Tasmia Kamal | Architecture & Design Portfolio

TASMIA KAMAL

RESUME + ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN PORTFOLIO

M.Arch Candidate: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign B.Arch: BRAC University

tasmiak2@illinois.edu | +1(772)924-6805

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasmia-kamal/ Portfolio: https://issuu.com/tasmiakamal/docs/tasmia_kamal_design_portfolio

Education:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Master of Architecture, Concentration: Urbanism |

Current CGPA: 3.97/4.00

Recipient of the fully funded Fellowship program.

BRAC University, Bangladesh

Bachelor of Architecture | 2017

CGPA: 3.79/4.00

Graduated with High Distinction. Awarded for the Best Graduating Thesis Project.

Work Experience:

Architectural Intern: HDR, Chicago

May 2022 - August 2022

December, 2022

Honors and Awards:

First Prize: Graduate Award for Design Excellence, Spring 2021

For the studio project “A Pantone Pixelscape: Negotiating Thresholds through Gradients”. It was a joint collaborative studio between the Department of Landscape Architecture and the Department of Architecture along with Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona led by Professor Sara Bartumeus.

Third Prize: AIA Chicago Award in Architecture Student Competition 2021

Won third prize among 24 outstanding and innovative projects submitted from five schools in Illinois.

https://www.aiachicago.org/about/aia-chicago-foundation/

Second Prize: Gertrude Llemp Kerbis Scholarship, Chicago Women in Architecture (CWA) Foundation 2021

This annual scholarship is in honor of the Chicago Women in Architecture (CWA) founder, Gertrude Lempp Kerbis (1926–2016) for the female students of an Illinois-based undergraduate or graduate architecture program. https://arch.illinois.edu/about-us/news/student-tasmia-kamal-wins-cwascholarship/ https://cwarch.org/cwa-scholarship/cwa-scholarship-winnerannouncement-2021/

Worked on schematic design and design documentation for a research facility, factory, and hospital design. Worked on the company’s internal yearly competition, Opacity, and organized AIA boards for exhibition.

Graduate Teaching Assistant: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

August 2022 - Present

Responsible for teaching the basics of design and softwares to the Freshmen Design Studio in the Architecture program.

Graduate Research Assistant: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

August 2021 - Present

Working on the integration of public spaces in Barcelona. Editing publications under Professor Sara Bartumeus. Editor of Archon Monograph, under the supervision of Professor David Chasco.

Lecturer: BRAC University, Bangladesh

August 2018 - December 2020

Responsible for teaching design studios to students of different years. Extensively taught construction methods and design graphics at the first and second year levels. Member of the Angan lecture series, exhibition and cultural committee.

Teaching Assistant: BRAC University, Bangladesh

September 2017- July 2018

Responsible for guiding and mentoring students at design studios, graphics design and theory courses. Proactively helped professors in creating course materials and taking class records.

Associate Architect: Ayoteek, Bangladesh

March 2017- September 2017

Worked on residence design, construction approval drawings, competition projects and interior design projects of residential buildings.

Architectural Intern: Sangath: Vastushilpa Consultants, India

May 2015- August 2015

Worked under Pritzker Laureate B V Doshi in different projects such as university, memorial complex and residence. Learnt about materials, construction drawings, urban issues and complex design processes and was proactive in multiple office works.

James M. White Memorial Prize, 2021

Graduate School Fellowship Award: Goetsch Fellowship and the Allhands Fellowship.

Second Prize: ARCHON Design Studio, Spring 2022

Best Paper Award: The 1st International Symposium on Sustainable Rural Built Environments (SRBE): From Engagement to Impact, 2020

For the paper titled “Habitat with People – an Incremental Community-Driven Approach of Low-Income Housing Design”, co-authored by S M Kaikobad in the parallel session “Rural Community Engagement in Design and Construction.”

