VENICE SALTS

| INSTALLATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA |

Although salinity is rarely what defines Venice, its saline lagoons have brought Venice peace, prosperity, war, and destruction. Standing as a sculpture, "Venice Salt" strips Venice of its water, its gondola rides and instead reveals the impact of its salt. Between 1870 and 2018, largely due to climate change, the sea level in Venice has consistently risen by about 2mm per year. The significance of the water levels can be seen on the deteriorating bases of Venetian buildings; salt deposits from the water now penetrate the brick foundation walls above its Istrian stone base, which had historically been its protective barrier. As the salt crystallizes, it corrodes the bricks and eventually turns them into powder. Per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, extreme flooding that used to occur in Venice only once every century is now expected to recur every six years by 2050.

VENICE SALTS WAS DONE IN COLLABORATION WITH ANESTA KOTHARI

27 STEPS

| INSTALLATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA |

27 steps began as a design for the Nelson Mandela memorial. It later resurrected as a traveling pavilion upon being selected as one of the exhibits at the San Francisco Market Street Prototyping Festival (2016). It consists of one single gesture of taking 27 steps through the piece to commemorate Mandela's 27 years in prison at Robben Island. The two pieces form a center void in the shape of an inverted pyramid --Mandela's journey in carving for peace by inverting the political system. Market Street has always been the venue to voice, to protest, to celebrate, to walk for peace. The Market Street fair offers such a opportunity again, not for a protest, but for a walk for peace in a celebratory environment.

PURPLE RAIN

During a peaceful non-apartheid protest in South Africa, just months before Nelson Mandela was released from prison, the police force were determined to arrest anyone who was a part of the protest by tagging them with purple water. The protesters showed resistance by turning the purple water back toward authority and soon after, purple became the sign of resistance. 

urban metrics

Motion-sensor-activated LED lights and counter begin to help us understand the patterns and density of Market Street. These counts were also linked to an online database that allowed us and others to track the data in real-time. We would like to further push this concept of using art as an urban metric for any city and add a level of interaction to the streets.

TEAM

For this project, we contacted a number of individuals with varying talents, including architects, sound composer, videographer, fabricators, lighting designer, technologies, interactive designer, and fundraiser. 

market street

27 steps WAS DONE IN COLLABORATION WITH ANESTA IWAN (co-director)

team: WILL GIOVACCHINI, GRANT RYAN, GABRIEL LARSEN SANTOS, CRAIG STILES, KEVIN JU, STEVE PEPPLE, STEPHANIE GEERLINGER, AURELIA FREIDLAND, ADONIS GAITATZIS, AND THE INNOVATION HANGAR TEAM.

BOMBAY HOUSE

| BUILT | india |

Just off of the shores of Juhu Beach in Bombay is the compound in which I had spent my childhood. On the property are three identical bungalows, each consisting of 4 flats. They were built in the early to mid 20th century and served as the barracks for the British during WWII, directly adjacent to Juhu Airport.

restore | renovate

My family has lived there through multiple generations and will continue to do so in the future. This project is one step in that evolution. This will be a house for 3 generations: the Baby Boomers, Generation Xs, and Millennials.

parti

History is in the structure.

CLINIC

The future is in health. We see the house as the new clinic. Health starts from the well-being of the occupants. The house can help monitor that health.

magic

As a human, curiosity brings magic into the house. We want to use this opportunity to explore the use of sensors and hands. While the swing sways at the kick of the foot, the doors automatically open and close when certain appliances are used are two people are in two opposing rooms.

the bombay house was done in collaboration with anesta iwan and kothari family (hema, dhilan, devna and anoushka).

FUTURE CITIES

| DESIGN COMPETITION |

As I step out, I recognize this town. I was here in 2016 AD. There are no streets or buildings, the roads are no longer filled with cars like they used to. As I look up, all I can see is a swarm of what look like pods rising over a sea of green parks. The street is the park. Occasional incoming fog obscures my view, but then this is a foggy city, it was and it always will be.

FUTURE CITIES was done in collaboration with anesta iwan as a SUPERSCRAPER competition SUBMISSION

BLUE SPA

| DESIGN COMPETITION |

Water is life. Given that most of the human body as well as the Earth's surface is made of water, can water be the treatment in this spa? A 250-foot-long shower corridor links all of the facility's amenities: housing (rest), clay bath (therapy), and pool (swim). 

Act I
Scene 1. Earth. Primates, Homo Sapiens & Aves (Bird).
Enter WATER

The human body is 70 percent water. The Earth’s surface is 70 percent water. Water is medium for all lives. Water is a link between solar and ground energy; between sun and life; and between built and natural landscape.clay and pool.

Act II
Scene 1. Latvia. The Site.
Enter SUN, TERRA, BIO-WASTE, & WATER

Solar, ground-source heat pump and biofuel are the sources of energy. The climate patterns in Latvia necessitates diverse fuel sources. Water is energy storage - between sun and human body and between sun and ground.

