Ar. Vijaykumar

On a spur decision after viewing, the then in-progress ‘Tree House’ in Chetpet, Ar. Vijay visited Ar. Murali to seek to work with his mentor in 1999. This chance meeting, led him to a job with Ar. Venugopal, with whom Ar. Vijay was associated with for the consecutive 9 years.

At the crown of his achievements, acknowledges Ar. Vijay, is recognition from his mentor, Ar. Murali appreciating one of his works, comparing it to Ar. Tadao Ando while conceding the fact that while deriving inspiration from Mr. Murali, Ar. Vijay shield away from replicating his style and created his own niche.

On his view on globalized approach, he recollects a recent interaction with a client who wanted a Moroccan style design. The client had approached Ar. Vijay after conferring with numerous architects around the world and was able to accept the design proposed by ‘Vjsaydo’ Architects, which while being in Moroccan style stayed true to its Indian context. That clinches globalization in Ar. Vijay’s definition. According to him, globalization is good, as long as it stays relevant to the context.

Consequently the Morocco style villa also has been Ar. Vijay’s most challenging project till date. Commissioned by Madeena constructions, this villa design in Valasaravakkam in Chennai was done after a comprehensive, meticulous study of Morocco style of architecture with numerous options until a concept was derived justifying the style while staying validated to its Indian ambience.

Having done over 500 projects at the helm of ‘Vjsaydo’, Ar. Vijay has over 500 more too his credit in association with Ar. Venugopal in his early years. With an experience of 21 years into the field, Ar. Vijay maintains a strong foothold in ‘Residential and Hotel designing‘.

With “Providing quality of space” being his motto, Ar. Vijay’s design by default includes the basics of being sustainable. His basic design process commences with providing natural lighting and ventilation. Furthermore he advocates usage of locally available materials as much as possible.

He attributes his success to a lesson learnt from his mentor Ar. Murali, “Listen to clients before you pick your pencil to design”. He strongly believes in humans beings provided with 2 ears to listen and perceive well before they commence anything.

Citing the surge is requirements of architects in recent years, Ar. Vijay believes India needs good architects right now and reassures aspiring architects about the numerous opportunities available to them today. However he encourages them to start small and be patient in rising up the ladder of growth reminiscing about his own success that was a 15 year work in progress.

Ar. Vijay is currently working on his dream project, a ‘Mediterranean style high end residence’ built in over 14,000 Sq.ft land area at Ayapakkam in Chennai. All spaces are said to have been designed with both the architects’ and clients’ sensibilities. Dissatisfied after approaching many leading architects of the city, the client zeroed in on Ar. Vijay for his ability to listen and perceive the client’s requirements well, as a testimonial to his beliefs.