ruchiragaur-blog

[ruchiragaur-blog]

Sumner33

Brooklyn, New York

The challenge

As more and more New Yorkers grow older, one of the greatest challenges for the aging population is finding affordable housing that meets their changing needs. One of the greatest risks to the health of seniors is the social isolation that often comes with living alone. Most multifamily buildings lack the flexibility to respond to the changing physical and cognitive abilities of their residents. 

A strong foundation which embraces an aging population into an interwoven community, encourages interactions and promotes well-being.

Kicking it off

I worked with the developer, a lead architect and a team of Passive House (PH) certified architects, analyzed the Community Vision and outlined the basis of design:

A building that fits in the context of the surrounding community, uses a similar architectural language, responds well to the needs of senior residents.

Site improvements for safety and convenience of the residents and the community.

Amenities for seniors as well as other residents of the campus.

Community facility programs, like arts, education and health programs, to promote a healthy development of the neighborhood.

Maintain the character of the park and preserve as many trees as possible.

Design phase

Taking the findings from the site analysis, we proposed a three initial concepts to our clients. We received feedback during weekly meetings and coordinated with the PH team. Involving the PH team in the initial stages helped us to design our building more efficiently, focusing on building orientation and massing, and reducing the need for mechanical systems.

166488502746

Site design

Given that the front access street had a heavy traffic, I proposed a road diet as a means for traffic calming, to allow the senior residents to get to the other side of the street at a comfortable pace without the need for maneuvering through the heavy traffic.

Further, a passageway through the building was proposed to create urban connections and provide visual connectivity, allowing pedestrians to access the park and basketball court from the main street without dodging the traffic or walking almost half a block to the traffic light.

I designed designated areas for cookout, barbecues and outdoor community interactions. These areas would be adjacent to the relocated children’s playground, so that kids could play at a visible distance from the grown-ups. 

As an initiative to promote a positive development of the community, we proposed a performance area for local artists in addition to other community facilities like music room, urban farming, computer labs and skill development centers.

Building design

A 13 story modern twin to the existing high rise buildings in the campus with 200 residential units for seniors, a simple geometry for cost effective construction, a masonry facade with colors similar to the surrounding buildings. 

Urban farming and green terraces for residents and the community to promote a healthy living, encourage social and physical activity, promote active lifestyle in an age appropriate manner.

Transparent ground floor community facility with flexible spaces and a central support core to activate the site, provide a sense of safety and improve the pedestrian experience.

[ruchiragaur-blog]

PARKCentral

Minneapolis, MN

Project brief

2013 ULI Gerald D. Hines Competition challenged interdisciplinary student teams to create a practical and workable scheme for a section of Downtown East. The competition was based on a hypothetical scenario in which two property owners had entered into an agreement in which they evaluated the benefits and financial possibilities of combining their parcels. The owners’ properties, largely used as surface parking lots, were analyzed to determine if the parcels could be redeveloped or sold as one large development site. 

In the scenario, the city of Minneapolis, eager to see this section of downtown grow into a neighborhood and regional destination, provided an incentive for these property owners to redevelop. 

Our goal

Along with 4 other students in our team, I set out to propose an urban design plan for Minneapolis Downtown East near Vikings Stadium which could utilize parking lots and bring it at par with the Downtown West - the employment center of the city.

Context study

The design process started with analyzing the current parking demand, cultural and social trends in Downtown East. We found that people would park their cars in this area and use the existing public transit (light rail and buses) to get to their offices in Downtown West. In an attempt to make the area more walkable and pedestrian friendly, we made a conscious effort to avoid skywalks, which are a very common feature of Downtown West.

Urban Design solutions

We explored different approaches to morph Downtown East from a ‘parking garage’ of Downtown West into a ‘destination’:

Cultural District: Downtown East could be converted into a cultural hub of Minneapolis - with buildings of historical importance, like the Mill district, the Armory and the Vikings Stadium which attract thousands of tourists and locals every year during the games.

Residential District: There are no rentals or apartments in Downtown East. This forces people to live in the suburbs and drive to their workplace. To reduce the vehicular traffic, and to promote a healthier lifestyle, Downtown East could be developed as a live, work and play district.

Living Machine: The Armory building has all the requirements for a greenhouse, a glass roof and old but well insulated walls. Thus, it could be converted into a small greenhouse with restaurants all around it so that visitors could eat what they see growing right in front of them. Urban farming and community activities like picking fruits, and other educating events for kids would keep it busy all year round. All the water requirements in this case would be met by rainwater harvesting and utilizing the excess snow in the region.

