Good For Construction

This episode was recorded in 2020 during the pandemic. Join us as we discuss how architecture schools coped with the pandemic.

Join us as we talk to Dillraj Bhatia about choosing lighting design as a profession after graduating as an architect.

Join us as we learn and discuss from Shreyas about material innovation and sustainable building material technologies. Tune in to dive into the fascinating world of green building technologies and crazy new materials like memory alloys, mushrooms roots ad more! Gain insights into the process of research and what it takes to become an expert in material innovation! About Shreyas More: He is the lead researcher at the New Materials Research Centre at the Indian School of Design and Innovation, Mumbai where he develops the practice of material driven designs and system innovations for sustainable futures. His work is centred at the intersection of materials, design, biology, technology and digital fabrication. He has been the former interim Program Director of UG Interior Design 2016-17. His on-going research The Green Charcoal entails the development of biodegradable concrete that allows the growth of living ecosystems on buildings. The Green Charcoal has been exhibited at the Future of Architecture and Building [FAB] Biennale, Mumbai 2018 to initiate conversations on the need to material innovation in the built industry to address the local and global crisis of resource availability, waste management, climate change and degrading urban environments. His research at ISDI extends into academic studios across various undergrad and post-grad programs on developing new-age thinking towards the circular economy, waste as resource, new materials choice and performance. He has attained Master in Advanced Architecture MAA01 from Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Spain in 2015. With specialization in Digital Matter - Intelligent Constructions, he was investigating in the use of shape memory alloys in creating passive deployable and self-shading systems in architecture. --- Instagram handle: @shreyasmore09 Blog: https://medium.com/@shreyasvmore

Join us as we talk about admission into design colleges, clear many misunderstandings and discuss probable ways in which the subject of design, in India, can be dealt with in a systematic way. Good For Construction collaborates with Ishaan Dixit of Chaigate, who is NID alumni, for this episode. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1mQYVICFUnVycZrmnmytIU?si=KyI0LqG2SlaZwpK1JrwwyA Google Podcast: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzQ5ODgyOTUucnNz&episode=dGFnOmF1ZGlvYm9vbS5jb20sMjAxOS0 About Ishaan: Ishaan Dixit is a Designpreneur, Design Educator and TEDx speaker with an academic history of architecture and Visual Communication. He is the founder of 'The India Design Project' that advocates, celebrates and actively pursues 'the various roles' that design can play for a population of 1.3 billion Indians. He is dedicated to creating collaborative platforms for system thinkers, designers, social entrepreneurs and public bodies for a purposeful design impact in the field of Education, Research & Documentation. Please send us your questions/ suggestions at info.tidp@gmail.com Links: Website: https://chaigate.co/2016/02/26/chaigate/ Ishaan's TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wtWR0u7hLk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theindiadesignproject Twitter: https://twitter.com/IshaanDixit Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_IMuH-rEEI6bpLN1ofiVhw LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishaan-dixit-53737b64/

The business of architecture is a tricky one! Join us, this Friday as we talk to architect Naman Ahuja, the youngest entrepreneur amongst his peers, about learning from failures, growing a business and creating an architectural empire! Instagram: @contrive_exquisite Connect with Naman: 01126025859 Web: www.cearchitects.co.in/

It is our choices that make us who we are. Join us, this Friday as we talk to architect Richa Arora about exploring new paths, the importance and impact of choices and Studio Make's interesting new projects! Instagram: @studiomakeindia Connect with Studio Make: hellostudiomake@gmail.com

This Friday we talk to an architect who is descovering the realms beyond the standard notion of architecture. Join us as we talk to Designkar Parush Grover of Designkari Studio Designkari’s work: Website:https://www.facebook.com/designkari/ Instagram: @designkari Connect with Designkari: parush@designkari.com

A small design studio, now a collective. Primarily focusing on the craft of functional design and problem-solving. They soon plan to indulge heavily into indigenous crafts and explore the available skill set for customized urban production. Designkari’s work: Website: https://www.facebook.com/designkari/ Instagram: @designkari Connect with Designkari: parush@designkari.com

