DESIGN PORTFOLIO

Binal Kanji Nirmal

My journey from Architecture to Furniture

WORKS

ACADEMIC WORK Builing along the silhouettes Handicraft Centre Site drawing and design proposal Non standard architecture, Mumbai Highrise building Design proposal Experiencing the palimpsest of Tera, Kutch Institute for architectural conservation Research and design thesis

PROFESSIONAL WORKArchitectural Design Ambuja Neotia, Digha, West Bengal Eco resort Concept and module design Karnima Design Studio, Mumbai Architecture, interiors, products Designing and site execution Interior Design Amber showroom Designer commercial furniture showroom Designing and site execution

Furniture Design Ease chair series OjO chair series Solo chair Bliss chair Plica sofa Spline lamp Handy work desk Hoop reception table

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN (Academic work)

Building along the silhouettes

Around 11500 sqft above the sea level, the ancient town of Leh, more than 450 years old has most of the built form in its dying state and in need of restoration. This chosen site has a huge stone wall elevation with different and broken spaces inside, all of which is encapsulated by a tunnel. To revive the old hand art, it is proposed to develop a handicraft centre in the old town of Leh. The idea was to reinterpret the massing and create workshop and exhibit spaces.

Site Layout showing the rich context of old town

Site

Tunnel

Passage

GROUND FLOOR PLANFIRST FLOOR PLAN

SECTION AA

WORKSHOP EXHIBIT SPACE

STORE

Non Standard Architecture

Non Standard Architecture means the massing of non identical blocks. A case study and a sustainable practice was researched to do these non identical massing.

Water harvesting was studied in detail. A process was developed which was followed to do the massing of the rooms. Relationships observed between courtyard and other rooms from the case study done on Kidosaki house, Tokyo were incorporated while doing this massing.

Water harvesting system

Part 2 - TransportationFrom these terraces, water travels through water curtains to the storage. These also are the aesthetic elements of the building.

Part 3 - FilterationWater then passes through Wisy filteration system. A 500mm long fixture is connected to the downtake pipe. This system can filter 90% of the rainwater collected.

Part 1- Collection Water is collected from terraces at different levels. These terraces can be used for many activities like parties, gym, barbeque, plantation, kitchen garden, etc.

Part 5 - UsageThis water collected through the system is used by the apartments in lower floors for washingand cleaning.

Part 4 - StorageWater from terraces of a 2bhk and a 3bhk is collected and stored in a tank in the living room of the 3bhk. It is a small pond in the living room of the apartment.

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Unit 1(a 2bhk and a 3bhk)

water collected on the terraces

massing of usage spaces kitchen and toilets

massing of bedrooms in relation with courtyards

massing of living room in relation with courtyards

Unit 1(a 2bhk and a 3bhk)

Unit 2 in relation with unit 1 All apartment massed based on relationships

structure and system Complete mass

VIEW NORTH ELEVATION

PLAN AT LEVEL 8

PLAN AT LEVEL 9

SECTION AA

1. LOBBY2. LIVING ROOM3. DINING ROOM4. BEDROOM5. KITCHEN6. TOILETS7. BALCONIES

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Experiencing the palimpsest of Tera

“Neither by the public, nor by those who have the care of the public monuments, is the true meaning of the word restoration understood. It means the most total destruction which a building can suffer: a destruction out of which no remnants can be gathered: a destruction accompanied with false description of the thing destroyed. Do not let us deceive ourselves in this important matter; it is impossible, as impossible as to raise the dead, to restore anything that has ever been great or beautiful in architecture.”

-John Ruskin, The Seven Lamps of Architecture

Kutch is famed for its many religious shrines, architecture, crafts, folk traditions. Tera, a small village in Abdasa taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat, represents all the marvels of the region. It has therefore been declared a Heritage Village by the Government of Gujarat.

