The trends are ruling most of the choices people make today. What’s trending is the latest buzzword and dictates what they eat, wear, where they travel to and the cities they live in. But soon after a trend fades, they do realize that these trends, more often than not, are short-lived and a no match to the classical and timeless choices. So every now and then, few, if not all, will realize this, settle down in their timeless environment and smile at the buzz the new trend is creating in the life of others.
Interior Designing too is not untouched by the trends phenomenon, and many try to experiment with their wall colors and décor to create contemporary living space only to realize that homes need to be timeless. SHROFFLEoN, a Mumbai based Architecture, Landscape, and Interior Design Studio, believes in doing such timeless projects which never go out of style. It offers comprehensive architectural, planning and consultancy services to institutional and private clients. The company is known to deliver innovative solutions which are a result of their association and collaboration with experienced structural, lighting, mechanical and landscape consultants.
The Creative Duo
Maria Leon and Kayzad Shroff, Co-founders of SHROFFLEoN, met at Cornell University during their respective Master’s degree. Through college assignments, competitions and working together outside the college they discovered the ease of working with each other and the understanding they share. So when they saw the opportunity in India to work for themselves, they took no time to decide and founded the company in 2010. Maria has over ten years of professional experience spanning three continents – working at the studio of Javier Terrados in Seville, Spain, Latin America and at Kudniki Bernstein in New York City. Kayzad has over twelve years of professional experience having worked in the office of Robert A. M. Stern in NewYork City collaborating on many projects.
Making its Mark
SHROFFLEoN’s methodology is characterized by an in-depth inquiry and a collaborative intellectual exchange: the design work undergoes intensive research and an experimental approach. The strength of the studio lies in inspired conceptual thinking, backed by the demonstrated experience, skills and technical expertise to competently translate abstract client ideas into reality. Restricting the number of projects taken at a time gives it the luxury of time and energy for innovation and attention to detail.
The Company follows best practices on site where possible, insurance, hard hats, steel-tipped shoes, etc. It also dedicates a fair amount of time to the detailing that goes into construction. Taking clues from material sizes and detailing possibilities, it tends to express and highlight the making, which tends to result in more economical solutions. Differentiating its work from others is its adherence to natural materials – stones and woods primarily, where possible and staying clear of ornamentation, patterns and overuse of different materials.
Creating Clientele
SHROFFLEoN’s journey so far has met its fair share of challenges too. Initial years lacked projects due to clients’ skepticism because its portfolio had unrealized projects. Once workflow started, they also realized the immense amount of work that went into building a project and the fact that design is but a small aspect in the gambit of issues one takes into consideration. Initially, they took up a few small projects – a 300sqft balcony overlooking the sea, a 250sqft dental clinic and a 1500sqft French restaurant in South Mumbai.
As its work gathered momentum and understanding increased, so did the clientele. The company’s efforts about detailing, extreme accessibility for the clients, and open mannerism started working in its favor. The effect of its committed and transparent way of working was that the clients became more accommodative and respectful towards it.
Compliments and Social Responsibility
SHROFFLEoN’s work has now found recognition, and the company has been awarded in various categories. A few prominent ones being “IFJ Gennext Awards, 2018” by Indexcellence Award, “Emerging Architect of The Year 2017” by Grohe-NDTV,” Best of Houzz Award,2018” , “Young Designer of the Year (Runner up) IIID”,” Young Architect of the Year – Archidesign and AD100”, an international competition “PISCENE GLOBAL POOL AWARDS (runner up)”, and more.
On the societal front, both Maria and Kayzad were until recently involved in academia and associated with most of the leading schools within the city. SHROFFLEoN also tends to take on a certain number of pro bono jobs for nonprofits and institutions assisting the underprivileged. It is also a part of various information exchanging platforms where designers freely share knowledge, expertise, and contacts, allowing for a free flow of information and mentor-mentee relationships.
Keeping up with the Future
SHROFFLEoN’s current workload is primarily in the residential sector – interiors, a standalone bungalow in Jogeshwari and a midrise developer building in Bandra. It is also working on a couple of commercial interior projects in Mumbai, as well as on the landscape on a podium for the development in South Mumbai.
Additionally, it has also started another company called WallUp –which provides the clients with space efficient layouts tailored to their requirements within a short time span at a negligible cost. The intention is to acknowledge that space distribution is vital and to make accessible the services of an architect to an audience that would previously not even think of approaching a professional for home improvement or office planning advice.
Advising young entrepreneurs to never give up, Maria and Kayzad at SHROFFLEoN continue their journey, bringing class to every home and uniqueness in every project they take up.
Source :-The 10 Most Creative Interior Designers to Watch
