Semester 6 | Technology Module
Studio Mentors : Ravindra Punde, Dipti Bhaindarkar, Komal Gopwani and Abhijit Ekbote
Expert Guidance : Gauri Joshi, Suhas Chande, Dnyanesh Bhave
-Veeravalli Vikram, Dipti Bhaindarkar and Komal Gopwani
Design Detailing module for semester 6 initiated with the intent of equipping the students with understanding the sequential process of construction of a medium-scale building and to develop a language to communicate on-site through a set of detailed drawings and schedules. Drawing and detailing here is understood as a tool for communication. The students are exposed to various stages in the life of a building from Ideation, Conceptualization, Schematics, Design Development, Detailing and Working Drawing, and Construction Documentation. This included developing an understanding of complex building systems for energy, vertical transportation, along with issues of resources – water, energy and air.
This year’s module adopted the design for a co-living institution which the students designed in Semester 5. The students were required to carry these conceptual project through to the schematics stage, resolve the project technically and detail it out in a way that it can be built on-site, thus internalizing the sequential process of construction right from conceptualizing to final handover on site. With a brief exercise, they were also introduced to specifications and bill of quantities.
Some projects began from material explorations and their possible assemblies, some were driven by structural systems, whereas some focused on resource systems. The challenge was to translate this ideation of systems to actualization.
Ronak Soni
Labyrinth of transactional spaces
While designing resource-sensitive architecture, the built form was seen as the biggest consumer of resources. Thus an attempt was made to use timber as the primary material which reduces the embodied energy of the building and is reusable.
The primary structure is a combination of post-tensioned timber frame with concrete used for ground floor slab and basement. The building is timber-framed where the columns are superimposed one above the other with end-grain to end-grain bearing. The beams are then attached to the side avoiding cross-grain in the vertical section. Expansion joints are provided in beam-column connections allowing a certain degree of movement for seismic response while creating flitched beams with different joineries. The vertical steel plate of beams is enclosed completely in wood and holds the cavity for steel tendons to be passed later. As Mumbai is recognised under seismic zone four, the post-tensioning greatly improves the performance of the building and allows the structure to centre-align itself when subjected to moderate seismic forces.
The flitched assembly and nut-bolt joineries allow for easier maintenance since the entire arrangement becomes modular in nature and the pieces can be replaced easily over time increasing the life of the structure.
Non encapsulated method is used to prevent the wood from fire, the charring surface creates an impervious insulating layer which protects the interior unburnt layer from the heat of fire and oxygen required for combustion. Thus 40mm of the extra sacrificial layer is designed on the exposed surfaces.
Somesh Nadkarni
Water Conduits and Solar Chimneys
The structural system consists of a series of concrete shafts that act as water harvesters for the building. These 16 shafts are placed above four rainwater harvesting tanks of capacities over 2 lakh litres. The shafts/conduits are 23 metres tall with inner dimensions of 900x900mm. The walls are 230mm thick reinforced concrete lined with porcelain tiles on the inner surface. These tiles prevent water from seeping through the shafts. As the conduits also act as Solar Chimneys during the summer and winter season, when the water level subsides, these tiles withstand a lot of heat and help in creating a high pressure at the top of the conduits. During summer, warm air is made to escape through these conduits/chimneys. In winters, the same air is prevented from escaping by closing the shutters, and then recirculating it inside the building.
The underground/rainwater harvesting tanks are also lined with porcelain tiles on the inner surface to withstand the thrust of water on all sides. They are raised above the raft foundation to withstand the upthrust of the soil as well as the weight of stored water.
Manthan Chandak
Waste and Wellbeing
The intent of this project was to look at waste as a resource and form a feedback loop which reduces its production. To achieve this, a system was derived which would help in waste management. The solid and liquid waste generated will be treated using domestic systems like compost pit, reed bed and sewage treatment plant. The organic waste is treated using these systems, whereas the inorganic waste is separated and sent for recycling. The organic solid waste (food, paper, fabric and cardboard) is supplied to the compost pit where it decays and produces manure. The grey-water from bathrooms, sinks and water closets is supplied to reed beds where it is filtered and cleaned. This manure and filtered water are supplied to the roof gardens which produces potatoes and tomatos for the residents. The building uses compost micro flush toilets which uses 96% less water than a regular water closet. It uses a mixture of soap and water which acts as a lubricant for the solid excreta. It also uses sawdust for controlling the odour due to its carbon content. This solid excreta directly goes to the compost pit and the liquid waste to reed beds. English Ivy is also grown which requires less sunlight and water to grow. As it helps with dehumidification, it helps in controlling the micro-climate of these spaces. This system helps in forming a feedback loop where the waste produced is used for growing food which in turn is supplied to the residents. The building is an R.C.C. framed structure.
Raghav Gupta
Co-living with Staggered Planes
The building design priority was maximizing the social interaction in the spatial logistics and at the same time, maintain one’s privacy. Different user categories require definitive areas to work or live comfortably. Thus, space evolved with staggering planes and distributing them into zones of short-term and long-term residents. At the same time, resources like wind and sun were tapped into. To maximize light and ventilation, the rooms were located at the edges of the built mass and the entire building was raised on stilts to enable passage of air. All four sides of the built form have different window profiles designed with respect to their required function – on the east and the west façade, sliding windows are provided to control the heat gain; on the north façade, casement windows are provided to direct the wind flow into the building; the south façade has louvred windows to capture as much wind as possible while controlling the direct sunlight from entering the rooms.
