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“What will be the new ‘normal’ we aspire to achieve once this is behind us?”
– Ar. Samarth Das, Lead Architect & Urban Designer, PK Das & Associates, Architects and Planners

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the architecture and design industry and has resulted in a delay in ongoing and future projects. No sourcing of materials, no physical inspection and missed project deadlines in many cases have incurred huge losses. Today, we share the insights of Ar. Samarth Das, Lead Architect & Urban Designer, PK Das & Associates, Architects and Planners.

“The Covid-19 lockdown brought all office work to a grinding halt, initially. As an architectural practice it has been difficult to cope and manage design work since most discussion and design development is done across the table with the participation of team members. But after the initial acclimatising period, we have managed to bring back the office workflow by way of working through email communication and voice as well as video conference calls when required in order to communicate through visuals.”

“The architects and engineers of the office have been very proactive in organizing themselves and coordinating remotely within their project teams in order to continue delivering work at a high level of efficiency despite the situation we all are in. Through several modes of communication and a certain up-skilling that each individual has undertaken, we are managing well enough now. This time has certainly thrown a lot of light on finding efficient ways of communication, collaboration and co-producing work.”

“Every architect should be self-sufficient, almost an independent work-station sort of unit – proficient in taking up design work using several modes of engagement beginning from sketching, drawing as well as converting design ideas into 3D models – tools that we use actively in our design development process at work. Those who have been less proficient in using and communicating through any of these media have had to get onto the bus rather quickly. It’s amazing how quickly one can adapt in such conditions of pressure, and I’m impressed with everyone from the office for pushing themselves to get the necessary work done. I guess the human desire to succeed in tough situations prevails, and with it comes copious amounts of positivity and hope.”

“Offline, I have been revisiting some of my favourite reads pertaining to architecture and otherwise. Some of my design-related reading includes books on Bauhaus, Mies van der Rohe, Geoffrey Bawa, Louis Kahn and the History of Housing in New York City. On one hand I cannot wait for this lockdown to end and get back to the notions of what is considered ‘normal’ but looking back at the last three weeks, I do not have many complaints – the down time has indeed allowed me to take a step back and critically think about work and other engagements. What will be the new ‘normal’ we aspire to achieve once this is behind us?”