Design phase

All the possible solutions mentioned above were appealing and feasible according to our preliminary design and financial studies. But to utilize the site to its maximum potential and provide as many functions in this area as possible, it was essential to think about managing the existing and the future demands of parking.

166532252081

We proposed that the street connecting the Armory building and the river would be converted into a boulevard with trees and a beautiful streetscape where people can enjoy their walk towards the river. 

To accommodate sustainable residential, retail, commercial and cultural activities along with an efficient parking system, we proposed a new typology - ‘parking ramp’.   

We designed the ‘parking ramp’ such that it could be used not only for parking but also for offices, retail, apartments, events and advertisements. In the game season, these could be fully occupied and used for tailgating. For other times of the year, the vacant floors could be converted into event/gallery spaces by closing up the retractable walls. The first floor of all the buildings in the area would be used for retail to create busy and attractive streets for pedestrians.

[ruchiragaur-blog]

Duisburg Innenhafen

Duisburg, Germany

This project was a part of a semester long internship at Koschany + Zimmer Architekten, a 50 year old architecture firm in Essen, Germany.

Project brief

Following the master plan developed by Foster+Partners for Duisburg, inner harbor, the brief was to design a 50,000 SF office building at the waterfront. It was an abandoned shipyard at the time, and also home to the historic wall and pylons destroyed during world war II.

The clients called upon the designers to integrate the wall into the building, and propose optional site improvements that would enhance the neighborhood.

Our goals

Design an office building that follows the guidelines of the previously developed master plan, follows the design language of the new buildings around the harbor, but still stand out of the lot

An office space that could be flexible enough to be occupied by multiple tenants

Urban connections from the neighborhood to the waterfront

Integrating the historic wall in the building and site design

Educate the community about the history associated with the historic city wall

Site analysis

A visit to the site revealed that the historic wall was in a very bad shape, with only a 1 pylon still standing tall. Most of it was damaged during the war, some of it was broken down for the construction of the shipyard, which was now abandoned, and the rest succumbed to time and overgrowing moss. 

The  abandoned shipyard was an eye sore and discouraged the community from accessing the boardwalk and enjoying the waterfront. A few docks of the once functional shipyard were good enough to last a couple decades with small improvements.

Given that the site was at the waterfront, underground parking was not an option. There was an underutilized multi level parking garage across the street, but it would not suffice the new office building’s requirements.

Design phase

One huge office building could become a barrier between the neighborhood. So, we proposed an “office complex” instead. 

166532468281

Multiple buildings would not only help in convenient leasing, but also provide visual and physical connections to the waterfront. 

A promenade along the office complex that would be more than just an extension of the existing boardwalk across the bridge.

We designed each building in the office complex such that every floor gets maximum views of the waterfront, promenade and urban plaza either through huge windows or from outdoor terraces

We proposed restaurants with outdoor seating to energize the plaza and fountains where kids could play, and an island between the streetcar and plaza for traffic calming and to create a sense of safety for pedestrians.

I proposed a landscape design to incorporate the historic wall, glass floors which would display parts of the wall under the ground and would etched with related information.

Result

Our design won the competition and was invited to work with the clients to dive into design development and construction drawings. During these next phases, the building changed quite a bit and the latest design can be on the firm’s website.

[ruchiragaur-blog]

Kimisagara Master Plan

Kigali, Rwanda

Background

The vision for Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda is to develop it like a metropolitan city, a hub for all information and technology. The city has 3 major districts - Nyarugenge, Gasabo and Kicukiro, and each of them has a detailed district master plan. As a part of the Sustainable Urbanism Studio at Carnegie Mellon University, we (a group of five urban design students) focused on the Nyarungenge district. We visited the city, analyzed the original master plan and spoke with the City Planning Department to understand their vision and the challenges they were facing in the urban development.

Research

None of us were familiar with the city and its background. So we flew from Pittsburgh to Kigali, to better understand the existing urban dynamics, the culture and lifestyle of the locals. It was a real eye opener. We found a striking differences in the business district, which was developed recently, and the residential areas. A lot of areas in the business district were still under construction, but it still looked like any other metropolitan city, On the other hand, the residential areas consisted of informal settlements, with dirt packed streets compacted over the years and with small single family and multifamily houses, many of which were landlocked and did not have access to the streets. We conducted a charrette with the City Planning Department to understand their vision for the district, their proposed guidelines for green infrastructure, sustainable urbanism and their expectations.

