THEN AND NOW

Mohammed Afnan and Arun Shekar Gowda take us through the journey that led them to embrace responsible design in their own unique way

- NEERJA KAPADIA, Arun Shekar Gowda

Our story starts from our University days at BLDE Bijapur. One fine day, Arun crossed Afnan and Afnan crossed Arun's path, and just like that, the rest is history. Both of us have always been extremely passionate about design and that is probably our only common ground...the rest is all north and south apart.

But jokes aside, maybe having such distinct perspectives and personalities that contrastingly complement each other is what has played out for us in the world of design.

AN INTROSPECTIVE

Doing up our own studio at a very early start didn't seem real, let alone possible. We pinch ourselves every morning working in this studio space that is inspired by the tropics and Geoffrey Bawa's designs. We have a big imagination but even we could not have imagined all this at such an early stage...so mostly, we're just grateful to be here.

Our path was not "a linear one" but rather a "series of meandering circles', where we kept pushing ourselves, trying new things, failing at some, excelling at others, until we found something we loved as much as design. Starting a practice in a tier-three city like Calicut and exploring a unique design language while convincing clients to accommodate our unique ideas was tough, but at the end of the day, we are passionate. Maybe this was what we were meant to do after all.

CREATING A CONSCIOUS LEGACY

Responsible design as we see dates back to the early 1900s, particularly influenced by movements like Arts and Crafts, which prioritised sustainability, ethical production and craftsmanship. Over the years, there has been a notable increase in the adoption of responsible design principles in the country, with a heightened focus on inclusivity, accessibility and of course, social responsibility.