Zafar Mahal Proposed Design

Proposed Design for a museum,

As an architect, the proposed design has to follow certain constraints like,

• The built form shouldn't be altered to retain the essence of spaces and distribution.
• The material used to build the structure should be preserved, which will help locals to understand the techniques used in past.

Current Major standing built forms,

• Hathi Gate- The grand entrance to the haveli has lots of niches and helps accelerate the dramatic experience of Mughal architecture. It can act as
• Chattri- The collonade raised 2.4 meters from the ground is built in the biggest existing space 2.3 meters high. It can act as a nodal point for circulation.

Distribution of Spaces,

• Entrance from Hathi Gate leads to question booth and reference material section.
• The lower level is perfect for seamless circulation and can serve as a museum for the early Mughal turmoil to later Mughal resistance.
• The upper levels can sinuate the peak of their dynasty and house precious artifacts as it is well walled and distant from exits.

Should We conserve Heritage?

This topic has been debated in the past several times, but financial allocation and expenditure on monuments showcase that the organizations are paid very less to manage expensive conservation after fulfilling the demands for salary.

As architects, we can help find solutions which are affordable, interesting and generating revenue for sustaining maintenance. 

Zafar Mahal

Zafar Mahal in Mehrauli in New Delhi. The mosque in the background is the Shrine of Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. The royal graves in the palace are in a marble enclosure – with a vacant spot for the grave of Bahadur Shah Zafar II.

The last Mughal residential complex Zafar Mahal a.k.a Lal Mahal was made in honor of Hazrat Khwaja Quttubuddin Bakhtiyar Kak, a renowned Sufi saint. It is said that Bahadur Shah Zafar wanted to be buried here but since he was exiled to Burma, his last wish was never fulfilled.

The building was made in two parts. First part, constructed by Emperor Akbar Shah II was a single floor comprising of few rooms, some open area, Moti Masjid and Naubat Khana. Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar added another floor to it and erected the majestic Hathi Gate. He also constructed Chajja/Chhatri in the center of the palace.
Towards the east, adjoining the wall of Hz. Kaki's Dargah is the Moti Masjid. It has two exits, one in the south, towards the Naubat Khana of Zafar Mahal, and other in North, that opens in the property of Hz. Kaki's Dargah.Except for Hathi Gate, entire palace is in ruins. 70% of the roof has collapsed. Remaining 30% has been restored by govt. body and is supported with wooden planks. 

Passageways inside the complex

We can conserve this ruined palace by, 

• Creating an Exhibition elaborating the tussle between Mughals and Britishers reinvoking the love for our nation 

• Using this space for other educational purposes.

• Refurbishing the ruined parts into an Open space with installations of recreational things like swings etc.

• Using the existing structure as places where prayers can be practiced etc.

Proposed Design for a museum,

As an architect, the proposed design has to follow certain constraints like,

• The built form shouldn't be altered to retain the essence of spaces and distribution.
• The material used to build the structure should be preserved, which will help locals to understand the techniques used in past.

Current Major standing built forms,

• Hathi Gate- The grand entrance to the haveli has lots of niches and helps accelerate the dramatic experience of Mughal architecture. It can act as
• Chattri- The collonade raised 2.4 meters from the ground is built in the biggest existing space 2.3 meters high. It can act as a nodal point for circulation.

Distribution of Spaces,

• Entrance from Hathi Gate leads to question booth and reference material section.
• The lower level is perfect for seamless circulation and can serve as a museum for the early Mughal turmoil to later Mughal resistance.
• The upper levels can sinuate the peak of their dynasty and house precious artifacts as it is well walled and distant from exits.

Zoning,

Existing Plan,

Proposed Plan,

Mind Rain Design Competition 1

I participated in an ideas competition for the very first time and wanted to see the type of exposure for this competition

Concept sketch sheet

Plans and elevation sheet

Less is More

(click here for more information)

The Barcelona Pavilion was designed by Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, as an attachment for the international exhibition at Montjuic, Barcelona, Spain.

The structure was without practical purpose, no part of its interior was taken by exhibits the building itself was an object on view. The spaces created was never seen before portraying the epoch of the architect.

