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sitanshi talati-parikh

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Tag Archives: Design

With Love From Scandinavia

23 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Fashion & Style, Features & Trends, Publication: Mint Lounge

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Design, Designers, Fashion, Mint Lounge, Scandinavia

Published: Mint Lounge, September 23 edition
Additional images and content (end box) used in this post.

Screen Shot 2017-09-25 at 5.35.59 PM

Swedish philosopher and feminist Ellen Key described in her essay, Beauty For All (1899), a life that consisted of fewer but finer things—those that are functional and beautiful all at once. By the 1950s, Scandinavia (colloquially including the five countries of Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark) witnessed a design movement characterized by simplicity, minimalism and functionality. It’s a design sensibility influenced in part by the stark beauty of the Nordic landscape, the harsh northern climate and a lifestyle that is driven less by excess and more by fulfilment. The long winters and reduced sunlight, for instance, have designers creating bright, light and practical interiors. It is visible in art as well: late-19th century Swedish artist Carl Larsson was known for his brightly coloured paintings, while innovative, futuristic shapes dominated the works of the late Verner Panton, one of Denmark’s most influential 20th century furniture-and-interior designers. Contemporary interior brands like HAY and Ikea are Swedish exports to the world.

Screen Shot 2017-09-25 at 9.50.02 PMLifestyle scape by Hay.

With fashion, the focus is on functional—and often multifunctional wear—rather than occasional glamour. Importance is given to longevity, and there is a drive towards go-to staples that you can experiment with, add your own personality to and build your look around. Over the decades, from the bold prints of the 1960s and 1970s to the boho chic of the 1990s, the fashion sensibility of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and their neighbours has emerged as a distinctive “Scandi style”.

Today, you can’t make a trip to any of the European fashion capital cities without walking into a boutique devoted solely to Scandinavian fashion brands, not to mention its deep impact on wardrobes via high-street or upmarket streetwear, like H&M. It’s what the chic Parisians and Londoners are buying, and what global celebrities are headlining.

We bring you a lexicon of the fashion brigade from Scandinavia.

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ACNE Studios
Ambition to Create Novel Expressions (ACNE) is a 21-year-old brand that has bridged the gap between high fashion, ready-to-wear and streetwear, with its headquarters in Stockholm and outlets in major fashion capitals of the world.

Screen Shot 2017-09-25 at 5.42.04 PMFjällräven

Backpacks as utilitarian cool
Chasing functionality entwined with a “cool geek” sensibility are brands like Fjällräven and Sandqvist. Fjällräven uses G-1000, its own hardwearing and versatile fabric born from founder Åke Nordin’s experiments with building mountaineering jackets out of tent fabric, while Sandqvist is inspired by the untrammelled rawness of the Nordic landscape.

Ganni 2Ganni

Copenhagen Girls
Danish brand Ganni is an Instagram fashion wonder. In 2015, Danish model and photographer Helena Christensen took a selfie with her friend, actor Kate Bosworth, for Instagram (both wearing Ganni) and captioned it “#GanniGirls”. It went viral, via digital influencers like Danish models who post images of the latest styles while on their summer break. What began as a niche cashmere line has taken the quintessential “Copenhagen girl” global, with celebrities like Jessica Alba and Kendall Jenner buying into the brand and concept.

Dagmar 1
Dagmar 2
Dagmar 4

Expressive knitwear
Family-owned, heritage knitwear companies like the Swedish House of Dagmar (named after the founders’ late grandmother, a tailor) and Danish brand SNS Herning (specializing in knitwear geared for Nordic fishermen) focus on the basics. Dagmar has defined the term “expressive knitwear”, where inspiration is taken from architecture, contemporary art and culture, focusing on textures and cuts.

Gothersgade
The major street in the city centre of Copenhagen, Denmark, offers a wide range of shops and smaller boutiques.

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Scandi Kids
Nordic children’s brands emphasize on comfort, colour and print: from Swedish brand Mini Rodini started by an illustrator, Indikidual’s unisex pieces and Danish brand Bangbang Copenhagen’s circus play to Gardner and the Gang’s cartoon-embellished organic cotton and Soft Gallery’s poetic prints and embroidery.

