PRABHAKAR

AND
ANIKET BHAGWAT

SHARMILA JOSHI
VAISHNAVI IYER

CLASS VI ‘C’
WHO ARE THEY?

M/s. Prabhakar B Bhagwat is a third generation design studio.

Having practiced for nearly five decades now, it leads the thinking on Landscape Design, Environmental Planning and Master Planning in the country and is
highly regarded for the work it undertakes in Architecture and Interior Design.

Varying in scales and typologies, the commissions that the studio undertakes are guided by uncompromising ethics, intense design processes, pursuit of
knowledge, and a commitment to outstanding realization of the design. Research, inventive thinking and continuous learning are key to the studio’s process.
A 50 person studio, with offices in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, it is very much a space for dialogue and learning. One of its grand projects, the Bridge House
in Vadodara, is built on two hillocks, and is connected by a bridge overlooking a small river. The topography is such that it combines the wild
greenery and an artfully tamed landscape, emerging from beneath the bridge and drawing a link between structure, water and nature. The firm invests
in research, academics and outreach programmes in order to strengthen its commitment and approach to the design processes.

Apart from working on Landscape and Architectural projects, and writing for Spade, Aniket Bhagwat is also faculty at CEPT, teaching post-grad Landscape
and under-grad Architecture.

Design Motto : Great attention to detail is given to every design aspect—deeply abiding by the motto “every aspect of design must celebrate
the gift of life”.
AN INTERVIEW WITH INDIAN BY DESIGN :-
Indian By Design: Your introduction states that your firm handles residential, industrial, recreation, urban, institutional landscapes, and ecological
redevelopment projects. Did you start with the aim of doing all of it, or did it evolve with time?

Aniket: The firm is my father’s – he started it. So it’s an old firm which started as a clear landscape design firm in 1972, and has evolved since. So we did
not start with that charter, but over the years found that was the kind of work we did. For the last 8 years, we now do a select amount of architecture that we
find interesting.

Indian By Design: When someone approaches you with a project, how do you go about analysing what it could become?

Aniket: I approach any project with the intention of making the client a partner in the process- so what the project aspires to be is a collective vision- not
mine or ours alone.

Indian By Design: I met an architect from Sri Lanka who felt modern Indian Architecture was not distinctive enough. Do you feel that to be true? What do
you think is the biggest challenge Indian architecture faces today?

Aniket: Well, modern architecture anywhere in the world is the same- except for notable examples. I think Indian architecture is doing just fine, but could
show more life from time to time. You see, the fact that we shy away from the kind of buildings and shapes that the world is building (Zaha Hadid et all)- is
a tribute to the fact that we are sensible and in some sense mired, in some sense respectful of our cultural, economic and spatial context. But sometimes we
take the mantle of being sensible, as a burden, and it weighs down Indian architecture greatly. The flip reaction is the irreverent work that seems to dot our
urbanscape. But this too- needs longer discussion. In a nut shell, I disagree.
The Discussion
Aniket: I find that in India, a lot that gets lauded is actually work that’s trying to copy work elsewhere in the world, and is not rooted enough to the
understanding of our culture, context and skill sets. Also, a fair amount of work has visual quality as a premium concern, and the space does seem to lose
its charm upon repeated viewing, and holds little to simulate the mind, other than the initial visual spectacle.

Indian By Design: About what you said about design and how it should guard itself from turning transient. Felt it absolutely true in the context of
architecture, which once built is there forever, and has to answer to generations, but felt that sometimes art, graphic design, interiors and the like might be
excused from the sterner form of this caveat. As they can be delightful even if seasonal and ephemeral.

Aniket: I disagree. While the ephemeral, or the transient has place in any discipline, if a discipline lays claim on being temporary as a right of exixtence,
god help it. We seem not to be able to seperate between the transient act of being and the nature of permanence communicated as an idea. When a rare
flower blooms, is it transient, or is its memory permanent? A broken love affair? Transient or sears your heart forever? We make the mistake in
distinguishing between the two as if they are two separate identities. That which is transient, perhaps has a greater value of being a permanent memory
because it’s a singular focused emotion. That which strives for permanence, does not always manage to, since it has many paradigms to respond to. Now
think of a great ad campaign, the old Beetle Volkswagon ad campaign, the Marcel Breuer chair. Permanent? Transient?
“Many years back, we had actually done an internal
office portfolio of about 25 to 30 projects and selected
the corresponding music for it; the exercise was to select
music that best carried the emotion of the projects- and
the selection much like our work was wide and varied.
Not for us is the boredom and the restriction of one kind
of music- we like all types much as our work exuberantly
explores many genres and languages. Those reading this,
will note that I am making a case for designers to work
with a variety of languages and genres, and not be
stifled into dedicating their life , for unknown reasons, to
a singular material or a spatial philosophy or a design
language”

