Get a Glimpse | Behind the bricks

Get a Glimpse | Architecture

They are the ones who are responsible for the way our homes and workplaces look and function. Architects are modern-day artists who determine our urban lifestyles. Architecture is not just about defining the physical form of our spaces, but is a reflection of society. Sometimes, what may begin as a construction project goes down in history as the cultural symbol of a people. Three architects tell us what goes into forming the visual vocabulary of an architect, the grind of everyday life, the detailing and subtleties, as well as the vision that creates or restores something iconic.

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Abhimanyu Dalal, 54

Abhimanyu Dalal Architects, Delhi

How he got here: It was travel that stoked Dalal’s interest in design. With his father in the Indian Foreign Service, his formative years were spent in the US, Vietnam, Thailand, Sudan and Austria. “When you travel significantly and see cities, buildings, homes and cultures, that invariably leads to an interest in design,” says Dalal.

“There’s always a lot of luck involved in the initial years. The first couple of projects were through friends and family. That gets you going, it gets you funds to hire some people, buy a computer,” says Dalal. His current work includes institutional, residential, conservation and urban design projects such as the Chandni Chowk redevelopment project in Old Delhi.

A day in the life of an architect: “I live upstairs and work downstairs (in his Golf Links home and office space). That makes my life easy since it’s a zero commute. But the flip side is, I never tend to take a day off. Sometimes I work on Sundays, call people in for meetings,” he says.

“But an architect’s day never really starts or ends at a point, especially for somebody who runs a practice. I tend to do many things simultaneously. Sometimes I’ll dedicate a day only to one project—think, discuss, sketch. My worst days are those that are overly scheduled. However, while I have managed to keep home life separate from work life, it is not true for a lot of young professionals. As you get older, you can establish some rules which younger practitioners cannot. That’s the fun part of getting older,” laughs Dalal.

“But you have to make sure that your schedules, clients and projects are being taken care of. The role of an architect is to not only build for a client, but there are a number of people—from labour to contractor, product vendors, consultants—who are dependent on your work. If you mess up, a lot gives way,” he says. He travels constantly on work and as part of the academic activities that he’s involved with, allows himself chunks of days, “like two weeks away”, once in a while.

What I love most about the job: “It touches lives and changes them for the better through the process of creativity. And design creativity is a synthesis of so many different things—keeping up with technology, new materials, reinterpreting history and context. There’s never a dull moment!”

What I’d like to change: “Innovation in design is not on the agenda of our ‘Establishment’. That’s a great pity, because it could bring about social change. As a culture, we have a rich design tradition. However, innovation today is rarely seen as critical tool for change.”

Challenges: “In a fast globalizing world, the challenge for architects is providing innovative design solutions appropriate for the environment we live in. Today there are architectural practices looking at niche kinds of work like architectural journalism or building management. I know friends who work on technology and design—not technology of how to build but how to represent architecture and design. There is plenty of specialization that young professionals can look at. The whole knowledge base has significantly increased.”

Skill sets: “The desire to be innovative is important. Also, architecture is not only about designing buildings in a conventional way any more and studying architecture today provides knowledge of environmental sustainability, history, professional ethics, etc. We’ve always believed that architecture is probably the best balance of science and art. So your interest in other things like music, art, reading and travel determines how well you will do, because they allow you to think horizontally.”

Money matters: “Starting salaries for fresh graduates are about ₹ 25,000 a month and they rise pretty quickly. If you’ve been in the profession for about 25 years, you can make upwards of ₹ 5 lakh a month at a good firm. At a practice of your own that employs about 25 people, you can expect a turnover of about ₹ 2 crore per year.”

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Nishant Gupta, 29

Architect Hafeez Contractor, Mumbai

Eventually he felt that architecture “was the mother of all arts” and enrolled at the Apeejay Institute of Technology—School of Architecture and Planning, Greater Noida, graduating in 2008. “During that time, Gurgaon’s emerging skyline, dotted with its glass and steel structures, could not go unnoticed. And I realized that there was one common name behind all these structures, Hafeez Contractor,” says Gupta.

