Industry Insight: Leading Indian Architect Neeraj Manchanda on Why Design Matters

Table of contents

• Design is Everything Everywhere All at Once

Renowned architect Neeraj Manchanda has made significant contributions to the field through his lectures and presentations across India, the USA, UK, Canada, and Germany. He has imparted his knowledge at the TVB School of Habitat Studies and the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. A pioneer in social development, Manchanda's work encompasses projects in health and education, culminating in India’s first office building constructed using raw-earth blocks and sustainable technologies.

Neeraj’s and NMA’s works have earned recognition from institutions such as the Indian Institute of Architects, French Institute of Architects, Institute of Indian Interior Designers, and Indian Education Congress, amongst many others. More importantly, Neeraj’s work has found resonance through positive acceptance of environments he has created by users and inhabitants.

Before setting up NMA in 1990, Neeraj was the lead architect at the ‘Shelter Group’ of the ‘Society for Development Alternatives’. Neeraj earned his professional degree from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, in 1985. From pioneering social projects to internationally acclaimed architecture, the celebrated architect Neeraj Manchanda sheds light on the transformative power of design.

Design is Everything Everywhere All at Once

Take an inhabited room with no windows. There are two disconnected worlds. One inside the room and another outside. The room is in fact uninhabitable since it will run out of oxygen in time. What do we do? We insert a hole in one wall to provide fresh air. Design for survival.

We graduate one step and make the ‘hole in the wall’ window larger, bringing in natural light along with air. Design for sustenance. Another step further will refine the location and size of the window to enable occupants to look out and, conversely, those outside to look in. Sustenance leads to connection and interaction with the world, both silent and verbal.

We consider our geography, topography, and climate, and our design goes further: the window transforms into a jaali, a large pane of glass, or an exquisite monsoon window that lets in air and light while keeping out the water. We have designed the window so that it becomes a sophisticated element.

We consider culture, societal norms, and an already sophisticated element that evolves further to enable views out but not in, to enable shops and commerce. We go further. The sill goes down to zero. We step out. We attach a balcony, a jharokha, or a terrace. Our design graduates to place-making for communities, societies, and nations: a leader emerges from our window onto a balcony and waves to the crowd.

We bring the sill back up and design the window to allow sitting against it. Design for recreation and contemplation. We decorate the window and convert it from 'something to look out of’ to 'something to look at’. We are now in the territory of evolved cultures and civilisations, where art and craft are integral to individual and societal existence.

We remove the sill again and move freely between inside and outside. We are in superposition, in the two worlds of the inside and the outside at the same time.

From the natural state of the universe to the human-made large language models of what is at this time termed ‘artificial intelligence’, it is all design that gives form to all things tangible and intangible. Design is philosophy applied to our physical world, and designers are its philosophers.

As the example of the window shows, design transcends more than the sciences, geography, history, art, and culture. It is a physical manifestation of who we are, what we do, and what we aspire for. It is enabling, empowering, and elevating. It matters.

About The Author

Neeraj Manchanda is the Managing Partner at NMA , a highly regarded and award-winning architectural design practice based in New Delhi. In 2023, NMA transitioned into its ne ... w avatar, BaRGaD Design LLP. His work focuses on progressive, sustainable planning and design for education, hospitality, healthcare, and residential developments, which to date are spread across more than fourteen Indian states, apart from international commissions in Nepal and Vietnam. NMA has worked collaboratively with India’s leading organisations and institutions innovating to create exciting new environments.

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