The ArSHEtect Perspective: Featuring Shikha Doogar

My journey as an Architect began when I was very young, and we would visit my grandparent’s Haveli in Rajasthan during our annual summer vacations. Traversing through the little aalas, hidden storage’s, the jharokhas; I would imagine the various events that might have occurred in those vast spaces, and spent hours exploring and understanding them. These experiences were etched in my memory and would shape the Architect I am and my thought process.

At r+d studio, we believe that the mantra to design is hidden within the design program and the possibility of events that occur within them. The program sheets are studied, discussed, reviewed and further discussed before one jumps to the drawing board. The design operates for a long time in the diagram mode, till all inter and intra relationships, dependencies and adjacencies are established. Understanding the performance of a space not only reorganises Architecture but adds viability to it.

For r+d studio, the idea of one ideal solution in Architecture has always been a misnomer, as we believe the process of Architecture is iterative as well as perceptive.

The practice also thrives on the notion that architecture is a repository of culture. It reflects its existence in time and place. The Studio firmly believes that every design needs to engage with its Ecology and identify with its context striving towards creating an identity.

Read also: The ArSHEtect Perspective: Featuring Monica Khosla Bhargava

I started my career as a young Architect in Dubai, U.A.E, at a firm called Dubarch, that was involved in designing the Emirates tower with NORR group. In the two years as a Designer, I got a chance to design multiple villa residences, schools and commercial buildings. After completing my Masters at GSAPP Columbia, I joined Costas Kondylis and Partners, where Costas made me a part of the design team, where I was the only female lead. It instilled in me a sense of confidence, and today my resume boasts of some of the premium towers that dot the Manhattan skyline.

After a short stint at Perkins Eastman, I joined the renowned practice of Frank O Gehry, Gehry Partners as an Intermediate Architect.

I think between Frank Gehry and my Master’s Degree at Columbia University is where my ideology for architecture took shape. At Gehry Partners, the two projects Beekman Tower in Manhattan and New Symphony Campus expansion in Miami, both gave me great exposure. They provided opportunities for me to grow within my profession. After enjoying the status of an Associate and Project Architect and heading a few projects, I decided to move back to India to start my practice and family.

In 2009, Shridhar and I started r+d studio in India with two projects. But with working abroad, most people threw the “lack of India experience” on our face and were reluctant to give us work. So we decided that one has to work while other sets the practice up. In the meantime, I also decided to teach as it was an aspiration, I carried post completing my Master’s.

Read also: ArchiSpeak with Channa Horombuwa and Jeeva Horombuwa

The first impressionable project we completed was a Primary School in Dubai Sports city which helped us bag our second project the Multipurpose Block at DPS Gautam Buddh Nagar, Noida.

The MPH block as we call it, I believe was the most challenging project so far as it was our first building in India.

The client provided us with the perfect opportunity to test out our creative abilities and dexterity. The building was a stack that resembles a tower of blocks frivolously placed over each other with multiple slips and slide conditions which made the building engineering exigent.

Read also: Hooghly Villa – The Contemporary Architecture Celebrating The Regional Vernacular

The formative years of being an architect were shaped by the many women professors who were also practising architects. They inspired in me a sense of confidence that women could hold their position and stature in a field traditionally dominated by men. To me, Architecture was gender-neutral. It has always been a profession where I see both men and women walk side by side. I think so far, I have only found respect for my craft and appreciation for my eye for detail.

Read also: Aludecor’s Metallic Shades of ACP Sheets are “As Good as Gold”

Since I’ve become a mother, I’ve adjusted my role within the firm to be able to take time out to spend more time with my son. The work-life balance is something that I strive for and actively address it.