Universal Design elective students of BNCA conducted a detail access audit of Pataleshwar caves and Shaniwar wada under guidance of Prof

Universal Design elective students of BNCA conducted a detail access audit of Pataleshwar caves and Shaniwar wada under guidance of Prof. Kavita Murugkar. Pataleshwar Caves situated on the Jangli Maharaj road in the city of pune, is a unique and earliest examples of rock-cut architecture in maharashtra, built during the Rashtrakuta period. Shaniwar wada, is a Maratha period land fort, built by the Peshwas in the heart of the city. Both are national heritage monuments and maintained by ASI. 

A special audit checklist to assess and record accessibility status of these heritage sites was used by the team. Apart from the checklist, physical mapping of barriers and visitor facilities was also done, to identify specific design and architectural issues related to accessibility.

The findings from the study show that there is very less accessibility for disabled visitors including elderly in both the heritage sites. The entrance, signages and foreground landscaping which are later additions are poorly designed and should be redesigned taking into consideration needs of all types of visitors.

Following students from the 4th year B Arch participated in this study - Vidita Mundada, Vinita Wagh, Meghna Majethiya, Megha Bilgi, Khushi Shah, Aditi Phadke, Shweta Sorte, Saee Pawar, Shalaka Sode, Pranali Agarwal.

Special appreciation for the students for their enthusiasm and rigour !

Students of Architecture make TOUCHING SLATES for visually impaired students

80 students from 1st yr Architecture (C&D Div) at BNCA were engaged by the faculty team of Basic Design in an innovative hands on exercise of making TOUCHING SLATES using waste for the school going blind children. BNCA alumini Sneha Malani and collegues who run a project called KAHANI, guided the students to make the slates in the workshop studio. The slate has been developed by Mr.Arvind gupta. On successful completion, 50 such self made slates were presented to the blind students of a school in koregaon park, followed by an exciting story telling session. The blind students enjoyed working on the slates and within very less time could make wonderful shapes on it. It was amazing to see their creative imagination! This activity not only gave the students a practical experience of designing and making a product out of waste but also sensitized them towards the underpriviledged children in the society and how design expertise can be put to use to foster their social inclusion.

Workshop on TRACE ANALYSIS by Prof. Abir Mullick

Universal design elective students at BNCA did a one day hands on exercise on a observation based research methodology called TRACE ANALYSIS in the month of September'13. The method was taught by Prof.Abir Mullick who was invited to BNCA to conduct this workshop. Built on traditional methods of observing physical traces, Trace Study is a new research tool that allows analyzing observations to produce design recommendations. Students were given different zones within the campus to study and make their observations. After which they made groupwise presentations on their inferences and were guided by Prof. Abir Mullick on improvements that could be made to the study.

VISIT TO SAI BABA HOME FOR BLIND AGED WOMEN

Prof. Kavita Murugkar and two students - Nayan Sarda and Janhavi Bhave made an overwhelming visit to a blind home for aged women situated near dhayari in pune, to interact with the inmates and the caretakers about their routine activities, environmental issues they were facing and their physical needs. Through the interaction it was very evident that inspite of the vision loss, all the inmates were well acquainted to the physical surroundings of the blind home and were independently carrying out their daily chores. Infact some of the inmates travelled on their own by public transport and also went on pilgrimage tours atleast once a year.

STUDENTS VISIT ATHASHREE : A housing project for the elderly people by Paranjpye Schemes.

Universal Design elective students made a half day tour to Athashree - a housing for senior citizens in pune. The objective of the study was to expose students to a casestudy designed keeping in mind the physical and psychological needs of the elderly people. 

Designed by Ar. Radhika Vaidya, this special type of housing is barrier free with provision of ramps and railings in corridors to facilitate easy physical access. Some more highlights were anti-skid flooring, well lit passages, sliding doors for toilets and provision of resting points in the open spaces, which catered to the needs of the elderly. The apartment also had its own ambulance for emergency. 

Students got to interact with some elderly people living in the scheme and they shared that thoughtfully designed buildings can make life very comfortable and safe for their age group. They also shared that if all housing projects were designed with an inclusive approach, everybody in the society would be benefitted.

STUDENTS VISIT MUKTANGAN : A De-addiction centre in Pune

A visit was organised for the Sociology elective students of BNCA to Muktangan, a rehabilitation centre and day care for the drug addicted. The building housing the centre has been designed by Ar.Shirish Beri and is well known as an example of architecture that catalyses the process of healing by providing physical comfort, security and emotional relief. The students did a thorough study of the users, the individual and group activities and the spaces provided for facilitating these activities. The objective of the visit was to expose students to spaces for reformation and correction. 

The architect has attempted to create fluid, visually connected and congregational spaces to help the patients to come out of depression, socialize and recover fast. Students learnt through this visit that SPACES CAN HEAL TOO !

STUDENTS VISIT SADHANA VILLAGE : A home for the mentally impaired

A registered charitable trust, Sadhana Village has been involved in the care and rehabilitation of adults with mental disabilities. Situated in the Kolwan valley, it is about 30 kms from Pune and is called Residential care centre for Special friends (SF's). A group of 12 sociology elective students from BNCA visited this centre in february'13 and had a very enriching interaction with the inmates. 

