​Shroffleón is a full-service award winning design firm offering comprehensive architectural, planning and consultancy services to civic, municipal, institutional and private clients. A young and dynamic creative studio with a burgeoning reputation as a professional organisation known for its innovative solutions, the practice thrives on the energy, enthusiasm and fresh thinking of a team of young architects who work closely with experienced senior mentors. The projects benefit, in no small measure, from the firm's association and collaboration with experienced structural, lighting, mechanical and landscape consultants that work towards creating a holistic project. Shroffleón's methodology is characterised by a deep inquiry and an intellectual collaborative exchange: the design work being informed by intensive research and an experimental approach. Shroffleón continually strives to invent and innovate environmentally responsible design solutions whilst creating spaces that establish healthy connections - fluid exchanges between inhabitants and their environments. Their projects span across scope and size - from large-scale urban proposals to small, residential projects, architecture installations or artefacts, with each project geared towards maximising inherent latent potential, performance and value through finely tuned work methodologies. Past Project - Long Pool House





Bedroom

Living Room to Pool

Outdoor Seating Area

Viewing Deck

Games Room

The work of Shroffleón, incepted in 2008 in Ithaca, New York by Kayzad Shroff and María Isabel Jiménez León, has been widely published in leading national and international architecture, design and interior websites, blogs and magazines.

We got personal and had a quick chat with the founder duo about Shroffleón and their design and inspiration that keeps them moving.

​



Finding the right partner who resonates with your design aesthetic and process is difficult. What are the strengths that you and Maria work off each other as partners?

It is important to find a partner where there is mutual respect on both sides, then it's easier to work together and work off each other's strengths. When we started, we had no experience of having executed past projects together nor did we share with a common aesthetic; however we both brought creativity to the table and kept an open mind to each other's ideas, and that how the respect grew. We quickly recognised areas in which individually we excelled, and let each take the lead and the other would follow. We have now been able to recognise each other's strengths and that makes our design process smooth. During our design process, we conceptualise the project together, then Maria drives the project until completion, while I spend time on business development, client servicing, and contracts. Of course, we try to make sure we are both available for site visits.

How have your individual cultural backgrounds contributed to your design process?

There is a certain amount of detailing inherent into European design, absent in the Indian design process, which Maria has brought to our work, and thus spends lot of time on intricately detailing each project. As European aesthetics are a bit minimal for Indian tastes, we ensure we have to balance in local cultural affinities, which demonstrates how our work becomes to culmination of our backgrounds.

Can you tell us a little bit about your design philosophy and process, citing examples from your experience while designing and constructing the Long Pool House.

We take a lot of cues from the site - our geometries tend to be a culmination of vectors that exist at the site, e.g. we draw up different axes and try and find something that makes sense. In our working-drawing process, we don't give exact dimensions; instead, we try and maintain symmetry through alignment. The reason is that at a site even the most precise measurement can be irrelevant, as there will always be a difference between what's existing and what is ideal. Everything is relative - to what is existing at the site. If you don't end up making your drawings relevant to the site, things can go awfully wrong. As a result of our design process, we can plan ahead and account for inconsistencies.

Who are your role models as Architects and why?

Rem Koolhaas - He questioned everything, including the brief itself.

MVRDV - The rigour with which they carry through their housing projects.

David Chipperfield - The monumentality of his work and the level of detailing (even though the scale may not be particularly monumental).

Studio MK 27 - Their work resonates with what can potentially be replicated in the Indian context.

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects - They experiment with new materials and invent and innovate with materials for each project.

What is your favourite material to work with?

We go through phases. We've gone through a lot of corten steel, and had used a lot of zinc panelling for both interiors and exteriors. We are now working with a couple of artists to create new materials for panelling. We're experimenting with copper foiling and lead foiling. We're working with another artist to create bronze panels where we are creating an imprecise mould and pouring bronze into this mould to create something more abstract and organic.

Also, how do you convince your client to buy into your vision of experimentation? Do you do continue R&D or is it project-specific?

Well, when we see something we like, we try to find a way to develop it further and use it in our projects, but only of course if the client has the budget and time for the experimentation.

When looking at designing interior spaces, does your perspective change from how you design architectural projects? How so?

For both architecture and interior projects, we like to get some idea of how the space is going to be used. Our pride is space efficiency and creating the illusion of space. For examples, we try to camouflage mundane elements like cupboards and doors.

What is a project you wish you had designed?

We worked for three years on an animal shelter for the TIGI foundation - Imran Khan's foundation for stray dogs. The site and conditions kept changing, and when building finally started, they ran out of funds. We built up till the plinth and some walls, and we wish that we could have completed the project.



TIGI Foundation Site

A city that inspires you creatively, and why?

Bombay - the more constraints that you have, the greater the opportunity to be creative. Bombay has every constraint possible, so much informal activity happening in this city, that there's a lot to draw inspiration from. The best place to get inspired.-

Professional Spotlight is our special feature which highlights professionals from the design community whose portfolio of work Discern is proud to exclusively showcase for you. See more from our community and discover more design inspiration from the Discern Living app (Available now on the Google Play Store and iOS App Store)!