Panelist: Kurula Varkey Design Forum (KVDF), Ahmedabad, India, 2017

Undergraduate thesis project selected among 200 architectural schools in Asia. https://www.kvdforum.in/2020/06/19/tasmia-kamal/

First Prize: Noman Award for Excellence in Design for the Best Graduating Thesis Project, 2016 Award given once every year to a student with the best graduating design project from the Department of Architecture, BRAC University, to enhance student’s active participation in architecture design process. https://contextbd.com/integrated-handloom-cluster-for-weavers-collectivisation/ https://www.bracu.ac.bd/news/celebration-fourth-cycle-‘-noman-awardexcellence-design’-naed-2016

First Prize: Rafiq Azam Travel Bursary (RATB) Scholarship for Sri Lanka, 2015

Award given every year to a student with the best presentation skills. A grant is given in order to explore a new country and acquire knowledge.

Second Prize: NSU Design Charrette

Bangledeshi Delegate: ARCASIA Student Jamboree, Malaysia, 2014

Skills and Interest:

AutoCAD | SketchUp | Adobe Photoshop | Adobe InDesign | Cove.Tool Adobe Illustrator | Revit | Lumion | Enscape | Rhino | Microsoft Word | Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Powerpoint | Model Making | Hand Drawing

Music | Photography | Digital Illustration | Sketch | Travel

TABLE of CONTENTS

A PANTONE PIXELSCAPE

Negotiating Thresholds through Gradients

THE CHICAGO APEX

Incorporating the Context

THE ARTIST’S ABODE

INTEGRATED HANDLOOM CENTER

A Platform for the Weavers

An Essential House for an Artist URBAN BUSINESS HOTEL

Designing a Convention Hotel: 130 key

A WALK THROUGH THE AGES

The Emerging Built Environment

URBAN ZED

Investigating the Z-axis of urban public spaces

DEPLOYABLE STRUCTURE

Prestressed structures: Form follows motion

PLAYSCAPE

Designing an Elementary School

EXPLORING THE UNCHARTED PATHWAYS

Habitat with People

PROFESSIONAL WORK

Competition Project, Office, University

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

A compilation of my Photography, Sketches and Illustrations

1|

A PANTONE PIXELSCAPE NEGOTIATING THRESHOLDS THROUGH GRADIENTS

Academic Barcelona Studio Professor: Sara Bartumeus

Collaborator: Cesar Gomez

Sant Feliu de Llobregat is a city in the province of Barcelona. With the La Salut dry stream running through, the city is in close proximity to the Collserola Natural Park and the Llobregat River. The goal of the project is to reimagine, redesign and restore the relationship between Collserola Natural Park & Llobregat River following the natural stream of La Salut through the town of Sant Feliu with an integrative design approach. The main project goal was to redefine this relationship through the La Salut stream which connects the two, through better articulation of the blue and green infrastructure to a more resilient territory through three main aspects: biodiversity, connectivity, and productivity; and by creating thresholds through gradients in the form of pixels.

*Graduate Award for Design Excellence, Spring 2021: First Place

*AIA Chicago Award in Architecture Student Competition 2021: Third Place

*Gertrude Llemp Kerbis Scholarship, CWA: Second Place

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PIXELATED RATIOS

The process started with experimenting with the intensity of the three aspects throughout the site in small pixels, where the variations were found. The area selected was defined by the watershed of the stream and the topography. Next step included overlapping the different variations to see the combination of the percentage of the three aspects in different forms. It was seen to be in different pixelated ratios throughout the stream in different zones, which gave an idea about the possible opportunities. Finally when all the three aspects were combined, the integration of the three aspects together throughout the stretch was found, which gave rise to new hues and shades, showing new possibilities and opportunities to strengthen the relationship between the natural habitats.

Exploring the density of the main aspects in the site through a system of colored pixels.

Ideating possible combinations of main aspects for a more connected and balanced site.

Mapped combination of colored pixels generating new opportunities.

Residential and commercial units create a dense zone in the urban fabric. Different mixed use residential spaces open up to the streets in the ground level adjacent to the stream.

