The Charm Of Simplicity

Sanjay Patil graduated from Sir JJ College of architecture. He established ‘Environ Planners’ in 1981 in Nashik. Environ Planners is an architectural firm that has always worked towards environment conscious architecture that seeks inspiration from nature and tradition. The firm’s efforts are consciously directed towards application of energy efficient principles to building design. The firm has designed for various institutional, industrial, residential, projects with each holding their own distinctive identity. The approach, to craft an environment together has expressed the ability to integrate landscape (symbolizing nature) with the built environment. The firm seeks inspiration from vernacular architecture and fuses it with modern technology to achieve desired results, where simplicity prevails and nest with the nature.

- Sharmila Chakravorty

Working primarily in Nasik, Sanjay Patil is a staunch proponent of the application of energy efficient principles to building design. His approach is that of modernizing vernacular architecture, keeping intact the simplicity and practicality of the vernacular and infusing modern technology to keep it relevant in the world today. In his lecture he showcased an assortment of his projects; each different in scale and typology, form and function, yet bound together by an invisible quality that is characteristic of Patil’s work.

After graduating from The JJ school of Architecture in 1981, though keen on working with established architecture practices at the time, his average marks, he admits, were a hindrance. Owing to this, he moved back to his hometown Nasik to begin his own practice – back to his roots. With a deep understanding that cities and their natural landscapes are continually being overpowered by man, resulting in an alarming decay in the urban fabric, and the livability aspect, Sanjay proposes sustainable, balanced architecture as the answer to the problem. Yet, he disagrees with sustainable architecture just for the sake of certification, or because it is a buzz word currently in the industry. Sustainability is a way of life. It reflects in people’s work, their choices, and their lifestyles.