S o m ri ta Ba nd yop a d hya y A rch ite c ture Por t folio U VA M . A rch 2021
S o m rita Ban dyo p ad hya y M. ARCH 2021 CANDIDATE, URBAN DESIGN CERTIFICATE
SB7EH@VIRGINIA.EDU SOMRITA.MYPORTFOLIO.COM
REGISTERED ARCHITECT, INDIA & LUNCH 16 EDITORIAL TEAM
Work Experience
Qualification
EX / INTERNSHIP
DEGREES
2021
Skidmore, Ownings & Merrill, DC
2021 - M. Arch GPA: 3.75
1 wk
Selected to attend weeklong Global Shadowship Program.
University of Virginia
2017
PAN Architecture, Gangtok
2019 - License
4 mth
Conducted site survey on hilly terrain, developed a complete construction drawing set that was passed. Worked with electrical and plumbing consultants to draw layout, collaborated with structural engineer to create detailed structural drawings based on STAAD analysis, developed a set of drawings of local hand carved architectural details.
Council of Architecture, India CA/2019/109623
2015
MNC One Design, Kolkata
2 mth
Developed a set of electrical and furniture layout options for a range of apartment units and created a set of façade options.
RESEARCH & TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIP
2018 - B. Arch: Honours School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi
AWARDS
2020
Empathic Design Journey | Prof. E. Cleckley
2020 - MOA Design Build
8 mth
Created a series of collages and diagrams using empathic analysis as a tool to describe layers of racial history in sites within Charlottesville. Produced a series of historic maps to create a layered history of the city.
Third Prize in design competition
2019 - Young Scholar Travel Grant
2020
20th Century History of Ideas | Prof. E. Putalik
5 mth
Conducted sessions to critically discuss lectures and readings and created a series of workshops for building a thesis through writing. Encouraged students to find their own interpretation of history by contextualizing its contemporary impact.
Panelist at IIHS Bangalore Urban Arc Conference 2019
2020
Collective Housing Studio | Prof. N. Brinen
2019 - Urban Arc, IIHS
5 mth
Guided students on the development of their housing project through precedent analysis, speculative design and technical workshops with emphasis on forming a critical stance on urban public housing.
Panelist for the category of Migration and Economic Linkages.
2019
Experiencing Architecture | Prof. Sanda Iliescu
5 mth
Guided new architecture students on drawing, model making, graphic representation and introduced them to the fundamentals of architecture and design.
Co - Curricular 2020
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
ACTIVITIES
Skin of Berlin | Prof. Brad Cantrell
Lunch 16, UVA
Gamification of a future Berlin under a system of corporate surveillance through haptic stimuli.
Part of editorial team
President 2020
Digital Gentrification | Prof. Ali Fard Geospatial power of rating systems in social media aggregating human and technological bias.
2020
Turning Industry | Prof. Shiqiao Li Mapping and historic analysis of the post industrial sites of colonial era jute industry in Bengal
2020
Perception of Echoes | Prof. Mathew Jull
Zephyr, Fashion design society SPA Delhi
Indian Institute of Interior Designers Professional Fashion show
Festival of Architecture and Interior Design Professional Fashion show
Role of colonial memory in the redevelopment of post colonial industrial landscapes 2018
Confluence of flowers | Prof. Arpita Dayal Mapping and historic analysis for the redevelopment of the Mullickghat flower market as a tourist destination
2017
Projecting 2037 | Prof. Rajiv Bhakat Urban outcomes of Remote work in India
2017
Knock down Architecture | Ar. Archana Khanna Place - making through the occupation of vacant land using portable architecture
2015
asculturemoves.com | Prof. Parul Kiri Roy Exploring spatial and cultural relationships between homeland and migrated land for urban migrant labour from Sunderbans to Delhi in India.
