Architecture and Glamour

"It's more or less like how an actor prepares himself for a role, lives the life of her character, to understand it better, absorb the character completely within herself, before playing the part.

Very briefly, if you are designing a casino, you need to understand the gambler. If you are designing the mansion of a millionaire you need to experience that kind of lifestyle first ,if you are designing a hospital, you need to understand a patient, only then can you do justice to your profession in real sense."

During  my college, I could broadly classify the students into a few categories:- Category -1: People who have accepted what they are, where they are from, with no will to grow out of it. They have succumbed to their caste/ Family /colour . They will build buildings, earn some money and live. Category 2: Don't know what they are doing and why they doing. They feel stuck and as soon as they are out of college ,they do some other course or simply switch their profession. Category 3: Filthy rich people, they know where they are going, they splurge and make great friendships!

Although I am nobody to judge these categories, so I won't, any further, because I wasn't one of them.

I was an average looking girl, mostly brought up in my grandfather's house, where we had room inside another room, bathroom near the entrance with a small ventilator opening into a narrow lane, I have literally seen the house grow. We used to go on vacations every year, stay either at our relative's or cheap affordable hotels. Time has really changed. Situations have transformed, a lot, since then. Education was just the beginning. When you enter the world of architecture, you enter the world of passion, luxury and glamour. Apart from learning the software, the stages  of construction and the technicalities , you need to leave behind where you have come from (that is, if you belong to my category). You obviously get groomed in college, but once you enter this profession you need to groom your mind. The most neglected spaces in our houses are the ones designed with utmost detailing and care. Toilets are no more a small neglected part of you living space. It is as important as your bedroom, sometimes even more important than that! Huge toilets ,with picture windows, maintaining a sense of privacy ,is what luxury is.

My boss was sketching the window of a luxurious restroom of a villa, somewhere in the out skirts of Bangalore. He started explaining how he wanted the picture window to be. I couldn't stop but giggle. To which he said, "Go out . See more."

The wardrobes are no longer just a 5'X2' cabinet. It has evolved into a walk-in where you have a room sized space for hanging  your clothes as well as store your valuables and accessories in fancy glass tables.

The parking spaces, although shown in sanction drawings as a 5.5m x 2.5 m space, need to be at least 6m x 2.5m to park those shiny classes. I have perceived  how it is very important to work under a principal who has lived and experienced that kind of lifestyle, specially before you jump into opening your own firm(Although it's very brave of you, if you do so). You need to travel, a lot, and experience places, for yourself. You need to imbibe into yourself the lifestyle ,that your client wants to live-in before you design one. It wouldn't be wrong to compare this profession to the profession of acting. It's more or less like how an actor prepares himself for a role, lives the life of her character, to understand it better, absorb the character completely within herself, before playing the part.

Very briefly, if you are designing a casino, you need to understand the gambler. If you are designing the mansion of a millionaire you need to experience that kind of lifestyle first ,if you are designing a hospital, you need to understand a patient, only then can you do justice to your profession in real sense.

It is all about growing, all about learning  and all about maturing, with every new client in your pocket. It is so ever challenging..!