Articulation of Contemporary Designs

Architects: Kalhan Mattoo & Santha Gour Mattoo, Planet 3 Studios, Mumbai

Mumbai is such a city that addresses the nuances of architecture through intense programming and offering solution that balance wit and wisdom. In such a setting, starting an architect firm with a devoid of architectural experience requires an intrepid attitude. The architect couple, who graduated from Sir J.J. College of Architecture-Kalhan Mattoo and Santha Gour Mattoo had no good deal of experience. But with an enterprising approach set up Planet 3 Studios Architecture Pvt. Ltd in 1998. Now the studio boasts of multidisciplinary practice with a diverse portfolio of projects comprising educational institutions, mixed use developments, housing complexes, corporate offices, retail outlets, resorts and interiors of many restaurants, lounges and spas. Within a span of three years, the studio is bestowed with over 25 prestigious international and national awards and its work has showcased at museums and galleries in New York, Barcelona and Singapore.

A true form of expressing any concept is through architecture and Planet 3 has just mastered it. The essence of the studio’s way is to address the fundamentals through participative program development with focus on the context, the constraints and the opportunity that a project presents. The studio advocates solutions that are intuitive, equitable, flexible, experimentally satisfying, conforming to codes, environmentally sensitive and importantly, vehicles of positive change.

One can dabble with innovative thoughts by creating some of the outstanding structures which standout from others. A.r. Kalhan clearly understands this and creates design that maximise the positive impact of design on the environment, use appropriate technologies, materials and hiring local workmen.

Reminiscing his architectural journey, Ar. Kalhan ardently goes back to the memory lane of the studio’s inception days and says, "The journey has been very rejuvenating and interesting as well. An architect, with whom I worked as an internee refused to handle a huge 40 acre land on the outskirts of Mumbai due to the lack of infrastructure to carry out the project. My instincts allowed me to request the massive propose from the architect and he benevolently agreed. This opportunity permitted us to set up Planet 3 Studio. Along with a team of five including Ar. Santha we executed design, detailing, models, renderings for that large project. Even before we were out of the college, we independently handled the project and delivered to the client successfully. Unfortunately, the market slumped around that time and it did not fetch us any money. On the other hand, we gained an experience of life with debts and without salary."

Dexterous approach

Instead of adhering to a specific philosophy, we remain grounded to open minded, experimental, innovative and making ideological and creative promiscuous designs. "We keep playing with different kind of ideas and thoughts before settling for one with the most relevance. We look at challenges in the beginners mind and we do not consider ourselves as post-modernists," he affirms. At Planet 3 Studio, each project is taken as an opportunity with unique approach. However, architects remain constant to focus on the requirements of the clients and the end users. With a series of interactions, a client's architectural needs are understood. "In the process, our philosophy of not having clearly defined ideological point of view that over rides everything else and we do it in a very nimble way when it comes to architectural theory and try to look at things with an open mind," he adds.

Ar. Kalhan is very nostalgic about one of initial projects-designing a 600 sq.ft office space. "It was a great learning experience because firstly, that miniscule space had to accommodate seat for 42 people. Secondly, the allocated budget was a mere Rs.1.5 lakh and thirdly, the given timeline was 20 days! But, we did in a span of 18 days and yet we made Rs.30,000 profit," he beams.

Change is constant in architecture

Observing the new market realities in architecture, Ar. Kalhan elucidates, "Architecturally, we are in a period that has shared lot of ideological baggage and it's a lot more dynamic period. In the recent past, with the use of latest technology and globalization, change has become a constant thing. Evolution is happening in real time which is continuous and dynamic. We believe that every project is an opportunity to reinvent and experiment more. Now architects are well connected with the world. The references for the project can be anywhere but we remain sensitive to the fact that we are located in a particular context in terms of local demographics and local sensibilities culture."

Architecture for all spheres

Irrespective of sectors all buildings require architecture be it education, hospitality or retail. Ample opportunities became available for Planet 3 Studio. "We never confined ourselves to particular sectors to be architecturally specialised in. When we were asked to design educational space, we brought all our design work from our past experiences. This approach of getting involved in various kinds of projects across disciplines helps in cross fertilization of ideas and allows us to learn new things in a completely different context. Therefore, the challenges we encounter are always fresh and learning experience. So, being multidisciplinary is natural to us." Having worked in various sectors, the learning curve mounts in different context and type brings results at the end of every project.