Industrial sector culminates in the north, leaving behind small islands in between, thus creating a discontinuity of natural systems and harsh transition. Heavy rainfall results in

The stream along the periphery shows friction of the land uses and fragmented green spaces and parks throughout the urban fabric.

Major plazas around the stream turn into bustling hubs of events and programs.

Identifying existing green and public locations to understand possible opportunities for intervention.

Interlinking and strengthening the relationship with the La Salut stream through three new Connectors, generating a whole system of connectivity.

Integrating the spaces through a probable constellation that weaves and merges the two, thus generating a network of connectivity, stitching the spaces to become a unified system.

FORMATION OF THE NEW GRADIENT

This completed pixel map depicts the suggested interventions along the stream and the ones recommended in the existing public locations. These design interventions will be applied along the La Salut stream and the main connecting streets to soften edges and create inviting thresholds between land uses. The gradient of colors creates a more diverse and connected site. The drastic and harsh change between land uses is transformed into a soft gradient. The fragmentation in the site is removed as a new system of connections is created through the pantone. This is expected to be a catalyst that will promote similar changes and connections along Sant feliu de Llobregat.

Linked to Biodiversity and Productivity

Each intervention is linked back to these two main concepts and will be placed or suggested in specific locations to represent a mixture of the two.

Connecting colors between Productivity and Connectivity.

Each intervention has a representing color that will come together to create a new gradient in the site.

Linked to the concept of Connectivity and Biodiversity

It was important to connect all three concepts to each other to create all the possible colors that may arise from the thresholds.

FIRST THRESHOLD: INDUSTRIAL AREA

Looking at the urban edge, a main problem is the island of industrial buildings. The design interventions were used in order to blur this line and create a soft transition between the natural park and the city. The transitions that the site faces include dry and wet seasons. Therefore a threshold between these two seasons were planned. This is an industrial area where the structures are mainly unused. Proposing to reuse this area as a park for the community, by bringing the public closer to the Collserola park, filtering more green spaces to the industrial zone.

A closer look at one of the first proposed areas of intervention.

The park is a place where people meet up, a place where traditions, legends and popular customs are rooted. It is also a place of great visual beauty that provides an opportunity for positive contact with nature, artistic development and discovery.

For increased biodiversity, identifying plant life that will succeed in the site without negatively impacting the environment is crucial. Tree and shrub species that are already part of the environment are identified and that will help soften the hard edges of the site..

Flexible landscape for a complex and transitory environment in Sant Feliu.

Working with native flora to re-naturalize the fabric.

THRESHOLD BETWEEN THE PARK AND THE URBAN AREA

These sections depict the shared ecotone between people, flora and fauna. They also demonstrate the softer city edge that leads into the natural park. Retention ponds are shown that remains dry throughout the year, and transitions into water during the rainy season.

Section AA’

Section BB’

Shared Ecotone: Retention ponds during rainy season; merging with the landscape.

THRESHOLD BETWEEN THE PARK AND THE URBAN AREA

Taking a closer look at the new threshold, there are very little hard edges between the textures. By softening these edges, a blur between land uses was created for a more connected site. To retain the memory of the industrial zone, some of the building walls were retained as a memory of the space.

Transitional space works as a buffer and a connector with the Natural Park.

Mitigating the thresholds at a smaller scale: No boundaries between textures.

SECOND THRESHOLD: URBAN AREA_PLAZAS

Open plazas in between the buildings, generating a transitional moment, creating an opportunity to intervene and choreograph a space.

A space mutates through time and relates with its materials, elements, details, transitions, and these open plazas in the city integrate with the fabric, serving as a space for community engagement and different festivals.

A closer look at the second proposed areas of intervention. Water being a vital element of the city, we realized it is very important to work with the materials in the city, and generate thresholds not only in spatial essence, but also in terms of the pavements.

Ground surface perforated with pockets of draining stones as clusters of drops that capture water, retain it and bring the excess to strip gardens. Making visible the relation between surface landscape and substrate, creating a transect of materials.

