Architecture portfolio 2024

PORTFOLIO

aswin raj

aswin raj s

10, Ramniwas,, Hanuman Rd, Vile Parle East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400057.

aswinraj1211@gmail.com +91 733-9540890

A physical act.

Design for me is a physical act, that which is palpable, to get to the physical as soon as possible. To confront. To experience. To encounter. Tobepartofalargernarrative,terrainandobjectswhichwouldcertainlyoutlive us. Building things that know time, of what has come, of what is there, of what is beyond. It is not about honesty or dishonesty, it is to be true to one’s core.

a r t i s t s’ r e t r e a t

c l o u do v e r

m e l a v a s a l

r e j u v e n a t i o no ff o r tc o m p l e x

c i t y c o n s u m e s r e s o u r c e s

a ni n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r yf r a m e w o r kf o rr e s o u r c en e t w o r k s

m & c o f f i c e

b e y o n dc o r p o r a t ei n t e r i o ra r c h i t y p e s

artists’ retreat

Undergraduate thesis

Site: Aanaikatti, India

Type: Hospitality

Supervisor: Dr.Gopala krishnan

Year: 2022

artists’ retreat

Finding time to break away every now and again to unwind is crucial. One way to unwind and renew is through art and establishing a relationship with it in a tangible or intangible way. Stepping back from the demands of everyday life can inspire leaps in creativity. Therapy and retreats help us not only to enhance our mindspace and physical well being too. Art retreats, therefore, can fill spiritual needs while also permitting a personal indulgence. Also, only through tending to the self can artists produce the work they offer the world. The programme is an juncture of resort, work scapes, artist residency, serene landscape, social junctures, festive spaces, ephemeral landscape and public temporal spaces. The major design challenge is to reduce the friction between the end stakeholders.

concept

The design cue is taken from the five act structure in screenplay writing to elevate the spatial quality. The spatial zoning and activity generation is created with the proven structural sequence to drive the drama.The site acts as the stage, clouds as protoganist having wind antagonizing and vice versa. The architecture of the place also plays a vital role acting as the major backdrop. The users act as the audience relishing the drama of the clouds and breeze. Seasonal climate creates a ephemeral quality to the overall narration.

concept + seqeuence

protasis

parking lot

visitor’s center art curatory

exhibit hall

PROTASIS

PARKING

library

VISITORSí CENTER

restaurant art therapy space

ART CURATORY

EXHIBIT HALL

LIBRARY

open air theatre

RESTAURANT

performing art center

ART THERAPY SPACE

lecture halls

OPEN AIR THEATRE

PERFORMING ART CENTER

LECTURE HALLS

emphasis

writing workshop

print making workshop

EMPHASIS

digital art workshop

thermal bath

WRITING WORKSHOP

sound therapy space

spa

PRINT MAKING WORKSHP

DIGITAL ART WORKSHOP

THERMAL BATH

sculpture park rock garden elevated pathway gazebos

SOUND THERAPY SPACE

SPA

SCULPTURE PARK

ROCK GARDEN

ELEVATED PATHWAY

GAZEBOS

catastrophe

viewing deck

CATASTROPHE

yoga hall artist residency infinity pool

VIEWING DECK

YOGA HALL

ARTIST RESIDENCY

INFINITY POOL

cottage rooms

COTTAGE ROOMS

//The subjectivities between users are addressed using phenomenology and contextualization as design tools//

revitalisation of the fort complex

Site: Madurai,India

Type: Revitalisation / Conservation

Client: Madrurai Smart City Limited

Year: 2024

Advisor: Dr.Jinu Loushidha Kitchley

m e l a v a s a l

The four entrances were so lofty that a full-grown elephant with a man on its back entered the gate without the man having to lower the flag post he held! //from the scriptures of madurai kanchi//

‘City morphs to sustain’, in the process, is lost the essence of the fort wall complex of madurai. Discovering the ruins of ancient Madurai requires archaeological excavation, which is impractical due to extensive urban development. The western fort complex, a testament to Madurai’s enduring history and heritage, now sits within a densely developed landscape, exposing it to significant deterioration and vulnerabilities. Neglected within its urban context, it has become a refuge for illicit activities, unnoticed despite the complex being off geographically critical within the cityscape.

The crux of the design is to rejuvenate and repurpose the fort complex, enhancing its landscape to better serve stakeholders involved in production and consumption. This approach seeks to preserve the site’s historical significance and temporal quality while implementing effective interventions.

design interventions

The manipulated fort landscape is designed to house public intervention in the form of democratic spaces and a informative landscape kindling conversations and critical debates.

The manipulated fort landscape is designed to house public intervention in the form of democraticspacesandainformativelandscape kindling conversations and vital debates.

The existing fort complex is refurbished back to its old glory using cues from the old sculptures and the native architecture from the buildings of the same time period.

The existing fort complex is refurbished back to its old glory using cues from the oldscipturesandthenativearchitecture from buildings of the same time period.

