nm portfolio 2015.08

N U P O O R M O N A N I

Master of Architecture in Urban Design (MAUD)Harvard Graduate School of DesignWith a focus on housing and community development

Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch)Kamla Raheja Vidhyanidhi Institute for Architecture, Mumbai University

Urban India AtlasResearch Associate, Harvard Graduate School of Design

New York City Department of City Planning,

Resilient RetailAffordable Senior Housing Developments NYC SDWK

Sameep Padora and AssociatesJunior Architect (2011 – 13)Architectural Intern (Spring 2011)

leading design development teams, client meetings,

mid rise residential and mixed use building types

Samira Rathod Design AssociatesArchitectural Intern

Harvard Graduate School of DesignUrban Design Instructor, Career Discovery Program

Kamla Raheja Vidhyanidhi Institute for Architecture, Mumbai UniversityAssistant Professor and Design Critic First Year Architecture Core Studio

E D U C A T I O N

E X P E R I E N C E

T E A C H I N G

N U P O O R M O N A N I

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N U P O O R M O N A N I

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2015

Urban Design Intern

2012 - 13

N U P O O R M O N A N I

n m o n a n i @ g s d . h a r v a r d . e d u

+ 1 6 1 7 4 6 0 7 0 6 2

n u p o o r m o n a n i . c o m

Master of Architecture in Urban Design (MAUD)Harvard Graduate School of DesignWith a focus on housing and community development

Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch)Kamla Raheja Vidhyanidhi Institute for Architecture, Mumbai University

Urban India AtlasResearch Associate, Harvard Graduate School of Design

New York City Department of City Planning,

Resilient RetailAffordable Senior Housing Developments NYC SDWK

Sameep Padora and AssociatesJunior Architect (2011 – 13)Architectural Intern (Spring 2011)

leading design development teams, client meetings,

mid rise residential and mixed use building types

Samira Rathod Design AssociatesArchitectural Intern

Harvard Graduate School of DesignUrban Design Instructor, Career Discovery Program

Kamla Raheja Vidhyanidhi Institute for Architecture, Mumbai UniversityAssistant Professor and Design Critic First Year Architecture Core Studio

E D U C A T I O N

E X P E R I E N C E

T E A C H I N G

N U P O O R M O N A N I

n u p o o r m o n a n i . c o m

n m o n a n i @ g s d . h a r v a r d . e d u

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n u p o o r m o n a n i . c o m

n m o n a n i @ g s d . h a r v a r d . e d u

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N U P O O R M O N A N I

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2015

Urban Design Intern

2012 - 13

U R B A N P L A N N I N G A N D D E S I G N

In Celaya, a steadily growing manufacturing hub in central Mexico, and as in many other Mexican cities, the incredible addition of housing since 2000 has resulted in a sprawling development pattern which is not sustainable. Affordable housing sponsored by INFONAVIT, the federal institute for workers’ housing, continues to follow market driven development patterns despite a new national housing policy that aims to densify central urban areas.

This is one of addressing sprawl - to densify centrally in order to increase proximity of everyday destinations in the city. However, taking into consideration the current centrifugal development practices, as well as the need for reduction of commuting time to and from the sprawling urban area, the proposal chooses to address housing through the lens of accessibility instead of proximity. Catalyzed by recent discussions regarding a suburban train through the larger Bajio region, the project recommends that the city capitalize on this opportunity, and redirect its housing policies to incentivize growth based on metrics that contribute to a sense of urbanity within the city - a stark departure from the existing binaries of city center and ex-urban areas.

The effort is to constrain sprawl by increasing overall accessibility to integrate the out-of-center urban fabric, thus reducing commute time and improving live-work patterns. The policy subsidizes development in locations evaluated on the basis of dynamic layers which evolve over time, and the development scheme is therefore replicable in other cities of the Bajio region that share Celaya’s urban type. The proposal thus aims to create a long term aspiration within local governments to plan regional housing policies - a practice which will result in economic benefits for the region as a whole, and which will improve living standards for communities at all economic levels.

PROPOSED

SPATIAL STRATEGIESURBAN AMENIT IES

SPATIAL STRATEGIES

New York City’s waste management system and the colossal net-work of infrastructure it demands inflict negative impacts on parts of the city that come in contact with its functioning. Areas around trash cans, waste transfer stations, long-haul truck routes, landfills, through their association with waste are deemed unsightly, unfa-vourable and detrimental to life in the city.

