VARUN AMAR KAUSHIK nationality: indian dob: 30.12.1985 sex: male residence: delft, the netherlands
contact +31-645266214 varunamarkaushik@gmail.com website www.varunamarkaushik.portfoliobox.me
ACADEMIC PROJECTS 01.
SOUTH-WORKS URBAN RESEARCH INITIATIVE MASTER THESIS PROJECT 2013-14, TU DELFT
ROLE: DESIGN LEAD CHAIR: COMPLEX PROJECTS GUIDE: ROBERTO CAVALLO + HUBERT VAN DER MEEL LOCATION: SOUTH-CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD, CHICAGO
02.
HAMBURG RING REVITALIZATION
SEM-2 DESIGN PROJECT 2013, TU DELFT ROLE: DESIGN LEAD CHAIR: HYBRID BUILDINGS + URBANISM DEPT. GUIDE: ROBERTO CAVALLO + CONRAD KICKERT LOCATION: DEICHTORPLATZ, HAMBURG
03.
PAROOL TRIANGLE INFILL PROJECT SEM-1 DESIGN PROJECT 2012, TU DELFT ROLE: DESIGN LEAD CHAIR: HYBRID BUILDINGS GUIDE: OLINDO CASO LOCATION: AMSTERDAM
PROFESSIONAL PROJECTS 04.
NATIONAL TAX HEADQUARTERS
NATIONAL COMPETITION (SPECIAL MENTION) 2010 ROLE: TEAM MEMBER OFFICE: nilaA, NEW DELHI LOCATION: NEW DELHI
05.
STATE FOREST HEADQUARTERS
INVITED COMPETITION (WINNER) 2011 ROLE: DESIGN LEAD OFFICE: nilaA, NEW DELHI LOCATION: PATNA
06.
LEH RECONSTRUCTION
HIMALAYAN FLOOD RELIEF PROJECT 2011 ROLE: SITE SUPERVISOR NGO: SEEDS INDIA + LEDeG LOCATION: LEH, LADAKH
SOUTH-WORKS URBAN RESEARCH INITIATIVE MASTER THESIS PROJECT 2013-14, TU DELFT
Developing an urban strategy to reactivate 600 acre site of US Steel Industry in South Chicago. Further testing the same through critical architectural interventions
US STEEL WORKING south-chicago an industrial enclave
US STEEL MOVED OUT south-chicago enclaved by means of restricted opportunities
SOUTH-WORKS MASTERPLAN 2006 neglecting the neighborhood project
REAL SOUTH-WORKS PROJECT bottom-up input from neighborhood + top down influx from city
CONCENTRATING EFFORTS
Due to their walkable accessibility and overlap of infrastructure, 87th and 83rd streets were chosen to perform an inventory of potential urban nodes and linkages.
KEY NODES + PEDESTRIAN LINKAGES
THE URBAN STRATEGY
focuses on finding a kick start for the urban development. The anchor projectr capitalizes on the positive aspects of the site like its proximity to the lake and opportunity to be the pioneer settlers of the development. The morphology and phasing of this anchor should take into account, the image of the city and the unpredictable nature of the events to follow. It should be able to adapt and manifest in response to failures or even unexpected success. To find this transition in scales and its continuity is to create a TYPOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK. It restricts urban insensitivity and promotes matter of factness of contemporary urban conditions and critical analysis of the same.
THE DESIGN CONCEPT
revolves around three key nodes and the public domain connecting the same. Programmatic allocation at these nodes makes sure that there is an emphasis on communal overlap while maintaining the domain of ownership that is necessary to avoid abrupt collision of the old and new residents. A framework of open spaces is designed to act as the receptor for future built spaces. A hierarchical dual-loop park system, interspersed with supporting public buildings, is at the core of the open space network.
ARCHITECTURAL INTERVENTION
PROJECT SELECTION Personal fascination and challenges
URBAN PIVOT Translating urban movement into architecture
THE ARCHITECTURAL ASPIRATION
for the project is to become an unexpected extension of the urban journey that seems to end at the site. The building perform as a pivot around which flows the urban movement.
