“OUR WAY OF WORK IS AKIN TO THAT OF A CRAFTSPERSON. IT NEEDS TO BE CONSTANTLY HONED.”
In the last 16 years, Studio Lotus has changed the design language of the country. This can be attributed to their relentless pursuit for innovation, the multidisciplinary nature of the practice and a refusal to fit in a box.
Studio Lotus has a reputation. One which the neatly stacked awards (they have over a 100) in their office stand testimony to. The marriage of opposites; be it in design or the diverse backgrounds and age-groups of the people who work here, has led them to gain a ‘legendary’ status in the industry as a firm that always comes up with fresh and edgy designs. But to get here we have to rewind to 2002. This was when Ambrish Arora, now 48 along with Sidhartha Talwar, 46 and Ankur Choksi, 43 quit their jobs in a design firm and started their own practice. Their first design was an office, which pleased the client, but the trio considered a failure; their vision had not translated as they had hoped it would. They even saw a period of struggle and almost shut down, but hard work and an innovative approach to design ensured they never had to look back. From three principals they have grown to five (with Pankhuri Goel, 34 and Asha Sairam, 30 joining the team) and have over 60 design-
ers and architects working with them. Team members from multiple disciplines (such as architecture, graphic, exhibition and communication design) steeps the practice with distinct strengths across different domains to shape the projects as a collective accomplishment rather than an act of individual authorship. India Today HOME sat down with the five principals in their Delhi office to get a glimpse of their practice.
SHARE YOUR JOURNEY
Arora In the early days, like any fledgling venture, all was grist to Studio Lotus’s mill. We undertook basically any project that we got—some of our earliest works include a small office space, a gym at the India Habitat Centre and a Crafts Mela. Two years later came the first F&B space, the first F Bar in New Delhi and then Khaaja Chowk, and the first retail space
for Viya Home in Defence Colony. We have since moved from a firm that was predominantly focused on interior architecture to one where more than half the work now comprises green-field projects.
AN AWARD THAT MEANS A LOT
Talwar Winning the World Holiday Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, for Raas Jodhpur, would be the one that comes to mind first. We were a relatively small practice then and Raas was our first architectural project—it was truly a milestone moment for us. There’s also, of course, the nomination for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, in 2013.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Choksi Some of our ongoing work includes the industrial and corporate campus for Organic India in Lucknow, Krushi Bhawan a passively-cooled institutional building for the Government of Odisha, the new tech centre and head quarters for Royal Enfield in Chennai and a high-rise corporate tower for Max Estates in Delhi. We have just finished work on Aloft Hotel in Aerocity, are working on The Oberoi Wildlife Resort, Bandhavgarh and the Clubhouse at the flagship Godrej Trees development in Vikhroli, Mumbai. On the masterplan front, we are working on an 80-acre sustainable development in Uttarakhand and a 500-acre Net Zero master plan in Jaipur. In the interior domain, Paro the new brand from Good Earth is opening soon and we have recently finished. Masti in Dubai, The Quorum, a member’s only club in Gurgaon and the Clubhouse for Antara Senior Living in Dehradun.
DESIGN DISRUPTING PROJECT
Goel We believe the role of design is to integrate—the disruption is more about the constant challenge that we throw at ourselves via questions such as, “There must be a better way of doing this?” “Can we do more with less?” “What if?” It’s really about disrupting what we take for granted as the norm.
INNOVATION AS A WAY OF LIFE
Sairam Learning is an integral part of who we are. Our way of work is akin to that of a craftsperson. It needs to be constantly honed. We believe that bold visions are a result of an iterative process, a consistent attitude of incremental small innovations every day.
AT www.studiolotus.in
The marriage of opposites; be it in design or with the diverse backgrounds and age-groups of the people who work here has led them to gain a ‘legendary’ status in the industry as a firm that always comes up with fresh and edgy designs.