Pinkish Shah and Shilpa Gore Shah: Kohler Bold Design Award winner – Residential

For Pinkish Shah and Shilpa Gore Shah of Mumbai based S+PS Architecture, winning the Golden Pencil at the Kohler Bold Design Awards in association with ELLE DECOR India was a fulfilling experience unlike any other. Their widely recognised Collage home in Navi Mumbai garnered widespread appreciation from Indian and international design pundits alike. The unusual approach to create a striking facade was not without its fair share of challenges and hurdles, as we found out during this tete-a-tete…

ELLE DECOR India: What does winning Kohler Bold Design Awards mean to you?

Shilpa Gore Shah: Winning an award where you are judged by your peers and from amongst the accomplished in the country is always fulfilling.

ED: One thing your winning project taught you and the challenges you faced while realising the winning project…

Pinkish Shah: It is one thing to come up with ideas of creative recycling, but quite another to pull it off. There were two challenges: One internal, the other external. For a studio used to “hyperdrawing” things out before going on site, it questioned our accepted methods and the unpredictability of what would happen on site considering that most of the materials we were using were recycled.

SGS: Also, though these elements were familiar to the artisans, the way they were being assembled was something they had not done before.

ED: What is a bold decision you’ve taken in your career?

PS: To do less, but find the time to do it carefully and well!

ED: A dream project…

SGS: Would be one where our design sensibilities can affect a larger number of people…

Website: www.facebook.com/spsarchitects18

Also Read: John Michael Kohler Lifetime Achievement Award winner Prof Charles Christopher Benninger tells us his inspirations