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WORKING WATERS
PERSONAL PROJECT l Labor Data Farm, New York City, 2023 Pg. 04-11
UMASS BOSTON
PROFESSIONAL PROJECT l Campus Renovation, Boston, 2018 - present Pg. 12-19
GOLD: STORIES OF A CITY
ACADEMIC PROJECT l Graduate Thesis at Syracuse University, 2017 Pg. 20-51
CONTENTS
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INTRODUCTION The portfolio consists of a personal, professional, and academic architectural project engaging with issues of labor politics, institutional racism, and commodity cultures. Using a consistent methodology of overlays, the portfolio depicts the evolving historic contexts within which each of these design projects originate. These overlays represent change without erasure, avoiding the allure of the Tabula Rasa. Together they depict architecture as a complex medium of changing political economies and dominant power structures.
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Newspaper Headline, Sept 16, 2008
WORKING WATERS A speculative project based on real events. The 2008 financial crisis debilitated an already dwindling US labor movement. Labor unions joined populist uprisings such as Occupy Wall Street, to no avail, with no accountability for the largest trading firms and corporations on Wall Street.
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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupy Wall Street, Financial District, NYC, 2011
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Financial District, NYC
WORKING WATERS Historically, New York’s East River piers were industrial zones, spaces where the working-class operated. As the city de-industrialized, the piers were abandoned for decades, only to be revalued as prime real estate at the turn of the 21st century.
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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
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An American Exodus: A record of Human Erosion, Dorothea Lange, 1939
WORKING WATERS Following the crisis, labor unions build new institutions on the East River next to Wall Street. Underwater Labor Data Farms or “Data Piers” document the struggles of the working class and the losses inflicted by multi-billion-dollar corporations. Worker images projected on the river surface are a record of human resilience.
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WORKING WATERS Over time, these working-class institutions become public spaces. A form of governance infrastructure at the edge of the Financial District. The engagement, organization and solidarity of these spaces result in larger numbers enrolling in labor unions. An institutional renaissance of the US labor movement.
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“The Soiling of Old Glory”, Stanley Forman, 1976 Attacks on Civil-Rights activists at Boston City Hall
UMASS BOSTON When the University of Massachusetts opened in Park Street in downtown Boston in 1964, it coincided with Civil-Rights protests of the time demanding the desegregation of Boston’s public school system. More than a decade later in 1975 when the campus was moved to its present location at Columbia point, it was amidst a violent backlash against school busing policies enforced by the State District Court of Massachusetts.
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Source: EdBuild
Civil-Rights protests to desegregate Boston Public Schools, 1963
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Community clean up initiative at the Columbia Point Housing Project, 1967
UMASS BOSTON The design of the campus at Columbia point embodied the city’s spirit of racial paranoia and institutional segregation. Mired by government corruption, it was a poorly built commuter college; a prison-like mega-structure built on a former dump yard far away from the affluent center of the city. The campus was built close to the Public Housing project built in 1954, that was afflicted by similar issues of poor construction and inaccessibility to the city’s infrastructural and economic resources.
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News article from the Boston Globe, 2017
UMASS BOSTON Despite a weak institutional architecture, generations of students and faculty strived to uphold the original mission of the university, building a proud workingclass academic institution dedicated to racial and economic equality. Close to four decades later however, most of the substructure underneath the original campus buildings was dilapidated, needing urgent repair or to be demolished entirely.
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UMASS BOSTON In 2018, we at NBBJ and Michael Van Valkenburgh associates were hired to demolish the dilapidated structures at the campus’ center, replacing it with a 22,000 sq ft. green quadrangle, signaling a new era of the university’s growth and development. The total cost of renovating the ill-conceived, original campus design is estimated to be 181.7 million dollars.
