School of Architecture and Planning

GD Goenka University

NewsletterNewsletter

“ArcNews”ArcNewsA Students’ Initiative…

SoAP DayGuest Lectures

Site Visits

Semester 2 2014-15

AcceleronBook Review

Student’s WorkFaculty‐ Conferences and Seminars

From the Dean’s deskProf. Chhabi Mishra

OUR STUDENTS….

The School of Architecture & Planning (SoAP) has its own newsletter, “Soap Whiff, a students’ initiative, circulated twice a year. SoapWhiff targets to capture the essence of the School through students effort and understanding focusing on School specific programs,faculty and students’ achievements, School events, activities, awards, competitions, and much more. Soap Whiff also aims to interestanyone from a student to a family member, Schools of Architecture, Organizations and Design firms.

Our students are the major contributors of Soap Whiff and have written articles, taken pictures and helped design this bright andj p , p p g gengaging newsletter with plenty of interesting stories and photos. The students have also designed a Scrap book which is available atthe admissions office. Students have taken initiatives in organizing and participating in several events at school, as well as, Universitylevel and have always come up with brilliant ideas.

We are proud to announce that our first batch of students are undoubtedly multi talented; there are artists, writers, thinkers, singers,dancers, actors, sportsman, fashion models and creative designers. It has been a pleasure to work with them and have shared thejourney of “first steps” to Architecture together. They have progressed very well and now let’s keep up the spirit and hard work andwalk the rest of the journey of learning together.

Dean School of Architecture and Planning

GD Goenka University1

SoAP Day: An Exhibition of Student’s work of Semester 1 by Priya Sharma, Student

The School of Architecture and Planning organized an exhibition of Students’first semester work, and named it “SoAP Day”. The exhibition was greatlyappreciated and attended by Honorable Vice Chancellor Dr. Raj Singh, and byDeans, faculty and students of other schools under GD Goenka University.Students displayed their work very well and proudly presented their learning andexperiences all day.p y

Student explaining Architecture Design Projects to Honorable Vice Chancellor Dr. Raj Singh

2Deans’ VisitStudent presenting- Materiality and Buildability

Students’ First Semester Work Exhibition: SoAP Day

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School of Architecture and Planning (SoAP Day) Exhibition showcased first semester students’ work of batch 2014. SOAP Day was one of thefirst event when nascent steps taken by the first year students to demonstrate their responsibility and dedication to work. Overall it was aday full of proud moments for students.

Japanese Infusionsby faculty

Guest lectureGuest lectureby Architect, Vasanthi Menon

The lecture started as a complex theoretical exposition on Japan and transformedThe lecture started as a complex theoretical exposition on Japan and transformedinto a fascinating visual treat of Japanese homes. Architect Vasanthi Menon, anarchitect who lives and works in Japan. She presented her projects in Japanesearchitecture influenced by Japanese environmental and cultural issues. It wasfascinating.

After the lecture, the students interacted with her with questions which weref , qpatiently responded to by Ms. Menon. The interest in cross-cultural exchanges wasevident and all of us were treated to rare glimpses into life in Japan in general andarchitecture in particular.

4Group picture: SoAP Dean, Faculty members and students with Ar. Vasanthi Menon

First On-site Guest Lectureby Robin Sharma, Student, First year, SoAP

It is rare when surprises pop up one after another. Butthat was what exactly happened on our first on-site guest Architect Karan Grover introduced his house project and told his life

t h h h b ld h l i l i ti t t ti hi k

Exterior of the contemporary house Discussions between Ar. Karan Grover and students

y pp glecture with Architect, Karan Grover. The interaction washumorous and interactive and made our d ay; well …at leastmine. I don’t know about others….. And it was interesting tofind the guest lecturer sipping vodka.

Let me tell you the whole story of that day:We left our G D Goenka at 2:30pm After reaching the

story...how he was chosen by an old archeological scientist to continue his workafter his death. And how ultimately the continuation of that research led tomany discoveries and recognition of Champaneras UNESCO world heritagesite…It was the funniest yet most inspiring lecture . And the person behind thewords ,Mr. Grover hats off to you, sir!! You made my day!!

