EUGENE PANDALA DESIGN RESEARCH CENTRE​
​
KOLLAM, KERALA
​
​
The firm functions within the confines of a small studio, which houses a team of the Pricincipal Architect - Eugene Pandala, and two senior architects and a group of interns (mostly four-six). My role as an intern was not limited to the production of drawings, but also critical in the design process. Understanding the client’s workflow, handling the deadlines and discussing various issues they encountered on site exposed me to the business side of the design process.. Through discussions I learnt the value of economizing space, scale and organization.
Mud Resort
Cottage design and detail
​
​
The resort in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, is built entirely in mud, barring a few buildings that are built in stone and local bricks. There are twenty-five cottages that are divided into four types, of twenty-five to forty square meters, along with the cultural center, restaurant, water tank, for which I had to develop various details. As an intern I was expected to understand the design and functional requirements of clients, generate design ideas and options after discussing it with the principal architect and consequently make working drawings and 3-D models of the same. Through discussions with sir, I would develop options in the form of drawings and computer- generated models, which he would evaluate structurally and sustainably.
Jungle Resort
Masterplanning and design development
Collaborator: Shreya Shetty
​
The resort in Panna, Madhya Pradesh, is meant to be an eco-resort of sorts. It is situated on a large site on the banks of a river, and in the first phase will have ten cottages (of about 800 square feet), two premium cottages, twelve tented accommodations (of about 400 square feet), a restaurant, a spa, recreational centres and spaces a mid-way restaurant, conference center, and staff quarters. I was involved in the project from the beginning and helped with the formation of the program brief, designing and making drawings for zoning, masterplan and site layout, setting out of buildings and design of the staff accommodation and cottages.
Residence
Residential design​
​
​
Residence
The project is situated amidst a rubber plantation, in Kollam district. I worked with the senior architect on certain components that were to be designed and for a few working drawings.
​
Renovation of a residence
The project is situated near Kollam city, and was a renovation project of sorts. A part of the structure was to be preserved and redesigned to add extra rooms, amenities and a flat roof with space for future expansion. I worked with Ajay Sir to provide a host of options for remodeling the house. An interesting aspect for me, was that the clients wanted the house to be Vaastu- compliant and it changed the design in more ways than one.
Miscellaneous
Graphics, documentation
​
Presentation Graphics
Eugene Pandala was invited to talk about his ideas of sustainability at the 361° conference, where he wanted to address the growing trend of the “Smart City”. For the presentation, I, along with a colleague, was asked to prepare graphics and cartoons to convey his idea of ‘Smart Streets, instead of Smart Cities’. I also wrote a 1500-word bio for the firm.
The British Council had also invited him to talk about the his work and for this we decided to talk about “sustainable houses” or “green homes”. Upon discussing certain technologies and methods, I prepared a short presentation with graphic images showing ways of reducing the emboddied energy of a building.
​
Kollam Taluk Kutchery documentation
It is one of the oldest structures in Kollam, which was to be documented for Nirmithi Kendra.
We measured the entire building with the help of a laser tool and tapes, took photographs of the buildings, alterations and the environs, and made a 3-D model of the structure to aid further documentation.
​
Attakulangara School
The school is situated in the rich environs of a school complex in Kollam. It is one of the oldest schools in Kerala. Eugene Pandala is the co-convenor of INTACH Kerala, and thus we had to list the building to save it from being torn down and destroyed completely to make way for an infrastructure project. I was entrusted with preparing the Listing Format and communication with the Lister. We measured all the buildings on site and documented it, for posterity, since it was in a vulnerable state and was being vandalized day-after-day. We also photo-documented the abundant number of trees and plants and made a study of the canopy and girth of each of them.
​
That is how it was at DRC.