district.

The uncertainty regarding the future of Città Studi, is accompanied by the current absence of attraction places destinated to spare time, for both students as well as residents. Thus,

the lack of services and green spaces, brings to the deficiency of gathering points, in which residents and students can meet. Moreover, the consequence is clarified by the non-existence of a sense of community, of an integrated and cooperative neighborhood that can share recreational activities in a key culture role.

However, the potential of the area, offers the chance to reach an improved liveability, through the promotion of mixed-use space, the improvement of social infrastructure and the introduction of recreational opportunities, in a future vision according to Covid-19 situation. Thus, the fundamental aim of the project is the introduction of the multifunctionality as a new relationship between users, time and space.

Sem 2: Urban Policy Design Studio Città Studi, Milan 2020

Strategic planning for peripheral neighborhoods in East Milan

Northern (residential) part of Città Studi

Central (campus) part of Città Studi

SWOT analysis of the site

From monofunctionality to multifunctionality

VISION AND GOALS

VISION AND GOALS

The most prominent activities that happen in the neighborhood are associated with the universities that forms it’s core. The concept of “After Hours” uses multifunctionality as a tool to establish a new relationship between spaces: living (residential aspect), study (universities) and leisure (public spaces); with two major types of users (residential and non-residential) and finally the idea of time: to activate the neighborhood beyond the usual curricular timings.

VISION

VISION

VERSITYSTUDENTS

U N I VERSITYSTUDENTS

U N I

LIVE

LIVE

RESIDENTS

RESIDENTS

MULTI-FUNCTIONAL SPACESSTUDY LEISURE

MULTI-FUNCTIONAL SPACES

STUDY LEISURE

EMIT

Concept of Multifunctionality

EMIT

Strategies to achieve the goals

Introducing multifunctionality in Citta Studi as a new relationship between users, space and time

Introducing multifunctionality in Citta Studi as a new relationship between users, space and time

GOALS

GOALS

Activate the under-used spaces

Activate the under-used spaces

Create spaces with flexible functions during different parts of the day

Create spaces with flexible functions during different parts of the day

Generate social interaction among users

Generate social interaction among users

PILOT PROJECT: STREET REDEVELOPMENT AT VIA CELORIA

Bike stand Cycle track Pedestrian path Green space

Food stalls near Pizza Leonardo Bike stand Cycle track Pedestrian path Green space

A

The proposal for street redevleopment aims at improving the social life around the campus. It includes the removal of cars from the pedestrian paths with provision of certain parking lots for cars and bikes. With Comune di Milano promoting the use of soft mobility in the post-pandemic re-opening of the city, there is a higher focus on providing cycle tracks and bike stands along the street. Small green pockets are created in between provided with benches for people to enagage in recreational activities. Apart from this, at the point of entrances to the buildings on either side of the road, there is a proposal for a pedestrian connection on the main road.

Pedestrian connection

Food stalls near Pizza Leonardo

Green pockets with seating

View of the redeveloped street

PILOT PROJECT: PIAZZE APERTE AT VIA GOLGI

The proposal Piazza Aperte at Via Golgi was presented to the Municipio 3. The empty patch of green space lies on a junction overlooked by universities and schools in the surroundings, turning into an empty street by the weekend. Through this project, the aim is to engage students as well as residents to come together to design this space that includes a pop-up co -working supported by PoliMi, a makeshift stage built out of old shipping container that can be used for performances, and a small pop-up garden and play area for children. With an existing food truck on Via Golgi, there is also a proposal for some new food stalls to increase the acitivity in the area.