Entry to the plaza with slight interventions in terms of materiality in the textures and making the public space more vibrant.

The section in Placa de Catalunya depict the Transition between the layers in the urban area.

THIRD THRESHOLD: AGRICULTURAL AREA

This is another of our proposed areas of intervention which acts as a buffer between the fabric and the agricultural park. To bring the river closer to the urban fabric by connecting it through.

The stream in this site is held by an open channel that is not public or ecologically friendly. To create a sense of openness we propose to enhance pedestrian circulation by creating a public friendly channel and bringing the people closer to the river.

A closer look at the third proposed area of intervention. Less infrastructure makes this space more attractive, people bike and walk by this river. To enhance the space by negotiating the third threshold space in this region and create a soft transition.

THRESHOLD BETWEEN THE AGRICULTURAL PARK AND THE URBAN AREA

The sections depict the shared ecotone between people, flora and fauna and the softer city edge that leads into the agricultural park.

Section BB’

Section AA’

Edge of the urban fabric transitions into the space and merges with the landscape, creating a moment of transition.

THRESHOLD BETWEEN THE AGRICULTURAL PARK AND THE URBAN AREA

This agricultural area is mainly privatized but some pocket spaces have been generated which acts as a buffer between the urban fabric and the river, thus creating an ecotone.

Edge of the urban fabric transitions into the space and merges with the landscape, creating a moment of transition.

Taking a closer look at the new threshold, there are very little hard edges between the textures. By softening these edges we aim to create a blur between land uses for a more connected site.

Path through the agricultural area with the water stream which has a porous layer and the agricultural fields are on both the sides with its beautiful landscape.

Mitigating the thresholds at a smaller scale: No boundaries between textures.

Against Borders | Designing Thresholds

Redefining the transition between the Collserolla Park and the Agricultural Park through transects and designing porosity through negotiating thresholds.

DESIGN PHASES

To implement these changes, the project was broken down into three comprehensive phases: engagement and information gathering, redeveloping the urban infrastructure and widespread change

THE CHICAGO APEX INCORPORATING THE CONTEXT

Academic Highrise Studio Professor: Paul Armstrong

Collaborator: Rani Zaid-Kaylani | Vaishnavi Gillala

The site is located in Chicago’s Streeterville district, on the north bank of the Chicago river. This is an area of growing demand for housing and hotel accommodations with a heavy pedestrian flow along the river-walk. The location is premium because of the incredible views they provide of Lake Michigan and the skyline of the Loop. The final form serves as an icon for the city’s skyline having a generous public space at its base. The podium along with the slender tower, rises from the hotel to the residence at the top. It provides view cones on all floors to the city and activates the pedestrian street. The tower maximizes its mass where it has the most impact, which is at the ground level. As it ascends upwards, it rotates and rises and gives visual access around the site.

*Graduate Award for Design Excellence, Fall 2021: Nomination

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The diagram shows the location of the project along with the site analysis that generated the derivation of the form.

Pedestrian and vehicular movements were analyzed that generated the functions.

Site Analysis

CONCEPT DIAGRAM

Site: 34,000 sft (approx.)

The site is attracts a lot of pedestrian because of its location along the river walk. The pedestrian flow depicts its impact on the ground plane and potential spaces for driveway and central public area.

Initial idea was to extrude a volume 1200’ high on the site.

To attain this space, the mass was pushed towards the corner edge and rotated to have maximum views around. The rotation opened up views that were blocked by the NBC tower, the Sheraton Hotel and the Equitable Building.

Tripartite volume generated maximizing mass according to function. Mass merged with the context which appears to grow from the site and interact with the surrounding in order to make it an inviting space. The form includes podium at the base, hotel in middle and residence at the top culminating in a skydeck.

Mechanical floors were provided with wind turbines and water tanks were added for rainwater harvesting. The tower provides ample daylight and views from all floors. Photo-voltaic panels were added to the top for solar gain. Winter gardens were provided mainly in the podium level to create a bio-climatic environment.

