Prof. Charanjit Singh Shah
Founding Principal-Creative Group
The following excerpt is the recollection from an exclusive interview with industry pioneering force and architect Professor Charanjit Singh Shah, who shares his experience of over 50 years in the field of building and sustainable architecture.
Professor Charanjit Singh Shah has a 50 year legacy of practice in architecture, since 1970. He was practically born in a refugee camp in purana qila. His family migrated from a part of India that is now called Pakistan. His journey was such that his parents came barefoot to this beautiful land. He was born in the refugee camp and slowly studied his way to get into architecture.At the start of it, he recalls that his parents thought civil engineering was a good idea
ANUP NAIK
Co-Founder & Director-Urban Frame (Space Matrix Group Company)
Anup Naik is a pioneering force in the world of architecture. Bringing design and design practice into perspective, this article is a recall of an interview conducted by the Best Creators. The entire conversation has been broken down into comprehendible portions loaded with information, that everybody in the fraternity, from all walks of life can surely benefit from.
To explore the people behind this wonderful industry, a set of questions were asked to the Anup, the Founder Director of Urban Frame Pvt Ltd.The pointers recorded were an eye-opening experience intended to be shared with the fraternity, to learn and grow from each other’s experiences Anup expressed the ever-evolving nature of thought, in an industry that is driven by the creative.
Sabina Reddy
Director – M Moser Associates
Sabina Reddy, an architect with a decorated career at the forefront of innovation in this industry. She graced us with valuable knowledge and insights into her career that have defined the modern landscape of architecture in India. She started her practice in Delhi, where she worked for a year and then moved abroad to gain more exposure. She was brought up in Delhi, and her parents shifted to Hyderabad where she began to explore her inspiration to become an architect.
She joined a company in Bombay during the early stages of her career, and began working on corporate interiors. A company called RSP took notice of her efforts and got her onboard. She spent ten years evolving with the trends and designs of architecture in various parts of the country. She later joined Moser, as an experienced architect who helped set up their South India office and got into the flow of embracing true leadership.As we exchanged ideas, Sabina shared some powerful messages for the fraternity and we delved into
Ashish Sachdev
Founder & Principal Architect-ADEelite Design Consultants Pvt Ltd
Ashish Sachdev an architect, graduated from Mysore University MCE Hassan in the year 2000. He started his journey into the world of architecture with Mathias Consultants.
In 2003, he joined RSP, where he was there till 2009, for almost 8 years. Post that, in 2010 Ashish started the firm AdEelite. In his interview, he expressed the satisfaction of completing the 21st year in 2021. His successes and enthusiasm are a clear reflection of the leaps taken to contribute to the world of architecture and building design.
He said, my first office that I joined was Mathias consultants, we experimented
Rachita Khanna
Associate Director, Design-SWBI Architects
Rachita ’s story of her design career is a truly fascinating.She completed her architecture in India in 1999, after which she moved to Bahrain. The firm she was working for later posted her in New York, during the early stages of her career. It was during the Twin Towers incident, that she moved back to India. During, this time Rachita had children and settled in India as an architect and designer.
For more than 20 years,she has been pioneering architectural design and philosophy at SWBI. The journey has been filled with challenges and the Best Creators were graced with her insightful views about the fraternity and the way forward. We have dissected the interview into key segments to shed light on the propensity and vigour required to excel at the top of architecture.
Shivani Gour
Studio Director, Associate, Design Synergy Leader–Gensler
Shivani Gour was born and brought up in Delhi. She was brought up in a joint family, that has a lot of influence in her connect with the social and cultural context of what she designs. It has come from the way she was brought up to pay close attention to what others require. She completed her schooling from a convent in Delhi and later went on to graduate from CEPT, Ahmedabad.
She owes a great deal of her success to the formative years spent at CEPT that molded her approach towards Design. Her initial years in the professional world were exploratory, where she tried her hands on interactive museums, exhibitions, furniture design, and craft-based designs. She further moved on to a more core Interior’s practice in the Hospitality and Retail world.She worked She worked with firms like PSDA and HBA,
Ashish Puri
Director, Interior Design Services-Colliers
Ashish Puri, Director, Interior Design Services at Colliers. He has over 19 years of experience, working in the industry as a designer. He states that experiences begin when you first walk into your first job office. He first started his career with Atelier, in 2004 afterward moving to Synergy.
When Colliers acquired Synergy in 2019 September, Ashish Puri was part of every step of this evolution. He spent close to 15 years with Colliers and continues to lead at the forefront of design and architecture. His experiences shared with the Best Creators are a shining beacon for the rest of the fraternity, to impart learnings and strategize the path forward in the world of building and design.He first moved to Bengaluru when he secured a seat in architecture at the RVCE.
