Ar. Vyom Sinha

Ar. Vyom started his career generating perspective drawings (an almost obsolete art form) for architect’s offices during his undergraduate days. This was followed by part-time work taking up making up stalls for the exhibitions held in neighboring ‘Pragathi Maidan’ during his masters. This endeavor with 3 of his classmates during his masters resulted in a lifelong partnership and the subsequent opening of “New Designer Web Pvt Ltd (NDWPL)” in 1996.

The initial year saw them work on a bevy of exhibition designs from Delhi to Germany & Brussels. An opportunity to design for a small IT company called Intelligroup in Hyderabad in 1997 started off their journey in corporate design and resulted in the opening of their first office branch in Hyderabad. The expansion of Intelligroup, as Sernova and their ensuing merger with ‘Cognizant’ group resulted in offices for them in Hyderabad and Chennai.

Cognizant’s venture to Chennai brought Ar. Vyom and NDWPL to Chennai in 2003 bringing on board the first Cognizant campus in Thoraipakkam, OMR, Chennai which was a giant leap in the scale of projects for New Designer Web. This further provided them the opportunity to work on their Corporate floor, designing for the company’s leadership holding offices there.

Consecutive years saw them working on multiple IT Parks for Cognizant in Chennai from Navalur to Siruseri to Perungudi and also a campus in Kolkata and Bangalore. With an impressive 24 years career, predominantly corporate projects, NDWPL has about 6 million Sq.ft of IT company spaces design to their credit.

However, their most challenging project till date came not from an IT Company but in the form on “M Convention Centre” in Vanagaram. Commenced in 2006 by a different architect and being shelved soon the project was taken up by Ar. Vyom with the existing ‘G+1’ structure in place and the challenges it brought in terms of poor planning, deteriorated construction to no option of changing the initial structure and exposed services from the 32 bed hotel located on their top floor. In the two years, it took them to hand over the project NDWPL came up with an innovative package put together in terms of services and as well as well-planned architecture and interiors.

The past decade saw corporate designs becoming more universal and of international standard in India and Ar. Vyom attributes them to the positive impacts of globalization which also leads into the slow shift towards sustainability in corporate designs with use of BMS controls and carbon dioxide sensors in air-conditioning etc. However, Ar. Vyom concedes that when it comes to niche projects, like residences or designing for physically challenged or special children the design has to be very contextual.

While Ar. Vyom affirms that the architects job is to understand the requirements well and generate a design that suits the client, there are certain times when he regards it the duty of the architect to educate a client sometimes, for things architects know are good for them or the society. For example, the choice of materials in view of their maintenance or their style of work which the client may not realize is contradictory. Nonetheless he admits that sometimes architects too have to accept they may be wrong.

While Ar. Vyom Sinha dreams to work on a sustainable residential project or a beach farmhouse, where he would have the opportunity to work on forms and different materials. New Designer web is currently doing their bit during the pandemic by presenting their old projects everyday on zoom for young architects to observe and learn.