After organising the architectural program of the Archiprix International Madrid 2015 excursion for Hunter Douglas it was kind of a relief being a regular participant of the 2017 edition to India. On this intense trip Paul de Vroom took the opportunity to pay a visit to two different design studios in Ahmedabad: Studio Matharoo and Apical Reform. The first studio is headed by Gurjit Singh Matharoo, an elusive architect because of the rich variety of his work, who is also Chair of Architectural Design at the CEPT University from 2015 on. The meeting took place is his studio, a radical building that is a perfect showcase of his versatility. During a nice lunch in the garden almost every imaginable topic was reviewed. The second visit was to Apical Reform that is in no way comparable. Director Darshan Soni gave Paul and his two colleagues a tour round the unorthodox world of their thinking and producing. At Apical Reform people are constantly giving shape to their ideas with their own hands, with any material, at any scale, in the firm belief that these ideas together form the treasure chest of the studio. One day they can return as a building, as furniture, as art, as an interior, as piece of industrial design. Darshan also took us to several Apical Reform buildings of which the last will be their new base, as soon as they finish the giant sculpture of a layered dromedary for the city of Dubai.

Studio Matharoo

Apical Reform