AFTER KAHN AT IIM અમદાવાદ Architecture Thesis Rishma Bhatt 2 AFTER KAHN AT IIM અમદાવાદ Architecture Thesis Rishma Bhatt 3 4 5 6 AFTER KAHN AT IIM _________________________ Rishma Bhatt APPROVED: _________________________ William Truit Commitee Chair _________________________ Meredith Chavez Second Reader _________________________ Tamler Sommers Honors Reader _________________________ Patricia Belton Oliver, FAIA Dean, College of Architecture and Design 7 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not thank my committee members enough for their tireless effort towards my thesis project. William Truitt, Meredith Chavez, and Dr. Tamler Sommers, I could have not done this without your constant help, assistance, and guidance. To my parents, thank you for doing everything you could and more. Thank you for never giving up on me and helping me gain a deeper and more profound understanding of my heritage. I owe it all to you. I would also like to thank my friends, family, and classmates for being there during the entire journey and consistently motivating me to always dream bigger. 9 10 ABSTRACT The whole complicated design with its brick paved walkway and irregular cut thoughts and medium height brick buildings makes reference not to Ahmedabad, but to another city entirely. ( 303-304, Lesser). 11 12 ABSTRACT Alexandra Tyng describes her father’s design approach at the Indian Institute of Management as a combination of building typology and program. Library, classrooms, dormitories and teacher’s residences are designed as separate objects but are organized ‘around the idea of meeting’ in Tyng’s words.(Tyng,141) She writes that Kahn is also interested in the ‘pols’ of Ahmedabad, the semi-public alley cluster of homes for a larger family unit, and sought to bring some of the formal qualities into the organization of the program elements. The formal geometry of forms and voids make the reading of the informal pol network difficult to read in the final design, however. This thesis reintroduces the pol network into the geometric campus in order to project an urban, hybrid habitation of the isolated university, and investigates the problem of European design sensibilities grafted onto Gujarati space. 13 14 CONTENTS 17 Prospectus 18 Analyis IIM 30 POL 36 PUBLIC SPACE & USE MANEK CHOWK 40 Precedents ADALAJ VAV 44 SABARMATI ASHRAM 48 CEPT UNIVERSITY 54 Design Concept, Strategy 60 Drawings and Models 74 Bibliography 15 16 PROSPECTUS This thesis reintroduces the pol network into the geometric campus in order to project an urban, hybrid habitation of the isolated university, and investigates the problem of European design sensibilities grafted onto Gujarati space. 17 SITE ANALYSIS IIM HISTORY 18 AHMEDABAD 19 IIM HISTORY Formal Connectivity TO CAMPUS ADDITION LIBRARY CRICKET ADMIN DORMS CLASSROOMS LECTURE HALL PLANNED COURTYARDS PROGRAM CONNECTIVITY B.V. Doshi initially had been appointed to work on the The Vikram Sarabhai Library is the prominent on Ahmedabad campus of the Indian Institute of Management the campus because of the monumentality. The large (IIM) in 1961, one of the most select business schools geometrical voids are used to filter natural light into the in the country.Since international institutions heavily reading rooms. influence IIM Doshi believed he should also hire an international architect. Doshi was instrumental in the The entry into the campus is also through a large hiring of the American architect Louis Kahn as the lead geometrical void that is cut through the library. The designer of the business school. entrance faces the monumental Louis Kahn plaza. The area between the library, classroom buildings, and Kahn’s designs are known for their monumentality. lecture hall creates the Kahn plaza. The campus organizes itself ‘around the idea of meeting’(Tyng, 135). Kahn’s designs are generally known The classrooms are organized in a longitudinal building for their monumentality, and the aspirations of the school located on the southwest side of the library. Kahn’s idea and the design sensibilties of the architect are a natural of designing around the idea of meeting reveals itself in fit. Therefore, many public spaces appear throughout the voids that he creates between each classroom. The voids design. The negative space that the large buildings create intentionally create space in which students engage with become the public spaces. The buildings that compose the one another as well as professors. The intent to create a main plaza are the Sarabhai Library, the classroom halls, campus around the idea of meeting embodies itself in and the lecture halls. different scales throughout the project. 