It gets easier to explore vernacular and traditional practices when supported by a huge community of practitioners or in large-scale established organizations. But to dare explore it independently in your practice while either making it your all or practicing beside the prevalent style a firm or an architect is engaged in is something to be of great appreciation. Find the 10 architects enlisted below that choose to honor craftsmanship in their unique style:
1. Komal Mittal & Ninada Kashyap – Alkove Design
Alkove Design was founded in 2013, by the sensitive and practical prowess of Ninada Kashyap and Komal Mittal, architects and interior designers duo from Pune. The architects are rooted enough in their culture to create a stir from their simple yet stirring respect towards craftsmanship, sustainable choices, and materializing the client’s vision beautifully. A documentary on their residential project highlights meticulous consideration of pedestrian and vehicular experiences, along with a light-centric courtyard and terrace design that seamlessly blends the boundaries of the outdoors with the indoors, all achieved by using locally sourced materials and flooring. The practical designs of Alkove are not only easy to maintain but also allow clients to feel grounded in their culture while enjoying the benefits and amalgamations of the modern era.
2. Yogananda M.R – Mahijaa, Bengaluru;Karnataka
Mahijaa is a design consultancy firm; derived from parent firm Mrinmayee, a consultancy on Mud blocks, building alternatives, and material testing laboratory. Mrinmayee also has a sister firm that manufactures manually operated Mud blocks that don’t need any electric or energy-consuming support. This sister firm is called Maheemaya. The foundation of such practice was laid during the building process of M.R. Yogananda’s house, while working with KSCT/ASTRA, IISc, using Stablisied Mud Blocks. The interest of the people laid the foundation of Mrinmayee, in 1988,
Mahijaa works with low embodied energy and eco-friendly designs. So far their tried and tested years of research and practice have allowed them to expand their horizons in multi-storied structures and designs for Residences, Schools, Hospitals, Corporate Offices, and Renovation and Restoration works. One of their projects has also been published on eco homes on YouTube, as an NRI couple home, who returned to India to find solace in their roots, to not only leave zero imprint on the planet but only gain extra resources from their eco-friendly abode.
Website: http://www.mahijaa.com/
3. Dinaker Manie – Bricks and Beams, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
In older times, people lived in intricately detailed houses, filled with antiques and the right color palette that transports you to an older-style home. Bricks and Beams is a firm, that loves to intricately design interiors and structures taking you to a vintage era, with items personally picked by the team and principal architect’s travels. Headed by Dinesh Maine, in Pudichury Kerala, the firm is distinguished for bringing warmth, individuality, and attention to detail. Driven by the simple belief that great design brings greater quality to life, the company’s past and current projects include homes, retail spaces, and work environments, based on three decades of research and expertise to offer impeccable art of living for their clients.
Website: http://www.bricksanbeams.in/
4. Mitali Aharam – Crafted Spaces
Crafted Spaces, established in October 2014 and currently led by Mitali Aharam, specializes in hospitality design, focusing on restaurants, residences, and offices. They excel at making a modern space to include elements of Indian Heritage, without neglecting the functional requirements of a space. They transform spaces without compromising functionality, by infusing vibrant craftsmanship to the most mundane environments.Crafted Spaces has successfully delivered projects ranging from minimalistic designs to the charm of Santorini, Greece, and rich cultural heritage styles. By skillfully blending contemporary design principles with colorful craftsmanship, the firm brings a unique touch to every project.
Website: https://www.craftedspaces.co.in/
5. Shipra Singhania – Sketch Design Studio, (Headquarters, Rajasthan)
The studio provides two parallel services, they build natural structures made of mud, lime, and stone while also providing simple character interior design services tailored to per client’s character. They have also built mudhouses, inspired by permaculture i.e. building houses from construction materials that are edible. The innovation with natural building techniques, curated with thoughtfully crafted interiors is what makes them unique. The simplicity of their structural building, extends to their interior design aspect, with simple clean lines all the while eliminating unnecessary elements, colliding with the consumerism values in the interior.
Website: https://www.designatsketch.in/
6. Vinod Kumar MM – DD Architects
DD Architects under the leadership of Director, Vinod Kumar MM, stands on a firm foundation of 20+ years of research as they immerse themselves in the rich heritage of the traditional world, delivering it to their clients as if normalizing and complementing the modern era. They have worked on various significant heritage projects, minimizing alterations and practicing conservation by deploying expert local craftsmanship, materials, and traditional practices. Their designs transport you to ancient eras, yet they are stronger, more unique, and beautified simplistically, with little to no intervention, only conservation required. They have covered a multitude of projects, including residences, old Vedic structures, landscapes, and heritage buildings, based on a foundation of traditional texts.
