SEA – Studio for Environment and Architecture, Hyderabad

Designation

principal architect

Company Name

SEA – Studio for Environment and Architecture, Hyderabad

Since I was born in a family of goldsmiths, I always had a creative bent of mind, an eye for detail and a knack for sketching. Architecture happened to me, it wasn’t a conscious decision on my part. Looking back, I think I found myself in the right place at the right time,” muses Hari Krishna, who did his B.Arch from Andhra University in 2007 in Visakhapatnam.

A couple of years later, he decided to set up his own firm. SEA – Studio for Environment and Architecture was founded by three architects: Hari Krishna, Shyam and Venu Gopal in 2009. “The name of our firm was derived from a connection to our respective home towns, and as a symbol of understanding changing perceptions and seamless adaptation in any situation,” adds Krishna.

Any building or idea that’s able to think beyond its challenges or limitations inspires him. “It is an integral part of my design process, since I constantly crave inspiration. Like Lord Byron says, I love not man the less, but nature more,” adds the architect.

The only constant for Krishna has been nature and contextual design. “As for technology, I believe in the extraordinary connection between mind and hand in the evolution of our design process. This is one of the most fundamental design techniques that would support one’s journey as an architect. Model making is another technique that raises the intentions of our design to the next level.”

The challenges in architecture, he believes, are in being responsible for the sustenance of the built form – from its inception to its natural end. This includes sensitive understanding of the clients’ needs and the impact of the built form in the future. “Especially in socially relevant projects, challenges posed by politics, economics and building codes sometimes prove fatal,” he points out.

SEA has its own unique approach to architecture. “Our USP is an approach that strives to counter ‘placelessness’ and lack of identity, but also rejects the whimsical individualism and ornamentation that is ‘critical regionalism’,” explains Krishna.

The 31-year-old architect’s most significant project till date is Sai Mandir in Vennached, Telangana. “This project had the potential to impact not just an entire village, but the perception of traditional temple design altogether,” he points out. The 20-feet-high tapering head is a clever composition of bricks and cement in a jali-style inspiration. It ends with an aperture that gently floods the focal element of the temple with diffused light. In the night, the temple radiates illumination outwards, appearing as a beacon of light that reaches out into the village.

For Krishna, a dream project would be one that has the power to collectively impact a community – thereby bringing them together.