Introduction and site study

History of Tera

Some of the heritage buildings in Tera

Chhatardis (Cenotaphs)

Step well

Village squareDarbargadh(Palace)

Jain temple

Mosque

Site observations and Master Plan Master Plan

Despite being a heritage village Tera is losing its importance. People have to move out of the village for there livelihood in search of employment. Darbargadh(the fort) was the identity of the village .The whole village was developed around the fort. Over the years it lost out to other emerging cities as a trade Centre. Also due to various forces of nature, the fort got ruined.

To restore some of the glory of Darbargadh, it is suggested to conserve the fort and build a new structure within it. The institute for conservation will help conserve this heritage fort of Kutch. As the local population are majorly masons, there can be a brainstorming of ideas and knowledge with them for conservation. In turn, it will generate tourism, employment and also Tera will regain some of its lost magnificence.

Ownership map

Occupancy map

Looking at the different architects’ designs of extension (or conservation) projects, one could easily recognise that the architects’ design strategies could be categorised as below. When working with an existing building or structure, an architect might choose between three broad design strategies (or hybrids of them):

Replicating the existing Contrasting with the existing Converting the existing into the new

Research

ORIGINAL

REPLICATIONThe ‘replication’ approach is markedly different from the existing structure and is intended to synthetically integrate the new with the existing through a way of being ‘similar’. However, this post-modernist approach is often rejected by conservationists and architects, mainly because of its impossibility of resurrecting the original’s value.

CONTRASTThe ‘contrast’ criteria, most architects adopted a design approach that is expressing (or emphasising) contemporary culture against the old while preserving existing building to retain its historical legacy: the old is kept old, and the new is kept new.

CONVERSIONConversion approach is only possible to adopt when the existing building is allowed to modify to a certain extent, thus preservation might not be the first priority to achieve. Which means that there is more freedom of architectural engagement than when working with historically important building.

Case Studies

HEDMARKSMUSEET, by Sverre Fehn

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ROMAN ART, by Rafael Moneo

QUERINI STAMPALIA and MUSEO DI CASTELVECCHIO, by Carlo Scarpa

Design Strategies

Both the buildings face north and have south corridor, which avoids the harsh light.This creates an imbalance in the fort and the building gets congested.

To avoid the imbalance mentioned in case 2landscape, pathways, pavilions can be added.

The building continues the radial form of the fort. The radial language forms a backyard for the spill out. And the same radial language continues in the other building.

Combining case 1 and 2 creates a balance and continues the geometry of the fort.Both the facade facing north and south respectively are treated differently.

Spaces between old and newNew building is placed at a distance forming courtyard.

Corridor between the old and the new.

New building is touching the old.

New framing the old.

New building is close to the old but not touching it.

Two buildings on the opposite walls creating a balance.Climate treatment to both the buildings will be different as one is facing south and other is facing north.

SECTION AA

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

1. INFORMATION CENTRE2. WORKSHOP SPACE3. EXHIBIT SPACE4. LIBRARY5. CAFETERIA6. A.V. ROOM7. BOOK STORE8. ARCHIVES9. LABORTORIES10. LECTURE ROOMS11. PALACE

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SECTION BB

SECTION CC

BUILDING 1

Basement exhibit space

Comparing old and new

BUILDING 2

SECTION DD

SECTION EE

Roof of new structure touching the old fort wall

New following the language of old structure

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN (Professional work)

The entrance of the property is focussed on the reception with ample car parking space on either side

The landscape ensures privacy for each villa and blocks off unwanted views

There is a clear segeration of private areas and public spaces

Common area with Pool, Restaurant, Bar, Lounge and Spa

The Spa is located in a secluded part of the site overlooking the water body and from the main circulation areas

A pavilion at the south side of the property leads to the beach

Sitting areas are proposed in common spaces around the villas

The guest villas located on the island or in clusters

Ambuja Neotia, Digha, West Bengal

This project is done with architect Dean D’cruz during my internship. The site chosen for this project consists of small water ponds. The client wanted to develop an eco resort at this beautiful site.

So the main concept was to see that each cluster could experience the beauty of ecology. A cluster consists of 3 rooms and a common living space. All the clusters are placed such that they can view the water pond from their private balcony. The public spaces like restaurant and activity area is placed at the end of the plot, a path close to it leads to the near by beach.

