In an exclusive interview with the magazine, Architect Mayooree Saxena provides novel insights into her Design journey and more!

Name of Designer: Architect Mayooree Saxena, Principal Architect, SAI Consultants, Bhopal.

My favourite structure: I love the architecture of late architect Revathi S. Kamath. She was a pioneer of mud architecture and created buildings rooted in sustainability. Of all her projects The Gnostic Centre, a serene centre for the pursuit of spiritual consciousness and academic learning, located at the Delhi-Gurugram border is my favourite. It conveys her sensitivity and efforts towards working with local and traditional materials, skill-sets and building techniques

I am inspired by: The elements of nature especially natural light, breeze, trees and the sound of birds. I try to bring them into the spaces I design.

Design to me is: Design is the most important element of a city and society. I believe a city is defined or un-defined by its architecture.

I wish I had designed: Projects that do have provision for rainwater to percolate back into the subsoil, and those that do not integrate landscaping.

My worst design: I had designed an office with lovely green spaces and a green vertical wall. When I went for its inauguration to my shock the landscaped areas had been hardscaped and the vertical wall had artificial plants!

My best design: I enjoy designing residences. The Verma residence is one of my most fulfilling projects as it successfully incorporated several elements into a cohesive design expression.

My signature design element: I enjoy creating outdoor-indoor connects by creating landscaped courts and green spaces. This feature is manifest in my projects be they residences, offices or restaurants.
To unwind: I enjoy soft Hindi music and long drives

If I was not an architect: I would have been an event manager as I love designing spaces and creating experiences for users of those spaces.