Central core is provided with shear walls and 4’ diameter mega columns. The core highlights elevators, fire stairs, internal secured spaces for MEP connections which enclose shafts, airways, utility closets, chutes. Belt trusses added in the mechanical floor at levels 20, 60, 100, 115 with a height of 30’. The steel belt trusses are connected to the concrete mega columns and outriggers tie the perimeter columns with the central core to resist lateral load. Mega-columns rise to support the roof with photo-voltaic panels. The beams are tied to support the arches giving a structural expression. Tuned mass damper was installed to provide resistance to the building sway/motions.

Arches in the interior to support the horizontal columns and support the exterior facade. Structure of the facade. has glazing units of 5’x10’. It is supported vertically by rectangular steel mullions and horizontally by structural silicon, in order to increase visibility. The curtain wall system is supported laterally by a system of horizontal cable trusses which transfers load to the supporting columns.

Structural layout of typical hotel floor.

Structural layout of mechanical floor.

Structural layout of typical residential floor.

Structural layout of the skydeck.

Floor slabs of the podium level and basement.

Concrete mega columns and concrete buttresses extending towards the riverwalk.

Structure of the facade.

ELEVATION

Elevation along the riverwalk.

FLOOR PLANS

Floor plans of the tower from the basement to the skydeck showing multiple variations in the floor plates.

Interior of the podium looking up towards the tower. The building started rotating from the base and turned into a slender mass as it rose to the top, thus interacting with the wind flow.

Interior view of the atrium from the top of the podium showing the staggered levels and visual connectivity with the riverwalk.

Interior view of the atrium from the winter garden level showing the pathway along the riverwalk merging with the ground level. The podium level grows from the site drawing the public inside the building.

THE ARTIST’S ABODE

AN ESSENTIAL HOUSE

The Artist’s Abode is a dwelling that encapsulates inspiration from the surrounding landscape of the sweeping Tuscan valley. Located on the edge of Piazza Settembre, a vibrant public plaza on the northern side of Volterra, and on the other side of the historic staircase, the site has magnificent views of the valley. The resulting architecture has minimum intervention on the site, bridging the gap between two worlds, and generating a landscape of transitions. The concept derived from including a wall along the edge of the plaza, an inspiration from the existing walled city of Volterra. Spaces created at multiple levels are for creative works, public display, conversations, and a magnificent view of the valley. The plaza at the upper level connects to the intermediate level plaza, both being used for the public display of artworks for the residing artist. Situated adjacent to a heavily pedestrianized zone, the location provides ease of access, thus providing a unique space for the artist, as well as giving back to the public.

*ARCHON Studio Competition: Second Place

Academic | Individual Work

Academic Archon Studio Professor: David Chasco University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Conceptual Sketches

View from the Piazza Settembre

SECONDARY PLAZA ARTIST’S STUDIO PRIVATE SPACE: LIVING AND DINING OUTDOOR TERRACE PIAZZA SETTEMBRE

Exterior View

Private Terrace and Interior Spaces overlooking the Valley

INTEGRATED HANDLOOM CENTER A PLATFORM FOR THE WEAVERS

Professor: Md. Habib Reza, Sajid Bin Doza, Shams M.Ghani, Naim A. Kibria, Rayeed Md. Yusuff

Academic | Individual Work | Thesis Studio

Handloom, the tradition of weaving clothes by hands, is one of the richest aspects of Bangladeshi culture and heritage. Traditionally being the largest rural industry in Bangladesh, it is the second largest source of rural employment and income after agriculture and is responsible for a very high percentage of the nation’s economy. This handloom center, informal and accommodating of the weavers’ language is basically an interactive platform for the welfare of the weavers’ community, and in greater aspect for the entire country. To promote the development and sustainability of the traditional textiles and its products by creating a handloom settlement for the weavers of our country with proper civic arrangements and functions main objective of this project.