Now I can visualize how life works How important it is to work and leave noWe left our G.D. Goenka at 2:30pm. After reaching thedestination I felt “Hey!! Are you sure that it is the rightplace?” There was a simple compound wall and a small streetin front of the house. The great Indian street chaos mademy doubts even stronger. Then as I entered the house ….Nothing happened…I was still thinking that we were at thewrong place... Then I saw two old figures approaching us … a

Now I can visualize how life works. How important it is to work and leave nostone unturned. So after that we had snacks and bid farewell to Mr. Grover.

The meaning of life as laid out by Mr. Karan Grover in itself was very inspiring. Ilearned some fine details of it that day. I look forward to more such on siteguest lectures that would come our way. And one more thing, the lemonade wasawesome!!g p f g pp g

man and a lady... one was bald … no not the lady… the man.That round curvature thrashed my doubts because he wasour guest lecturer, Mr. Karan Grover. He greeted us with aglass of vodka in his hand … we went into the house and myeyes were delighted by the way things were placed …Longcorridors with stairs going up and cleverly placed rooms andth d b hi d th h B t it t tthe garden behind the house. But it was not over yet ...After roaming around the house, we were asked to collectin front of a projector… I think it was Mrs. Malti Nehru,the owner, who noticed how comfortable we were with eachpassing second. And she perfectly managed to collect anunruly bunch of teenagers within 2 minutes.

5Introductory Lecture by Ar. Karan Grover to SoAP studentsInterior of the contemporary house

Field trip to Tikli Bottom and Site Visit to Manesarby Rudra Sahai, Student, SoAP

Studying ‘Architectural Design’ studentsare demanded to tackle various designp bl ms nd this sit s th b sis f

On a cold winter morning on the 29th of Januarystudents of School of Architecture & Planning in GD Goenka university embarked on a study trip tofi d t b t h t tl b i

problems and this site was the basis ofall of them As we entered the site, wewere asked to study and observe thevarious aspects of it. This particularprocess of understanding a site in allperspectives in architecture is calledcontextual analysis which was introducedfind out more about what was currently being

taught in the curriculum.The first destination scheduled for us was theTikli Bottom guest house in Tikli village, Sohna.Situated in the more rural side of the NCR, thisparticular haven gave quite a country like feel tothe ambience with horse sheds fences and farm

Manesar Site visit: Understanding the site context for Architectural Design

contextual analysis which was introducedto us through this site. With all theinformation gathered on the particularplot, students were ready to work of thedesign problem presented to them. Thusthe study trip was successfullyconcluded.All i ll hi i i i h f l dthe ambience with horse sheds, fences and farm

dogs wandering about. Upon arriving, thedestination a certain grandeur could be feltlooking at the guest house in front of us.

We were greeted by Mr. Martin Howard - theowner of the guesthouse, who introduced himself

All in all, this trip was very insightful andenlightening for many of us and we lookforward to more of these through theyear.

and talked about the inception of this residence.We learned that Mr. Howard and his wifepurchased this bit of land in the mid 90’s solelydue to its distinct location. Situated right besidethe hills, this location seemed perfect for buildinga residence to tackle the hot summers that areprevalent here Mr Howard defined Tikli Bottom It was interesting to note that Mr

Tikli Bottom Site visit: to understand the distinction between Haveli and Bungalow architecture

prevalent here. Mr. Howard defined Tikli Bottomas a modern Lutyens style Indian Haveli which asdescribed incorporates various elements of ahaveli with the amalgamation of Lutyens’architectural components.The class was then taken on a tour around theguesthouse where various architectural aspects of

It was interesting to note that Mr.Howard didn’t require a single airconditioner to keep the house cool untila few years back when air conditionershad to be installed due to increasingflow of summer visitors. Another keyfeature of this Haveli was its crescent

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g pit were observed. Architectural elements such asform, symmetry and hierarchy were predominantlyexhibited in this Haveli and as it was built as asummer house, it featured tall ceilings, largewindows and warm mellow colors.

f fshaped swimming pool which was anotable attraction among visitors. Thenext destination the class was taken toa construction site in Manesar.

