Architecture Brio is an Indian design studio set up in Mumbai in 2006. The team of architects is led by Shefali Balwani and Robert Verrijt.
History
Architecture BRIO is a design studio focusing primarily on the fields of architecture, interior and sustainable design. The work of Architecture BRIO is characterized by a conceptual approach towards understanding and reinterpreting the specific context in which it is located. One of their first projects, a design proposal for a Dormitory at the Magic Bus Campus, received critically acclaim and was featured in the publication Architecture of Change 2 Ten years later, Architecture BRIO's work field spans the vast variety of cultures, climates and landscapes across the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia. Each project is seen as a challenge and opportunity to uncover the unique characteristics of these specific conditions, investigating which intervention has a potential for positive change and impact in the way we deal with our natural and built world. Simultaneously the studio believes that architecture should remain a backdrop to life rather than taking centre stage. In order for Architecture is to have a long lasting sensory impact it needs to evoke the urge to be discovered. Their portfolio is significantly diverse, "with common themes that concern tectonics of site, formal and spatial explorations of architecture, critical reading of the programme, systems thinking, and clarity of material and detail that have characterised their work." The work of Architecture BRIO has since been published widely in national and international media. The Riparian House was featured in the BBCdocumentary seriesThe World's Most Extraordinary Homes.
Awards
Architecture Brio has been the recipient of several prestigious awards. Robert Verrijt was awarded the second prize in the Dutch Archiprix 2004 for his design of an Asylum Seekers Centre in Maastricht. Together with Floris Cornelisse he won the first prize for the entry in the Europan 8 Competition 2005. Besides this he has been awarded thrice a grant from The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture. The project House on a Stream which was completed in 2013 won the award for the best residential design at the NDTV Design and Architecture of the Year Awards 2013, the Trends Excellence Awards 2014, and the JKC Architecture of the Year Award 2014. The studio was selected amongst the AD50, the Architectural DigestIndialist of the most influential designers in India in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. In 2014 the practice won the award for Best Practice in India at the Trends Excellence Awards 2014.