VIT project-a holistic learning

Vidyalankar Institute of Technology (VIT) project was a path breaking endeavor for Planet 3 Studio as it gave an adequate experience and due recognition. "It was our first project in the education space. Even though we had clearly defined idea we felt the need of interacting with the end users including students, educators and the management. This holistic approach gave us wonderful invaluable advice and inspiration which took us forward to create something unusual," opines Ar. Kalhan. The VIT project is considered as out of the box concept as both the clients and architects looked at the project with a fresh perspective. They decided to humanize a scale bit and brought it down to the age demographic of the students, which led to create an educational space that excited the students more than educators.

Panoramic 5 star Resort – Karnala, Mumbai

The proposed Panoramic 5 star resort project, which is his beloved project, is in an approval stage. There is an intense competition even from international architectural firms. Speaking on this innovative concept, Ar. Kalhan says, "The client posed a challenge to us and said that he wish to build a resort in a 17 acre property on the outskirts of Mumbai. He also mentioned that he would prefer an open space and hate the monotony of a monolithic hotel. So, the question for us was that, can we combine the best of both and create an innovative design?" Commenting further on the design aspect, he says, "We came up with a simple design which revolved around a ring concept.

Radiating from a central core with restaurants, spa, health club, cafe, a large pool and suites on the upper level, five arms extended into the landscape with outfacing rooms on two levels. Each arm is a singly loaded corridor with rooms on the outside. So, we did not want to have the regular feel of the doubly loaded corridor and dark passages with absence of light inside. This project is a good architectural expression of the form in terms of design."

Mechanization in Construction Industry

Commenting on the mechanization of the construction industry Ar. Kalhan says, "Mechanization is the need of the hour and the order of the day in many ways. Shortage of trained manpower as a resource is one of the prime requirements as of now but it is incredible that such a big market as India has almost no training institute for workers. Construction industry being the second largest industry after agriculture, contributes enormously to the country's economy. The boom that is envisaged in the very near future cannot be realistic if we lack in addressing this very issue. There is no mechanism to support the necessary skills and be able to serve the needs of the construction boom."

He adds, "Mechanisation is important as things have to be produced of the required quality and expectation. It is important at both the edges, one at the industrial production level and also on site. This enhances the execution of the project in a better way. So in construction industry, one cannot really depend on low end skills of a large work force. One needs to mechanise and have to hire skilled people for a quality production."

Integration of Architecture with Nature

Any good building has to respond to its immediate environment and context. The firm believes that there is lot of responsibility in designing environmental landscapes that architecture can enhance by its presence. Ar. Kalhan opines, "We really believe in natural light and ventilation in a building. But we are also mindful of the fact that realistically people like to live in air condition environment. We make a clear distinction between sensitive architecture that admits the whole of nature in creating quality environment and other regular building which in all ways possible claiming to be green because of LEED certification."

The fundamental idea of working in nature has become a whole issue of achieving green certification and points without realistically looking at the concept of green building. Ar. Kalhan does not believe in any certification that does not have criteria for quality. Good intelligent architecture will include nature as one of the main criteria in design and it will also include responsible use of resources as they are good for both the client as well as for architects.

Building Future Urban Space

Raising his strong views on building future urban spaces Ar. Kalhan says, "The only way to open up space on the ground is by growing vertical. Controlling influx of people in the city is a sociological or political issue and as architects we need to deal with the issue as they are presented to us realistically. We feel that cities are rapidly urbanized and we are designing infrastructure for low density. The way forward is to let people and policies grow taller. By going taller you mandate and enforce large open spaces which brings a bit of green baggage. If the architect designs with intelligence, even in the tall building one can have large green spaces. We have to embrace high rise and provide the infrastructure facility for all metropolitan cities."

Forthcoming projects by Planet 3 Studios

Heliopolis is an upcoming premium residential project in Mumbai. This project will highlight the steel frame structure, neo-retro Gaudi inspired styling and embedded intelligent technologies. Indore will boast of twin towers-Silver Realty with twisting sculptural design. Each apartment will have a unique outdoor space. Viento Villas in Pune will highlight floor to ceiling operable windows to provide unhindered views of the surrounding landscape. OVO is another significant apartment in Pune with a 1.5 acre fully landscaped garden free from vehicular traffic and shaded most of the day by the buildings that surround it. A club at the fringe of the development echoes the contemporary aesthetic of the residential buildings and is planned and located in a manner to provide maximum privacy around the pool area.