#ArchiSpeak
Ar. Sanjay Josshi is one of the top architects of the country, based out of Surat.
Walking into the office of Black Ink, his architectural firm, and talking to him has been an experience of a lifetime for Team Adorner. Indomitable creative passion governed by strong architectural ethics and philosophy of life, combined with a delightful sense of humour is what describes Architect Josshi best.
On the aesthetic interior of his office
It’s God’s grace. The interiors that you see reflect my tastes. The design was planned so as to make it a comfortable workplace, besides adhering to the aesthetic quotient. At the start of your career, irrespective of the profession you are pursuing, you are but a droplet, from which an ocean is born only when it joins with numerous other droplets, and you will always remain a droplet in that ocean. So, I always believe that my staff members should have the same comfort I enjoy.
On the importance of being down to earth
I cannot create a world of my own. We already have a lot of bestowed on us. But if we have to achieve something, we should learn to give first. No one wins accolades by asking for it. He has to do something for the society or a fraternity, to win it. Our duty is to do what we can do best for the profession we are in, keeping our feet firmly on the ground. It’s only if we are sensitive about the fact that we have to always depend on Mother Earth in order to create something, and work with humility, that we can do something for our profession. Can you imagine any product in architecture or interior designing, or for that matter any other product which can be created without the contribution of Mother Nature? It’s not possible at all. So every creator has to reach out to Mother Nature to create anything. And if he has that realization, he won’t have an ego. Creativity and ego can’t go hand in hand. If I have an ego, I can’t be creative. I feel that I am only 10-15% an architect. The learning process is still on, and if in this birth I can become an architect, that would be God’s grace.
On the table in front of him the top of which is made of formica high gloss laminate, and which is hung in a cantilever system fixed to a side wall, without any leg for support
Basically, I want the bottom to be less busy and without any obstruction. We all have seen wall hung commodes which serve the purpose of hygiene as the floor remains cleaner. Somewhat in a similar way, I never wanted anything on the ground so that I can stretch my legs at will. You see, I am not that tech-savvy. I am very bad at operating a computer or using a mobile. But if you ask me to sketch a plan, then I will simply start like this. (He starts drawing a plan on the table top, and goes on to explain the same). This is the right use of the table for me. I have been using this for the last 10 years. So I can readily discuss any design like this. Once the discussion is over, I can rub it off. So you don’t need a paper all the time.
On Architectural Creativity
When you have a prefixed target, the joy of creation is lost. In order to create, the inner piousness should come out. If you have that purity within you, it will show automatically. You know why children are so creative? It’s simply because they are least bothered about what others think or say. They just keep exploring and chase their dreams unperturbed. This is the quality an architect should have as well. For example, whenever you step into a river, you may not be passing through the same water. An architect’s world is pretty much like this.
An architect can create a society as well as destroy it. An architect can influence mindsets and psychologies of people. Because a work of architecture can be so imposing on you! Why the Taj Mahal enchants us every time? It’s because it is such a monumental work that it reduces the human scale to a minimal degree. Every one of us feels like bowing down in front of its magnificence. That’s the power of architecture and every architect must be inspired by it.
As demanded by the world we live in today, I am working on all segments of projects. The way I plan is more on a 90-degree framework which is more inclined towards contemporariness. I always try to see that a building or a space I am designing should last for at least 30-40 years. It should not get old with time. Aren’t there very few marriages in which love lasts even after 40 years (He smiles)? But love does last, and even increase, after 40 years if there is the right space between the two human beings.
Definition of Architecture
You see, whenever you read the Gita you are sure to find a new meaning every time. In architecture also you keep on discovering. And nobody is the King here. Even a kid can give some inputs which might be the apt solution. You never know. A small change can completely change the entire thing. That is architecture.
I also personify architecture, and imagine it as the human body which is made up of 213 bones, which has a landscape (showing his eyebrows) without which it is impossible to imagine a human face; it has veins, a plumbing system, and a façade which is our skin. A building can have a sense. Facades can be designed to have a sense. For example, you can build louvers made of those glasses which allow the sunlight inside but not the heat.
On Architectural Ethics
As I said, whatever I have with me is gifted by Mother Nature & my parents. Now if I destroy everything that Mother Nature has given me, and leave nothing for my daughter, she’ll come to the roads. Can I imagine something like that? If I can’t imagine that, then how can I think differently about Mother Nature? Today in India, 50 to 100 crore worth demolitions are done every day in interior designing, or the construction industry in general. Suppose if a badly designed condominium gets built; tomorrow a new interior designer entrusted with the job of revamping may ask for demolishing everything inside. The Italian marbles that were used would become a national waste. So do other materials that were used. Now take the example of a switchboard. If I want to use a switch of one company on the switchboard of a different company, I can’t do that. I will need to change the box as well. Why? Make the box common. Suppose the back part of a tap is different from the front part.
The back part is taken from one company. Now after a year I want to change the front part as well. Why can’t I be able to use the front part of the tap manufactured by another company? I don’t have an option. This is something in which an industrialist can play a role. They can make common things so that national waste can be reduced significantly. Otherwise, other materials will meet with the same fate as the Makrana marble. No matter how much you want to spend, you can’t find it anymore. An architect or an interior designer ought to be sensitive about these, which can only come from respect for Mother Nature.
On ACP sheets
See, we first used ACP sheets back in 1995-96. At that time, it cost us Rs. 418 rupees per square feet. We first used it for the Parag House. ACP was new then, and people discovered a new product which brought about a whiff of freshness. See the problem is that India is such a market where if a product is liked, industrialists kill it. The number of producers will grow from one to a hundred and the product will be caught in a price war. When the product gets entangled in a price war, a good manufacturer should diversify to other products or add value to such a large extent that no one can match it. Only then there’s going to be growth. For instance, your Sand ACP is a marvellous product. I haven’t seen such a finish on ACP. This is capable of changing the look of the entire building. You have made an uncommon thing. Now you should take care of not making it familiar. Don’t sell it cheap. This product of yours is going to thrive for sure. ACP sheet has its own charm. It gives you a neat and clean finish, one of its most significant advantages.
However, ACP sheets should have variations, be it in colours or textures. Also, it should be able to replicate real finishes of materials to be considered as substitutes of those materials. For instance, a copper ACP should look like real copper. You should also create innovative textures on ACP. You can even think of manufacturing 12mm ACP with grooves and honeycomb panel.