*Noman Award for Excellence in Design, 2016: First Place

*Kurula Varkey Design Forum, KVD 2017: Panelist

*ContextBD Publication

CONCEPT

Taking inspiration from the past and implementing it for the future, this project aims to benefit the weaver’s community by adding to its potential. The initial work included the study of the existing handloom settlements throughout the country; recognize the effects of extinction, identify and locate the different types of handlooms and their products, and associated crafts situated all over in Bangladesh and identify their traces. The site being hundred acres, a phased approach was chosen for progressive growth.

Connecting the Existing Traces

Institutionalizing the sector taking inspirations from the past

CONCEPT

Handloom Production is a beautiful intricate process. In the current scenario, there is no direct connection between the customer and the weavers, which results in unbalanced wage-earning, increasing the failure of exposure and preservation, thus compelling the weavers to leave their professions and migrate to other means of livelihood.

For this reason, another step was to alleviate the discontinuity and establish a direct connection between the two such that there exists first-hand communication.

Current Scenario depicting the influence of Upper Hands

Study of Existing Handloom Households

Conceptual Section Study of Existing Households

Generation of Patterns

Analysis of Spaces

Analysis of functions

House Typologies

Exploded Axonometric view of the houses

Exploded Axonometric view of the houses

In-house activities depicting the lifestyle

Activies around the handloom sheds and shops

Activies around the handloom sheds and shops

Model Images

Interlinked Pathways

5|

URBAN BUSINESS HOTEL Designing a Convention Hotel

Professor:

Md. Faruk, Huraera Jabeen, Sheikh Rubaiya Sultana, Cyrus S. Khan

Academic | Individual Work | Pre-Thesis Studio

The site is 4 acres in size and is surrounded by South-East Asia’s biggest shopping mall, an amusement park and commercial strip on the roadside. The project generated with taking proper site considerations and addressing the programs. Pedestrian pathways were generated encompassing the existing one. Being beside the biggest shopping complex in the country, it attracts a huge number of visitors resulting in an increased pedestrian traffic at intervals of the day. Taking that into consideration the landscape of the hotel complex was designed so that it can serve the public as well. The hotel zone directly facing the south was oriented to cut down the harsh sun and reducing the impact of solar gain. Concrete shear walls were introduced to highlight the volumes.

FORM DERIVATION AND DRAWINGS

The form is bounded by thick solid planes which gives it a sense of direction as well as holds the volumes. The guest block is rotated at an angle of 45 degrees with the south to amplify the use of sunlight inside the guestrooms.

Concept derivation for the form that highlights the main ideas.

Axonometric flow diagram which shows circulation in the entire complex.

FLOOR PLANS

Floor plans of the hotel complex at the podium level showing different functions and integration with the site.

6|

A WALK THROUGH THE AGES THE EMERGING BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Professor:

Md. Habib Reza, Timmy Aziz, Farasha Zaman

Academic

| Group Work | Urban Studio

Choto Katra is one of the many caravanserais built during the Mughal era in Dhaka City to accommodate traveler traders and other visitors. It was built in 1663 by Shaista Khan the then Governor (Subedar) of the province of Bengal and the remnants suggest that it was built following a classic form for caranvserai which is a courtyard based two or three story structure with axial gate buildings and corner towers. Communities and architects have a history of dealing processes of the erasure of urban history in the modern era, an era of intense urban development and demand on land use in the cities around the world. Choto Katra not only has of the original structure disappeared but an intense social life has also grown around the ruins that itself calls to be preserved. This project explores an approach where both the past and the present are respected and a coexistence of the two are sought.

Main concept was to introduce a path among all the possible heritage sites present in Puran Dhaka and discover the fascinating history behind its emergence. Heritage sites play a very important role in our life. The significance of Puran Dhaka heritage walks lies greatly in the storytelling and therefore, appreciation will start once you see the historical structures through the eyes and rediscover history.

