2. ABOUT US….
Dehleez opened shop in 1994 with two architects, Manoj
Gupta and Lena Ragade Gupta at the helm of affairs. In the
decade and a half since then, the firm has grown in terms
of turnover and the nature of the projects executed .More
importantly, it has matured and evolved into a group that
sees architecture not merely as a profession but as a
committed responsibility towards society, towards
culture, ecology and conservation. It has clearly developed
a signature style. It’s clean and honest work ethics
continues to draw enormous goodwill from past clients.
3. A vocabulary of design has sprung from a vast experience
with materials, techniques, trends and from an
understanding of climate, bye- laws, contextual and
cultural responses and client psyche. Having undergone an
intense and comprehensive design studio programme from
the esteemed School of Architecture, Ahmedabad ,having
travelled extensively in India and Europe ,getting first hand
experience of historical and modern works and deeply into
teaching architecture in city colleges, the ‘still young’
architects are in sync with contemporary architecture.
4. OUR INTERESTS….
The two coincidently specialize
in diverse areas. Manoj Gupta is
passionate about building
design and interiors and is very
knowledgeable about the ‘nitty
gritties’ of construction.
5. Lena Ragade Gupta has been interested in flora and landscape
and carved a niche for herself in the area of ecological
architecture and sustainability.
6. On going
project of
developing
eight
landscaped
parks for
Orient
Syntex
Ltd., Bhiwad
i, each with a
different
mandate.
7. Their U.S.P.
however has
always been
to
guide, infor
m and
mould the
clients, work
ing with
their
tastes, sensi
bilities and
preferences
rather than
forcing a
personal
design style.
Dharamashala - Haridwar
9. ABOUT OUR IDEAS … OUR WORK…
American architect Louis
Kahn began the design of a
building with the question
…”What does this building
want to be?” The answer to
this question will yield the
‘FORM’ of the building.
Form is ‘What?’ Once the
form is sensed, the architect
can begin design. Design is
‘How?’ Design , a personal
style gives the elements
their shape, taking them It characterizes a harmony of spaces for
from their existence in the certain activities. The architect must also
mind to their tangible serve ‘desire’, the desire of the building
presence. to be what it wants to be.
10. A PLAN…
A plan is a society of rooms that
have spoken to each other ! We
see rooms not just as
‘requirements’ , but rather as
environments in which it is
good to learn, good to
work, good to meet…… We also
pay attention to SPATIAL
ORGANIZATION, the manner in
which these environments are
arranged clarifying their
relationships, order of
importance, their functional and
symbolic role in the building.
11.
12. INTERACTION SPACES…
People tend to regard
institutions negatively, as
places concerned with their
own growth than with serving
human needs. But institutions
can fan the desire to learn, to
interact for well being.
Architecture must serve these
desires if it must serve the true
spirit of an institution. It will
not figure in the list of
functions and spaces in the
client’s brief but must be
realization of the architect.
Architecture then begins
to transcend function and
communicates meaning.
13. LIGHT AND SHADOWS…
LIGHT is of immense importance to architecture. Openings in thick
walls of great historical architecture reflected light and sculpted it as it
entered the room, creating a visual treat that is absent in most modern
architecture with its pre-occupation with thin materials. But we do
believe it is possible to work with these very materials to again sculpt
light ,make it belong to the room and give space a tonality.
14. Deeply inspired by great
masters of architecture …
Finnish architect Alvar Alto and
American architect Frank Lloyd
Wright .
15. STRUCTURE…
STRUCTURE
does not merely
‘hold up’ a
building. We
see it as a giver
of RHYTHM
and LIGHT….
A column and
then a column
present a
rhythm of
light, no
light, light, n
o light…
16. DETAILS……… CIRCULATION SPACES
Since we move in TIME
through a SEQUENCE of
SPACES, we experience a space
in relation to where we’ve been
and where we anticipate going.
The CIRCULATION
PATH, the perpetual thread
that links spaces of a
building, it’s form and scale are
important aspects of design.
Stairs, ramps, routes infuse
buildings with dramatic and
varied experiences apart from
merely conveying the users
from zone to zone.
17. MATERIALS…
The honesty and
integrity of the
architects is
reflected not just
in their value
systems but
somewhere also
percolates into
their DESIGN
ACUMEN, in their
honest approach
to MATERIALS
and so “WHAT
YOU SEE IS
WHAT IS.”
18. SENSITIVITY TO CLIMATE…
The realities of the CLIMATE of a region
are playing an increasingly important
role in the form of a building. After
all, how good is a building if it is not
comfortable to be in. Our approach to
this issue has been a rational and
moderate one. We believe in
“prevention is better than cure.”
Appropriate responses to climate in
the design concept itself is the need
of the hour and we apply simple
principles of climate control, in
essence, a logical conversation with
light, heat, flora, soil and natural
resources of a region.
19. AESTHETICS…VISUAL ORDER…
Architecture employs ordering principles such as
PROPORTION, CONTRAST, SURFACE
ARTICULATION, RHYTHM….to create variation, and a sense
of order among the elements of the building and the building as
a whole. These transcend the functional and technical aspects of
20. Jain Haveli- Villas for the Rajasthani families…Rajput Architecture restated
21.
22. ARCHITECTURE AND SYMBOLISM…
ARCHITECTURAL FORMS AND
SPACES ALSO HAVE CONNOTATIVE
MEANINGS, ASSOCIATIVE VALUES
AND SYMBOLIC CONTENT, THAT IS
SUBJECT TO PERSONAL AND
CULTURAL INTERPRETATION. The
building must address the “common”
as much as the “unique”. Fortunately
Indian historic architecture has given
us a treasure trove of architectural
elements that “reek of Indianess”, but
manage to get reinvented in a
contemporary manner in the hands of
a skillful architect.
