With a legacy of more than 60+ years, we bring to you an Architectural Firm like no other. Started by Mr. B.G Bhatt in 1955, Architectural Corner has designed over 100 cinema houses in the country and the famous Juhu Vile Parle Development Scheme in Mumbai.
In the current changing times we spoke to Mr. Udayan Bhat, a core team member of Architectural Corner, to unravel the fascinating journey that he and the company have had over the past 3 decades.
Having witnessed so many decades of work in the field of architecture, in your personal experience how is the field evolving?
“Architecture according to me is a way of life, it is how you look at things. I remember in my college days we had a very famous teacher who told me something that stayed with me till date, he said that ‘Udayan I can’t teach you design, it’s either in you or not. If a teacher tells you that he can teach you how to design, he’s lying. Because I can just guide you and hone your skills, the rest is on you.’
I feel in the present times, more than the architects, the clients fail to see this and they rather have us replicate pictures or designs from Pinterest or Instagram or follow a trend. As a creative person, I think it’s important to understand what you really want, whether you want to follow trends and achieve that number one position in the industry, or keep exploring your own creative side.
A lot of architecture today is Instagram architecture, where the emphasis is on visual appeal. But honestly, if it is a good home or a home where a person is truly comfortable it will never be picture perfect. There has to be some personality to the space, which will make it a bit off and not perfect. There are so many people who have chairs in their homes that they don’t even use, but they look good in a frame. Personally, I’m not a fan of this type of designing.”
What according to you is vital for an Architect during the design process?
“I’ve spent a lot of my time teaching Architecture as well because when we were students most of our teachers just had theoretical knowledge; very few of them had actually practiced Architecture. So I felt it was important for students to have interactions with teachers who’ve in reality practiced Architecture as well.
A thing that has become evident to me is that in the present context space is broken down into tiny elements and the larger focus is on the elements. This reflects in designs today where the focus is smaller elements rather than the design on whole.
I think as designers we need to put our personal taste aside and actually consider what the client’s requirements are. Let your client be happy, let them be comfortable, only then you’ll be able to design a home and not a house.”
You have a history of designing more than 100 auditoriums and cinemas. How is designing a space like that different from the rest?
“Well apart from the technical aspect, even while designing auditoriums or theatres our focus has always been user experience. In all the commercial places we’ve designed, we’ve always been there to see the first show or experience the first day because we want to see the audience or client’s reaction. For us, it’s always been about the user experience, no matter what the space is.”
Having spent so much time at home do you think the pandemic has bought about a change in the client’s tastes and requirements?
“I feel the pandemic has made people want to have homes that they can enjoy. I have always been a fan of minimalism and well-ventilated homes. So most of the spaces I’ve designed I use to always include a nice terrace in the plan. Most of the clients would be against it but during the pandemic I got calls from all of them, to thank me for designing open spaces in their homes.
I’ve fought with many builders to include balconies in project designs, to emphasize the importance of stepping out. Today most people have realized the importance of this too, and not just in the retail segment. I see this difference in builders too because they’ve finally realized that leaving a little open space in the projects indeed increases the value of the space.”
Do you think that mindfulness will gain popularity in the field of Architecture post the pandemic?
“I’m not sure if it will, but I do hope that it does! Unfortunately, humans have a very short memory. The moment things get back to normal we will go back to making the same mistakes again. You would have heard most people who travel say, ‘I loved cycling in this country, or I loved the fact that I could walk to places.’ But none of them think about bringing the same culture back to where they live.
We have the potential to achieve all of this in India too, but we, unfortunately, do not prioritize it. People need to understand that designing a space is not just about the building, it is also about landscaping and other technicalities. We need to change our attitude from beautification to a positive impact on a space. Greens, sunlight, free space all are a must in design.
I’ll give you a small example, I’ve worked with a lot of auditoriums and realized that acoustics are important for any space that is in a crowded area. My office has acoustics, so people can focus on their work and not the traffic. But when I advise some people to use them, their initial reaction is that acoustics are for theatres. I’m hoping this mindset will change and people will acknowledge the professional advice they get for the overall betterment of their spaces. A positive and well-designed space has an impact on the wellbeing of an individual, it’s about time people acknowledged and accepted this.”
Would you like to share a project that is very close to your heart?
“Honestly I don’t really have a favorite project because for me it’s about making memories with each project. My mantra is to have fun and enjoy the process; I propagate the same to my team. But yes there have been many memorable projects along the way. I loved working on the Chitra cinema because the client gave us a free hand and asked me to design it based on my design sensibilities. St Andrews church is another favorite.
Let me share the story of designing Bounce Trampoline Park at Infinity Malad with you. So Bounce is an Australian company and in our first meeting, they gave us a long explanation on how things need to be done. I told them to hand over all the technical information to us and leave the designing bit to our team. Their team had a stereotypical notion about Indian design firms and thought that we wouldn’t be able to finish the project in less than 30 weeks. They even left a supervisor back here to keep track of us.
From start to finish we handed over the project in 132 days (less than 20 weeks). The funny thing is the member of the team who was stationed here was so fascinated with our working style that he use to take videos of us working and share it back to his team in Australia, asking them to replicate our methods.
When we had the launch party for the park, the supervisor from the initial meeting was present and he apologized to me stating that ‘we had two projects running side by side, yours and one in Dubai. And we always thought that the Dubai one would finish before time, but you guys shocked us with your delivery and your quality.’
It’s stories like these that make our work memorable and challenging.”
We know you’ve worked on many diverse projects, but do you have anything left from your checklist that you’d love to design?
“As a firm we’ve been very lucky as we’ve worked on a diverse range of projects, we’ve designed all types of religious places, commercial spaces so I don’t have anything specific in mind. But I would love to work on anything unique.”
