Ar. Murali Murugan

In a career traversing for about 37 years, Ar. Murali slices them into two distinct phases. Initial 15 years of which were more concentrated on large scale finance generating commercial projects to help support the family and education expenditure. Where 700 odd projects consisted of 27 hospitals, numerous housing colonies, university campuses to name a few, the famous Chennai Metropolitan Bus Terminal at Koyambedu Chennai and the Tirumayilai Station (Mylapore) were being amongst them. After reaching the appropriate stage in his career, the practice was more avidly concentrated on individual residences for the subsequent 15-20 years with about 200 highly gratifying projects.

His practice is built on the conviction that every project is unique and challenging to an architect, and the amount of effort that goes into understanding and designing should be the same irrespective of the scale of the project. In retrospect, he recollects a residence built for Mrs. Shanti Priya’s family, in a land of about 1400 sq.ft has been one of the challenging projects on a small scale, conceding it as one of the milestones in his career. On a larger scale, the CMBT building, was one of his prodigious milestones, with a 32 acres campus which was coordinated with 30 different agencies.

In consonance with time, Ar. Murali acknowledges the challenges faced by youngsters today, have tremendously increased in proportion to earlier times. He however emphasizes the importance of a strong foundation for young Architects by working for a minimum of 5 years with seniors Architects and develops immense knowledge and experience within all aspects of Architecture which includes dealing with various materials, contractors, construction detailing, etc. 

He believes the ‘Internet’ has revolutionized the concept of globalization while helping a person envisage themselves on a global platform while staying grounded and attached to our emotions concerning our culture and be proud of it. The revolution has also helped people connect from different parts of the world for a unified cause.

Sustainability has always been an integral part of his Architectural Design, although in recent times it has been portrayed as a special entity by the World. As Ar. Laurie Baker practiced and propagated through his works “more indigenous local material should be used in architectural construction”, Ar.  Murali believes in revamping traditional construction techniques like random rubble masonry and age-old Athankudi tiles and use locally available resources to be more economical. 

On being asked about people’s views of Architects being arrogant, Ar. Murali quotes Mahatma Gandhi, says “Client is God”, and goes on to explain that sometimes Architecture schools gives youngsters an aura of importance. He believes It is essential for Architects to understand the client’s perspective with a deep connect of their core values and considers the duty of the Architect is to empower the client with the essential knowledge to appreciate good design on the occasion that the client is not able to visualize the Architect’s perception. 

Furthermore, there exists a misconception that Architecture is more technologically driven, which is far from reality. Architecture is about understanding the culture and people’s attachment towards living space and family connect. He believes it is important for an Architect to have compassion towards his clients, spend time with them, and understand them and their culture with humility.

He believes that while there have been technological advancements in India, there has also been cultural connectivity. Chennai’s globalization and agglomeration of IT industries have helped in retaining the cultural linkage within its urban setting, which adheres to its core family values.