American Institute of Indian StudiesStudents were exposed to the several aspects of functioning of a library and how thebooks are archived . They also studied concepts of Sustainability in built environment

ith t t thi b ildiwith respect to this building.

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Site Visits….

Centre of Science and EnvironmentStudents were taught about concepts of climate responsive g p parchitecture and how a building is designed to achieve it.

DS Doors Site Visit

During this site visit the students were exposed to the procedure of how natural wood is treated, finished and made ready for onsite door installation.

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Devi Art Foundation

During this site visit the students were introduced toprofessional exhibition of art and utilization oftraditional materials in Modern Architecture. They alsostudied different forms of structural elements.

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THE FUN STUFF….ACCELERON

by Upasana Sharma, Student, SoAP

Acceleron 2015 was held on 12-13th of March 2015 and was a huge success withAcceleron 2015 was held on 12 13th of March 2015 and was a huge success witheveryone’s enthusiastic cooperation. Like Sportopia, the festival wassimultaneously held at multiple venues within the university, with each venuehosting multiple events. The two day fest saw over 70 teams, 30 events and1,000 participants from different schools under different universities. “At GDGoenka the festivity was never felt and seen to this intensity before. Therewere many diverse events and students in large numbers participated and madeit a grand success.

Paper Cut: Collage Making competition conducted by Students of Architecture DEEWAR: Wall Graffiti competition conducted by Students of ArchitecturePaper Cut: Collage Making competition conducted by Students of Architecture DEEWAR: Wall Graffiti competition conducted by Students of Architecture

School of Architecture and Planning (SoAP) hosted events , such as, Graffiti and Papercut and we worked with students from other colleges.It was great to be able to get a perspective about how challenging it is to match skills with students from other disciplines. For example astudent from a Management school won the Papercut event and her collage was incredibly creative. The School Of Architecture and Planningcame 2nd in Collage making event and Papercut (Mayank Sharma and Sneha Nagar) and 1st in Rangoli making event competition (Shreya Jain-SOAP and Sneha Hussain- SOHSS). The NASHA music was awesome. Students demanded for more as they grooved to the beats of the band.

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SO an Sn ha Hussa n SOHSS). h N SH mus c was aw som . Stu nts man for mor as th y groo to th ats of th an .While day one saw the most cheer for the western dance competition, day two set its pace with earthy folk performances. Theatreperformances too, drew big crowds as they took the theme of ”Women Empowerment”. The show concluded on a high note, as everybodydanced, sang and partied at the Sunburn Night by DJ Zaedan, which was held after the Battle of the Bands competition.

The fun stuff…ACCELERON

Winners in Acceleron: Sumedha and Upasana, Student SoAP

11 Showstopper for Acceleron- Fashion show- Sana , Student SoAP Participation in Acceleron: Folk dance – Jaideep, Student SoAP

Book reviewby Aakash Chauhan

The Shiva Trilogy

The Immortals Of Meluha

People of that time used to call it the land of Meluha, a perfectly organized and a successful land, almost Utopian. Meluha was way ahead of all the other kingdoms at that time, be it in the standards of living, architecture of the buildings or constitutional rules of their kingdom. They had a system where children at birth were handed over to the state who did their upbringing till they were 18 yrs old. Subsequently, they were adopted by families.

There were primarily two different inhabitants living at that time; the Suryavanshis and the Chandravanshi. There was a huge difference in the culture and way of living between these dynasties. TheChandrvanshis were evil and were trying to destroy the Suryavanshis. To make matters worse, the Chandravanshis allied with the Nagas, an ostracized and sinister race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills. This once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers faced severe perils as its g p p y pprimary river, the revered Saraswati, was slowly drying to extinction. The Saraswati water was a major ingredient in the immortal drink, the drink Of The Gods', Somras. It was a drink invented by the Melhuanscientist’s, which prolonged the age, strength and the brain hormones of the body. Somras played a major role in the successful functioning of the Meluhan Empire. But then, as the Saraswati river was getting dry, there was limited Somras, which was quite a problem. The only hope for the Suryavanshis was an ancient legend: ‘When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your

i h t i h d h ill Th N lk th ' A d th th t Shi i f enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge: The Neelkanth.' And then they met Shiva, a warrior from Mount Kailash, Tibet.