20 21 LOUIS KAHN PLAZA KAHN LOUIS LECTURE HALL CLASSROOMS DORMS 22 Entry Sequence Entry IIM HISTORY IIM IIM HISTORY Quads vs. Pols Kahn incorporates elements of the Gujarati pol neighborhood network within the IIM campus. One can see this juxtaposition of program elements within the tight alley space behind the more iconic or monumental spaces of the university. Louis Kahn plaza is a planned space, designed to read as a pol and informal meeting space amongst the students. The monumentality of the space makes it read as a formal space. The plaza is opposite of the library, main lecture, and classroom buildings making it read as a university quad. These types of formal plazas are typically not found in other Indian educational spaces. Whereas, the space created on the other side of the classroom building is far less organized giving it a more pol characterstics. 23 POL 2 CLASSROOMS POL 1 KAHN PLAZA BOOKS LECTURE There are two different areas in this campus that I indentify as a pol. Both of these areas share the lack of monumentality found in the Kahn Plaza. These pols are are located on the rear of important buildings such as the main library and dorms. 24 25 IIM HISTORY Pol #1 LEARNING READING LEARNING LIVING READING LIVING LEARNING 26 IIM HISTORY Pol #1 Pol 1 is located near the entrance of the campus. It located between the back of the library and the rear side of some dorm buildings. This pol is different because it has a ramp that leads up to a platform that becomes a bridge that connects the platform with the back of other dorms as well as a network that overlooks Pol 2. This particular location serves as a pol because there is no monumentality or formal program that occurs in this area. This negative space is defined by the existing formal program that occurs on the boundries of this pol. Currently, the space ramp and platform don’t serve as any programmatic elements that enhance the campus. 27 IIM HISTORY Pol #2 LEARNING LIVING LEARNING LIVING 28 IIM HISTORY Pol #2 Pol 2 is located on the rear of the classroom space and the rear of dorm spaces as well. Pol 1 connects to Pol 2 as well. The space itself begins as a narrow 13’ alley and slowly expands. This area directly connects to the campus extension allowing it to have a heavy pedestrian traffic. This area is currently has some informal program such as a cafe space and some seating happening. Since there are some social gatherings occuring in the negative space, it allows the area to read as a pol. 29 SITE ANALYSIS Ahmedabad + Pols 30 AHMEDABAD + POLS Old city Ahmedabad MAJOR CONNECTIVITY WITHIN OLD CITY AHMEDABAD KHADVA POL DIAGRAM POLS WITHIN CEPT UNIVERSITY 31 POLS What is a pol? A Pol is an urban group of single family residential units and small streets, shrines and open community spaces (otlas) (Architecure in Development). In the past, pols were specific to eitherBASIC AHMEDABAD caste or occupational groups and family, reinforcing a COMMERCIAL AREA SECTION close communitySHOP within the space, rather than forming a structure INFORMAL INFORMAL GATHERING COMMERCIAL based on economic statusSPACE and individuality.ThereSTAND are roughly 50- 60 family units in a pol. Socially, pols create a strong network amongst the residents within the gates. Otlas (open community spaces within the pol) become spaces where informal socializing take place. Since pols are made of narrow streets, the otlas automatically become comfortable shaded spots. These informal meeting spots quickly become occupied by children to and women throughout the day. Although most of the pols are made up of housing, there are important family owned commercial spaces nearby as well. SANSKAR KENDRA The business aspect of the pol is also crucial in sustaining the relationships within the pol, ensuring that all the needs of the Pol Network residents are met within the gates. (AID, 2014) 32 Single Pol Network 33 Wind Direction Birdhouses Living Living Gathering Space Businesses Courtyards Layers of a Pol 34 SHOP INFORMAL INFORMAL GATHERING SPACE COMMERCIAL SPACE Pol’s essentially have different programmatic elements that occur on each level. The ground floor usually becomes courtyard or business areas for the occupants. The ground level also usually has gates that are the main and only access points into these pols. The higher levels hold homes and more private gathering spaces.These programmatic elements can be noted on the image on the left. The houses within the pol are organized along a narrow street. Side walls of the house tend to be shared with neighbors. Most pol housing consists of wooden structure with certain exposed brick work. The exterior facade of these houses are heavily carved wooden elements. The otla’s also serve as the entry platform into the homes. In many Hindu households otlas also become religious spaces as well as social spaces. The interior rooms also tend to be flexible. They aren’t designed to be fixed programmatic spaces. Interior spaces are meant to be easily moveable to accommodate for changing family compositions and or for seasonal changes. Flexible spaces are key to any and all spaces in Ahmedabad’s urban typology.