A DISTINCT perspective

Amit Aurora and Rahul Bansal of groupDCA get candid and reveal how their dual vision has resulted in a partnership that combines traditional values with contemporary approaches

- NEERJA KAPADIA

Somewhere in the midst of chasing submissions and bunking classes in the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, in the latter half of the 80s, we realised a synergy and alignment in our design ideologies and ethics. Today, as we recall those days through a cloud of nostalgia, it is easy to understand that those experiences allowed our shared friendship to effortlessly transition into the partnership we have today.

Our practice groupDCA was formally launched in 1996, in an India that lacked much scope for architects or designers. That India was different; the concept of design itself was seen as a luxury and functionality prized above all. However, over the years, we've witnessed a dramatic evolution of the profession the country alongside the changing Indian lifestyle and our ability to travel and desire to be entertained. In the early days, our goal was to introduce as much aesthetic value into the functional prerequisites as we could. As we grew, our design principles began to solidify, and we realized that one of our core values has always been practicality. We started out when resources were limited; sustainability was a default setting rather than a debate and we've carried that value with us through the decades. The gimmicks of design are something we've intentionally shied away from.