Parul Zaveri

Beginning the conversation with a detailed family background, Parul Zaveri mentions how they came to live at their present residence, and her family’s history with Ahmedabad City, the freedom movement and Gandhiji’s son. She shares memorable anecdotes and stories from her childhood, and notes the significance of the terrace as an important space in the house and community, vital for communication and activities. She also recounts her memories of travelling to and staying in Jaipur, which had a huge influence on her, given the city’s architecture and spaces. She further comments about and details the community life at the time, how kids spent their childhoods, and the general social cultures around neighbourhoods that she cherishes till date. She describes several aspects of the Jain community, how her mother loved to travel, visiting Jain temples and the other tourist and historic places both in Ahmedabad and Jaipur. She also shares how she stayed in Jaipur for some time while recovering from an illness and how that experience went. Reflecting on these times, she notes how she perhaps had an addiction to certain built environments and that she could observe them from an early age. She also travelled to Maharashtra with her mother, and goes into detail about her various trips, the heritage and culture she witnessed, and traces signs of what would later develop into a passion for the field of architecture.

Keeping the conversation going while discussing her childhood, Parul describes other experiences of travel, being fascinated with Kutch, after effects of the earthquake, and her passion for jewellery. She also shares interesting experiences of staying in Dharamshalas, and the activities situated around it. She also recalls observing the built environment around it, and noting the many details of such structures, all of which she later came to understand due to her studies in architecture and her work in conservation. Interestingly, she points out a drawback of modern architecture and mechanisation of design, comparing it to past years when beautiful craft and unique design elements were part of building approach. She shares further insights of how travelling allows one to truly recognise these differences and how those experiences helped her build her approach. Reflecting on this, she shares even more anecdotes of her travels, both personal and professional. On the topic of reading, she notes how she was encouraged by her family to develop a passionate reading habit, eat well, and invest in such aspects of life. She also shares comments on how regional stories and narratives are filled with cultural and historical attributions, right from references in nursery rhymes to children’s story book plots.    

Parul Zaveri recounts her personality as a child and after, how she was always more interested in experiential learning, her experiences at different schools, and her general recollections of her early education. She recalls several interesting anecdotes and funny stories from the time, also mentioning how she was once hospitalised due to septicemia as a child. She then goes into detail about the classes she enjoyed at school, and the company she always seeked while learning or otherwise, exposing herself to friends from diverse backgrounds and states, as well as diverse food and languages. She then goes on to talk about other kinds of exposures she gained, how she worked during her summer vacations and met influential people while exploring various societal cultures and lifestyles, all of which greatly influenced her. Discussing more about her school life, she recalls a trip she and her friends arranged, travelling to Delhi, Chandigarh and Jaipur. The conversation continues and concludes with detailed stories being shared by her about the people she met through family, friends and her times travelling, and how this variety of experience enriched the way she lives life.   

Parul begins to discuss the time when her current residence began taking shape, notes how it was a subconscious learning of design and structure building, and goes on to share minute details of the entire project. She also speaks of how her sister’s international travels were a huge influence on her learning about Western art and history. Talking about her sister, she details all the ways in which her sister mentored her through her education, profession, and in terms of house chores etc. On how she became involved in architecture, she recalls how one of her cousins was studying engineering, and how she was herself inclined towards the subject, as well as architecture. She further mentions all the places and people who bolstered her interest towards the field, and thus, she became a student of architecture. After recalling more childhood anecdotes and lessons, she moves on to talk about architecture school, admission interviews, and engagements with B V Doshi and other faculty members and recalls the beginnings of her studies in detail. In a batch of 30 students, she notes how there were only 6 girls including her. In great detail, she then shares her experiences while studying, classroom learnings, faculty interactions and relations, drawbacks and challenges, and speaks of the work she produced. She especially talks about Neil Bareli, his courses, and his teaching approach which impacted her significantly. Talking about the environment at CEPT University, she notes how things like discipline, assessment, and learning were all organically developed, and shares details about a project she worked on, which received appreciation. She also mentions learning from Professor Sagar, whose approach didn’t work for her. She further compares a few aspects of teaching at NID as well and concludes by sharing comments on curriculums, the westernisation of education approach, and her engagements with spirituality etc.

