design portfolio 2017-2025

design portfolio

FALGUNI VILAS SAKPAL

PRATT INSTITUTE | MASTER OF SCIENCE IN URBAN DESIGN (POST-PROFESSIONAL)

ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE, UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI | BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE

fsakpal@pratt.edu | falgunis17@aoamumbai.in | linkedin.com/in/falgunisakpal falgunisakpal.myportfolio.com | issuu.com/fsakpal | NEW YORK, USA

education

Aug 2024 - Aug 2025

Aug 2017 - Apr 2022

experience

Apr 2025 - Aug 2025

Jun 2022 - May 2024

falguni vilas sakpal

fsakpal@pratt.edu | falgunis17@aoamumbai.in | linkedin.com/in/falgunisakpal falgunisakpal.myportfolio.com | issuu.com/fsakpal | NEW YORK, USA

Nov 2021 - Dec 2021

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN URBAN DESIGN (POST - PROFESSIONAL)

Pratt Institute | Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, And Urban Design, New York

BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE

University Of Mumbai | Academy Of Architecture, Mumbai

Dec 2020 - May 2021

GRADUATE ASSISTANT

Pratt Institute | Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, And Urban Design, New York

JUNIOR ARCHITECT

Rohit Shinkre Architects, Mumbai

Architecture and Interiors | Ransai Lake-shore Estate, Villa in Ransai, and MLPL Hospital Urbanism and Landscape | Girgaum Chowpatty Security Posts, and Bandra Lake: Urban Renewal

Established productive working relationships with clients, consultants, and government agencies. Contributed to design ideation, development, detailing, and client coordination, including site visits and presentations.

TEACHING ASSISTANT

University Of Mumbai | Academy Of Architecture, Mumbai

Assisted the Associate Professor with orientation brief and graphics. Successfully delivered the First-Year Orientation Workshop with 17 fellow teaching assistants (for 60 students).

ARCHITECTURAL INTERN

Rohit Shinkre Architects, Mumbai

Architecture and Interiors | Ransai Lake-shore Estate and Private Bungalow in Wajapur Urbanism and Landscape | Central Mumbai Seafront Revival

Design studies, design development, and detailing, including coordination with structural designing, occasional site visits for Ransai Lake-shore Estate, Raigad, and a private bungalow in Wajapur, India. Architectural Layouts and Mood Boards for a Private Bungalow in Uran, Maharashtra, India.

RESEARCH INTERN

Jun 2019 - Aug 2019

World Resources Institute (WRI), Mumbai

Volunteered in user experience surveys for a newly installed urban infrastructure in Bandra, Mumbai. Part of the interviewing team for auto-rickshaw (an integrated public transport system in India) drivers in Mumbai formed a policy-based proposal.

exhibitions

Aug 2025 - Sep 2025

Jun 2025

RESONANCE: SPATIAL ECHOES BETWEEN FORM, CITY, AND SYSTEM

Pratt Institute | Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, And Urban Design, New York

BIODESIGN CHALLENGE SUMMIT 2025

Parsons School Of Design, The New School, And Museum Of Modern Art Johnson Hall, New York | Hybrid Habitats

skills

Professional

Digital and Computational

Fabrication

Analog

features

Sep 2025

Sep 2025

Jun 2025

May 2025

May 2025

competitions

Aug 2020

Jun 2020

Feb 2020

Oct 2018

Design Development and Discussions, Project Management, Construction Documents, Site Analysis and Planning, Client Communication, Team Collaboration, Presentations, Problem-Solving, Critical Thinking, Adaptability, Leadership and Supervision, Installation Execution, On-Site Coordination, and Website Design

Advanced | Rhinoceros 3D, AutoCAD and Sketchbook, Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, Enscape

Intermediate | Autodesk Revit, SketchUp, Grasshopper, ArcGIS Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Twinmotion

Basic | Adobe Illustrator, After Effects and Fresco, Lumion, Procreate, Microsoft Office, Google Suite

Robotics, 3D Printing, CNC Milling, and Laser Cutting

Hand Drafting and Rendering, Physical Documentation, Carpentry, Model Making and Prototyping

