Envisioning the future

Second-generation architects, Indrajit and Nita Kembhavi, talk about creating futuristic designs that are contextual while balancing economic and functional sense.

- Sumisha Gilotra

Hailing from a legacy design firm set up in the ’70s in Hubli, a small thriving town in Karnataka, Indrajit and Nita Kembhavi’s move to Bengaluru was both strategic and purposeful. The practice was growing, with clients not just from South India but all over the country and the opportunities were buzzing. Even today, as their clients range from airports to hospitality to real estate and individual homes, their core strength still remains a personal involvement with the owners and a commitment towards making projects that swell with economic as well functional sense, that too with a creative streak. Be it the futuristic Kochi airport terminal immersed in tradition, or the swanky building in Chennai, the duo have always been ahead of their times.  The couple get into a chat with Editor of Architecture & Interiors India, Sumisha Gilotra about being a second-generation practice of creating futuristic designs rooted in tradition.

Tell me a little about your practice and its journey?

Indrajit: Kembhavi Architects was founded by my parents Nalini and Sharad Kembhavi in 1972 in the small town of Hubli in the north of Karnataka. Around 15 years ago, Nita and I moved to Bengaluru and started the office here.

We are a large firm, but we don’t act as one. Everybody is grounded, we work very closely with our clients. When we work on a project, we are extremely particular about all the factors like economics, climate, the green element of the project, sustainability, culture, viability and context, be it a real estate project or any other typology. I think, that’s our success story. We have a 90 per cent repeat clientele.

Nita, do you belong to a family of architects as well?