Oh happy day!

Today has been a day that has left me in very content state. The kind of contentment that you get when you're satisfied with your work. We were able to successfully complete 2 whole presentations with results that we were genuinely happy with. The day ended in very positive emotions but in entirety was kind of hectic and stressful. Our team of 5 - Nikhil, Akshay, Calrence, Ananya, Ritika and me, constantly shuttled  between the two presentations. I can best describe the whole ordeal as an organised mess. A little taxing but definitely worth it. Often after a long day I've heard Sai ask, "Exhausted?" which is always followed by a resounding YES. And then he asks, "Is is a good exhausted?" Strange combination of words but a totally valid question. After a day like today I definitely understand what good exhaustion is. I'm too happy (and too tired) to properly formulate my words but its been a good day...

-Mannat 

On- Site Experiences: Of Analogies & Choices

Yesterday's collaborative effort definitely helped the team working in the office to find their groove and today we were all charged for picking up on where we left off. After a quick crit on this, Sai moved focus to what was happening on the sites. Managing sites is an incredibly interesting experience, however after a point it can become tiresome and somewhat monotonous - a fact that Sai acknowledged but was not willing to accept. He told us that the excitement of working on site was something that had to be internally driven. I'm sure by now you're wondering how this can be done. Don't worry, I'm going to share with you 2 simple analogies that will clearly explain everything. 

Imagine I asked you to play a game of badminton or randomly run up and down the road 10 times. Which would you prefer? The unanimous answer from all of us sitting in on the meeting was a game of badminton. And that's exactly what Sai explained to us. Both the activities probably require the same amount of effort, only difference is that while one constructively offers an interest and a goal (to try and win the game) the other seemingly offers neither. The same principle needs to be applied on site too. Although it is important and cannot be neglected, one cannot get too caught up in the in the small issues here and there that require effort. Yes, those issues need to be addressed, but we must keep finding interests and goals to strive for and put effort in. We need to ultimately keep ourselves, the site team and the client engaged and excited through the process.

The second analogy too picked up on the game of badminton. Again Sai asked us how many of us enjoy the game. He then added another question - How many of us would enjoy the game if we were playing against a 5 year old kid?. The answer instantly changed. Another question followed - How many of us would enjoy the game if we were playing against a world champion? This he explained was to determine the level at which we play (or in this case work). Pick a task too easy for you and you won't feel satisfied even if you achieve it. Pick something too difficult and you would more often than not end up disheartened. The sweet spot would be to challenge yourself - to pick someething just slightly more difficult than what you think you're capable of. This way you allow yourself for that margin to stretch and grow. At the same time when you're able to achieve that, the sense of accomplishment does wonders for your confidence - Just ask Rithik, he would definitely vouch for this. So, he urged all those involved in the sites to push themselves a little beyond what they consider themselves capable of. This challenge guarantees an interest and the excitement. 

In short, we determine our experiences at site. How monotonous or exciting they would be is a choice that we get to make in most respects. And this choice was offered to Rithik and Kavya - both of them have been given the complete responsibility of one site each. Stay tuned with us to know more about their individual experiences in the coming month...

-Mannat 

Jumping to Solutions

For some reason, back in college, every design assignment was referred to as a "Design Problem". And true to its name, our first instinct would be to come up with a solution. Perhaps this is the approach that we are so used to, that even when we're faced with answering certain design related questions pertaining to the projects that we're just starting out with, the instinct is to resolve them. But at this stage, it is not about the plans or sections but rather ideation and perception of spaces. And this is exactly what Sai explained to us today. He urged us to not look for solutions in the way that we were trying (and getting stuck with). Rather he pushed us down a path to just come up with ideas that could be possible solutions - to start discussing the questions first, understanding them and then moving towards resolving them. And that did help. 

We were still not sure of what we were doing right in the beginning but as we kept working on it the direction became somewhat clearer. We sat together, each one of us bringing our skills to the table, discussing, shooting ideas at each other. While Ananya and I were constantly swapping narratives and bringing up important points, editing what the other had written, Akshay, Nikhil and Clarence worked on some brilliant sketches to support our writing. Ritika was the missing link to tie it all together, story-boarding and visualizing what all the parts would look like when put together as a whole.

It's still a work in progress and ultimately we will come up with design solutions too, but for now its about going one step at time and not jumping to solutions!

