S a m a n t h a   C h u n d u r,  A I C P

Project Coordinator

 

Samantha Chundur is a designer and planner with over 8 years experience in architecture, planning and urban design. Her work ranges from regional planning to neighborhood scale site design and guidelines. Her interests include the effect of transportation and culture on the design of spaces, and vernacular architecture.

Some of her current and past projects include:

  • Downtown Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE: Currently coordinating a master plan effort for approximately 250 hectares of land, which lie adjacent to two major industrial developments. The primarily high rise development along Dubai's most important commercial corridor will include office, retail and residential uses as well as a light rail line that will link the site to Downtown Dubai, Abu Dhabi and nearby developments.
  • Tunis Waterfront, Tunis, Tunisia: Managed an effort to reconnect the city with its historic port which abuts the project site, by providing a new mixed use commercial center, developing new urban housing opportunities, and focusing a major new intercity transit hub. The variety of proposed uses which include hotels, convention center, a ferry terminal and light rail stations are aimed to strengthen the city's efforts to provide new opportunities for investment in the region.
  • Red Sea/Dead Sea, Aqaba, Jordan: Coordinated and served as one of the lead designers in developing a plan for this approximately 1,700 hectare site that abuts the Gulf of Aqaba along the Jordanian-Israeli border. The project accommodates a population of nearly 200,000 within well defined neighborhoods, centers and public spaces. The design aimed to tap the ideal location of the site to strengthen the region's role as an important tourist destination.
  • Palm Deira Master Plan, Dubai, UAE: Worked with an international team of consultants in the development of a master plan for a major new development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a projected population of nearly 500,000, the project organizes varying land uses and intensities around a strong network of regional and local transit lines. Ms. Chundur was involved in all aspects of the project including schematic design, site planning, transportation and street design.
  • Downtown Martinez Specific Plan and Environmental Report, Martinez, California: Served as a lead designer in creating a specific plan and EIR for downtown Martinez. The project involved evaluating existing and proposed land uses, developing design guidelines to encourage development proposals for the downtown.
  • Salinas General Plan Update, Salinas, California: Served as a designer in the creation of a plan for a future growth area for Salinas, so that the city can grow outward without losing its inherent and traditional qualities. The project also involved updating the General Plan by crafting a widely applicable set of design guidelines and block standards for the city of Salinas.
  • Smart Growth Twin Cities, Minnesota: The two year multi-phase process included developing regional development alternatives and creating detailed opportunity site designs that explore ways to utilize mixed use and transit-oriented urban design strategies in selected communities in the Twin Cities region.Ms. Chundur served as designer for the detailed opportunity site plans and also helped analyze the effect of these designs on transportation, employment, accessibility and population by extensive use of geographic information systems.
  • Mississippi Riverfront Initiative, Minnesota: Served as a lead planner in an initiative that integrated existing community planning efforts into an action framework for revitalization, development and preservation along a 35 mile river corridor which included 21 cities in four counties. Multiple interests, such as environmental protection, recreation, land development, transportation, and river commerce had to be balanced and integrated. Ms. Chundur's contribution included extensive analysis and mapping using geographic information system which helped understand the relationships between the various interests
  • Envision Central Texas : This was a regional planning effort for the Central Texas Region which also incorporated creating site-level designs in selected communities which serve to illustrate how mixed use urban design concepts can be applied in communities in the region. Ms. Chundur's role as a designer for the selected sites included holding public workshops, creating a final plan that incorporated the interests of the public, and developing design guidelines.

Prior to joining Calthorpe Associates, Ms. Chundur worked in the architectural firms of Bunton Clifford Associates, Fremont, California and Radhey Mohan Associates, Madras, India. She was awarded a Seasongood internship at the City of Cincinnati Planning Department while in graduate school.

Ms. Chundur received a Master of Community Planning with a focus in Urban Design from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Architecture from the School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University, Madras, India. At the University of Cincinnati, she was a member of a student team that developed a design plan "Seminary Square Eco-Village Plan" for a community. This plan received the 2000 American Institute of Certified Planners Student Project Award as well as the Ohio Planning Conference Award. While in architecture school, she was a member of a team that received a national deign competition award for the design of an energy efficient large scale building.

Ms. Chundur also received a Post Graduate Diploma in Housing and Urban Development with a specialization in Inner City Renewal from the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Ms. Chundur is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.