If it can't have a garden, we won't do it says Shibanee & Kamal Architects
Bangalore-based studio Shibanee & Kamal Architects explains why gardens are central to how it designs housing projects in one of India's most densely populated cities, in this exclusive video produced by Dezeen.
Gardens form the starting point for the practice's residential work, shaping everything from layout and massing to how projects are delivered.
"Every single home that we build has a garden – if it can't have a garden, we won't do it," the practice told Dezeen in an exclusive video interview.
Working in Bangalore, one of India's most densely populated cities, the studio has developed a range of spatial strategies to incorporate greenery within constrained urban sites.
"We tried all different formats," Kamal Sagar said. "Some are staggered in alternate directions, some are duplexes, some are L-shaped – and in some cases the gardens are inside the home."
Rather than treating gardens as decorative add-ons, the practice positions them as essential to how homes are planned and experienced.
"The home just doesn't feel like a home if it doesn't have a garden," Kamal said.
The studio's approach has also shaped how it delivers projects.
After seeing its designs altered when working with third-party developers, Shibanee & Kamal Architects took control of the full process by bringing architecture, construction and development under one model through its own construction and development arm, Total Environment.
"When we did the first few designs for developers, [our designs] were changed in a few minutes," Kamal said. "The only way to make it work is to find a piece of land, then design, build and sell it ourselves. It won't work any other way."
"We are achieving this only because the architects are connected to the construction teams," added Shibanee. "It's a very close synergy."
The studio pointed to its project Windmills of Your Mind in Bangalore as an example of this approach at scale.
The high-rise residential development is located in the centre of "India's Silicon Valley" and incorporates extensive planting throughout the site.
"At Windmills of Your Mind, we have more green on the land than when we first built the buildings," Kamal said.
The practice cited the idea of "timeliness design" as a key measure of success.
"We've seen people living in our homes for 20 years and never feel like changing," Kamal said.
The studio's emphasis on greenery is rooted in a longstanding personal relationship with nature.
"Those [Enid Blyton] books I read in my childhood, like The Magic Faraway Tree – I've always lived in that kind of dream world and wanted to be there," Kamal said.
"All of this has played a big role in trying to make our buildings overflow with nature and greenery."
Shibanee & Kamal Architects is a global architecture and design studio founded in Bangalore in 1996 by Shibanee and Kamal Sagar.
The practice is also building a 121-home residential community in Frisco, Texas, called Tapestry, which features curved planted roofs and garden access for every room.
The photography is by Total Environment.
Partnership content
This video was produced by Dezeen as part of a partnership with Total Environment. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
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