My Inspiration and Aspirations
The sunlight enters through the gaps in my curtains, climbing onto the walls with a steady surety, eventually engulfing the entire room, waking me up gently from my slumber and allowing me to bask in all its glory. There is no better feeling than waking to this scene that nature has left beholden to me.
Scientifically speaking, sleeping begins with lowering the body’s core temperature and slowing down its rhythmic, almost metronome-like functions into a peaceful lull. While waking up, the body’s temperature rises and signals to all parts of it, letting them know, it’s time to break the rest and start the day.
If you allow yourself to wake up to the Sun and its natural warmth, you will never need an alarm clock nor will you wake up feeling anything but the best version of yourself; relaxed, recharged, and ready!
Light, warmth, sounds, the chirping of a bird, the sudden chill of a cold draft, the dampness of stone after rain, all of these, hold a much greater effect on us and how we feel than we can imagine.
Every space brings out a certain mood in you, every space has its lifeforce, and at our core, we are all energy in different forms, but the building block of life is the same, and therefore we have far greater interaction with our surroundings than we understand.
A well-lit and well-ventilated place will make you calm, happy, and joyful – soothing your senses because a complete balance of chemicals is creating the necessary reactions and bringing out the best in you! While some spaces which are closed make you dull and gloomy. All your senses are alerted! There is no freshness but a staleness that reacts to you negatively. These are the five elements of nature reacting to our seven senses. We, as designers, enhance these seven senses through those five elements in our designs.
Marble Quarry
The natural light, the Sun’s energy being the most imperative; I follow the light’s path rigorously in all the space planning. And the most logical science to follow is – The Sun rises in the East; sets in the West and is always inclined towards the South; naturally, the maximum daylight is concentrated towards the southeast to southwest parts.
Knowing the Sun path, all the functional spaces like the living room, kitchen, and study are placed towards the areas which have the maximum daylight coming in, while the bedrooms are towards the southeast side where the Sun is shining in the morning hours and fading as the day ends making sure the rooms are not heated up. Placing the windows strategically, and making sure there is enough cross ventilation which allows the rooms to breathe and in turn keeps our energies flowing too!
In offices too we use the same science to design – the open workstations are positioned towards the glazing Sun and are not blocked by the numerous partitions. The cabins and meeting rooms are placed towards the inner parameters while the bathrooms, storerooms, server rooms, etc are in the core areas of the space where the Sunlight doesn’t reach at all.
It is observed that people who work in Sunlight have better cognitive powers than those who work in the shadows. Isn’t it common sense when there is enough oxygen being produced in your body it will accelerate the energy levels making you perform to your fullest? Even the indoor plants start growing towards the Sun!
I have to spend time with the spaces I am about to transform. Visiting a site before hitting the drawing board is standard practice for me. I will spend hours and days; I will observe the Sun’s path, watching the rays coming in, from each direction, and which part is lit to the maximum at what hour of the day.
And the space talks to me; it’s like magic – telling me to plan the functions and the activities best suited in which direction. Every element of nature including we are inclined to respond to its natural position as per each other. Think of this world as a giant tapestry, a work of art and we are mere pieces on it, just small portions on a significantly larger and expansive canvas.
The Taj Mahal, India
Dome Of Rock, Jerusalem
Parthenon, Athens
When you are in perfect alignment, you won’t need to force any alignment from the outside. It all comes in the natural order of things just like the Cosmos – in all its entirety, telling you how to function just as it does in itself.
To be in the most natural form is the way inwards, we as designers enhance these spaces in rhythm, in perfect harmony and symmetry of their functions to bring out the best in you.
The Sunsets and the moon rises indicating the end of the day and urging you to retreat. To breathe in the magnificence of another day, to have gratitude for what has passed, and wonder for what is to come.