The building is a framed structure with concrete columns, waffle slabs, and brick walls. The aspiration of a columnless space for a span of 12 m led to the use of waffle slabs for the ceiling and using less material than a conventional floor system. Sleeves are planned for through the beams, for the building services to run through.
Sanjana Habde
The (co)ntainer project
The Co-living space is then designed with these modules understanding their structural assembly and strength. Additional members are placed in places where containers are not designed to take the load. The aim of reducing water demand is done not only by using compost toilet but also blue-green terraces that help to collect rainwater which is sufficient for the entire year, thus making the building self-sufficient eliminating any external sources. This project explored the immense possibilities of assembling the container modules. The enquiry began from acquiring the containers, shipping and transporting them to site, to assembling them and thus creating and curating spaces.
Pranay Kotadia
The design intervention is realised through the design detailing module giving a larger focus on ‘design of details’ and the ‘narrative capacities’ of the built form through construction technology.
The resolution is done through a system which uses precast Vierendeel trusses of different spans and widths. The truss system is inspired by Richard Laboratory designed by Louis Kahn. The details and the assemblies are achieved through the structural assembly which provides for a great narrative capacity. The intricate fit and the way in which the Vierendeel trusses communicate with each other start talking about the entire structural presence of the building.
Apart from the structural system the juxtapositions of the material also have a narrative capacity. The prefabricated concrete truss gets placed next to the in-site poured concrete element. This narrates a story about the built form to the user through the factory finish of the first block and the rawness seen through the punctures in the second block. Resources are earlier seen as a concept for the resolution of spaces also gets resolved with thought not only given to the workability but also to the materiality. Thus, the tectonic resolution of the intervention helps in the cohesion of design and construction technology.
Nikeita Saraf
The Urban Grove
The design was primarily governed by the growth of existing vegetation and planning new vegetative groves. It highlights the concern of having a green pause within the heavily commercial and busy context of the site. In order to create experiences that were inclusive of the properties of various trees, the form had to sprawl in various places around the site and create pockets of activities within the groves.
With plantations being the primary focus, understanding the growth cycle of tree species and the amount of space and resources that each of them would require was the first step to charting out the construction process. Subsequent decisions of excavation and laying of the foundation would happen around the idea of how much the trees would grow in the future.
There has been a cautious effort towards the species that are planted and the location where they are grown. Trees like Jaamun and Neem block the south-west monsoon winds, while the existing coconut palm and mango groves are used as entry points towards enhancing the same groves using the Miyawaki forest creation technique. Gulmohar and papaya trees help carry the breezes. The plantation towards the south side, for access to sunlight, allows self-sustaining food production, while mosquito repellent species like lavender, lemongrass, and marigold shrubs are planted near the trench that holds water along with the reed bed plantation.
With vegetation, comes the involvement of birds and animal species that help to create an entire ecosystem in itself. With the outside being an integral part of the building, details of fenestrations work with the idea of spaces opening to the vegetation thus connecting the outside in and the inside out. The slabs are cast keeping in mind the extent to which the surrounding crowns of trees would grow and sprawl.
Veeravalli Vikram
The Hydro Cantilever
The building design aims to reduce the demand for water and become completely self-dependent in terms of supply of water. The building is developed as a set of water storage tanks at different levels and each of them fitted with filters. The rainwater then collected is directly used. The water is initially collected in a smaller tank like structure and then overflows into the main tank creating an aesthetic for the overflow of water. The greywater from the building is also recycled and reused by means of a cartridge filter system. To reduce the demand for water, the building does not have any showers, makes use of waterless urinals for both men and women, the use of energy and water-efficient devices.
The structural system is made of R.C.C and each floor uses a small volume to accommodate the sacrificial casing that would be required to cast the tanks and leave a hollow space in between. A central core made of RCC supports the entire structure with the floors cantilevering on all sides. The walls are made of hollow concrete blocks in order to make the structure light and reduce the loading on the cantilever. In order to deal with the high humidity in the city, the outer walls of the building are coated with a hydrogel coating that works by absorbing the humidity and cooling the internal environment when the outside humidity is higher than 80%. This prevents the need for having ACs and other active cooling methods.
Kshitija Akre
Living with Bamboo
The project began with the idea of co-living which addresses concerns through the lens of sustainability. The project prioritizes materiality as the primary concern while imbibing the idea of having a hybrid structure. The building opens up from the west and forms the language of a courtyard which allows maximum flow of wind to enter the rooms of the building.
The structure being curvilinear in form, and bamboo being the main material, is reusable, stronger and flexible. The bamboo structure is supported by two concrete cores on either side. These cores eventually become the service cores and the vertical circulation.
The structure is a system of units of four bamboos combined to form columns and beams which are attached to a plate to prevent sliding of the joineries. The slab is 180mm thick consisting of bamboo beams, bamboo joists and a bamboo mat. The walls are made of cross-laminated timber panels (CLT) which are fire-resistant. The building also focuses on wastewater management, with reed bed systems installed on the southern part of the building that refines the grey water which is produced from the kitchen.
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