PATH DERIVATION

A heritage path is introduced through the Choto Katra that will guide people along the historical sites. Choto Katra once had a courtyard which acted as a civic space. Currently they are captured by warehouse shops and illegal slums. Main idea was to relocate existing buildings inside Choto Katra and introduce new functions inside to bring back the previous essence of history.

Sections showing different activities.

URBAN ZED

Academic | ARCH 592 | Professor: John Stallmeyer

The seminar seeks to re-center the z-axis as critical to our understanding and occupation of urban space through sections. The site chosen to investigate was one of the biggest market squares in Africa, the Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakesh, Morocco.

This urban section is taken through the souk and a restaurant with the plaza in between. This section is particularly interesting because it depicts how the plaza and the built environment interact through the movement of the people and illustrates a vibrant public space.

The overlay describes the different activities of people such as, buying accessories or spices from the local market, getting food from the food stalls, going to the mosques, walking through the narrow alleys, or simply dining at the restaurants. The whole plaza acts as an open-air entertainment district.

The section describes specifically how the outside environment transitions into the interior space spontaneously, thus integrating them with a seamless connection.

Figure Ground Map of Jemaa el-Fnaa

Urban ZED Section

DEPLOYABLE STRUCTURE

The deployable structure is an innovative structural system that can be used for multiple options. For example, for roofs of stadium to have all-weather sports, for structures used in outer-space exploration, for responsive facades, for iconic public architecture to enliven a space, and whenever a structure needs to be reused without the burden of dismantling and reassembly. In this project, a deployable sphere made of angulated scissor units was built. The connectors at the poles were designed accordingly.

STAGES OF DEPLOYMENT CLOSED STATE

Academic | ARCH 536 | Professor: Sudarshan Krishnan

Urbana-Champaign

PLAYSCAPE

Academic | ARCH 202 | Designing an Elementary

School

“An environment-based education movement–at all levels of education–will help students realize that school isn’t supposed to be a polite form of incarceration, but a portal to the wider world.”

-Richard Louv

Designing a school that incorporates with the nature was the main aim here because a greener field is much attractive to a child, something that is totally lost in all the urban areas nowadays. The entire site is contoured and has a landscape which blends in with the built form. Starting from kindergarten to class 5, the classrooms are arranged around the playground and vegetated areas to increase contacts and views.

Ground Floor Plan

EXPLORING THE UNCHARTED PATHWAYS

Academic | ARCH 402 | Habitat with People BRAC University

Shatbaria, a tribal settlement of approximately 1,70,000 sft by the river Nabaganga has a population of around 150 families. This is a community of lowincome families of a Hindu majority population. The design focused on creating a relationship of the people with the river through generating intermingled pathways and developing the riverfront area through effective community mapping. This also brings out the facts of how a bottom up approach with the engagement of the community can result in incremental development in housing and living standards enhancing ownership and economical aspect with social value.

Community Mapping with community people.

Aspirations and Thoughts

Proposed Masterplan and Section

PROFESSIONAL WORK

Project: JOLT- An EV Oasis | HDR, Chicago

The conceptual approach builds on the idea of providing EV charging and avoiding Bronzeville becoming an EV charging desert: creating an oasis. Locating the canopy and cafe terrace at the rear property extends the idea: creating an urban oasis as an extension of cafe space. Sheltered from the traffic noise at Wabash and integrating trees and planting offers a much needed respite space in this neighborhood.

A modest and robust palette of materials celebrate the simplicity of construction through thoughtful connection details that consider end-of-life and design for disassembly. The additional canopy area offers viable rainwater/greywater collection for irrigation and use within the cafe.

Role: Responsible for design, architectural drawings, research and renderings.

The existing building is currently a city owned former Streets and Sanitation Facility that has been vacant for a number of years and has fallen into disrepair. The structure is classified as an orange rated historic structure, defined as properties that “possess some architectural feature or historical association that made them potentially significant in the context of the surrounding community.” About 9600 properties are categorized as orange in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey.