-Mannat 

Stationary Junkies

Ever seen a kid in a candy store? The glee in their eyes at the sheer variety available, the wanting as much as one can get, making sure you go over all the options, trying and tasting as many goods as possible. I have seen certain grown ups act in exactly the same manner in stationary stores (and I too am guilty of this behavior). Whether its going through various notebooks and sketchpads to get the best paper as well as the most interesting cover in one or trying out pen after pen, pencil after pencil seeing how it writes, eventually ending up with a small sheet of paper covered in rainbow scribbles.
And I've noticed a lot of people around me, whether they're architecture students or practicing, share this fascination (and even a certain possessiveness) for stationary. Even in office we've had conversations specifically pertaining to stationary. If you pick up a pencil from Sai's table (and there are a few different kinds that you'll find there), he'll immediately notice its absence. Every time I have seen Harshitha in a space where notebooks were on sale, she has always picked up atleast one. Nikhil carries around a sketchpad and basic black pens with him and I've seen him pull them out in a restaurant and start sketching.
The shopaholic in me definitely comes alive in a stationary store and its not always pretty. So, over the years I have landed up with a whole bunch of stationary ranging from colourful patterned tape to punching machines with reindeer shaped cutouts - things that I really really wanted but haven't ever used. Now when I find myself in a stationary store I consciously practice self-restraint. Today while I was shopping at commercial street, I found myself in a stationary store yet again. The concept of practicing self-restraint really did help. I walked into the store, looked around to my heart's content and walked out with only 1 thing that I wanted but didn't particularly need. Quite an achievement, don't you think?

-Mannat 

Striving to Sketch

I have previously spoken about the basic skills that one must possess as an architect and sketching really is an important part of the skillset (Read more about the other skills here). Before this I never ever thought I could sketch and so it was something that I never even attempted to do. I always enjoyed watching others sketch and I'm alway in awe at the end products Nikhil, Akshay and Clarence deliver (occasionally feeling slightly envious too).

Today at one point my brain felt fried - I guess working on excel and estimates for 2 days straight had that effect on me. I desperately needed a change and decided to finally give sketching a shot. The first attempt wasn't so much sketching as it was tracing over a plan that Nikhil had sketched out. The end result was definitely not comparable with Nikhil's but I made two interesting discoveries in the process - 1. I can actually sketch to some extent and 2. I really really enjoyed it. 

Feeling slightly more confident I asked Nikhil to give me something a little more challenging to trace over - bad idea! While a basic plan or section was something I could replicate, a view turned out to be too much for me. Still rather than feeling dejected I decided to try my hand at simpler things first and build it up slowly. Nikhil then insisted that I actually sketch and not just trace. I tried out a simple isometric of the cabinet right next to our table and the results weren't so bad either. I have been converted from someone who had sworn off sketching as something I can't do to someone who is working to slowly and steadily develop the skill. I'm quite excited to see where this goes in the meantime here are some of Nikhil's sketches for you guys to see what my inspiration was...

-Mannat  

Pump it Up

Over the past couple of days the energy within the office has not been quite as it was earlier. Yes, the number of people in the office has been fluctuating with more and more of us on site or in the workshop but the energy too has been fluctuating. Today we decided we'd had enough with the low levels of energy and what better way to make thing livelier than to pump up the music!
Rather than playing from our laptops, we connected to the speaker and let the music just play as loud as possible. We took turns selecting the kind of songs and the playlists - when it was Ananya's turn she totally freaked out about it. Deciding on the songs was freaking her out and we decided to move to the next person (which happened to be me) instead - having someone freaking out would have totally gone against the whole point. The best part about music is that it doesn't have a language. Whether Akshay plays Malyalam songs or I switch to my Punjabi jam, everyone seemed to be enjoying it all the same. In fact while we were at this we even decided on a bit of a quick clean up and reorganise just to keep the same energy flowing! The music really made a difference and I for one am really glad that Sandarbh is the kind of office space that promotes and explores visual and performing arts alongside architecture!

-Mannat

The last leg

First and foremost I'd like to start off by wishing Harshitha a very very Happy Birthday. And just so happens, I got to accompany the birthday girl for a meeting at a project that is in its last leg. This particular residence was one of the first that I had visited when I started here, and today as I am on site I see a drastic difference. The play of levels, the corner windows, the various patios, sit-outs, decks, terraces and balconies - each feature that had captured my attention in my first visit were all enhanced with the help of the interior finishes. Back then it was just a site but today I saw the beginnings of a home!
The 80-20 ratio that Sai often talks of was becoming more and more obvious as I went around the site. The concept is simple- it takes 20% of effort to get 80%/ work done but that  remaining 20% work requires 80% of effort. I had previously discussed this with Kruti and understood this in a different context of an interiors project. But today I could relate this to an entire project that was built from scratch. To an outsider the changes from the point when I had first seen the residence to today would probably not amount to much, but when you're aware of the effort that has gone in thee differences really stand out. That last 20% has taken a whole lot of effort from the team on site as well as the team in office but the result is certainly worth it!

-Mannat