Venusri Harigopal | Portfolio of work | Graduate Architect

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PORTFOLIO VENUSRI HARIGOPAL BA [Hons] Architecture | 2021

3 8 [E001] Tunnels to the sky

[A001] Living Choice

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10 [D001] Narrative exchanges

[B001] Living Layers

11 [C001] Between Ocean and Sky

Enlivening our Workspaces: Switching to an active work culture nudged by space Undergraduate Thesis [2021]

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Venusri Harigopal | Graduate Architect |

[A001]

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Living CHOICE | Graduate project

This project is called “Living Choice” and it takes the position that ‘We should create decisions not conditions for people to live in’ and people should have direct control over the smaller things in live in the human everyday scale and these make the biggest differences in our life. Living Choice is residential and mixed-use project at Jumeirah Open beach that redefines living and explores the extents of typology and flexibility in space and hosted activities. Layers of activity – live, dine, work, play, relax intertwine to create a rich living experience and enhance the beach engagement for the participants of living experiment. Movable vertical modules and sliding pergolas operable by users expand or modify the nature of space to suit the flow of activities through the day. An undulating surface connects the living clusters, roofs the open market below and blends with the landscape to create pockets of green spaces on the beach.

This project succeeds in it ability to produce things we cannot anticipate and create choices for those who participate.

Design Studio Y[4]

Why BHK? In an age where we live such richly variegated lifestyles, our routines are so complex, products around us are constantly catching up with our evolving needs, when it comes to where we live, we still speak the language of the “BHK”. We need to change that.

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Design Studio Y[4]

Living CHOICE Every entity in the universe has the right to freedom and choice over how they wish to live their lives and furthermore strongly believes that they should be enabled to live with as much independence as possible. The moral significance of freedom and autonomy is inbuilt in our systems as an individual and a nation, but not exercised. Most times, you may have the authority but not the autonomy to exercise decision-making in our environment. The space we are in, often labels the activity and the sequence of behaviours we should engage in. However, autonomy, in contrast with compliance, a valued concept in determining satisfaction and engagement, is defined as “ the power to shape your environment in ways that allow you to perform at your best.” The space we see constricts people. This means a single space for a single functionality of use or a single path to take to a destination, or a single setting or methodology to carry out a task. BUT there is no one single way to do any single thing. The offices once came up with the open plan tearing down the cubicle with the idea to provide one big social space for everybody to work disregarding hierarchy of employees…but still continued to face reduced productivity especially due to feeling of being one in a big universe of a million, leaving introverts pining for private space; apart from all the other inconveniences of noise, privacy so on. So to learn, in terms of action on space, that is to say that generalising a solution and removing all barriers to create freedom actually just creates chaos…unrestricted by rules. Collisions and conflict are great but not on one large unrestricted environment.

Therefore, changing the entire thing into a single something different won’t work at almost all times.

It is changing a few things and giving people the freedom to choose between them and then enabling them to move around that choice, that does it.

Living Choice | Jumeirah, Dubai | Render

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Venusri Harigopal | Graduate Architect |

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Manifesto Charette and Design process

Environmental design and Integrated structure

User journeys and typologies of living

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The ‘Living Layers’ is a design proposal for a residential living complex in the heart of Old Dubai addressing housing as an issue and opportunity to enhance richness of living…living in layers…akin to layers of a forest that contribute to the growth of flora or the city or a house over time. The project aims to bring together a diversified mix of people, program, and activity to enhance exchange of values and ideas and promote life as a continuous learning experience. The project treats the aspects of spaces that make up the community as layers like that of those which generate life of a plant... Bringing together different layers / varieities of activities and mixed programs to nurture and intertwine lifestyles of people and develop the story of the home over time.

This living ecosystem cultivates habits of community as a new identity and encourages new patterns of life intertwined with work, play, and trade.