Tactus Design Studio is a design firm that focuses on the ingenious designs and sustainable solutions and performance of architecture responding firstly and primarily to its ecology and available resources; this criterion, they believe, will change how the design performs throughout its life cycle especially in a rapidly evolving world. Tactus’s work: Website: https://www.facebook.com/tactusdesignstudio/ Instagram: @tactusdesignstudio Connect with Tactus Design Studio: mudit@tactusds.com

Introduction: Studio Bipolar is a design firm focused on creating spaces that are functional and visually impactful. Their spaces blur the lines between art and architecture. They like to draw from a company's/persons core values to develop our design concepts. Studio Bipolar’s work: Website: https://studiobipolar.in/ Instagram: @studio_bipolar Connect with Studio Bipolar: sanjana.mathur@studiobipolar.in

Introduction: SIAN is a young, small-scale, almost a personal incubatory for our expressions. All of us at the studio are attuned to crafting atmospheres and impressions and the studio then gives us the opportunity to realise these ‘impressions’ into spaces. Deriving from the personalities and distinctive thought processes of our team, collaborators, technicians and clients, models and drawings, we try to put forth, probably in the only way known to us, our eclectic ways of understanding, thinking and doing architecture. SIAN’s work: Instagram: @sianarchitects Connect with Sian: sianarchitects@gmail.com Time Stamps: Following are some highlights from the conversation 1:30 - (Eesha) When did you feel that it was the right time to open a firm? 1:48 - (Surbhi) It happened after under graduation, however there wasn’t any one moment. 2:36 - (Deepanshu) Architecture is such a subject field, you are always working through someone else’s lens 3:27 – (Deepanshu) You have to analyze the idea and see if its scalable 4:29 – (Deepanshu) We spent our masters honing our style 6:13 – (Surbhi) SIAN happened during our masters 8:18 – (Eesha) How experience working for someone else is enough experience? 11:30 – (Deepanshu & Surbhi) It is always better to work for two to three years in one place or in the same direction 12:40 – (Eesha) How did you decide to go for a master’s degree? 14:12 – (Deepanshu) It was to satisfy what I couldn’t gain from my graduation 14:29 – (Surbhi) For me it was an effort towards finding and exploring my own style and school of thought 19:18 – (Surbhi) I was making models of 1:5 details in my master’s degree, you could see beams and wooden details. 24:50 – (Deepanshu) Your drawings and your medium of representation is your biggest tool when you’re starting your own work and most often the power of these tools is underestimated 28:54 – (Surbhi) Even if you check all the boxes of requirement for a submission you can still fail 37: 20 – (Eesha) How do you manage finance for an architecture startup? 37:55 – (Deepanshu) Finance is a very important aspect when you are starting your own firm but also the most overlooked 45:33 – (Eesha) Lets talk about failure as an aspect when it comes to entrepreneurship 45:44 – (Deepanshu) There’s a 100% chance that you will fail everyday 47:21 – (Surbhi) Bad days aren’t always your mistake and the architect is responsible for everything that happens on site 58:18 – (Surbhi) You learn a lot from your consultants 58:56 – (Deepanshu) On site everything becomes very tangible and very technical very quickly

