Altering Our Course.

In these memoirs of daily life that we put up on our blog, we often forget to mention half of our story: the half of the story that depicts the realization of the work that is done within the four walls of our office. What I’m talking about, is the substantial chunk of behind the scenes action that unfurls on our various sites- slowly, but steadily.

As students, we are often told that architects are ‘the creative folk’; the people who design but don’t necessarily need to get into the nitty-gritty details of the actual construction. But that is so untrue! I don’t pretend to know how other places work, but that is definitely not how we work. There are an equal number of people on site, as they are in office- scheduling, helping, directing and facilitating the work that needs to be done. When I tell you that I hadn’t seen one or two people from our office till yesterday but knew about them and the projects they were working on, I’m not joking. This can be attributed to the constant stream of messages that pour in on our office chat, day in and day out, from 8am to even 9pm, detailing the progress, and addressing the issues that inadvertently arise on site.

The reason I am writing about this today is because, as an office, we strive towards learning and growing to the best of our abilities and that can only happen, when we learn from our each other and the people around us. And so, starting from now, we will try to split the focus of these blogs between both our office lives- the indoor and outdoor ones.

Hope you’re as excited about this as I am,
So long,
Namitha.

Fitting into the Venn Diagram of Shopping.

In a venn diagram of shopping enthusiasts and non-fans, there is a small intersection of people who don’t mind shopping for others. As a designer, it is almost necessary to fall into that category (even if you do so begrudgingly); because there are days where you spend all your time hauling yourself and your client across the town on various, undecided modes of transportation from one shop to the next- picking, sorting, rejecting and finalizing all the different elements that come together to form a cohesive, tangible space.

If the thought of that drains you, just imagine the lethargy you will be faced with when you factor in the notorious Bangalore traffic, the subsequent pollution, dust and a constant cacophony of noises. But let me take a step back to tell you that it wasn’t bad at all. Bangalore decided to be nice to us by maintaining a pleasant temperament in terms of both weather and traffic; and our client helped us a great deal by being precise, practical and to be very honest, tirelessly sprightly. Within 7 hours, we had built a comprehensive itinerary of everything from granite to geysers, along with a fair idea of the menu we spent quite some time perusing during lunch.

It would be quite deceptive to say that there were no snags at all and that we were left as energetic at the end as we were at the beginning of this day-long quest for home-building materials; but it would be equally false to declare that it was as tiring and arduous as we anticipated it to be. In the end, I guess, it should suffice to say that my first shopping trip as a part of this office was quite the success, especially since it ended with some crunchy, cheesy fries!

Until tomorrow,
Namitha.

The Architect or the Client?

As an architect, sometimes a part of our job includes convincing clients about changing decisions for designs we think works better for their home. While we go by our client's opinions most of the time, there are times when we feel strongly about a few decisions.
"Trust me when I tell you this", I have heard Sai suggest a few clients. When listening to this, I totally understand why Sai might be saying it. Sometimes as architects, we understand the usability of the spaces probably better than the client.

But what happens when you are in a scenario when you are both the architect and the client?

Recently, my parents decided to give Sandarbh the project of renovating my ancestral house. I was super excited about this .'How awesome would that be', I thought. I would get a chance to be a part of every design process. From each tile to every partition, my input would be included for every part of the house. How often would I get the chance to redesign the house my ancestors built and lived in? It was a great privilege. I was sure I was more the architect than the client for this one. We were going to do a great job on this. 

A few weeks into the design process and I wasn't sure about this anymore. As Meghna began to design the first cut of the house, I began to feel myself being uncomfortable. 'How can she shift that space? That's the space where my grandma spent her mornings. That along with a hundred other similar questions in my head wouldn't let myself willingly accept any changes bought to the house.

 'So what if the spaces are smaller?', I would think.  It's worked well all this while.

It was a constant war between the architect and the client inside me.

As this project moves forward, the experience of being the client working in the architect's office is probably going to change the way I look at clients who come to our office asking us to redesign their home. I realize that architecture is way more than a couple of walls enclosing a space. It's about feelings, about emotions and about the way people remember their fondest memories. 

Architecture a 24/7 job

Writing a blog post is a little like driving. You could study for months, read a billion articles on the driving, regulation and how to change the gear. But nothing could prepare you for the real thing. That is sitting behind a wheel and driving through the city traffic, i.e. the Indian city traffic.

