Riya's Riyaaz

You must be aware of the thin paper lamps made quite famous by Ikea. Well, a few years back I came across a video ' Production of Akari Sculptures, Isamu Noguchi, 1951 ', this is when I learned about the man behind these lamps. Isamu Noguchi hand crafted these lamps aka Akari out of Shoji paper wrapped over a bamboo skeleton. Throughout his life, he kept reinventing Akari, as a result we see a variety of these lamps. I have always been interested in craft, whether it was a new project in high school or model making in architecture school. Learning about the world of craft is something that I am interested in, so when I stumbled upon this video, I wanted to learn more about Noguchi's work.  Noguchi was a sculptor. He believed in making with one's own hands to create art, using materials like paper, stone, clay and wood. He created many sculptures during his life in the States. On the day of Remembrance, the Noguchi museum was open for a free visit. My friend Tam and I ha...

Last year during the beginning of Fall, me and my friends decided to take a road trip to FallingWater, designed by F. L. Wright. Even though it was my second year in the States, it was the first time I paid attention to this weather. The change in the color of leaves on the East Coast has its own charm. Our trip couldn't have been scheduled at a more perfect time. The weather was transitioning beautifully (aka leaves were turning every warm shade on the palate); it had only been a few days since I bought a new phone and was excited to see the fancy world of Apple, goes without saying I took over 200 photos and videos. We drove from NJ after work on Friday and reached PA right before midnight as our tour was scheduled next day morning. At the end of our tour we had extra time, on recommendation of some people visiting from Pittsburg we decided to grab lunch near Carnegie Melon University and check out the neighborhood. FallingWater is one of a kind. It is one of those masterpieces i...

The Fall 2021 Urban Design studio was focused on developing a district scaled framework for Newark's civic center. The project included working in collaboration with the United States General Service Administration (GSA), the City of Newark and local stakeholders. The district consists of an "urban ensemble" of buildings including the Rodino Federal Building, the Lautenberg Post Office, the MLK Courthouse, Newark City Hall and two privately-managed housing towers.  Our work was also featured on Archinect -  https://archinect.com/features/article/150291080/njit-s-hillier-college-of-architecture-and-design-fall-2021-super-review-showcases-civic-engagement-and-climate-action The studio was divided into three phases. The first phase included urban analysis, site assessment and stakeholder visualization. We began by taking a site tour with the members of the GSA around the civic center. The use of term 'civic center' mainly because of the fact that these buildings fall...