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Tanya Shah

Open Doors Open Curtains

Tanya Shah is a final year Architecture student aiming her final project at tackling social injustice for women. 

Architecture - BA (Hons)

Give us a brief overview of your project

My social injustice project aims to eradicate harassment of women on the streets of Ladywood, Birmingham. I want to help solve this social injustice with the intervention and building I have proposed.

Why did you choose this concept?

Sadly, not just in Ladywood but in the whole of the UK, the highest crime rate is of violence and sexual abuse against women. I want to be able to create spaces that will make all women walking the streets feel safe at any time of day or night. This will involve installing well lit covered walkways outside homes that will blur the boundaries of public and private spaces. Where residents can use this space to sit outside just like a veranda, while women feel safe walking by in a well used space.

I then proposed a building that shall be open 24/7 so that women can feel safe anytime of the day and night knowing there is somewhere open in the community day and night. This building will be a garment building that will help the locals flourish. As, South Asians make up the largest ethnic community in the area at 24%, the expertise of South Asians that have skills in dyeing, sewing and embroidering material will be a good space to build and help them sell these items too from the factory. The factory shall be open through the night too as indigo dyeing needs to be controlled from UV light, also adding a 24/7 cafe shall help the community to come in to the space anytime and feel safe.

What processes have you been using?

I have used skills that involve researching the locality through the resources provided, site visits, sketches, hand drawings, vector works to make 2d drawings aswell as photoshop and illustrator to help achieve the images I want to help to portray my project. 3d modelling from Rhino has helped amass and develop my idea.
Physical models have helped me to develop my project greatly. This skill really helps you to physically see what a building may look like and real and make you understand the limits to materials.

What do you hope to achieve with your project?

I hope that the thought process used can help empower women and help to get rid of such an injustice that in this day and age should not be happening at all.

How has your course helped you to prepare for working on your project?

It has helped immensely as it has taught me everything I need to know from strategy, analysis, concept developments, drawing, detailing and finalising my ideas. These skills have helped me to portray how my project will look at the end.