Glass, Steel, and four different types of stones (Roman travertine, green alpine marble, ancient green marble from Greece, and golden onyx from the Atlas mountain) were used for its construction.

The Architectural Imagination [Part -4]

Fagus Factory

The dynamic state of technology had to be transformed by spirit, that architecture wasn't just building but was building raised to the level of art and that the intellectual task of the architecture in modernity was to invent new forms of new machine age that would not only understand architecture as representing a social totality, but that would also put architecture in the continuum of architecture as an art practice.

Walter Gropius worked on a part of Fagus factory early in his career just after leaving Peter Behrens office. He helped with the AEG factory and demonstrated that how seminal ideas could be transformed, elaborated, varied and even criticized. 

Detail

The factories were meant to act as a kind of advertisement for the quality of production of the corporation itself.  

This three stories high shoe lasts factory is located in Alfred a der Leine, Lower Saxony, Germany.

The material used was primarily steel, brick masonry, and glass wall. The recessed masonry gave the glass panels look like a curtain wall springing from the parapet. The glass and steel came together at a very sharp point at the corners rendering it emphatically transparent. A solid masonry block that contains the entrance to the factory pushes in this glass envelope

Seagram Building

The glass was endowed not only with material visual quality but spiritual quality, to extract the full potential of glass and steel various experiments were conducted by German Architect Mies Van Der Rohe. He designed buildings in America which became an epitome of glass and steel skyscrapers.

The Seagram Building was the administrative headquarters of the Canadian distillery and it was located on Park Avenue in downtown New York. 

He wanted the building to engage with the city and even confront the city, so as the construction site was in the mid-block he left a deep plaza in front of the building. 

Detail

The flat surface of the building comprises of bronzed glass and steel in an attempt to bring the materials closer together. The entire steel frame is encased in concrete with an I section over the glass as an ornament as a representational function for what is, in fact, a constructional and structural vocation.

Frisky Friday [Tree House]

Hiker's Shelter

Hexagon form on stilts

As a child, I always fancied constructing a tree house and spending my spare time in it or go hiking in pursuit to discover new things.

This structure is a utilitarian monument which functions as a relief for hikers and adds beauty to the landscape similar to the post-war era.

Vertical transportation in the middle

The decision to elevate the structure is to prevent contact with water and enhance its views of the surroundings.

The five-sided form featuring hooded roofs extending from each section is intended to provide focused views and sounds from various directions.

Studio Weave is the firm responsible for designing this elevated shelter on the outskirts of  Bordeaux. It was commissioned by Bruit du Frigo, which has established a series of shelter around the periphery of the French city.

It aims to encourage residents and visitors to explore the under-utilised spaces surrounding the city. it accommodates around 9 people.

The shelter is clad externally in wooden strips and is perched on top of arching pre-weathered steel pillars that recall the slender supports of existing water towers.

Roof Plan

First Floor Plan

Game Architecture [Sniper Elite 4: Abrunza Monastery]

Battle of Monte Cassino, could be the event best associated with this particular mission. 

Abrunza Monastery 

This game deals with the struggle between partisans and nazi's, refreshing the historical distress and chaos. The architecture of this monastery forced me to study a bit about it and understand its relevance.

A monastery is functionally a school of service to Lord in different possible manners.

Abrunza Monastery 

Cloister of Abrunza Monastery

Abbey of Monte Cassino

Balcony

A view from Abbey of Monte Cassino gives clarity behind the inspiration of developing this monastery. This beautiful edifice on the hill of Monte Cassino plays with the elevation, embraces the Renaissance elements and beautiful landscapes bringing the fiction to reality for me. The Benedictine monasteries used to function as self-supporting communities for rural areas. 

"Ora et Labora" meaning "Pray and Work"

Groin Vaulted Arch

Semi-Groin vaulted arch

Painting Above

The self-explanatory pictures broadly cover the architectural elements like, groin vaulted arches in the cloister and indoors. The cathedral bears elaborate columns, semi-circular arches, sculptures engrossing the romantic period. The courtyard connecting the transept to the outdoors had a perforated screen and tree housing birds.

The opening at the intersection of transept and  nave

The shadow in the courtyard

The nave