ANSHU PAL

School of Planning & Architecture, Delhi

Architectural Portfolio 2020
LLDC, Kutch // Figure by Author
“
The strength of a good design lies in ourselves and in our ability to perceive the world
with both emotion and reason. A good architectural design is sensuous.
A good architectural design is intelligent.

Peter Zumthor, Teaching Architecture, Learning Architecture. Written in 1996.

”
Table of Contents

CONTENTS
This portfolio contains selected works
from the design projects developed
during my time at the School of Planning
and Architecture, Delhi while pursuing
a Bachelors in Architecture degree. The
works presented highlight a diverse scale
and are architectural results of creative
approaches incorporated in the journey
of my design education and career.

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Table of Contents

01
Thesis | pg06
02
Urban Design | pg14
03
Choice-based Studio | pg24
TEXTILE STUDIO TRANSIT-ORIENTED HILL HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT

04
Sustainable Livelihood Institute | pg30
05
Spatial Exploration | pg34
COLOR-PIGMENT FOLLY
EXTRACTION INSTITUTE

06
Working Drawings | pg38
07
Exploration | pg42
WORK EXPERIENCE INDEPENDENT WORKS

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Visualisation

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01
TEXTILE STUDIO & TRAINING CENTRE, MAHESHWAR
Architectural Thesis | Guides: Suneet Mohindru & Rajeev Agarwal
Semester X

PROJECT
This thesis is an attempt to understand how can practices that form the part of cultural
tradition can be formalized and be translated into an effective architectural framework.

There is a thriving cultural atmosphere for weaving in India but what lacks is an infrastructure
to enrich and safeguard this creative energy and contributes to the quality of life. This concern
led to the selection of this project that aims to create a dynamic and sustainable handloom
textile studio, preserving the cultural traditions and stands as an architectural expression of
adaptation to contemporary technologies.

SITE
Site Area: 27,800 sq.m (2.7 hectares)
Maheshwar - a town in Central India, with about 8000 weavers associated with the profession,
proves to be a suitable site for this project taken. The main intent was to introduce a subtle
intervention that blends in the context and enhances its region of origin.

DESIGN
Ground Coverage: 8000 sq.m (28%)
Built-up Area: 13,102 sq.m
The goal was to create a minimal construct weaved with the greens. This is
achieved by blurring the boundaries between the public and private spaces that
allow flexibility to the spaces. The design consists of several fundamental units with
self-sufficient green relaxation spaces, all united by a principal pedestrian spine.
The design further explores various architectural elements and manifests the best possible
cohesion of traditional and contemporary expression.
Concept | Design Derivatives

Addressing contextual realities // Directional Edge conditions // Blending the front (road)
virtue of the existing site contours and fluidity of and rear (river) edges of the site into the design
the water course

Steel-Framed
Rammed Earth
Structure

PUF Panels Wattle & Daub

Concrete Vetiver Panels

Building an architectural language // The search is for an architectural Applying functional strategies // Zoning Recognising a pattern // The basics of weaving
expression that embodies modern and traditional, by exploring the spatial process of interlacing two yarns (warp and weft)
manifestations of the amalgamation of technology and culture was translated into the built and open as the
spatial language

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Translation

Entrance
pathway
Parking
doubling as
interaction
space
CONDITIONS

PACE
S A S
Sitting Area
GE

A
ED

EET
E

R
TH

ST
Path leading to
Edge residential area
Treatment

Visitor’s Single
Centre pedestrian Interaction
entry from spaces
parking encompassed by
streets
PATHWAY

