indigo architects

Profile of indigo architects

Business Name

indigo architects

Location

India

Services

Architecture

Website

http://www.indigo.net.in

Uday S. Andhare

Mausami U. Andhare

Principal(s)

Uday S. Andhare (1967)

• Diploma in Architecture, CEPT University School of Architecture, Ahmedabad - 1993
• Masters in Architecture, University Of New Mexico, School Of Architecture, USA - 1995

Mausami U. Andhare (1970)

• Diploma in Architecture, CEPT University School of Architecture, Ahmedabad - 1994
• Masters in Architecture, University Of New Mexico, School Of Architecture, USA - 1996

Philosophy

Indigo architects is a design firm, which offers creative and contextually relevant solutions in the field of architecture encompassing various kinds of building types. Institutions, housing, single family homes and mixed use programs have been the mainstay of our architectural projects.

The firm was established in 1998, deriving its name 'indigo' from the famous indigo dye omnipresent in the Indian context. Indigo is used creatively and expressively through many diverse media from textiles, paintings to lime plaster of vernacular settlements of western India.

Moreover, the name roots the firm to Ahmedabad City, which was a renowned indigo exporter to the world since the 14th century. Indigo is regarded as the colour of intuition according to our ancient texts, underlining our own belief in the design process that is inclusive, multilayered and yet cohesive in nature.

Our design focus is greatly enriched by the context of historic Indian architecture, magnificently layered through different periods, delineating insightful architectural solutions.

The ideology of the firm is to follow a process of holistic design, which is derived from an in depth understanding of the environment, the social milieu and the physical context of a place.

We see 'context' as a generative tool. Our view of a context is colored by an economy of means and opportunities to manipulate the experiential qualities of light, air and nature.

These provide us with compositional direction and ornament. We believe that contexts are interpreted phenomena rather than an idealized view.

Buildings that must 'act on' a place rather than 'fit in' become important in this process.

We like to think that our work highlights relationships between spaces rather than buildings themselves. Buildings in turn are compositions of spatial elements that dissolve the boundaries between inside and outside.

There are two ideas that stay with us as we work. One is 'Sahaj' or something that comes naturally and the other 'Upaj' a term used in Indian classical music, which means embellishment that is spontaneous and at the same time 'true' to the germinal idea.

Sustainable methods of design and construction form the core of all our design efforts.

Background

• Founded: 1998
• Offices: 1
• Design team: 5

Key projects

• Koba House, Single family home, Koba, Gandhinagar
• Jairamdas Patel Academic Center, JPAC, (Institute) Nadiad, Gujarat, India 2007
• Suramya House, (architects own house) Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India 2005
• Shrujan Campus, Bhujodi, (Institute) Kutch, Gujarat, India, 2004
• Shrujan Living and learning design center, Paddhar, Kutch: Crafts School and Textile Museum - 2007-2010 Ongoing project

Key publications

• Inside Outside, India, Issue 216, June 2003 "Weekend Retreat, Talking to Nature"
• Indian Architect and Builder, Vol. 16(05), January 2003. "Lessons Learnt", Arya, Meghal
• Indian Architect and Builder, Vol. 17(08), April 2004. "Contextually Relevant Architecture"
• Architecture: Time, space, people, Vol. 4 Issue 7. Vadodaria, Keyur. "Of living... nature and spaces", The magazine of the Council Of Architecture, India
• A+D, Spectrum architecture awards publication March 2004
• 'Off The Shelf" Better Interiors, India, volume 1 issue 2, June 2005
• Shrujan, A Beacon of Trust, Kutch, Gujarat, India Journal of the Indian Institute Of Architects, vol 72, issue 08 August 2007
• 'Natures Lap' Home Review, India, November issue, 2007

Key awards

• A+D SPECTRUM FOUNDATION AWARDS India, 2004" Commendation Trophy for "The Institutional Architecture Award". Project: Shrujan Trust Campus, Bhujodi, Kutch.
• Indian Institute of Architects, selected entry to the ARCASIA AWARDS, Sri Lanka, 2007