Design Studio Y[3]

Living Layers | Mankhool, Dubai | Plan render

Living Layers Venusri Harigopal | Graduate Architect |

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Venusri Harigopal | Graduate Architect |

Living Choice | Jumeirah, Dubai | Design Axonometric

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Design Studio Y[2]

Bee Breeder’s ADFOT submission

Tunnels to the Sky Design of an Observation tower and Boardwalk on an ecologically sensitive site in Abu Dhabi's Al Wathba wetland reserve, home to a breeding migratory flock of the greater flamingo and much more riches of native flora and fauna. Key to this design process was the thorough understanding the site and studying its features to design an ecologically sensitive tower responding to seasonal transformations , migration of birds and the potential for eco-tourism.

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Sequencing spaces as an architecture centre intertwined with boisterous and dynamic public spaces, galleries and conversations sparking a new learning culture in the DIFC... each programmed space is conceived as a node or point of exchange vertically or horizontally linked... A distinct journey and experience through as the nodes unfold into a cohesive narrative of the space...inserting pockets of programmed spaces into an otherwise bulky parking lot. To rejuvenate the site with surges of activity at different spots and spread the energy of creativity...

Approaching the Architecture House design as a way to energise the site with the existing issue and opportunity of missing connections between the parts of the site.

Inserting pockets of programmed spaces into the underground lot which is an otherwise bulky parking lot; to rejuvenate the site with surges of activity at different spots and spread the energy of creativity. Each of these space are designed with specific spatial qualities to spark their respective programming and increase the connectivity of physical space and activity on the site.

Design Studio Y[3]

A collection of nodes spread across the site and connected with activity using up the otherwise empty and heavy parking lot and thereby adding value to the space on site...especially in a world where people don't really a parking for their cars...

Narrative Exchanges Venusri Harigopal | Graduate Architect |

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EQUIM Parametrized Competition | 1st runners up

Between Ocean and Sky BETWEEN OCEAN AND SKY is a project that connects layers of activity exploring nature from below the sea to the sky above. The building hosts an array of functions, a bird observatory on its topmost levels which frames views to capture the most unique species of birds on the site - situated on staggered platforms to view bird on lower and flying levels, then a promenade on a fluid roof surface that is dynamic in its nature by collecting water on the troughs of its surface as the sea levels change...and creating water features in the human scale to engage the user. This is amde functional by the opening and closing of the perforations on the surface. Below water in the main part of building is the exhibit gallery and visitor’s center framing picturesque views to the underwater flora and fauna... There is also a gallery adjacent to the marine research center which is the primary function of the building. On levels lower than this are laboratories and living pods aiding the functioning of the research center.

The structure is cohesive in both acting as support and well as act as a playful fluid form that wraps the various activity that layer on the site... The underside of the structure and the columns supporting the building perfectly host the activities of the diving school creating micro ecosystems for the marine species by hosting vegetation in the columns of support. The idea is to create wholesome experience of nature and its richness through the language of a from that mimics the same

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A Fellowes Survey by Bean found 8/10 office workers spending “4-9 hours a day sitting at their desks - 67 sedentary days annually”, or 18% of their lives stuck to a seat. (Bean, 2020) Prolonged sitting hours are predominant in workplaces especially IT-based desk jobs and identified by the WHO as the leading causes of fatality due to cardiovascular problems, diabetes, mental disorders, and disability. (WHO, 2002). Supported by relevant studies on employee wellness, this paper identifies spatial attributes in workplaces that steer patterns of sedentary behavior, reiterates its’ negative impacts, and the increasing need to shift to healthier workstyles that ameliorate daily physical activity. Then it informs the potential of space to encourage positive human behavior by providing spatial cues and explores through an IT-office floorplan, the impact of workstyles, activity adjacencies, and layouts on movement patterns. Employee preferences and feasibility of suggested design tactics are assessed using a survey of 100 employees from similar desk-based settings.

The paper also explores a comparative approach to adapting spatial design tactics from other typologies, to then conclude by recommending modifications in spatial design and flexible styles of working to enable workplaces to meet minimum physical activity requirements of accepted Health Guidelines.

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Ungraduate thesis Y[4]

Venusri Harigopal | Graduate Architect |

Enlivening our Workspaces