DESIGNER UNIVERSE

Ar Naresh Shah, principal architect, Naresh Shah & Associates, has moved to contemporary architecture and design, but holds steadfast to what actually constitutes the profession

- JAYASHREE KINI MENDES

Ideally, a thread running in the veins of architects should be a passion for the craft, amply resonated across their designs and detailed projects. That kind of sums up Naresh Shah’s DNA coupled with his own inclination for drawing and the belief that architecture requires creativity, innovation and experimentation rather than plain intellectual or theoretical study.

It is perhaps this passion that led to the formation of Naresh Shah & Associates, the Mumbai-based firm of which Shah is the founder & principal architect. But while the firm officially came in five years later, Shah had actually begun his practice even before he could earn his B.Arch from J.J. College of Architecture, which was way back in 1985.

At a time when most architects preferred to bag large and prominent architectural projects, Shah has preferred to work with interiors and private villas. “We have not confined ourselves to residential projects only, but also designed for commercial, hospitality, institutional, healthcare, etc. Of course, in those days with no guiding hand, we had to figure out ways to design the project with form and functionality,” he adds.

He takes pride in a healthcare facility that he designed way back in 1994. In his words, “That was our first healthcare project and we planned it so well to the last detail that even the manufacturers of those equipment were impressed with the spaces we allotted for each of the numerous departments and its equipment.”