portfolio

JYOTSNA SIVAGURUarchitecture portfolio

JYOTSNA [email protected]

EDUCATION

The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington , TX M.ArchGPA: 3.6 Fall 2008 - Fall 2010

Anna University, Chennai, India B.ArchGPA: 3.5 Fall 2002 - Fall 2007

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCEThe University of Texas at Arlington, TX, USATeaching Assistant Aug 2009 - Dec 2010

Jaisim Fountainhead, Bangalore, India Architectural Intern Aug 2007 - Jul 2008

Jaisim Fountainhead, Bangalore, IndiaArchitectural Intern Jan 2006 - June 2006

SIFFS (with Ar. Benny Kuriakose), Chinnakudi, India Volunteer June 2005 - July 2005

SKILLS

Software: AutoCAD, 3DSmax, Google sketchup, Rhino, Adobe Photoshop, Adone Illustrator, Adobe Premier, Adobe InDesign, MS Office suite

Language: English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada

CONTENTS

GRADUATE WORK1.Kessler Montessori School2.Redefining the modular3.Josh tower : conceptual highrise4.Ambulatory Surgery Center5.Shading the Turnbull house

UNDERGRADUATE WORK6.Undergraduate Thesis : Media Center

4 | ACADEMIC

KESSLER MONTESSORI SCHOOL, DALLAS, TX SPRING 2010PROF. ALBERT MARICHAL

5 | ACADEMIC

KESSLER MONTESSORI SCHOOL, DALLAS, TX SPRING 2010PROF. ALBERT MARICHAL PROF. ALBERT MARICHAL

MAIN ACCESS STREETS

SUN STUDIES

NOISE ANALYSIS

Diagram showing the noise zones that might be created by the proposed school with increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

Diagram showing the major areas of heat and light from the sun on the site

Diagram showing the major access streets in the neighbourhood leading to the site.

SITE AND CONTEXTThe site is situated in a quiet neighbourhood in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, TX. There is a red brick church immediately to the South of the site for the proposed school. The church housed a small day care center with a few classrooms. The proposal was for when the school housed in the church wanted to expand.

The existing site had steep contours of about 30 from the top of the street to the lowest point. There were also some trees and the beginnings of a park to the North end, while the South end was a parking lot and a decrepit basketball court. The tallest building in the immediate context was the Church next door with its steeple, the rest of the neighbourhood was residential low-rise with red-brick veneer finish on all its exteriors.

PROCESSThe goal was to start off thinking sectionally and incorporate the site analysis. Since it was a comprehensive design studio, there was emphasis on code analysis and understanding the methods of access and egress along with implementing some green design principles from the early stages.

CONCEPT My big idea for the project was to create a school that was based around the concept of social interaction. The building was divided into two parts by a linking grand stair, one side for the learning spaces and the other part for the activity spaces.

The classrooms were percieved as learning spaces; rather than rooms and the building became a learning tool; to reflect the basic ideas behind montessori education.

A ramp on the West side of the building served as the big interaction space and the linking element on the outside, so that the kids could look into other spaces without having to specifically go to a certain destination. The ramp branched off on the first intermediate landing level, translating into an outdoor stair linking the interaction spaces on the interior and exterior.

6 | ACADEMIC


FIGURE/GROUND DIAGRAM OF SITE AND SURROUNDINGS, WITH EXISTING LANDSCAPE

PLANFrom the street, one enters into a space where the ramp is visible and one can either take ramps to go up or down to the classrooms. The entrance was situated in between both the buildings to facilitate some shared facilities in the future.

The building was divided into two parts by a grand linking stair, the South side housing the learning spaces and the North side housing the larger congregational spaces and library. The West side is the circulation core with the ramp, with the elevators and egress stairs.

The ramp leads to the corridor that accesses the classrooms, so that there is a visual continuity throughout the building. The entire building is a learning experience for the kids, where all the senses are engaged and they understand and learn inadvertently.

The lowermost level is for the kindergarten kids, which is a block off to the South-East of the building. The rest of the spaces grow throughout the building, along the ramp.

Each group of two classrooms share a bathroom and hand wash areas and are separated by space divider-learning tools.

DAYLIGHTING AND SUNSHADINGThe South facade is a short, relatively opaque facade, and the mass of the ramp and corridors shield the habitable spaces form the harsh Western sun. The library, large gym and lunch spaces are open to the North, to allow plenty of North light into these large spaces.

