The OG Women in Design: Anupama Kundoo urges the new generation to challenge the status quo through bold experiments

Introducing the maverick Anupama Kundoo – the architect who boldly charted her own path by questioning mainstream industry norms from the very start. An idealist unwavering in her commitment to put people over standards, Anupama made the brave choice to re-examine deep-rooted notions like perceived scarcity of time that drive architectural practices today. “I preferred to ignore arbitrary rules and examine everything from first principles,” she shares.

For over 30 years now, Anupama’s curiosity and conscious decisions at every crossroad have fueled a journey of radical experimentation. Her human-centric designs focus on creating habitats that ensure individual and collective wellbeing through philosophical dimensions.

As Anupama envisions it, the role of the architect remains to shape built environments that can steer society’s evolving needs. But she calls for critically re-thinking unsustainable material consumption models getting replicated globally. Anupama’s pioneering spirit and steadfast ideology prove how one #WomanArchitect can forge an extraordinary path through resilience and conviction.

You made some difficult choices very early on in your career when one would go with the flow. Instead, you took the bold step of completely changing your narrative. Tell us more.

I looked at my profession as an idealist and I recognised some of the problems that needed to be addressed. I was not particularly interested in commercial success for its own sake. So, after I graduated from college, I was certain there had to be other, better ways of doing things. I took the time to venture out of Bombay and re-examine those habits of mind and body that humanity has adopted during the long process of industrialization. Foremost among these are the notions of time and its scarcity. If time is perceived to be scarce, then it follows that a rational professional (an architect) would prefer to specify pre-designed, standardized materials and components, and outsource to experts those tasks she believes she isn’t qualified to handle. I preferred to ignore arbitrary rules and norms and examine everything from the first principles. And the first principle of architecture is that it is merely the stage on which the stories of our lives are lived out. So, I chose to put people— with their stories and aspirations—at the centre of the design, rather than have standards and codes (i.e. other people’s notions of how everything ought to be) guide my decisions. I have always thought it foolish to ignore the building occupant and the craftsman, and instead design for the component manufacturer and building inspector. Eventually, I began to experiment and find those ways myself.

Looks like you came out of the rat race a long time ago and followed your passion and idea of architecture. What gave you the courage to come out of the cocoon and explore your ideology?

I think if you live in the comfort zone (cocoon) of old habits and spend your life not daring to develop your ideas for the sake of playing safe, then that is a huge loss. I always felt that giving up before having tried is such a fearful way of living. It is like not living at all. Sometimes life unfolds in such a way that it takes away the easier choices. I knew that I wanted to pursue my questions and my curiosities and make my own path. I had no idea that it would be this particular one and bring me to this place today 30 years later, but I am happy it worked out the way it did. And in a way I am not entirely surprised. There were many crossroads on the way that were met with conscious decisions.

You have been practicing architecture for more than 30 years now, how do you think architecture has evolved with time?

I think of architecture as the stage on which all human stories are lived out. Where once this stage was constructed by everyone, today it is almost exclusively constructed by professionals, virtually all of whom specialize in one trade or another. The growing, economically motivated separation between professional builders on the one hand, and users of the built environment on the other, is socially and environmentally destabilizing. “Ordinary” human beings are losing their ability to participate in the construction of society’s largest undertaking— the built environment. That loss leads to a slow erosion of human skill, social and physical engagement, and individuality. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the construction and operation of the built environment has consumed natural resources at a rate that has exceeded global population growth. In too many cases these resources have been wasted only to create urban ugliness. Technological advancement standardized industrial processes, and our own unexamined belief systems and habits—especially those that have been promoted as saving time, reducing costs, or offering more comfort and amenities in our built environment— have delivered uneven benefits. Homes and commercial real estate are becoming more expensive and are increasingly out of reach for the majority. Cities around the world are shedding their identities and buildings in different climatic and cultural contexts are practically indistinguishable from one another. Hyper-specialization is another trend that is altering the profession by turning design from a holistic process with a single point of accountability into something of a collaborative assembly of various experts’ recommendations.

At this point in your creative journey, what is it that you are seeking as an architect and as an individual?

I think that the role of an architect is the same as it has always been—to envision human habitat and shape the built environment in a way that society can be steered forward according to its changing and evolving needs. The spaces created are to ensure the wellbeing and health of humans, individually and collectively. But as the materiality of contemporary architecture raises many concerns, triggering environmental, social and economic imbalances, I think this area requires radical rethinking. Particularly in countries that have not seen mainstream industrialisation, it is important to critically examine the direct import of building trends as in the developed countries, where buildings are high consumption objects that are expensive and spend a lot of energy to operate. If these standards of consumption become globally accepted standards, where local labour cannot participate and large construction firms source industrial elements and assemble them, then apart from a huge loss of quality of architecture, we can anticipate social segregation due to affordability as an emerging natural consequence. I have many other interests apart from architecture that have constantly influenced my work. I am interested in poetry, philosophy, art, biology and now anthropology. These influence my designs as I see the multi-faceted and lasting impact on humans of the architecture we create. Biology helps me to understand all the various ways in which nature has solved almost every structural question through design. I discover with fascination the geometry and order embedded in the DNA of cells of living beings that unfold over time. I am currently rereading Gaston Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space. The unending quest for knowledge in various fields has inspired many new ideas and areas for experimentation. They also help to zoom out and see the big picture and contextualise our insignificance or possible relevance. Above all, I am interested in the human potential, and what we become through what we do or make.

Right from the beginning, you have been a keen advocate of sustainability in architecture. But the term is loosely used nowadays. What advice would you give to the new generation of architects?

Experiment boldly. Investigate conventional wisdom and discover for yourself how much you really need to get things done. We waste a lot due to overdesign and habit. You can get a lot more out of a budget if you are willing to challenge the status quo. I urge the young architects and designers to step out of your comfort zone from time to time and challenge yourself. That will keep you young. Do not underestimate the creative power of an individual, so do not follow trends blindly. Think for yourself and do not submit to actions that you disagree with, fearing consequences. Each action you do creates the tracks for your next action and either imprisons you or empowers you. Do not be discouraged, be patient, keep your aspirations and standards high, it will surely be rewarding!

(All excerpts are from her January 2022 cover story by Nisha Kapil)