More than H&M
In 2014, the Swedish multinational H&M Group was valued at €13 billion (around Rs99,300 crore), the highest-valued fashion brand in Europe. H&M also owns Cheap Monday (known for their hip skinny black jeans in the 1990s), the trendy & Other Stories, the younger-apparel brand Monki, and COS (Collection of Style), the unobtrusive brand which takes high-street wear into a chic new realm.

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New Nordic Movement
The award-winning, Copenhagen-based Henrik Vibskov is known for his avant-garde and forward-thinking designs in clothing (particularly men’s fashion), furniture, art and music. He is often associated with the “New Nordic Movement”, especially due to his serious runway fashion credentials.

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Performance footwear
Swedish brand Tretorn has expanded from weather-ready rubber boots to casual and performance footwear, with canvas shoes like Nylite and Racket. The brand that was born in 1891 holds a warrant of appointment to the Swedish royal family, making it an exclusive supplier to the court.

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Camilla Skovgaard

Toffel clogs
Sweden’s famous “toffel” clog has found its way into contemporary times with a modern look and vintage twist. Available in 22 countries, Swedish Hasbeens toffels (expanded from platform sandals to loafers, heels and clumpy boots), bags and belts are based on the original 1970s models, and are handmade with ecologically prepared natural grain leather. Meanwhile, award-winning footwear designer Camilla Skovgaard’s edgy spike heels and moulded platforms, which count patrons in actors Halle Berry and Kristen Stewart, and singer Rihanna, are available in 33 countries.

Screen Shot 2017-09-25 at 9.49.10 PMRAINS

Weather-proof textiles
Denmark’s wet climate has led to a surge in brands that factor in the weather. RAINS works contemporary cuts with weather-ready textiles, including classic rain anoraks and other waterproof apparel and accessories. Elka has rubbery, heavy gear, while Stutterheim applies the rubber fabric to handmade raincoats and SWIMS has a wide range of accessories made from 100% waterproof material.

OTHER KEY SCANDI BRANDS

By Malene Birger is worn by the Crown Princess of Denmark as well as the Duchess of Cambridge.

Bruuns Bazaar is the first Danish company to show in Paris in 1999.

FILLIPA K is a Swedish men’s and womenswear retailer believing in minimalist, pure, clean lines with high-quality fabrics and flattering cuts.

Wood Wood is a smart Danish athleisure brand with an attitude; with over 50 collaborations with brands from Nike to Disney and Fred Perry.
Gestuz Has a pared-down sophisticated sensibility for whom they describe to be a “Gestuz Girl”.

Astrid Andersen counts fans in Rihanna and Drake, and has taken forward the sport-luxe genre by adding materials like lace and fur to classic tracksuits.

Cecile Copenhagen Took two printed scarves and turned them into a shirt and a pair of shorts, which now count as signature pieces.

Norse Projects Copenhagen brand that blends streetwear and workwear towards a higher aesthetic.

Très-Bien The Swedish menswear store has an in-house label that speaks of minimalism and timeless silhouettes.

Sophie Bille Brahe Delicate and contemporary jewellery, counting Madonna as a fan.

Georg Jensen Classic Scandi jewellery that also collaborates with upcoming designers.

Skirting The Issue: Is the future of fashion ungendered?

17 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Brand Watch, Fashion & Style, Features & Trends, Publication: Mint Lounge

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Anaam, Androgyny, Antar Agni, Burberry, Chanel, Design, Designers, Fashion, Genderless, Genderless Kei, Gucci, Kallol Datta, Korean Beauty, Louis Vuitton, Maithili Ahluwalia, Mint Lounge, Payal Khandwala, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Ungendered, Writing, Yves Saint Laurent

Published in Mint Lounge, Saturday May 13, 2017 (Future of Design special edition).
(Additional images added below for this blog post)

We have had women in tuxedos and men in skirts. But the new ‘genderless’ direction in the global fashion world might further dissolve the idea of binary identities

designskirt-k2mC--621x414@LiveMintAn image from ‘Vogue India’s’ May issue, guest-edited by Mario Testino. The editorial, titled ‘Role Play’, attempts to ‘challenge gender with fashion’. Photo: Courtesy Mario Testino for Vogue India/May 2017

Earlier this week, Emma Watson received the first gender-neutral award for Best Actor (Beauty And The Beast) at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. “It says something about how we perceive the human experience,” she said. The award was presented by Asia Kate Dillon, who plays TV’s first gender non-binary character (Taylor, on Billions).

Like other recent events, this added to the ongoing conversation on gender-fluidity.

