Monday Motivation: Boundaries make one truly productive

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Scale and diversity were the two essential principles that Jugal Mistri picked up during his days as a student at Columbia University in the United States. They are an integral part of the process he follows at JMA Mumbai these days.

“Early on, I learned to think big and aim for a significant societal impact. It wasn’t about the size of the building, but the positive influence it could have on a broad audience across urban and exurban landscapes," says Mumbai-based Mistri, 41, Principal Architect and Founder, JMA Mumbai. Since he started out in 2012, the goal has been to create a practice that combines socially conscious designs with a deep respect for the local context, besides striking a balance between design and sustainability.

For instance, a project design in North Goa utilises locally sourced timber and red mission tiles to reduce carbon footprint, while incorporating solutions to manage the heavy rainfall as well. Alongside luxury projects, he’s also taken on self-funded and self-motivated social initiatives such as ‘AirBox’, which aims to make public sanitation facilities accessible for women. “We repurposed prefabricated structures to keep the design eco-friendly and economical.

The first AirBox was inaugurated on International Women’s Day in 2018, with facilities like Wi-Fi, CCTV, auto-flush systems and even sanitary napkin vending machines. It’s a compact and modern solution for urban sanitation that can travel to remote parts of India, a valuable resource for the community that can improve lives sustainably," he says. Anyone who inspires and helps shape your ideas through a collaborative, non-authoritarian approach can be called a mentor.