The caretakers informed the students about the centre and took them around the building. A structured daily routine and simply designed living spaces are basic needs of such a user group. As per Ranjana tai,a senior volunteer at the centre, complicated building layouts can confuse people with mental impairments and hence architects must design spaces which facilitate easy way finding. She shared that colours and pictures/graphics are very effective in enhancing legibility of spaces particularly for this user group. On interaction with the inmates, students learnt that open spaces like terraces and courtyards were some of the favourite hangout areas of the inmates.

STUDENTS VISIT BALKALYAN SANSTHA AND THE SENSORY GARDEN

An interesting visit was arranged for the Sociology elective students to Bal Kalyan Sanstha Pune in early february '13. Founded in 1979, it is a recreational and cultural centre for all types of differently abled children. More than 1000 students from different parts of the city visit this centre for after school activities. Many activities and programs ranging from arts to sports are provided and taught by qualified instructors and coaches. The group of architecture students were exposed to a plethora of factors that need to be considered while keeping in mind differently abled children. It was a learning to see how materials, colours, textures, sound, light and aroma can be used to design multisensory spaces for kids. The highlight was the sensory garden developed by the rotary club at the centre, which provides a sensory diet for the children to enhance their underdeveloped skills. The students also understood the importance of providing choices and flexibility in their designed spaces.

STUDENTS VISIT JANSEVA FOUNDATION : A old-age home and rural hospital

Janaseva Foundation, established by Dr.Vinod Shah, is an organization which runs old age homes and a hospital within the same premises along with a paralytic centre, well equipped physiotherapy centre and admits disabled, handicapped and mentally ill patients as well. Sociology elective students made a visit to this centre with an intent to study what makes this facility one of the most successful ones in the country. This old age home caters to more than 100 elderly and is a self sufficient campus with recreation and medical facilities both in the same campus. To make it sustainable, the center also runs a nursing college which in turn supports the rural hospital with required human resource. All related activities under one roof is the key to it's social and economic sustenance. The learning for the students was also that an architect must keep in mind the economic viability of the project and help the client to formulate an appropriate design brief.

STUDENTS VISIT NIWANT ANDH MUKTA VIKASALAY

Sociology elective students got a chance to visit NIWANT - a centre for upliftment of visually impaired students, founded and run by Mrs. Meera Badve from her very home near vishrantwadi in pune. The centre offers vocational training to std 12 passed out visually impaired students. Following activities are run here : Tech Vision – Software development division, Choco Niwant, the chocolate making branch and Braille library called Vision Unlimited with more than 3000 books in different language. Latest addition is the Insight Academy is founded with the vision of making the visually challenged independent, empowered and contributing members of the society by way of spreading of computer literacy and creating reputable career opportunities.

Students of architecture were guided by the Niwant students through their center and informed about all the activities. It was inspiring to see the way Niwant students were walking on the path of success, without allowing their limitations to become an obstacle in their way. Apart from the learning about how the visually impaired use other senses to perceive the world around them, it was also realised that the city needed more vocational training institutions of this kind to support and empower differently abled students for an independent future.

Architecture Design Studio on ACTIVITY CENTRE FOR THE ELDERY

Architecture Design studio's are one of the best ways to sensitize and indulge students into Universal design thinking.

With this thought, Design brief of Commonwealth Association of Architects - Ninth International Student Competition for Designing Welcoming Inclusive Spaces for the Elderly had been taken up for the S Y B Arch design studio this semester. As per the competition brief, architecture students from around the world are invited to design forward thinking environments for our ageing population.The United Nations report that the twenty-first century will witness more rapid ageing than the previous years and this is foreseen to bring a paradigm shift in the design approach towards everything ranging from products to buildings to the urban development.

The second year studio is the apt time to trigger design sensibility and introduce students to the impact of architecture in the social context, its influence in shaping people’s lives meaningfully. The studio had to be sensitized and structured to generate designs that facilitate security, dignity, access and participation of aged people in communities.

A research based and participatory approach was adopted to evolve the design process. The predesign stage incorporated case studies, field surveys in different parts of the city, close observations, studio interactions with the elderly groups and exciting brainstorming sessions with peers. 

A new typology of building was evolved, a unique Activity centre for the elderly (approx. 500 sq.m built up), that would satisfy their social,  recreational, spiritual and economic needs. 

The design studio progressed in an interactive nature with intermittent juries and invited elderly guests to give feedback to students. The studio ended with some very sensitive and aesthetically appealing designs for the centre, out of which two designs were selected (student names - Shehrebanu and Rajashri) and sent as the competition entries.