SITE PLAN

7 | ACADEMIC


LEVEL 1 PLAN LEVEL 2 PLAN LEVEL 3 PLAN

8 | ACADEMIC


ACCESS AND EGRESS

BUILDING ENVELOPE

HVAC DUCTS STRUCTURAL SYSTEM

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONBUILDING DIAGRAMS

ACCESS AND EGRESSTwo egress stair towers are on the West side of the building, accessible at every half-level of the ramp. The main circulation through the building is a combination of elevators and ramps.

BUILDING ENVELOPEThe building envelope is a rainscreen wall with the insulated CMU backup and window openings in the classrooms.The larger congregational spaces are more transparent.

HVAC DUCTSThere are HVAC ducts at the top and bottom of the space, the top ducts for the warmer return air and the bottom ducts for the cooler fresh air.

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONThe red boxes depict the classroom spaces and the yellow box is the library. The transparent masses represent the other congregational spaces.

STRUCTURAL SYSTEMThe building is a regular concrete framed structure with a CMU infill wall. Smaller shear walls the egress staircase walls hold up the ramp.

9 | ACADEMIC


INTERIOR VIEWINTERIOR VIEW

CLASSROOM INTERIOR LAYOUT

LEARNING SPACESEach class level is clustered grouped together with a partition and toilet space in between. The idea is to provide maximum flexibility and make the partitions are learning aids. The divid-ers between the classrooms are squares and rectangles of different colors and textures. The dividers between the class-rooms and the corridors are also large colorful cylindrical toys.The beams and columns are exposed, and painted a bright color to educate the children about the building structure and system, in keepiung with the principles of Montessori learning.

CLASSROOM FURNITUREThere is a large mat on the ground, which is like a jigsaw puzzle that can be switched out, for the childrent to play with.The tables are single-seater tables, designed for easy recon-figuration and maximum flexibility. Every classroom has large bay windows in front of the wall area that the children can use as a standing- work desk or to climb and sit on.

10 | ACADEMIC


BUILDING SECTION

The kindergarden blocks are at the lowest level, with low-height window sills that the children can look out of. The stepped outside courtyard is envisioned as a large , multilevel playground for the children. The middle courtyard also func-tions as a performance and assembly space, with the raised courtyard and the grand linking stair that leads out, looking into it. WALL SECTION

PERSPECTIVE FROM STEPPED COURTYARD

BUILDING SECTION

11 | ACADEMIC


12 | ACADEMIC


BUILDING IN ITS CONTEXT

SECTION MODEL

13 | ACADEMIC


PROPOSED VIEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS

VIEW FROM THE NORTH SIDE, LOOKING SOUTH

14 | ACADEMIC

MATERIAL STUDY : REDIFINING THE MODULAR SPRING 2010PROF. ALBERT MARICHAL

MATERIAL EXPLORATION

The broad intent of this project was to rethink and redefine the use of existing materials to create newer uses or interpreta-tions of known, everyday material.

INSPIRATION

My inspiration for the project came from the idea of lego blocks, how the exact same piece can be used in different ways to create different configurations.

I developed a block of wood, with a tongue on one side and groove on the other, so it could form a block or square that was made of the exact same piece.

I made the block using MDF and the tablesaw, material and tools that are easily available usable.

INSPIRATION

MAKING THE BLOCK FINISHED BLOCK

15 | ACADEMIC

MATERIAL STUDY: REDEFINING THE MODULAR SPRING 2010PROF. ALBERT MARICHAL PROF. ALBERT MARICHAL

The next phase of the project involved finding applications of the new block. I discovered that with different permutations and combina-tions, I could build 7 different types of walls with the same piece, sometimes needing a half-block ( original block sawn in half) to finish the top of the walls. Each of these walls could also have a unique architectural application.

WALL 1 WALL 2: CAVITY WALL

WALL 3: STAGGERED WALL

16 | ACADEMIC

MATERIAL STUDY : REDIFINING THE MODULAR SPRING 2010PROF. ALBERT MARICHAL

WALL 4:CORNER UNITS WALL 5: FLUTES

Since the units are the key to the wall, not the material, these can be made with any material that can be cast to this form and can be scaled up proportionally to any size as required.

WALL 6: STILTS

17 | ACADEMIC

MATERIAL STUDY: REDEFINING THE MODULAR SPRING 2010PROF. ALBERT MARICHAL PROF. ALBERT MARICHAL

APPLICATIONS

Some applications of the modular wall are as illustrated. The cavity wall ( with single and double height voids) can be used as a wall for insulation and light transmission, as required in the interior. If any change is needed in the indoor light require-ments at any time, it is easy to change, as only the modules to be worked with are affected.