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News article on India airlifting gold to the Bank of England to pay off national debt in 1991
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
INTRODUCTION Placed within the context of India being one of the largest importers of gold commodities in the world and Kerala having the highest rates of gold consumption in the country, the thesis analyzes the influence of the precious metal on the urban typologies of Kerala. Each of the five narrative compositions of the thesis traces the evolution of a different architectural typology affected by gold and its value systems. Together, these diverse urban narratives are combined and presented as the speculative stories of a fictional city in Kerala.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 20
Source: goldprice.org
Graduate Thesis Exhibition, 2017
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Map of international airports and seaports in Kerala
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 1: SURVEILLANCE PORTS The Government of India passed the 1962 Customs Act to slow down the import of gold into the country and to consequently control the depreciating value of the Indian rupee. This however only resulted in an increase in gold smuggling to keep up with the high demand for the precious metal while avoiding heavy import duties. In Kerala, between the 1960-1990s, most smuggled goods entered through the numerous seaports along its coastline, often arriving on ships from the Middle East.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 22
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Above, gold seized from diplomatic baggage at Thiruvananthapuram airport Below, X-ray image of gold packets concealed in passenger rectum confisticated at Kochi airport
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 1: SURVEILLANCE PORTS With the expansion of airport infrastructure in Kerala in the late 1980s, most of the illicit gold trade networks shifted from the sea to the air. Smugglers use innovative ways to bring in gold illegally, melting and hiding it in baggage linings, food items, cloths, electronics, teeth and even within their rectums. They often collaborate with corrupt customs officials, diplomats, or airplane staff to pass through security points unchecked.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 24
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GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 1: SURVEILLANCE PORTS The chapter speculates on a new type of surveillance infrastructure built on the Internet of Things (IoT), installed in airports to track smuggled gold commodities. As visitors enter the invisible threshold of the city, it activates passports that are tracking devices, tied to baggage sensors scanning inner contents, connected by Wi-Fi systems decrypting private communications and synchronized with airplane bridges that are metal scanners. Based in the deep breaches of human privacy, it is a story of Junkspace come to life.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 26
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“Pandals” in the day and night reclaiming the roads as pedestrian public spaces for the Thrissur Pooram festival
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 2: ELEPHANT PATHS In 1796, the Thrissur “Pooram” festival was established, with processions of elephants adorned in gold arriving from temples surrounding the city and converging at the city center in a grand celebration of color, craftsmanship, and music. Over time, the elephant paths connecting the temples, turned into the main roads of the city dedicated to vehicular traffic. Every year however, these roads are reclaimed by temporary pavilions known as “Pandals”, marking the return of the festival of elephants.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 28
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Above, Aerial view of the Thrissur Pooram Below, Elephants with “Nettipattams” walking through the urban center of the city
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 2: ELEPHANT PATHS The elephants caparisoned in gold “Nettipattams” are cultural symbols of opulence and prosperity, with each crafted embellishment representing a different religious deity. As the festival gains more global fame, it becomes an exponentially profitable tourist attraction despite growing scrutiny of animal rights abuses inflicted on the elephants.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 30
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GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 2: ELEPHANT PATHS The chapter speculates that as the development of the city moves farther way from its historic center, a new plan to revitalize the economy of the region, turns it into a permanent tourist destination. The once temporary “Pandals” are turned into permanent “Folies” with viewing galleries, bridges and cable cars looking down at the passing elephants. Revenues gained from such a destination with dedicated facilities for elephants are claimed to improve the living conditions of the animals held in captivity. An urban space for elephants and tourists, an eternal event city.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 32
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Religious depiction of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity surrounded by, and embellished in gold
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 3: TEMPLE VAULTS Throughout Kerala’s history, temples have owned vast amounts of wealth and property. Gold, diamonds and artifacts of wealthy Kingdoms were filled into temple vaults hidden and protected from invaders and British colonial forces who were not allowed entry into the sacred premises. Beyond its monetary value, gold is mythologized as a religious symbol of opulence and prosperity.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 34