The track that influenced the Casa Rio club ^

The firm advocates for unconventional influences and
approaches to design, and this project is one example.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

- Calcutta Blues
Club Rio

“The planning of a township cannot be complete without creating spaces for recreation, community buildings, and spaces
for interaction and discourse”

The Casa Rio Club is one such space, amongst many others, that allows for such activities. It has been designed to be a
tangible representation of the various elements that have made Bombay what it is today.

LOCATION: TYPOLOGY: SITE AREA: BUILT AREA:

Mumbai Recreation 1.32 Hectares 3892 m2

In the earlier times, and today in some of the older parts of the city – buildings were designed to have distinct character;
they became reference points within the area. When mass housing is a major programmatic need, it is not possible to
assign to all buildings the function of creating an identity; making a tangible memory. The Club house has capitalized on
the opportunity to tell multiple stories; it is a tongue in cheek take on various elements that make up the identity of
Bombay.
“ In this case, we were looking at the young budding family as the main user of a public environment, a leisure
club with several facilities. Being a public space, we wondered whether design could nudge a direction. Could it,
in some subliminal way provoke a thought? Could this be done in a humorous way? So that its shock value, or
silliness could be the point that actually begins an engagement, could it if anything simply grow a smile? we then
began to look at art, and found a movement, called “de-tournament“ that actually used art, turned it around, to
alarm and create public attention to further send out a social/cultural message . We dealt with all the spaces and
the various elements that had to be incorporated in this manner. ”
- ANIKET BHAGWAT AND SAMIRA RATHOD

“ The designer is critical in a studied way of the processes that have led to our current urban form. Their counter
to this, is to weave in memories of the city in a lighter vein, responding to a larger context. It is important to
understand that the designers have made a clear choice of replicating forms to various degrees, rather than to
engage with any interpretations or extracting any fundamental principles of the essence it wishes to capture. ”

– CRITIQUE BY RAVINDRA PUNDE

Creche.

“ We related the function of each space to another that already existed and from that
found cues to create designs of its interiors. So we imagined a gym to be a factory like
space with machines everywhere; workers laboriously working away, and we posed a
question: Would it not be a great place if the factories could have trees in them to relieve
the stress of the monotonous work? And so the gym was assigned the quality of a park,
with trees and natural light that the architecture took up. ”
Words of Aniket Bhagwat and Samira Rathod
● The verandah is the tying thread.It is seen as a railway platform, harking to visual language seen at Churchgate. This idea is strengthened through the metal work , the
separation in the flooring, that becomes rough ( To actually keep water away- but the line for handicapped), and then the drain that is designed to look like a track. It
alludes to the local trains in Mumbai too- a thread that ties all of Mumbai. Here its the thread that ties all the disparate identities that makes Mumbai. The stencilled letters
on the floor tell the story of railways in India.
● There is the theater, that has art-deco curves around the edges, and refers to the theater district of Mumbai. It uses signage that talks about great films and actors.
● The badminton hall, that has tall mass walls, that allude to the walls that separate the dock lands from the city, and like those walls have signs that say “no sticking” or “no
posters” , this uses a plaster commonly used in many parts of Mumbai to prevent people from sticking bills.
● The stair well, with its delicate clock tower kind of glass work.
● The library that alludes to the lovely filigree of metal work that many old /colonial/vernacular buildings in Mumbai are cloaked wit
● The more modern expression of architecture with its large cantilever, is seen in the gym block.
● And finally the fussy Parsi, banquet hall, that like all Parsis finds the best view, stays a little aloof, and away from the thread and celebrates its old world flooring and
woodwork; and has a lovely china mosaic terrace.
● The building then becomes an assortment of narratives - diverse, disparate, disconnected and still held together, much like Mumbai is; and in that it hopes to create a
conceptual and a real identity for the residents of Casa Rio.
With a tall roof, and cement floors, the verandah
is a tribute to the railway station. Stencil markings
on the floor tell the story of the Indian Railways,
and more importantly, are a signifier of the
Bombay local train lines.

