Mathew & Ghosh Architects

Company Name

Mathew & Ghosh Architects

The roots
“I was quite clueless at that point of time, quite honestly,” says Nisha Mathew Ghosh candidly about how architecture happened to her. “My maternal uncle, who watched me discuss houses, planted this thought; my father got the details of School of Architecture CEPT without me knowing; and my mother encouraged me to apply…” For Soumitro Ghosh, it was the possibilities of making the world a better place that steered him towards architecture. “The initial understanding was that aesthetics was most important, but I have come to realise that it’s not the primary change-maker and enhancer.”

The nurturing
Both are products of CEPT and the “extraordinary” set of teachers at the school: Kurula Varkey, Rabin Vasavada, AD Raje, BV Doshi, Neelkanth Chhaya, Miki Desai, Leo Perreira, Walter D’souza… “All were deeply engaged at the level of practice, philosophy and understanding of architecture, art, culture and life. CEPT was a place vibrant with these people and their incredible energy.” Presently, Nisha is greatly inspired “by the lessons I learn and the inspirations I see in nature; by observation and the gleaning of principles, all attributed to the brilliance of a Creator God. The work I do at this point of time is profoundly impacted by these revelations.”

The fruits
The architects began their practice, Mathew & Ghosh Architects, soon after returning from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru in the early ‘90s. The duo got their first little commission to make a house for Nisha’s mother, now known as the Mary Mathew House – their first experiment with critiquing the urban house in this context; and the exploration of passive solar principles as a necessary means to establish larger patterns in house form. The firm is egalitarian about the projects it undertakes; the only thing it needs, is trust from the client. “Our work straddles many categories from residential and retail to industrial and master planning, in some cases. For our projects, we may also look at accessory design,” says Nisha. The work of Mathew & Ghosh Architects has been recognised and published both nationally and internationally. The Bethel Baptist Church, for instance, has made an appearance in Daab gmbH’s Indian Design as well as Phaidon Press’ The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture. Bengaluru’s Freedom Park – which involved the transformation of a jail into an urban park – has graced the pages of several national newspapers and magazines.  

The turning points
While Soumitro is loathe to sieve projects as milestones, he does state that public/semi-public projects made all the difference. “The purposes, challenges and opportunity were larger, if not more noble – beyond the autonomy and considerable indulgence of private projects for self,” he says. Nisha’s choice is the Bhopal gas tragedy memorial (unbuilt, 2nd prize winner in a national competition), because “it was very conceptual, in a very raw way…” From the built works, she picks Benjamin House, Sua House (which is not a house, but an office), Bethel Baptist Church, Freedom Park, National Military Martyrs Memorial, Zanav – and now, House for Usha and Ram (yet to be published).

The destination
The involvement of the heart makes each project a precious one for Nisha, so there’s no ‘dream’ project. However, her partner says it would be interesting to see what he’d build for himself: such a soul-baring would help him be on his toes, prompting him to keep moving on. And on the subject of moving on, Nisha sees much more research-based theoretical work emerging from the practice. “Lots of exciting work that has already begun shall come along, even though it’s not known when, who, how… To hope is to live, and today we do what we need to. One little step at a time!”