7. Rahul Deshpande (Eco Spiritualist and Rural Reconstructor)
“There is more to life, than increasing its speed of.”, Mr. Deshpande quotes Mahatma Gandhi, he explains in one of his YouTube documentaries about how the pace Just like how we have switched from the typical way of cooking rise to a fast pace of pressure cooker. Such that, we have also adopted the fast-paced construction methodology and materials, that have contributed to our lifestyle today. Mr. Deshpande advocates for sustainable living by showcasing practices that honor Mother Nature, including mud flooring, thermal insulating mud roof tiles, solar cookers, natural refrigerators, and innovative use of bio-gas from the kitchen garden—manifesting a harmonious blend of traditional wisdom and eco-conscious living.
8. Landscape Ar. Hemanshu Taneja & Ar. Aditi Taneja – Studio HA, Jaipur
Studio HA, led by Hemanshu and Aditi Taneja, is a landscape architecture and landscape conservation firm, that has several times addressed in their talks how nature is their real client, and their focus is to respond to nature and the local context of the community they are serving to. Their projects are reviving Natural Heritage and breathing life into restored Heritage projects, with a lucrative mix of Native and aesthetic flora. Their projects sometimes look naturally crafted by nature, while sometimes adding refined touches to contemporary projects. Studio HA is also known to advocate for considering the participation of landscape architects, biologists, or sensitivity-perceiving projects in its initial stages of conception so that gruesome mistakes can be avoided, which puts the buildings, people, and nature in the position of harm.
Website: www.studioha.in
9. Ar. Saurabh Malpani – Aartha Studio & Institute
Aartha Studio (India, Pune) headed by Saurabh Malpani as co-founder and Principal Architect, while recognized largely with many prestigious awards; globally – Aartha Institute educates about the bounty of diversity gathered from nature and society to enhance design practices. The studio doesn’t have a set style, even bounded by the limits of its belief systems; the design influencers are the context, climate, culture, and people. The vernacular architecture of the space inspires the studio’s work, as the building takes up only the necessary resources and space, not ruining but giving back to the land it stands upon, justifying its word of meaning in the creation and existence, “Artha”.
Website:
10. Ar. Mayan Anand – Mayank Anand Architecture and Interiors
At MA.AI design studio, offers experiential architectural spaces, that bring in luxury in any pocket of land. One of his signature projects is the architect’s mother’s down-sized house, as the designer ensured her transition although thoughtful to cut down the footprint, should not cut down on the luxury of the space that was reflected in the client’s grandeur property. The firm utilizes local resources, refurbished lumbar, and natural materials wherever possible very uniquely. Creating drama, a set of royalty from repurposing architectural elements for example using door frames for swing or on ceiling, and many untapped potentials, uniquely put together, that help clients reimagine their interactions with daily use objects. Making people open horizons from what they are familiar with.
CITATIONS:
How Couples Built their Dream Eco Friendly House Made of Mud | Sustainable living ! (2022). Eco Films. 24 June. Available at: https://youtu.be/Dd4Bsqbwf8Y?si=LFNAOPYcuJNgNnpO (Accessed: 19 December 2023).
Mahijaa (2023). Projects. [online]. Available at: http://www.mahijaa.com/ [Accessed date: 16 December 2023].
Bricks and Beams (2023). Projects. [online]. Available at: http://www.bricksanbeams.in/ [Accessed date: 16 December 2023].
Crafted Spaces (2023). Projects. [online]. Available at: https://www.craftedspaces.co.in/ [Accessed date: 16 December 2023].
Sketch Design Studio(2023). Projects. [online]. Available at: https://www.designatsketch.in/ [Accessed date: 16 December 2023].
dd Architects(2023). Projects. [online]. Available at: https://ddarchitects.in/our-team.html [Accessed date: 14 December 2023].
Eco-Friendly House of Mr. Rahul Deshpande. | Amazing Architecture | Eco-Friendly | Full HD (2017). Rahul Deshpande. 8 September. Available at: https://youtu.be/QZN7jz4kBRI?si=3hI3guZsXZ19xeQY (Accessed: 19 December 2023).
Laungani, P, and Taneja, H. (2023). Discussing Projects and Philosophy of Studio HA.
My Great Facade | Aaranyak, Nashik | By Artha Studio (2021). Fenesta Building Systems . 11 October. Available at: https://youtu.be/SBjRWzbVTM4?si=JmntAvzMaomKtie2 (Accessed: 19 December 2023).
Artha Studio(2023). Work. [online]. Available at: https://arthastudio.com/home/ [Accessed date: 17 December 2023].
Khan, Z. (2020) History and heritage merge inside designer Mayank Anand’s home in Jalandhar, India, STIRworld. Available at: https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-history-and-heritage-merge-inside-designer-mayank-anand-s-home-in-jalandhar-india (Accessed: 19 December 2023).
This 2,040 Sq. Ft. Jalandhar Home is Straight Out of a Period Drama Film (Home Tour). (2023). Buildofy. 1 December. Available at: https://youtu.be/nEcM2sUWN2M?si=a7rrcsm3-2mZeS-L (Accessed: 19 December 2023).
