NOV /
2021
RIBA PART 1 ARCHITECTURE
PORTFOLIO \VENUSRI HARIGOPAL
LinkedIn /venusriharigopal
Education First-class BA [Hons] Architecture Heriot-Watt University, Dubai [2021] CBSE AISSCE, 95.9 / 100 Computer Science topper [2017]
Winning thesis Enlivening our Workspaces: Switching to an active work culture nudged by space Undergraduate Dissertation, Heriot-Watt University - 1st Place Winner in the 8th Undergraduate Research Competition by Abu Dhabi University Nominated for the RIBA Presidents medal [Dissertation] 2021 [July, 2021] Nominated for the Global Grad Show Entrepreneurship programme [November, 2021]
Notable projects Living Choice, Graduation project [2021] Tunnels to the Sky: Participated in Bee Breeders, ADFOT design competition [2019]
Language Skills
English [Advanced], Tamil [Native], Hindi [Intermediate]
Hobbies and Interests
Digital illustration, Hand Lettering, Typography , Sewing. Harmonium, Violin, Web Design, Spirituality
I’m a RIBA Part-1 graduate from Heriot-Watt with a First-class Honors degree, an obsession for detail and a mission to find the most amazing people to learn from. I believe in the power of conscious design to reveal meaning in our lives. I am a creative with one foot on print, one on pixels, and a love for both. I seek to avail experience and guidance in the fields of architecture and design to utilize and hone the various skills I have learnt and am to learn.
Experience Dec ‘21 - Present Consultant Architect | Level 1 at KEO International Consultants Oct ‘21 - Present RIBA Gulf Chapter Coordinator | Royal Institute of British Architects Aug ‘21 - Nov ‘21 Architectural Intern at Godwin Austen Johnson Architects Concept design Aug ‘20 Volunteer - Educational video content creator Created video tutorials for D6 Arch channel, HWU Jun ‘19 X-Architects Presentation Presented ADS 4 Project - Bird Observatory to X-Architects Workshop volunteer, Heriot-Watt University Volunteered for design workshop and University tour for students from Crescent School of Architecture, Chennai
CV RIBA PART 1 ARCHITECTURE
venusri.harigopal@gmail.com +971 - 0582828533 | Dubai, UAE
venusri harigopal. venusri harigopal
Nov ‘17 Light.ication V2.0 | Exhibitor and Competition participant with CD+M Participated hands-on from concept design to build of the exhibition for Light Middle East awards in collaboration with Industry experts CD+M and won the First place in the Light.ication competition Oct ‘17 Design Exhibitor - Al Serkal Avenue Twine Sanctum, Generative Shelter Design - featured at the Dubai Design Week 2017.
Awards / Achievements WATT Club Medal for exceptional merit and distinction, HWU [July, 2021] 1st runners up | Parametrized Design competition | Equim Designs [Jan 2021] 1st place | Collaborative Design Project | Engineers without Borders [2019] University Prize for Outstanding Merit in Academics, HWU [2018, 2019, 2020] Deputy Principal’s Award for Academic Excellence, HWU [2018, 2019] 1st place | Lightication by Light Middle East [Nov 2017] Generative Shelter featured at Dubai Design Week [Nov 2017] Heriot-Watt High Achiever’s award [2017]
Skills Exhibit keen interest in the built environment and its significant relationship with people, specially 3D space and its narrative characteristics. Sound research and problem-solving skills with a deep belief in research led design. Performed online and in-person research on design of office spaces.
2021
Contact me
Retail + Landscape park design along the waterfront
THESIS
DISSERTATION Enlivening our Workspaces: Switching to an active work culture nudged by space 1ST PLACE WINNER 8th Undergraduate Research Competition by Abu Dhabi University Nominated for the RIBA Presidents Medal 2021
Tunnels to the sky
19 SPATIAL NARRATIVES
10
WHAT’S INSIDE...
9
MASTERPLAN STUDY
15
Narrative exchanges
22
2021
We should create decisions not conditions for people to live in and people should have direct control over the smaller things in the human everyday scale of life.
ENVIRONMENT AND RESEARCH
Living Choice | Residential Mixed-use complex in Jumeirah
Living Layers
FORM FINDING
LIVING
GRADUATION PROJECT
THE NEW HOUSING CRISIS
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4
Between Ocean and Sky
04
Graduation project
Tutors: Alida Bata | Dima Al Kawadri | Heriot-Watt University
living choice.