The deisgn of the landscape involved strategisingtointervenealonwiththeexisting vegetation in place and the flooring is planned based on the porgramme

The design of the landscape involved strategizing to intervene along with the existing vegetationin place and the flooring is planned

The circumambulatory is designed with distinct vocabulary sensibly supplementing thefortcomplexísmaterialandvisualpalette.

The circumbulatory is designed with a distinct vocabulary sensiblly supplementing the complex’s material and visual palette.

Visual barrier is crafted using stone columns to demarcate the fort complex ,making it sit on the landscape subtly yet loud.

Visual barriesr is created using stone columns to demarcate the fortcomplex,makingitsitonthe landscape subtly yet loud

An ornamental column is erected instilling a sense of nativity with the the design cues from native temple temple architecture inviting a focus on the elemental architecture behind.

An ornamental colmumn is erected instilling a sense of nativity with design cues from native temple architecture inviting a focus towards the elemental structure behind.

sections + elevations

east elevation

‘‘a sanctum for ancient dreams”

productive urbanism

Site: Madakulam,India

Citation//GSEN 2021//

National Association of Students of Architecture

c i t y c o n s u m e s

r e s o u r c e s

An interdisciplinary framework for resource networks

notion

The pre and post stages of consumption are often unthought.The observable movement of the resource flow is coupled with people’s daily activities from work to leisure. A participatry production network is created in terms of spatial policies and development strategies,using food as a design tool. The era of active consumerism has brought to the front, a culture of convenience based lifestyle and also a load in the city’s metabolic chain.This load is taken into the economy in the form of active/passive investments. The underused resources is invested from the households, distributed throughout the designed energy flow and made ready for consumption where produced resource is then drivenbacktobeapartofpeople’sdaytodaymicro-economy.

The never ending exchange shapes the socio-culture of people, political and physical attributes of the city timelessly with value exchange as a constant. The stakeholders’ act of investment gives a sense of partnership and a constant assistance in sustaining it.The landlocks, tanks watecourses,plotted agriculturalfields with builtstocksmakes the topography. The untapped potentials of designing the resource flowsisutilizedtoevolvespatialschemesthatadapts to the economy’s time and needs. The never ending flow of resources creates long-term trade-offs across the shifting ecosystems and ever changing society, making it resilient.

can public realm be centred around the themes of improved agricultural productivity?

Is it viable to imagine ecologically sensitive urban designs ?

is resilence tangible or intangible?

can utilitarian landscape be part of everyday landscape. ?

food as a design tool?

0m100m500m

//Madakulam,an extensive landscape agglomeration with a wide spectrum of opportunities acts as a suitable testing ground for the urban experiment//

//The never ending exchange shapes the socio-culture of people, political phyiscal attributes of the city timelessly with value exchange as a constant//

Resource pooling

Resource pooling

Blurring the line between private and public realm

Blurring the line between private and public realm

Public resource pooled revitalisation

Public resource pooled revitalisation

Households

Households

Hydroelectricity Grey water

Hydro electricity Grey water oxidation point

Oxidation point

Irrigating habitats

Irrigation habitats

Hydro electric plant

Hydro electric plant

Riparian landscape

Wetland + Riparian landscape

Filteration bed

Porous filtration bed

Resource pooling modules

Resource pooling modules (kindling ingenunity)

Resource pooling modules (Kindling ingenuity)

Tacid knowledge sharing + Ethno science + Bio habitats + Animal food security

Social production sites

Resource pooling

Transactional realms + Agrarian occasonal spaces + Elements of social production + Scrape parks

Gleaning hub

Transactional realms + Agrarian occasonal spaces + Elements of social production + Scrape parks

Gleaning hub

Diverse workforce based communal food hub + energy transactional spaces

Diverse workforce based communal food hub + energy transactional spaces

Bio-reserve (micro level proposal)

Bio reserves (micro level proposal)

Commercial hotspotsHouse thresholdsNeed based social hotspots Spiritual hotspots

Commercial hotspots Household thresholds Need based social hotspots Spiritual hotspots the exchange

m&c office interiors

Site:Coimbatore,India

Internship//moad//madrasofficeforarchitectsanddesigners

Year:2022

involvedindesigningphaseoftheproject producediterativemodelsandillustrations curatedclientpresentations workedonconstructiondrawings

m & c o f f i c e

concept

Open collaborative planning, Embracing thecontextandculture,Textureandcolours of materials were key aspects of design. Organized through layers to from a melangeofforms,materials,services,colour, textures, reflections, light, signage and landscape all juxtaposed to evoke a sense of city inside a building. Endless sea of workstations, privacy cabins, lack of natural light, forced ventilation, muted colours, generic carpets signifytheinternalatmosphereofSEZs.Tofit inistheun-saidmotto.Exceptionsarefound inmetrocities,themoreonegoesawayfrom metrosthemorethesesitesbecomegeneric.

Our context for an interior was one such site. Located on the second floor of a building inside a Special Economic Zone without direct sun light was our site.The site with these challenges was offered to convertthisenclosureintoanofficeinteriorfor financial executives, our response was to challenge the nature of such straight-jacketed corporate interiors.