Answers to questions clients frequently ask LIJO.RENY.architects (Please make sure that you read through the entire content before meeting us.)
What is your firm called?
We have named our firm LIJO.RENY.architects, as we are Architect Lijo Jos and Architect Reny Lijo behind it.
What does LIJO.RENY.architects do?
We are architects/designers who primarily offer services related to architectural design. We mainly design buildings but, we also deal with interiors, furniture, products, accessories, as well as graphics if it is interesting.
What is your design philosophy?
“In the bright light of the future, past just leaves behind shadows”. This has been a constant reminder for us to move ahead than sit back and savor the past. In a region where ‘context’ means nothing more than historical visual references, our core concern has always been the changes in climate & its present pattern, new building materials & technology, lifestyle & attitude of the clients, changes in the urban fabric at the macro and micro level. This allows us to address architecture as permanent installation art.
What style of architecture do you practice?
We are constantly searching for a language (style) of our own. As of now our designs can be broadly categorised as Contemporary.
Do you Practice Traditional Kerala Architecture?
No. Many have asked us why we don’t practice traditional style of architecture, being a practice based in Kerala. Here in Kerala many practice pseudo – traditional architecture in the name of Kerala style. We don’t want to be another mindless firm following that path. We sincerely strive to be a practice that essentially deals with, space, light, and the other elements. Moreover the primary principals that governed the existence/continuation of traditional style of architecture have changed over the years, namely the Climate, the Condition of the Land, the Construction Materials, the Construction Techniques and also the Lifestyle of the People.
Do you have a limitation regarding the size of the projects?
We have absolutely no problem with the size of projects we undertake. The only criteria that we have is that the project should be interesting. We would love to take up unconventional projects or projects that require out of the box thinking.
Since when have you been practicing architecture?
Ar.Reny Lijo since 2003 and Ar. Lijo Jos since 2001. We formed LIJO.RENY.architets in the year 2005.
Can we see any of your built works?
We can guide you to our projects that are under construction. But regarding our finished projects, we prefer to respect the clients privacy and would let you access only documentations of the project.(photographs or videos if we have any.)
Where is your office?
Location: Punkunnam, District: Thrissur, State: Kerala, Country: India
Do you have branches elsewhere?
No
Do we have to travel down to your office to meet you?
Yes. That way you’d get to see how we work.
When do we have the first meeting?
If the client in comfortable with our ideas and working style we give them an appointment for a meeting in our office.
What should we bring when we come to meet you?
It would be advisable to bring a copy of the village sketch of the site. (A few photographs or video clips of the site would be helpful too) When do you visit the site? After our first discussion of the project (which happens in our office) we would let you know a comfortable date by with we can visit your site.
Do we have to pay you for the first site visit?
Yes. We do charge a nominal fee for our first site visit if the site is outside Thrissur city limits. As, many enquires that come our way, need not materialise into full fledged projects due to several reasons. (Please refer our services and fee statements for details. If you don’t have it already do mail us for the same.)
What services do you offer?
(Please refer our services and fee statements for details. If you don’t have it already do mail us for the same.)
How much do you charge for your services?
The amount depends on the scheme chosen by the client. (Please refer our services and fee statements for details. If you don’t have it already do mail us for the same.)
Do we have to pay you an advance before starting the project?
Yes. We have started this recently so as to do projects for genuine clients only. The amount depends on the scheme chosen by the client. (Please refer our services and fee statements for details. If you don’t have it already do mail us for the same.)
If we are comfortable with each others ideas, what are the details required before designing our project?
Most importantly we should be given a Total Station (Digital) Survey (in AutoCad 2006 format) of the site along with other details of the site (we would give you a form regarding these details, which would have to be filled up by the client and returned to us along with the soft copy of the digital site survey, for our reference)
How does the whole process of designing happen?
