Tell us about your journey and how your father, the renowned architect Vipul Patel, has influenced it.
Being a second-generation architect, I inherited a strong foundation - both in resources and professional guidance. However, it also came with responsibilities and an architectural direction that was already set. In the initial years of my practice, I was significantly influenced by his style and vision. Naturally, many of my early works reflected that inspiration. But with time, I began to develop my own methodology, approach, and design sensibilities. This gradual evolution has helped me create more personalized choices and outputs. I believe that simple designs are often the most aesthetically pleasing. Clean, bold lines have a timeless impact. My design philosophy focuses on blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, offering an immersive spatial experience. Like art, architecture provides designers with a powerful medium of expression medium of expression, and I treat land as the foundation from which all built work emerges
What was your first project?
My first project was an affordable mass housing project of plot of 15,000 sq mt, it. involved peripheral layout planning with two central common plots. The focus was on optimizing space while still delivering good design outcomes. Instead of one large common plot, we created two smaller ones, which allowed for more breathing space and better interaction zones around the building clusters. Since it was an affordable housing project, the learnings came in the form of space utilization in all aspects like unit design, open spaces vs built ratio or designing common recreational spaces.
Sustainability should not be an afterthought—it must run parallel to the entire design process and be explored in as many ways as possible.
Please share some of your most significant projects so far. Also, what are you currently working on?
Every project brings with it a unique set of challenges and opportunities, so all are equally important to us. However, some of the more notable projects include:
- Kalrav Villa
- Green Abode
- Levant House
- Evert House
- The Cove House
- Siddhraj Z+
- Siddhraj Z Square
- Bow Office
Currently, we’re excited about several upcoming projects:
- The Zown – A luxury weekend home development
- Jyoti Villas – Located in Kathmandu, Nepal
- My own residence – A very personal and introspective project
Luxury and sustainability seem to be central to your work. Could you elaborate?
Yes, for us, luxury and sustainability go hand in hand. We start with climate-responsive orientation and provide ample opportunities for natural ventilation. Solar panels are integrated thoughtfully, and we design the structures to accommodate them effectively. We prioritize natural materials with minimal processing. Rainwater harvesting systems, passive cooling elements such as screens, overhangs, and slab projections are standard in our projects. We also work extensively on landscape strategies to create microclimates, ensuring comfort, beauty, and environmental responsiveness.
Five materials you love working with and why?
At VPA Architects, we thoughtfully combine materials to support our philosophy of clean, minimal, and bold design. This material palette not only defines our visual language but also helps us create spaces that feel grounded, connected to nature, and deeply responsive to the user’s experience. The interplay of raw and natural textures allows our architecture to feel both contemporary and grounded.
- Concrete – for its brutalist raw nature and its form versatility
- Metal – for its strength, spanning capabilities, its sleek look and modern aesthetic.
- Glass - for its transparency, bringing in light and connecting spaces, especially with the outdoor landscape
- Wood – for its warmth and natural texture.
- Stone – for its timelessness and grounding quality
Are you observing a shift in design preferences today?
Absolutely. We are consciously working towards bringing more life into spaces through landscape. Courtyards, water bodies, and better airflow are essential elements. There’s a growing emphasis on seamless transitions between indoors and outdoors, which fosters a stronger connection to nature and improves overall wellbeing.
What are the key challenges you face while securing and managing projects?
One of the main challenges is managing timelines while maintaining design quality and ensuring timely execution. Another issue is clients bringing in inappropriate references or examples, which can create confusion or dilute the design integrity.
Your message to young architects looking to start their own practice?
Before starting your own firm, it’s essential to work, learn, and travel. These experiences sharpen your perspective and feed your creative process. Architecture is a slow, ever evolving journey. The more joy you find in the process, the better your outcomes will be. Sustainability should not be an afterthought - it must run parallel to the entire design process and be explored in as many ways as possible.
Your message for SURFACES REPORTER® Magazine.
We truly appreciate the role SURFACES REPORTER® plays in informing, connecting, and inspiring the architectural community. Your platform bridges ideas and innovation, bringing together minds that shape the built world of tomorrow.
A GREEN ABODE
VISION, SITE, AND TOPOGRAPHY
Enclaved between the flourishing valley and framed perspectives through the natural contours, these villas are designed to intertwine with a green panorama. A luxurious familial housing project nestled within lush green thickets, these residences - PK House, DK and KK Houses, and PV and AP Houses - represent our bold and innovative design approach in Kenya’s breathtaking valleys. As one approaches the villas, they pass through an outhouse featuring a security cabin, washroom, and a name-plated wall serving as the gateway. The driveway is aligned to the backyard of the villas, offering a stunning view of the valley through all five housefronts. The unique site topography gave the idea of designing seamless views for each house. It enabled a one-floor plate variation between the PK house from the AP and PV house and, in turn, the DK and KK house from the PK house, creating a harmonious flow through the site.
LAYOUT AND DESIGN NITTY-GRITTY
The layout showcases privacy for each house while maintaining a sense of connection among all houses.
The tropical climate of Kenya promotes the integration of the landscape and the built. In these villas, the extended decks become living spaces that seamlessly integrate with the floorplans.