2021
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.
Undergraduate Year 4 Studio project
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.
05
Manifesto Charette and Design process
Zoning and programming
Typlogies and user groups
living choice. The design manifesto
06
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.
2021
Tutors: Alida Bata | Dima Al Kawadri
07
Form and layers of life
The idea is to create DECISIONS not CONDITIONS for people to live in.
Living choice | Form, structure and material
Tree like dendric forms
Structure and roof connections
Site analysis and derivation of patterns
Living Choice | Jumeirah open beach | Design exploded axonometric
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09
Souk & Landscaped park
masterplan study.
2021
This is a masterplan study that aims to provide a whole rounded vision and framework strategy for improvement that would benefit and lead increase foot traffic in Heritage souks in the waterfront.
Masterplan + landscape
Masterplan
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1st place winner | 8th Abu Dhabi Undergraduate Research competition | May ‘21 Nominated for RIBA Presidents Medal - Dissertation 2021
enlivening our workspaces.
2021
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.
Undergraduate Dissertation
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).
11 My dissertation investigates how mental and physical wellbeing within an office environment can be improved through strategic spatial planning and spatial nudges to improve daily employee behavior. The intent is to steer away from the conventional workspace design with traditional cubical layouts, I propose a series of interventions to facilitate increased physical activity while sustaining an engaging and stimulating work environment. My paper cites key studies on mental and physical wellbeing within the work environment as a pretext to develop the proposal. The design intervention is demonstrated through stage development of an existing IBM office environment for comparative analysis and also draw spatial studies of other typologies like the urban environment and scale of the city.
Learning from pedestrian streets
In comparison with other spatial typologies
Zones of activity and switching styles
Traditional layouts and patterns of movement
12
Living complex design
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 or 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.
living layers.
2021
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.
Undergraduate Year 3 Studio project
Tutors: Mary Jane Rooney | Owen O’Caroll | Mark Philip
Sketches and study models
Site analysis
Floor plan +2m
Section
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Material layers: Primary solid layer of construction - AAC blocks solid and thin Connection modules - steel staircases, windows and balconies - open to reconfiguration and adaptive use. Variable openings in windows and balconies depending on privacy of use.
Site analysis: Time and activity patterns
An overlay of the patterns
A study in section
Living layers | Mankhool, Dubai | Design axonometric
Render
Tutors: Shameel Muhammed, Atousa Aslaminezhad | Heriot-Watt University
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 ecotourism. The design process specically focuses on research based design - involving the site and the environmental factors.
tunnels to the sky.
2021
Participated in the Bee Breeders Abu Dhabi Flamingo Observation tower competition
Undergraduate Year 2 Studio project
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The design process intends to address various necessary components or "project lenses" such as FORM, LANDSCAPE DESIGN, STRUCTURAL INNOVATION, MATERIAL SYSTEMS,SUSTAINANABILITY and PROTOTYPING as part of the studio initiative. The design is also considered as a careful response to the site with rich ecological features that are of great potential to the eco-torism value of the land
Site plan
Site analysis Site images
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Design development models and experimentation
Tunnels to the sky | Render
Boardwalk design for the obervatory deck
Roof structure experimentation and study models
A study in section
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House of Architecture design
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. 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.
2021
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...
Undergraduate Year 3 Studio project
Tutors: Mary Jane Rooney | Owen O’Caroll | Mark Philip
20
Plan A
Underground network and pockets
Narrative exchanges | Design exploded axonometric
Section A
21
Section B
Section C
The issue and opportunity
22
Underwater Set Design | 1st runners up | Parametrized design competition
The region 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
between ocean and sky.
2021
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 made functional by the opening and closing of the perforations on the surface.
EQUIM Parametrized Competition | 1st runners up
Equim Design | Ar. Chinmay Gaur
AND SKY GROUP 1 [HARSH PATHAK | VENUSRI HARIGOPAL]
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Concept Insipration:
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 obervatory 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 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... Mechanism of roof surface with change in water level
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. Inspired by corals [Zoanthids] for the surface perforations to open and close as water level changes to seal the structure from water, open to sky for lighting and create little features of water at the troughs of the roof When water level is low and does not fill up
The idea is to create wholesome experience of nature and its richness through the language of a from that mimics the same
When water level increases and fills up the gallery troughs
Corals [Zoanthids] for the surface perforations to open and close as water level changes to seal the structure from water, open to sky for lighting and create little features of water at the troughs of the roof...