‘Yes, in my Backyard’ proposes a new imagination for these urban voids in the city through a modification of its waste management system. The new closed loop system not only proposes a more efficient process of waste management, but also optimizes un-der-utilized land parcels through an addition of public programs. Developed through local partnerships and championed by the City, urban hybrids are produced at points where the system in-tersects mono-functional land uses. The project proposes interven-tions at the Neighbourhood scale, Community scale, City scale and Metropolitan scale, and is integrated into the widespread network of existing transportation infrastructure.

Using East Harlem and South Bronx as test cases, the project is constructed as a toolkit of adaptable design and policy strate-gies. Particular to the Hunts Point Peninsula, the process of waste management is aided by adding programs such as recycling and light manufacturing to supplement the food packaging and dis-tribution industry.

I N T E R V E N T I O N S A C R O S S S C A L E S

I N T E R V E N T I O N S A C R O S S S C A L E S

N E W C L O S E D L O O P S Y S T E M

L O T S E L E C T I O N

T H E P R O C E S S

D E F I N I N G N E W H Y B R I D S

T H E U R B A N L A N D F I L L

UNDERGRADUATE DESIGN

DISSERTATION, 2011

UNDERGRADUATE DESIGN

DISSERTATION, 2011

A R C H I T E C T U R A L D E S I G N

R E S E A R C H A N D W R I T I N G

NYC

SDWK

SDWK

NYC

Shaping Somerville

Planning for the 21st Century

GSD | Fall 2014 Nupoor Monani

Image source: http://www.somervillema.gov/historicpreservation

Prepared by Nupoor Monani

GSD SES-5338 Fall 2013

Prof Mitchell Silver

Shaping Somerville

Planning for the 21st Century

GSD | Fall 2014 Nupoor Monani

Image source: http://www.somervillema.gov/historicpreservation

With the enormous pace of expected growth, the City of Somer-ville is looking for an identity, a way to brand itself and market its

values to those who are helping to fuel this whirlwind growth. The extensions of the Green Line, development of Assembly Square,

Union Square Revitalization Plan, and preparation of SomerVision – the city’s first ever comprehensive plan, are all efforts through

which the city is seeking to reinvent itself. This growth however has not come without some contention, and many local groups have called for greater participation of the community in the planning

process with a stronger focus on equitable development and community benefits. The city is faced with the obvious issue of

gentrification that has long term residents worried that they will be priced out of their homes and neighbourhoods.

This plan for the City of Somerville, prepared for GSD SES-5338, Spring 2014, responds to the critical needs of the community and

follows Somerville’s longstanding tradition of community-driven planning. It recognizes the strength of Somerville’s diverse demo-

graphic composition – a community of immigrants, young families, a talented workforce – and the significant push towards growth and economic development. It is an attempt to guide the future

development of the city ensure that these desirable standards of liveability continue to remain accessible to all.

Master of Architecture in Urban Design, ‘15

In Mexico City, the 1950s and 1960s witnessed unprecedented rates of urbanization, with the population doubling over the course of two decades at an annual growth rate of about 5% - the highest in the history of the city. The growth of the city today has extended beyond the limits of the Federal District to homogenize 59 municipalities that surround it.

This is an unintended consequence of the efforts of government and quasi-government institutions such as SEDATU, INFONAVIT and CONAVI and their attempts to regulate the expanding urban fabric by employing a mix of housing development strategies for construc-tion, mortgages, and density regulation. But the sheer quantity of housing required to keep up with market demand every year, trans-lates into vast discrepancies between what these agencies envisioned and the reality on ground. Over time it has been observed that most of these policies formulated at the federal level lack articulation at the finer grain of the city and cannot preempt the emerging urban patterns.

The imagery of unmitigated urban sprawl in Mexico City has begun to characterize other large and medium sized cities in the rest of Mexico as well, each reserving the urban core for employment and producing housing developments in the periphery. This paper is an attempt to examine this urban form as it results from recent federal policies for workers’ housing.

Published in ‘Retrofitting the [Post] Industrial Metropolis: Housing and Economic Growth in the Mexico City Metropolitan Region and the Bajio Region’ eds. Diane Davis, Jose Castillo, Adrianna Chavez. 2015.