AVISHKAR AWARD to Prof. Kavita Murugkar :First prize at State Level Research Competition

Prof. Kavita Murugkar has been awarded the STATE LEVEL FIRST PRIZE for her research project :

UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY IN HERITAGE ENVIRONMENTS IN INDIA at the AVISHKAR 2012, Maharashtra State Inter-university Research Convention, held at Dapoli Krishi Vidyapeeth this year. Her research project was selected as one of the best in the Teachers’ Category in Humanities Faculty, out of total 500 entries shortlisted across 20 universities in the state. It was selected through a long jury process starting at the University zonal level, University level and then finally the State level.
This study is a part of the research project granted by the BCUD, University of Pune to Prof.Kavita Murugkar.

Research projects that are innovative, creative and at the same time have a significant social impact were selected by the esteemed jury panel which comprised of national level experts from relevant fields.

The research conducted by Prof Murugkar, aimed to identify the barriers for physical and intellectual accessibility in heritage sites and develop design guidelines to overcome the same and make these sites accessible to all.

Heritage and visitor management strategies based on UNIVERSAL DESIGN have been suggested in this research project to enhance the heritage experience to all types of people in the society including the physically impaired, cognitive impaired, speech impaired, vision impaired, hearing impaired, elderly people and pregnant women. 

STUDENTS VISIT AARUSHI,BHOPAL : A center for mainstreaming people with disabilities

During the visit to Bhopal for NSDC 2012, Universal design elective students visited ARUSHI, a Bhopal-based not-for-profit organization working with and for people with disabilities and issues related to them. The basic objective of their work is to generate opportunities and develop capacities in people with disabilities.

Run by a passionate social activist- Mr. Anil Mudgal, the architecture of the center has been very thoughtfully designed keeping in mind universal design parameters.

The vertical circulation within the building is through a nicely designed ramp and lift.The layout is very student friendly with colours used to distinguish levels and planes. The students also got to see use of tactile flooring in the indoors, appropriately designed railings, tactile maps and accessible toilets at the center. The staff working at the center being differently abled, even the furniture like the reception desk was designed such that a wheel chair user could work on it with ease.

The center is probably one of the very few buildings in the country that can claim to be fairly accessible to people with disabilities, and students were benefitted by the visit as they could see all the theoretical recommendations of barrier free design applied in a building.

BNCA competition entry shortlisted in NSDC: students visit SPA Bhopal

The competition entry sent by Universal Design elective students from BNCA has been shortlisted at the NSDC amongst more than 80 entries received from colleges across the country. Congratulations to the students!

More about the competition entry :

NSDC(National Student Design Competition) is organised every year by School of Planning and Architecture Bhopal under the leadership of Dr.Rachana Khare, an expert in universal design. The theme of the competition this year is  

UNIVERSAL USABILITY IN WORLD HERITAGE SITES.

The student group took up the World heritage site of Ellora Caves and under the mentorship of Prof. Kavita Murugkar, studied the accessibility status of the site by applying various research methods like access audit, physical mapping, walk and talk audit and visitor surveys.

On analyzing the data collected, students came up with a design proposal to enhance the heritage experience and accessibility considering different types of visitors- abled and disabled by incorporating Universal design principles. The design proposal was prepared at two levels - for the entire site and for an individual cave, thus addressing the issue in whole and part.

Final Jury and UD workshop at Bhopal :

The students and Prof. Kavita Murugkar visited SPA Bhopal for the final round of the jury and also attended a Universal Design workshop the next day, specially organised by SPA Bhopal for the finalists.The workshop was conducted by SPA faculty members at the world heritage site of Sanchi Stupa. Differently abled students were also a part of the workshop, thus enriching the learning experience for all students. All the shortlisted competition entries were displayed at an open exhibition put up by SPA at the competition venue for both the days.

Students at work

UD Workshop at Sanchi stupa

Competition sheets displayed at the exhibition at SPA

ELLORA CAVES : Visit and Study for Universal Accessibility at the heritage site

Universal Design elective students of year 2012 have participated in the National Student Design Competition (NSDC 2012) organised by SPA Bhopal on the theme UNIVERSAL USABILITY IN WORLD HERITAGE SITES. The group under guidance of Prof. Kavita Murugkar have chosen to work on World heritage site of Ellora Caves. 

This study is a part of the research project granted by the BCUD, University of Pune to Prof.Kavita Murugkar

After studying existing literature about the heritage site and collecting background information, the group made a 3 day visit to Ellora caves in August'13. Extensive study of the existing condition of accessibility of the caves was carried out at the site. Students also conducted a walk and talk audit with two persons with disabilities from aurangabad. Thanks to them for participating in the study !

After systematically analysing the observations, students worked on design interventions that can be proposed to enhance universal accessibility.

The suggestions were worked out at the master plan level as well as individual cave level, keeping in mind the bye-laws that govern interventions at heritage sites. The proposal included having an onsite interpretation center,amphitheatre for sound and light show,  tactile stone models, provision of battery operated coaches for movement within the site, hydraulic lift to take visitors to vantage points, use of audio compass for informed navigation and all in one visitor facility blocks at regular intervals. Apart from the above ramps, railings and signages have been proposed such that they do not negatively impact the heritage value of the site and are reversible in nature.

The proposal has been submitted for the NSDC , Bhopal and students are awaiting the first round of results....