Architecture gives me the best opportunity to practice my ecological design principles. The aim is to show that construction can be economical and nature-friendly at the same time.
Here are some completed projects including a resort, a couple of bungalows and an office building.
Bungalow [RaBV] @ Nasrapur, Karjat
[Completion Stage]
Set on the edge of a hill that slopes down to a river, this home - for a couple who want to live there - has a huge verandah with a fantastic view of not just the river but the Garbat plateau and Matheran as well.
Farmhouse [BAli] @ Nasrapur, Karjat
[Construction Stage]
Situated a stone's throw from the [RaBV] bungalow, this design is diametrically opposite to the other. As opposed to being lifted off the ground, it is, instead partially sunk to become a part of the surrounding landscape.
![Cross section through [Ruby] bungalow](images/arch_ruby_section.th.png)
Vacation Home [Ruby] @ Murbad Road
[Tendering Stage]
Set far, far away from the maddening crowd this to be built near the base of Bhimashankar which towers over it. Being such a distance, I agreed to only do the design with just 4 site visits. Construction and supervision for this project will have to be the client's responsibility.
Weekend Getaway [RajM] @ Zirad, Alibaug
[Final Design Stage]
With fully grown Karanj trees lining the border of this site, the place it is cool almost throughout the year. The design calls for large open spaces - in fact, half the ground floor has nothing but a trellis to separate it from the outside.
An important part of the portfolio, interior design is where most of the work has been carried out. Dozens of commercial and residential projects have been completed in and around Bombay since the first office designed in 1993. Here, because ecological considerations are often diametrically opposite to economics, I've had less success in convincing clients to use sustainable materials. That has not stymied my effort to bridge this gap however.
Playschool [Casa] @ Warden Road, Mumbai
[Work in Progress]
This popular playschool in a heritage building gets a face-lift in phases: every time there is a vacation, a couple of classrooms are renovated. before we started working on it, everything had been ad-hoc but now, as the work approaches completion, the atmosphere has completely changed.
Apartment [MKal] @ Mahalaxmi, Mumbai
[Work in Progress]
The clients have bought an apartment in a spanking new construction but the entire place needs renovation anyway because, as we all know, builders cut too many corners...
Common Toilets [VInB] @ Churchgate, Mumbai
[Work in Progress]
This is not the kind of work one is very happy talking about but it's for an old client who said that the common toilets on their office floor needed renovation. That, as it turned out, was a bit of an understatement.