Skills PROFICIENT ArcGIS Ecotect Autocad Drafting Indesign
Sketchup Sketching Photoshop Site Survey 3D Printing
MODERATE Vray Revit Rhino Sefaira Arduino Enscape
Karamba Illustrator Lightroom AfterEffects Grasshopper Unreal Engine
Contents ACADEMIC 2021
Reweaving Industry | Kolkata Institutional + Adaptive Reuse
2020
LA Film archive | Los Angeles Institutional + Tourism
2019
Approaching Architecture | New York School + Housing + Public Program
2018
Confluence of Flowers | Kolkata Redevelopment of historic flower market
2017
Transit oriented development | Delhi Housing + Retail + Convention + Office
2021 - 17
Selected Research Projects
PROFESSIONAL 2017
Handicraft and handloom centre | Gangtok Site survey + Planning + Elevation + Services
2015
Worn Architecture | Delhi Festival of Architecture and Interior Design
Re - Weaving Industry INNOVATION + COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
Location - Naihati, India Site Area - 58,000 sqm Built up - 47,250 sqm FAR - 2 Academic Project Second year Graduate program University of Virginia Instructor - Prof. Shiqiao Li
The jute industry in India was a project of British Colonization; 150 years later, it is in a critical state of obsolescence. Recently, the Government of India has proposed a large scale investment in innovation in jute. The thesis argues that the reindustrialization of this colonial era industry needs to move beyond the same extractive practices, towards a new economic system that acknowledges the limits to growth and proposes growth for sustenance beyond a GDP. Decolonization can only be achieved by shifting the larger systems we work within The thesis proposal is to create a site of exchange between the two economic mechanisms of growth for profit and growth for sustenance to foster dialogue that weaves together a more holistic future of industry. This is done by creating spaces for research, production and preservation that raises the industrial economy, community and ecology through the adaptive reuse of the abandoned Gouripur jute mill in Naihati.
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Redevelopment Masterplan
Riverfront Promenade to connect people to the water
Revisiting Industrial Heritage through adaptive reuse
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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
Creating trails through abandoned industrial ruins
Memorial networks through the settlement
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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
For Sustenance For Profit
Program Distribution
1 - Micro Production Unit 2 - Business Incubator 3 - Machine Research 4 - Manufactur. Research 5 - Administration 6 - Maker Workshop 7 - Training Center 8 - Jute Greenhouse 9 - Outdoor Work Area 10 - Fiber Research 11 - Amphitheater 12 - Cultivation Research 13 - Canteen 14 - Marketing Research 15 - Product Research 16 - Preservation/ Archive 17 - Museum 18 - Event Space
A – Warehouse B – Loading Area C – Reading Room D – Library E – Daycare Center F – Entrance Lobby G – Café H – Theater J – Old rail tracks
Ground Floor Axonometric
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Mills as Grounds for Exchange
Develop the mill as an adaptable institution, built on innovation spurred by the exchange of ideas
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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
The mills can be opened up again as sites of cultural memory, nostalgia and architectural exploration as a hitorical typology.
The micro production units can become sites of experiment in sustainable production as a cooperatie between the owner and workesr
Mills as an an aspirational space for youth; as space that support insterest in engineering, history and deisgn.
Los Angeles A collage of neighborhoods of aspirations and styles of iconic architecture, united by the industry of Hollywaood
LA Film Archive INSTITUTIONAL + TOURISM
Location - Los Angeles Site Area - 1,300 sqm Built up - 4,900 sqm FAR - 3.76 Academic Project First year Graduate program University of Virginia Instructor - Prof. Luis Pancorbo
Inspired by the structure of the city, the form is an assembly of cubes tied together with bands symbolic of film strips. In a city of icons, the project creates a unique experience along the tourist circuit of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The building is a place of shade in the sweltering heat of the city where tourist can come in and rest while looking at the process of archiving. The voids create a series of terraces where tourist can rest. The lower terraces are public and the public character decreases as we move to the top with private terraces only for the employees on the private top floor. Appearing as a stack of cube, the voids within the building are made possible by a ring of steel trussed from which the building is hung from the top. The bands around the building are supported by a frame of steel members that further stiffens the structure in the earthquake prone region.
