JOINT STUDIO (School of Architecture +School of Interior Design)

CEPT University – December 2008.

Prof. R.J. Vasavada, Prof. Snehal Nagarsheth, Mr. Vishwanath Kashikar, Mr. Anand Ramakrsihnan,

Mr. Aniket Bhagwat

0.00 Introduction.

As designers, the specificity of the task on hand, and the travails and joys attached with it, sometimes deter us from developing methods in our work which are comprehensive.

Coupled with this fact, is the increasing reality that design is no more just the pursuit of one individual designer, but is a collaborative process with other designers from the same or related fields.

This studio is a joint studio between students of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Conservation, and Interior Design.

The anticipated gains of the studio at a general level are to enable exploring and refining methods of working in a multidisciplinary environment. This should allow introspection and enrichment of individual work, and a better appreciation of disciplines that are collaborating.

At the level of individual disciplines this exposure, (over and above the specific design requirements that a studio of this stage stipulates), should allow:

Architecture .

- Expand understanding of context, and its evaluation.

- Allow a sharper discussion about the designed space and its quality.

- Understanding and critically appraising the strategies for intervening in an existing built context.

-Allow a comprehensive design process that extends from the external realm, to the interior space.

Landscape Architecture

-Explore and develop idioms of urban landscape.

-Understand the role that landscape has in creating the frame work for urban activity.

-Explore methods of appraising and evaluating landscape quality.

- Develop an understanding of creating of a framework for the furniture of the city.

Conservation.

-Develop and demonstrate manners of evaluating, documenting and stating guidelines for the conservation of urban fabrics, and structures.

-Collaborate with other disciplines to guide and evaluate design intentions and interventions.

-Prepare detailed generic manual for conservation of such environments.

Interior Design

-Explore attitudes to appreciate /understand stated design intentions in a built environment,, and develop responsive dialogues.

-Allow sharper definition of professional expectations.

-Expand understanding of disciplinary possibilities.

-Understand specific methods of evaluating and assessing built environments.

1.0 Studio Process.

Students of different disciplines will work in groups. Each group will have as its constituents at least one student from each group. Students of Conservation will have to be attached two groups. In all it is anticipated that there will be eight groups with about 5-7 students in each group.

Groups will sit in same space- implying there by that students from different disciplines will be allotted studio space, depending on the group they are in.

The process of determining groups will be done on 8^th December, which is the first day of studio. This will be done by lots.

All presentations through the semester will be group presentations. It is expected that presentations will be made by each student in the group and not one representative student.

There will be at the least six presentations through the semester, in addition to individual design discussions. After the first few presentations, grades would be for both , joint and individual work.

All faculty will be available to all students. In fact students will be encouraged to discuss all members of the faculty and not those specific to their discipline.

Each group for two weeks , through the semester will act as reporters of the studio process. Their responsibility will be to map, document, and keep detailed record of studio activities, in a predetermined format.

2.0 Sites:

In the city of Ahmedabad, four fabrics have been chosen as laboratories for this studio. Each fabric has as its constituent component a building of contemporary urban and architectural value, with a neighbourhood, comprising of a specifically varying occupation pattern , and a dominant landscape realm as its backdrop.

Sites:

· Premabhai hall and surroundings

· Sanskar Kendra and surroundings

· ATIRA and surroundings

· Eastern part of the city (yet to be identified?)

aniket

Studio note:

Cities are witness to tremendous change. Layers of history in the form of buildings and memories exist simultaneously in the present, jostling for space. Some adapt to change remarkably well whilst others rapidly deteriorate in the face of modernity. As Jane Jacobs rightly argues, it is the patina of history that lends vitality and life to cities. This vitality is visible in the various parts of Ahmedabad, each having its own character. Under pressures of contemporary globalization there is an imminent threat of this individuality being replaced by faceless homogeneity. In this scenario, it is imperative that we as designers re-act to skilfully tackle the sometimes conflicting needs of contemporary reality and traditional vitality.

Intention:

· Simulating a real world experience

· Exploring the dynamics and potential of team work

· Highlighting the need for professional intervention in realising the value of urban neighbourhoods and proposing comprehensive design solutions for revitalising the same.

Project:

Four sites have been chosen on the basis of different neighbourhood and building characteristics. In the first 3 weeks, students in teams of 5-6 each drawn from different disciplines will analyse, discuss, and formulate a common design proposal for the selected site. This proposal will take into account the physical as well as the social fabric of the area along with its connections to the city. Individual areas of focus in tune with the broader vision of the group will also be identified at this stage. Subsequently, the individual programmes will be developed and detailed individually by students with inputs from other group members.

Sites:

· Premabhai hall and surroundings

· Sanskar Kendra and surroundings

· ATIRA and surroundings

· Eastern part of the city (yet to be identified?)

kashikar