I am an Urban designer recently graduated from University of California Berkeley, an Architect and a LEED Accredited professional with six years of previous cross disciplinary professional experience - in landscape design ,sustainable master planning,urban design,architecture,coastal resiliency, architectural restoration ,post-disaster recovery and interior design.
I strongly believe in ‘appropriateness’ of any design intervention- one which is not inclined to any style, period or pattern but rather the one , which is responsive to contextual and sensory determinants of any place and thereby contributes to an ‘ecologically, economically and socially’ appropriate design.
MALIK ARCHITECTURE,, Mumbai, IN, Senior Architect/ Landscape Designer
I worked on design development of Vedanta Cancer Hospital & Research Center, in the newly
planned capital city of Naya Raipur, evolved from parametric forms and functionality. My scope of responsibility for this project encompassed the master planning and landscape design for 50 acres, researching and incorporating sustainability initiatives for acquiring LEED-NC rating through IGBC, and detailing of the health care building in accordance to JCIA standards. During my experience, I had realized the critical parameters of urban design and collective impact of various aspects –ecology, landscape, sustainability, demographics, socio-economic parameters and transportation networks, for a sustainable development.
I also worked on landscape design for Cipla Research and development center at Vikhroli,Mumbai: and few design competitions.
@Four Studio, Pune, IN, Principal Architect - Self employed
My inquiries towards ‘appropriate architecture’, which neither favors the high-tech nor the vernacular
style, but rather the one which is highly reminiscent of culture and is conscious of its footprint on global level ,propelled me to start as a freelance architect [@Four studio] in Pune.
Two years of intensive self learning, not only enhanced my leadership, project management and communication skills, but also helped me to understand the logistics of construction industry and to carry a project from its conception through its completion.
Scope of work included:
Project procuration, conceptualizing, designing, coordination with clients/consultants involved, site supervision, marketing, project management, estimating & costing, market survey, research, financial agreements and on-site execution.
This constituted of various architectural projects, landscape projects & interior design projects over the span of 2 years and beyond.
Architectural projects included 800 feet high vertically rotating observatory and entertainment hub in Mumbai,Spiritual rejuvenation center:a multi faith place of worship in Ahmednagar, Bungalow designs in and around Maharashtra and Heritage house extension in old city of Pune.
Landscape projects included Residential landscape for 6-7 housing projects over 10acres in Pune residential bungalow landscape,weekend homes,green walls and roof gardens
Interior design projects included residential and commercial buildings in Pune and Rajasthan
Onus Design, Pune, IN, Sr. Architect
I was part of design team for Master planning of 60 acre township,Swarnabhoomi in Raipur. It won the design competition. Also during my experience , i worked on design development of bungalows,farm house and commercial building in pune. Moreover, I created Drawing management system in office.
Hiland, Kolkata, IN, Architect / Media+Marketing Team Member
1. I was part of the design team for 262 acre neighborhood development along the bank of Hooghly
river- a tributary of the Holy Ganges. My inputs on the master planning & sustainability for the project evolved through the series of research on the city, its response to natural fabric, environment, culture , its relationship to the river and understanding the USGBC guidelines for LEED neighborhood development. The exposure enabled
me investigate into the factual problems of developing a site as an extension to the
existing urban fabric, simultaneously addressing the design challenges of mass rehabilitation, and thereby to formulate a sustainable vision for the neighborhood. Sustainability Initiative for green neighbourhood at 262 acres of township on the banks of Hooghly-Calcutta riverside.
Other projects-
2.Site coordination,project management and Green building documentation for I.T. SEZ in CRS
3.Revitalization of Rabindra Sarobar [public park]with the intervention of landscape.
4.Site coordination and management of mixed housing-HILAND WILLOWS at Rajarhat,Kolkata.
5.Research on Low cost building and Designing of Slum Rehabilitation.
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, US, Masters, Master of Urban Design
While at UC Berkeley, i received Vernon De Mars fellowship. My most recent urban design/landscape project (thesis) - Re-envisioning sustainable (alternative) growth model for a vulnerable neighborhood in Haiti - explored the potential of perceiving post-disaster recovery as an opportunity to re-invent sustainable growth - a growth that intertwines Coastal resiliency with self-sufficient urban design and landscape interventions to simultaneously improve quality of life and economic vitality within , one of the most vulnerable neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince. As a part of academic coursework,i also worked on multiple range of urban problems - such as, planning for 20 year long-term vision of Bay area, Strategic framework to accommodate increasing housing demand, Protecting vulnerable(bay fill) sites from risk of flooding due to predicted sea level rise ,Ecological remediation of brownfield site along a river in Jiangmen- China, Redeveloping former Naval Air Station through adaptive re-use of abandoned structures and new infill development at Alameda,Reconnecting the Los Angeles river back to Elysian Valley neighborhood through series of riverfront parks and public spaces ,Active street design,Green Infrastructure,Analyzing and re-connecting fresh food and public transit in ‘food deserts’ of San Francisco and Los Angeles, Community development, Encouraging urban agriculture in San Francisco and Haiti, Creating internal economy of recycled waste and water in Port-au-Prince for quicker self recovery and urban strategies to retain sense of place in transitional neighborhoods of Bay Area and Los Angeles.
Saurashtra University, Rajkot, IN, BArch, Architecture
1. Dissertation : Re-incarnation of devastated city-Bhuj(India)
The scope of the research thesis was to understand the city from the
standpoint of its evolution till date, with a prime focus on the radical transformation
on account of the devastation caused by earthquake in 2001. As an extension to the
research, I also delved in proposing design strategies that could help to restore the
‘sense of place’ for a selected neighborhood. The process helped me to identify the
constants that can be preserved from the past and what are the variables to be
adhered to, in the process of reconstruction.
2. Design Thesis: Peace Park at Indo-Pak Border - Barmer[Rajasthan],India
It was a design competition by Pakistan India People’s forum for peace and democracy.The brief was to create a habitable, profitable and peaceful cultural park in the vigilated land of Thar desert .It was designed as a common platform where the citizens from both the countries can meet freely and discuss the issues of peace .
The design looked at an opportunity to erase the political boundary by drawing on cultural similarities across the border and thereby creating a place, where the revival of glorious united history could be reincarnated. Moreover, it aimed at uplifting the economic & social standard of the nearby border villages through trade of indigenous arts. The design demanded the symbolic attachment, an organic form which is not religiously biased and at the same time is sensitive to the context. After thorough studies, my design eventually evolved from the diametrical spirals and a nautical shell form, aligned to the golden mean proportion. It applied technology, emphasized on use of innovative locally available building materials [camel leather woven by local craftsmen in tessellations to form tensile structure] and accentuated the importance of light to rejuvenate brotherhood.
Vernon De Mars Fellowship -University of California Berkeley, Scholarship