Site in relation to iconic Film Buildings
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Urban Axonometric
Central Atrium
Corner Atrium
Entrance
ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
Elevation along Hollywood Blvd.
Section along Hollywood Blvd.
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Basement Floor Plan
Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
Third Floor Plan
Fourth Floor Plan
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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
FACADE
FLOORING
STRUCTURE
A. Terracotta Panel B. Steel C Section C. Steel T Section D. Steel Box Section
E. Carpet F. Insulation Board G. Screed H. Hollow Core Slab
J. Steel Beam K. Steel C Section L. Steel Section
CEILING & PARTITION M. Gypsum Board Suspended Ceiling N. Light Panel O. Aluminum framed Glass Partition
Construction Assembly Axonometric
Facade and Floor details
Planter and Ceiling details on terrace
Facades and Approach along Brooklyn Bridge
Approaching Architecture SCHOOL + HOUSING + PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
Location - New York, USA Site Area - 25,000 sqm Built up - 30,000 sqm FAR - 10 Partner - YaHsin Chiang Academic Project First year Graduate program University of Virginia Instructor - Prof. Esther Lorenz
The project is a layering of experiences at urban scales from site to city through the facets of typology, facade, program and landscape.
mitigate the contradiction between the lofty glass towers and the dense masonry buildings through elements of density, color and reflection.
The Brooklyn Bridge, as it enters Manhattan, runs past the site; the building on the site is the first building that one sees when entering the city through the bridge. It creates a layered experience in the varying speeds of the car and the pedestrian and in the downward view through the elevated corridor. The location of the bridge further delineates the three distinct urban fabrics of the financial district, the government offices and public housing where the skyline changes from mid-rise housing to the towers of corporate offices on either sides of the bridge.
The Police headquarters nearby restricts the movement along the roads and pavements due to security reasons and to accommodate parking needs of the neighborhood. Though there are a number of green public spaces around the site, due to inaccessibility and disuse they are unwelcoming and unsafe. While the site is very critically situated as a lot of people pass through it to access the only two metro stations in the area, these factors have isolated the site from the neighborhood. The project seeks to resolve the confinement and activate these open spaces with programs like cafes and retail and create a larger public realm that serves the different people of the neighborhood.
Addressing the dichotomies of these urban conditions, the project seeks to create a connection between the two skylines with the two distinct masses of the slab and the courtyard. The slab as it occurs along the bridge creates a window to the city as it is punctured to create apertures into the city. The facade seeks to
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APPROACHING ARCHITECTURE / NEW YORK / 2019
Type A
Engaing program with voids + courtyard
Type B
Staggered rising volumes
Type C
Movement through site
Type D
Distributing public through the volume
Study of Building typologies
Built Mass negotiating the urban scales of the Financial District and the Public Housing
ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
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Continuity
Response
Privacy
Reflection
Contradiction
Study of Facade Strategies
Voids as public apertures for visual continuity and daylighting
The Facade is a composition of voids as public space. The glass and the red vertical louvers are inspired by the two distinct adjacent urban fabrics.
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APPROACHING ARCHITECTURE / NEW YORK / 2019
1. Existing Parking
2. Site boundary + New Parking
3. Site zoning
Site Zoning
4. Program Distribution
5. Site Circulation
Landscape Diagrams
Playground
Basketball Court
Outdoor Seating
Seating Cluster
Skate Park
ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
Site Plan
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APPROACHING ARCHITECTURE / NEW YORK / 2019
Program Distribution
Addition + Subtraction in Landscape
Public Programs
School Programs
Housing Programs
Program in Cutouts
Axonometric Diagram
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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
Volume Distribution
Slab + Courtyard
Plan showing Athletic Areas
Cutouts + Second Ground
Open Ground Floor
Plan showing Cafeteria
Activating Programs
Plan showing Swimming Pool area
Integrating Program with Cutouts
A Confluence of Flowers REDEVELOPMENT OF MULLICKGHAT FLOWER MARKET
Location - Kolkata, India Site Area - 72,000 sqm Built up - 41,000 sqm FAR - 2 Individual Academic Project Fifth year Undergraduate program School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi Instructor - Prof. ML Bahri, Ar. Rajesh Donge
Kolkata’s riverfront tells a tale of neglect and abandon. Along a strip on the river lies the site of the 180 year old flower market. Located at a critical urban nexus of economy and transit, where the dense urban fabric of fabric of commercial district meets the busiest railway station in India, the site is situated in a zone of transition as the bustling city diffuses into the holy river Ganga. Bisected by an arterial local train line, it also bears historic significance in the small ghat structures embedded throughout the riverfront and looming structure of the Howrah Bridge rising adjacent to it. And beneath the fragrance of its wares, thrives this mammoth market that is one of the largest in Asia.
