Architecture and Spatial Design - Build It Project (Remote Task), 02.11.20

Research Task 1

Ballygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

image source : https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ballygunge,+Kolkata,+West+Bengal/@22.5316967,88.3631246,1086m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x3a02772731643a9d:0x491d16b4d242a9a2!8m2!3d22.5280352!4d88.3659083

Living in the residential area of Ballygunge (Kolkata, India) since I was born, I have first-hand knowledge of its streets, shops, residential buildings, restaurants and malls which is why I chose this area to explore and investigate.

Research Task 2

image source : https://www.google.com/maps/place/Quest+Mall/@22.5389568,88.3635651,794m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3a0276dfad4bf901:0xfbbe370e3a5a4dc8!8m2!3d22.5389519!4d88.3657538

(Due to extremely blurry pictures of the exterior of this building on Google Maps, I had to take pictures from Google Images for some relevant building details.)

image source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest_Mall#/media/File:Quest_-_Mall_-_33_Syad_Amir_Ali_Avenue_-_Kolkata_2014-01-23_7159.JPG

Quest is one of my favourite places in Ballygunge, the area where I live. While going and returning from school everyday, I always passed from Quest. I have been there multiple times for shopping and movies. Thus, I am extremely familiar with its location, exterior and interior.

Research Task 3

2560px-Quest_Mall_-_33_Syed_Amir_Ali_Avenue_-_Kolkata_20170927172429.jpg

image source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest_Mall#/media/File:Quest_Mall_-_33_Syed_Amir_Ali_Avenue_-_Kolkata_20170927172429.jpg

image source : https://lbb.in/kolkata/mall/quest-mall-kolkata

image source : https://kolkata.mallsmarket.com/malls/quest-mall-ballygunge

Ballygunge is centrally located and consists of chic cafes and restaurants with upscale boutiques for fabric and silk saris. The BITM museum attracts schoolchildren and families and the famous Hindu temple Birla Mandir (also being one of the buildings that interest me) situated here fascinates the entire city population. Ballygunge is home to many offices for businessmen.

Quest is one of the major attractions for the population of Kolkata. It is situated in the heart of the city and has facilities such as shopping, gaming, theatre and a number of restaurants. It consists of triangular golden structures on its exterior which my project is inspired by.

I would want my project to attract Hindus as well as Muslims to reduce the hostility between the two communities. Situated in Ballygunge (a Hindu-majority area) stretching upto Park Circus (a Muslim-majority area), Quest would be the perfect location for it.

Research Task 4

Francis Kéré

Francis believes in creating a direct encounter with light, space and materials. He believes in having an interactive space and environment in order to get the users involved with the piece. It was interesting to find out that in his work Sensing Spaces, he actually had people insert multi-coloured straws just to get them to participate in the architecture which creates a sense of communal interaction. This, I think, is very important for the artist to keep in mind and is inspiring to me. Interaction between the piece and the viewer is something I will definitely portray in my proposed project.

Working in his hometown, Gando, Kéré took care of physical aspects like natural ventilation for which he made a light metal roof. He used local materials like honeycomb and eucalyptus wood which also got the local people involved in the process. This is interesting as it creates a personal and emotional feeling to it which again promotes communal interaction.

image source : http://www.kere-architecture.com/projects/sensing-spaces/

Bjarke Ingels

Ingels also believes in interaction and the architecture to connect with the viewer and welcome them towards it. Along with this, he has also included key characteristics like attractiveness as well as functionality of the building which is not an easy job to do.

LEGO House

image source : https://legohouse.com/en-gb/explore/about-lego-house/

One would think this is a target for younger children but Ingels was successful in building a LEGO house which is meant for adults as well. In his TED talk, he talks about how LEGO gives a child the opportunity to build blocks of their world and co-create a future with his/her friends. This gives a sense of reality because ultimately, they are the people who will be giving form to the future.

image source : https://www.archute.com/beach-and-howe-big-draws-a-curtain-aside-to-usher-in-downtown-vancouver/

The above architecture done by Ingels shows a building in the form of a curtain being drawn to welcome someone entering Vancouver from the flyover. He has also taken to adaptability by making an upside down gallery in the residential building which is really impressive.

image source : https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-news/ehngp/big-completes-shenzhen-energy-mansion-with-rippled-faade.html

Another one of his architectural works I was interested in was the headquarters he built for an energy company in China. It's rippled in the middle so that when the sun faces the building, it's all opaque and when it faces away from it, it appears to be all glass, transitioning from solid to clear. The choice of material (Issey Miyake fabric) I thought, was very clever as it also adapts to the climate by cooling down the energy consumption. Thus, as I said before, Ingels has again portrayed all three key facilities : adaptability, attractiveness and functionality. I would like to characterise my architecture with all these important aspects of building.

Research Task 5

This is a mind map I made in order to take some decisions about my project. The headings of my mind map are : structure, scale, form, function, materials and user.

Research

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