Amrita Dasgupta
A design approach unconstrained by preconceived notions allows each project to find its own unique voice. A good design response originates from exploring the specific opportunities presented by each project, leading to new possibilities.
Amrita Dasgupta is a practicing architect and visual designer who believes in the transformative power of good design to transcend borders.
A founding partner of the multidisciplinary Studio Code in New Delhi, Amrita is a LEED 2.1 Accredited Professional with over 25 years of experience. She has worked on published projects in architecture, landscape, urban design, and communication design in New York, New Delhi, and Philadelphia. Her architectural experience includes environmentally responsible large buildings and institutional campuses, as well as interior architecture for offices, residences, and studios. She also leads branding projects at CoDe, focusing on brand identity, impact reports and environmental design.
Amrita teaches Housing / Large Scale Buildings in the B.Arch. program at the Sushant School of Art & Architecture (SSAA) in Gurgaon. She has also taught at the Parsons School of Design (ISDI) Mumbai and the University School of Architecture and Planning, Delhi. She currently lectures and juries at various design and architecture colleges across India. Her academic film and installation works have been published and exhibited at prestigious venues, including the Rockefeller Center. Amrita is the co-author and illustrator of "From Pillars to Palaces," a children's book on architecture published by Pratham.
B.Arch., Sushant School of Art and Architecture, 2000
MFA - Design & Technology, Parsons School of Design, New York, 2003
Rajiv Bhakat
What we design and build is not only an indication of who we are, but who we aspire to be.
Rajiv Bhakat is a practicing architect and urban designer with a core interest in the complex relationships between cultural values, lifestyles, social systems, and mass media.
He is the founding partner of Studio CoDe, an award-winning, multidisciplinary design firm in New Delhi with over 25 years of experience. Rajiv’s work spans a variety of scales across the US and India, from large mixed-use urban complexes, office and residential towers, and institutional projects to numerous private residences. With a special interest in lifestyle patterns, his work successfully addresses the public-private dynamic within large-scale urban architecture.
Rajiv currently teaches at the undergraduate and graduate programs at the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi. He previously taught at the University School of Architecture and Planning (USAP), New Delhi, and serves on the advisory board of the Sushant School of Art and Architecture. He has taught, juried, and lectured at institutions including the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia University, and the Parsons School of Design. His academic interests include ‘cultural identity within and derived from cinema’ and ‘housing and lifestyle.’ Rajiv is also the co-creator of “Paradiso,” a graphic novel series published by Image Comics.
B.Arch., Sushant School of Art and Architecture, 2000
M.Arch, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 2002
Vikas Kanojia
Ecologically sensitive design, when approached thoughtfully, can become a catalyst for positive urban change by creating synergy between natural systems and the built environment.
Vikas Kanojia is an architect and urban designer with a passion for urban regeneration that improves the quality of life.
With over 25 years of professional experience, Vikas specializes in urban design and master planning for both greenfield and brownfield projects. His significant works include urban renewal schemes for industrial townships, self-sustaining SEZs, institutional campuses, and a master plan for a new suburban town. He was also a key team member for the urban design strategy report for the Delhi Metro corridor.
Vikas's architectural work focuses on designing and executing projects of all scales across India, with a special interest in "Buildings for Science." He has designed and executed R&D centers, pharmaceutical plants, and healthcare facilities. His corporate office projects have been recognized with the 'The Economic Times and Saint Gobain – Smart Green Award' and the ‘IIID Design Excellence Award’ for sustainability and material innovation.
Presently, Vikas serves as the Chairman of the Institute of Urban Designers India - Delhi NCR chapter. He is also academically associated with the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) and Sushant School of Art and Architecture (SSAA) as a visiting faculty member, and he frequently lectures on urban renewal and planning across the country.
B.Arch., Sushant School of Art and Architecture, 2000
M.Arch - Urban Design, School of Architecture and Planning, New Delhi, 2004
We design physical and digital spaces for people to live, work and play in.
The unique is overshadowed by mass products. We live in a neo capitalist, neo liberal economy driven by choices. Our markets are flooded by designs for the many which are variations of themes derived from financial, legal and fabrication based controls customized for individual consumers. Conformist decorated boxes are in demand. Chic ubiquity is everywhere.
Studio CoDe understands and accepts the conditions of the contemporary world and dares to think outside the box. We challenge convention and rethink the normal. We place our designs in a beautiful, ordinary world and accept the conditions of the commercial. This approach makes us unique – we are a design firm which thrives in the challenges of the quotidian.
Our designs un-mass. Studio CoDe is un-mass.
Initiation
A partner of the firm initiates the project with the client based on expertise and availability. The partner creates and visualizes the primary project vision based on the brief and discussions with the client. The vision may be a sketch, a metaphor, a graphic, a case study or a concept based on the brief. The vision is a clear direction, a visual partee or a goal – a definition of the heart of the project. The partner remains the primary client contact and interface for the project.
Design brief analysis and schematic design options are created based on the design brief and project vision. The schematics are rough designs which help the client select a design direction, understand design implications and practical choices.
An internal team is selected to work on the project, led by the partner. The selected schematic design is developed and refined based on client feedback. Usually several stages of refinement are required until there is final design sign off.
The internal team creates construction documents based on the final agreed upon design. These are submitted for construction under the supervision of the partner. Checks are done about whether the designs to be executed adhere to the original design vision.
Design brief analysis and schematic design options are created based on the design brief and project vision. The schematics are rough designs which help the client select a design direction, understand design implications and practical choices.
An internal team is selected to work on the project, led by the partner. The selected schematic design is developed and refined based on client feedback. Usually several stages of refinement are required until there is final design sign off.
Although we are over a billion individuals, with distinct likes, dislikes, needs and wants, our spaces all look like variations of each other. Buildings, cities, houses, offices and brands are mass products designed as reactions to populist consumer choices rather than crafted to a specific requirement and intent.
In our work, we try to look at each project deeply to understand what it wants to be - the world of possibilities that exist within the given framework and limitations. Regardless of typology, our designs challenge convention and rethink the normal. We place our designs in a beautiful, ordinary world and accept the conditions of the mass market.
This approach makes us unique – we are a design firm which thrives on the challenges of the everyday.
Amrita Dasgupta
Amrita Dasgupta is a practicing architect and visual designer who believes in the trans...
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Rajiv Bhakat
Rajiv Bhakat is a practicing architect and urban designer with a core interest in the c...
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Vikas Kanojia
Vikas Kanojia is an architect and urban designer with a passion for urban regeneration ...
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