Dialogue with Himanshu Sharma and Saumya Goel
- December 31, 2024
- By: Ar. Priyanshi Shah
- SUCCESS STORIES
A research-based firm, Urban Oeuvre Designs, imbibes traditions and incorporates them into innovations for the modern era. Creating projects with a unique artistic image along with functional solutions makes it an oeuvre in itself. In this interview, the Building Material Reporter delves into the UOD’s philosophy of design, latest work and future visions that celebrate simplicity, functionality, and elegance.
Collaboration is central to UOD’s philosophy. How do you balance professional expertise with incorporating client input?
At UOD, every project is a product of the client’s vision and our design team’s skill set. As we know Architecture is an Art, so we start the project with a design brief and a context study that gives us the first layer of what the client’s vision and demands are out of the art that is to be created. These responses cater to the initial output which is presented in the form of a prototype where the final changes are made before commencing the execution.
Your design process begins with a detailed design brief. How do you ensure the client’s vision is accurately translated into the final design?
The design brief is followed by a design prototype which can be in digital as well as physical form depending on the project’s scale. Usually, the clients are invited to our studio to do a detailed analysis of their vision with the design prototypes and that is where we also find the common ground before putting our skill set onto the final design. We put the “Oeuvre” in all the projects only after finding the common ground of the project.
What criteria do you use when selecting materials for a project? How do you ensure Do they align with both aesthetics and functionality?
After finalizing the look and feel of the project, we start the sampling process in the UOD Studio. Clients are welcome for a full-day session with vendors to display their products as per the shortlisting done during the look and feel presentation stage.
To align the modern aesthetics and functionality of the selected materials, we first put them to use in prototypes or scaled physical samples. Take for example that before finalizing a paint shade, it is normal that we get 2-3 samples made on-site and then finalize. This is to check the actual feel of the paint shades. Similarly, before finalizing a stone or tile, a team of designers from Urban Oeuvre Designs along with the clients look at the shortlisted samples and bring them to a certain site where we see the same under the natural and artificial lighting that is proposed in the project.
Sustainability is a growing priority in design. How does Urban Oeuvre Designs integrate eco-friendly practices in its projects?
Our practice, Urban Oeuvre Designs, stands for all things artsy but with a notion to integrate sustainable practices in all the projects. This fight in the real world is still there for the layman to understand the gravity and impacts of sustainable design practice in his/her home. It all starts with basic steps such as eco-friendly materials and adequate usage of resources. Gradually, the whole project turned out to be the most compatible project for that site, the earth, and the community in which it is being made. With such simple goals to begin with, we start educating the clients to lean towards sustainable designs.
The mission of Urban Oeuvre Designs is to redefine affordable design. How do you see this approach shaping the future of architecture?
Our design practice is at its adolescent stage where since the very beginning our mission has been to provide architecture and modern interior services to all kinds of income groups. This is a solution for the wronged notions of the people of this nation, who look at the designers with a notion of extra expenses. This is exactly why builders and contractors started gaining popularity and people started refraining from going to an architect for their houses.
This saturation that the country has been facing in getting the design services for their respective projects by a professional architect is what we are here to change. We believe this will bring back the collaborations among the builders and architects for good and much better design projects will be observed that may put India as a leader in building designs.
With your experience working alongside renowned architects, what trends do you see emerging in contemporary architecture and interior design?
The architectural trend for the year 2025 is going to be an outburst of classical house designs. In 2024 we saw that many clients opted for classical elevations as the ongoing trend but were skeptical of the interiors in the same design style. Having said that, the upcoming year may well consolidate the classical design styles for new residential architecture.
As an active member of the Council of Architecture and The Indian Institute of Architects, how do you leverage these platforms to enhance your practice?
Both the COA and the IIA keep on engaging with the members to innovate and improvise luxury living for the betterment of society. They also launch their competitions frequently which keep the fraternity on its toes to do better. We are very grateful to be actively working as members of these bodies and to see the potential this country has through their lenses. It helps in opening up our horizons of design and understanding the greater responsibilities we have as registered architects.
What are your aspirations for Urban Oeuvre Designs in the next decade?
Our team at UOD studio are currently focusing on building new strategies for designing spaces keeping future generations in mind. For this, we have initiated a research-based project called “Futuristic City”. We want to be the first design studio working for the infrastructure and development of the colonies of human settlements outside the Earth.
What advice would you give to young professionals looking to balance creativity, sustainability, and affordability in their designs?
Always focus on understanding the customer's needs more than doing what you like in the design as the designer.
What project in your portfolio best exemplifies the mission of Urban Oeuvre Designs?
‘The Refined Heptagon’ or ‘The DGSPL Corporate Office’, is a project that is close to our hearts. It outlines the interior residential architecture of a 75-year-old corporate office, accommodating 25 employees, while incorporating the principles of minimalism, ergonomics, sustainability, and adaptive reuse. Located in Aishbagh, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, the client wanted the space to have very minimalistic aesthetics and an uncluttered environment.
This project aimed to create a space that embodies simplicity, functionality and a sense of calm while maintaining a professional and corporate atmosphere. The project focuses on the aspect of sustainability, where all furniture is refurbished and redesigned using the existing old furniture which highlights the concept of a circular economy. The main difficulties faced were that of loose soil and an old sewerage system in the project area.
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