As she recalls, reading was always a passion for Parul, while the exposure her sister gave her was significant. Reflecting on this, she goes on to talk about teaching pedagogy, learning approach and aptitude that different people possess and pursue, while she shares personal anecdotes. She then goes on to talk about her passion for sustainable design, an interest in solar energy, and her association and studies with Arizona State University (ASU). She also describes many of her childhood experiences and digresses towards discussing traditions and rituals at home, and the culture of Gujarat, while recalling how she particularly enjoyed Diwali. On the topic of discussing her exposure to influential people from an early age, she notably mentions interactions with Lakshmi Sahgal, more renowned as Captain Lakshmi. Talking about studying and life in Arizona, she notes how she did not pursue her final year there, and shares other experiences that she and her husband had at the time. She notes how she learned a lot about sustainability while she was there. Coming back to talking about CEPT, she mentions how she connected with several peers’ families with influential relatives, and how those relations impacted her….. (to be continued) 

Recalling significant challenges she was facing at home amongst family members at the time, Parul Zaveri maps her third year at college. She remembers how the faculty at CEPT was not particularly sensitive about this, and how the situation had started to affect her studies. This led to several adjustments and reworkings of projects she had to undertake, which did not turn out to be satisfactory to her. Things further worsened when she got diagnosed with arthritis, due to which she had to take a break from her studies…. (To be continued)

Beginning the conversation with a brief history of her husband Nimish Patel’s family background, Parul goes on to talk about the shared histories of both their families given their engagements with the Indian freedom movement and influential work done during the British Raj. She shares fascinating anecdotes from the time and notes how her husband’s grandfather was one of the most famous TB specialists in India, while his father was also an influential man. In this manner, she describes their family tree in detail. She notes how the furniture made by him still stands in great condition, and how he passed on his education to another child that he trained himself. She mentions how Nimish’s travel and life were more connected to central and southern Indian regions, while her own was more connected to North India. She also details how and why they came to settle in Ahmedabad, and goes on to talk about her experience of taking up a course with MIT in Urban Design Settlement, describing minute details of the curriculum and work involved. She also talks about the socio-political and economic environment surrounding China and South Asian countries during the 70s, the time of emergency, and the exposure that Indians started getting to modern architecture. She explains how these events became a part of their studies and curriculum, and notes how the political and cultural climate at the time led to the formation of an organisation called the Indian People’s Association of North America (IPANA), which still continues to exist. 
After sharing detailed instances, memories of fun experiences, and learnings from her studies abroad, Parul shares comments about the nature of development in the US as she observed it first-hand. Referring to the second world war and the capitalist economy and culture of the country, she also shares reflections on the town planning and spatial architecture of one city or another, remarking how they all looked the same. She concludes with comments on modern architecture and her disappointment with it. 

Continuing the conversation, Parul describes how Nimish and she moved to Nigeria after considering other places, post their studies in the USA. Talking about their careers there and the challenges they met with just upon reaching Nigeria, she notes how there were a lot of Indians there, which worked out to their advantage. She recounts the lifelong relations they created through these experiences, both in Nigeria and the USA. She further explains the challenging ways in which she finished her studies, amidst her travels in the USA, Nigeria, UK, and finally landed back in India in 1979. Before getting into this, she does share many of the memorable experiences she had while living in Nigeria, the socio-political environment they were subjected to, and the things she learned along the way. She then goes on to talk about some of the projects she worked on, especially detailing a college hostel project she took on, for which she tried to inculcate local elements in her design. In 1979, after their return to India, Parul recalls starting their own practice, designing houses for floods-affected communities, starting a magazine, and notes how they tried to distinguish their practice of modern architecture from the way it was approached in India. This is when they came up with their main design and building approach, introducing resource conservation in their company ethos, and defining values of architecture of India. She shares her comments on how modern architecture sought to mimic western ideals, which is an incorrect approach even if it’s an attempt to stay relevant. She explains how they sought to change this, and make their architecture utility and tradition-based, rooted in local cultures and regional requirements. She concludes with detailed comments about where an architect’s responsibilities lie.    

The session begins with detailed accounts of setting up their own practice in India, after returning in 1979. One important project they worked on was on building emergency shelters, during the Morbi floods. Using tin sheets for roof purposes and other resources available in disaster management measures, Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri began working on this project. She then recalls looking for office spaces, being involved with her mother-in-law’s work, and gaining a renovation and refurbishing project through her brother-in-law. She provides details of the latter project, and how she designed the interior spaces of the place. Upon meeting B V Doshi as well, she recalls how Nimish was offered a job opportunity by him and kept on describing the different projects they kept getting through their network, varied in project typologies, and focused on pro-bono opportunities as well. She shares comments on education and pedagogy that she believes in, which helped them design a school for which they received the JIIA Award. For this project, she recalls using materials like bamboo and other unconventional resources. Similarly, she shares fascinating experiences of her projects and then goes on to detail the journey of how Abhikram started, right from the search for its name. She notes how learning new things, innovating and researching was something that came naturally to their family since it was both their families’ legacy. Reflecting on managing the office, she remarks how Nimish Patel’s job at B V Doshi’s office helped finance their own practice as well. She concludes by sharing details of an accommodation they found and the relations that followers, along with the workshop developed.  

