FINDING SPIRITUALITY IN DESIGN SHREENU & RANJEET MUKHERJEE

In a candid conversation with Architecture+Design, Shreenu and Ranjeet Mukherjee of The Vrindavan Project take us through their explorations in design and spirituality

- SEEMA SREEDHARAN

My first encounter with architects Shreenu and Ranjeet Mukherjee’s work was a private residence located in rural Maharashtra. This residence set in an organic farm—11 acres of undulating land with steep contours and terraces—was for me, an epitome of sustainable architecture. Sustainability, for Ranjeet and Shreenu, goes way beyond just mimicking the topography. Their approach to design is calm, measured and deeply spiritual. Another project that piqued our interest was the renovation of a heritage property in Mussoorie. Apparently, this house was the second structure built during the inception of Mussoorie as a hill station by the British Empire. “The process took us four years. We were acutely aware of how insignificant the time and effort taken towards conservation actually was, when compared to the age and majesty of this house. Understanding that we were merely participants, in the complex and layered evolution of this structure for over a century, was key,” elucidates Ranjeet, as he talks about the Holmwood conservation project.

What we decipher from each of their projects is that their involvement with design is not merely superficial; it goes beyond the limitations of the physical realm. “We occupy a realm where, to the best of our analytical capacities, it is found that regardless of how finely we divide space or take matter apart, there seems to be no end in sight. The deeper we go, the farther any ‘fundamental’ unit seems to get, as complexity and depth within every quantum of space, apparently infinite. Similarly, we appear in a universe infinitely large, now seen to be composed of building blocks, that are in turn infinitely small… and humanity stands on the knife edge, as some scalar median.” It is perhaps this realisation that brings a certain humility to all their designs.