Piazze Aperte at Via Golgi

PILOT PROJECT: CITTA STUDI MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT

Phase 1: Quick and cheap interventions

Phase 2: Infrastructure improvement upto 2-3 years

Phase 3: Construction activities post shifting

ACADEMIC WORK

04BEYOND THE RAILWAY YARD

Project Details

Sem 3: Energy, Climate and Urban Planning Studio Porta Romana-Toscana, Milan 2020-21

Prof. Eugenio Morello

Prof. Barbara Ester Adele Piga

The Municipality of Milan has embarked on a journey to revitalise the abandoned railway stations and tracks around the city in the form of the Circle Line Project. The regeneration of the neighborhoods along these tracks is proposed in terms of not only mobility infrastructure, but also with an aim to emerge as a new backbone for the city. As a policy framework, it also follows the Sustainable Development Goals promoted by the UN with a specific focus on SDG 11. This groupwork focussed on proposing solutions to the southern segment of Toscana - Porta Romana.

The area is an emerging commercial hub, with a proposal for the Olympic Village for Milan-Cortina Games 2026 and a part of the Reinventing Cities project funded by the EU. Following initial site study and research, it was evident that the urban area of

the neighborhood was surrounded by an infrastructure barrier in the north formed due to the ex-railway yard Scalo Romana, and a natural barrier between the rural area (Vettabia Park) in the south.

The area was further analysed with urban heat island risk assessment to identify the main hotspots and mitigation statregies. In order to overcome the barriers, the railway yard has been converted into a transport hub along with tactical urban inventions. On the southern end, the aim was to reduce fragmentation of urban lands through the proposals of naturebased solutions like green corridors and permeable parking. Along with these, there was also a focus on the soon to be constructed Toscana Station to strengthen the slow mobility elements that were not well developed in the neighborhood earlier.

A Green Hug for Milan: The Circle Line

Existing

Forestation strategy for green infrastructure

The green hug for the Milan is a project address the regeneration and re-discovery of the train circle line. This segment of the circle line consists of Milano Porta Romana station (existing) and Toscana station (proposing). The study area is about 7.6 km 2 with a population of about 86.710 residents.

The area is characterized by two prominent types of boundaries within its urban fabric- an agricultural boundary with the Parco Sud in the south and an infrastructure boundary formed by the former railway yard. These boundaries have caused fragmentation between the urban, peri-urban and rural fabric of the area.

Mobility pattern

Land-use pattern and landmarks

Urban fabric of the site

Experiential walk around the site

network

Forestation potential

Depavement potential

Green roof potential

ASSESSING CLIMATE RISK

Hazard: Daytime temperature

Exposure: Total population

Risk analysis

Capacity: Tree canopy + NDVI + water fountains + supermarkets

Sensitivity: +65 population

Master plan with interventions

DESIGN OUTCOMES

From large asphalt-paved spaces increasing UHI..

CLIMATE

To cooling islands increasing adaptive capacity of the site

Focus 1: Toscana Station

SECTION

STATION

STATION

PEDESTRIAN

PEDESTRIAN

FROM

ISLAND FOCUS

ISLAND FOCUS

SUPERMARKET

PEDESTRIAN CROSSING

AND

ACADEMIC WORK

URBAN REGENERATION OF PORTA ROMANA RAILWAY YARD

Project Details

Prof. Sebastián Irrarázaval (Sebastián Irrarázaval Arquitectos, Chile)

The MIAW 2021 focussed on the event of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games Milano-Cortina. It allowed for a multi-disciplinary approach that would make Olympic Games fisicallyresponsible, socially-sustainable and environmentally-friendly. The aim was to regenerate the site dedicated to the Olympic Games in Milan, with the intention of transforming the event in an opportunity for the city of Milan through a log-term regeneration process.

The concept for the site emerged from choosing the “branch” type of diagram in combination with the “knots” to create a sort of integration and swing between the site and its surroundings, north to south and east to west. The train track was chosen as the main body from which the branches and knots initiated, making one whole volume

that held all the functions. Once the composition was placed on the site, lego pieces were used to create a model that allowed to adjust the volume to correspond with the invented concept. In order to isolate the noise pollution caused by the train, the main volume was placed on top of the train tracks, separating the site into to sections while connecting the branches and the knots to work together as a system.