The exterior of the library displays laced metal work. The windows are
wooden, with louvers. With straight lines, and clean geometric patterns, the
interiors have taken their inspiration from the art deco style of design.
Mini Theatre and Creche block

Representative of the old theatre district in Mumbai, the

theatre in Club Rio has a façade that is curved on the side. The badminton hall, that has tall mass walls, that allude to the walls that separate the
The signage lettering is reminiscent of this old world idea of docklands from the city, and like those walls have signs that say “no sticking” or “no
going to the theatre. posters” , this uses a plaster commonly used in many parts of Mumbai to prevent people
from sticking bills.
BRIDGE
HOUSE
In Vadodara, straddling two hills, sits a house that is a very
particular take on the relationship that landscape and architecture
share.

Bridge House in Baroda, West India, started out as a holiday

home and ended up as the owner’s main residence.

The two volumes are connected by a bridge – hence the

name.
The bridge extends beyond the property, leading down to
The house creates distinct yet connected spaces. The details of the house have been the garden.
developed in stone, concrete, and steel. It acts as an object in a vast landscape.
QUOTE
’If there is a central idea that holds the house together, it is
perhaps the idea of movement and rest; which at all times
explores the many stunning views of the surrounding landscape,’
says Bhagwat. ’Sometimes ceremonial, even theatrical,
sometimes simple, or even demanding a sense of inquiry, this
movement changes datum often.’
The house plays the role of the stage from which to view these
interactions of varying landscapes co-existing - but never
transgressing one another’s boundaries.
The transition is gradual, as gardens at the entrance, progress into
cultivated agricultural lowlands. The space represents the idea of
paradox and co-existence; they are spaces to curate experiences.
Context

The site for this weekend house in

Baroda, India is adjacent to a stream
that floods regularly. The landscape
thus, gives both the stream and the
house space for their occupation and
mediates the terrain in between. The
The landscapes are spaces unto themselves, thus allowing for an Bridge House, designed by
appreciation of detail within each space. The design and material create Ahmedabad-based architect Aniket
soft boundaries – both visual and physical. Bhagwat, is sited on two existing
hillocks and connected with a bridge
that becomes an extremely visible
design element. The immediate
manicured landscape and the larger
landscape mingle below this bridge.
The two natures are also echoes in the
two water bodies on either side of the
bridge; the pool and the lake.
The landscape moves from manicured
land to fields and orchards towards the
stream. The plant material adjacent to
the stream is chosen specifically to
Design intention: reduce soil erosion due to the annual
flooding in the rivulet.
A bridge connects the two sections of the house and becomes a space from which to view the various landscapes on site -
tamed and untamed. Intended to be a weekend house initially, the space was envisioned as a reversal of conventional
domiciles; with bedrooms on the ground floor and living and dining spaces on the first floor of the house.
Parikh House
QUOTE:
" There are spaces that are designed to serve a purpose larger than themselves. And then, there are
spaces that are remarkably personal.”

It brings to the fore the simple idea of domesticity. This is where the home distinguishes itself from
a majority of the other commissions that the studio has undertaken.

The narrative that has been created here is a personal one.

Taking the idea of simplicity in planning forward, the landscape has also been designed as such.

With water bodies incorporated in the landscape, it is a gardener's garden.

While the program of the space has not been diminished, it is a home that is lent its significance
because of the stories it holds, and the difference in decision-making it has allowed for.
Parikh House
“There are spaces that are designed to serve a
purpose larger than themselves. And then,
there are spaces that are remarkably
personal.”

Site area Built area

1805 m2 512 m2

Location Typology
Ahmedabad Residence
Parikh House

It brings to the fore the simple

idea of domesticity. This is
where the home distinguishes
itself from a majority of the
other commissions that the
studio has undertaken.

Taking the idea of simplicity in

planning forward, the
landscape has also been
designed as such.With water
bodies incorporated in the
landscape, it is a gardener's
garden.
bibliography
● https://www.landscapeindia.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Indian-Architect-Builder-October-2016.pdf
● https://www.landscapeindia.net/projects/architecture/palava-casa-rio-club
● https://www.landscapeindia.net/publications/columns-and-media
● https://www.landscapeindia.net/publication/blog/music-and-design-
● https://onekindesign.com/2011/09/06/the-bridge-house-by-aniket-bhagwat/
● https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/interactive-floorplan-bridge-house/amp
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYMlClq30W4