PACE
S A S
TRY

A
N

EET
E
E

R
TH

ST

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Translation
THE STREET // The central pedestrian spine to the green was enhanced by the hard and soft
incorporates recreational spaces according pavements. AREA PROGRAM
to the adjacent units. It is primarily the main
entrance to all the built units which then THE UNITS // Based on a thorough study of
expands to encompass public interaction case examples, the units were carefully designed
spaces, courtyards or break-out spaces. as self-sufficient units. These individual blocks
It expands to form a spill-out to the Visitor’s were designed with a raw material store, design
Center - the first stop to the public and later desks, main production workshop, finishing unit,
forms a stepped courtyard near the main quality-check desks and a finished-product store.
workshops. This spine branches out to merge
with the river and ends to blends with the edge. The area program intends to strengthen the
All of these spaces are landscaped with seatings existing handloom community of Maheshwar.
and soft pavement, rendering a stronger quality This design provides a platform to explore
to these dynamic public spaces. contemporary technologies and encourage
collaborative design innovation (Research &
THE GREENS // Since the context of the site Design Cell) while preserving artisanal traditions,
was mostly empty, the transitions from built to along with spaces that impart advanced skill
open were carefully designed, allowing the built training (Training Center). An up-cycle store is
to be a part of the green. Green buffer zones also set up to reuse the discarded materials in
were created with every unit and the transition the production process.

GREENS SPINE BUILT

Central Spine

INTERNAL CORRIDOR

CENTRAL
SPINE

INTERNAL CORRIDOR

Green Relief Spaces

UNIT STRUCTURE
Elevation + Material Info

Steel- Framed PUF Concrete Vetiver Wattle & Rammed

Structure Panels Panels Daub Earth
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Symbolism | Physical Models

Model at the scale of 1:500 // North-West side elevation of the site model showcasing the main Model at the scale of 1:100 // Sectional model of a unit expressing the structural members and
entry and the Visitor’s Centre in the front elements of the elavation

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View to the pedestrian connect and office blocks

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02
TOD - METRO STATION PRECINCT, DWARKA SEC-14, NCR
Urban Design | Guides: Satish Khanna & Aruna Ramani Grover
Semester IX | Collaboration with Akshita Arya, G. Anusha & Vaibhav Gupta

PROJECT
Transit-Oriented Development proposal for the Dwarka Sec-14 Metro Station precinct.
Delhi is one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world and there is a need to increase
the population holding capacity of the existing urban limits. Ensuring a move towards an
80:20 public versus private transport mode, the project brief was to explore the possibility of
integration of mixed-use hybrid buildings that scripts a new relationship between architecture
and urbanism through high-density transit-oriented development in the vicinity of the existing
Metro corridor.

SITE
Site Area: 1,15,000 sq.m (11.5 hectares)
Mandatory Green: 25,000 (2.5 hectares)
FAR Permissible: 400
The proposed site is located in Sector-14, Dwarka as two parcels of land running parallel to
the metro line and Sector-14 Dwarka Metro Station. Since the Blue line of the Metro is one
of the longest east-west corridors of NCR connecting two extreme ends of the city, the
development is viewed both as a destination as well as a thoroughfare.

DESIGN
Ground Coverage: 31,050 sq.m (27%)
Built-up Area: 4,25,000 sq.m
FAR Achieved: 369
The project intends to provide pedestrian centric development while integrating the informal
sector, accounting to meet the needs of existing and future users. This is achieved by a blended
functional organisation across the two sides integrated by an extensive pedestrian network at
various levels and efficiently distributed green pockets.

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Site Study

THE CONNECT // The commercial activities

are distributed as concave entities on the two
parcels of site, along the site edge to the metro
corridor. It forms the foundation for the connect
and also strengthens the development as a
destination.

An active pedestrian level is introduced at the

podium levels of the retail on both sides and is
connected through a circular pedestrian bridge
that overlooks the metro corridor. This complete
level acts as a break in both - built volume and
functional volume, and also holds the entire
design together.