Columns reaching the bottom of ocean bed are porous in structure to allow nesting of oceanic flora and fauna and provide a habitat for them The structure and placement of the columns not only ensuring safe transferring of load to the bed but also create an interesting maze like structure allowing a dramatic underwater set-like experience for swimmers exploring wildlife below. The design creates narrations and drama in the way it takes the vistors on the journey all the between ocean and sky!
Underwater view | Between ocean and sky render
EQUIM Parametrized Competition | 1st runners up
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lumion. Villa + Quadruplex renders
Tower Renders
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Roof structure derivation
Refer Project 1 [pg.4] Living Choice Environmental design and Integrated structure
Environment based zoning and massing strategy
Environmental analysis from the Site contributes to design of the roof, initial massing and outdoor space relaitonships. The initial massing on site is informed by potential shade benefit produced by the building masses and their orientation with the beach and surrounding landscape. Clustered and broken down masses creating pockets of shaded outdoor space between them is beneficial on this beach site to create a cooler micro climate - bringing in the sea breeze and also using the building mass to shade the outdoor spaces. Radiation patterns on site inform the design of the roof - the areas in the living space that require shade and curvature of the roof. The roof iterations are tested against the sun and various evolutionary upgrades are made to optimize shade benefit and prevent direct radiation. The wind patterns on site are useful to direct the placement and interior layouts of the flexible living units - placing the living and bedspaces closer to the seaside - catching the breeze and views and placing the kitchen and utility spaces further in for ventilation outlet and privacy hand in hand.
RHINO | GRASSHOPPER | LADY BUG TOOLS
environmental analysis.
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environmental analysis.
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depthmap + spatial analysis.
29 Exhibition construction and model making Connective playground exhibition 2019
The Whispering Pearl | Villa design | 1:50 Scaled model
Study model making and experiments
Model making video tutorials @d6arch channel for Heriot-Watt University
Model making process shots
Hand crafted models
model making.
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Villa Savoy | 3d model + diagram Platforms of play | Pont de bondy Metro station refurb | UG Y[2] axonometric
diagramming.
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Grasshopper + Kangaroo explorations
Parametric pavilion design | Kangaroo
Frei Otto inspired Parametric form | Between ocean and sky refer [pg 22]
digital artwork.
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WEB AND PRINT WORK
Digitial illustrations
June 30, 2021 To: To Whom It May Concern From: Atousa Aslaminezhad | BSc Arch Eng. MUP Ref.: Letter of reference for Venusri Harigopal
I am writing this reference in support of Venusri Harigopal’s application to your organization. I am currently a lecturer in Architecture and Architectural Engineering departments at Heriot-Watt University in Dubai, a UK-based international university with campuses in Edinburgh, Dubai and Malaysia. I have known Venusri for four years as an architecture student at Heriot Watt University. As a student, Venusri always delivered work complete, on time, and having researched the assigned tasks thoroughly. In the courses she took with me she showed evidence of independent critical thinking as well as an acute ability to propose innovative solutions to architectural design problems. Her assignments were submitted impeccably organized and presented in an eloquent engaging manner. I was particularly impressed by her research skills during the design studio courses. Her proposals were presented as solutions to problems she initially posed. This approach was unusual for undergraduate students and made her stand out from the rest of the students. I could see in Venusri an individual with a critical inquiring mind and encouraged her to practice architecture. I am thrilled to learn she is being applied and considered at your organization. I am very confident Venusri will brilliantly shine as an active team member. She always has a great balance between design and research. At a personal level, Venusri is very friendly, amicable and easy to work with. She engages in group projects with enthusiasm, with a wonderful spirit of collaboration, yet as a natural leader. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require further information about Venusri. I very much look forward to see Venusri starting her new architectural journey. Best regards, Atousa Aslaminezhad
a.aslami_nezhad@hw.ac.uk +971 55 88 92 100
RIBA PART 1 ARCHITECTURE 2021
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