Coming from a family of professionals, with his father as an established CA, Ar. Kulin Kapadia states that he deciphered in his early school days itself that academia was not his field.

His inclination lied more towards the creative and artistic side and he always nurtured a desire to go into this progression.

In his time of limited exposure when the internet and counselling were not introduced, he took guidance by talking to people and understanding their inputs unlike present times, where one can avail fancy counselling sessions and get clarity on how to shape her/his career path. Ar. Kulin Kapadia stated that his dad gave him the liberty to choose whichever field he wants and told him to take ownership of whatever challenges that may come up. This was an impetus for him to realise his true interests towards architecture or the related fields such as interior design and construction industry. He realised his forte quite early in the eight-ninth standard.

In his graduation days from Ahmadabad School of Architecture in CEPT University, he realised that his fellow students have very limited knowledge of the field in terms of career, profession, or even academics and have enrolled in architecture only because they couldn’t get into engineering or medicine.

Unlike them, Ar. Kulin Kapadia states that he was very clear on taking up this field and even applied in an array of architectural schools.

However, he states that though he was very passionate to pursue graduation from School of Architecture in Ahmadabad, he couldn’t get through the first year. He enrolled in another institute at Mumbai (Academy of Architecture), and after one year he applied again for Ahmadabad and was ready to start the course from the very first year (since there was no direct transfer). Ar. Kulin Kapadia believes in giving his 100% to do justice to the work he’s doing and hence did not think twice on repeating the first year.

In the artistic penchant, he says that he enjoyed photography a lot. Besides, he loved travelling and exploring cultures, their history and art which cemented his interest towards the artistic side. Also, being a left handy just coincided with the belief that most of such people are more on the aesthetic side.

Furthermore, Ar. Kulin Kapadia also states that he always had a quest to start his own brand. In his time, an architect was deemed as a master builder irrespective of how it is considered as a specialization today, and he labelled his inclination as ‘surreal’ or a vision, which was followed without any burden or pressure. Plus, he cites that money/finances are bi-products and not a main focus, they are not the parameters to define existence. He also expresses his thoughts on the overlapping of work life with all other aspects today, which gets intertwined in a whole mesh.

Source: Chat Session with Ar. Kulin Kapadia

After graduating in 1997, Ar. Kulin Kapadia was working with a design firm in Mumbai. Newly married then, he decided to take a short break to Sri Lanka.

On this trip he bumped into another traveler who happened to have a similar itinerary. This got them talking. A brief introduction led to hours of conversations around design, architecture, and all things creative.

The gentleman turned out be the client service head of one of India’s largest advertising agencies. They were looking at getting a new office space, and that’s where Ar. Kulin Kapadia was offered his first independent project.

Back again in Mumbai – Ar. Kulin Kapadia spoke to his bosses about this offer. They encouraged him to plunge straight into it. Ar. Kulin Kapadia teamed up with a few colleagues to form a design team and delivered an award-winning project. One project led to another. There was no looking back.

The foundations were laid. The drive and encouragement from his peers instilled the confidence to set up the practice. It’s been 25 years. The growth has not stopped. There were lessons learned on the way. Every project delivered thus has had its sets of experiences. There was a drive to better each project. The drive to learn, to imbibe and to share.

On the way, there were learnings in humility, to accept mistakes and to improve in the next project. Every project has a story to share. A story relevant within a context and valid through time.

The seeds sown back then are still growing, branching out.

Source: Chat Session with Ar. Kulin Kapadia