I would say Architecture would be the same in this matter. You can spend five years learning about this profession but nothing really prepares you for the 24/7 commitment the job requires. This has come to my notice as I continue my internship at Sandarbh. Recently Sai went out of town with his family to celebrate Vishu. And though he was away he still was always in contact, messaging on our group and giving instruction. Same went for anyone in our office. Even though we would take an off we would volunteer to work on our assigned duties.

Yes, people "volunteer" to be the key word here. We opted to work from home. And I realized it was because not only was each one of us is dedicated to our duties but it is because we cared.

Architecture is a 24/7 job. It is something you hear everyone say. But what they don’t tell you is that it isn’t a 24/7 job that you have to do, it is a 24/7 job that you would want to do.

Stories - continued

Each person is unique, so are their stories. The definition for luxury for me isn't the same as the definition of luxury for you. 

So, in continuation to yesterday's post, (you can find it here) - you can ask me, how do we bring your story to your design?

The definition of luxury changes from person to person - the 5 year old and her mother, the husband and the wife, the architects and their clients . While we know that the minimum requirement for every line we draw, every design we make, every house we design is beauty, how do we know if your sense of beauty is the same as the one we try to achieve?

For some, luxury may mean largeness, huge scale, for others, it maybe the beauty of the material that brings luxury. You can love the imperfections of the hand made tiles, or find beauty in the rhythm of straight lines. Your garden may be a space you want to spend your weekends with your family around or a space where you watch the rain fall while sipping coffee from the porch. Luxury could be in the functionality or it could be in the aesthetics. You may get excited by the wall covered by books or the elaborate AV room that you possess. 

How do you define your sense of luxury? 

So, we start from day one. We develop a process that makes sure that your ideas have a space to develop.We ask you questions, we exchange ideas, we have conversations which might digress far away from Architecture.  We take help from other inspirations around the world. We develop mood boards, we exchange sketches, we ask you to criticize. From the first hand sketch to the final working drawings and the modifications through them, together we understand and define your sense of luxury.

And ,in this journey of discovering stories, your home is created.

Best Wishes

So today I was assigned with the task of writing a regret letter for the next batch of interns who were not selected through the process. And though I kept on telling Ananya that it should be short and sweet, for some reason or another she kept of telling me it shouldn’t be that. It shouldn’t be two lines telling the students who are starting with their architectural dreams that they are not good enough for an office.

I kind of agree. Rejections can be hard. And often painful. Infact according to a psychology study, rejection and physical pain seem very similar to our brains.

If words can be used to make people feel, why not have them feel a little better about themselves? Along with a minor setback why don’t we tell these amazing people that life still goes on, and so should your dreams!

This is to all the people who couldn’t make past the first level of selection. Our selection process is quite unconventional than other offices. We like to work with people who help us improve our practice and bring in fresh new ideas and enthusiasm.It is because we have a limitation in terms of number that we were not able to select you and not for the lack of your abilities.  I wish you the best of luck in life. And may we cross paths in a higher note once again. 

Best Wishes

Stories

When you come to our office for the first time with a set of requirements for the design of your home, it is quite possible that you get surprised with the questions we ask you.

We would want to know about your lifestyle, the little habits of yours, the nature of relationship between the members who are to stay in the house. We would ask you about your profession, how you spend your spare time, how you would be using your kitchen. Do you entertain a lot or prefer having quiet evenings with a cup of coffee? How was your childhood like? What are your hobbies? Do you have habits that you wish to change? Do you read? Are you a sunrise person or a midnight person?

The nature of the questions would probably remind you of the first time you visited your doctor.

But it is precisely this information that will eventually turn the house we design, into your home.

The bookshelf in the bathroom for the avid reader who spends a lot of time there in the morning hours. Or the pilot who needs his bedroom as private as possible for an undisturbed sleep after long flights. The positioning of the AV room for the movie buff who uses the space for unwinding after a long day at work. The travelers who would need space to display their travel souvenirs. The bay window meant for dogs rather than humans. The open jacuzzi, the room for the ham radio, the house with minimal number of doors - the story behind each architectural feature is unique.

This unique story of yours would be the driving factor behind the design of your home.

