Matra Architects was established in 1990 in New Delhi with two partners, namely Sunita Kandhari & Verendra Wakhloo, who had earlier worked between 1985 - 87 at Ahmedabad in Studio Sangath of Mr. B.V. Doshi and 1987-90 at Studio M.N. Ashish Ganju, New Delhi. For the last three decades, the architectural activities of the studio have ranged from institutional to industrial and private residences, mostly built in the northern part of India. The formative years were influenced by the masters of Indian moder-nism, i.e., Charles Correa, B.V. Doshi, in search of an Indian identity.
Main focus of work is on context-sensitive architecture that integrates material and logic of construction, in search of ‘archetypal’ form. The anatomy of building is trans-cultural and references are drawn from a global archive, which is not necessarily contemporary. The tedious process of dialogue with the team turns into an act of the moment, without considering any architectural “style”. The form does not happen suddenly, but is more of a process of becoming more conscious of your inner self, a process of emptying the answers that always live within you. Finding the germinating idea is a slow exercise and is generally pursued through sketches and models. Finally, the context may be absorbed by the building like a sponge and may gradually enter the public memory.
Principal Architect
Verendra Wakhloo
Sunita Wakhloo
Associate Architects
Ankit Jain
Siddhant Mathur