Space making as a field has many faces to it from Civil engineering to Architecture to interiors design and decoration. Traditionally, these are separate disciplines with differences that a layman cannot really identify. The Design Compound (TDC) was started with an intention to create highly customized and contextual solutions for all scales of spatial design and to incorporate the learnings from these separate disciplines into one umbrella as a one stop solution.
Founder, Joohie Patel shares with us the inspiration behind her work and how she keeps the firm going.
Kindly brief us about your Company.
Compound1: (Verb): to put together (parts) to form a whole. Compound2: (Noun): an enclosure, having a shared or associated purpose.
“Compound” is a playful homograph to suggest a process of design that borrows from both of its meanings. It is an alchemy of client’s needs, expectations and their story, while exploring narratives in a metaphorical compound. This derives personalized concepts that are molded into stunning spaces that speak deeper than its aesthetic. The studio’s focus remains in crafting spaces with a personality. Evocative designs that are of far greater value than passing trends that lose its luster over time. TDC strives for solutions that are functional, unique and timeless.
What was the source of inspiration?
I started TDC to make an impact on the environment and spaces around us. The habitat and spaces that we grow up in, travel to and spend time in, defines a lot about us. And these environments in turn are influenced by regions and cultures. My inspiration lies in learning about this influence and how we can use these learnings to create architecture and design that is appropriate for its context and client. I studied Interior design in CEPT university, Ahmedabad. This education has had a huge impact in my perception of design. For me, it is not just a profession but a way of life. It has taught me to have a holistic understanding of the multiple influences and processes that make up spaces and how to critically introspect our own work and its impact on the society.
What are the key attributes that helped your Company overcome the challenges that it faced during its establishment?
It definitely was not easy setting up the practice. Simply put, I started the company from my dining table with an intern helping me out. And in a span of 1.5 years, we have grown many fold. Architecture and Interior design is a very location specific profession and it is very important to have a physical base. Moreover, the clients, usually residential clients, have a deep emotional attachment with their homes and need to be able to trust the designers completely.
Having just moved to a new city with absolutely no connections, getting the right clients and vendors was a tough task. But an even more challenging part was to make sure that once signed up, these clients could trust us completely and that we could deliver the right services and also alleviate their concerns at the same time. So in the beginning, the biggest challenge was to just make sure that we had enough work to begin with and also that it was executed with utmost precision.
Businesses that deal with private construction are always people oriented whether its a craftsman, labour, designer or the end client. So we are always on the lookout for people who share our passion and managing them is an important factor. Also, services like these have a higher operation cost, more lead time, multiple possible points of failure and a much less ROI. So for us, as we deal a lot with the unorganized sector, currently management is the biggest challenge and in the coming years we want to make sure that things are more organized in the back-end.
With the massive tech-enabled advancements, what are the opportunities and challenges evolving with it?
Tech has moved leaps and bounds into every sector and we are seeing a very positive influence of it into our field. Design is our passion and that is never going to change but we strongly feel that good design is a combination of great ideas and equally great execution. But like any business, this is easier said than done. A huge part of our backend management is supported by various tools and softwares that are getting smarter by the day. We are trying to iron out as many break-points as we can with the help of technology and trying to make processes that can help bridge the gap between designers and the stakeholders in the unorganized sector so we can deliver services of highest quality to our clients.
Share with us your Company’s contribution to its sector in the industry and how it is helping its clients in their business growth.
We don’t unnecessarily differentiate our work by using pseudo words that overcomplicates the understanding of it. After all, to simply put, TDC is an architecture and interior design firm. However, there is definitely an unquenchable thirst to learn more and more about all the stakeholders in the project and keep looking for the best solutions that are the most appropriate for them.
How do you motivate creativity and innovation in the workspace while maintaining a healthy work environment?
We are a small team but we always work towards identifying who brings what to the table, identify each other’s strengths and weaknesses and to fill the gaps by hiring people with the relevant required skill set. Our office environment is very transparent with less focus on hierarchy and more focus on the importance of a diverse thought process. Everybody is encouraged to try their hands at everything and figure out for themselves what works for them and take it forward as a specialty. As we consider design a lifestyle and not just a business, we discuss it in all aspects such as arts, music, films, products etc and that keeps our environment fresh.
Brief us about the current scenario of your Industry and your Company’s future plans.
Design and construction are gaining momentum as an industry with each passing day and we intend to keep up with it. Awareness of good design and its benefits as handled by professionals is rising and the exposure brought on by travel and social media is changing a lot of mindsets. We are already looking at our processes with a more critical eye and are trying to find the aspects that we can improve with the help of skilled people, technology, a difference in mindset etc. Afterall, we are not just creating a business, but also a lifestyle.