Introduction Niveditaa Gupta has an architecture photography studio in Delhi. Her interest in photography has been growing since her bachelor's degree when she did her dissertation on architecture photography. As founder, Niveditaa has a bachelor's degree from Sushant School of Art & Architecture, Gurgaon in architecture and has a masters degree in fine art photography from IED Spain. Niveditaa Gupta's work: Instagram - @niveditaagupta Website: https://niveditaagupta.myportfolio.com/ Connect: guptaniveditaa@gmail.com Time Stamps: Following are some highlights from the conversation 1:08 - (Eesha) How did you go from architecture to photography? 4:15 - (Niveditaa) While reading for my dissertation I came across the work of Helene Binet 4:36 - (link) Vivian Maier http://www.vivianmaier.com Annie Leibovitz https://g.co/kgs/aJDqoJ 4:55 - (Niveditaa) She (Helene) made me like Zaha Hadid's work https://www.designboom.com/architecture/architecture-of-zaha-hadid-by-helene-binet/ 6:18 - (Niveditaa) I remember being up at three in the morning writing a mail to Helene Binet 10:40 - (Niveditaa) He (Prabhu Mohanty) really encouraged me to pick up the camera 11:31 - (Niveditaa) I took pictures for R+D Studio for their project Primera and that stayed in my mind Link- https://www.archdaily.com/photographer/niveditaa-gupta 12:53 - (Eesha) After sending the mail did Helene call you to Spain? 13:26 - (Niveditaa) After doing a few shoots I felt that I needed to do something in photography that was not commercial 15:45 - (Eesha) How much do you plan before a shoot? 18:57 - (Eesha) What made you stick to architecture photography when people around you were working on intangible and ambiguous concepts? 21:45 - (Niveditaa) I write to some lighting design firms in the US 22:48 - (Niveditaa) I can't have the same work schedule everyday, it frustrates me 23:56 - (Eesha) When you came back from Spain did you have a game plan? 27:30 - (Eesha) Do you think you hit a niche with architecture photography? 28:01 - (Niveditaa) There isn't much knowledge about the styles of architecture photography that exist outside India 29:05 - (Niveditaa) I never took photos of interiors in artificial light 29:48 - (Link) Art Centre by Mahesh Radha Krishnan, Chennai Link - https://niveditaagupta.myportfolio.com/spaces 31:53 - (Niveditaa) I always approach my projects as a collaboration 36:00 - (Niveditaa) I love the way light falls on a building. When you turn a picture into black and white, you remove one dimension of space that is time 43:00 - (Niveditaa) You can't tell how much photoshop goes into an image anymore 43:22 - (Niveditaa) We are in a world of post photography 59:07 - (link) Muralla Nazari https://niveditaagupta.myportfolio.com/la-muralla-nazari

Introduction Unorthodox designs is an independently-owned design studio, founded by three young and passionate creators who believe in translating happiness into spaces. Specializing in different mediums of architecture and design, Unorthodox design's work transforms the ordinary into beauty, with functionality at its core. Their portfolio ranges from high-end hospitality spaces, commercial outlets to luxurious residences. They believe that one size doesn't fit all and they cater to every client’s needs individually. From efficient solutions to new-age contemporary styles, Unorthodox designs demonstrate that design can be glamorous, fresh and chic at the same time. Unorthodox Design's work: Instagram - @un.orthodoxdesigns Connect: https://www.facebook.com/unorthodoxdesignsindia/ Time Stamps: Following are some highlights from the conversation 1:26 - (Eesha) Let's talk about what Unorthodox Designs is about 3:28 - (Eesha) Where and how did Unorthodox Designs start? 4:10 - (Samiksha) In college the three of us used to do our group projects together 8:28 - (Salanki) Even when we were in a job, we were managing everything on our own 8:51 - (Samiksha) We've had great bosses 11:11 - (Salanki) To come out of the comfort zone of a salary, took us a year 12:15 - (Salanki) The first person we went to ( to talk about starting a firm) was our boss 13:30 - (Samiksha) I think working for ourselves is more satisfying than working for someone else 15:47 - (Eesha) How did you choose the name of the firm? 21:20 - (Eesha) How did you land your first project? 24:00 - (Samiksha) We've never had blurred lines with our roles in the firm 27:12 - (Salanki) We didn't ask for money from any of our parents to set up the firm 28:33 - (Samiksha) All we needed was a site, a table, a project and a laptop 29:22 - (Eesha) How did you find your team - consultants, contractors and vendors 30:20 - (Vishnu) Previous vendors who i had worked with told me that the day I opened my firm, they'd come and work with me 32:57 - (Samiksha) You have to be very strategic with finances and cash flow 34:15 - (Vishnu) What we realized after opening a firm is that there is a lot of paper work involved (related to finance) 34:32 - (Samiksha) It's a lot more than being a design, its about finances, execution, coordination 45:07 - (Eesha) How did you develop a design language? 46:56 - (Samiksha) As designers, you need to be flexible, you cant be egoistic about it 52:27 - (Salanki) We critique each other all the time 1:00:00 - (Samiksha) That is our USP, that we execute our projects really fast 1:05:00 - (Salanki) Most o our learning is from our vendors and contractors 1:10:00 - (Samiksha)Just because you're scared, shouldn't restrict you from doing new things 1:18:00 - (Vishnu) No one in our families is an architect, we all are the first architects in our families