THE ARCHITECT AS MEDIATOR OF MATERIALS: LESSONS FROM HYBRID HABITATS

ArchDaily | Hybrid Habitats

HYBRID HABITATS: INNOVATING PATHWAYS TO EVOLUTIONARY DESIGN

Innovators Magazine | Hybrid Habitats

BIO-TECH FOR DEVELOPMENT

United Nations Climate Technology Centre And Network (CTCN) | Hybrid Habitats

BIO-TECH FOR DEVELOPMENT PARTICIPATE IN THE BIODESIGN CHALLENGE 2025

Pratt School Of Architecture News | Hybrid Habitats

HYBRID HABITATS: BIO-TECH FOR DEVELOPMENT

Biodesign Challenge | Hybrid Habitats

THE LITTLE BIG LOO

Volume Zero

THE HOUSE: INTERIORS

Archdais

TROPICAL HIGHRISES

Council On Tall Buildings And Urban Habitat

AQUATECTURE

Volume Zero

ILLUSTRATION OF THE VILLAGE

ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE (AOA) | DIGITAL HAND DRAWING | NOVEMBER TO DECEMBER 2021

Collaborators: Tanaya, Priyal, And Falguni Role: Teaching Assistant + Illustrator

A group of 60 first-year students studied this illustration during the orientation workshop for a spectacular and hectic journey of ten days. It started with ice-breaking interactive games that helped them open themselves to this new world. Initially, after discussing a nursery rhyme, all were well-versed with Jack and Jill as protagonists. They later crafted and enacted the extension to the story based on the map. #aoawhodunnit?

table of contents

the mosaic urban altar where is the sulabh? the block commons the paradox step in-step out central mumbai seafront revival girgaum chowpatty security posts 02 01 05 03 06 04 07

urban altar

A JOURNEY THROUGH MEMORY, CRISIS, AND CARE

PRATT INSTITUTE | URBAN SHOCK AND THE HUMAN SPECTACLE | MAY TO AUGUST 2025

Culminating Research And Project

Site: Estadio Banorte Stadium And Neighborhood, Mexico City

Type: Urban Design Framework And Site-Wide Intervention Level: Semester 3

Instructors: Alex Tahinos And Erich Schoenenberger

Urban Altar reimagines the stadium district as a public landscape of memory, ritual, and resilience. Anchored by Estadio Banorte, the design introduces episodic interventions, sponge parks, modular altars, and open infrastructures, that respond to both daily rhythms and natural shocks such as floods and earthquakes. Each ‘altar’ supports revenue-generating or community-oriented programs, fostering employment and a balanced urban economy.

By blending performative memory with infrastructural care, the project fuses the temporary and the permanent. Volcanic stone-filled gabion walls act as responsive sponges. Rooted in adaptable urban logic, the Altar functions both as memorial and living system, transforming disaster into shared strength.

Role: Research, Conceptual Development, Modular Design Exploration, Spatial Representation, And Final Presentation

THE URBAN ALTAR LANDSCAPE

CITIES IN TRANSITION

From Control To Culture

This collage layers four urban moments, drawing from the

the

and the

marks the shift from rigid centralized control to evolving cultural frameworks, where collective memory and spatial practices reimagine the city over time.

CIRCULAR ACTS

A Dome Of Memory, Spectacle, And Typological Time

A radial montage compresses time, type, and tectonics into a speculative dome, referencing Burning Man’s ephemeral city. One half is inhabitable, structural, and occupied, while the other encodes typological memory in concentric rings. Together, they form a dome of spectacle, temporality, and stories.

The master-plan weaves sponge logics, ritual altars, and civic spines around

Banorte, creating a porous district that adapts to both daily use and shock events.

Hybrid Green Civic Reservoir

EDGES

Breathing Greens Out Opening Into A Pedestrian Refuge

Inhaling Urban Life

Absorbing Through Median Sponges

GREEN PODS

WATER PODS

URBAN LOGIC

Grids, Edges, Water, And Memory

The grid is more than a pattern of pods and paths, it is a living urban system, adaptable and responsive to both the everyday and the exceptional. From the center of the site to the edges of the city, the sponge carries memory, ritual, and livelihood. It is a system that listens rather than dominates, that responds rather than fixes.

Each cell offers a possibility: a marketplace, a ritual gathering, a flood-absorbing garden, a shared table. Together, they suggest a city shaped not only by zoning but by shared moments, seasonal rhythms, and collective memory. The grid here is not just spatial; it’s emotional. It holds lightness and weight, urgency and pause.

FLOODED TERRAIN MEETS GAME DAY

Dual Event Scenario

Walk. Pause. Absorb.

Market Pods Activate at 10AM!

the mosaic

CONNECTING LEGACY + INNOVATION + COMMUNITY

PRATT INSTITUTE | A PUBLIC REALM BLUEPRINT | AUGUST TO DECEMBER 2024

Site: Brooklyn Marine Terminal, New York Area: 13,090 M²

Type: Architecture And Urban Design

Collaborators: Kwon Dowon And Falguni Sakpal

Instructors: Oliver Schaper And Valeria Cedillos

The Mosaic weaves layered urban surfaces, modular programming, and dynamic integration into a spatial tapestry. It honors the maritime heritage of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal while advancing community, innovation, and sustainability.

