Spaces that Shape us: The Studio
by Anoe Melliou
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Over time, the studio becomes an inventory, comparable to an archive of thought, process, and encounter. It holds the hours of repetition and refinement, the bursts of clarity, and the stretches of fatigue. Whether defined as a studio, a workshop, or an office, each form sets its own conditions for practice. In all its variations, the studio is both a shelter for work and a framework that influences what emerges.
At the same time, the work inscribes itself back into the room. Layers of calls and conversations, scattered notes, fragments, prototypes, and drafts settle into the environment. Desks bear marks of daily use, shelves gather materials in progress, walls define the levels of privacy. Even the memories of everyday interactions leave traces. Over time, these layers accumulate, and the studio itself becomes a record, a living document of process.
A “human infrastructure,” as Bijoy Jain describes Studio Mumbai, is defined by the presence of its craftsmen, designers, architects, and engineers; each one a master of their respective craft. The structure of the studio reflects this collective. Through its open courtyards, practice flows through shared knowledge, through making, and through testing. The space encourages encounters between people, disciplines, and ideas, allowing collaboration to emerge naturally from the process itself.
At its core, apparent from every perspective, the scale models and 1:1 mock-ups are undeniably characteristic of the practice of Studio Mumbai. Central to the process, they often replace the need for a drawing. Avoiding assumptions, the models carry the weight of precision, allowing for live adjustment, correction, and discovery.
Offering an immediate understanding, far more tangible than a plan on paper, in the presence of the models, the conversation shifts from speculation to experience. The process engages directly with the context of Mumbai, its inherent culture, local traditions, and shifting climate. In this reciprocity, the studio as much as the work carry the imprint of place.
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Images: Studio Views at StudioMumbai
Photography by Jeroen Verrecht
