Renowned architect Sumit Dhawan, known for his experimentation and innovation in melding numerous design styles together as a routine practice, gets candid with The Pioneer about his art of architecture.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
It was the interesting structures that really caught architect Sumit Dhawan’s attention, leading him to become one of the pioneers in the field of architecture. He is known for creating aesthetically pleasing and immaculately planned spaces with an eye for details!
His portfolio boasts architectural projects shaped by the virtues of tradition and purpose and oriented towards excellence in planning, design, aesthetics, and whatnot. “I had a prolonged affinity for architecture since childhood, and I always had an imperative inclination towards drawing and sketching. I was born and brought up in an architectural household, as my father is an architect himself! During my early days of childhood, I used to see him working on his drawings with fancy architecture equipment like the parallel bar, set square, various clutch pencils, ink points, etc., which always fascinated me to pursue this field and enticed a passion for the profession,” he shared.
So he always found architecture interesting, as it was more about creativity, innovation, and experimentation than intellectual or theoretical study. Also, architecture, being a non-monotonous and dynamic field, helps a person evolve with his everyday experiences. The observatory skills it enthuses grant one an eye for design and an opportunity to do something out of the box. He continued, “The project of the World Trade Center evolved out of a natural form, and the structure planning is really inspiring to me. The way the architect has integrated structure with architecture with no superficial elements. The second will be the LU Museum, which is a large glass and metal pyramid designed by a Chinese-American architect. The way PEI managed to create the entrance without disturbing the historical presence of the existing building is appreciated by the world.” Maxim Museum is also an ideal parametric design for Sumit because it is a seamless design where one function flows into another in an organic fashion.
“Soo K.Chan has been a major influence on my work. I once saw an ongoing project that I was quite fascinated by. I researched the architect and got to know him. Upon researching further, I realized his thought process and design ideology resonated with mine to a great extent, giving me immense confidence in my work. Starting with architecture in the year 2000, I did my internship at Auroville under Suhasini Ayer. I went for one of the college case studies, where I was enthralled by the nature of work and decided to pursue an internship with them there and then. The office granted me a lot of exposure and opportunities where I learned the fundamentals from numerous local and international architects like Dominic Dube, Anupama Kundoo, Piero and Gloria Cicionesi, Satprem Maini, etc! After completing the internship, I got an opportunity to work with a commercial architecture firm known as Design International Forum today, where I amalgamated the internship knowledge with the practical fieldwork. I started a solitary practice directly after completing my B.Arch. in 2005 and founded Cityspace’82 Architects. My childhood passion for architecture manifested my perseverance and belief, which led me to practice unconditional hard work,” added the architect, for whom architecture is a to-and-fro process between aesthetics and functionality, keeping context at the core.
Besides, “Landmark events for me would be the opportunities I embraced throughout my life. From my internship to getting my first project, which is really unusual for an undergrad student who is still pursuing the course. The project conferred a decent amount of recommendations for me! Another turning point in my career was lawyer Dang’s residence, which is among my most appreciated projects and after which I never had to look back. This project also gave me a spectacular response. After getting major work through word of mouth, I was able to up my game in the premium luxury segment after completing this project. Working for celebrity homes like those of cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir again comes under the most memorable events during the overall practice.”
His first project residence was planned with a sustainable approach using earth blocks, solar passive strategies, and cavity walls, and therefore, the residence received overwhelming appreciation. Being the first one, the project taught him numerous things that can go wrong during commencement. But the prime lesson was practicing architecture in real life, where he had to deal with clients and vendors, which they usually don’t tend to learn about during their academics.