Introduction Unorthodox designs is an independently-owned design studio, founded by three young and passionate creators who believe in translating happiness into spaces. Specializing in different mediums of architecture and design, Unorthodox design's work transforms the ordinary into beauty, with functionality at its core. Their portfolio ranges from high-end hospitality spaces, commercial outlets to luxurious residences. They believe that one size doesn't fit all and they cater to every...

Introduction: Shitij Dogra Architects founded in 2017 is a multifaceted practice which aims to create spaces that respond to the context and aesthetics of a given environment. Through thorough theoretical research the firm aims to establish a philosophy which experiments with, and integrates different material sensibilities into a given context. The firm is a multidisciplinary unit covering wide arrays of design principles such as interior, architecture and furniture. The firm is currently working on projects of different scale and sensibility. Some of the on-going projects include two biomass plants in Punjab, a residence in Nainital, a few residences in Gurugram and a farmhouse extension in Delhi. The firm has launched a major section of its flagship furniture series ‘Newborns’ in the India Design 2019 symposium. Shitij's Work: @shitijdograarchitects (Instagram) Connect: mail@s-da.com Time Stamps: 1:50 - (Eesha) How would you define Shitij Dogra Architects? 4:06 - (Eesha) Did you always know you'd start your own firm? 6:26 - (Eesha) Did you make an effort to network in college and maintain contacts? 7:05 - (Shitij) I'm a workaholic and if in college I had two months off, I'd go work in offices 7:50 - (Eesha) When did you realise you had enough experience to start your own firm? 8:07 - (Shitij) I worked for 4.5-5 years before deciding to start my own firm. I worked with Romi Khosla, Sameera Rathod and Harsh Vardhan Jain 8:30 - (Shitij) When I was at Romi Khosla, I learnt how to make working drawings and the deign process 10:08 - (Shitij) With time the entire process of the boss allocation g projects to you became repetitive 11:40 - (Eesha) When you decided to start your firm, who did you go to first? 12:04 - (Shitij) My parents asked me, do you have a project and I said no 12:20 - (Shitij) I told them I'd make furniture and they asked why furniture? 13:36 - (Eesha) Did you do all the ground work on your own or did you have any help? 16:00 - (Eesha) Where does your team come from? 16:44 - (Shitij) If the carpenter is good the stone guy will also be good, because their work needs to interlock 18:26 - (Shitij) There are times when you fail and you fail big time 19:15 - (Eesha) After deciding to start a firm, what was the first step? 20:50 - (Eesha) So where and how was your first day at Shitij Dogra Architects? 23:00 - (Eesha) When and how did you get your first project? 25:15 - (Shitij) You get projects on the road! 30:34 - (Shitij) Eventually in my head I stopped calling these pieces furniture, I started calling them functional sculptures 31:10 - (Shitij) An art piece is a little selfish, a furniture piece is selfless 33:37 - (Shitij) I think as architects or designers, we need to be emotional about what we make 35:18 - (Shitij) In the end, it needs to help you sleep at night 35:30 - (Eesha) Let's talk about clients and failures 43:09 - (Shitij) I think, the things we create and the materials we use are a direct reflection of who you are as a person 43:24 - (Shitij) Design is an ideology, it's a way of living, it's not just what your hand sketches. It's how you get up and how you sleep 50:20 - (Shitij) The day I compromise is the day I fail 50:50 - (Eesha) Let's discuss failure