ARCHITECTONIC EXPRESSION
emulates the transition into the third dimension as these lines twist around the pivot. The building appears to catch these linear lines and process them into an upward rising spiral. This extension of urban into the architecture is exagerated as the Research Institute is accessed through a ramp that climbs 12 m. This also integrates the Public Forum on the ground with the Lakefront Plaza while raising the more quiet work zones above.
SHARED FACILITIES align along the spiraling facade to emphasise the extension of urban movements within the building
ENTRY LEVEL PLAN
B
TYPICAL RESEARCH FLOOR
SECTION B
FACADE DYNAMICS
PUBLIC SPIRAL cracking open the facade along the shared facilities
CLIMATE CONTROL minimizing solar exposure on N-E-S segment.
D-03
HAMBURG RING REVITALIZATION SEM-2 DESIGN PROJECT 2013, TU DELFT
Identifying network and to it while on adjacent
a missing link in Hamburg’s public developing a comprehensive response colaborating with students working sites.
THE MISSING LINK IN HAMBURG’S PUBLIC NETWORK.
RE-CONNECTING DIECHTORPLATZ AN EXERCISE IN URBAN PLACEMAKING.
PROJECT IDENTIFICATION The Historic Market Halls of Diechtorplatz have now been turned into cultural centers and I chose to position myself benefitting and contributing to this new intermediate phenomenon at the junction of historic Hamburg Center, the industrial character of the railways and the contemporary Hafen City development.
URBAN PLAN
THE UNDERLYING IDEA
for urban regeneration is to guide people to the waterfront and other cultural establishments on Deichtorplatz. The urban place making exercise focuses on creating a campus style park system in the diechtorplatz after reclaiming a part of public space overtaken by traffic currently. The movement pattern is guided by urban vistas and view corridors marking key lines of access.
THE ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAM
includes a hotel and a small library on the Diechtorplatz with the overall development and maintainance of the park undertaken by the hotel in return for subdisised land prices. A small apartment building is built on the City Center side of the development to draw a curtain on the heavy traffic and make it possible to develop more small lower scale plazas that characterize the historic center.
BUSINESS HOTEL, DIECHTORPLATZ
A
ENTRY LEVEL PLAN (BUSINESS HOTEL)
SECTION A
BUILDING DYNAMICS - entry level of the hotel works in tandum with the library to activate the public park and the waterfront. - pedestrians are drawn towards the park along the curve of the library adjacent to the hotel lobby entrance. - waterfront is activated by the restaurant and its terrace opening on it along with the raised parks and exhibition center opening its adjacent edge. - the rear vertical circulation is used for night club entry and for offices during the day.
LATERAL SECTION
PAROOL TRIANGLE INFILL PROJECT
SEM-1 DESIGN PROJECT 2012, TU DELFT
“Masterplan is Dead” was the starting assumption to rethink the urban adaptive reuse of Parool Triangle.
URBAN REACTION
existing typology and undefined open space
new typology of transition and spaces within
layering of parool plaza
THE
EXISTING modernist built fabric on the site appears to be incomplete as it abruptly encounters the historic closed urban block typology. The clue lies in an urban surgery adding critical masses and facade extensions that help in the transition from one typology to the other.
PROGRAMMATIC ARRANGEMENT
THE URBAN MOVEMENT
is organised in two levels segregating cars and pedestrians. However, the functional intensity is dispersed along the pedestrian movement to promote un-intended use of public space and to give reasoning to the social movement across Wibautstraat. The Parool Plaza celebrates the presence of immense functional diversity in order to create an active public place.