Thus, each villa flaunts a front yard and discreet access, with a pedestrian bridge winding through the manicured landscape while the driveway runs along the side. The mirrored exteriors of PV and AP houses make the first impression as one walks in, inviting one to pleasant local stone-clad elevations revealed only through a walk down from the courtyard.
The tropical climate of Kenya promotes the integration of the landscape and the built. In these villas, the extended decks become lliving spaces that seamlessly integrate with the floorplans. The contoured plinths intensify these interactions between residents and the surrounding ecology.
KALRAV VILLA
Kalrav’-is an open avian haven to experience amidst the dense wilderness. The site is located near Thol Lake, Ahmedabad. Initially, the site was flat, with few trees along the periphery. The owner is an avid bird lover and already had various exotic bird species from different part of the world
PHASE 1
The site area is around 4844 sq.m. The project was to be done in two phases: first, being landscape and second, a house just adjacent to it. For Phase 1, the built-up area is kept to a minimum (approximately 5%). It comprises of a gazebo, wherein the upper floor becomes a lounge with an extended deck, while the lower floor becomes the activity area, being shaded and cosy throughout the day. The elevated deck facing east becomes the perfect spot for morning yoga and breakfast. Also in the evening, the indirect and mild lighting brings a soft and serene ambience to this place. From the hanging deck, one can sit back and experience the full visual drama of the site, with uninterrupted views of the entire waterscape. Apart from this, an enclosed area for servants and various maintenance services is provided. The rest of the area is kept open and green
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Name: Kalrav Villa
Architecture Firm: VPA Architects, Ahmedabad, India
Co-founders: Ronak Patel, Jinal Patel and Naiya Patel
Project Location: Ahmedabad, India
Completion Year: 2021
Site Area: 4844 sq.m
Project Location: Ahmedabad, India
The sound of water falling through the crevices of the local dhrangadra boulders, make this place even more alive. The continuous walking trail and the cable bridge is made in between the greenscapes and waterscapes, to let one be a part, and physically experience the landscape.
PHASE 2
The Luxurious Villa is designed to house different birds, a retreat where the ambiance is the key The guests are welcomed to the house by the Drawing room floating on lily pond giving the veranda like ambience surrounded by trees. Open planning with the central staircase courtyard is the salient feature of the house planning. Experientially rich journey along the cable bridges and little refreshing pauses at waterbodies, personalised artifacts and the little chirping friends is the motto of this retreat.
The core of the design lies in the tiered waterscapes, so as to attract more birds. The sound of water falling through the crevices of the local dhrangadra boulders, make this place even more alive. The continuous walking trail and the cable bridge is made in between the greenscapes and waterscapes, to let one be a part, and physically experience the landscape. The light poles are custom-made and also function as bird feeders. The entire waterscape has grasses and water-friendly species around it, such that minimum dirt falls in water. There are over 300 species of plants here.
Z SQUARE
Crafted with the motto ‘Connecting Urbanity’, this urban oasis impresses its image of an inclusive, well-connected, and entertaining space exceeding the limits of form and building. Every visitor experiences a sense of serendipitous curiosity as they move through each level.
PLANNING
The building blocks are carefully oriented along the east west axis, suited to the city’s hot, dry climate of the city, accessed by roads from south and north directions. The modernist east and west wings are positioned inscribing a 30-meter-wide nostalgic urban sanctuary. The step-up massing cultivates eco-voids landscaped microenvironments for the office floors. This efficient massing also reduces extreme heat by the passive technique of sculpting a wind tunnel.
CONNECTIVITY
Breaking the mundanity of passages, the connectors of the building have become vistas for the urban plaza. The bridges binding the buildings are graphically directional, yet, visually eclectic
THE DIFFERENT LEVELS
All the levels are well-knit and easily walkable. The ground floor houses retail shops that open into the central avenue, with clear glass facades that help ease interaction and viewability. The first and the second floor- are shaded with walkways overlooking the central avenue. The second story, however, connects the tale of the east and west wings through a pedestrian bridge, that crowns the extravagant LED entrance below. Climbing up the third, offices and corridors intersect through the tall-ceilinged floating café over the pedestrian bridge. The fourth to sixth floors flaunt the pocketed landscape terraces, flamboyant observing decks, and luxurious offices with the greenway bridge on the fifth.
MATERIALS AND AESTHETICS
With a futuristic vision, the structure is primarily metal. Hollow pipes are used in the truss system, maximizing retail space and offering views through glass facades. The front façade holds the edgy steel name plate revealing the character of architecture within, while the perforated aluminum sheets and louvers add a play of light and color to it.
PROJECT DETAILS:
Project Name: Z Square
Office Name: VPA Architects
Firm Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Completion Year: 2023
Gross Built Area (m2/ ft2): 50000m2
Project Location: Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Program / Use / Building Function: Commercial
Lead Architects: Ronak Patel, Jinal Patel, Naiya Patel
Photo Credits: Inclined Studio
AR RONAK PATEL Co-founder, and Principal Architect VPA Architects, Ahmedabad
Following the footsteps of his renowned father Ar Vipul Patel, Ar Ronak Patel is a second-generation architect. According to his philosophy, simple designs tend to be more aesthetically pleasing. Designs with clean bold lines have a timeless impact. Just like art, architecture gives power and medium of expression to the designers. In a special interaction with THE SURFACES REPORTER®, Ar Ronak Patel talks about his work, legacy, challenges and more.