Firm/Studio Name
The Act of Quad – Architecture & Design
How did you come up with the name of your studio?
We wanted a name that didn’t limit our practice in terms of architecture or to the interior, so we played with the word ‘Quad’ which means four (four elements of nature), space between buildings (exterior) and also a four-sided room (interior). Further derived from Act of God which means performed by or done by God we came up with ‘The Act of Quad’
What determined your passion for design? Tell us about the moment when you decided this is the way to go.
I, Priyanka Itadkar and Falguni Bhatia my best friend and partner after a few years of experience wanted to explore but we had no opportunity. So, we started with Quad products where we really learnt so much about materiality and visuals alongside we participated in a few competitions which was the moment when we learnt how we both with two sets of eyes and contrasting minds realized we worked well together and wanted to focus on creating strong imagery and conjectured that great design is for everyone.
What kind of projects were you doing when you first started as a designer?
We absolutely did EVERYTHING that came across our way. From assisting with set designing to refurbishing tiny spaces.
What field of design are you most interested in?
It has to be Art. There is a thin line between art and architecture that often gets blurred. Many claim that usability is what separates the two disciplines, but that is not always the case. Architects focused on the borders and edges of spaces, and tend to focus on inhabiting each space, indicating a more three-dimensional perspective. Artists, on the other hand, are much more focused on the two-dimensional planes and detail of the images. When artists and architects embrace this ambiguity and work together, remarkable things can happen.
What is your favourite book/magazine on design? How about your favourite site?
Design as Art, Bruno Munari
The favourite site has to be our first big site which got so much love mostly known as ‘The Mumbai Apartment’
What is your Signature Style?
We believe that humans inherently find beauty in the ‘orderly disorder’ of nature, ergo our approach is intuitive, playful and collaborative that manifests itself between being peculiar and unconventional. Through a free-thinking and experimental process, we aim to bring unexpected objects and environments into everyday people’s lives, with the objective of making every day a little less ordinary.
What inspires you to thrive in this industry? Which piece of architecture inspires you the most.
Were inspired by our belief to create a change.
Tadao Ando’s Water Temple really hits the spot for us!
From your point of view, is design an art or a science?
It’s a perfect composition of both.
If you had no limits (money, resources), what would you create?
Oh god, we would love to build community spaces in rural parts of our country. We had the opportunity to closely study a tribe where we learnt how much impact such a structure can have on peoples lives.
What advice do you have for young designers or architects reading this interview?
The design actually comes from within once we truly discover ourselves it only gets better.