For a culture like ours, with its thrust on uber masculinity and coy femininity, reconciling to this phenomenon may be shocking, but not impossible. While one knows androgyny to be the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics, ambiguity in gender could be a lifestyle, sexual or style choice.

Louis Vuitton_Jaden Smith - high res

Celebrities such as Miley Cyrus have identified themselves as pansexual, but perhaps it is young actor-rapper Jaden Smith’s bold outlook that has fired up the imagination. Will Smith’s son is seen wearing a skirt as part of Louis Vuitton’s Series 4 (Spring/Summer 2016) campaign about a heroine and the multiple facets to her personality. The brand’s creative director, Nicolas Ghesquière, believes Smith “represents a generation that has assimilated the codes of true freedom, one that is free of manifestos and questions about gender. Wearing a skirt comes as naturally to him as it would to a woman who, long ago, granted herself permission to wear a man’s trench or a tuxedo”.

Androgynous roots

le-smoking-3Le Smoking, Yves Saint Laurent by Helmut Newton

Worldwide, sartorial acceptance tipped when the founders of two path-breaking French haute couture houses, Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, gave women trousers and tuxedos in the early and mid- 20th century, respectively. Many male music legends have flirted with everything from make-up and heels to ruffles and florals, but it was David Bowie (in his sexually ambiguous Ziggy Stardust persona) and Prince (in his flamboyant Purple Rain-era) who cut the sartorial cord with their seminal style statements. More recently, American hip hop artiste Young Thug wore a dress for his album cover, while British footballer David Beckham has been spotted in nail paint and a sarong.

Historically, pre-colonial India saw no issue in dressing up its men, particularly royalty; the traditional male outfits of Gujarat and Rajasthan are adorned with colours, mirrors and gathers, while drapes like shawls, anarkalis, lungis, kurtas, salwars and churidars have been a long-standing part of India’s unisex fashion grammar. Even as the idea trickles down—Tridha, a school in Mumbai, has genderless uniforms (a short kurta students can wear with lowers of their choice)—in a country that lends exaggerated importance to binary sexuality, fashion is setting a new pace for a forward-thinking society.

Beyond binaries

Rajesh Pratap Singh - low res option 2A model wearing Rajesh Pratap Singh.

Designer Rajesh Pratap Singh, who has an affinity towards androgyny, finds the audience for unisex clothing limited. “As women found independence and emancipation once again in India, wearing men’s clothing is considered stylish in most urban areas, but it doesn’t hold true for most parts of the country,” he points out.

What is true though is that modern silhouettes for the local landscape increasingly tend to be sleeker, deconstructed or fluid, shaped according to will, body type and occasion. From anarkalis to dhoti pants, from cholis to shirt-blouses, we have made a shift in styles, and increased the functional element of formal wear. But are women able to take the leap to wearing perhaps a tuxedo to an Indian wedding? Mumbai-based designer Payal Khandwala, whose lines for women are largely anti-fit, says: “It (gender-fluid dressing) will be a parallel movement. The bright side is that it makes us question the male gaze we have taken for granted and re-examine our preoccupation with ‘pretty’ and ‘hyper-sexualized’ clothing for women.”

Unisex clothing creates ambiguity towards age, shape and size, naturally defying the restrictions imposed, stereotypes perpetuated and social comment invited by accentuating and fitted garments. While many designers locally have nailed the anti-fit trend, there have been attempts, such as the “Ungendered” clothing line released online last year by Zara, that faced flak for its unimaginative designs. Unisex outfits shouldn’t be drab, shapeless or colourless—rather, they should be a celebration of clothing that is chic while being free of conservative parameters.

38_RoryA model wearing Gucci.

Women in menswear may be de rigueur, but men in women’s clothing is certainly up for exploration. A key designer of genderless fashion, J.W. Anderson’s Fall 2013 collection sent a male model on the runway in ruffled shorts and knee-high boots, showing off muscular, hairy legs. Singer Pharrell Williams, who likes Chanel necklaces, has starred in the couture house’s Gabrielle bag campaign this year. International luxury brands like Gucci (whose fluid vision under creative director Alessandro Michele has been touted as inspired and sound) have “genderless” models—those without an associated gender—on the runway, also unifying men’s and women’s fashion weeks. Michele stated last year, “It’s the way I see the world today.”

