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M Aakash Bala Saravanan

AR3029

Identifying and reinterpreting Sangath’s barriers

Throughout the studio, we questioned our own pre-occupations with form and shifted our focus to resolving more deeply rooted problems and barriers that our indifference as architects produce spatially as well as programmatically. The project tries to reinterpret Sangath’s overlooked barriers to create a more cohabit-able built environment for its community of users. Design decisions were purely based on the significance of their critical content and the multitude of vital relationships they alter, while being sympathetic to what has been curated on site throughout the decades of Sangath’s existence.

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Critique and design intent

Phase 1- the new admin block

Phase 1- the redefined Southern court

Phase 2- the western arcade

Phase 2- transformed seams

Phase 2- Northern toilet cubicles for VSF and views across the intersection

Phase 3- The central studio verandah : A studio space that is set to bridge two parallels - the existing Sangath and a proposed new western arcade - separated by a well-preserved garden.

Phase 3- long section through studio, the piers that propel the new louvered roof and appropriation of a vital threshold. To avoid laying out thick foundations in the existing garden area and to keep the heart of the site as open as possible, the studio was freed of vertical structural elements by the design of four 14-m long spanning Glu-lam beams, with intermediate struts that provide additional support depth.

phase 3- shorter section through studio and the assembly of the roof ( refer to gifs in additional drive work or YouTube link to understand the mechanism behind the same)

Phase 4 and the completed project, synopsis

Project Video