Over the past decade, ArchiLab has designed more than 12 million sq ft of projects across India and overseas too. The firm’s design language displays a strong sense of timelessness that engages the senses whilst delivering a spatial product in response to a client’s vision and business objectives.
ArchiLab has done projects in almost all the verticals of architecture including Master planning, Commercial, Healthcare, Hospitality, High End Residential, Retail, Industrial, Landscape Design, Furniture & Product Design, Brand Designing, and art commissioning as well.
What pushed you to take up Architecture?
Since childhood art and science was my passion. Construction sites and seeing some architectural & engineering drawings around, intrigued me about the subject. I used to sketch my dream spaces since childhood. When studied about the relevance of architecture and planning to the evolution of mankind, I realized that architecture plays as important role in our life as much as any modern medicine or science does. Understanding how every space and detail reflects back human emotion and how it actually can affect one’s wellbeing, is really amazing feeling.
Hence, I decided to be a part of this fraternity where it’s a perfect blend of art, science and human psychology.
What is the Design philosophy that you swear by?
Each project is approached with in depth exploration and thought and is process driven to ensure an aesthetically and functional output.
Philosophy is “Respect the Context”. A project, its use and type of users, site topography, geographical location, and design language have to have a strong bond with each other. Hence your design language and output will be always different and creative but its soul will remain strong and functional.
We approach every project with a blank slate. As we work on various types of projects, approach towards the design has to be different for each project based on its nature of the project. All projects must have utmost practicality and creative outcome.
Name an Indian and international architect/designer that inspires you.
It’s difficult to name only one favourite designers as world is filled with great thinkers and designers. But just to name one or two will be Zaha Hadid and Bjarke Ingles.
Zaha Hadid has changed the face of architecture and showed the world what futuristic architecture should look like. Her bold approach towards use of building materials and geometries was a game changer. One could say she knew how to make rigid materials like concrete and steel bend and dance at het fingertips.
Bjarke has shown how programmatic and pragmatic designs can change the way our building and cities should ideally be. Not only these two we have too had few of the game changer masterminds in India. Like B V Doshi, Correa, Laurie Baker and many more.
These architects took the modern Indian architecture to the world platform. From Doshi’s Poetic and functional architecture, use of materials and creating mythical sense of spaces to Laurie Baker’s extremely eco sensitive approach towards design. Correa’s buildings which were modern structures yet deeply rooted in local cultures. His building were climatic responsive structures which is huge missing point in today’s structures.
If not an Architect, where do you presume you would be?
If not an architect then may be any other art form. I still pursue many other art forms like painting, making sculptures, photography, creative writing, poetry and many more. So may be my soul would have revolved around the art forms only.
If you could change the skyline of your city, what would add or remove?
Certainly, that would be a great opportunity. I think any city or community shall be human centric and not material centric. While saying so one has to thrive as well to reach great heights.
Today most of the cities have lost its charm and citizens of it are just dead souls. Skyline is just a prima fascia look of any settlement from a distance. What we need to change is the head, heart, eyes, ears, stomach, lungs hands and feet of the city. Basically, make it human.
Head is where your administration is. Heart is where your citizens are, eyes and ears where your businesses are, stomach is where your infrastructures are, lungs are where your nature and green spaces are and hand and feet where your working-class citizens are.
Our city shall reflect the culture and yet project the future. It shall be inspirational for people to live happily and not just another mode of livelihood. When structures go taller our streets and pavements shall go wider. Not only for vehicles but more so for its citizens. Our buildings shall be of ultra-modern design and technology but our planning shall respect our ancient style and principals. Building on streets shall not compete with each other but complement each other. Our neighbourhoods shall be warm and business hubs shall be sharp. Our cultural centres shall be welcoming and administrative hubs shall be authoritative.
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