It was a “fluid-packed” fall 2016, with Burberry harking back to Bowie-esque ruffled shirts for men and military-style jackets (also seen in Givenchy’s campaign) for women, along with gender-neutral trench coats.

Screen Shot 2017-05-18 at 2.34.33 PMA model wearing J.W. Anderson.

Bungalow 8 founder Maithili Ahluwalia is unimpressed by men in skirts. “It is not a natural evolution, it is fashion. A man’s body is structured differently and it is a bit limiting to think that what works for one may work for the other. It should be a mindset over a sartorial choice, not a surface-level relationship with fashion. Would a man wear gender-fluid clothing to work, particularly if he works in a bank?” she asks. Possibly, if he is anything like actor Ranveer Singh, who has turned red-carpet dressing on its head with his penchant for aggressive experimentation—of course, creative professions do allow for more sartorial freedom.

Delhi designer Ujjawal Dubey, founder of label Antar-Agni, whose styles are “androgynous and flattering to both the sexes, avoiding stark lines and labels between genders”, believes India is primed for change. So does Sumiran Kabir Sharma, whose new label Anaam is said to “dissolve all stereotypes”. Sharma works as “a silhouette generation artist, not focusing on the physical and the biological part of the human body that defines gender”. According to him, going genderless is not a passing phase—“it is definitely the future of fashion”.

SKIRT4-kG9C--621x414@LiveMint

A model in an Anaam piece.

Kolkata-based designer Kallol Datta, who started out making (and wearing) gender-neutral clothing, is now moving towards “sexless clothing, where there is no acknowledgement of gender”. “I’ve favoured all-enveloping shapes and certain proportions when layering pieces of clothing…there is a blurring of lines with these shapes.”

Going genderless

If the male gaze changes, so may the female gaze. In Tokyo, following the explosive trend of “genderless kei” (kei means style), “genderless boys” have appeared on the scene since 2015. The popular Japanese idols tend to be slim-bodied, with dyed hair, make-up and nail polish, coloured contact lenses, and attention-grabbing outfits. They are not necessarily gay or trying to be like women, they are rejecting gender norms and establishing a new yardstick of style. It’s likely inspired by the Korean term ulzzang (“best face”), a common beauty standard for both men and women derived from the “flawless” K-Pop idols.

In America, Marilyn Manson’s genderless Mechanical Animals cover set the tone years ago but today, gender-neutral models like Rain Dove have gained supermodel status. Dove’s Instagram page says: “I’m not a Boy. I’m not a Girl either. I am I.” And further, “Sometimes I like lace panties. Sometimes I like briefs. It’s my body…. And I’ll cover it however I damn please.”

Today, numerous designers worldwide offer unisex lines of clothing, and stores like Selfridges in London stock an “Agender Fashion Without Definition” collection across three storeys, suggesting that the trend is more than that—it’s a new way of life.

Fashion should cater seamlessly to one’s individuality, without leaning towards homogeneity. Khandwala agrees: “At its core, what one wears must be a democratic decision that comes from a place of honesty and self-evaluation. The impetus cannot be external and certainly not because it is a fashion movement.”

Is the potential dissolution of gender a fantasy of the future or a reality of today? As predefined roles get blurry, so does the way we dress. And we should find our voice in that freedom. Worldwide, as socio-politico-religious mindsets get narrower, perhaps it is fashion’s lot to expressively push back as the non-conformist and heterogenous “genderless uniform” of a truly inclusive and free-spirited society where it is, literally, best face forward.

****

How we got here

A brief sartorial history of the blurring of gender lines

1938 Photo Schall at La PausaCoco Chanel

1910s: Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel changed women’s relationships with their bodies and ways of life by introducing them to trousers and jersey sportswear.

skirt2-kG9C--414x621@LiveMint

Katharine Hepburn

1930s: Katharine Hepburn’s path-breaking attachment to men’s shirts bought secretly from the back of New York’s Brooks Brothers store and Marlene Dietrich’s seminal moment kissing a woman on screen while wearing a bow tie and top hat.

1960s: Yves Saint Laurent’s (muse Violeta Sanchez) “Le Smoking” tuxedo suit for women pioneered the modern-day power suit; Mick Jagger performed in Hyde Park in a white “man’s dress” designed by Mr Fish.

