Art, Architecture and Design Professionals On TFOD

Cafés are the reflection of a city’s culture. People come to cafés for various reasons apart from the coffee - like work, read, meet people, or spend quality time in a casual setting. While bars are also popular hang-out spots, the focus of meeting at a bar is primarily to enjoy with alcohol; contrarily a city’s cafes are linked to its people. When visiting a new city, sitting in a nice café, sipping on the local coffee, sampling the local delicacy and watching people passing by - gives a glimpse of the life in the city.

To know a city, one must familiarize with the city’s cafés and that is the reason why one must choose their cafés wisely. We have seen this in cities like New York, London and Paris. Now we can see that in Mumbai (and other Indian cities) too. But for now, we focus on Mumbai - and the changes in the city’s culinary character with the growing populairty of the café culture. More attention is being paid to developing concepts and themes around which décor and other facilities revolve. With decors ranging from cliched to innovative - here's a list of must-visit cafés of Mumbai!

Street art, per se, might not be a new phenomenon. Indeed, as old as human history itself, art in the public realm has been as rich a source of historical record and contemporary communication as any out there. From ancient cave paintings to regional traditional art forms, to government sponsored campaigns, advertisements or graffiti, the public space has always offered itself as a huge canvas for artistic expression. But, recently, there has been a revolution of sorts in our country, where art has found a new purpose and arena in the public sphere. Not only streets, but public places like train stations are hosting art forms varying from traditional to modern, professional to amateur and folk, involving artists and lay citizens to not just add a vibrancy to the space, but contribute to the national effort of cleaning up our cities and towns under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Swacchh Bharat’ movement. 

India is a spiritual paradise and a land of hundreds of beautiful temples. Touched by the Gods themselves, this land was once inhabited by deities whose presence can still be felt in the divinity of these temples, etched into history forever. Built by the great rulers of the country, they make the rich cultural heritage of India. Some of these temples are known globally today for their architectural grandeur, construction techniques and sculptural detailing. One such temple is the Brihadeeshwara temple of Thanjavur, Tami Nadu.

Hiren Patel Architects may be considered as one of the finest architectural practices in India.  An intuitive dedication to the basic fundamentals of climate-responsive design, a focused commitment to the integrity of materials and a simplistic approach to resolve site-specific issues within the parameters of bye-laws and aesthetics marks the work of the studio. Based out of Ahmedabad, the practice founded in 1989 is helmed by Ar. Hiren Patel. The HPA Profile on TFOD is selected as the week’s Profile Of The Week! 

Bangalore based design firm, Biome Environmental Solutions, does pioneering work in the field of ecology, architecture and rainwater harvesting. Born by the merger between its the two Principal Architects, Chitra K Vishwanathan and Vishwanath S, Biome Solutions pools their distinct interests and talents since 2008. Before coming together  to create Biome, Chitra was spearheading Chitra Vishwanath Architects and Vishwanath was helming Rainwater Club since 1990. A graduate in architecture from CEPT, Ahmedabad, Chitra has been involved with several residential, institutional and hospitality projects designed on the principles of ecological architecture. Vishwanathan S did his masters in Urban Planning from CEPT, Ahmedabad and through his Rainwater Club provided services in water management, rainwater harvesting, ecological waste water treatment and sanitation practices. Their team at Biome is a unique blend of designers, architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers and urban planners from across the country and abroad.