Leaders
They say art and architecture have a deep connection and magic happens when they are united through their design, their designer, and their meanings. Lakshmi Narasimhan (Principal Architect, Aarabhi Design Build), being a Bharatnatyam dancer herself, finds a deep connection between art and architecture and is bringing this connection to life through her astounding designs - making meaningful and lasting contributions to India’s architecture and helping shape entire communities and societies.
She is also one of the Directors and the Design Head of MINDMAPS Architecture and Interiors, a construction company that has proven to be one of the leading firms in Bangalore working with a niche and elite clientele. Additionally, she is the Co-founder of two more ventures – Sahaa - The Crafters which offers eco-friendly and natural designs for apparel, jewelry, and furniture, and Cafe Socialize, a Bohemian-styled, upmarket cafe, in a quiet neighborhood of West Bangalore.
Lakshmi also engages in mentoring students in the field of Architecture and interior design and also has many publications, journals, and articles to her credit. Let’s hear it from her as she speaks about her journey and more.
How does your prior industry experience empower you to become a better architect and designer today?
Architecture is a synthesis of both arts and science and since childhood, I have always been attracted to visual arts. At the same time, I have had a fascination with subjects like Math and Physics. This combination of both arts and sciences worked extremely well for me. The balanced integration of artistic sensibility and scientific methodology is essential to creating great architecture and I believe I am lucky to have both. My designs are a balance between creative inspirations and structured pragmatic thought processes. In 2002, I started in a small garage with nothing but my degree and very little experience & knowledge that I gathered as a child watching my uncles work on-site as civil engineers. I had to travel and visit random building sites to meet contractors/clients and pitch my designs. I have worked with well-known architects in Bangalore and over the years, these experiences have helped me to shape my career. I have strived continuously to develop a unique style in design. My designs tap natural elements; skylights and courtyards are part of my design vocabulary as they let light and air in. I don’t believe in applying ‘cosmetic’ solutions to my building facades in terms of cladding or other forced aesthetics. I am of the strong opinion that the facade of any building has to evolve from the plan.
Introduce us to Aarabhi Design Build and its key areas of specialization.
Aarabhi is the name of a Raga (musical tone) in Carnatic music. It signifies the philosophy that states – 'Architecture is Frozen Music'- Goethe. Through soulful designs, we work to make this connection between art and architecture, stronger. We started our journey in 2003 developing designs that offer luxury to the simplest of spaces. We have designed over a million square feet of built spaces in the past 21 years and are still looking forward to many more opportunities to craft our designs. For us, satisfied and happy clients are the bedrock in terms of our growth and our sense of success stems from there. Constant communication, time commitment, mutual understanding of the outcomes, and prioritizing client feedback help us to strengthen our relationship with our clients. Our team (along with my partner, Ravindra) of experienced consultants, engineers, and designers aims to create designs that are ecological, meet the client’s requirements, and are aesthetically pleasing at the same time.
“We strive to develop designs that closely weave lifestyles, materials, & volumes to build spaces with magic in them that take us beyond because we believe that the horizon is but a mere line”
What are some of the most critical challenges you encounter as an architect? What steps do you undertake to overcome these roadblocks?
The Indian construction industry is still very disorganized. The major challenge here is the lack of Human Resources or skilled labor. We have pathbreaking designs but the real challenge is their execution. We also want to explore old, lost techniques of architecture and use them in modern times but the lack of technical expertise to execute projects becomes our major hurdle. However, our proficient engineers & designers leverage their expertise and knowledge to efficiently use processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life cycle. We strive to develop designs that closely weave lifestyle, materials, volumes, and other important aspects to build spaces that create and spread the magic.
Tell us about the top three milestones you have achieved throughout your professional journey.
To be able to establish my own venture, initially in a small way, and then gain a stronghold in the architecture industry without any external support has been the greatest milestone of my career. My designs were featured in several leading news dailies (this was when there were no social media); many times, an entire page was dedicated to my work and thus resulting in gaining a better and bigger client base for my company.
Above all, my greatest milestone is when the accumulated knowledge and the experience that I have gained in the past couple of decades, in terms of design, finances, and people management enabled me to start and run, not one but three ventures parallelly.
Lakshmi Narasimhan, Principal Architect, Aarabhi Design Build
Armed with a Bachelor of Architecture from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, and experience working with renowned architects in India, Lakshmi, for the last two decades has been orchestrating successful projects and enhancing people’s lifestyles through sustainable and aesthetic designs.
