project # 16

TITLE : A RESIDENTIAL STUDIO
LOCATION : RAJKOT
ARCHITECT : BPS ARCHITECTS, RAJKOT

BPS Architects was established in the year 1999 by architects Parth Shah and Brinda Shah. The office is currently operational in Rajkot and engaged in a variety of architectural and design projects. The building portrayed in this post is their residential studio at Rajkot. The site is an almost square shaped plot with access from the east side. The building occupies southern edge of the plot, leaving the northern side available for plantation and landscaping. The building has a long bar-shape organization that maximizes the utilization of glare-free north light. The program of the residential studio consists of architectural studios, a library cum meeting room, a bedroom, a kitchen, and related services. An exhibition space has been planned as a separate structure in the next phase of development.

ground floor plan......................................................................sections...............................


view from entrance...............................................................northern edge...........................



verandah......................................................................................umro court.........................


northlight..................................................................studio-1 north wall.................................

The entire program has been divided into two parts that are separated with the help of an enclosed court and a verandah. This verandah also acts as an arrival space and becomes an anchoring space in the layout. With the help of steps and built-in seats this space forms an interesting edge next to the green area. Most of the existing trees have been retained and incorporated in the layout by giving them courts as per their respective sizes and location in the plan. The cross-section of the building has been worked out to allow penetration of north light and to generate a natural flow of air into the studio spaces. In contrast to the northern edge that is more pores, the southern edge has been given more thickness to allow as much storage for the work spaces and also to cut down heat from the southern side.

project # 15

TITLE: SHANUBHAI HOUSE
LOCATION: AHMEDABAD
ARCHITECT: AYAZ PATHAN

This week’s post features a residence done by Ahmedabad based architect Ayaz Pathan: Shanubhai House. The site for Shanubhai house comprises of a 205 sq yard plot with one of the long sides as shared wall. The house forms part of a larger scheme developed by a private developer at the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The developer had already built the ground floor of the house at the time of architect’s intervention, as per the total scheme. The layout done by the developer had problems in terms of space utilization, light and ventilation, treatment of staircase, and construction quality. Thus the entire exercise, in this case, was to modify the existing structure, do necessary changes, and make an inhabitable house out of it. Reworking of staircase, services, and addition of a completely new first floor were the challenges posed by the new program of the house.


existing plan..............................modified ground floor plan...................

first floor plan...........................terrace plan...........................................


north elevation.....................................east elevation.............................


north-east view..............................................entrance..........................

..........................................................................................................

verandah...........................................family room.................................

................................................balcony...............................................

The ground floor of the house consists of a drawing, dining, kitchen, a bedroom, and services. In a typical commercial development and tight plot, such as the one at Shanubhai house, utilization of the margin areas and their relationships with the interior spaces becomes an issue of primary concern in the design. An attempt has been made in this direction at Shanubhai house by opening the dining area into a semi-open area, which forms part of the margin areas and also serves as secondary entrance for the house. First floor of the house forms a more private domain, where bedrooms, balconies, services, and a family room form a tight assembly of rooms in plan. The material palette of the house comprises of plastered and painted walls, re-used wood for doors-windows, and white marble for flooring.

project # 14

TITLE: DESAI HOUSE
LOCATION: AHMEDABAD
ARCHITECT: PRAGNESH PATEL

After graduating from School of Architecture, CEPT, Ahmedabad, and having worked with private architects, architect Pragnesh Patel started his own practice at Ahmedabad in the year 2004. Desai house is an architectural project that was completed by him in the year 2006. The site for Desai House forms a part of Rabari colony that is located in the dense eastern suburbs of Ahmedabad. This part of the city primarily consists of industrial units, housing colonies, and chawls filled with migrant labour population. The site had two long sides as shared walls and an existing milk shop, owned by the client, as given parameters. The program also posed challenge in terms of multiple occupancy of the space; whereby the first floor would have a possibility of renting it out to the migrant labours.

site plan.................................ground floor plan......................first floor plan.........



sections....................................................................................................................


existing milk-shop............entrance..............courtyard...........................................


courtyard.....................................................layering of spaces.............................

first floor verandah.....................baithak space........................................................