With an aim to revitalize the condition of the dilapidated post- industrial waterfront and re-imagine the old flower market, this thesis explores the scope for tourism infrastructure in the Mullickghat flower market as it is redeveloped as a Confluence of activities related to floriculture, with an endeavor to improve and update the functioning of the market, retain and augment the jobs of close to 3000 people, open up the waterfront to the residents of Kolkata ans create a spectacle of the flower trade.
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CONFLUENCE OF FLOWERS / KOLK ATA / 2018
Pedestran movement across the tracks
Rooftop Market - Natural ventilation - View of the river - Restricts commercial activity
Urban scale strategies
Building around the railway line
Urban Strategies
Institutional - Public transport connect - Private public spaces - Direct access to river esp. for tourist circulation
Connecting to the bridge provides direct pedestrian access from the railways station
ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
Indoor vs Outdoor work areas / Informal + Formal
Connecting with public transport + ease of un/loading from the river
Creating a spectacle of the flower trade through visual anchors and framed views
Recycling flower waste generated on site through handicrafts production ,etc
Site Plan
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Building Zoning
Model
CONFLUENCE OF FLOWERS / KOLK ATA / 2018
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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
Sequence of shaded spaces creating a gradual progression to the river
Creating a walkable edge, green buffer with road
Directional Pathways creating a vista of the heritage structures
Public staircase integrated with green spaces, sit-outs and shaded areas
Expanding the colonnade to create a compact public space and increased shaded outdoors work areas
Landscape Strategies
Ground Floor Plan
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CONFLUENCE OF FLOWERS / KOLK ATA / 2018
Shop typologies
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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
Facade design
First floor plan
Affordable + MIG Housing
Office + Retail + Convention Centre
Transit Oriented Development OFFICE + RETAIL + CONVENTION MIG + AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Location - Delhi, India Site Area - 1,19,3000 sqm Built up - 4,34,000 sqm FAR - 6 Partners - Mahalakshmi HV, Rudra Sharma, Sumairha Mumtaz Academic Project Fifth year Undergraduate program School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi Instructor - Prof. ML Bahri
Transit Oriented Development in India focuses on locating residential, retail and workplaces at a close proximity to metro stations and public transport with a good last mile connectivity in order to make easier commutes and promotes walking and cycling through strategically located mixed use developments. The site at Rohini is one such upcoming development on the fringes of Delhi. Largely an empty area at present, it is stated to grow into a lively neighborhood with a mix of residential and institutional projects.
Hotel - 7,000 sqm Retail - 63,000 sqm Office- 102,000 sqm MIG Housing - 1,13,000 sqm Convention Centre - 13,000 sqm Affordable Housing - 56,000 sqm
The project focuses on site planning to create a pedestrian and cycling friendly zone by creating easily navigable routes, enhancing the walking experience through landscape and locating functions strategically to create safer streets.
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TR ANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT / NEW DELHI / 2017
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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
Vehicular
Cycling
Amphitheater
Pedestrian
Housing commons
Landscape creates a flow of space through a green corridor between the central public area, the more private housing commons and the informal market space that connects with the existing neighborhood.