CITY GREENS // The existing road network,

that strongly divided the two parts of the
site, is altered to shift the vehicular network
to the underground level allowing a safer
connect for the pedestrians on the ground
level. Further, the functional blocks were
given their own concave pockets of lung-
spaces that blends with the site edges,
providing holistic development to the project.
This overall created the active city greens as the
central and highlighting element of the design
proposal.
Land Distribution // Zonal Level

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Generative Diagrams + Site Response

Drop-offs to Back Edge // Office Blocks

Individual Green Pockets // EWS

Green Relief Pockets // Office Blocks

Green Terraces // Hotel Block

Connect // By introducing a higher pedestrian Maximizing Greens // Introduced City Greens Concavity // Collonaded retail on both sides of
level to connect the two sides divided by metro & several green pockects for individual functions the sites responding to each other Public Realm // Retail & Podium
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Exploded Axon + Area Program

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Roof Plan

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Site Plan

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Housing Elevation

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N ELEMENT, MODIFIE
ATIO D ACC
E LEV O
RM RD
I FO I NG
UN TO
A TH
AS E
RS
E

FU
UV

N
O

CT
LL

IO
A

N
TIC
VER
Visualisation

View of the EWS housing with Polyclinic on the left and School to the right View to the office blocks with metro line and circular pedestrian connect at the centre

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Visualisation

Aerial view to the pedestrian connect above metro line, podiums, office and housing blocks Aerial view to the circular pedestrian and the city greens underneath

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Visualization

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03
HILL HOUSING, MUSSOORIE
Services & Structure (Choice Based Studio) | Guide: Prof. Manoj Mathur
Semester VII

PROJECT
There is a rapid unplanned and unchecked development in many parts of the Himalayan
terrain with the growing demand for urbanization and an active disorganised building sector
in these areas. Since Dehradun and Mussoorie are known as a destination for renowned
institutions, the project aims at developing the site for inhabitation for families and short term
accommodation possibilities for volunteers and students.

SITE
Site Area: 22,018 sq.m (2.2 hectares)
The site, located in Uttarakhand, a few kilometres away from Dehradun, is nestled between
ranges of steep hills that encircle it in three sides. The site offers view to the valley on the
other side.

DESIGN
Ground Coverage: 4000 sq.m (18%)
Built-up Area: 16,000 sq.m
FAR Achieved: 0.72
The project experiments with the development of housing typologies in clustered residential
planning, suitable for the users. A particular emphasis was given on the gradations of public
and private spaces, providing individual units with its privacy, views and recreational spaces.

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Site Plan + Roof Plan

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Sectional Exploration + Parti Diagrams

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Aerial View of the Cluster + Unit Plans

1 BHK

2 BHK 3 BHK

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Visualization

Aerial view to the housing blocks View from the streets

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Aerial View of the Physical Model

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04
COLOR PIGMENT EXTRACTION CENTRE, AUROVILLE
Sustainable Livelihood Centre | Guides: Shweta Manchanda, Shwetal Kadam, Gaurav Sharma
Semester V

PROJECT
The project required the study of an urban environment and to design a multi-functional
public building set in that context. Primarily an institute that teaches sustainable practices
involving the incubation of traditional livelihood, the choice of which was left to the designer,
was given as the brief for this project. The livelihood taken up in this design was a colour-
pigment extraction centre with a laid emphasis on passive cooling..

SITE
Site Area: 26,300 sq.m
The site given for the SLI was part of land next to Irumbai lake - a seasonal lake in Auroville,
with a second parcel of land left for future expansion.

DESIGN
Ground Coverage: 4998 sq.m (19%)
Built-up Area: 7580 sq.m
Existing site features were the starting points of the design and the building volumes were
laid out based on their degree of publicness. These blocks were separated by unique green
courtyards and united by an extensive pedestrian network. All of these pathways merged at
the ghats designed next to the Irumbai lake.

The vehicular movement was restricted to the periphery of the site and stretched from the
main entrance to the lower end of the site, allowing the possibility of connection for future
expansion. To reduce the temperature of the microclimate, water channels were introduced
in green pockets of the building blocks that ended into the lake. Rammed earth was used
as the material for the walls and the external staircase cores doubled up as solar chimneys,
regulating the indoor temperature.

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header

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System Diagrams + Sections + Roof Plan

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Visualization

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05
THE FOLLY, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
Spatial Exploration | Guides: Moulshri Joshi, Saptarshi Sanyal
Semester III

PROJECT
Provided with 35m x 35m of an imaginary plot, the challenge was to design a folly based on
a single emotion.

