OUR FOUNDER
C R SHIVAKUMAR
C R Shivakumar was born in 1938 in Bangalore. After studying his civil engineering at the Central College Bangalore (one of the oldest colleges in India) he established Kumar and Swamy in 1969. It is one of Bangalore's oldest architecture firms. He started it as a civil engineering outfit but slowly it developed into an architecture and design house.
C R Shivakumar was a remarkable human being. His passion for life was indomitable. He was an avid reader and loved to travel. He traveled most of south India and parts of the north. He even traveled to Europe. He was married to Uma Shivakumar a renowned theater and film personality in the Kannada Industry. He was a patron of the arts; be it music, dance, drama or writing. He had many friends in these circles. He had a very deep and rooted love for nature and Bangalore as a city. He instilled these values in his family, who carry them forward to this day.
OUR DESIGN APPROACH
As one of our core principles of design, we believe that we are here to interpret the philosophy, the vision and the core ethics of an institution into a design of a building or infrastructure. Hence, we don’t have any distinct style, we believe the style of the building should reflect the values of the institution.
We believe that as architects, our job is to help the people we work with achieve their dreams.
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We strive to understand the philosophy and vision of the institution we are working with and reflect that in our architecture.
We believe in creating spaces which are not just aesthetically pleasing but also functionally valid, without losing the feeling of discovery and anticipation which makes using these spaces an enriching experience.
We also understand that each and every culture has an indigenous expression which has evolved over a period of time, influenced by the climate, the materials available and the local customs. We strive to incorporate this in our work to make the spaces relevant to the people we are designing for.
We have worked with leading institutions in our country and carry with us the best practices and learning from them.
More importantly, we are very passionate about what we do and love creating and building environments that excite and stimulate the intellect.
THE STUDIO
At Kumar and Swamy, we believe that architecture is not limited to the office. The development of every individual is important to us.
A small team of Architects and Interns, everyone in our office gets a chance to design and express themselves in some way or the other. We do not limit our activities to the office. We encourage the appreciation of music, film and art because, without a real understanding of creativity, it is tough to be a successful architect. We also like to travel and see new places, learning as much as we can about context and culture.
The human condition drives our profession and to be successful at it; you need to be a well-read, well-travelled, well-rounded individual. This is what we strive to instil in everyone who works with us.