HCPDPM - HCP Design and Project Management Pvt. Ltd.

were joined by Asarpota, Madhukar Thakore and Rajendra Choksi among others. In the
mid fifties Balkrishna Doshi, Arvind Talati and later in 1960 Hasmukh Patel started their
practice. The earlier group was building from the 30’s to the early 50’s and had the baggage
of pre-independence Gandhian ideology but did not have an architectural philosophy
beyond Swadeshi or the Indian context. By the sixties Modernist philosophy and its
architectural idiom were in place and the professional proponents ready.
Within this scenario, when he started working, there was something in Hasmukh Patel’s
nature and personality that played an important role. Function, client and the context
were pivotal in his perception of good architecture. His houses from the 60’s till date
have a certain charm of Brutalism while being perfectly acceptable to traditional Guajarati
families. The new verandah in the front and at the back responded to the desire
for a welcoming entrance space and an informal, private get-away space in response to
the climate. The owners proudly showed off their kitchens and bathrooms on the house
tours they gave to their guests! From the very beginning, art objects as a necessary adjunct
to the living environment became a part of the residents’ life style. Art was also a
priority in his designs for public buildings.
In his work, one cannot but notice that the buildings that are mere boxes to shelter a
given activity are turned into architecture by the manipulation of spaces, circulation,
fenestrations, careful detailing and precise execution. Upon reviewing the entire gamut
of architecture that HCPDPM has produced, one finds that the following questions are
asked as a matter of practice and production of architecture. What is it to understand
the social and the cultural aspects of a people and to rationalize them into architecture?
Should the social interactions remain traditional or go towards modern transformations?
Isn’t modernity inevitable and sought after by society? Buildings are different and
aloof social nodes, so why not make them that way, why not let them have their own
personality? Why decorate buildings with constructional obstructions, why not detail
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