Perspective Play

SmaranMallesh feels that this is the ethos of design at their studio, Cadence Architects, an award-winning architectural firm founded by him, Vikram Rajashekar and Narendra Pirgal in 2005. The co-founders studied together at RV College of Architecture in Bengaluru, where they collaborated on their first live interior project. Since its inception, the studio has completed more than 75 projects across India as well as abroad.

While taking on a new project, the site’s physical context, the client’s background and the budget are considered. Their working style is collaborative, both within the office as well as with other stakeholders on the site. “The biggest learning has been about taking new and unforeseen directions the work can take with such collaborations, and the unique perspectives that each of these stakeholders possesses,” says Rajashekar.

The studio aspires to create architectural experiences that are pleasurable, both visually and sensorially. Rather than imposing a particular style, the studio looks to evoke the latent potential of each project specifically to weave new possibilities of organisingprogramme, culture, climate and site. Their projects, Java Rain (a resort amidst nature) in Chikmaglur, and Cloaked (a monolithic design abode) and KMYF (a dialysis centre) in Bengaluru are examples of their exquisite architectural designs.

Going forward, they would like to take on projects that would inspire them to push the boundaries of design and help hone the sensibilities and beliefs as a studio, projects that are accessible to a larger audience.

As Pirgal puts it, “The studio’s ideology has always been about trying to conceive architecture which is deeply rooted to the culture and place, while it has its own voice in the widely varied architectural landscape of India.”

By Mohan Siddharth