View of water pond from balcony

Restaurant facing the pond

Keeping the natural site a bridge is created to reach the reception area

CLUSTER 1

LIVING

BEDROOM

CLUSTER 2

LIVING

BEDROOM

BEDROOM

BEDROOM

BEDROOM

BEDROOM

Karnima Design Studio

Karnima Design Studio is an R&D Centre for Amber, Mumbai. The site chosen for the project over looks a garden space, as the owner wanted their studio close to nature.

The design consists of a huge plinth covered by light truss structure for making prototypes and a small studio for the designer. It also has a semi-open frontyard facing the garden. As per the designer’s choice vibrant colours are used in contrast with the natural green.

View showing truss stucture disconnected to the walls through openings allowing cross ventilation and symmetrical building blocks

PLAN SHOWING WORKSHOP AND STUDIO

GARDEN

FRONT YARD

STUDIO

WORKSHOP

PROTOTYPES

View of working desk and book shelf View of studio space from the frontyard

INTERIOR DESIGN

Amber showroom

Reception area of showroom

Amber is a designer commercial furniture brand in India. The project was to design a showroom of their products. The concept was to divide the huge space into small zones by using low height glass partitions which help create zoning and at the same time retain a sense of vast space. The flooring of each zone changes as per the products. The allocation of product zones is done in a strategic manner, starting with the lounge space and ending with luxury furniture.

View of showroom showing cafeteria and other zones divided by low height glass partitions

Waiting Sofa and tandem

Reception

Exhibit of new

products

Auditorium

Institution and seminar

Executive chairs, conference

Cafeteria furniture

Staff chairs

Luxury furniture

Luxury cafeteria

Circulation

ZONING AND CIRCULATION DIAGRAM

FURNITURE AND FLOORING LAYOUT

Services

Store

FURNITURE DESIGN

Circle Sector Offset Veneer(bend)

Semi- circle 5 equal partsleather, venner

Apron curveShelf

SS rodsApronCurveTable top

CONCEPT DIAGRAMS

In today’s techologically advanced world, communication has become very easy. Old systems such as EPBX and intercom are now redundant, so now we do not need a huge and bulky reception desk. Instead, we can have a small ,sleek and artistic piece to save space.

Hoop is a circular free-standing reception desk. The main thought behind the design is that it can be placed in any context and can be easily rotated in any direction because of its non-linear shape. The design of Hoop is progressive and the materials are used to the fullest capacity in terms of moulding.

Hoop

Leather stitched at the edge.Solid wood beading along the profile

Veneer grains flowing down along the curved profile

Stainless steel square rod inserts between leather and veneer finishes

DETAILS

ELEVATIONS

Narrow and long

semi detatched legs

Work space at centre

Side shelves lowered to create storage

Grid to store small objects

Ss pipe legsCantilevered

CONCEPT DIAGRAMS

Handy

Handy, as the name suggests, is a very convenient working desk. For people who deal with a lot of stationary and documents, it becomes easy to fetch stuff. All the drawers and shelves are designed to be open and are accesible from above.

The long desk has storage at the sides and a wide center space for working. The legs are made up of square stainless steel pipe. The idea was to have a cantilevered desk.

Stainless steel pipe cantilevered legsStorage shelf accesed from aboveA grid of partitions to store stationay

DETAILS

ELEVATIONS

GrassNature

2 Curves light void

structurebase

narrow n wideintertwine

CONCEPT DIAGRAMS

Spline

Spline is a lamp designed for Amber as a gift to clients on completing 35 years. It is made using compressed wood technology.

The main concept is the interdependence of elements in nature. It is organic in form and material is explored to the fullest to achieve this. The lamp consists of two parts, one of the section slides into the other. The outer section is one long concave piece which bents in the reverse direction to form the base. The veneer grains are used vertically which makes it look more natural, like the streaks of a tulip. The lamp is lit up with the help of LED stips.