PAROOL PLAZA
LIBRARY AND THE ART SCHOOL
URBAN BRIDGE
A PARALLEL DOMAIN
second floor plan
- the project is organised around a continuous pedestrian link through Parool Triangle that connects the communities on either side of Wibautstraat. It meanders among the existing and new buildings transforming in size and expression depending upon the changing context. - the bridge is designed as a place to stop and enjoy the new vantage point to view Amsterdam and also to act as a gateway to mark the entry to the boulevard.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
NATIONAL TAX HEADQUARTER COMPETITION 2011
The project was to re-envision the headquarters for the Finance Ministry of India. An high profile office building with public interface connecting it to the urban setting of Lutyen’s Delhi.
UNDERSTANDING LUTYEN’S DELHI
DENSITY STRUCTURE
http://upload.wikimedia.org/
METRO CONNECTIVITY
PODIUM AS THE NEGOTIATOR OF URBAN SCALE
TYPOLOGY
A
ENTRY LEVEL PLAN
SECTION A
CENTRAL COURT
WEST ELEVATION
STATE FOREST HEADQUARTER INVITED COMPETITION 2011
The Forest Department of Bihar organised the competition for their HQ in Patna city. The design, inspired by the forest undergrowth, has free flowing public domain on the ground and interconnected offices stcaked above. I was the team leader and managed the overall architectural design and presentation.
The proposed Forest Bhawan is inspired by the notion of a “forest habitat� and the form of the tree where branches offer the physical structure for the leaves and canopy. The floors of the proposed building are like terraces on a branch of a tree and overlapping light cutouts allow light to filter down in a diffused manner, very much like in a forest.
LONGITUDINAL SECTION
DESIGN MEASURES
NORTH ELEVATION
LATERAL SECTION THE PROPOSED BUILDING
rethinks the public offices typology in India. It has been designed to maximize public interaction and urban views and achieve an enhanced working environment.
THE PUBLIC FUNCTIONS
such as Auditorium and Nature gallery are located on the ground for easy access. The 3 floors of office are raised above the public functions and can be accessed via visitors lobby and a grand entry stairs. The Lobby is perched on the first floor overlooking the entry area and the Nature Gallery.
THE CENTRAL ATRIUM
allows natural light to filter in the workspaces and has operable vents that provide ventilation in the cooler months.
THE OFFICE FLOORS
have been sandwiched between public floors below and guest rooms above. Passive cooling measures helps shade and ventilate the open plan work zone. A system of internal staircases have been superimposed on the office layout to increase the informal connectivity amongst the departments.
LEH RECONSTRUCTION
HIMALAYAN FLOOD RELIEF PROJECT 2011
I worked as site supervisor to oversee construction of 6 permanent shelters in villages around leh, in the upper himalayan region of ladakh.(Project won CNN-IBN “Indian of the Year” award 2010: Public Service category)
THE DISASTER: LOCATION AND IMPACT LADAKH is a remote Himalayan region in northern India. It is a cold desert where winter temperatures plummet close to - 40o C. In august 2010 a flash flood hit the capital town of Leh and its surrounding areas leaving large parts of the area destroyed and submerged under mud slides. SEEDS INDIA and LEDeG took up the challange to develop 14 residential units trying to set up a model for future construction within the community.
VISION: To build safe, comfortable and environmentally & culturally suitable houses for affected families to help them survive the approaching winter.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROJECT: • Use of locally available materials as far as possible to reduce environmental impact. • Incorporating new building techniques such Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks and seismic bands to ensure safety from future disasters like floods and earthquakes. • To achieve appropriate thermal comfort levels, features like Trombe Wall and thermal insulation in exposed surfaces have been incorporated. • Promoting local building skills to reduce dependence on external aid. • Participation of families in design to help preserve local architectural and cultural heritage and also to provide a scope for expansion.
Southern facades were made entirely out of cseb and layered with trombe wall to increase the heat retention capacity.
Locally cultivated poplar trunks being used as rafters.
18 inch cavity walls were constructed out of local mud bricks and filled with saw dust before topping them off with a layer of compressed stablised earth blocks.
Traditional roof construction using layers of poplar tree trunks and sticks under clay finish.
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