HomeEvents 2022-23Mutation 2022-23

Mutation 2022-23

SubjectWorkshop and Thesis Forum
Session2
Year2022-23
Date21st to 24st March, 2023, 27th March, 2023, 13th April, 2023
Time9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
VenuePillai Collage of Architecture , New Panvel
FacultyCo-ordinator : Prof. Bhagyasshree Ramakrishna
Guest Speaker: Mayuresh Gorey, Suyash Mankame, Jigar Patel, Suruchi Didolkar

‘Mutations’ is the annual, week-long event part of the M.Arch (Urban Design) program, open to all. It intends to extend new discussions on urban design and broaden perspectives on approaching a thesis project through lectures, a workshop and an exhibition of studio outcomes. The event was held between 21st – 24th March and 27th March, 2023, Mutation 2023 was a five-day urban design event in the Pillai College of Architecture campus. The event was divided into two parts: a workshop titled “Delineation through the Elements of Urban”, that was held from 21–24 March 2023 and and exhibition and thesis forum on 27th March, 2023, Students of Masters in Urban design hosted an exhibition and series of guest lectures in Ground Floor studio – Pillai College of Architecture (Panvel).

Speaker Bio:

Mayuresh Gorey is an architect and Urban Designer. He has pursued Bachelors in Architecture from Hiray College of Architecture and Masters in Urban Design from Kamla Raheja, Mumbai. He is currently an Associate Professor at Rizvi College of Architecture. Throughout his career, he has been involved in academic research as well as urban design projects.

Suyash Mankame is an architect and Urban Designer. He graduated from CEPT University in 2016 in the Masters in Architecture (Urban Design) programme and his undergrad Bachelors in Architecture from Pillai College of Architecture. His final year thesis project, titled Urban Transformation’- Demonstrating inclusive Nodal Development by Integrating Urban Village With The City Taking CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai as a Case (Thesis Guide: Prof. Rajiv Kadam), was part of the National Final Winner, National Awards Program For Excellence In Post Graduate Thesis In Architecture – 2016. Awarded By The Council Of Architecture. Felicitated By, Then Hon’ble Railway Minister Mr. Suresh Prabhu.

Jigar Patel is an architect and Urban Designer. He pursued his bachelors in Architecture from Kamala Raheja (KRVIA) and Masters in Urban Design from FOA-SCET, VNSGU (Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat). He is the recipient of the Council of Architecture awards for Graduate Thesis. He is current a faculty at Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai.

Suruchi Didolkar is an Architect, Urban Designer and independent researcher. She has pursued a Masters degree in Urban Design from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Sciences (KRVIA), Mumbai (2018-2020). She has been the winner of COA National Awards for Excellence in Post Graduate Thesis in Architecture (PGTA) 2020. She is currently working with Kapadia & Associates Design LLP as an architect and Designer. In her practice, she has been gaining exceptional experience ranging from conceptual development to execution of large scale projects. She was also engaged with INTACH Dahanu Chapter as a Mentor for ‘Dahanu’s Student Run E-Newsletter’ in guiding and mapping the natural and cultural heritage of Dahanu. This includes tribal ‘warli art’, traditional livelihood practices, heritage walks to unprotected sites and creating awareness about fragile systems which have been endangered due to climate change and urbanisation. Her work often addresses the ideas of public participatory practices in examining both collective and individual needs towards ‘Urban Commons’ and socio-cultural practices. During her Masters, she was involved in the European Union Erasmus Plus research project for ‘Building Resilient Communities’ (BReUCom) as an editorial and assistant researcher under Dr. Binti Singh, Associate Professor at the KRVIA. She also runs a blog webpage ‘URBAN DESIGN for PEOPLE’ encompassing multi-disciplinary lenses in understanding complex urban phenomena.

Day 1 (21st March, 2023) : Mayuresh Gorey commenced a workshop “Delineation through the Elements of Urban” in the M.arch studio, Pillai College of Architecture (Panvel).

