Q. What’s the book Snehal Shah Architect about? What can one expect from it?
A. The book has been designed for people to understand how an architect and architecture works. It is divided into four parts, the first part is about learning from the gurus, while the second part is about learning from the history of architecture. The third part is about learning from the climate, whereas the fourth part is about empirical studies. The last one is about learning from mistakes, part of which is an essay on my journey as an architect over the last 25 years.

Q. How do you look at the current status of Indian architecture? Do you think we have been able to live up to our architectural heritage?
A. Firstly, I want to say that I am proud of being an Indian and I have the Indian flag flying in my office. No other architecture firm does that. But I have to be critical of present day Indian architecture. We have so much potential but the cities are not planned. Look at Mumbai. It has gone to a disastrous end. There is no fresh air or water. We are not planning our cities well. The bureaucracy is there but rules are being violated. The builders are scoundrels. So my firm took a conscious decision of not working for builders. We work for professionals and companies who give back to the society. A building has to be habitable, but it should also be green and sustainable. We have potential but with builders, most architects cut corners and do horrendous work. Also, our imitation of the West is bad. We take anything foreign as sacrosanct. I believe in our tradition. India is at a unique crossroad. We had a Socialist set-up and connection with the Russians. Our bureaucracy is British. And our food is all-American. Then there is our cultural paradigm. It is a hotchpotch of identities. We can wear trousers but need to think according to our own context.