In this session, Parul Zaveri recalls working on their bamboo-sell workshop project for which she and her team had to rally all their resources, learnings and experiences, and her firm’s association with Entrepreneurship Development Institute Of India (EDII). She explains how they worked on one of their housing projects and afterwards, they inculcated a lot of bamboo work in the interior design of this space, as well as employed solar energy-based resources to design the different kinds of spaces involved. She also remarks on getting into a competition for getting a project, winning it and not getting the job. She describes the work they did out of their bamboo workshop, which included artefacts, interiors for weddings, partitions, etc., and goes on to describe the success and following projects that came out of it. They also exhibited some of their bamboo work in Bombay, and this enabled them to learn about and work with fibreglass. Reflecting on all these experiences, Parul talks about each learning in great detail and shares several important project specifications. She also talks about the different ways in which each member of the team approached their projects, how they criticised each other’s approach, and remembers that this in fact helped their work. While talking about all this, she shares a few drawings and sketches from the time. She also remarks on the sustainable quality and durability of bamboo, and after sharing details of other projects, she concludes by noting how their practice sustained through a referral system, and till now they never had to go around asking for projects.          

Talking about significant projects and the approach and overview of Abhikram, Parul speaks of the journey of how their practice began. She talks about the primary projects she had to manage with colleagues who had come from the US, while her husband was battling with jaundice. Engaged with Riyadh’s government bodies, the project was exceedingly time-bound. She describes the entire project timeline, which went on for months and was very challenging and mentally and financially draining. At the same time, she notes how it was a turning point in their lives. The work they did at that time became the foundation for their future practice, and formed the integral values and approach of their work. Parul further shares details of future projects, her experience working on housing projects, on hotel company projects, and finally their work and efforts in conservation. Talking about the same, she details their experience working on two Haveli projects, the challenges they faced on renovating them, working with local craftspersons and contractors, and learning on the job. She also notes the architectural discoveries they made in these structures and how fascinating the process was. They went on to work on the conservation policies for Udaipur as well and she describes that journey as well. While working on these projects, she again learned a great deal about the traditional systems of building and construction which had survived over the years, and comments on the colonial indoctrination that went against our traditional heritage systems. After discussing further projects and details, she concludes by sharing details of their work in Udaipur.    

Talking about another significant project they undertook in Bombay, which was a residential project, Parul recalls the details of how it went and being introduced to another furniture maker. They went on to have a long association with them and she explains how their work sustained for years. Going on to talk about the R C Vilas project which was built on an island, she talks about further details of interesting projects which they received, the challenges they faced, the learning that happened and how they took on projects despite not having field-specific knowledge, but sheer passion and attitude. She speaks of the Shambhu Nivas project, working on a bar lounge, and the conversations around it, which revolved around reviving traditional culture and architecture. Sharing fascinating anecdotes regarding her work in those years, she details her work in Udaipur, talks about different people they collaborated with in their Rajasthan projects, noting how they worked with local craftsmen, artists, graphic designers, and even with textile designers and students. She speaks of their meeting with INTACH, presenting a talk on conservation policies in Udaipur which was done by Nimish Patel, and how they approached heritage policies and efforts. She concludes with detailed remarks about the same, recalling further engagements, conferences, and other insights. 

The session begins with a description of the Torrent Research Centre project, and the minute design details and technical and structural challenges that were addressed before the project began to take shape. Parul notes how the same project invited collaborations from universities in Australia and New Zealand. She talks about the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), minimising energy consumption in their practice and mentions how common sense, innovation, scientific decision making and trial and error approaches are a part of their approach. She speaks of the range of consultancy services they offer and describes these categories in detail. On the topic of conservation and heritage related projects, she lists the important aspects of their approach and a focus on the inclusion of local craftsmen and artisans in the process. She shares anecdotal examples to describe how they worked on different projects, shares details of designs involved, client requirements, and speaks of how they worked with research students as well, from national and international universities. Mentioning the association and work done with John Singh, she goes on to talk about school infrastructure projects they worked on, industries and factory projects they undertook, and notes how each residential project they took on would require its own approach, climate response and requirement. 