The Architect Holding a Camera

The best part of being a part two creative fields ( architecture and photography) is that you get the chance to go out and talk to people of diverse backgrounds, fields and experiences.

Today’s day of work was unexpectedly filled with complex terms like circular economy, waste management , environment degradation, Kyoto protocol etc. And despite being at a conference held by economists, environmentalists and scientists held for the benefit of future managers, the Architect holding a camera that I was today felt like I was a part of the talks more than I intended to be.

"Circular Economy for Global Sustainability – From Aspiration to Implementation", wasn’t a heading I thought would be coming across after I passed my tenth grade.

But surprisingly so, a lot of the speeches by the eminent guest who came together at the AIMS Institute caught a lot of my attention.

Most of the day was spent juggling around cables, batteries, cameras and SD cards. The rest of it went into holding the camera, checking the mikes and getting the settings right.

But after this long day of capturing these well known personalities speak about their contribution towards replenishing the natural resources, their thoughts of how you and me could help in saving the planet earth, we sat our car – sharing our thoughts about the economy and sustainability. Probably it’s time that you and me started thinking about the Earth and what we would do without her.

Hello All

All of you might have been reading Shreya's blogs here - as she continues writing for her Project 365. Now as she reaches a landmark of 40 blogs - telling the story about her internship, the work and her experience at the Sandarbh Design Studio, this inspired the writer in me to slowly start to wake up from a long pause from writing for Sandarbh (you can find a blog from about 4 months back here).

So , here I am taking a decision to start a new series - this time from an architect's point of view - 

To introduce myself, I am Ananya, an architect working at the Sandarbh Design Studio. My role in the office includes dealing with the client communication, the marketing and working with the interns. Although I joined the office with an intent to write as well, this role had taken a back seat as the rest of the work began to catch up to me.

So here I am, bringing it back - with a desire to give you an insight into the daily life at Sandarbh, the transformations and our office culture. 

Although I will be writing on behalf of Sandarbh, it will be my ideas and experiences as an individual more rather than the team's. And even though I have taken up something like a project 365, my blogs will not be appearing as regularly as Shreya's does here  - As my commitment to writing everyday will be spread across various platforms. I may be writing for RedMax Images - Leena and Sai's Photography venture as well.

Looking forward to sharing the tales of Sandarbh, our people, our projects, our clients and my experiences here.

Looking forward to hearing what you guys think about it.

Come back to this space for more!

Find your Tribe

In general terms inspiration is thought of this mystic force that hits you from time to time and just all the problems in your life gets sorted. It’s something that “comes along”, something you have no control over. Of course you can always wait for inspiration to strike and just work on other things, however what happens in case of a deadline? Or you need to get a project started? You can’t just sit around for this mystic force to strike! You have to go and make things happen.

You can find inspiration in almost everyone and everything.

Here is what I propose.

Surround yourself with people who share your passion.

At Sandarbh, believe me when I say, no two people are the same. Everyone is different, with different talents and hobbies.

Drashti makes amazing drawings.

Meghna is the sketcher.

Rambo wants to start with this carpentry hobby.

Ananya is the well read one.

Aafreen is the hustler.

And the list goes on and on and on.

However no matter how different we all may be we share the same love and passion for architecture. And so working in a symbiosis we not only achieve our goals but also have fun while at it.

We inspire and motivate each other constantly. And that is what keeps us moving forward.

So find yourself a group of crazy people who share your passion. 

Find your tribe. 

No matter how colorful they maybe, it will be worth it!

Mukti! Part 2

This blog post is is a part of a series on one of our ongoing projects – The Banarahalli Farmhouse. You can read the previous post here.

We were pleasantly surprised seeing the number of people who enjoyed reading about Mukti and her escape tactics! We are glad everybody liked her.

And since you guys liked her so much, I thought that you would be interested to see more of her.

Meet Mukti! 

And the guava tree she jumped out of!

You may be Dying!

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING! You may be suffering from a deadly disease! It may be taking over your life and you may not even know it!

Are you suffering from acute sleep loss?

Is your head spinning with nothing but thoughts of curing, excavation or toilet details?

Do you feel an adrenaline rush when you see perfect symmetry?

