We students had the incredible opportunity of listening to Zameer Basrai of The Busride Studio, Mumbai.

His talk encompassed the wide array of their projects and the conception of ‘Soupy Spaces’.
Here is an excerpt from the student interaction that followed.

Q: How do you approach your designs? Is there a thought that leads you to the design or do you form
the thought after the design is complete?

A: usually we try to keep it casual in the studio. We have 8 people working on one project and you ask
them to somehow make stuff happen.

While this is a very managerial and somewhat dispassionate way of approaching design, we are slowly
learning that redundancy is the best way to approach your design. Because today, no one is going to
come to you with something specific. If you have a redundancy worked into your system you can fix the
problems you encounter and refine the design. And it’s only when you have enough redundant baggage
in your body of work that you can pick and choose elements for the project at hand.

Q: Could you speak about the Indias future project?

A: let me tell you about the equation between Ayaz and me. As you can see in Mumbai, we hardly have
any spaces to run around, be free , so for himself and his family he has chosen the exit plan and moved
to Goa, and this was around the time that we were coming up with our concept of soupy spaces and the
projects in Bandra were in a hit and miss zone. So, we've given each other a little space. In this aspect,
the work that he's doing right now is very research oriented, he's trying to slow down in his own pace,
and this is work that optimises on the studio time. He doesn't need to run to the site every time.

The futures project is something called speculation design. You imagine certain scenarios and then you
speculate like for instance, how the medical industry will change in the next 30-35 years, and what will
be its repercussions in your field. This allows to predict and accommodate the changes that field will go
through with time, for instance if u can predict that certain skills can go obsolete in a while and new
ones will replace them, you can modify the courses and learning environments to meet the needs of the
future.

Q: What is work culture like at "The Busride"?

A: I need to keep reminding people at the studio that casual work environment doesn't mean casual
work.

There’s no discipline coming from my side. For now, the studio is just a group of people coming together
to make stuff happen. At any point in time everyone is working on 2-3 projects, so work is fast and
constant. So, it's generally very balanced and not stressing anyone out. Like someone is handling a
project with a fast concept and a slow execution and that balance is ideal and we try to achieve that.
Q: What is the right time to start a start up or a studio? And are your ideas of soupy spaces helping
you develop as a firm or these risks that you are taking?

A: we still aren't out of our start up mode. We still make mistakes freely and that's fine as long as there's
less commercial implication.

There’s two ways of setting up a start-up. One is the pedigree way- you work at a place because you like
the kind of work that they do and not just the lifestyle. I hate when people come to us for a casual work
environment. If you like the work of a place you will work there, and that's your pedigree way of
working.

When I passed out of architecture, I had already met Ayaz (laughs) and seen the kind of work he was
doing. So, the pedigree phase never came to me. You just try not to make mistakes and move on. That’s
the one way you learn. It's a harder journey and you never really get the time to contemplate. But I get
that now. Post babies. So maybe post babies is the right time (laughs). You spend more time at home,
contemplate and work at double your efficiency.

Q: I would like to know your change in thought process after coming back to India after studying
abroad?

A: We started practice, we worked for two years. And I think practice has its own trajectory, you start
with a toilet, start with a home-a project your friend gets you, or you start at what you get. I think
masters was like a hiccup cause you start work, people come to you after they recognise you for your
work and this should have honestly just happened after masters. Because what I feel is that there is a
certain humility in doing a toilet. Cause when you are back from masters you, you have attitude (laughs)
and you don't want to start at the bottom. Like I did small gardens and those kind of projects in the
beginning. And finally, no will trust you more if u have a masters, you will just know how to apply
yourself more but nothing will replace a practice. But masters was a great experience. It was “mind-
expanding.”

Q: Could you talk about your LA residency?

A: I studied history, theory and criticism for my master's, so it's wasn't an M.arch degree. It taught me to
critically think and historically analyse, you’re taught the cutting edge of history. There were courses
which taught you how to write, how to present- hence I’m presenting so well right now (laughs).

The work experience was very non pedigree. So, if you have worked at a reputed firm, you will never
make the mistakes that a non- pedigree upbringing will allow you to make.

The residency was the most non-pedigree thing I’d done. It was my practice as an artist with four other
artists with a gallery at our disposal. You could put up an exhibition wherever you want.
So, we used objects from L.A and there were really good artists.
I ended up doing a little thesis kind of project on urbanism with a rear-view mirror in the boundaries in a
city you hadn't even noticed.
I was doing experience documentation, photographing myself in the city , bringing water from the LA
river and having people drink it. So, it kind of set me off on a very artistic style of communication for
ideas and really taught me to convey my ideas artistically.