QI BY THE RIVER, WADA: Is a residential township located on the banks of Bhatsa river in Maharashtra. The concept for design of the owner's villa, located on the highest mount was to open up all spaces to the beautiful views of the river. All trees on site are preserved and every space in the villa is crafted to give unique experiences such as of a rainforest, courtyard rooms, rooms with open baths and private plunge pools, open to sky rooms, nature pools, etc.
The total built up are of the house is 2200 sq.m The site lies on a contoured land with an average slope of 1:12 along the diagonal of site. The approach to the house is from the lowest point on site. The exposed rammed earth walls make a warm and welcoming entrance. Level 2 and 3 are the rooms and living spaces of the house. These are designed around a central water body creating well ventilated spaces all around. The architecture allows regulated natural light into various spaces, automatically creature a natural ambience based on the type and requirement of the space. Every room enjoys a special feature such as a river view, sky view, courtyard view or forest view. The material palette is minimalistic and with raw natural finishes – rammed earth, stone, wood and Mild steel.
INFORMAL LIVING TUCKED AWAY IN A NOOK
ARIAL VIEWS
INFORMAL LIVING WITH PLUNGE POOL
A boutique fruit store located in Matunga market designed using a very innovative and well researched material palette for an exclusive fruit and vegetable shopping experience. Since this is the first of many franchises to come, design parameters, costing, materials, etc. had to be freshly formulated. I was the project architect for O'leaf and my job included the design and detailing of all aspects of the store, material selection and research, costing, correspondence with 15 different agencies, clients and management of work on site to complete this project from design to handover within two months. As the site was small, it was quite challenging to manage interlinked tasks and accommodate agencies on site for timely completion of the project. We worked with mock ups, samples and trial and error to achieve the desired outcome. This project helped me sharpen my eye for detailing and strengthened my administrative and management skills.
The inspiration board was devised from the visit to the APMC market in Vashi. Upon observing the simple methods of storage which are extremely effective and low-cost, it was decided to incorporate similar methods and material palette to fit in a budget of Rs. 12 lakhs. The building had a high threat of termite, hence bison board was used. A black lime stone flooring gives an experience of shopping right from a garden. Metal and concrete bring out the raw and rugged look and wood adds to the warmth and richness of the store. The lighting and ventilation in the store is very thoughtfully worked out. 3000K temperature of light creates just enough warmth for a pleasant shopping experience. The HVAC design is such that cool fresh air first falls on the fruits, then cools the aisles and then the central spaces. Since the store space is small, we utilized all edges and de-cluttered circulation space. The central cane sculpture is the point of attraction from outside – through a simplistic no-nonsense glass façade. Every aspect in this store has been handcrafted for a boutique experience.
V O L U N T E E R A T
A L L H A N D S N E P A L Every child has the right to education. Several mountain villages of Nepal lost their infrastructure to the earthquake that happened in 2015. Temporary CGI builds are not always reliable, especially during monsoons. The aim of this nonprofit organization is to raise funds and build earthquake resistant schools, train local women in masonry and building construction, teach English to local adults and children and overall community economic development. The type of construction is typical RCC with brick walls. The RCC bands at plinth, sill, mid-window, lintel, top and around all openings makes the building earthquake proof. Other sub projects included building toilets and playground for the school and building a pedestrian pathway along the mount that leads to the local cremation ground. The site had 30-40 volunteers and 10 masons everyday. The project coordinator and assistant project coordinator, site manager and team leaders along with other volunteers worked on tasks like concrete mixing and pouring, re-bar cutting and tying, brick laying, form works, building and debuilding bamboo and metal scaffoldings, plastering, back filling, landscaping, roof building and welding, priming and painting to complete the construction of two school buildings with toilets and playground within 3 months.
The window designs for The Oak, Panchgani is very thoughtful. Firstly, all 250 windows have precast light-weight foam concrete window frames. A slot for curtain rod and mosquito net ensures a clean look without having to provide a pelmet that flushes into false ceiling as there are no false ceilings in these bungalows. This also ensures easy installation and saves time. The precasts have a slope in the bottom and slots to fix wooden window shutters further making it easy. The wooden and glass window shutters are simple double swing for rooms with openable louvres at the bottom. Since Panchgani is a hill station, it can get very cold here. Openable louvres help bring fresh air into rooms and ensures that a comfortable temperature is maintained inside the rooms. Since cold air is denser, louvres are placed at the bottom of the window. The design for toilet windows is different. It double layered (as shown in the drawing). The outer frame with louvres and exhaust fan ends at onethird height. The inner frame is fixed from the bottom thirds portion and is centrally pivoted at the middle thirds portion. This design opens out the view to the outside and lets the user enjoy the vistas from the seating in the bath.