SHRUTI JALAN

ON A QUIET, LEAFY BREACH CANDY HILLOCK IN MUMBAI, THE AD100 ARCHITECT AND DESIGNER LIVES WITH HER HUSBAND AND SON AMONG WEDGWOOD BLUE WALLS, CONSIDERED LAYERS OF VINTAGE FURNITURE AND MODERN ART IN A CLASSIC ART DECO BUILDING.

- WRITER RADHIKA IYENGAR PHOTOGRAPHER PANKAJ ANAND

Perched on a quiet boulevard that winds gently up a hill in South Mumbai stands a graceful art deco building constructed in the late 1930s. Within one of its sprawling apartments lives architect Shruti Jalan with her husband and son. They moved in a year ago. Jalan was immediately taken by its generous size, floor-to-ceiling windows and the quietude it offered, despite being in the midst of bustling Breach Candy.

“It was built on a hill, which was once the site of an old lighthouse,” she says. Its elevation naturally muffles the city’s noise, while the residence's original 18-inch walls add to the hush. “It’s like a cocoon,” she continues. “At any point of the day, you'll only hear birds”—barbets and golden orioles abound.

A black stone Nandi greets you at the entrance—a gift from Mahendra Doshi’s custodian, Chiki Doshi—alongside an antique French stand. The hallway serves as a striking visual anchor: a warm wooden floors runs like a spine through the residence, with three spacious rooms unfolding on either side. Sunlight pours in, spilling across the soaring 12-foot ceilings and tracing the softly rounded curves with an afternoon glow.

A self-confessed coffee nerd, Jalan offers me a hot cuppa before we settle into our conversation. Moments later, the doorbell rings and in walks Neesha Alwani, Jalan’s partner and cofounder of their AD100 architectural firm, Ns*a Architecture and Interiors. The duo met over 20 years ago while working at Nozer Wadia Associates before starting their own practice.