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Above, Photograph of the Padhmanabaswamy temple complex from the late 20th century Below, 16th century Gold replica of the lord Padhmanaba diety found within the temple vault
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 3: TEMPLE VAULTS The chapter is inspired by a 2007 legal case filed against the Padhmanabaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, leading to a court order demanding an audit of its temple vaults. It revealed close to 20 billion dollars’ worth of wealth buried under the sanctum sanctorum mostly in the form of gold artifacts, triggering raucous public debate as to what was to be done with the newly discovered temple treasures.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 36
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GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 3: TEMPLE VAULTS The chapter speculates that the hidden treasures of one of the historic temples in Kerala is handed over to the government and archived in a public museum built under the temple grounds. Taxes are levied on the centuries of undisclosed wealth of the temple and used for the development and upkeep of the museum as well as other public development projects. The history of the region forged in gold is protected within a public yet labyrinthine architecture, embodying the ancient religious, economic, and political spirit of the city.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 38
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Advertisement depicting Indian brides of different religious backgrounds adorned in gold jewelry
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 4: WEDDING STORES Gold craftsmen of various religious and ethnic backgrounds have been an integral part of the commercial and cultural history of Kerala. Mostly concentrated in urban centers such as Thrissur, Kochi, Kozhikode and Thuruvananthapuram, these goldsmiths owned small yet highly profitable businesses crafting idols for religious ceremonies, decorations for cultural festivals and most commonly jewelry for weddings and other auspicious occasions.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 40
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Above, Advertisement for gold showrooms in Chennai Below, Busy gold jewelry showroom during festival season
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 4: WEDDING STORES In the 1990s, the “liberalization” of India’s economy saw the establishment of mega gold jewelry chains in Kerala, displacing or subsuming smaller jewelry businesses owned by traditional goldsmiths. When they first opened, these mega chains were powered by the wealth of a massive number of Kerala’s NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) working in the Middle East, who considered the purchase of jewelry as both a safe social and economic investment.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 42
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GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 4: WEDDING STORES The chapter speculates that as the profits of these gold jewelry businesses surge, a new typology of wedding store is born out of a culture of hyper-consumption. Entire wedding halls and auditoriums impregnate giant gold showrooms with billboards, capturing the ceremony and projecting it to the rest of the city. Weddings are no longer private events but live reality shows feeding into the hyper-advertised fantasies of traditional womanhood and the great Indian wedding. A type of phantasmagorical architecture on steroids.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 44
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Muthoot Fincorp, gold loan services, image from website
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 5: INVESTMENT ISLANDS Throughout the many kingdoms of pre-independence Kerala, gold was accepted as the medium of exchange for both local and global trade. Gold was also an important bedrock asset for the working farmers and peasants in these kingdoms. The smallest amounts of mortgaged gold jewelry being the last financial resort for generations of struggling families.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 46
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Above, Sobha city, residential development, Thrissur Below, Gold ATM atop Burj Khalifa in Dubai
GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 5: INVESTMENT ISLANDS In the 2000s, specifically around the financial crisis, the global value of gold rose significantly as a counterbalance to the waning American dollar. Kerala’s import of gold commodities at lower prices through its immigrant population in the Middle East, and the revenues gained from it within Kerala was at an all-time high. This wealth significantly altered Kerala’s economic landscape resulting in massive commercial and residential real estate developments seen across the state.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 48
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GOLD
STORIES OF A CITY
CH 5: INVESTMENT ISLANDS The chapter speculates that as the global stock price for gold rises exponentially, an entirely generic and alien architecture based purely on financial logic, develops at the edge of the old city replacing green paddy fields. Gigantic billboard facades project images of skyscrapers from cities across the globe, disconnected from their immediate surroundings and only to be seen and admired from far away. Isolated Islands made of the riches of gold for a transitory elite, flying in and out of the city.
For details on thesis research and references, please click on link below: Gold: Stories of a City, Graduate Thesis Document 50
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