This design sees the terminal as a unified canvas of living connections and spatial change.

It bridges the past with a resilient future, employing communitydriven development, modular systems, and both physical and conceptual stitching as strategies of spatial transformation.

The outcome is a setup that improves public space use, builds resilient infrastructure, and maintains visual continuity along the waterfront.

Contribution: Research, Urban Systems Mapping, Design Strategy Development, Collaborative Modeling, And Presentation

COMMUNITY, IT, AND MARITIME CANVAS

SITE INTUITIONS + IMPRESSIONS

Understandings And The Context At Large

IMPRESSIONS + MAPPING

URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE

SOCIO-ECONOMIC TRENDS

A Driver B

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES

The master plan connects maritime logistics with civic life through public spaces, civic buildings, and port facilities. Circulation systems are layered yet direct, with multiple access points leading to the waterfront. Retail and green buffers activate the edges, guiding movement inward via pathways and bridges.

CONTEXTUAL INFLECTIONS

Urban Responses + Spatial Intuitions

Existing Entryway As Primary Access Vehicular And Pedestrian

Greenbelt: Park + Retail

Stitch A Connecting Site To Neighborhood

Green Corridor + Market Stitch C For Public Realm And Workstations

Multiple Pedestrian Entryways

Increasing Accessibility To The Site

Wetlands Stitch B Connecting Site To Waterfront

Stitching Circulation, Programs, And Waterfront Ecologies Into A Cohesive Framework

STITCHING THE MOSAIC

SECTION A

Through Community And Information Technology Canvas

Community Canvas Floating Stitch

Site Bounding Box

Public Realm

Maritime Canvas

The Stitch

Innovation And Technology Canvas

Sub-Stitches

Coastal Canvas

Small Businesses Market

Five modular units generate diverse building forms, from high-rise offices to low-rise educational and civic structures. Open terraces, courtyards, and roof gardens foster interaction and enhance climate resilience.

SECTION B

Through Central Green-Belt At Community And Maritime Canvas

SECTION C

Through Information Technology And Maritime Canvas

Programs across the site remain distinct yet interconnected. Public spaces meet industrial ports without conflict, through carefully planned spatial and programmatic strategies. This arrangement sustains the waterfront as an inclusive, multi-functional district supporting both economic growth and community well-being.

VERTICAL CONNECTIVITY

And Public Realm

Housing: A Bee Hive And A Connecting Tissue Individual Vertical That Connect Three Screens

Interdisciplinary Model Spatial Expression Of The Pixel Image

And Market A

Shaping The Shoreline Changing Physical Boundaries Of The Site Overtime

COMMUNITY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CANVAS

MARITIME CANVAS

COMMUNITY AND IT CANVAS

The Mosaic frames performance-based layering not just as design, but as economic fairness. By overlaying programs, access, memory, and use, it demonstrates how architecture can drive resilience, inclusion, and local economies.

the block commons

A REGENERATIVE URBAN ENGINE

PRATT INSTITUTE | THE RISE OF NEW URBAN BLOCK | JANUARY TO MAY 2025

Site: Manhattan, New York

Type: Urban Block Typologies Research And Design Level: Semester 2

Instructors: Peter Trummer And Pinar Araci

The Block Commons reimagines the high-rise urban block as a regenerative engine that adapts to its context and actively shapes its surroundings. A calibrated north-south tilt maximizes solar gain and daylight, casting shifting patterns of light along the block’s edges. This geometry also generates green terraces and market spaces at key nodes, drawing residents and visitors into a network of shared commons.

Through modular stacking, the block integrates vertical zoning and infrastructural layering. Housing, retail, civic, and institutional programs are interwoven to create ecological porosity and resilience. The result is a flexible, adaptive urban system, one that transforms everyday movement corridors into vibrant spaces while remaining responsive to future urban needs.

Role: Research, Documentation, Detailed Mapping, Concept Design, Design Development And Detailing, Representation

FROM THEORY TO URBAN PROTOTYPE

HYBRIDIZATION

Exploring Overlaps Of Typological Theories Through Hybridized Block Structures

THE BLOCK COMMONS

SUN RADIATION ANALYSIS

Block Embedded As A Speculative Urban Context

Block Integrated Within Existing Manhattan Fabric

SPECULATIVE URBAN FUTURES

the paradox

STEP IN-STEP OUT

AOA | CREMATORIUM + LEISURE | JULY TO OCTOBER 2021

Site: Versova, Mumbai Area: 13,090 M²

Type: Architecture And Master Planning

Collaborators: Tanaya Nadkarni And Falguni Sakpal

Instructor: Esha Tipnis

Water and land, with their distinct tactile qualities, are perceived as separate entities, making their intersection uniquely engaging What is the transition between these vast differences? How does the intervention of an edge further define their boundaries? The experiences depend upon the amount of contact we encounter with the water-body. Many coastal communities have made water their home, a source of livelihood and occupation, making the coast a point of celebration as much as a workplace.

