Alumni connect: Right orientation helped me succeed in my career path, says Aniket Parekh

Aniket Parekh is an established architect in Surat and has won many awards in his field. He owes all his success to his professor Ashvini Pethe from the Bharati Vidyapeeth’s College of Architecture, Pune.

Tell us about your educational background. Which college, course, and batch were you in?

I am born and brought up in Burhanpur town of Madhya Pradesh. I did my schooling at St Theresa’s Higher Secondary School and Burhanpur Public School and later I joined Bharati Vidyapeeth’s College of Architecture, Pune. I passed out in 2009. I later did my master’s in architecture (city design) from Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology, Surat in 2018.

How were you in academics?

Though I started as an average student in college, guidance and passion brought the best out of me and I become a college topper. Right orientation helped me succeed in my career path.

What drove you to choose this career path?

My father was from an agricultural background and my uncle was an architect. By ten, I had a clear vision of becoming an architect. Gradually I started sketching. I understood that getting the scales right was the key.

What happened after graduation?

I got an opportunity to work under eminent architect Sen Kapadia in Mumbai. After finishing my project from Sen’s office, I decided to start my own practice in Surat. Architect Sen Kapadia gifted me with one of his most valuable client Garden Silk Mills in the city which helped me get started and build my own practice.

Tell us about your career journey?

I trained under architect Soumitro Ghosh of Mathew & Ghosh Architects Private Limited, Bengaluru) , then under architect Sen Kapadia. I started my own practice in December 2010. In 2014, I attended a workshop on digital architecture after which I went to Architectural Association School of Architecture, London in 2015 to explore natural biological systems and their potential applications at larger scale. I did my Master’s from SCET, Surat in 2018(city design). It had been eight years now and I have a professional practice firm named ‘Parekh Collaborative’ which I run along with my younger brother Arpit, a civil engineer and Arjun kynter, a designer.

What about the highs and lows of your career so far?

I recently got an award for bungalow in noteworthy category at Construction World Architects & Builders Awards 2018. Every project teaches me something new and I learn from the experience as I take up new projects.

Please tell us about your upcoming project.

We are just finishing up the hotel on NH-8 - The Grand Vatika, Bharuch (phase I). This project is close to my heart as we have done the architecture, landscape and interiors. Our designs are based on the investigation, research and appropriate technology which creates values. Clarity is one of the guiding principles of our design practice.

Road ahead...

I will remain a student of architecture for life. Learning is after all, a never ending process.