Experiments in anti-zoning


This project redevelops an abandoned mill site, and uses the mill’s footprint as the central open space and organizing feature of a phased redevelopment proposal. The development is an experiment with a novel paradigm, which we termed “antizoning:” a form of development that celebrates Kolkata’s dense and dynamic urban fabric. The proposal embraces flexibility and organic growth over a long-term development timeline. The organic development around the carved-out mill building is structured and guided through tactical infrastructure development.

This proposal was part of a semester-long project in an urban design studio at MIT. Working with architecture students, we were asked to develop an urban design proposal for a single jute mill in Kolkata. My partners (an architect and an urban planner) and I, chose to develop a proposal for Surah Jute Mill, the only jute mill in the metropolitan region that is landlocked. Read more about this project here, on the MIT Architecture website. Drawings made in collaboraiton with Angie Door and Gabriela Zayas del Rio.