September 22, 2015

Lutyens' Delhi



Decolonizing Delhi, and our GSAPP Studio work featured in an article in Indian Express; Sept. 20, 2015


September 9, 2015

e[X]Sport City | Seoul, 2nd Prize and Shortlisted for Next Stage

Our project, e[X]Sport City has been awarded Second Prize for the International Ideas Competition for Urban Regeneration of the Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul. Our team (de.Sign and Seiyong Kim (Seoul)) is shortlisted for the next stage of the competitionMore soon...
e[X]Sport City | Seoul by de.Sign and Collaborators (de.Sign in collaboration with Seiyong Kim (Seoul).

June 16, 2015

When less is more: Architects are breaking walls to make apartments roomier. From collapsible furniture to sliding doors, architects are breaking walls to make apartments roomier.

Manhattan Loft by de.Sign featured in the EYE Magazine of the Indian Express
 Manhattan Loft by de.Sign | Read More...
Manhattan Loft by de.Sign
Written by Shiny Varghese | New Delhi | Published on:June 14, 2015 1:00 am  READ MORE......



     Manhattan Loft by de.Sign
The industrial monotone theme is taken forward in a Manhattan loft by architect Viren Brahmbhatt, principal architect, de.Sign Studio, which has offices in New York and Mumbai. On the top floor of a six-storey apartment, this almost century-old building overlooks the Hudson river. When Brahmbhatt arrived, he found a two-bedroom corner unit with the conventional layout of a bath and kitchen with a long corridor that connected the rooms. The floor was uneven and saggy. He soon figured out that the building’s bones were in good shape. It could become a charming space with the old sitting hand-in-hand with new aesthetics. After bolstering the ceiling and the floor, existing walls were removed. Brahmbhatt wanted a large fluid space for the graphic designer/advertising professional who lives and works here. “The layout was transformed into what I call FlexSpace, to generate a seamless spatial experience and create a loft-like space,” says the architect.
     Manhattan Loft by de.Sign
He brought in sliding glass walls, and a Murphy bed, which holds a glass enclosed bar. By leaving the walls bare and white and keeping the finishes sparse, he rid the house of visual clutter. Much of the storage is built-in while closet doors with mirrors work to reflect the entire loft and views of the river. “We decided to retain the existing structural wood beams in the ceiling and the stripped brick walls to dramatise and juxtapose the rustic with the modern. The lines of the ceiling beams alter the perception of depth, constantly flattening and elevating the sense of space,” he says. A found object in the house was the dumb waiter, which has now been enclosed in frameless glass, opening up an old, existing skylight that filters in natural light. That the loft can be divided into various spaces when required allows the client to alter its use.

    Manhattan Loft by de.Sign

     Manhattan Loft by de.Sign

May 29, 2015

Leveraging Exchange | de.Sign Update

de.Sign is selected for a project on a 50-Acre site for International Medical Sciences Research & Exchange near Mumbai, India. The program will include adjacent parcels for urban agriculture and productive landscape, redesigning urban lands for the local Agriculture University that will share resources with the new Medical Research campus.
More soon...

March 31, 2015

de.Sign Update | FloatSpace

Check out our recently completed project on our newly designed, revamped and updated website: 

Project Link: FloatSpace

  FloatSpace by de.Sign
http://design-arch.blogspot.com/




March 1, 2015

REIMAGINING LUTYENS' DELHI

REIMAGINING LUTYENS' DELHI
January 2015; Edited by Viren Brahmbhatt et al.
A PUBLICATION BASED ON GSAPP SPRING 2014 STUDIO | COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Reimagining Lutyens' Delhi is based on the studies on Lutyens' Plan for Imperial Delhi, by the Urban Design Studio, Spring 2014 (Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design), Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University in The City of New York. 

Abstract
The subject of the Studio was a comparative urban dialogue between New Delhi, Kisumu, and MedellĂ­n. Like dynamic cities everywhere, they share concerns about the form of their continuing expansion and the consequent mandates for compact growth. This dialogue is of particular interest given the diversity of character and context of each, within the broad context of development in the "Global South." The New Delhi mandate involves densification of the Lutyens' Plan for the original colonial city, long considered an international landmark in early 20th century urban design. In question is the evolution of this culturally significant and highly formalized hallmark from its ceremonial significance as new Capitol of India to expanded meaning as center of a new commercial metropolis. For each of the three cities, detailed study sites were carefully chosen as particular "fragments" that could serve as windows through which to view the larger question of their respective development modes, and to comparatively explore "saturation" levels of density within the respective urban contexts.

REIMAGINING LUTYENS’ DELHI examines the present day situation of the landmark historic plan for the new capital of India by the British architect Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944), completed in 1931. The original plan has been considerably modified in ad hoc fashion over the past two decades due to real estate pressures related to the large growth of the city and region during this period. Yet much remains of enduring value within the plan such that consideration of preservation measures is crucial, while recognizing that Lutyens’ composition has entered an era of transformation. The four “provocations” presented in the exhibition aspire to address the contradictions between preservation and development. Developed by post-professional students, faculty, and experts at Columbia University in collaboration with local partners in Delhi, each urban design proposal examines a typical condition between the center and periphery of Lutyens’ Delhi. They are the Bungalow Zone; the Janpath; the remnants of Baoli, Hauz, and Nullah; and the adjacent Kidwai Nagar neighborhood. They are proposed with the hope of making a positive contribution to the debate on the future of the past for this world landmark in urban design.  




The exhibition and publication are made possible by the generous support from Steelcase Asia Pacific Holdings, India.

January 2, 2015

REIMAGINING LUTYENS' DELHI : AN EXHIBITION / GSAPP SPRING 2014 STUDIO | COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Reimagining Lutyens' Delhi: An Exhibition 
based on the studies on Lutyens' Plan for Imperial Delhi, 
by the Urban Design Studio, Spring 2014 (MSAUD)
Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
Columbia University in The City of New York
Opening Reception & Panel Discussion
Debating Delhi: A Conversation 
with the faculty members from the Urban Design Program, 
Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, New York; 
SPA Delhi; and distinguished architects, planners and professionals from Delhi 
January 9, 2015- 5.30 PM
Reception
January 9, 2015 - 7.00 PM
Exhibition
January 10, 2015 - January 30, 2015
2.00 PM - 7.00 PMSaturday / Sunday Closed
Venue
Steelcase WorkLife Center Delhi
DLF Cyber City, Tower 9A  Ground Floor
Gurgaon 122002  (Phone: +91 124 3077 200) RSVP Required

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