Sanjay Puri – The story behind the Enigma

Posted by | On 6 December,2013 | In Genral

unnamed (1)It is not every day that one gets to be in the presence of sheer creative genius, which is nothing short of inspiring. One such personality is Sanjay Puri, who has silently but surely been working his way to become the leader in architecture and design in the country.

A graduate of Mayo College, Sanjay went on to pursue his dream of becoming an architect and studied from the illustrious Academy of Architecture, Mumbai. His tryst with architecture began at an early age and his formal training in the subject gave him the means to channel his creativity in a productive manner. Like all creative minds, Sanjay finds inspiration everywhere. His biggest inspiration and something that he turns to even today is ‘The Fountain head’ by Ayn Rand. This novel that is one of the greatest books of our times revolves around the life of the protagonist, an architect who is so driven that he would rather struggle than compromise on his artistic vision. This is the mantra that Sanjay follows till today and is the thing that sets him apart from other architects.

Sanjay began his career by working under the master architect of his time: Hafeez Contractor, who as Sanjay says taught him a lot of what he knows on the subject. Following this he went on to establish his own firm and in 1992 Sanjay Puri Architects was born. From then on there was no looking back. Today Sanjay Puri is at the forefront, leading his impressive team of more than 72 employees in several projects in India and around the world.

His avant-garde architectural style is truly unique and a true expression of his creativity. The essence of Sanjay’s design theory is creating innovative design spaces that are contextual but at the same time sustainable. The main aim is evoke an exhilarating experience without infusing functionality effectively.

Today he is the leading architect in the country with a name in India as well as overseas. He is the only architect worldwide to win awards in 3 categories at the latest MIPIM Architectural Review Future Projects Awards in France. Besides this he has won over 30 international awards and numerous national awards garnering fame for himself and his firm.

Sanjay Puri himself is quite a simple and straightforward man, and does not believe in unnecessary embellishments on buildings. He prefers to focus on the form of the structure and pay more attention to the way the building feels and not just how it looks. Sanjay Puri does not look like a man who will allow success to go to his head and has managed to remain humble and unassuming in spite of having appeared in over 200 international publications and being a speaker in architectural events in Italy, Spain, Singapore, Serbia, Mexico and The Netherlands.

When asked to describe his work in his own words he said, “My utmost preoccupation is to evolve innovative design solutions and incorporate the geography of the location in a positive way into the design. Most of my designs have a signature of traditional Indian architecture that I try to imbibe in them in my own way. While designing a space, the most important thing to remember is not to hold back, to let your creativity flow undeterred. This is something that is missing in the run of the mill buildings that we see cropping up everywhere nowadays. I try to ensure that every structure I design and create is vastly different and unique from the previous one, and avoid repetition at all costs.’’

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