Interview with Aijaz Hakim Architect

I cannot think of any other way of occupying myself. Design fills my life.

I discovered architecture by accident. But now i choose to be an architect.

I design buildings, I design the interiors of buildings, I design the surroundings of buildings. I would like to design parks, public plazas and other such areas within cities.

I don't consider myself a legend. However as an encouragement to young designers, I can say that they need to be truthful to themselves. Once they realise their strengths and weaknesses, they can manoeuvre around these and improve.

Skill and Sincereity are tools towards greatness.

Everything that we have imagined at office, we document. Then we stand and deliver. The delivery is the final act and very important. The struggle lies in delivering.

There are too many to mention. From time to time someone springs to mind and inspires.

I like apple products. Steve Jobs took design, turned it into a product and brought it to the masses. I love this quality about him.

Keep an open mind, do not accept the normal. Keep testing your capabilities. Collaborate with smart people.

Oh this is a question I've been waiting for. There is no doubt in my mind, I would have been a lead guitarist in a rock band.

My country and its countrymen have contributed a lot to my success. They have been my biggest obstacles and my biggest supporters.

I was fortunate to apprentice under Cabell Childress as an architect in training. He turned me from an ordinary designer into what I am today. Divine intervention from time to time has always been favourable.

If it was an easy ride, it would not be worthy of becoming design. Through adversity if one can shine, you are doing the right thing. One can steer clear of obstacles, but you cannot avoid them. You can only overcome them, and then they are not percieved as obstacles anymore.

I have no ultimate goal. I see myself designing all the way to my death bed.

We have a few interesting projects lined up, that the office is excited to execute. However whats most interesting for me is, bringing to life my new mechanised manufacturing facility.

I think the era of a lone master architect has come and gone. I truly believe that many hands make more work is the way of today and humans controlling machines is next.

It is a chicken and egg situation. One cannot seperate the two. However good design and detailing cannot be substituted.

Technology has become very important in design today and will increasingly become more and more integrated. We try to be in the forefront of technology as far as we can.

In my country everything is measured tangibly. I wish people were more interested in how we can change their lives by good design. I wish the interaction with my clients was more cerebral. I wish design was used as tool to better lives and surroundings. Unfortunately subconsciously clients are always floating numbers in their heads.

The first thing that comes to my mind is the fact that it is so simple and how could someone have not thought about this before.

Everyone influences design in one way or another. Design is meant for people.

I watch children and youngsters all the time. They are so inspiring. I also travel a lot, meet people from different cultures. This world is an amazing place and Ibelieve everything on this planet was meant for me.

Oh. Now youve got me in the sweet spot. Alexander the Great. Daniel Bernoulli. Ferdinand Magellan. Genghis Khan. Michael Schumacher. Andrea Palladio. My Grandmother. I can go on forever, this list is very long.

I find that every award needs to be earned. It gives our office a sense of belief that we are still relevant in the current world. That we are still being recognized for our work that people find appealing and functional. We wear our recognition badge as a badge of honour.

When I was a child I was happy just to be able to fly kites and play football. I had no inclination that one day i may be writing down this interview.

I started my company in 1994. We are multi disciplinary with an emphasis on architecture and interior design. Currently in our 23rd year, we have a great young team and I hope to expand this team in our new office. We all contribute to the design process. In our workspace there is no great or small. There are some who lead by example and some who follow. Every person who occupies a seat has earned it. We have a very open office, with no barricades; everyone cooking something on their screens and I sit right in the middle of the kitchen.
The studio is constantly updating its knowledge of materials both local and international. Besides we read and draw extensively. We collaborate a lot. We ask a lot of questions. We work with international students and architects in our studio. Every person brings their own impact on design. We work on various types of projects.

Design is a journey into the unknown with an open mind that has the ability to manipulate given circumstances. If design was anything else it would be a science.

For our studio, there really is no difference. The design content matters. The intention of the client matters. We generally do not discriminate. Every project is an opportunity to perform, to push boundaries. However, I am really careful about choosing my clients. If a client is supportive of the cause, we jump right in. If our views do not match, we outright advice them that maybe commissioning us may not be the right way forward.

My way of design is the direct result of my childhood; a strict convent education; an architectural apprenticeship under one of the great american architects; the ground reality of India and a mind that is constantly in conflict with accepting the normal. The perfect mix of these is my personal favorite. I am really comfortable in this setting.

Any material that can stand the test of time and perform to deliver the design intent is my favorite material. For different projects there are different materials. It also depends on my state of mind when designing the project. Technology needs to be updated constantly in todays world, what was relevent yesterday can be redundant next week.

Like I said before, every project is an opportunity to perform. We cannot predict or describe our next clients. As much as we choose them, they choose us.
There are some who are old school and conventional in their thought and we respect them for their wisdom. These clients are very clear about their requirements and we follow their lead. Our creativity shines in subtle ways.
Then there are some who want us to gun the throttle and go for a spin on the design highway. Our role here is to stay on the edge and deliver. These projects are exhilarating and fast paced.
In all projects we decide to bring our creativity to the forefront.

Our firm is an integrated approach practice in that it considers the impact of the interior on the outer shell and views the structure as a whole, designing “from inside-out”. We focus on the interior of the project first, shifting to the outside at the later stages of design. It is very important to consider the interior design in the practice of architecture because it is the space our clients interact with most and what they commission us to deliver.
We also subscribe to the collective aesthetic point to a minimal, clean, streamlined modern look with flowing spaces, a lot of natural light and of course an emphasis on sustainability.

The first thing that I feel is a sense of relief. This comes from the thought that we have accomplished what we set out to do and we have been successful in carrying the responsibility that was entrusted to us by our clients. Other emotions follow.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. This straight line is the easiest to draw and build. It is also the cheapest to construct. The fewer the lines, the faster you can complete the project. This is the essence of minimalism and mostly what we would like to follow in our design. Simplistic designs are the most successful in my opinion. All this without compromising the essence of the space imagined

Styles come with an expiry date. They come and they go, they honestly do not matter. The impact of great design and detail stays forever. I try to put myself into everything that goes out of our studio, after all it carries my name.
I see many architects trying to be someone else. I find it extremely difficult trying to be me. We try our best to fit the requirements of the client, we make a complete program of their physical and psychological needs and expectations in the project. Then we process this information in our office and it is our interpretation of this, along with principles of architecture that is the outcome of our design.

I am an Indian-born and based, US-trained architect. This background places me in a unique position to approach projects from the cultural perspective of my home country and at the same time benefit from exposure to advanced technology, modern design methods and latest building materials.
Aijaz Hakim Architect today is creating with equal dedication and authenticity a very diverse portfolio of residential commercial and public projects. This fusion between multi-cultural and traditional, bespoke local craftsmanship and new technology, confidence and pragmatism contributes to the underlying strength of the practice.
India, is a whole new planet: backward in some respects, yes, but at the forefront of technology at the same time. Each day presents different challenges. This country teaches one to be patient, pragmatic, but above all it teaches you to perform and achieve with very limited resources.

Stop looking at google. Develop content that can be seen on google.

The ability to be sincere. This I find most important.

Our brand can best be described as "shape shifting" we never sit still, there is always a nervous energy to move to the next. like any brand, we are constantly evolving. We will very soon be up and running with our own manufacturing facility. We have begun investing in robotics, which we feel are the future of manufacturing in India.

Oh, its always a team. A good team makes us realise better designs. The task of leading the team lies with me.

The best way is to email me. aijaz@ahaworkspace.com