Building Systems

‘What is the architecture of resource consumption and regeneration (air, light, water) and how does the infrastructural requirement to harvest, store, consume, renew these resources inform the builtform and its spatiality?’ How can this systemic thinking become the mode to craft spaces and suggest informed relationship between the space, experience, behaviour, life and living to create comfort conditions? The architectural imperatives, structural logic and materiality are derived from these coordinates. The climatic response here becomes inherent to the design process.

The first law of thermodynamics states that ‘energy can be neither created nor destroyed but only be transferred from one form to another’. This as a set premise, the studio dwells into broadening the understanding of resource and energy consumption and figuring out ways to negotiate the different flows in the context of urban resources. Each project in this studio asks what is ‘Productive Architecture’ and can this architecture provide newer typological opportunities for spatial thinking?

The chosen site of intervention is a hybrid space of BMC infrastructure of garage for vehicles, dump yard for discarded vehicles, drainage department, Grahak Panchayat office adjoining the walled nallah in Juhu, Mumbai and carries multiple form of city refuse (automobile, furniture, wastewater etc.) This necessary urban infrastructure consumes or provides resources of and for the city respectively. While this stands true it lacks to provide opportunities to interact with the high density and sprawling neighbourhood public at large because of the insular and inward planning.

From the identified zone students chose a site of 1000 sqm to design a built intervention of 600-800sqm. This shall accommodate 150-200 public and have following compulsory provisions in addition to individual programming; administration and meeting space for three administrative staff, a director and public interface, congregation/ learning space for 20 pax, 50 pax and 100 pax respectively, service infrastructure like toilets and storage spaces, any other additional infrastructure as required.

Architectural questions:

How does space and form become a derivative of building services and systems?

How does space get generated through alternative building systems?

What is the nature of spatial configurations that reduces the demand on resources to build and operate the building?

What is the architecture of harnessing resources for buildings?

How do you start structuring space such that the harnessed resources become a part of the experience of life and living?

Objectives:

• To develop the ability to construct architecture program through a central resource concern within an urban setting.

• To familiarize with the relationship between program, infrastructure and services through systemic thinking and the resultant experience of the form, spatiality and typology that it generates

• To equip in building attitude and approach to design a structure for a chosen climatic context

• To build capacity to use relevant systems in appropriate manner for an equitable and efficient space and built-form

• Tu build capacity to scope, strategise, resolve (in terms of architectural dimensions) and detail (in terms of structure and materiality) an architectural project.

• To strengthen the structural concepts and methods required to design load bearing, framed or composite construction type structure across different materials, namely steel, timber, brick, stone, reinforced cement concrete