Interview
Mahesh Nampurkar
1 Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your design background.
Architecture is a matter of creativity with scientific thought process. So, an architect is known by his projects itself. I, Mahesh Nampurkar, Partner of
2 What made you become/why did you choose to become a designer/artist?
Architecture is all about creating, crafting and safeguarding the culture. This creation for someone with details of crafting gives real satisfaction because of its cultural connection. This is the only profession, where you get an opportunity to craft someone
3 Tell us more about your business/company, job profile, and what you do.
We incepted Suman Shilp around 12 years back, this inception was on the footings of a thought which we wanted to bring to reality. The footing of our works was based on reliability, loyalty & experience. We always take an effort to give a reliable service to all our clients. Loyalty is very important thus we always craft a sense of being a part of a particular project & give our clients an assurance that we always desire to work for their benefit. Experience is all about giving the conceptualization to the clients who wanted to thrive & bring their dreams to reality. Thus, in totality & togetherness these were the three main support system or we can call them as foundations for inceptions .Our inception of Suman Shilp had started way back in 2006 but before that we were executing lots of project & we have the total experience of around 27 to 29 years starting from 1994.
4 What does “design” mean to you?
Like love, even design is mutual, it's an emotion. The creator and the receiver have to put their complete soul into creating, and into living that design to see its true beauty. A design is not a mere rendering, it is a journey of emotions on that piece of land and that should be felt by the reader.
5 What’s your favorite kind of design and why?
Like any relationship, design that works is essentially a two way relationship. It encompasses the understanding and imaginations of the creator and at the same time, fulfils the aspirations and elevates the experience of the receiver. For me, landscape design has a deeper relationship. It is a medium connecting the resident of the space with its natural surroundings, making the two seamlessly one. Both breathing life into each other.
6 To you, what makes a “good” design?
A good designer is one who designs well theoretically, and great designer is one who designs with soul and heart. A good design is a design which stands on a firm foundation of functional aspects of the project and really good design is a step further where the functionality as well as soulfulness of the design is derived in the perfect proportion.
7 Describe your design style and its main characteristics.
Although the USP of each project is different, the common thread running throughout is the balance of simplicity, functionality and elegance. My design style focuses on these factors and they could be achieved through means of landscape elements, spatial transitions, integrated planning and variety of plants.
8 Tell us about your design process.
Basically the design process is very simple. Initially, it's very important to understand the language of any project. Once we are aware of the language of the project then we need to really understand the essence of the project, once it is understood and the rhythm is followed, we can really create and craft that project very easily. Afterwards, the functionality and the requirement of the clients need to be analysed. After analysing and understanding that, the crafting becomes very easy and we can really play an important role to derive design.
9 Do you think your country and its cultural heritage has an impact on your design process?
Yes, the cultural heritage of our country India, is very established and that always inspires us to really craft ,create and understand the functionalities In our project. All the structures which have been distinguished and established in our country has a perfect values of our culture. And this gives us a correct understanding of redefining design with cultural values.
10 Congratulations! As the winner of the 2022 MUSE Design Awards, what does it mean to you and your company and team to receive this award distinction?
Winning the Muse award 2022 is really a big honour. This has increased our moral and also helps us in understanding where we stand in our design fraternity all over the world. So this award indeed has given us a big boost in terms of thought, in terms of creating and understanding how we need to process our future projects and give correct direction to our thought of evaluating and designing better projects in years to come.
11 Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2022 MUSE Design Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?
This years winning entry which we had submitted and was chosen for the Golden Muse Award was a project from the north of our state in India. We chose this particular project for one reason, because it is an establishment which has gained a lot of values as well as it really cherishes the values and heritage of our country. Along with the crafting of the design what we wanted to intend and match with the functionality of the project. Its a wellness property and we always wanted to create and craft that particular property without forgetting and without missing out the values of design. So the strength of this particular design is simplicity and soulfulness with a perfect blend.
12 What was the biggest challenge with this project?
The biggest challenge with this particular project was that it was a flat farm land and surrounded by the hillscape around it. We wanted the wellness arenas to be crafted with all the five senses to be enriched as an experience. Thus, this particular brief and thought really gives us the correct directives to design this project on that line. The challenge with this particular project was that it had stipulated budget as well as the flat land and creating beautiful places within that flat land was a big challenge. It really helped us and i think so we were successful in writing correct derivations for this design.
13 How has winning an Award developed your practice/career?
Winning an award is always a big appreciation. It really boosts the moral of the entire team and really helps us to create better and better. This gives us enrichment to really speak about the forthcoming projects and give it a better directives so that we can create, craft and culture our design.
14 What are your top three (3) favorite things about our industry?
Top 3 favourite things about our industry is materials, variation in projects and space derivatives and thirdly everchanging ideologies and opening new avenues in terms of designing.
15 What makes your country specifically, unique in the design industry?
Our country is a developing country and thus absorbing good things from the world around has always been accepted in our design fraternity. This gives us an opportunity to see variations in terms of materials and approach of design as well as intermingle with various worldwide brands which have come to our country. So the brands and their belonging in this country has given us an opportunity to work with variations for our designs. Also the art, culture in our country is one of the most unique thing which embraces the design of our country. Along with new upcoming technologies and the materials still have the value of those designs which can be framed very well and liberally used in our design philosophy.
16 Where do you see the evolution of design industry going over the next 5-10 years?
In coming 5-10 years design industry and its evolution is going to prove next heights. Minimalism is always going to be the ruler of coming years, where people have understood that creating spaces and rendering dreams with minimalism will always ensure the design to live more and that is what I feel is going to be path which can lead to the express thought ways of years to come.
17 If you were a student entering this industry or an aspiring MUSE Design Awards submitter, what advice would you give them?
As a Muse Award winner i would like to express that all students should really framed and opt for challenges. Unless and until you put yourself in the challenging arenas you will never ever understand what your lacunas are and how you need to grow, so i will always express that one should go for these king of challenges in terms of proving themselves in this world of art, culture and creations.
18 What resources would you recommend to someone who wants to improve their skills in the design industry?
It is really very important to follow certain principals in the profession. Firstly, keep in mind that you are spending someone else
19 Tell us something you have never told anyone else.
I want to really compile my thought process of giving a great experience to the people. I wish to state that i wish to provide a consolidated easy approachable library of thoughts to people which will give them great vision statement & easy functionality to bring their dreams to reality.I want to give the best to the people in the best of the cost so utilizing their money, time & efforts to the best is my vision.
20 Who has inspired you in your life and why?
I'm always inspired by legends such as Ar. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Ar. Geoffrey Bawa. Barcelona Pavilion designed by Ar.t Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is one of my favourite design for its simplicity clean contemporary lines of architecture. Hotel Kandalama by Ar. Geoffrey Bawa has always inspired me. Modern steel and glass Farnsworth's house designed by Ar. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is also one of my favourite designs.
21 What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?
For me every new project is my first one. Probably that itself is the key to success. Secondly, any kind of creation has to be with your heart and soul. An architect must keep this in mind that even if it
22 Do you have anything else you would like to add to the interview?
This profession is about giving back to society. Because it
