Senior Associate Shilpa Suresh has been at Rockwell Group for 8 years. She is currently working on projects such as a village-like student center for Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, as well as the University’s 555 Pennsylvania Ave. location, a new consolidated graduate school campus in Washington, D.C. Previous projects include the Clubhouse at The Camellias in Gurugram, India, and the Costa Smeralda cruise ship. Below she chats with us about an artistic childhood and the ways she stays connected to her roots in India.
What role did design play in your childhood, your family, your experience growing up?
The bulk of my childhood and adulthood was in Bangalore, India; I’ve been in the U.S. for 10 years. I was very crafty as a child. Nobody in my family was into art and architecture. They are all engineers and good at math! I would embroider, carve vegetables generously supplied by my grandmother, portraits, anything artistic. My summer camps were always art related. Even in school, I would win competitions for collage. I would explore my imagination in this way, designing in sync with my own stories, forming a link between my childhood and my journey with design.
My exposure to art and craft is what made me pursue architecture later on (at RV College of Engineering in India, and then interior design at Parsons School of Design).
I didn't know what spatial design was, but I knew it was a place where I could ideate. I knew I had the freedom to test my ideas. Even to this day, I feel like I’m more of a multidisciplinary designer.
What brought you to the United States?
I was intrigued by Rockwell Group while I was pursuing my first job in hospitality interiors in India. It so happened that I came to New York City for my relationship and graduate school, and then I luckily found a place at Rockwell Group with a referral from a mentor.
Tell me about an experience you had where design or architecture played a pivotal role—a memorable trip, a specific discovery—doesn’t matter how big or small.
My first week in architecture school, we were asked to make a houseboat and I fell in love with model making. I was already good with my hands, but to create something that was three-dimensional and to scale was a whole new way of expressing myself.
I vividly remember using fabric to make a beautiful patchwork on the exterior and adding palm leaf to the roof. I was inspired by the Shikaras of Kashmir, which are like Venetian gondolas.
What books are on your nightstand right now?
I have two children, so it’s kids books. Right now I’m reading to them about Indian mythology—a set of stories that involve heroic characters, mythical beasts, gods, advanced technology, and fantastical locations.
If you weren’t an architect/designer, you’d be…
I would be a teacher of some sort. I love mentorship. Even when I was a kid, I was teaching younger kids. I was good at giving direction and being patient.
Tell me about a mentor who helped you get to where you are today.
My grandmother taught me how to be curious. We spent many evenings engaging in a craft together. In a world where everyone is increasingly used to working digitally, she taught me to take a step back and focus on practical skills that instilled in me an appreciation for authenticity and working one step at a time.
Projects we did together helped me build self-esteem through self-expression.
What’s a building/space/landscape/experience you’d like to visit and haven’t yet?
For as long as I can remember, the Himalayas have pulled at my imagination. I'm a total mountain person and there is a way about mountain living that really excites me. I’ve set my sights on the hidden valleys and monasteries of the Ladakh region of northern India.
Ladakh is a high-altitude landscape of fierce contrasts, with jagged peaks and desert cut through by rivers with green valleys and orchards.
Name a recent moment working on an RG project where you felt proud / excited / challenged / curious…
The Clubhouse at The Camellias, which I worked on for four years.
It's in Gurugram, India, and I feel connected to it. It's a holistic, urban oasis and community center that supports mental and physical wellbeing for its residents.
What’s your favorite workday snack?
The quickest way to get some energy when you’re a mom is a cereal bar.
What’s your favorite part of the RG office?
The material library. Every time I go I discover a new pocket. Call me the wizard of the library! You want something? I'll find it for you.
What's your favorite restaurant (in NYC or elsewhere)?
I have a favorite typology: Street food. There are these makeshift restaurants that pop up in India when you are traveling from one city to another, called Dhaba.
They are at different scales and are located off the highways parking lots or small huts, with makeshift tables, but you get the most amazing food. The way they engage with people is so interesting. The comfort and food that Dhaba offer feel like home. The food is simple, nutritious, and tasty. You exchange stories with fellow travelers while you sit with your shoes off and eat on a low, woven jute day bed called a charpai. Dhaba offer the perfect resting spot.