The other corner configurations mane it a good interior wall space, especially in offices or situations where it is not desired to have a massive solid wall in the interior space.

18 | ACADEMIC

JOSH TOWER, MUMBAI, INDIA FALL 2009PROF. RICHARD FERRIER, UTA

INTENTThe intent of the project was to re-examine the process of creating architecture through alternate drawing techniques. The final project was intended to be a conceptual building that grew out of the context it was created from.

PROCESSWe were allowed to choose any site in any city in the world, and find pictures that were descriptive of the important char-acteristics of the city.I chose Mumbai, India, as I was intrigued by the contrast and conflict in the city. We also had to choose a few words to describe our under-standing of the city and what our building would be based on, and my words were : CHAOS, CONFLICT and CONTRAST and TENSION.

SITE

19 | ACADEMIC


JOSH TOWER, MUMBAI, INDIA FALL 2009

Based on the images we chose, we had to make a collage drawing, using the colors on the images as guides to the colors on the drawing.Subsequent drawings are overlays of previous drawings and new photographs.

20 | ACADEMIC


21 | ACADEMIC



We then built 3-dimensional interpretations of the model, using the image as a reference and using different peices of the image printed on different types of paper as components in the model.After photographing the model at various angles, the play of light and shadows were documented and used as inspiration to build a 3D model of the building.

22 | ACADEMIC


The site is in a thin strip of land sandwiched between the ocean on two sides. There is also a large bus station on the South-East and is set in a dense low-rise area. There are views to the sea on the East and West sides and into the city on the North side. There is a view to the tip of the peninsula on the South side.

23 | ACADEMIC



The building was conceived as a transparent glass box with a circulation core running through all the levels. Since there are views to the sea and the city all around, balconies were given a lot of emphasis to capture the views.

24 | ACADEMIC


Views of the building from different sides. The colors are de-rived from the culture of the city, yellow and orange from the vibrancy of the streets, the busy composition of the facades from the chaos and business of the streets, and the blue circu-lation tower as the link, from the sea.

25 | ACADEMIC



AMBULATORY CARE CENTER, DALLAS, TX SPRING 2009

26 | ACADEMIC

PROF. DAVID JONES, UTA; TOM HARVEY : HKS INC, DON HANKE : HDR INC

The project was to design an Ambulatory Care Center, i.e. a health care facility where people undergo day surgeries. The average length of stay is 10 - 12 hours. The program requirements were two operating rooms, pre-op and post-op spaces, along with recovery spaces. It was also required to have some shelled office space and some clinics. The site was in the medical district in Dallas, TX. My concept was the idea of the building as being a healing tool. Natural light, the color green and gardens play an important role in recovery, whether short or long. There is also a desire for the family of the patient and the patient to feel like they are in close proximity to each other.

27 | ACADEMIC

AMBULATORY CARE CENTER, DALLAS, TX SPRING 2009PROF. DAVID JONES, UTA; TOM HARVEY : HKS INC, DON HANKE : HDR INC

The building form is a pure geometric shape, to reflect the clean lines that a healing environment needs to have. Every patient room has a view to a garden or landscaped courtyard, so that the first thing that the patient sees when they get out of anasthesia is natural light or a plant or tree. All patient rooms are well lit naturally. SITE DIAGRAMSITE PLAN

FIRST FLOOR DIAGRAM

SECOND FLOOR DIAGRAM

AMBULATORY CARE CENTER, DALLAS, TX SPRING 2009

28 | ACADEMIC

PROF. DAVID JONES, UTA; TOM HARVEY : HKS INC, DON HANKE : HDR INC

The circulation is planned so that the sterile spaces are in a different wing from the recovery spaces. This allows the family of the patients to be able to access the recovery rooms without entering the sterile spaces. The entrances to the spaces are controlled by nurse stations.

29 | ACADEMIC

AMBULATORY CARE CENTER, DALLAS, TX SPRING 2009PROF. DAVID JONES, UTA; TOM HARVEY : HKS INC, DON HANKE : HDR INC

The materials used are natural stone and concrete with brick infill in the first floor. The upper level, where flexibility is re-quired is made with paneled metal infill, which can be modified to suit whatever function is housed in there.

SECTION

SOUTH EAST ELEVATION

SOUTH WEST ELEVATION

30 | ACADEMIC

SHADING THE TURNBULL HOUSE , DALLAS , TX SPRING 2010PROF. TRUETT JAMES, UTA

The project was for a class called Energy Use and Conserva-tion. In the first part, we had to analyze the Turnbull house in Napa Valley, California using the climate consultant software. In the second part, we had to move the house to the climate of Dal-las, TX and design shading devices for the porch.