YVES-k2mC--414x621@LiveMint

David Bowie

1970s: Patti Smith’s obvious androgyny, Jane Fonda’s bold red-carpet moments and David Bowie’s sexually ambiguous Ziggy Stardust persona triggered cultural shifts.

Grace-k2mC--621x414@LiveMint

Grace Jones

1980s: Feminine Prince and masculine Grace Jones set the tone for blurry gender lines. Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo’s ambiguous collections set the tone for the future.

marilyn-k2mC--414x621@LiveMint

Marilyn Manson ‘Mechanical Animals’ cover

2000s: Marilyn Manson appeared genderless on the ‘Mechanical Animals’ cover.

Past Forward: Abha Narain Lambah

12 Friday May 2017

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Interviews (All), Interviews: Lifestyle, Interviews: The Arts, Publication: Verve Magazine

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Design, Interview, Verve Magazine

Published in Verve Magazine, Design edition, May 2017
Photograph (Abha Narain Lambah) by Shubham Lodha

You’ve looked wistfully, over the years, at India’s only surviving opera house, wishing for the beautiful baroque structure with a blend of local and international architectural styles to be restored to its former glory. Abha Narain Lambah popped out a wand and breathed new life into it, like she has done with numerous buildings in the country. Magic can’t reckon with bureaucracy, but this soft-spoken lady with nerves of steel has managed to pull off many a coup.

Screen Shot 2017-06-05 at 1.39.29 PM

Armed with a master’s degree in architectural conservation from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, she’s clocked in over two decades of experience in the field. Her diligence in research, respectfulness of history, and faithfulness to detail in restoration has led to her being awarded the Sanskriti Award, Eisenhower Fellowship, and the Attingham Trust and Charles Wallace fellowship and being nominated by ArcVision among the top 20 women architects globally in 2016.

Perhaps the 46-year old’s nomadic journey has led to a practical, inclusive attitude to her work. “I am a bit of a gypsy because I don’t think I’ve stayed in any city for more than five years — my father was in a transferable government job. I grew up in many towns, including Kolkata and Delhi. The longest I have been anywhere — now 22 years — is Mumbai, which I consider home. People say the city is crowded and congested, messy and chaotic; but I think there’s a very intrinsic system that works here and at the core of it is a very warm magical world. Every place in the country has a different sensibility, vibe and history. My grandfather in Srinagar lived in an ancient beautiful timber-framed house, and I remember taking a boat down the Jhelum and looking at all the lovely palaces of the Dogra rulers, so this sense of history, of old building ageing with grace, just grew with me as a child and I think that’s what has continued in my work as well.”

Excerpts from a conversation with Narain Lambah….

How did architectural conservation become important to you?
I was studying architecture and was drawn to urban issues that had to do with an interface between the old and the new. I was very keen to learn from American architect Joseph Allen Stein, who designed all the iconic buildings in Delhi like the India International Centre, Ford Foundation and India Habitat Centre. Working in his studio for two years, I began understanding that a lot of design and good architecture has to respond to the context — often historical context. That led me to explore conservation. I believe contextual design is something that is very important, which we haven’t yet mastered in India.

What’s your take on (the lack of) maintaining this architectural balance in Mumbai?
The sad part is that we have beautiful buildings and historical legacy in Mumbai, but our planners (and especially our politicians) haven’t been very sensitive, so there is unplanned growth in pockets. For example, when the mills were demolished, Charles Correa had a great idea for pooling in all the open spaces — we could have had one the size of Central Park in Parel; and because of a really narrow vision, they chopped it off into parcels, so we lost an unbelievable opportunity for the city. And I hope it doesn’t happen again with the eastern waterfront development. We need to look at everything holistically, which somehow gets sacrificed at the altar of political requirements or short- term goals.

We tend to bask in the end result, what’s the process of getting to it?
A lot of time goes in! I started working on the Royal Opera House in 2008 and we opened the building in 2016. Money was an issue, because there are no government funds or incentives for heritage buildings that are privately owned. It was listed among the 100 endangered monuments in the world by the World Monuments Fund, and then when it came to funding it, there was absolutely zero support. It is not economically feasible today to run a theatre or a cinema hall so it was a leap of faith. The whole team and my clients (the owners) took a huge risk, but with a conviction that it’s too precious a building to let go! Then there was red tape and it took numerous years to get permissions. The challenges should have been structural repairs, interior restoration and things like getting the sound and acoustics right or putting in air conditioning in a building that didn’t even have fans to begin with…. But it’s richly rewarding once it’s done.