Are you having hangovers after an extensive night-out pondering over the juxtaposition of two masses that would extrapolate the Genisus loci and add to the whole phenomenological aspect while keeping in mind the purity of vernacular regionalism which would serve the ergonomy of the space?

If all these symptoms are a yes, I am sad to say you may be suffering from Archititis.

It is a chronic occurring, mostly communicable but often genetic.

Its symptoms also include,

• ·        Usage of unidentifiable jargon, such as cantilever, paradigm, aesthetic, monolithic, duality or zeitgeist.
• ·        Reoccurring dreams of site workers who may be doing it wrong.
• ·        Fear that the contractor will actually build the correction bubble on site.
• ·        Caffeine dependent
• ·        Searching for north in public spaces.
• ·        Criticizing the general “feel” of most malls
• ·        Trying to CTRL+S in real life

And much more.

If you have five or more of such symptoms. No need to connect to your nearest doctors. There are millions more like you out there. Living with the architecture affliction under the impression that it is a distinctive way of life.

If you are already one of us. Congratulations! We know you need a drink.

If you are yet to be one. Don’t worry, you will eventually die with this affliction. But so will everyone else on the planet with something or another.

So relax, and bask in the mad glory that is Architecture!

(Disclaimer: Information provided in this blog is just for lulz and not designed to hurt or offend anyone’s feelings. This blog should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition except from Archititis, which is very real and affects most of the people I know. However, the publisher or author are not responsible for any specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision and are not liable for any damages or negative consequences from any treatment, action, application or preparation, to any person reading or following the information in this blog. Lastly, I swear I love architecture XD)

Ideally Ideal

 Recently in the office we have been discussing about the idea of an ideal office space.

Being architects, obsessed with space planning naturally the discussion was a little over the top and frankly insane. Some want to paint the walls full of murals. Some even suggested to put up a workshop and have an art cafe. For some it is conditional, having the fridge stacked with beer, for others it was locational, with a corner office in a New York skyscraper overlooking the central park.

The bug really got into our ear when Meghna and Drashti sat on the tree house and overcame their creative block, coming up with an efficient strategy.

Anyone in a creative field understands the importance of an absorbing working space. The condition of your work space has a huge impact on the quality and productivity of your work.

But what is productivity? Is it sitting in a corner and completing your work for the day? It’s certainly no longer sitting on the desk and work with your head down all day long.

It might be about creating ideas, solving problems, and help team—mates get their next big idea.

In the past people used to have to sit on their desks and answer to calls and mails, but today one can do that— and any other work— from anywhere.

So does that mean, from a creative and logical point of view, having a desk is not important anymore?

Isn’t it more crucial to make sure people are connecting and brainstorming, like Meghna and Drashti on the tree house?

Aren't the walls with incomplete stories waiting to be filled more exciting than a coffee machine?

Isn’t a design for human potential, or for the intellectual and emotional intelligence more important than any corner office?

So let me ask again, what is this ideal office anyway?

Jaipur, A city of color

Amber Fort Jaipur. Photo by: Kiri

Jaipur has a charm of its own. The moment I stepped into this city some odd 9 years ago I knew I would love it.

And I was not disappointed.

A gateway to the flamboyant state of Rajasthan, Jaipur is one of the leading tourist destination of India. And it is not so by any luck, chance or proximity to the national capital, (thought that helps).

It is a symbiotic mix of the old and the new. Even though it has stepped into the 21^st century and is now a part of the Prime Minister’s “Smart City” initiative, Jaipur doesn’t forget its roots. Through the new there is always something old peeking like a reminder of its colorful past. An epitome to the Indian heritage it is the pink jewel of Rajasthan.

Wide roads cluttered with autos, rikshaws, motorbikes and Jaguars it is the city of indulgence. And by god do the people know how to indulge. One loses the sense of time while walking in the walled city, you wouldn’t want to leave unless you have seen every jharokha on its façade. At the heart of the old is the City Palace. Still a house to the Royal family of Jaipur. A little further is the formidable Amber fort. And if you go a little higher you come across Nahargarh fort. If you have an option, end your day there. With a magnificent view of the city and the sunset with a cold one in your hand.

It is hard not to get overwhelmed by its grandeur and heritage.

There is something for everyone in this city. Be it architecture, culture, color or even coffee.

Jaipur has a charm of its own…