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“No project of this scale has been planned in India since Chandigarh city. Controlled planning was the key USP here, which is India’s first gated community. Boundary walls encompass the entire city and all entry points have gates which give controlled access to only residents and their guests.

“For the Le Meridien, New Delhi, we used mood lights that could transform the entire look of the room, plasmas, maple flooring, high end accessories and lights from Spain and Italy,” he says. “For the required look to come through, the drama starts from the façade itself where you are welcomed under the steel canopy of the porch.

“As the clients brief was ‘art and tech’ - intensive research had to be done on the latest technologies to create art through technology. Concepts had to be constantly upgraded. The other challenge was the dependence and correspondence with other countries for new age materials, lights, furniture and craftsmanship.”

The way ahead

According to him the modern office or residential space in most Indian cities are now indistinguishable from their counterparts in New York or Shanghai. He says: “Space and light continues to dominate the ambience structure of Indians. In terms of colour, a splash of vivid colour thrown over a predominantly light background colour scheme rules the roost. The sway of colour that splashed electrifying colours on our walls would continue, but the stress will be on giving a muted, more sophisticated look.

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“You will now see unusual combinations like dark wood against olive green walls or stainless steel against walnut wood finishes,” adds Mukherji. “What has become critical is how well you mix colours, rather than how many colours are being used. Now, individuals and corporate entities employ design to stand out from the crowd.”

Veering the conversation to the key issues and challenges facing the domestic architecture and design community, Mukherji says: “There is definite scope for the government to be more liberal in its attitude towards builders and architects. It still takes a long time to get the required sanctions to start a project. But apart from this, India and the South East Asia region is the next big interior design destination.”

To leverage on emerging opportunities, BMA has recently opened an office in Thailand. “Our office at Bangkok is more of a design studio than an office to handle the expansion,” says Mukherji. “We would like to expand our networks to the Middle East and South East Asia as this is where the future growth is going to happen.”

On a more personal note, Mukherji attributes his professional success to a slew of factors. He says: “I have been lucky to find support among my parents and friends. I also learnt a lot from international designers, who inspired a lot of my work. My success can also be attributed to my young and motivated design team at BMA. Lastly, it is the timing, being at the right place at the right time.” 

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