The aim of the workshop was to examine the notional boundaries of a ‘precinct’. A ‘Precinct’ delineation is a suggested area defined by multiple notional boundaries – an administrative boundary, a physical context and/or the city’s disposition to create other precinct markers. The workshop will examine this ‘precinct web’ by mapping physical identities, and setups, defining the actual status of the site.

Concepts and definitions of what is “Urban Design,” “What is City and Village,” “Precinct delineation,” “Edges,” “Physical Boundaries,” “Boundaries at Different Levels,” “What is Territorial and Sense of Place,” and “Image of the City” were introduced, debated and discussed.


Day 2 (22nd March 2023) : In order to exercise prescient delineation, the locations of Matharpacady and Khotachiwadi in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, were chosen. Two groups were created in accordance with the sites, and same groups visited each site. One of the major goals of precinct delineation during the site visit was to examine the many urban layers that give the site its image, as well as to study people’s mental maps of the site and conduct interviews with them.

Day 3 (23rd March 2023) : After visiting the site and learning about notions of people , the groups got started on their corresponding assignments. Exercise began with the analysis of information obtained from the site, which was shown using a variety of techniques including as maps, spider webs, and network threading. Precinct delineation, Notion of People, association with the place and examination of these factors were all under the direction of Mayuresh Gorey.

Day 4 (24th March 2023) : After the workshop, the precinct delineation of the assigned site—Matharpacady and Khotachiwadi—was analysed and sense of place and attachment to place for individuals were identified and final Precinct delination was resulted from all this analysis.

Khotachiwadi Outcome:


Matharpacady:

Day 5 (27th March, 2023) : The exhibition was commenced by displaying pinned-up presentations of all semester’s work by students, to provide the visitors a concise overview of activities and work of students . There were three distinguished guests who were kindly invited to Talk and have series of lectures and who had won various national Awards. Additionally, they discussed their walkthrough with the students and presented their individual national award thesis work with them. Since both parties were motivated to learn from one another, the students’ experience throughout the session was quite participatory.

Suyash Mankame’s thesis examined the exclusionary nature of urban villages in Navi Mumbai. His research documented and analysed the spatial boundaries of the villages juxtapositioned with the low-density planned areas of the Navi Mumbai. The thesis aimed to provide an inclusionary planning framework that would incorporate the urban villages as part of the larger processes of newly planned cities.

Jigar Patel’s thesis was based in Ahmedabad ghetto, formed due to large civil and political unrest that the city witnessed historically. The lens that the thesis used to study these spatial and notional boundaries was primarily through perceptive and phenomenological observations. His detailed study delayered the perceptive landscape of people and their spatial patterns.

The two thesis research, although examined vastly different contexts, addressed similar notions of exclusions forming enclaves within an urban area; Navi Mumbai urban villages as an outcome of planned policies witnessed high protests between the indigenisou, while in Ahmedabad’s context, the ghettos formed due to social conflicts in civil society. Both the thesis addressed severe lack of access to urban amenities. The process of documenting, collecting data and building a narrative within highly contested areas was valuable to the students and contributed to the larger discussions on urban design.

Suyash Mankame presenting the lecture as part of the thesis talks: Mutations

Felicitation of Speakers: Suyash Mankame and Jigar Patel

Prof. Smita Dalvi addressing the audience discussing the various aspects of academic learning, teaching and practising.

Day 6 (13th April, 2023) : As part of the thesis forum for Urban Design, the final guest presenter Ar.Suruchi Didolkar presented her thesis work through an online session. The thesis examined the various dimensions of everyday urbanism in Mumbai. The thesis was structured to integrate tangible and intangible aspects of the complex cultural phenomenon in Mumbai’s cultural and transitory nodes. The research focused on examining the spatial manifestation of these everyday cultural and social practices. The thesis was developed through a sequence of interdependent layers and aspects and visually represented through clear diagrams. The students were able to view several areas of how a thesis can evolve from a primary research question, diagramming complex processes and techniques of strategizing.


Glimpses of the presentation held as an online-session by Suruchi Didolkar