Bidisha Sinha, Senior Associate of Zaha Hadid Architects, On Design Leadership

This is the first conversation in our new Leadership Series! We’ll be sitting down with some of the best industry leaders from the world of Architecture, Product, Technology, Psychology and Design. First up, we were lucky enough to sit down with Bidisha Sinha, Senior Associate at the legendary Zaha Hadid Architects. In her 15 years at the studio, Bidisha has worked on some incredible projects, including our favourite Science Museum exhibit, Mathematics: The Winton Gallery. We chatted about Bauhaus, Leadership and what it’s like to work with Architecture pioneer, Zaha Hadid.

Here are some of the insightful highlights from our conversation:

FLA: What’s the best part about working in Architecture?

BS: The feeling of when you finally get to go to sleep. Seriously though, Architecture at the end of the day is a service sector. It’s really nice that you can take somebody's requirements and actually make something out of it, which then they use for the longest time.

FLA: What was it like working with the legendary designer, Zaha Hadid?

BS: Incredible. As for her reputation, she was very demanding, formidable, but also very kind. She would always overview a project when it first came in. Then handed it over to people she trusted to deliver. It was an interesting balance but she could be unpredictable so you really needed to be quick with what they expect and what you need to come prepared with. One last thing I would say is that she pushed us really hard but allowed everyone to have their own original thought.

FLA: Can you name the most important learning from working with Zaha herself?

BS: I will always remember her insistence that you question everything. That really filters through into my general thought process. You start to question conventions, how things are socially, culturally and question how they could be done differently.

FLA: When you became a Senior Associate at ZHA, was there a leadership skill you learnt that surprised you?

BS: In architectural education and early stages of your career, there’s so much focus on design and how you can make change in the world with it. Then when you’re more senior, nobody tells you that you’ll be spending more time on Excel and Word than drawing. There’s so much more management going on in the day-to-day that you feel your creative side is a fraction of what you do. That was certainly a little unexpected!

FLA: Are there any buildings or spaces that have had a lasting impact on you?

BS: A couple of years ago I was on The Great Wall Of China and went with a small group of people. We went to the part that was not frequented by tourists, so we had the entire space to ourselves. When you see certain spaces, you have this phenomenally great respect for what a human mind can conceive and deliver. On the other hand, I love spaces like the café lounge at Tate Modern. You walk in there and it’s a very simple café – they’re not trying too hard. However, it’s organised in such a way that you can just be yourself in the space.

FLA: It would be hard to talk about Architecture without talking about Bauhaus. It has been such an influential design movement for the profession. Do you see any similarities in the present day with what happened one hundred years ago?

BS: Any architectural movements, including Bauhaus, manifests from a reaction to what is happening in larger society. Bauhaus was founded at a point where it felt like industrialisation was killing craftsmanship. That was the moment where Bauhaus was trying to bring all of the creative fields together in a way. This idea I think has sustained itself for a long time. Craft doesn’t necessarily mean something decorative – something very minimal can be well-crafted. Which is why we see a lot of architecture has a modernist influence in them.

Right now, particularly in a western context, we are going through such a strong moment, where the work-life pattern has really been disrupted. For me, everyone is starting to question whether things can be done differently. Similarly with Bauhaus, there is more of a focus on craft, with people making crafty things at home. I do think there’s going to be a big change in the briefs we start to get from clients. I think there is going to be a shift in the perception of wellbeing, and what makes a good building or a good space.

FLA: If you could give yourself one piece of advice to yourself from five years ago, what would it be?

BS: The one thing I would say to myself would be you are never going to make everyone happy. This works in architectural projects and in life, but architectural projects especially. There's always going to be this one person who is not going to be happy. So in the end, you need to make sure you're delivering the quality that you can deliver. Then things will work out for you.

If you want to hear more of Bidisha discussing culture, leadership and architecture, listen to the full interview on our Creative Capes Podcast: 

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If you’re more of a visual learner, head over to our Youtube Channel @futurelondonacademy

If you want to learn how to be a great design leader, Bidisha will be a teacher on our Executive Programme For Design Leaders, inspired by the amazing Bauhaus. Learn more here.