While still at college, he interned at Architect Hafeez Contractor for five months, and after finishing college, joined the firm full time. “Today, I work closely with Mr Contractor on design and business development on an array of projects, from 250 sq. ft, one-bedroom apartments to 1,800 acres of city development projects,” says Gupta.

A day in the life of an architect:“My day usually begins at 11am and lasts for at least 11 hours. It’s non-stop action of designing, sketching, conceptualizing, coordinating, screaming, smiling, solving, drafting, rendering, rubbishing, convincing, deconstructing and designing again. At times, I do a double shift to meet deadlines and the next day land up for meetings with swollen eyes. But when a client approves a design, it’s like winning a war,” says Gupta.

What I love most about the job: “I enjoy the wide array of projects that I’ve had the opportunity to work on, including compact housing, convention centres or shopping plazas. Each project is a new lesson.”

Challenges: “In architecture, completion time of projects can be long. And there may be 10 different projects you’re working on simultaneously, that too at different stages like conceptualization, design development, tendering, etc. It can get challenging to have clarity on each project and be ahead of your game.”

Skill sets: “You need to be principally correct with design and not argue unnecessarily with your own ego. I don’t practise boutique or academic architecture. My designs are practical and functional and suit my clients’ needs more than mine.”

Money matters: If you’re about four-five years old in the profession, your salary can start at ₹ 6 lakh a year and go up to ₹ 30 lakh a year.

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Jaspreet Kaur, 46

Principal architect, Studio @ ar.criti, Delhi

She then headed to the UK and joined the Architectural Association, London, a school of architecture, for a six-month programme, going on to work at Merritt Design Partnership Ltd, a firm based in London, for two years. After returning to India, she enrolled at Cept again, this time for a master’s programme in urban design. She moved to Bangalore and partnered at an architectural firm for 10 years before relocating to Delhi and joining her father’s practice, Span Consultants, a multi-engineering firm. “It was a different ball game altogether. I was involved in filling and submitting tenders. The firm was essentially involved with bridges, highway engineering and large-scale government projects. The experience of working on some of these, which include hotels, airports, bus terminals, projects for the Commonwealth Games and several others, has been invaluable,” says Jaspreet. She started her own practice after her father retired and the company was sold in 2007.

A day in the life of an architect: “My day begins at 5.30am. I send my son to school, do yoga, have breakfast and reach office by 9.30am; lunch is at work. The first couple of hours go in sorting out emails, instructing staff about what is to be done. There are site visits, which happen about twice-thrice a week,” she says. She is of the school of thought that believes in producing a lot of elaborate, detailed drawings. “When you do that, you’d expect that your site visits are less. But in spite of numerous drawings you end up spending a lot more time on site, coordinating and making sure things go right,” she says. People think architecture is a glamorous profession, with fancy houses and celebrity interiors. But Jaspreet says people forget that a lot of time is spent sorting out things like electrical wiring, plumbing pipes, etc. “Designing is less than 50% of your work. A considerable amount of time also goes in selling or explaining your ideas.” With weekends off, Jaspreet tries to wind up work by 6pm on most days. “I am a single parent. My priority is to spend time with my son,” she says.

What I’d like to change: “The distractions of running a business. If your accountant, your clients, your contractors are calling you while you’re trying to concentrate on design, you’re not going to get much done. You have to find some quiet time if you want to get some real work done.”

Challenges: “Some of the best projects—large townships, institutions, airports, stadiums—in this country are with the government, and it’s tough to get these projects. Most of these require you to have done at least three similar projects or show turnover running into crores of rupees. It’s difficult to break into this as a small independent architecture firm.”

Skill sets: “A successful architect needs talent to start with, but also some interpersonal and organizational skills. Having business and legal knowledge helps and it’s important to be environmentally and socially aware.”

Money matters: “Although, the Council of Architects, a governing body, has laid down a fee structure, no one wants to look at it. So it’s very difficult and everyone charges their own price, which could range from 1-10% of the total project cost. If you work at a fairly senior post at a firm you can expect around ₹ 2 lakh a month.”

Every month, we explore a profession through the lives of three people at different stages in their careers.Tell us which profession you want to know more about at businessoflife@livemint.com.