The circulation from one side to the other was provided by the inclined roofs of the branches, starting from the ground floor going up to the top of the podium, which serves as an extension of the green area, and continues through the inclined roofs of the knots and reaches the other side. The green belt within the volume that connects the east side to the west is located bellow the residential modules.

Milan International Architectural Design Workshop Porta Romana, Milan 2021

2020 Milano-Cortina Olympic Games and the City

Lego model showing the concept of branches

View of the site comprising of central spine with branches and knots

View of the central residential complex with a knot-type building

ACADEMIC WORK

06MIXED INCOME HOUSING

Housing project in Karnataka, India

Project Details

Urban Design Studio Manipal, Karnataka, India 2016

Site Area: 7.6 Acres (30,756 m2)

Built-up Area: 13,980 m2

India has been facing a shortage in housing stock and the quality of existing houses is degrading. Other factors like urbanization and increase in population have led to various schemes being provided by the government, like PMAY (Prime Minister Awas Yojna) for the lower income sections of the society. It aims at providing housing to all by 2022.

This project involved designing of a

mixed-income housing in the rural area of Kokkarne, Karnataka. The major housing groups covered economically weaker sections (EWS), low income groups (LIG) and medium income groups (MIG)

The aim was to provide a permanent housing solution for people living in remote places. The sizes of dwelling units have been taken from the National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy

Cluster plan

Section

house

Plan

Unit house (LIG)

UnitSection

Unit house (MIG)

RESEARCH WORK

1. City and consumption: Impact of tourism on the city of Goa, India

The farmer prays for rain...

The traveler for good weather and other short stories

2. Gentrification studies on the neighborhood of Sholinganallur, Chennai, India

GOA

Project type: Creative digital essay

Subject: Contemporary Cities, Descriptions and Projects

Place: Politecnico di Milano

Year: 2020

Teaching staff: Prof. Eliana Rosa de Queiroz Barbosa

Aim of the research: The project involved research on the topic of city and consumption with a focus on the impact of tourism on the state of Goa in India. The report has been edited in the form of short stories highlighting the social issues within the state.

Link: https://issuu.com/shikhagadru/docs/cc_shikha_gadru_23.07

Project type: Research paper

Subject: Contemporary Cities, Social Change and Policies

Place: Politecnico di Milano

Year: 2021

Teaching staff: Prof. Costanzo Ortigosa Ranci

Aim of the research: This paper investigates the process of gentrification and it’s impact on the Neighborhood of Sholinganallur in Chennai, India. The main issues discussed are the demand and supply drivers, as well as the physical and social impact of the process on the city.

Link: https://www.academia.edu/45641694/Understanding_the_ gentrification_of_a_suburb_A_case_study_of_Sholinganallur_along_the_IT_ Corridor_of_Chennai_India

Vasco da gama

Panaji Candolim

Baga Calangute Anjuna Vagator

Old Goa Margao

Edited byShikha Gadru K a r na taka Maharashtra

Project type: Research paper

Subject: Conflict Management and Resolution

Place: Politecnico di Milano

Year: 2021

Teaching staff: Prof. Carolina Pacci

Aim of the research: This research was based on the effect of Covid-19 on public spaces with an example of the Koyambedu Market Complex in India emerging as a hotspot. It focusses on the conflict among the vegetable vendors and government, and a possible resolution of the case.

Link: https://issuu.com/shikhagadru/docs/case_of_koyambedu_chennai

4. Pedestrian movement and visual orientation in public spaces

Project type: Undergraduate dissertation

Subject: Dissertation

Place: Faculty of Architecture, Manipal, India

Year: 2017

Teaching staff: Prof. Debraj Chakraborty

Aim of the research: As a part of the undergraduate dissertation, this research focussed on comparing various urban plazas and assessing them for their pedestrianfriendly nature. It further highlighted the importance of visual orientation in public spaces.

Link: https://www.academia.edu/31565822/Pedestrian_Movement_and_ Visual_Orientation_in_Public_Spaces

3. Impact of COVID-19 on the Koyambedu Market Complex, Chennai, India