Though it said that ancient architecture was a masterpiece today also the sector proves it right by new innovative and luxurious ideas beyond normal thoughts proving to be the best ever creation of man-made things which can be beautiful with safety. In this interview with Mansi Sahu, Founder & CEO of StudioPod an Architects Designers Firm, we shall know more about the journey of the company.
StudioPod is an award-winning, international planning and urban design practice with them headquarters in Mumbai, India and recently incorporated in the United States. Our projects are of varying scales that include strategic and regional plans, transportation and campus plans, landscape urbanism, placemaking, and streetscapes.
After working in the US for a few years, we decided to quit our comfortable lives in the US and move back to India to start an Urban Design practice that focused on human-scaled design. In the past nine years, we have worked relentlessly to push the boundaries of urban design in the Indian and global context.
Some of our projects over the last few years include detailed master plans in Abu Dhabi, sustainable development toolkits for the heritage city of Puri, stream rejuvenation in Naya Raipur, tourism master plans in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, and detailed streetscape design execution called One Green Mile in Lower Parel, Mumbai.
We are also working with several private developers like Godrej, Mahindra, Reliance, and Piramal for Master Planning, Landscape Urbanism, and Implementation projects in multiple regions across India. With the growth of urban India, it has been quintessential to look at planning and urban design in an integrated manner of systems thinking through different lenses.
With our highly adaptable and collaborative practice with different disciplines that deal with urban transformations and infrastructure, we have been able to position urban design as the mainstay of several infrastructure and transport-led projects. They now see urban design as a specialized role that we need to be hired for, for integrated and holistic master planning exercises revolving around the three pillars of sustainable urban development.
All three had different journeys and global experiences but decided to quit their comfortable lives in the US and move back to India to start an Urban Design practice that focused on human-scaled design. The main aim of creating an Urban Design & Planning focused firm was to execute and design projects that become incubators of change in the neighborhood, region, and also at the global scale.
In the past nine years, we have worked relentlessly to push the boundaries of urban design & Planning in the Indian context. 2014 Best Upcoming urban planning start-up in India – by Smart Cities Council 2019 AIA Middle East Urban Design Award for Masdar City Phase 4 Detailed Master Plan in collaboration with CBT and many more
2019 AIA Middle East Urban Design Award for Masdar City Phase 4 Detailed Master Plan in collaboration with CBT and many more We think the Public Realms within the buildings and spaces can become incubators of urban life in Indian cities. With their rich, historic, and social context, Indian cities offer tremendous opportunities for integrating significant public spaces with infrastructure upgradation.
India offers opportunities for design at every corner, one needs to just identify the potential of projects whether in cities or villages. New opportunities could be created to develop a better and more impactful public realm that can truly transform our country’s quality of life. Boosting the liveability of cities through this innovative integration will make Indian cities truly smart and help transform spaces into successful places is our plan ahead for all future projects at POD.
You must be logged in to post a comment.