Faculty

Education

Areas of Expertise

pedagogy~climate responsive design~informal urbanism~architectural modernism~urban morphology~mapping & representation~urban design

Courses Taught

Research/Design Projects in Areas of Expertise

• Vacant Land in a Dense City. (2017). A workshop conducted as part of Archiprix 2017 worked to understand the condition of vacancy in a densely populated and growing city, one which is not uncommon in India yet is rarely examined. These were posited as opportunistic spaces, which by virtue of their vague legal status allow realities to play out that need not adhere to the heavy handed commercial transactions of urban land economics. http://www.archiprix.org/2017/?wsg=75
• Ahmedabad Mapping Project. (2016 - present). The project is an initiative supported by banduksmithstudio in collaboration with Nikita Shah and Mansi Shah. Through direct mapping exercises and workshops, we aim to generate and represent information about the city that is accessible and usable for its citizens, and to focus our exploration on types of information that are not so easily recorded, yet play a primary role in the formation, continuation and reproduction of space and networks in the city. http://ahmedabadmappingproject.in
• Various at Dhobi Talao. (2015 - present). An ongoing storefront project, for which banduksmithstudio serves as designer, manufacturer and curator, has two major agendas: first to promote and sell well crafted and well designed contemporary furniture that makes use of the depth of talent that exists in the Indian context, particularly with regard to wood and metal, and second to create a platform for discussion on the processes of making, and where they intersect architecture and design. These agendas are tied together by our approach to making, which operates in conversation and collaboration with the people whose skill we rely on, and makes use of the unique and flexible systems of production that are the lifeblood of the Indian manufacturing landscape. http://variousatdhobitalao.in
• Aging Modernism. (2010 - present). A project begun in the John K. Branner Fellowship, which continues as part of banduksmithstudio, looks at the way people adapt, shift and change the modern city experiments of the mid-century. These insights into the transformative capacity of people occupying a planned environment have formed the base for current practice and research endeavors. http://agingmodernism.wordpress.com
• Ahmedabad Slum Atlas. (2013). The physical atlas is a window into the data gathered from slums across Ahmedabad and catalogued into an online GIS system. It brings together critical information and qualitative photos of the actual locations and character of these settlements, which are dynamic places in the city. I worked with a team comprised of CEPT University researchers, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Mahila Housing Trust, and the RAY Project Surveying team.  My role was to visualize the information collected, and design the document.
• Regenerate Haveli. (2015). This is a project about its making more than anything else—an opportunity to reflect on the contingencies of the design process—where they happen and how, at what scales they interact, and which points must be fixed to let others remain loose.The house in the landscape was recreated from the pieces of a 300 year old haveli. In this structure new and old systems of assembly are merged, combining 18 inch brick walls in concrete frame with gutai lime plaster and restored telpaani finished teakwood elements. The basic form follows the original courtyard layout, flanked by bedroom, kitchen and mezzanine, while the wrapping terrace and sunken entry extend into the spaces outside, to transform the original row house layout into a part of the landscape.
• Tower House. (2014). An experiment in vertical living, a typical bungalow of 345 square meters is squeezed into a footprint of 6.5 x 12.5m, forcing the program up five stories rather than spread along the ground. The goal was to create the experience of living in a house, despite the stacked nature of the building type, that evokes the warmth and connection of shared spaces, and creates a diversity of experiences throughout the space. At the same time, it takes advantage of the benefits of moving vertically with efficiently organized plumbing and mechanical systems, views across the city, and greater potentials for both stack and cross ventilation.

Research Articles and Book Chapters in Areas of Expertise

• Smith, M., & Bandukwala, S. (2015). Blacksmith Caravans on the move. Room One Thousand (3). Retrieved from http://www.roomonethousand.com/issue-3#/blacksmith-caravans-on-the-move/.
• Smith, M., & Bandukwala, S. (2014). [Beautiful] Architecture of Imperfect Translations. In Salvi, R. (Ed.), Identity Matters: Architecture Between Individualism and Homologation, (pp. 85 -103). Milan, Italy: Franco Angeli Editore.
• Smith, M., & Bandukwala, S. (2012). We move the ground. DOMUS India 01(07).
• Smith, M. (2015). SID 25 curriculum exposition: history, theory, criticism, and technology. Ahmedabad, India: SID Research Cell.
• Smith, M. (2015). SID 25 curriculum exposition: building energy efficiency. Ahmedabad, India: SID Research Cell.
• Smith, M. (2015). Visual Comfort: when daylight and artificial light mix. Indian Architect & Builder 28(9), 76-87.
• Smith, M. (2015). Light and Colour in open plan offices. Indian Architect & Builder 28(7), 65-73.
• Smith, M. (2015). Deeper Daylight: anidolic devices in Delhi office buildings. Indian Architect & Builder 28(5), 63-70.
• Smith, M. (2014). The Stone Jaali: a critical inquiry into daylight performance. Indian Architect & Builder 28(4), 79-90.
• Smith, M. (2014). The Tree Effect: a few trees’ power to pull down temperatures in the Gandhinagar CBD. Indian Architect & Builder 28(3), 74-82.
• Smith, M. (2014). Pol House Performance: a thermal analysis of three Ahmedabad pol houses. Indian Architect & Builder 28(2), 84-95.
• Smith, M. (2014). Commercial Courtyards: a delicate balance. Indian Architect & Builder 28(2), 57-63.
• Smith, M. (2011, February). Aging Modernism: Incremental evolution in self-correcting cities and the importance of everyday architectural acts in the continual reformation of the modern cityscape. archinect.com

Presented Papers and Invited Lectures in Areas of Expertise

• “Read, Record, Question: Mapping Practices that teach Uncertainty in Design.” (2015). Tropical Urbanism Conference, Trivandrum College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram. 
• “Chandigarh Plans Unplanned.” (2015). Envisioning the Indian City: People, Places, Plans, Jadavpur University, Kolkata.
• “Imperfect Translations.” (2012). Kurula Varkey Design Forum, CEPT University, Ahmedabad.

Professional Honors, Prizes, Fellowships, Grant-in Aids

• Architectural Digest Top Fifty Architects of South Asia, 2017 (banduksmithstudio)
• Architectural Digest Top Fifty Architects of South Asia, 2016 (banduksmithstudio)
• Runner-up, Indo-Swiss BEEP External Movable Shading System Design Competition, 2015 (banduksmithstudio)
• John K. Branner Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley, 2010. 
• Field Paoli Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley, 2009.