ar. meena murthy kakkar and ar. vishal kakkar: ENVISAGE

boasting differing strengths, but the same core values, meena murthy kakkar and vishal kakkar of envisage have created their own niche

It was the design for a sports complex that brought Meena Murthy and Vishal Kakkar together. “After graduating from SPA in 2002, and working for a couple of years, I came across a sports complex design competition floated by HUDA,” explains Meena. “Vishal and I, classmates from SPA, decided to collaborate and were among the top three finalists; but the project got shelved. Nevertheless, working together was an extremely enjoyable experience and that’s when we started our own practice.”

With Meena as the Design Head, and Vishal as the Business Head, the duo set up their firm in Delhi in 2006, and almost immediately received a commission for a turnkey project, an office at Connaught Place. “That’s how our journey began,” explains Vishal, adding, “Our USP has been our distinct individual approaches and forte in architectural projects. Meena’s strength lies in design and quick solutions for any given situation, while my forte lies in cost control and highly effective planning and implementation.”

One milestone for the duo was their first institutional project at Una, Himachal Pradesh, in 2007. “This was a remarkable year for us,” reminisces Meena, “We moved our offices to South Delhi and went back to SPA to teach design.” In 2013, Envisage established its Chennai presence, and in 2019, the Delhi base shifted to their current address in Gurugram.