Act III
Scene 1. Blue Spa. House, Clay & Pool.
Enter WATER

The tree house for visitors and staff allows the biodiversity at grade to thrive in its natural setting; clay and pool are outdoor rooms grounded in its environment. water is the constant element between housing (rest), clay (treatment), and pool (swim) and the connector between the three built elements. The 260-foot long tank is a water corridor: shower, steam and sauna. Heated and cooled water is treated and recirculated through its length. In the summer, the water stores excess solar heat to recharge the ground source heat pump.

Act IV
Scene 1. The Atmosphere. Rain, Fog & Mist.
Enter BLUE SPA

Water fuels evolution. The Water Cycle of the Earth is echoed in the Water Tank. Rain, Fog, and Mist; Shower, Steam, and Sauna. Life is 70% Water. Blue Spa is 70% Water.

70% water

This journey has led us to ask a bigger question about the origin of water.

blue spa was done in collaboration with anesta iwan as a design proposal for the blue spa competition in latvia.

KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

| AN IDEA |

The stock exchange has been a barometer of economy and progress for the last few hundred years. Hidden behind the ups and downs of the stock price are the stories of human progress and failures. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Steve Jobs have used the capitalism model to advance human society. However, the capital distribution remains a barrier, the problems of high disparity has resulted in deep social crisis. We have all agreed to resolve the issue in this century. Perhaps an equal distribution of knowledge may solve the unequal distribution of capital.
 

Library as institutions have been the venues to go to for knowledge. At the great Alexandria library in 3rd century BC and in Francois Mitterrand's The National Bibliotheque of the 20th century, the main protagonist was and is the book, in paper and in bits. The program of the library has not changed much from then until now. A linear function of a library acting as a missionary of knowledge may not serve the new millennia well. The old program of a library is relevant for solo readers. But the new world operates in groups. What and where is the new waterhole for knowledge?

We look back to commerce in the New York Stock Exchange which was formed under a tree, to democracy in ancient Greek agora, and to justice in the court hearings performed in Indian durbar. The stock exchange was a new typology and so were the agoras and the durbar. They all served the need of the time. Likewise, we need to rethink our institutions. We believe in Churchill’s words, “We shape our buildings, and afterwards, our buildings shape us.” 

A knowledge exchange building is a place for a dialogue, the focus shifts to the seeker, the books and bits are the props. It is a building where books, digital servers and a town hall co-exist together in a park. Between two knowledge sources is a forum setting which allows learning by sharing and a place to protest, contest, agree. This is a place to collaborate, to use new resources, build partnerships, charter a new course for progress. Sited in cities left behind by the market economy, these exchange buildings provide free tools to compete and claim its share of the capital. The building is the new venture, the knowledge seekers are its capital.

As architects, we often look onto our buildings as an extension of an ideology we believe in. We are excited about the Knowledge Exchange and we urge you to get involved in this mission. Our objective of creating a change is aligned with the vision of the words of Mr. Barrack Obama, "I'm asking you to believe. Not in my ability to create change — but in yours." As an advisory member of our team we will seek your guidance, hope and wisdom. We cannot do this alone, so we thank you in advance for your participation.

knowledge exchange was done in collaboration with anesta iwan as a design proposal for the city of st. louis, mo.

A TURNING POINT

| M PAVILION EVENT PROPOSAL | MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA |

As an extension to OMA's MPavilion, A Turning Point installation asks visitors to become caretakers of Melbourne. As the theater seating pivots toward the city, our installation reciprocates and surveillance videos from Melbourne's public spaces and parks are projected onto several sheets of fabric -- each pixel is a live stream of a heart in motion. This thought can be seen as an extension of the City of Melbourne’s Safe City Cameras Program (SCCP). The event is Melbourne in Motion. Our times calls for civic participation, observation, and confrontation. We start now. 

surveillance

The intent is not to promote or celebrate the act of spying, nor it to promote a constant anxiety of fear. To the contrary, the repertoire  is of a new reality of the 21st century. A few guards of the past are now being replaced by an entire community of citizens ready to engage the challenges of a diverse, multi cultural city. The caretakers tweet their observation to #ATurningPoint. A new paradigm, maybe a new prodigy of security in a democracy, one in which we learn to accept and celebrate surveillance as an act for the people, to the people, and by the people.

the pivot

The installation consists of two frames, one of which is stationary and the one that pivots (the screen). The footage from surveillance cameras around Melbourne would be projected onto the layers of the screens. As the seats of MPavilion pivots, so does the screen --turning the focus from the interior of MPavilion to the larger Melbourne.

AUROVILLE

| design build | india |

Red Earth. Red Hands. These were the basis of the Rammed Earth House. It began with my early journey out of Mumbai in search for new forms and methods of architecture. I came across Peter Anderschitz , with whom I had designed and built this house along with local builders. 

language and architecture

A new experience, new language, new culture, and new architecture.

plan

Symmetry. Open corners. Red earth.

the cyclone

... by the next morning, it stood. The only remnants of the cyclone's passing were the leaf-imprints left on the walls. 

auroville was done as part of a summer internship under the guidance of peter Anderschitz.