District level testing

We focused on the Kimisagara and Gitega sectors of the district for zoning and site analysis. After speaking with the locals and gathering some onsite information, we collaborated with the City Planning Department who shared the related GIS data with us. We used their detailed database to create district level maps for existing topography and density, proposed and existing streets, proposed transit types and routes and proposed zoning. With the help of these base maps, we analyzed the watershed areas and transit walksheds using ArcGIS analysis tools. A comparison of the existing conditions and projected growth at the district level led us to select 5 areas (1 for each student) for an in-depth analysis of the current zoning, its projected growth, and recommendations for sustainable development, green infrastructure and ecological preservation. These areas had extreme conditions and served as good worst case scenarios.

Block level testing

The area I chose was primarily a residential district with challenging topography and landlocked parcels. The rainfall in the area caused frequent flooding and heavy storm water runoff because of the steep topography and not enough drainage facilities.

Recommendations

Final Presentation

I collaborated with the team to prepare our final presentation that clearly showcased all our analysis and recommendations. The City Planning Department of Kigali was impressed by our recommendations and included some of them to revise the master plan and zoning regulations.

Takeaways

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

It is good to aim high for the development of a city, but it is important to not forget the community’s roots and to think about incremental development. Not every solution works for every site. Sometimes it is best to stick with vernacular designs and practices instead of blindly following the latest international trends.

[ruchiragaur-blog]

2100 Hamilton

Philadelphia, PA

The challenge

We were to design a mixed use building behind the Rodin Museum, Philadelphia. Along with the client, we worked with the Arts Commission, and the Parks and Recreation Department to develop the final design. Since the site was adjacent to the Museum, one of the major concerns was that any new building proposed here would undermine the importance and identity of the rich cultural heritage.

Site analysis

The site was a triangular 30 feet deep hole in the ground, currently being used as a parking lot for the police station across the street. A 30 feet wide SEPTA easement ran through the site along the Southern edge.

Design phase

Our first and foremost goal was to design a building that addresses the concerns of the community and city officials. Early on, we decided to use materials similar to the Rodin and Barnes Foundation.

Our design consisted of four major elements:

A garage that would fill up the 30’ hole and serve the residents’ parking requirements. 

Ground floor retail fronting Hamilton street to provide a vibrant experience. 

A restaurant facing the Rodin, which would not only enliven the existing pedestrian access, but also provide a place of relaxation for the visitors after a full day to walking around in the museum and the park. 

10 floors of market rate housing, an amenity deck and green roof

After designing our first proposal, we met with the city officials and the community. We received mixed reviews and were suggested to modify the design so that it doesn’t divert the visitor’s attention from the Rodin.

We utilized the collective feedback of the clients, city authorities and the community and redesigned the building facade multiple times.

Final design

We finally came up with a design that was responsive to the community and respectful to its context - an elegant and contemporary glass box which would provide a backdrop to the Rodin museum and minimize the visual impact on the Parkway and surrounding gardens.

An elegant and contemporary backdrop for the Rodin.

[ruchiragaur-blog]

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

Jodhpur, India

The challenge

My Undergraduate thesis project was a two stage project- the master plan of a residential campus of Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur (IITJ, Rajasthan), and detailed urban design guidelines and an architectural solution for the Academic area

Context study

Indian Institute of Technology are one of the best colleges in India. Recently, they proposed a few new branches, one of which was in Rajasthan (the Thar desert). The vision for this 900 acres residential campus was to be smart and sustainable campus in the midst of the Thar desert. It would not just enjoy the latest technologies but would also relate to the rich cultural heritage of Jodhpur (the Sun city of India).

Master plan

A master plan was proposed the first phase of the thesis project. LEED ND concepts were referred for the master planning of the campus. All student activities (academic area, hostels, sports and recreational centers, local shopping center etc.) were proposed within a five minute walking distance from the center of the academic area. In case of any future developments, the new buildings would be within a ten minute walking distance. The walkways are either have a tree cover or are semi covered to provide enough shade to the pedestrians while walking in the scorching sun. As the campus is in a desert, there are only small water features in the academic area which are easy to maintain and help in cooling off the environment.

Academic area

The academic area included lecture theaters, laboratories and a very modern media center. The design corresponded to the culture of Jodhpur. Since the city has a typical hot and dry desert climate, it was important to have passive design elements like mutual shading, wind tunnel effects, solar chimneys, earth berms etc. which reduce the reliance on any artificial methods of controlling the temperature.

The department buildings are designed such that there is interaction between the students from different fields all the time. There are open and semi covered spaces on each floor and green connections between the various buildings. The media center is in the form of a dome made of thick walls with books on all the sides which provide a good thermal resistance. The windows towards the top allow ample amount of diffused daylight inside.