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Bikaner House in New Delhi

 

What about Bikaner House, Delhi? What was the story there?
Bikaner (House) was amazing, thanks to a chief minister with a sense of clarity and crystal-clear decision-making! Vasundhara Raje said, ‘I want Bikaner House to be the calling card for Rajasthan in Delhi’. She gave us nine months to get our act together, to get the building in shape. We were working with the government, and the same kind of engineers and contractors that are typical, but since she was so clear of the final vision for the project, everything just fell into place. Now we are working on the first floor of the same building, it’s going to get expanded and there will be a little cafe and a bookshop.

Which project is closest to your heart?
I think one of my favourite projects of all time has been the 15th-century Maitreya Buddha temple that I worked on in Basgo, Ladakh (which earned her firm an award of excellence from the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for conservation). It was a hard project, lasting three years, with repeated trips while my daughter was very young. It was in a small remote village, without electricity, running water, or lavatories…. A current project I am excited about is working on the Teen Murti House — the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, in Delhi, because it is such a beautiful stately building.

How relevant is heritage today?
“We are losing it too fast! My mother took me to Kanchipuram when I was 10, because she loved buying sarees from the loom, direct from the weaver. I remember it as a magical town with streets of verandahs, timber columns and sloping tiled roofs. Last year I was appointed by the government of India as the city anchor for Kanchipuram, and when I went back I was devastated, because the temple survived, but all those streets and those beautiful rows of houses are replaced by Alucobond and concrete and horrible new buildings. We already lost such a valuable part of our heritage and if now we—this generation—doesn’t do something about it, we won’t have anything left to save in the next few decades.”

What do you consider ‘Indianness’?
‘Indianness’ is not homogenous, it is not a single being, it is like a multi-layered curry with 20 different spices and wafting flavours; you get a note of cinnamon, a hint of clove; you discover later on your palate an aftertaste of asafoetida…and for me that is India. It’s multi-cultured, intense, layered, sometimes conflicting, sometimes contradictory but it is not one single unified whole. For all the chaos, there is still a system in it, there’s a meaning to it.

What does design mean to you?
It is something that is intrinsic — a distillation of a whole lot of feelings and moods. When you try and confuse it with too many things it gets lost. It balances form, functions, aesthetics and yet remains intuitive, because it can’t be put on, acquired or faked.

How do you focus and filter out the noise?
Filtering is as important as listening. When I am approaching a conservation project it’s very important to first establish what the design intent of the original architect was. To keep a certain modesty in your own work and also be true to the spirit of place, while maintaining  context — whether it is the geographical, design or material context of that particular site — in a harmonious balance with your own judgement as a designer.

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Screen Shot 2017-06-05 at 1.47.25 PM
Interiors of Mumbai’s Royal Opera House

 

Is some of it based on investigation?
Conservation is forensic in its techniques. We have to rely on paint scraps to figure out the oldest layer and original colour, for instance. You have to keep yourself open to looking for clues. In the Royal Opera House, we had no idea balconies existed when we began the project. Research uncovered old photographs which had those balconies, so we removed the art deco panelling and behind it we found skeletal structural members. Rifling through things in the basement, we found the little cherub and a little plaster cast that originally belonged to that balcony, and from that we were able to just piece things together.

You’ve been invited to deliver the Geoffrey Bawa memorial lecture in Sri Lanka….
I feel overwhelmed and humbled. He (Bawa), Joseph Stein and Charles Correa were the most iconic South Asian architects. Woman architects don’t get acknowledged, and even otherwise it’s such an honour. That’s my latest high, so I am going to just soak it in, and promise myself a week in Sri Lanka, living in Geoffrey Bawa’s house and meditating!

Do you feel a sense of achievement?
I just feel a sense of responsibility. I’ve never had a large vision or a master plan — one project led to another, and frustration about a project not moving along led me to something else while waiting; so that’s how my career has found its trajectory.

When will you rest on your laurels?
I don’t want to. I think architects should die with their boots on — or at least at the drafting table! It’s a career where the rewards are very slow; by the time others have retired, you peak as an architect. I worked with Stein in his studio when he was in his eighties, I have seen Correa working till he turned 80 and I don’t want to retire, I want to just work on the projects that will feed my soul.

|  Filling the gaps between words.  |

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