One piece compressed wood is bent to form the structure

Three dots becomes the form of aesthethic and also emits heat

One of the section slides into the other one

DETAILS

ELEVATIONS

Arm on top of seat

Arm on side of seat

Diagonally Leg structureSs pipe

Arm tapers Narrow at topComfortDiagonal becomes legAestheticStructureJoinery

CONCEPT DIAGRAMS

Plica

Plica is a minimalistic sofa.

On either side, the stainless steel diagonal connecting the arm and the seat, continues to form the legs of the sofa. This is the most important part of design. It is aesthetic, it becomes the structure of the sofa and it also joins the arm to the seat. As it is symmetrical in shape and the same element is repeated, it is a manufacturer’s delight.

Stainless pipe diagonal joining arm and seat

Ergonomically designedBack tapers taking shape of arm

DETAILS

ELEVATIONS

Basic structure arm weldingPointed curve

Arm in loopCurve at intersectionThin plate legs

CONCEPT DIAGRAMS

Bliss

Bliss is an executive chair. The structure of this chair is designed bending a 12mm square metal rod.

The arms, made up of stainless steel plate, form a loop in elevation with the main structure to which they are welded. The legs are made of the same stainless steel section. To add an aesthetic touch, a stitched grid is designed on the leather padding of the back and seat.

Leather Cushion on metal arms for comfort Chesterfield design forming gridStructure of square metal rod sharp from inside and curves on the outer side

DETAILS

ELEVATIONS

basic structure Arm connecting back and seat

same arm forms leg

Connection at backsymmetryforms eyes

Back disconnected

CONCEPT DIAGRAMS

OjO

OjO, in Spanish, means eyes. While the back of this chair is designed to be separated from the seat, the two are connected through twin eyes whose base is extended to form the arms.

Round pipe connected at the base is transformed to flat pipe forming the arm structure on which the wooden arm rests. Aluminium casting fitted at the back is inserted into this flat pipe. To add more comfort, the seat and back are curved at the edges.

Round pipe fixed at the base, transforms to flat pipe forming arm structure

Wooden handle following the shape of the flat pipe

Aluminium casting fitting connecting the back

DETAILS

ELEVATIONS

Basic grid Back connects to arm

Leg tapers connecting back, forming arms

Back taperComfort

seat Base to revolving legs

Square pipe tapering legsSs pipe

Curve back Back connects to legs

CONCEPT DIAGRAMS

Ease

Ease series consists of a fixed chair and a revolving chair.

To add more comfort, the back of Ease series is curved, the same curve of the chair back extends to form the arms. This curve is made of laminated bentwood, with the grains of veneer flowing parallel along the curve. These horizontal grains of back meet the vertical grains of the solid wood rear legs. In contrast to the heavy solid wood rear legs, the front legs and the frame of the seat are made up of minimal stainless steel pipes.

Horizontal grains of veneer joins the vertical grains of solid wood

Joinery of bent plywood to solid wood Tapering legs made of square pipes of Stainless steel

DETAILS

ELEVATIONS

Basic structure Longer backCompressed wood

Wooden arms Same languagemore support

same in arm Laser cut voids

see through

CONCEPT DIAGRAMS

Leather thickness= compressed wood

thicknessTapered legs

Solo

This chair attempts to use technology in wood and metal to the fullest. The back is made up of compressed wood, with the grains of veneer going along the length. Cushion beading is designed of the same thickness as the wooden back which is made to flow along its profile. The arms are also designed using the same technology, with the veneer grains running parallel to its section. Legs and structure of arms are designed of 8mm thk stainless steel tapering plate. These plates are laser cut along the same profile, which makes the structure look minimal and see-through.

Leather beading same as thickness of compressed wood running parralel

Grains of veneer following along section lines

Stainless steel laser cut arm structure

Stainless steel laser cut legs more close to the ground, space for caster rotation

DETAILS

ELEVATIONS

Binal Kanji NirmalEmail - binal.nirmal@gmail.com

Contact - +91 9820963863

Design makes things special, and who wants normal if they can have special?

- Jasper Morrison