In interjecting this edge, we have compromised the natural systems of ecology and the resilience of mangroves and

marine vegetation. This puts coastal communities and the closely associated built fabric at risk. We exist as parasites of installations, raising the question of their extent.

The expanse of the horizon, the boundary where the sky meets the sea, and its reflecting quality are often the pleasurable points of architecture near water. However, water is also a resource. It is a source of energy generation. The architecture of production, when intertwined with spaces of leisure and pleasure, opens possibilities for reinterpreting utility as experience.

Contribution: Research, Site Study, Detailed Mapping, Conceptualization, Sketching, Design Development And Detailing, Representation, Model Making, And Final Presentation

SITE IMPRESSIONS

Impressions, Understandings, Initial Intuitions Of The Site, And The Context At Large

Different typologies like residential, commercial, crematorium, Kabrastan, temples, churches, Dargah, playgrounds, slums, and markets exist within the same place. Movement within community dwellings is organic and fluid, contrasting with the

hierarchical order of high-end residential areas. These are connected through roads, forming an interdependent network at a macro level. This is the identified chaos. This resembles the patchwork of different fabrics of the quilt.

Each fabric retains its individuality, yet together they form a seamless quilt stitched into one collective whole. When zoomed into the site at a micro level, the functions are highly fragmented, and the movement is free-rhizomatic.

THE PARADOXICAL EDGE

Preach

Natural Edge; Water Territories; Festivals and Cultural Association. Occupations; Infestation of Concrete; Urban Fabric; Figure-Ground; Inhabit; Affect-Infect; Reaction; Water as a Resource.

ARCHITECTURE OF CELEBRATING LEISURE

Part A Part C

ARCHITECTURE OF MACHINES

WALL CLADDING

Biophilic-Rough Concrete

Rainwater Top Cover

RAINWATER TOP COVER

Vertical Landscaping

VERTICAL LANDSCAPING

RCC Structural Wall

RCC STRUCTURE WALL

Timber-Rough Concrete

LAGOONS

Boat And Viewing Deck

ROUGH CONCRETE CLADDING

Rough Concrete Cladding

TIMBER CLADDING

Timber Cladding Connectors

CONNECTORS

Rainwater Collectors

RAINWATER COLLECTOR

DETAILED SECTION OF THE BIOPHILIA-ROUGH CONCRETE TO THE WALL

LONGITUDINAL

SECTION

DETAILED SECTION OF THE TIMBER-ROUGH CONCRETE TO THE WALL

BOATING AND VIEWING DECK

ARCHES GRID AND PARTITION WALL

STRUCTURAL GRID AT 5M DISTANCE C/C

RESTAURANT

Part A

BURIAL GROUND

Part B

INTERIORS AT THE GENERATORS

where is the sulabh?

AOA | PUBLIC TOILETS | JULY TO OCTOBER 2021

Level: Semester 9

Collaborators: Vanshika Arora, Priyanshi Hiran, Tanaya Nadkarni, Dipalee Suslade, And Falguni Sakpal

Instructor: Kanak Kashyap

With the city’s rapid growth, flyovers, promenades, and bus stops remain underutilized as public infrastructure. This project reclaims these residual spaces by introducing modular, accessible public toilet units designed for inclusivity and sustainability.

Beneath flyovers, units are embedded with vegetation and plumbing to activate neglected voids. Along promenades and bus stops, solar-powered roof profiles enable self-sufficient

operations while responding to the daily influx of commuters, vendors, and visitors.

The modular system comprises male, female, and accessible units, easily assembled or disassembled to adapt to spatial constraints. By embedding sanitation within the everyday urban fabric, the project redefines toilets not as hidden utilities but as civic infrastructure that restores dignity, accessibility, and ecological value to public space.