The house can be accessed directly from the main road with an entrance located next to the milk shop, as well as from the back side. Activities of the main house take place on the ground floor with a baithak room, a bedroom, basic services, a kitchen, and an entrance courtyard. The courtyard naturally becomes anchoring space for the house on ground floor. Kitchen and the utility area together look into a small court at the rear entrance and the services area has its own double-volume light court. All of these courts and light wells allow ample natural light and breeze in the tight arrangement of the plan. The first floor can be accessed directly with the help of a straight staircase without disturbing the ground floor. The first floor comprises of two bedroom units with attached toilets, both of which can either work as separate units or as a single house with a shared terrace. The house has RCC frame structure, and material palette that comprises of plastered and painted walls, kotah stone flooring, and wood for doors-windows.

project # 13

TITLE: CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
LOCATION: TRIVANDRUM
ARCHITECT: LAURIE BAKER

In the year 1967 Laurie Baker was asked to design a centre for research in applied economics, Centre for Development Studies, at the outskirts of Trivandrum. Standing on a 10 acre plot, CDS is one of the most important projects from Baker’s architectural oeuvre. The significance of this project has less to do with the scale or budget, than the range of architectural vocabulary employed by Baker in this project. CDS campus comprises of administrative offices, a computer centre, an amphi-theatre, a library, classrooms, housing and other components of an institutional design. The site, being on a hillside, posed challenge of locating various building blocks without disturbing the landscape. Baker’s solution to this challenge is randomly distributed administrative office and classroom blocks, whose positions are determined by the slope. Administration office, classroom blocks and library form the central complex. The library dominates this complex with a seven storey high tower, occupying the hill top. Most of the buildings, computer centre, multipurpose hall, amphi-theatre or the hostel blocks, derive their organic shapes from the contours on which they sit.

“Lastly, I have found, consistently, throughout my working life, that the whole business of planning and designing is intensely absorbing and fun! Always living close to nature I learnt many lessons from the design of God’s creations. Very rarely do we find the square or the rectangle but very often the circle is used. The straight line is rare, but the graceful curve is frequently seen. An interesting scientific observation is that the length of the wall enclosing a given area is shorter if the shape is circular and longer if the shape around the same area is a square or a rectangle. This is an important factor in cost-reducing exercises!

Furthermore, I have found the answer to many spatial and planning problems by using the circle and the curve instead of the square and the straight line-and building becomes much more fun with the circle.”

Laurie Baker

computer centre & multipurpose hall................double skin...........



entrance............................................central block with library tower......


entrance to the central block & internal court...........

library block from inside............................................................

canteen block with an internal court............................................

The CDS campus is a complete demonstration of ways in which brick can manipulated and utilized for various purposes. Brick has been used for structural walls, as form work for concrete columns, brick-jalis that give Baker’s work a unique identity, for built-in furniture, as outdoor paving, as arches for lintels and even as street light poles. Most of the buildings at this campus have double skin, where outer layer comprises of brick jalis that cuts down glare and allows cross-ventilation, so crucial in this climate. Almost all possible ways in which a jali-wall can be made, using brick, have been demonstrated at this campus. All the bricks used for the project were made close to the site. The material palette of this campus comprises of exposed bricks, exposed concrete, random rubble stone masonry, filler slab, wood for the openings, and red-oxide for flooring.

Reference:

• Gautam Bhatia, ed. 1994, Laurie Baker: Life, Work and Writings, Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd.

project # 12

TITLE: JAWAHAR KALA KENDRA
ARCHITECT: CHARLES CORREA
LOCATION: JAIPUR

Located in the pink city of Jaipur, Jawahar Kala Kendra is a hub for cultural activities of the city. Completed in the year 1992, and initiated by state government, Jawahar Kala Kendra was built exclusively with the view to retain and revive Rajasthan’s rich folk culture. The plan of the institution, which is inspired by the original city plan of Jaipur, comprises of nine squares with central square left open. The original plan of the Jaipur city drawn up by Maharaja Jai Singh, himself a scholar, is also divided in nine parts, out of which one square gets displaced to accommodate nearby hill and the two central squares get united to form the city palace. At Jawahar Kala Kendra the city plan is recalled by rotating and displacing one of the squares which also creates an entrance space.

plan-JKK..........................................plan of jaipur city with nine square diagram....


entrance & library block...............................................................................

central square at JKK.........................................city palace jaipur.................

open staircase & terraces at JKK................jantar mantar observatory at jaipur.....

The institution facilitates a house of museum that portrays art pieces from Rajasthani folk culture, a house of theatre, a library, an arts gallery that displays arts and crafts created by well known artists, Studio space that exhibits paintings and sculptures, accommodation facilities and a cafeteria. Each of these parts occupies one square and thus the program of the institution gets divided in eight squares with a void at the centre. The individual squares are defined by 8 meter high walls and each square has its own character, its own built to open space ratio, reflecting its program. The overall built form and the language of the place draws many references from the traditional architecture of Jaipur, such as the city palace and the Jantar Mantar observatory built by Raja Jai sing.

Reference:

1. Khan, Hasan-Uddin, ed. 1987. Charles Correa: Architect in India. London: Butterworth Architecture

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