Ep. 292 - Maximise to minimise with Chitra Vishwanath

Tune into this 4th episode of a 10 Part series, "Designer’s Digest” with @chitrav89 (Chitra Vishwanath) - Principal Architect and Managing Director of BIOME Environment Solutions (@biomearchitecture)

This series is created by Audiogyan in partnership with @godrejdesignlab

Designer's Digest series is about Design as a profession, it’s daily grind, the secrets to climbing the design career ladder, and what edge we’ll need to thrive in the captivating world of design.

Chitra Vishwanath is an Indian architect based in Bengaluru who works on themes related to ecology and architecture. She has been running her own architectural firm since 1991, working with other architects on many projects of all sizes. She is currently the Principal Architect and Managing Director of BIOME Environment Solutions. She firmly believes that the true essence of a remarkable firm lies in the gradual fading of its founder's individual prominence. The establishment of a firm is influenced not only by the founder's drive but also by various contextual factors. Chitra cannot be solely identified as Chitra Vishwanath without acknowledging the integral role of Biome. Similarly, Biome's existence in its current capacity is inseparable from the contributions of her colleagues. BIOME has been involved in more than 700 projects encompassing the construction of buildings of all sizes and water harvesting and sanitation structures with specific relevance to the ecology of the sites. With earth as a basic material input in construction, BIOME has designed and built many structures. We’ll be talking about ecological architecture in today’s episode.

Questions

1. We often use “architect” as a word who guides, designs, and oversees. Etymologically as well, it’s derived from arkhi-, chief + tekton, builder - chief builder. Who according to you is an architect?
2. What constitutes an ecological architecture? Could you talk about the 4 aspects of architecture from your TEDx talk, resourceful spaces, designing construction systems, water and waste management? Maybe by taking an example of one of the many schools you have built.
3. What is Maximise to minimize? Good design is no design at all, right? How do you strive to create a positive impact while building structures? What are the key principles and values you live by?
4. What should be / can be the index/metric of good ecological architecture? Why?
5. What according to you is the biggest role of architects in India, given the current time?
6. Over the last 31 years, you have grown to 31 member strong team. Seems a conscious choice to stay lean. Why?
7. You have a lot of Junior architects on the team. What are their primary job responsibilities?
8. For Biome, every project is a test bed for developing a collaborative multidisciplinary approach grounded in informed decisions. How does Biome onboard, execute, and deliver any project? Where and how are Junior architects involved? What do you expect from them?
9. What according to you is a good measure of an ecologically sensitive outlook in a student or junior architect entering this field of architecture?
10. What kind of architects do we need for India’s future? What tips/suggestions would you like to give young architects?

Reference Reading

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitra_Vishwanath
2. https://www.instagram.com/chitrav89/?hl=en
3. https://www.biome-solutions.com/about-us/
4. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chitra-vishwanath-8513593/?originalSubdomain=in
5. https://www.archdaily.com/tag/chitra-vishwanath
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMiekG0IJfM
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41tlOqU-6PM
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlf3TyKdcAg
9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EviAtiqoLTE
10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlwbK-ybQX0
11. https://dev.earth-auroville.com/chitra-vishwanath-architects/
12. https://www.e-coexist.com/mailchimp/building-small-chitra-vishwanath.html
13. https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/know-your-architects/a686-chitra-vishwanath-creating-an-ecofriendly-way-of-living/
14. https://medium.com/@ar.aesha/ar-chitra-vishwanath-and-her-design-philosophy-282b64a99f83
15. https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/case-studies/a5644-the-paper-workshop-by-chitra-vishwanath-architectural-semantics-with-vernacularism/
16. https://www.facebook.com/chitra.vishwanath.3/
17. https://www.instagram.com/biomearchitecture/
18. https://www.biome-solutions.com/
19. https://audiogyan.com/2022/01/10/design-of-wells/