Art, Architecture and Design Professionals On TFOD

With the season for students to return to schools and colleges globally having set in, educational spaces are back in focus. Investment in education was never at such a high anytime in history as it is now, and this has resulted in a boom for designers of institutional buildings and spaces as well. Well, almost in parallel, the world has woken up to the climate change and resource depletion crisis and trained the spotlight on sustainable practices in all fields, including building design. Just as these green buildings account for a large number of academic institutions, the green practices consolidated in the design of schools imparting an education in these very areas of study evoke special interest. Here’s looking at the building designs of two such institutions catering to two vastly different age groups in two varied geographical locations across the globe. 

Engaging in multiple facets of the architecture & design field and having built up a programmatically comprehensive, qualitatively competitive and exemplarily delivered portfolio of projects makes GA design one of the most coveted and dependable brands on the Mumbai design scene today. Founded by architects Rajan and Sachin Goregaokar in 1999, the firm has been applying its cache of talents to a wide range of projects like multi- and single family residences, residential apartments, office blocks, commercial establishments, leisure facilities and also redevelopment projects. They are joined in leadership by their spouses, Ritu and Shami Goregaonkar who bring to the table their own competencies in interior design, colour consultancy, business development and also design writing. All four partners have led extremely successful deliveries of varied projects, which have earned GA design several accolades and media features, and TFOD is privileged to have then on our galleries as well.  They are also the bearers of a rich legacy in art and architecture with greats like Shri B.K. Goregaonkar, sculptor and former dean of Sir J J School of Art, and Architect G. B. Mhatre, a Mumbai Art Deco pioneer featuring in their ancestry. 

At a certain level, all of interior architecture is about designing spaces within spaces. But, most of this is about creating something totally new on the given canvas, about transforming the given/ available space in the entirety of its body and spirit to accommodate the new programme, to put up a fresh decor. Only sometimes, interiors need to be created such that while catering wholeheartedly to the new design program in terms of function and aesthetics, the internal décor simultaneously and equivocally maintains a mutually enhancing interaction with the shell that houses it. Here are two examples of such interior design projects where the décor impartially shoulders the twin responsibilities of assimilating the old while incubating the new within the same space.

Design derives from inspiration; and designs, in their turn, are inspirational. TFOD, being the platform for designers to share and show their creations, is a pool of wide-ranging design ideas that can be dipped into for assured inspiration. Circulation spaces, important as they are, are essentially subordinate and subservient to the main spaces of any set-up, almost incidental in their existence. The décor or treatment accorded to such corridors, passages and hallways may also be subordinate to the majority of the décor yet, one can neglect or go wrong with it only at the cost of spoiling the rest of the décor. These passages contribute the supportive framework of the décor, a finely threaded border tying the exclusively embroidered panel together. Today, we try to derive inspiration from corridors/ passages displayed on TFOD galleries by the talented designers we are privileged to have on board.

TFOD is extremely pleased to be participating in the celebratory season once again! This time, to double the joy, we have young team PATH of Auroville receiving international design honours, whose beautifully detailed profile on TFOD has been celebrated in an earlier feature here! The global competition hosted by the Re-thinking The Future group was contested this year by 748 projects in various categories ranging from architecture, landscaping, urban design, product design to interior design from more than 50 countries. The design for the Nandanam Kindergarten at Auroville designed by the PATH team led by Ar. Shailaja Sudhalkar Bhati, and ably supported by partner Ar. Lalit Kishore Bhati, has won the award in the institutional (built) category.