An Interview with Ar Sharukh Mistry - Inspired to be Green

1.What are the 3 most important parameters for
you as an architect in your approach to a green
building?
First do a stretch, then shake, rattle and roll and you are ready.
that’s it that’s all you need.-I am just kidding. Well on second
thought this would be what most animals would do when they
start their day, so why not me.
Now let me take you through the process that I follow.
Being an architect I have asked myself –frequently
Is my mind crowded?
Am I full of myself ?
Am I full of problems ?
Am I full of solution ?
Is there another way? Yes of course there are many. So I will start
by asking 3 question ?
4.What project challenged you the most and
why?
The letter below might explain
5. Can you give us a (short) recipe
on how to become a successful green
architect?
Whatever your stage in life it is never too late to
become a successful green architect. So start
today. You just have to turn to nature and your
inner nature…..to your own inmitable way. That
way you continue to be Yourself and nobody’s
shadow. Your uniqueness will automatically
come to the fore. Remain open and trust
yourself and slowly and surely you will receive
the message.
At Mistry Architects we follow these steps when
we start to design.
1) Can I go in empty ?
power of the self, where you actually start to trust, yourself .You
allow the power of trust to work for you. You start to believe that
you have. What it takes.
2) Can I be Vulnerable?
Because only when you become vulnerable you become open and
that openness allows you to receive. You tweak your antenna and
you start to connect to the larger web of life. Get zapped just like
ET did in the movie.
3) Can I Listen deeply?
No, not only to your clients but also to the language of the land on
which you are about to build . Because as Derrick Jason says- this
language is older than words. At Mistry’s we believe that all sites
have stories and if you walk into that story with humility, respect,
in silence, leaving your architectural baggage at the door,-you
come back with a lot of learning.
In Buddhist tradition it is said that listen not only with your mind
and ears but also with your hearts. The Zen master THICH NATH
HAN tell us –“One aspect of deep, listening is allowing what is
said to come from emptiness and RETURN to Emptiness”
2. From where do you get your inspiration(s)?
I try to be alive to my immediate surroundings, because I believe
that the source is ever present. So inspirations can come from
anywhere – from a heap of garbage or a beautiful rainbow behind
it. It all depends how you see it.
3.In your next life what would you like to be? Why?
In my next life I want to be a forest. Why? Let me explain. I have
a belief that –all evolution ultimately in this circle of life does one
thing …..it helps to build the earth. I started to think this way after
I read that it takes 1000 Years to build one inch of soil all over the
earth. The forest therefore does an amazing job towards that goal.
Also the dna of the forest is intimately connected to water around
the world. I’d love to be a gentle giant. May be a vad(banyan)
6. What are you doing if
you are not designing a
building?
I have hit 60 this year. I have grown
old but I have not grown up (my
children tell me to grow up when
I am fooling around and that is
most of the time). At MA we believe
as someone said’ You cannot do
anything meaningful unless you
are having fun doing it, and I keep
dreaming of different ways to have
fun. I travel to places of natural
beauty, I dive with my son in the
Andaman island and I golf. I am at a
high when I am outdoors.
Some of them have already been mentioned
earlier. So I shall not repeat.
a) Trust your intuition.
b) Be a little more right brained than left
c) Become native to the place.
d) Don’t miss out on enthusiasm.
e) Be playful, don’t forget to have fun.
f) Make children the measure of your response.
Wake up the child in you.
7. Where do you see the green
building movement in future
and how can India avoid
green-wash?
We cannot avoid green wash. It is part of the process unfortunately. Once
Having said that, it is important to create awareness about this problem.
IGBC has started to “review all the buildings that have received
accreditation to see if they are performing to standards”, that they have
agreed to .We are going to be relentless about this follow up. We want
everybody to understand that it is a continuous process.
A lot of people confuse the green building rating system with sustainable
green design. The rating systems are tools for measuring performance,
but meaningful green design goes way beyond the brownie points of a
rating system. “The soul of the green building” movement can never be
in its rating system .It has to be in……. issues of emotion, cultural context
,playfulness, empathy,meaning,community, intuitiveness and all the
right brained issues. These are integral to any good design. But they are
intangible and not easy to measure e.g. we still don’t know the true value
of forests, rivers and oceans.
It simply means, that in the natural world the principles of green
are in perpetuity. So in the human green building endeavor it
cannot be a one-stop shop. It is an everlasting cycle.
Inspired to be GREEN thanks Ar.Sharukh Mistry, for sharing his valuable thoughts with us which was
inspiring and thought provoking.
Inspired to be GREEN I March - April 2010 I 5