Introduction: Suryan//Dang is a collaborative practice for visual storytelling through various available mediums. We are two hosting partners as Saurabh Suryan & Lokesh Dang, formed the practice to help architects photograph their works. We host a variety of works ranging from portraiture, landscape, documentary photography and filmmaking. Suryan studied B.Arch from Sushant School of art & architecture, Gurgaon and worked as an architect with many renowned firms across India before establishing the photography practice in Delhi. Dang studied PGD in Creative Photography from Sri Aurobindo Center for Arts and Communication and has been practising as a documentary photographer, for which he has won National Media Award. The duo has exhibited their works at various galleries across the nation. Suryan//Dang’s work: https://www.archdaily.com/photographer/suryan-dang https://www.google.com/amp/s/hypebeast.com/2018/6/the-woodside-morphogenesis-india%3Famp%3D1 Connect with Saurabh: http://www.suryandang.com/ Time Stamps: Following are some highlights from the conversation 1:30 - (Saurabh) We are not a company. It’s like a cloud. People plug in and plug out. 2:30 - (Eesha) What is Suryan & Dang 3:24 - (Saurabh) We help architects and designers frame their vision. 4:43 - (Saurabh) It’s content versus what you are absorbing 5:51 - (Saurabh) You can’t define architecture with just a photograph. 6:04 - (Eesha) So, currently what are you doing? 8:10 - (Eesha) When did you get the idea of Suryan & Dang? 8:26 - (Saurabh) I don’t even own a camera! 8:32 - (Saurabh) I have known Lokesh for 15 years now. 10:05 - (Saurabh) I started doing engineering for a bit. 10:16 - (Saurabh) I saw a couple of kids carrying models in the college bus and I was carrying a tiffin box. 12:44 - (Saurabh) I would strike a barter with my classmates. I would models for the entire class. 13:40 - (Eesha) So, here you are making models for the entire class, how did you get into photography? 15:18 - (Saurabh) I started photographing on college trips 17:21 - (Saurabh) Out of frustration(with his job as a banker), Lokesh would drive the cab that would come to pick him up, just to do something different and he wanted some kind of physical liberation and then he chanced upon the camera. 18:32 - (Saurabh) Bijoy Jain(Studio Mumbai) was one of my most landmarks experiences. 23:14 - (Saurabh) It’s like taking a dump for your soul 23:29 - (Saurabh) Someone gave me this gyan that you have to do your GFCs for you to understand the grind to produce something 25:34 - (Saurabh) Then I applied to Sameep Padora 29:02 - (Saurabh) Getting to know Bombay as a city was the turning point 32:35 - (Saurabh) Lokesh was doing well (with his photography) on Instagram. 33:49 - (Saurabh) That was when we met at Mill Owner’s building [to photograph it] 34:53 - (Saurabh) We had 10-15,000 bucks and panned it across 40 days (traveling Rajasthan) 45:01 - (Saurabh) That was our first project 56:09 - (Saurabh) How do you make sure your name is not ruined? 59:12 - (Saurabh) You should do it right, but shouldn’t be killed by it.

Welcome to the pilot episode of Good For Construction. Good For Construction is a podcast for architects and architecture in India. With GFC, we want to create a space for creative individuals to find answers to vital, path defining questions through stories of fellow architects, designers and creators. Season 1, which is set to release on the 1st of March explores the topic of 'How to open an architecture firm in India'. The main aim of this season is to help students and individuals looking to become entrepreneurs, learn the process of becoming entrepreneurs. Most importantly, to realize that with entrepreneurship, there is no one path to success and the focus must be on developing ideology and a strong foundation of skills rather than imitating the paths of those who are successful.