Contribution: Research, Mapping Of Existing Conditions, Concept Mapping, Design Development And Detailing, Final Presentation

AFTER THE INTERVENTION AT PARKS AND OPEN GROUNDS

And Are Visited Daily For Walking, Playing Cricket, Football, Etc. There Is A Need For More Public Toilets In Such Areas; Hence, This Module Is Designed For Grounds And Gardens

TYPE A

Under The Flyovers

TYPE B AND C

Promenades And Bus Stops

UNIT BUILD-UP

Each module: Male, Female, and Specially-Abled, is designed as a lightweight, portable system using LAP joints for rapid assembly. The units can multiply into larger clusters or be disassembled to respond to spatial constraints. This adaptability ensures public toilets remain scalable, inclusive, and resilient within diverse urban conditions.

BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTIONS

central mumbai seafront revival

RSA | URBAN DESIGN | PROMENADE DEVELOPMENT | NOVEMBER 2022 - ONGOING

Site: Dadar - Mahim Beach, Mumbai

Length: 4.75 KM

Phase 1: 2.85 KM

Phase 2: 1.90 KM

Proposal: Rohit Shinkre Architects, Mumbai

Lead: Rohit Shinkre

Team: Shruti Belhekar And Falguni Sakpal

Role: Junior Architect

The proposed beach makeover’s main features involve beautifying the stretch around Dadar-Mahim Beach through an open deck facing the sea. Additions include benches, tourist lookouts, palm trees, landscaped flower beds, play areas for children, and public amenities such as toilets, light poles, gabion seating, and concrete pathways. The design prioritizes erosion control while enhancing accessibility and community use of the waterfront.

Contribution: Site Documentation, Mapping, And Detailed Design Development

GABION PROTECTION AND PUBLIC SEATING

PROJECT STRATEGIES FOR THE DADAR SECTION MASTER PLAN AND PHASING

Revival of a vibrant public space with ACCESS FOR ALL (Accessible India Campaign).

Net Zero development Solar Power Net metering for lighting, Public Address, and Security Systems. Priorities use of recyclable/recycled material. Work withexisting erosion protection measures.

” In association with the local institutionRachana

Safety and security, including major public events like Ganesh and Durga Visarjan, Chat Puja, etc.

Existing Tetra-pod

Accessible Stepped Gabion Wall And Ramp

DESIGNPROPOSALS EXISTINGTETRAPODCOASTALPROTECTION

Existing Beachfront Walls

DESIGNPROPOSALS:

Existing Dry Stone And Sand Bag Shoulder Walls

DESIGNPROPOSALS: Unhindered all-weather pedestrian walkway from Mahim to Dadar Beach PROPOSEDACCESSIBLESTEPPEDGABIONRETENTION WALL AND RAMP

Gabion Seating

DESIGNPROPOSALS

Gabion Steps

DESIGNPROPOSALS:

EDGES, ACCESS, AND LANDMARKS

girgaum chowpatty security posts

RSA | URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN | WATCH TOWERS | FEBRUARY 2023 - ONGOING

Site: Girgaum Beach, Mumbai

Area: 24.5 M² Per Tower

Height: 10.5 M

Total: 6 Towers

Proposal: Rohit Shinkre Architects

Lead: Rohit Shinkre

Team: Shruti Belhekar And Falguni Sakpal

Role: Junior Architect

The security posts form part of a larger urban design initiative for Girgaum Chowpatty, transforming the beachfront into a carefully managed public promenade. Designed to withstand heavy daily footfall and seasonal swells during festivals, the

proposal introduces a series of permanent, elevated security towers. These structures enhance vigilance and public safety while preserving uninterrupted views and open access to the beach.

Contribution: Design Development And Detailing; Presentations To High Power Committee (HPC) And Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC)

ELEVATED SECURITY POST AT SUNSET

Overlooking Girgaum Chowpatty, The Tower Provides Continuous Vigilance While Preserving The Vibrancy Of Mumbai’s Most Active Beachfront

Indian Standard Medium Channel In Steel As Tie High Performance Tensile Fabric

Indian Standard Medium Channel In Steel As Stub Column Indian Standard Medium Weight Beam Tapered

Circular Hollow Section Pipe Section Angle Cleats Bolted To Column Metal Staircase Railing Metal Door Frame

Per Structural Design)

Cement Concrete Screw Piles

Per Structural Design)

INTERIOR - OPERATIONS

270° Glazed Cabin With Perimeter Desk And Storage Enables Continuous Visual Surveillance

MONSOON SCENARIO

Elevated Cabin Stays Functional In Heavy Rain And High Tide With Robust Frame And Safe Access

BEACHFRONT DEPLOYMENT

fsakpal@pratt.edu | falgunis17@aoamumbai.in | linkedin.com/in/falgunisakpal falgunisakpal.myportfolio.com | issuu.com/fsakpal | NEW YORK, USA