His throat turned blue after taking Somras. After inspection by the Melhuan doctors, it was confirmed that the prophecy had been fulfilled, the savior had come and he was taken to the Meluhan Emperor. Shiva was briefed about the condition of the Meluha and the problems that it was facing Shiva was now Shiva was briefed about the condition of the Meluha and the problems that it was facing. Shiva was now called as the 'Lord'. The only two people that were close to Shiva were Brahaspati and Sati. Sati was the lady he fell in love with, the daughter of the Meluhan Emperor and Brahaspati, a renowned Scientist of Melhua who also had a major role in production of Somras. With the course of time, Shiva got too attached to Brahaspati. But he was killed in attack on Mount Mandar by evil Chandravashis and Naga forces. To avenge his brother's death Shiva lead the Suryavanshis forces into a fierce battle against the Chandravashis.

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Students’ Work

Architecture Design II

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Students’ Work

14Materiality & Buildabilty II

Students’ Work

Visual Art II

Students Work

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Students’ Work

History of Architecture II

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Faculty‐ Conferences and Seminars

Prof. Chhabi MishraP t d t th M hi d I ti W k h th F t f 7th International Conference on Emerging

Technologies in ”Civil Engineering, Architecture andEnvironmental Engineering for Global Sustainability”organized by “Krishi Sanskriti” on 4th and 5th April2015 at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

• Ms Parul Singh submitted a full length research

a. Presented a paper at the Mahindra Innovation Workshop on the Future ofUrban Mobility

b. Attended “Wisdom, Values and Landscape Architecture-towards Smart Citieson 19,20,21 February 2015 in Pune

c. Attended a symposium on Sustainable Smart Cities on 16 March.

• Ms.Parul Singh submitted a full length researchpaper titled” Social Impact of Rehabilitation andResettlement Policy in Uttar Pradesh – Case Study ofGautamBudh Nagar.

• Ms.Bharti Chadha submitted a full length researchpaper titled ”Off-Site Manufacturing-A Wayp p ff f g ytowards Lean Construction.

Ms.Bharti Chadha attended a workshop on“Energizing Gurgaon through Solar” at Artemishospital on February 25, 2015.

M M hit V ’ A h d F d ti i kiMr. Mohit Verma’s Archade Foundation is workingon Disaster Relief program in rural Nepal by buildingshelters and training local villagers.

Ms.Guneet Raj Singh presented a paper titled“Children and the City: How Child friendly are ourNeighbourhood Spaces?” at ACRECONF 360 degreeNeighbourhood Spaces? at ACRECONF 360 degreeview on Emerging Mega-Trends in Built Environmentat India Habitat Centre, New Delhi at 20-21 March2015.

Ms.Neena Singh Zutshi attended the book launchfor “ Theory and Practice of Temple Architecture in

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Medieval India – Bhoja’s Samranganasutradhara andthe Bhojpur line Drawings” by Prof. Adam Hardy,Eminent Scholar on Indian Temple Architecture,University of Cardiff, Wales on February 20, 2015at the IGNCA, New Delhi.

Left Top: Prof. Chhabi Mishra at “Wisdom, Values and Landscape Architecture-towards Smart Cities. ISOLA Conference on 19,20,21 February 2015 in Pune

Right Top: Ms. Guneet Raj Singh at ACRECONF 360 degree view on Emerging Mega-Trends in Built Environment at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

Faculty Members:

Neena Singh Zutshi,Associate Professor

Guneet Raj SinghAssistant Professor

Mohit VermaAssociate Professor

Parul SinghAssistant Professor

Bharti ChadhaAssistant Professor

Gagandeep Singh GujralAssistant Professor

Ruchira Ganguli Shikha Osan

Prof. Chhabi MishraDean

gVisiting Faculty

Student Contributors:School of Planning Architecture (SoAP), First year

Visiting Faculty

Priya SharmaRobin SharmaRudra Sahai

Upasana SharmaAakash Chauhan 18