Site Plan
Housing commons
Public Ramp
Retail Streetscape
Site Plan
Site Section
Internship : PAN Architecture EXTENSION FOR HANDICRAFT AND HANDLOOM DIRECTORATE
Location - Gangtok, India Site Area - 3,000 sqm Built up - 3,700 sqm FAR - 2 Internship Project Fourth year Undergraduate program PAN Architecture, Gangtok Supervisor - Ar. Naveen Pradhan
Stage 1
The small mountain state of Sikkim is the cradle of a beautiful mountain culture and home to the native tribal populations and migrants from Nepal with their disciplined ways and colorful lives. I had always been in awe of the architecture and the lifestyles and chose to intern at PAN Architecture in the capital city of Gangtok, which is the heart of tourism. Our office was designing a network of tourist attractions in the state and I was primarily engaged with the hero project; the new commercial extension to the state directorate of handicrafts and handloom in Gangtok; a building that embodied the culture of the state.
Stage 2
Since I interned during the construction season, I worked on site survey to understand the capricious topography and created the set of construction drawings for site and presentation drawings for client meetings while working with the structural and electrical consultants. Besides the site and building planning, I was also engaged in designing the iconic elevation and the handicraft details in its elements. Stage 3
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HANDLOOM AND HANDICR AFT DIRECTOR ATE / GANGTOK / 2017
Site Survey
Resolving Roof Truss Structure
Ground Floor Exhibition area
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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO / SOMRITA B.
First Floor Plan
The design of the facade combined traditional Sikkimese elements with a more modern stone cladding and exposed metal frames to create an iconic elevation.
Main facade with traditional ekra windows and the infinity loop
Entry Elevation
Worn Architecture FESTIVAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN
Partner - Imdadul Hassan Professional Fashion Show
Architecture is perceived as a series of threshold soft form and light. The collection seeks inspiration from this visual aspect of architecture . Conceptions of construction and structure have been translated into the silhouettes and contours of the clothing. The materials used, their flow and the texture have been inspired by the impression f shadows and reflection on surfaces. This has been achieved by the use of an unconventional set of materials like rubber sheets, metal, glass and plastic and exploring their sculptural qualities. Hard and soft materials have been combined in a way that is inspired by the interaction between nature and architecture to create a look that is feminine and bold
Research Projects
DIGITAL GENTRIFICATION The study analyzed the geospatial power of rating systems in social media and online ranking platforms that can lead to gentrification of places due to the aggregation of the inherited biases of technology, users and technological systems.
THE REMOTE WORKING PHENOMENON The seminar is an analysis of the new urban pattern of spaces generated by the radical change in peoples lifestyle due to remote working and how that change will manifest from the scale of the office cubicle at home to the new neighborhoods these workers will inhabit.
Technology and Urbanization Seminar Second year Graduate program University of Virginia Instructor - Prof. Ali Fard Group Project Partners - Irmak Fermen, Gabriel Andrade
Research Seminar Fifth year Undergrad. program SPA, Delhi Instructor - Prof. Rajiv Bhakat Group Research Partners - Pavan Kavikondla, Arushee Yadhav, Shivani Subba
TURNING INDUSTRY The study is a documentation and analysis of the economic and cultural forces that have historically shaped the jute industry of Bengal to speculate the opportunities for decolonisation of industry during India’s journey towards of reindustrialisation.
SKIN OF BERLIN Projection of Berlin under a system of corporate surveillance in a near future thought experiment. The Haptic System, converts the city into a simulation, an infrastructure of information. Users immerse themselves within a consumable virtual gaming platform, the measurement of their haptic stimuli begins to reform the city.
Thesis Research Second year Graduate program University of Virginia Instructor - Prof. Ghazal Jafari Thesis Guide - Prof. Shiqiao Li Individual Research
Berlin Surveillance State Studio Second year Graduate program University of Virginia Instructor: Prof. Michael Lee + Prof. Brad Cantrell Group Research Partner - Ian MacPherson