The house has been designed as a weekend house for the Turnbull family. It is a 640 sft house set in the California hill-side, on 49 acres of land.

31 | ACADEMIC


DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWED

Snug floor plan, central heat source, South facing windows, pitched roof for protection Organize floor plan so winter sun penetrates into daytime spaces with specific functions that coincides with solar orienta-tion. Steep pitched roofs vented to the exterior, with a well-insulated ceiling below. There is a lot of South facing glass or passive solar heating, but it is not shaded during the summer. Building footprint is small enough to eliminate excessive air conditioning.

From the analysis and inferences from the wind roses, psy-chrometric chart and temperature timetable plot of the Climate Consultant software, the following points were inferred.

DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN FOLLOWED

No window overhangs No wind protection on the South and South-West (heavy mass walls) No whole house fan No sunny, wind protected spaces adjoining the house

32 | ACADEMIC


Following the reconstruction of the house in Dallas, TX , I ran an analysis of the house in the Dallas, TX area using the cli-mate consultant software, and got some design guidelines for the shading and passive solar heating of the house.

33 | ACADEMIC


PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING

Recommendations: South glazing should be a maximum of 7% of the finished floor area, if the house has no additional internal thermal mass. It should be shaded from direct summer heat gain.

The recommended south glazing (exposed South glazing in winter months)is as follows:

Living area: 7% of 289 sft = 20.23sftBedroom area: 7% of 133 sft = 9.31 sft in Decem-ber, January, February (when passive solar heating is required ; shaded during other months)Central porch area: 7 % of 126 = 8.82 sft in winter months

The selective exposure of the glass is to ensure that there is no overheating in the hot summer months, which will increase air conditioning loads.

Central porch area: area of glass per door = 10.4 sft no of doors = 4area exposed per door = 1.38 sft

Bedroom area: area of glass window = 18.33 sftarea exposed = 9.31 sft

34 | ACADEMIC


The South side of the house is the one with maximum glazing. It is shaded using sun shading devices. The East and West sides are blank walls, with no fenestration. The eastern wall is shaded by trees. The Western side holds a pavilion, to watch the sunset from, called the Sunset pavilion. The trees around the pavilion shade it and the wall of the house behind it.

Since there is such a magnificent view towards the South, the design demands for large expanses of glass on the South side. The efficient way to incorporate the glass into the design is to have an efficient system of shading the glass during periods of overheating, so that there is no additional solar gain. Shading is accomplished by using a combination of permanent and removable shading devices.

The South profile angles at 12.00 noon of various months are drawn and are used to size the shading devices. A combination of permanent and temporary shading devices are used in order to get maximum benefit from the sun during the winter.

SOUTH ELEVATION

SHADING AND VENTILATION STRATEGIES

35 | ACADEMIC


The first 4 of the shading device is fixed, to shade the South glass all year-round. The next 2 is removable, to shade the October sun. The next 26 of the device is also removable, to shade the glass from the November sun.

SOME TECHNIQUES INVESTIGATED FOR OPERABLE SHADING DEVICES

PLAN

36 | ACADEMIC


JANUARY 21

APRIL 21 MAY 21 JUNE 21

JULY 21 AUGUST 21 SEPTEMBER 21

TIME STEP SEQUENCE OF SKETCHUP MODEL SHOWING SHADING STRATEGIES

FEBRUARY 21 MARCH 21

37 | ACADEMIC


OCTOBER 21 NOVEMBER 21 DECEMBER 21

NATURAL VENTILATION STRATEGIES

The windows are placed away from the bed area, so that there is no direct blast of air on the sleeping occupants of the room, neither is there sunlight directly on their faces. The South window has fixed glass at the bottom, for passive solar gain and the top part of the window is operable, for fresh air ventilation; since most of the ventilating breeze comes from the South. The outlet (on the North side) is retained as is, since most of the colder air comes in from the North. The sun shading device on the South side is also set back from the wall by about 4 so that there is no build-up of cool air above the device and all the air is streamlined into the wall.

SOUTH WINDOW IN BEDROOMNATURAL VENTILATION STRATEGIES

38 | PROFESSIONAL

SUVIDHA, BANGALORE, INDIA 2007-2008

PROJECT INTENTRetirement homes are privately owned accommodations for seniors who are able to manage and pay for their own care. Generally, retirement homes are designed for seniors who need minimal to moderate support with their daily living activities. These settings enable residents to live as independently as possible, while providing certain services and social activities. Retirement homes are also called retirement residences. The aim of hte project is to provide a place where these elderly people can spend their life after retirement without changed lifestyle and providing a peaceful environment away from the chaotic city life.