SUDHEERA MURE
Entrepreneur and Former Director, Katerra
Sudheera Mure is an architect. She is a member of Council of Architecture and Indian Institute of Architects. She has 25 years of experience, where the first 5 years of her decorated career in architecture was with Kharche Associates in Chennai. She says that her 20 years plus experience is in interiors (with DSP/KGD/Katerra), a happening, high energy and fast paced domain.
She is also a member of Wirenet. She states that design is one profession, you never get bored of. That’s the advantage of being in the creative field and her success is a mirror of this commitment. She believes creativity reflects in personal life, how you deal with things and how your personality is shaped over the years. She says, “Your professional life does reflect in your personal life. It will create a positive impact on your personal life.”
Sharmila Lakshman
Associate, Design M Moser Associates
Sharmila Lakshman, expert in the field of architecture and design. Her experiences in the industry have been condensed in this blog, in an attempt to impart wisdom and learning to the entire fraternity.
Sharmila began with an emphasis on the functionality of design. Her deep insights revealed a lot about the way a designer’s mind works. She introduced aesthetics as a fundamental, yet functionality as the core of architecture. With immense experience in creating corporate environments, recreational areas, institutional architecture and more, her 6 years at Aeon were a pivotal aspect of her journey in architecture.
Vistasp Bhagwagar
Principal Architect – Architect Vistasp & Associates
Vistasp Bhagwagar’s some insightful projections about the nature of Architecture in the 21st century, and how varying influences have evolved in the field of building and design. With over 25 years of experience, Vistasp Bhagwagar’s journey has been of an overachieving schoolboy who did everything in school the right way. From his words, we learned a lot about the ambitious force in the field of architecture that he is.
He used to enjoy drawing, painting caricature, winning painting competitions, school newspaper, and a lot of creative things at an early age. It was very natural that he was good at drawing and thus wanted to get into design. So, he got into 3 schools of architecture, finally settling into the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi in 1987. He came last in the exam because there were limited seats. But, when he finished after 5 years he was awarded two gold medals and was the topper in the whole batch.That’s the story of his undergrad, after which Vistasp moved to the UK and acquired a master’s in Urban Design
Vijaya bhargav
Partner-Ostraca
Vijaya bhargav is a founding partner of Bangalore based design firm Ostraca and has over 25 years of experience in the field of design and architecture, In a freewheeling interview with Best Creators, she shared highlights of her professional journey and her mantra for success. She also offered practical insights, incisive ideas and actionable pointers that serve as a toolkit while designing solutions for clients’ requirements.
At the start of my career, I focused on residential architecture, hospitality architecture and so on. While designing an office building for a software company, we were asked for suggestions on the interiors. The client liked our design ideas and our interactions with their team and offered us our first
AR Gurkiran Sanga
Principal Architect | Former Head Design-Space Matrix Design Consultants Pvt Ltd, Bangalore
In this industry, professionals have experienced the industry in a big way. At times, their experiences aren’t traveling to others in the industry that can solve many problems that many people face. Best Creators was born with the intention to bring in the best creators, architects, builders, turnkey contractors, designers, and suppliers to share their experiences, philosophies, and challenges that have helped them grow in the industry.
The following extract is from the Best Creators interview with Gurkiran Sanga, an experienced architect with a world of wisdom to share. Her powerful insights were very valuable to the discourse of the expectations in the industry and how strong values are the guiding force in any person’s life. We were thrilled to record her responses as she offered advice that is beneficial for the entire fraternity. Clearly, we saw the leader that has spearheaded numerous projects with her strong values and philosophies.
Shweta Grover
Director-CRE, DSP Design
The following extract is from the Best Creators interview with Shweta Grover, an industry leader in the field of architecture and design. As we explore the experiences and learnings of the industry, we take to the pioneering forces in the world of architecture and construction. The excerpt reveals powerful ideas that fuel the progression of modern architecture into the forefront of innovative technologies and best practices.
“I did architecture from Delhi and I will not say that I was totally tuned into what being an architect was. More than two decades back, we di’t have that kind of exposure to what field we choose to take. I spent my college years, 5 years in Delhi. I was always a self-ambitious and driven person, insisting that whatever I did should be done well. I started working with top professionals, like pioneers of architecture in Delhi. Ranjit Sabikhi, Sumit Ghosh, and other top firms comprised of my six years after college, mainly large scale developments in commercial and residential.