DESIGN
The emotion explored in this project was ‘Euphoria’ and the spatial experience for the
visitor was designed based on it. Euphoria was deduced as an intense state of transcendent
happiness combined with an overwhelming sense of contentment, and hence, different
materials, sounds, textures and forms come together to explore sensory experiences
through this design.

The design portrays the gradual build-up, intense existence and slow decay of Euphoria.
This experience was envisaged in 4 stages with each step reflecting the qualities of the
deduced emotion and water was introduced in different forms throughout the stages,
exhibiting properties of the emotion. The third stage portrays the emotion at its peak where
the water exists in the form of rain and visitor is completely drenched in it.

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Visualization

View from the entrance // The first stage of the emotion requires the visitor to climb up an View to the water fountain // The next stage of the emotion begins where the water develops
irregular sandstone staircase with barefoot, and water appears in between the gaps alternatively. from the pool to a curved water wall, also adding an element of suspense to the succeeding stage.
These water gaps decrease through the course of the ascent, indicating the reduction of obstructions The second stage ends with an intensified feeling of ambiguity, reflected by the introduction of a
in the journey. This ascent also possesses freestanding pillars that intend to indulge the visitor more vine maze that further adds smell and taste to the sensory experiences.
in this emotional experience.

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Plan + Sectional Exploration

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Hands-on Development - Auroville

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06
WORK EXPERIENCE // VOLUNTEER WORK
Working Drawings | Volunteer Work

AUROVILLE (2015) // Accomplished hands-on development of structures, including works

from masonry to detailing, in an ecological community-building program using eco-friendly
& organic materials led by Manu Gopalan. Explored innovative construction methods by
independently testing samples on-site with unusual but traditional tools & materials such as
Cob, Adobe, Wattle & Daub, Earthcreting, etc. and incorporating them in final prototype
structures.

INTERNSHIP - PPAL (2017) // Contributed to the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences

(AIMS) Faridabad hospital project and primary responsibilities included developing façade
with the designated team, starting from initial-stage to intermediate-stage of the facade
design of the hospital. Explored various façade options and consequently drafted elevations,
external wall sections and respective plans for each side of the hospital facade, corresponding
with structural consultants. Prepared drawings for AERB approval for PET, Gamma Camera,
Radiology, Cath Labs, Iodine Wards and X-Ray room.

INTERNSHIP - WORKSHOP POV (2018) // Primarily worked on research, conception

and designing of a Textile Studio with the core design team. Documented a detailed study of
various textile studio spaces based on visits to Ahmedabad, Khamir and Ajhrakhpur. Prepared
sketches, hand-rendered drawings and the physical model of the mountainous site for a
textile studio, along with concept drawings and 3D. Also post-processed images and edited
final content contributing towards the completion of the website.

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Working Drawings

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Working Drawings

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Illustration

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07
INDEPENDENT WORKS // COLLAGES // PAINTINGS
Spatial Exploration | Vray, SketchUp, Photoshop, Illustrator, Pen & Ink, Watercolors

Over the last few years, I experimented with various techniques such as collaging and
deconstruction, along with mediums of expression like pen and ink, and watercolours. These
illustrations showcase my exploration in terms of understanding and expressing various
organisational elements in different aspects; and keeping these factors in mind while designing
allowing to establish visual experiences.

LIGHT PAINTINGS // As a part of Elective - Modular Labs, the project brief was to
develop an installation consisting of a repititive module, the choice of which was left open
to the designer. Light Paintings was an attempt to study the light better and was based on
fundamental principles of stained glass. Repeating the module determined by parameters,
a panel was generated as a result of tessellations. The overall installation consisted of four
identical panels in different colours - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Green. The movement of the
sun during a day generated dynamic shadow patterns as a result, which was further enhanced
by introducing movement in the installation panels.

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Exploration

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Sketches | Paintings

Photo Montage Human Study // Watercolours

Human Study // Sketch

Pattern Study // Sketch Light Paintings // Modular Labs

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Anshu Pal
Bachelor of Architecture
School of Planning & Architecture, Delhi
India, 110002

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (+91)-95991-12656