A Case in Atoning Compulsive Indulgence | Architecture Thesis

Site Context

The site, located in Worli, Mumbai, sits at the intersection of commercial, institutional, residential, and cultural developments, with the Love Grove Stormwater Pumping Station serving as a symbolic backdrop in the narrative of societal wastefulness. As a representation of consumerism, the site provides an opportunity to redefine consumption patterns by integrating the deteriorating functionality of the existing structure into a renewed system.

The inefficiency of the current structure presents a chance for its adaptive reuse, transforming it into a space with a revived purpose that enhances the urban fabric and improves the city’s quality of life. This evolution leads to the development of a new urban morphology, where sustainability and functionality coexist.

Design Process

The process intricately weaves together the complexities of the program and its context, crafting a unique narrative for each individual as they navigate the experience. This journey is not merely about the reconsumption of products but also about the reconsumption of oneself—an introspective transformation initiated through interactions with objects, people, and the built environment.

The idea is to create a performative urban model that integrates consumerism, recycling, and interaction through a structured experiential journey.  Various circulation patterns and audience interactions shape the experience, while design strategies such as levels, enclosures, and transitions enhance engagement. The overall concept reimagines waste and consumption, creating a dynamic space for reflection, participation, and urban renewal.

The process included mapping site context, movement axes, and spatial distribution, organizing functions like retail, upcycling, co-working, and recycling around a central urban plaza. The architectural form evolves through six design steps, shaping a structured yet dynamic space that balances commerce, waste management, and interaction, ultimately creating a sustainable and adaptive urban model.

Final Outcome

Designed as a commercial hub that embodies consumerism, the intervention takes a conscious approach by incorporating recycling, upcycling, and maker spaces that foster creativity and interaction. On a broader scale, it also addresses the consumption of data, with a centralized data center acting as the structural core, reflecting the modern digital economy’s influence on consumer behavior.

At its core, the design fosters fluid movement, activating the urban realm through layered interactions that vary based on the user’s chosen circulatory path. It integrates re-purposed retail spaces featuring artisan crafts, local goods, and repaired products, participatory maker chambers, and the theatrical spectacle of recycling systems—all orchestrated by a centralized data center.

Adding another layer of complexity, the project explores the consumption of food through an elite rooftop restaurant supplied by vertical farms along the façade. This highlights society’s paradoxical desire for both luxury and sustainability, reinforcing the irony of modern consumer culture.

The sectional organization further deepens this critique, with recycling processes beginning in the basement—symbolizing societal hierarchies—while other activities unfold above ground, reflecting ingrained social divisions. These interwoven layers collectively contribute to the development of a new urban morphology, one that aspires to catalyze change while remaining grounded in the realities of contemporary consumption.

The design emerges as an experimental model within the urban realm, serving as a speculative intervention that constructs an allegory between the consumerist mindset and the evolving behaviors of recycling and upcycling. It functions as a public interface, reimagining an otherwise isolated system as an innovative process—both a spectacle and an experience for the city.

Conclusion: In essence, the project underscores the irony of society, where the very forces that drive excessive consumption also dictate the solutions to its consequences. Yet, in an ultimate paradox, the cause often dismisses the solution, reinforcing the satire embedded within the design. This tension between problem and resolution not only critiques contemporary consumption patterns but also invites reflection on the cyclical nature of societal behavior.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]