How do you describe your journey in this male-dominated industry?
Architecture is a profession which is sustained not just by design skills; It actually takes a huge group of people to make every space come together, which requires a lot of project management, team work and coordination. Even after 15 years of practice, being a female architect you still encounter the initial barriers with site supervisors & people working on site. It takes a little while for people on site to gain confidence on my skills and experience to take technical instructions. It has been imperative for me to be assertive, place my opinion with clarity and reason in order to establish a sense of authority. I guess the women in the field have to work a little bit harder to get to that same point, but we all knew it’s not going to be easy. As famously quoted by Zaha Hadid –“If you want an easy life, don’t be an architect”.
Which has been your first project? Where? What was it? How has been your experience?
I started off back in 2005 with renovating a small Garment store in Meerut, to be executed at a fast pace. At the same time I bagged my second project which was a branch of Kids wear store at the lower floor in the same building. Later in the same year I got my first break when the owner of the store approached us to build his residence. The journey that began with a small retail project transformed into large houses. A lot of it was because of our strong work ethics and a personal relation that we develop with our clients.
What type of projects captures your interest or rather interested to do?
Premium Residential projects capture my interest the most. This is because the client’s involvement is are intense in these projects. The level of detail and user experience is absolutely unique. Residences are spaces are individuals den, evolving and changing with the individual’s development. To be able to understand their personality, reflect it in their surroundings and also leave room for it to evolve intrigues me the most.
Your most challenging projects; where and why? Tell us more about the same?
One my most challenging project was a resort in the Tea Estate. We were using earth bumming techniques to develop individual villas. The idea was to conceal the structure within the landscape of the hills, to retain the pristine domain of the hills. From designing to execution the project had to be carefully orchestrated to achieve the desired results.
Tell us about your upcoming projects; where and what type; schedule of completions?
We have a couple of Luxury Residential villas coming up in Raipur City. We are also currently involved in interiors of premium residences in Camellias and Magnolias. These projects are current in full swing and awaiting handovers this year.
Your wise words to next-gen stepping into this profession?
My advice to young profession women is not to be reserved rather experimental. Be bold in choice of work. Moreover, they should invest their formative years in gathering as much knowledge in terms of technical details, execution strategies and management strategies. They must work tirelessly to create a strong ground work for their professional journey ahead.
