Tahir Noronha
Convenor
2019 – 22
Over the course of three years at CCF, there have been several key projects that I am thankful for participating in. At Good City, we organised walks and activities for citizens to help make people more aware of their urban realm. We did not offer answers to urban issues — but rather tried to help citizens “spot-problems”. In my first year at CCF the state government expressed an intent to demolish Correa’s Kala Academy. CCF got involved in discussions, we petitioned Goans and the architecture community, the High Court took cognisance and I participated in a two and a half-year litigation. Finally, the Court passed a landmark judgement, preventing the state from demolishing any part of the structure and requiring them to repair and strengthen it instead. This is the first time in India that a 20th century public building has been saved from demolition through a court order. In 2020, we held Z-axis online along with a design competition — to run parallel to the lectures, and tie both together through the theme “You and Your Neighbourhood” (Correa’s Masters Thesis at MIT in 1958). We also helped villagers from Old Goa (which contains Goa’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site) in their efforts against unplanned infrastructure. Working at CCF taught me to negotiate with stakeholders and the State, to step in, to be an “agent of change”, and to make cities slightly better.
Tanya Sharma
Research Fellow
2019 – 20
Working for the Old Goa Master Plan was a comprehensive learning experience, getting to tackle urban issues concerning the active citizens who were bothered by the state of their surroundings and heritage. Taking a bottom-up approach with the government authorities and working with erudites like Prof. Edgar Rebeiro was a great on-ground learning experience on how to deal with urban level issues of a city.
Anjanaa Devi Srikanth
Research Fellow
2018 – 19
I enjoyed Z-Axis 2018, the theme of equity in the design of cities was an important factor in helping me decide my present course for further studies and a career in Urban Design. Organising the event, mobilising volunteers and making sure everything went smoothly was a great learning experience. Post-event documentation, especially the preparation of the conference proceedings, provided me with another great insight into the minds, and work, of some of the presenters.
Vaishali Joshi
Research Fellow
2017 – 18
Working on the “Rationalizing Signage in Panaji Part B: Commercial Signage Policy” was a memorable experience. It was about documenting and proposing design and policy guidelines for commercial signage in Panaji as a way of improving the image of the city. We also organised a competition, exhibition and panel discussion on the same to engage the local stakeholders.
Arushi Chitrao
Research Fellow
2016 – 17
I think the most memorable project that I got a chance to work on was the waste management project, “Know Waste to No Waste: Towards a Zero Waste Goa”. From designing and conducting surveys to having meaningful interactions with experts, it was a tremendous learning opportunity for me. One particular memory that stands out was when the whole team conducted an awareness workshop for school children. The entire process of organising it was so much fun as was the actual workshop!
Ankush Chandaran
Research Fellow
2016 – 17
My most memorable project from my time at CCF has to be the Critique of Cujira School Complex. After we finished the initial critique of the “education hub”, and highlighted its failure to address any of the congestion issues it was originally planned to counter, we organised a workshop called “Schooling the Chaos” which saw the participation of a diverse range of stakeholders. It was gratifying to see these stakeholders collaborate and respond to the issues of congestion and student safety.
Anubhti Chandana
Research Fellow
2015-16
The most memorable project for me was “Building Crafts of Goa Research on Kaavi”, as it was a self-initiated project and in a matter of two weeks I drove around Goa with no prior knowledge of the locations, visiting approximately 75 temples and houses, out of which 26 sites had Kaavi. This project was mentored by Heta Pandit. I even visited temples and houses in Ankola, Karnataka, where it is still being preserved, further reaching out to craftsmen who still practise this art form and a press conference for creating awareness amongst the people.
Ankit Kumar
Research Fellow
2015-16
The idea of Panaji Archives is to get all data pertaining to the city of Panaji under one roof so that students, researchers, and professionals will be able to access the data easily from one source. The Archives also includes policy documents, reference books, project reports, images, historical information, etc. in a digital format for easy viewing and transfer of data.
Nitesh Kumar
Research Fellow
2014 – 15
When I put my thoughts to recall my most memorable project in CCF, I will have to mention the Urban Signage Project that I had undertaken as my first project in CCF. What made the project significant, both on a personal and professional front, was the varying challenges and learning that it had to offer. The intent of the project was to create a signage system that ensures uniformity, legibility, readability and effective way-finding.
Golda Pereira
Research Fellow
2013 – 14
In 2014, I worked on the documentation of heritage structures in Panjim. We followed our maps and explored the city, grading each heritage structure based on predefined conditions. These grades served as a base for future conservation in the city. The project gave me a clear sense of how these structures contributed to the city’s streetscape, and these are lessons that I continue to use while working on designs today.
Rhea D’Souza
Research Fellow
2013 – 14
The Panjim Map was the project I was in charge of, it also meant I bore the brunt of Charles’ highly trained eye! I have always had a love for cartography and this experience really made me dive deeper into it. Also, working on the ‘Road map for Efficient Mobility’ (within Panjim, and between Panjim and Mapusa), and presenting learnings about Bamboo construction at Nagaland for a CCF Public forum, were some of the memorable moments.
Bhavana Hameed
Associate Director
2013 – 14
Every project at the CCF would evolve into a layered exercise, with the focus resting on an integrated solution for the city and revolved under varying heads like mobility, heritage or waste management. My time at CCF started with working on the “Visitor’s Map”, a project that gave me a first-hand glimpse of the extent of data and the variety of stake-holders involved in every exercise.
Saloni Parekh
Research Fellow
2011 – 12
I had the privilege of working at CCF to draw up a Decongestion Model for Panaji City Centre, where Charles Correa would call us daily to track our progress. In many ways, his legacy continues through the CCF’s work in Urban Interventions and research and development of human settlements.