ART, DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE: THE SPACES IN BETWEEN

Sonali Rastogi, founding partner of the award-winning architecture firm Morphogenesis, Ashiesh Shah, architect and interior designer, Amit Gupta, editor-in-chief of the creative platform STIR and V. Sunil, a leading name in art and advertising will discuss how each of their creative fields of architecture, design and advertising inspire each other, and are together contributing to the rise of a distinctly ‘South Asian Aesthetic’ globally. The talk will be moderated by Komal Sharma, head of Editorial Content at Architectural Digest India.

With an extensive and diverse portfolio ranging from boutique spaces to penthouses, architect Ashiesh Shah’s aesthetics have found their way to renowned celebrity homes. Identifying a semblance between art, architecture and design, he has been spearheading his namesake practice Ashiesh Shah Architecture + Design. Rooted in the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, the designs reflect his vision of a space and choice of materials that resonate with his characteristic of being a tastemaker in the architectural world. Extending his domain further, he opened his very own atelier in 2017, a fusion of experimentation, craftsmanship and technique towards a cohesive and creative cohort.

V Sunil began his career in India’s foremost advertising agencies, including Contract, McCann Erickson and O&M Delhi. In 2002, during his tenure as Creative Director at Ogilvy, he created the iconic Incredible !ndia Campaign. In 2003, Sunil founded [A], which went on to become India’s most successful independent agency. In 2007, [A] merged operations with Wieden+Kennedy, the world’s leading independent creative agency. As Executive Creative Director W+K, Sunil helped build some of India’s best-loved brands including Royal Enfield and IndiGo. Working closely with Airbus teams, airline personnel and F&B firms, Sunil reinvented the low-fare airline model by designing every touchpoint including the cabin, uniforms and food. In 2014, Sunil created Make in India – a brand that instantly turned into a global movement. In 2015, Sunil co-founded the JDH Urban Regeneration Project and began restoring the Walled City of Jodhpur to its former glory through a mix of architecture, technology, retail and hospitalit. In 2016, Sunil left W+K to set up Motherland Joint Ventures with a set of partners including Rahul Bhatia of IndiGo. In 2018, working closely with OYO’s founder and engineering teams, Sunil designed OYO’s millennial-friendly Townhouse hotels, and then worked with OYO’s global teams to supervise the UK rollout. In 2018, Sunil co-founded The Common Room Foundation, a Motherland x Lightspeed India platform for young entrepreneurs. In July 2019 he managed the launch of Motherland Superstore – a direct-to-consumer brand with a fresh perspective on Indian sub-culture and pop culture via distinctively designed products. Sunil is a Founder Trustee of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

Amit Gupta is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of STIRworld.com and STIRpad.com. A designer, thinker, and conceptualizer for all things creative, provocative and challenging, Amit founded STIR as a global platform that offers exclusively curated content set apart by its characteristic careful analysis and meticulous presentation. STIR presents arenas for cross-disciplinary collaborations, industry connections, and community building enabling it to enjoy a large reach with an audience of design enthusiasts, consumers, next-generation creators, and thinkers within the world of art, architecture, and design. The most recent addition to the STIR stable has been STIRpad, a destination for galleries, design & art studios, and brands to showcase their latest innovations, products, and news. A platform that takes their stories to a newer, more focused target audience in a brand-new immersive way. Amit is also a jury member for prestigious awards including the Dezeen Awards, DNA Paris Awards, Loop Design Awards, LIT Design Awards and International Design Awards amongst many others.