Batch 2024-2029

Studies of Form as Object, Meaning and History
Studies of Form, Space and Experience
Studies of Form as Pattern, Geometry and Material
Computational and Digital Methods to produce form and space
Environment and Architecture
Architecture as Building Systems
Type in a Cluster (Behaviour, Meaning and Experience)
Genealogy of Institutions
Community Dynamics and Infrastructural Forms
Building Making and Management
Mass Inhabitation
Thesis
Dissertation

Culture Studies Courses

Settlement Studies

CC05 → Environment and Architecture: Uttan

The studio develops an orientation towards climate and weather as defining entities for habitation. It engages students in understanding how environmental factors shape the experience and design of space.

The studio builds knowledge through engagement with parameters such as climate, microclimates, weather, landform, terrain, sun, air, wind, precipitation, seasonality, and vegetation, enabling students to craft spatial and sensory experiences that respond to these conditions.

It also encourages an understanding of how communities and cultures adapt their construction techniques to suit their climatic contexts. Ultimately, the studio aims to equip students with the ability to design and optimize building performance through passive means, without relying on mechanical interventions.

This semester the studio is located in Uttan in Mumbai across four unique environmental conditions.

Morva Gaon Salt Pans

Vedika Agrawal, Kris Almeida, Vidhi Budhlani, Om Dalal, Ansh Kanadia, Ahika Karekar, Aryaa Nayak, Dipraj Pagar, Kavya Sawant, Upamanyu Sensharma, Viren Verma

The Morva Salt Pans are located in Mira Bhayandar along the western coastline of Maharashtra. The site forms a distinctive landscape- one where human livelihood and natural ecology co-exist to a delicate balance. A rhythmic grid of salt pans- rectangular evaporation beds laid out in a geometric pattern. These grids are separated by soil bunds that characterize the site and set spatial order.

The region experiences a humid tropical climate, marked by two contrasting halves of the year — six months of heavy monsoon rain (August to November) followed by six months of dry salt harvesting (December to July). This climatic rhythm dictates the life cycle of both people and nature in the area. During the monsoon, the salt pans fill with rainwater, creating temporary wetlands that become breeding grounds for fish, crabs, and various marine organisms. As the water recedes and the salt-crusted earth emerges, the salt workers begin the process of evaporation and crystallization that defines the salt-harvesting season.

Tarodi Mangrove Forest

Aadesh Awale, Prerita Bagadia, Mahi Dattani, Snehal Dhumal, Yuvraaj Khattry, Aaradhya Kulkarni, Gayatri Patil, Rutuja Patil, Himali Shah, Mahin Shah, Anushka Zanpure
The site sits along the coast of Maharashtra, near Mumbai, in Tarodi’s mangrove forest at Uttan. Being part of the Konkan region, it lives in a tropical monsoon climate. Temperatures here usually range between 20 to 37 degrees annually. Depicting hot and humid climate during summer and cold and mild climate during winters. More than the heat, there is humidity giving a sense of dampness that clings to the air, the skin, and even the soil. Since the site is on the leeward side of the western ghats, the mountains shield it from the direct force of the southwest monsoon winds, creating a calmer, quieter atmosphere. The monsoons transforms the entire landscape. Rainfall is still abundant here but softer and more diffused. The sun shimmers on the wet soil and pond water, casting shifting patterns of light and shadow. These subtle variations in light and warmth create pockets of brightness and coolness that guide movement and changes the experience throughout the site. Together, site breathes slowly, alive with subtle cycles of light, air, and moisture. The soil here shifts constantly in textures and conditions, from compact and firm soil on higher grounds to muddy and marshy near the pond. It turns soft and slippery near the pond’s edge creating a transition between land and wetness. Each of these textures affects how one moves through the site, it is never the same underfoot. Because of this wetness, the soil here is fertile.

Mangeshkar Bungalow Cliff

Rashi Bapna, Jiya Bhandari, Manjiri Gaigole, Juhi Iyengar, Shaurya Malik, Tejas Morajkar, Siddesh Patil, Leisha Patkar, Vedant Shinde, Manas Sontakke, Udayanaditya Patil

This site in Mira Bhayandar sits on a gentle coastal slope with open views of the sea, facing South-West to catch the humid, salty breezes that come in from the Arabian Sea. Even though it's at a higher altitude, the proximity to the coast means the winds are strong, and the climate is typically humid. That said, the land does dry out during peak summer, so vegetation here is quite seasonal.

Beneath the surface, there's a continuous basalt bedrock which is part of a larger basalt hill formation. This rock base supports both the natural landscape and the human settlements above, with sparse but adaptive vegetation growing across it. To make the land more usable, especially on sloped areas, the community has built concrete terraces directly over the basalt. These terraces are used for practical purposes like drying fish and preventing erosion.

Vegetation is limited in shallow soil zones, but in places where water collects, especially higher up, there are patches of bamboo, tall trees, and small backyard farms. Locals grow seasonal vegetables like papaya, bhendi (okra), methi, and other leafy greens, depending on the time of year. Along one edge, dense mangroves meet the terrain; on the other, a lively fishing coast stretches out, lined with coconut palms and shrubs.

Uttan Beach

Aditi Bhatt, Presha Bhattad, Diya Jai, Tarun Jain, Urvi More, Aman Nandu, Upanshu Sakhala, Asmii Sawant, Sukhad Sutar, Asmit Ukil

Uttan Beach is a functional and commercial coastline primarily used by the local fishing community. It supports a long-standing fishing settlement, where plinths are used for drying freshly caught fish, and several docked fishing vessels line the black sandy shore. The beach remains active with fishing-related operations throughout the year, with equipment, ship parts, and handmade wooden boats scattered across the site. A wood workshop functions on the beach itself, and fish-drying racks are laid out over the plinths, commonly used to dry crabs, prawns, bombil, sukat, and pomfret.

During the monsoon season and high tides, when fishing activities come to a halt, many fishermen shift to seasonal agricultural work, most notably methi (fenugreek) cultivation, using the same plinths to dry the harvest. On the right side of the beach, large boulders and a steep, sloping edge define the shoreline. This rocky section contributes to the intense sound produced by waves striking the coast, especially under the influence of strong monsoon winds. The beach is known for experiencing some of the heaviest and most forceful wind conditions in the area.

Bordering the beach on one side is a dense cluster of fishermen’s houses, forming a physical and functional boundary between the coastline and the nearby road. The area is constantly alive with activity, marked by the sounds of a bustling local market, passing vehicles, and the everyday rhythm of fishing operations. The vegetation across the beach emerges from seeds brought in by the sea, with trees such as coconut palms, talgoda, drumstick (moringa), papaya, and magnolia growing along the shore.