INSIDE THE WORLD OF ARCHITECT SEHER AZIZ

Art, Art & Lifestyle, Spotlight

Meet Seher Aziz, the architect who’s worked on incredible projects across the world after completing her Masters from Yale. With the precision of her German experience, she’s known for ambiances that are elegant and celebratory through her firm Studio Será.

“Studio Será was born – quite simply, out of the desire to create spaces that were savage in their beauty”

Tell us a bit about your design philosophy.

My philosophy is primarily centered around creating spaces that are both beautiful and meaningful — that evoke an emotion, that invite conversation, and above all are memorable.

Did you always want to become an architect?

I went to college wanting to study painting — which I did, until I was introduced to the world of straight lines through my architecture professor, Donald Sherefkin. Under his mentorship, I learnt how to really see places, to experience space and to read between those straight lines.

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You’ve recently finished designing TAO at the Jehan Numa Palace Hotel, in Bhopal, India. What has that experience been like?

Our projects in India are especially rewarding since they get executed almost flawlessly despite no site visits from us! TAO — Tattenham Across the Orient — is our newly completed Pan Asian restaurant located within the lush compounds of Jehan Numa Palace Hotel, Bhopal. A fluted deep blue bar set against a backlit onyx wall, accented with slender brass screens is the central element of the space, glowing bright amidst an otherwise moody interior.

“Polished slate floors and dark brick walls, hand-crafted furniture with touches of cane and colour, come together to create an ambience of elegance and celebration”

Polished slate floors and dark brick walls, hand-crafted furniture with touches of cane and colour, come together to create an ambience of elegance and celebration. With a carefully curated palette of textures and materials, custom-made lights, and a larger than life mural wall hand painted by a local artist and designed in collaboration with Mumtaz Mustafa, we hope to create an immersive environment that takes its visitors on a journey Across the Orient.

We’ve seen collaborations with mural artists such as Mumtaz Mustafa and Naveen Shakil in your work. What was the inspiration for your work with them?

Both Mumtaz and Naveen are very dear friends of mine, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I just loved the idea of roping them into some of our projects! But aside from that, I am a very firm believer in collaborations. I do think that collaborating with others opens up a whole new learning experience for one, and you really can’t ever stop learning.

“I am a very firm believer in collaborations, it opens up a whole new learning experience for one, and you really can’t ever stop learning”

Mumtaz and Naveen just happen to be experts in their respective fields of graphic design and mural art, so when opportunities have arisen where clients may require branding or we felt a feature/wall art is required in a space, it just made so much sense to reach out to them!

Does this knowledge and passion for painting come from your studies in architecture school?

Quite the other way around! I have been painting or creating art in some form or another from childhood days, ever since my aunt, Nayyar Jamil, taught me how to hold a crayon and to see an apple in all its colour.

Has your formal training/practice in the US and Germany impacted or altered your practice in Karachi?

It has left a certain level of yearning for German precision!

How did Studio Será come about?

Studio Será took a long time to form, but everything that happened on my journey here made it possible. My career in Pakistan began with me working for Tariq Hasan, then eventually partnering up with Ahmed Mian at Studio Subtractive, which was really when we made our first appearance on the Karachi stage, with projects like Mews Cafe, Côte Rôtie and Loco.

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“At Studio Subtractive, Ahmed Mian and I made our first appearance on the Karachi stage, with projects like Mews Cafe, Côte Rôtie and Loco”

Prior to that, I had worked at the office of Robert Stern in the US, Behnisch Architekten in Germany, and Rafael Vinoly Architects in the UK. The experience I gained working at each of these differently run practices on projects of various scales allowed me to understand what I was after. Eventually, Studio Será was born – quite simply, out of the desire to create spaces that were savage in their beauty.

Can you tell us a bit about what you’re currently working on?

We are super excited about an upcoming 12 room boutique lodge coming up in the rural heart of Kipling country, India (think Jungle Book), a rustic modern, gentle intervention on the outskirts of a Tiger Reserve.

“I can promise you some more exciting eateries coming your way in Karachi soon”

Hospitality projects are fast becoming one of my favourite kinds of spaces to design, and I can promise you some more exciting eateries coming your way in Karachi soon that we are currently working on!

What would you consider to be a design mistake?

Forcing something. Trust your eye — if something isn’t looking right, it’s probably not. Ditch it, change it, fix it — until it starts looking like it was always meant to be there. Perhaps that’s why we are so committed to a minimal approach to design.

“Trust your eye – if something isn’t looking right, it’s probably not”

Any advice for people considering to design a space or for those considering to hire an architect/designer?

If you’re considering designing a space — hire an architect! And once you hire an architect, let them (us) do their jobs!

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