When clients contact us for their project, we make sure that we send them a link to this website or a mail that contains a gist of this website’s content. If the clients are comfortable with our ideas of architecture/design mentioned in the details sent to them, we call them over for a meeting in our office after which we visit their site. After the site visit, we give them a list of point to be considered when they get the digital survey of the site done.( this is to ensure that there isn’t any error regarding the site details.) Once the survey details are obtained we call the clients for a detailed discussion regarding the requirements of the project. During this discussion we note down all details regarding the project. (This would be a session where we take the client through their requirements right from the entry gate to the backyard of their proposed project.) As the next step we sit with these requirements and prepare a core concept which would give a direction to their project. Once a basic layout is ready we call the clients for the next meeting which would help us both finalise the design. If the clients have communicated well during the first two sessions it has been our experience that the clients approve what we show them at this stage. As soon as the meeting is over we strengthen our design based on the outcome of the discussion. The next step is to finalise the project based on the final presentation. After which, we carry on with the detailed drawings for approval/construction.
Who would design our project?
We both (Ar. Lijo Jos and Ar. Reny Lijo) make sure that we are available together for all the major meetings as the design is developed together by us. Once we both feel that project has reached a certain level of detail, one of us take up the responsibility of the project. It could be either Ar. Lijo Jos or Ar. Reny Lijo depending on who is relatively free then. The clients from then on would interact with the person handling the project.
Do you give us several options of designs to choose from?
No. As explained earlier, if the clients have communicated well during the first two sessions, it has been our experience that the clients approve what we show them during the first stage itself. When we detail their design we work out several possibilities and ultimately show the clients what we think is the best for them. If the clients have helped us understand them completely we would be showing them what is best for their project.
Do you take up Construction of your designs?
No.
Do you supervise your projects?
We do not offer regular supervision or bill checking as LIJO.RENY.architects is a small firm that concentrates on design solutions rather than execution of their projects for the time being. But, we do offer timely visits at various stages (depending on the scheme chosen) to ensure that the construction is as per the finalised design.
Do you handle Renovation/Extension/Conservation projects?
No. Not for the time being.
If we already have a plan ready from some other source, would you detail/design the rest of such a project?
No. We prefer to start the project from the scratch to ensure the best from us as Architects/Designers.
Do you do Elevations alone?
No. We do not believe in the logic of ‘Elevation design’. We believe in a practice where the project is designed as a whole where every element has a meaning as well as role in the perfect working of the design.
Do you design with Vastu?
When a house is designed, we give ventilation (light and breeze) utmost priority. Spatial management, circulation, aesthetics as well as other design parameters are also not left behind. This is what vastu is supposed to be. But vastu nowadays has been misinterpreted and taken to an unhealthy commercial level, tapping the fear factor of the layman. So in this context, we would like to let you know that we do not render our services to those who need vastu considered for their project, as we have distanced ourselves from such unhealthy/ambiguous believes or practices.
Award/Achievements?
Was chosen by India Today-Magazine (Mal.) as one among the 10 most promising youngster of Kerala (2006)
The first IIA (Kerala) State Award for excellence in architecture (Residential category) (2007)
The 18 th JK AYA State Young Architect Of the Year (2008)
The second IIA Kerala State Award Special Mention for excellence in architecture (Residential category) (2008)
Was chosen by India Today-Magazine (Eng.) as one among the 40 Young Achievers (2009)
IIA State Award for Excellence in Architecture (silver leaf) (2009)
Any of your works been featured in the media?
Our works have been feature in several print, visual and virtual media. A few of them are mentioned below.
Print: Home Trends (Eng.), Inside Outside (Eng.), Design Today (Eng.), Indian Design and Interiors (Eng.), India Today (Eng.and Mal.) , The Hindu Friday Review (Eng.), Journal of IIA (Eng.), Home Review (Eng.), Veedu (Mal.), Parpidam (Mal.),Designer + Builder (Mal.), Malayala Manorama News Paper (Mal.), Grihalakshmi (Mal.) etc.
Visual: Veedu-MM News, Grihapravesham-Amrita TV, Dream Home-Rosebowl, Jeevan TV, Kairali TV, A.C.V, Dream Home-Asianet, etc.
Virtual: www.archdaily.com, www.egodesign.ca, www.archestudio.com, www.vasthuleka.com, www.urbanpromoter.com,www.lookatme.ru, etc.
How can we contact you?
write to us @ LIJO.RENY.architects, TC 32/229/1 , Krishna Lane, Punkunnam, Thrissur-680002 Kerala, INDIA
call us @ +91 98470 16689 , +91 94469 40633 , +91 487 2388633
email us @ lijo.reny@gmail.com