Talking about their work on Sugan Niwas Palace, Parul recalls how they sourced fabric material from Delhi, and during that trip, they got offered the Udaivilas project. She details how they shared their concerns about the project and were met with enthusiasm which allowed them to take on the work. She also notes how one of their principle approaches while working on heritage and conservation projects is that it should revive and revitalise the local crafts and artisan market in the city. Reflecting on this, Parul talks about how the last two decades also saw them do a lot of such projects, and talks of work done in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and other cities. She describes her research approach that spanned the crafts and construction fields alike, and then goes on to talk about a mud-house project they worked on. 
Speaking of their conservation projects, she details the systems they evolved and how they created research around it, after which she goes on to speak of the conservation policies they worked on for Ahmedabad. After sharing details of projects done in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, she speaks of the exhibitions, conferences, and festivals they worked on. Speaking of their last decade in this profession, she notes how they did a lot of hospitality projects in this time, designed furniture as well, and recounts the story of how their house was re-designed and constructed. She mentions the elements they made sure to include in their own home, and talks about the play-of-lights effect created with the use of coloured glass. Concluding the session, she also speaks of taking part in competitions and their work with Edifice.  

This session focuses on the teaching careers of Parul Zaveri and her husband, as well as their institutional engagements throughout the years they have practised. Parul notes how their office was known as an institute of teaching and training rather than a normal professional office, and goes on to mention her teaching work with the National Institute of Design (NID). Her roles also included being a part of juries and external guidance for both architecture and interior design, and she recalls how she once had to complete her husband’s courses at CEPT University when he fell ill. Recalling her institutional associations, she mentions Indian Institute of Architecture (IIA), Indian Institute of Interior Design (IIID), etc. She then goes on to talk about her teaching approach and pedagogy, learning from her experiences abroad, filling in gaps in education wherever possible, and including insights from her various professional engagements within curriculums and lectures. She notes how teaching is an exchange, and begins to comment on how teaching has evolved and changed her design knowledge and approach. She talks about technology, textile, industry, and the practice of architecture and learning from on-site work. She speaks of gender biases and challenges one may see, working with rural and urban craftsmen, engineers, contractors, and dealings with clients. The session ends with a discussion on the changing nature of architecture and building practice in recent times, how the environment has become too fast-paced in the last ten years, with a lot of unnecessary shortcuts and an overall lack of pride that one takes in their work.      

Reflecting on juggling between different roles of a woman architect, practitioner, and teacher, Parul Zaveri notes how it was quite tough, even though she received immense support from her sister-in-law, but not equally from her mother-in-law, which often created friction between them. She remarks how her husband did not participate in any activities or management of the household, or at the office, and this made things challenging for her, especially after they started living by themselves as a nuclear family. This further required her to install systems of checks and balances within the office. She then goes on to share details of her household management, and all the people she had to train, as well as notes the support she received from her own sister. She also talks about how she managed her house and its ecosystem after her child was born, shares gratitude for all the support she received from everyone, and further talks about gender-based and other experiences she had throughout her profession. She recalls how she always liked to feed people, clients or otherwise, at both her home, her office, and especially at the National Institute of Design (NID). She then digresses to talk about how her social skills allowed her to gain information and research from grassroots-level workers and locals. In conclusion, she revolves back to talking about her practice and project details.  

Recalling her past and present associations with the National Institute of Design (NID), Parul Zaveri talks about the fascinating relationship she shares with the institute, how she has always been a part of its culture and atmosphere, and shares details about the same. Talking about her national-level participation with academic and other organisations, she talks about working and engaging with the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) and Indian Institute of Interior Design (IIID), being part of conferences, lectures, and juries while describing these institutes’ work approach and how they have engaged with the public. She speaks of their sponsorships, activities, and their support for women architects. Elaborating on this, she speaks about the efforts of architects like Madhavi Desai and notes how their own practice encouraged supporting each other, especially women and young trainees. On the topic of associating with the Council of Architecture (CoA), she talks about the disagreements they have had over the years and issues faced while working with government sector officials. She then notes the support and involvement of the Global Infrastructure Connectivity Alliance (GICA) in their work and shares the details of their association with them.    

Beginning the session by talking about Samvaad, Parul mentions how the initiative was aimed at exposing people to architecture and interior design. This included all people and not only practitioners of the field. She then goes on to talk about women architects in the field, how gender does not matter to her since that is the culture she grew up with. At the same time, she notes that in her time, there were never conversations about recognition owed to women architects or practitioners, even though they were working prominently. She names people like Madhavi Desai, Vina Mody, Hema Sankalia, Minnette de Silva, Pravina Mehta, etc. and how they never made the cut in conversations around architecture. She remarks how she thinks that insecurity was at the basis of the lack of recognition for women in the field, and mentions her regard for the work of Revathi Kamath and Gita Balkrishnan. She shares similar comments on the way she has perceived gender bias in the field, media’s response to male and female figures, and then comments on the state and evolution of architecture journalism in recent years. Interestingly, she notes how the user’s perspective never gets headlined in journalism. Concluding the session, she comments on the market-driven ideologies of the practice and the general education system in the country.