Bronzeville lies in the Invest South/West initiative for community improvement programs and addressing this need will draw additional economic activity to the businesses along the 51st street and commercial district, that lies in the proposal’s business corridors.

Role: Responsible for design, architectural drawings, research and renderings.

PROFESSIONAL WORK

Project: Regional Office of BRAC Branch | Ci+AU

Building Resources Across Communities or BRAC (founded in 1972) is the world’s largest non-governmental organization in terms of the number of employees. This globally-known organization works in 11 countries, including Bangladesh, to eliminate extreme poverty and empower people with financial mobility and capacity building.

In 2017, BRAC approached Ci+AU to reimagine the next generation of its regional offices in rural and peri-urban regions across Bangladesh. Built mostly during the 1970s and 1980s, these aging offices have been plagued by insufficient work spaces and lack of community gathering areas, gender-friendly toilets, universal access, adequate natural light and ventilation, technology adaptability, and security.

Role: Responsible for construction drawings, spatial planning and renderings of two branch offices.

Construction Photos

PROFESSIONAL WORK

Project: Nalanda University | Sangath: Vastu-Shilpa Consultants, Ahmedabad

Nalanda University located in Rajgir, Bihar is the campus of the future, positioned at the forefront of global education and hub of intellectual excellence. The location of the campus in a predominantly agricultural area implies a larger impact on the adjacent areas. A large part of the campus is reserved for development and dissemination of information about modern practices in agriculture and biotechnology. The plan allows for incremental growth and flexible expansion and phasing while preserving the agricultural and environmental basis of the region. The intent is to create a model campus that aims to replicate the spirit of Nalanda that endured in its relevance for 800 years by embracing environmental strategies that are simple, efficient, appropriate to the place by digging the university’s multi-faces of identity, its belonging and its time.

Role: Producing construction drawings and digital visualizations.

Visualization of the student hostel areas and the marketplace of the complex.

PROFESSIONAL WORK

Competition Project: IEB Convention Center | Ayoteek

The convention center is the new urban need in our time. for the design of a convention center at IEB premises leads us towards certain considerations. Location of the site is highly significant as it is surrounded by the places of historic importance. Any mass must embrace its surrounding. Second consideration should be functional need which guide us for three separate building blocks with central atrium. Visible circulation and uninterrupted service should be the primary concern for the functional issue. Third consideration is clientele. The client is a professional group - therefore the building should work as a machine. It creates life inside a machine. we intend to use daylight by using glass atrium to remind the soul and time. Translucent building material such as alabaster has been suggested to create an animated building screen. it will play with light and shadow both at night and day.

Role: Masterplan layout, auditorium design and presentation.

PROFESSIONAL WORK

Competition Project: Historic Preservation and Landscape Design of the Old Dhaka Central Jail and Redevelopment of its surrounding area | Ayoteek

“An afghan fort, turned into a Mughal stronghold and then a treasury. With the passage of time the site became the Dhaka Central Jail at the heart of old Dhaka.”- This one sentence contains the gravity of this place when appreciated. According to history, the place was built as a fort before 1608 during Afghan era in this sub continent. It has been opened for public in 2017. Over this long period of time , one single object played an important role- the wall. The moment it was constructed, the place marked its territory and a new world was born inside it. The inside and outside world maintained the common time line but kept a different pace. The emotion and the need of time acted differently due to this boundary. We cannot break the whole wall as it will destroy “ the place”. After 409 years of its creation, the place finally receives its own freedom.

Role: Responsible for research, historical mapping, masterplan layout and presentation.

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

A compilation of my digital illustrations, sketches, photography and album cover of my choir.

Let the mystery unfold itself.

Natural gradients.

Elephantastic!

This too shall pass.

Dreamer Let’s go there!

I paint my own Reality!

Sail Away.

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

A compilation of my digital illustrations, sketches, photography and album cover of my choir.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6MPfqxKCc0 FlaelFbjdG4R?si=607A-bIURye4fFcjVXUtrQ

Selected photography.

Thank you!