MY INVOLVEMENT My involvement in the project was in the conceptual development stage as a drafter to draft the sketches of the principal architects in charge, and in the construction drawings stage to develop con-struction drawings and revisions under the supervision of the project architect. The primary software I used was Autocad, and photoshop and illustrator for presentations. I also developed 3D views using 3D Studio max.

39 | PROFESSIONAL


40 | PROFESSIONAL


41 | PROFESSIONAL


MEDIA CENTER, CHENNAI, INDIA SPRING 2007

42 | ACADEMIC

PROF. ANSELEM SELVARAJ, PROF. ADHISESHAN, ANNA UNIVERISTY

FOCUS OF STUDYTo research and understand the technological, spatial and acoustical requirements of television and radio broadcast centers and design the first of its kind integration of media infrastructure in the country. Sensitivity to the site and its surrounding context and the integration of landscape elements into the The offices of a media giant were being rethought and the three divisions: radio and television broadcast centers and print offices were being integrated into the same facility. The corporate office needs to provide for 900 staff members and a floating population of about 200 everyday.DETERMINING THE SCOPE OF DESIGNThe requirements and area statements were formulated based on literature studies, case studies, book and internet studies of similar buildings around the world and interaction with the users A questionnaire was used to record the responses of the users who were interviewed. Additional notes were prepared to gather other information and data provided.

The site is located in a mixed-use neighbourhood close to the beach. There are views of the city on the West and North sides, and views of hte sea on the East side. The South side has views of a residential neighbourhood.

SITE PLAN

LOCATION MAP

43 | ACADEMIC

MEDIA CENTER, CHENNAI, INDIA SPRING 2007PROF. ANSELEM SELVARAJ, PROF. ADHISESHAN, ANNA UNIVERISTY

FIRST FLOOR PLAN : TYPICAL TELEVISION STUDIO LEVEL PLAN


44 | ACADEMIC


TYPICAL RADIO STUDIO LEVEL PLAN

45 | ACADEMIC


TERRACE LEVEL PLAN


46 | ACADEMIC


SECTION THROUGH STUDIOS

SECTION THROUGH ATRIUMS

The studios have to be large volume spaces, with the control rooms at the top, looking into the studios. The volumetric space required varies proportionally with the size of the studio and the purpose. Central atriums connect the various levels of the lobby and are around the central circulation core. There are balconies and terraces on the East side, to take advantages of the views of the beach. There is also a shaded outdoor cafe on the terrace, to take advantage of the views and the sea-breeze from the East during the evenings.

47 | ACADEMIC


STUDIO INTERIOR VIEW


48 | ACADEMIC


ACOUSTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDIO SPACES

I did a lot of detailed research on materials and their insula-tion characteristics, and used the results to detail the studio spaces. The structural system was also a virendeel truss system, in order to integrate the depth of all the service lines into the thickness of the slab.

STRUTURE AND MATERIALS

The building is an reinforced concrete framed structure, with brick walls or glass infill. The roof is a virendeel truss (rein-forced concrete truss), to cover the large columnless spaces required. All the balconies and terraces are landscaped, to compensate for the lack of green space on the site and in the surrounding areas. The windows are all double-glazed for maximum energy efficiency.

TYPICAL STUDIO DETAILS

FRONT ELEVATION

49 | HOBBY

ARTWORK

ARTWORK

50 | HOBBY

JYOTSNA [email protected]

ARCHITECTURAL INTERESTS

Sustainability, Smart buildings, Energy conservation and reduc-tion , Vernacular Architecture

AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS

Member, Golden Key Honor SocietyBOAT (Building Owners Association of Texas) Scholarship Fall 2009 - Spring 2010Best Graduating Student awarded by the Pidilite Group June 2007Member, Council of Architecture, IndiaFirst prize in paper presentations on Globalization 2002First prize in paper presentation on Architectural Conservation 2004

STRENGTHS

Active participant in various intercollegiate competitions during undergrad.Treasurer of the Architecture student body (equivalent of the AIAS); member of the core group that organised ZoNASA; a regional level convention of 600 students of Architecture from 16 colleges. Self-motivated, quick learner.

OTHER INTERESTS

Reading booksWriting blogs Abstract photography

portfolio

Documents

proposed school

site analysis

tx spring

existing site

contextthe site

learning spaces

red brick church

montessori education