Living in a city can be pretty bleak. “Open spaces are nothing but compartments in a metro. It leaves no space for individuality,” rues Maria Swetha, a final-year architecture student of Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU). So, as a matter of expression, her father’s ancestral house she is designing at Kanchipuram near Chennai is a blend of tradition and modernity. “It was an old house and was being renovated. My father did not want the house to be based on the designs of other houses in the village which after remodelling looked too colourful and modern,” she says. A concrete sit-out, very minimalist furniture, simple interiors with shelves… Swetha’s plan does not ooze grandeur but the house stays close to roots.
“The students bring a fresh imagination to their work. They work according to what you tell them and more importantly they are willing to modify if you ask them,” says a client for whom Swetha designed a seaside villa. “It is not very often that students get an opportunity to work on practical projects,” smiles Swetha. But how can students design when they are still studying? “We just give our designs to the client who takes it to the structural engineer and he’ll check and do the rest,” she says.
Another youngster who is patting her back for all the work that has gone into her first venture is Sindhuri. Trance, the newly-launched multi-cuisine restaurant at Jubilee Hills designed by her has been appreciated for its ‘stony’ interiors. “Being young I know what youngsters want and I tried to do my best,’ she says. Her muse was the stone and she used it in different sizes and shapes to give the landscape a new look. Now, Sindhuri has a few projects in hand but feels Hyderabadis are still not design conscious. “Many people think that architecture and interior designing are the same. They are two different subjects and an architect will just give you a building plan. He/she cannot be expected to spruce up your interiors,” she says.
Coffee shops are more than a hangout zone for the youth. Sashank’s two projects Beenz and Irani Chai lounge bar in Jubilee Hills reflect just that. “I wanted to be a little more innovative. So, I used straw roofing and rangolis, and the place looks like a village hut,” he says about Beanz. For Irani Chai (he just did the interiors), the Iranian women and genies painted on the walls confirm his taste for imagination. Commenting on the city’s changing skyline, he says: “Aluminium panels are ruining architecture in Hyderabad. It is useless make-up done to the malls and complexes. All the buildings are mere copies of each another. The GVK mall looks like a big monster sitting in the middle of the road. So much space is wasted with hardly any utility,”
Even as students take pride in their designing, the most-frequently asked question that hampers their work schedule is: ‘Does your plan comply with Vaastu?’ Vamsi Krishna who has done residential projects in Champapet, Dilshukhnagar, Bairamalguda and Nagole says: “An architect gives the plan but it is the priest who decides more than 40 percent of the house. The designers are left with no choice but to make compromises to accommodate clients’ belief,” he says. These budding architects also say clients do not pay the full amount as they are students.
Siddharth who dabbles in photography, graphic designing, advertisement hoardings, envelopes and logos had an unpleasant experience with an engineering college in Kurnool. “Students get easily duped by customers. Now, I will be very careful when deciding about the fee,” says Siddharth.
The students say they hope to bring a refreshing change to the city’s skyline. A toast to the new foundations.
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