Welcome to my (Adhavan’s) blog.

I work on maps, civic-data, and community projects.

Research Narratives - Spatial and multimedia data annotation platform

We present Research Narratives that came out of a vision to have an environment that encourages responsible use of data for research and communication. It is a tool that provides a collaborative environment for multidisciplinary research or writing projects that communicate patterns from data.

December 4, 2023 · Adhavan, Sooraj Raveendran

Maps that are vessels of content, not the boring cartography of the digital age

I came across Maps of Uncomfortable Boundaries / Atlas of My World by Zarina at the Kochi Biennale. I would like to narrate my immediate set of thoughts, or observations, as a way to argue that maps are not simply representations but also vessels that contain, the visual nature by nature. Atlas of My World, 2001, six woodcuts with Urdu text printed in black on handmade Indian paper, sheet size 65 x 49....

December 2, 2023 · Adhavan

Speculation: Can a Moving Market In Yelahanka New Town increase Social Cohesion, Participation and Security?

A speculative intervention to improve activity, cohesion and safety in Yelahanka New Town

January 30, 2023

Computational Steam, teaching science with Scratch at Parikrma Schools

A short recount of my experiences teaching sections of the ‘Light’ chapter from standard 8 text books for Parikrma School Students.

October 15, 2022

Conversations on Security - SafeYelli

September 9, 2022

Terrain mapping with acne

I use acne as height maps to generate and play with terrain

February 25, 2022

Game aids for the elderly

Empathising with the reduced social mobility of the elderly and designing accessibility devices to allow them to participate in games

February 17, 2022

Mapping Harassment in Yelahanka

An ongoing project that is looking into capturing data on harassment inside Yelahanka, Bengaluru

October 3, 2021

Generative silly space cities with Structure Synth

This is a blog on my explorations with Generative/Procedural structures in Structure Synth

July 25, 2021

Panoromas, Conversations around the Arkavathi

Why Panoramas For starters, its a pretty good feature on my Fuji. For the main course, its wide format allows me to capture a uniquely framed landscape which is just another landscape on a regular aspect ratio. And for dessert, since it has to be stitched in-camera from multiple shots, movement is preserved as an artifact on the photo. It embolises that stagnant scene with the artifacts that blow an air of ‘edgy’ mystery into it....

July 4, 2021

Moments from exploring the Arkavathi's dependants

This is a blog on my experiences from exploratory trips to the river basin and places around the Arkavathi

July 3, 2021

Visualising line of sight in 2D

How do you visualise line of sight on a 2D map? This is an exploration into doing that by visualising rays of vision. Street signs are mapped. The layout of a neighbourhood is also drawn. The cursor is you moving around in the neighbourhood. If it is a readable street sign, your vision turns green, if not, it turns red. The readability of street signs had been manually documented by me....

November 19, 2020