Jagan  is an artist of sorts. 

Nature is  incorporated into his projects, so he draws for each customer a new painting that celebrates life through fresh and eclectic designs.

“I believe in God. Only, I spell it nature” , a quote by architect Frank Lloyd Wright is the mantra for Jagan Mohan, Chief Designer, Founder, Green Scene Studio. His passion for design, nature, art and people drew him to start into a multi-disciplinary landscape architecture & interior design firm in 1998.

In the past 22 years, Jagan and his team have done hundreds of projects for resorts, offices, clubs, farm houses, parks, villas, restaurants across India and won numerous awards.

In a tête-à-tête with Shanti Padukone, he throws light on what inspires him.

You are a  trained commercial pilot in the US, but took up landscaping as a profession. How did this come about?

Call it destiny’s true calling. I have always been drawn to nature and art. I started designing small spaces in the mid 90s for friends and learning on the job. For me, design is about people, places and their response to it. The need to merge these is an instinct. 

What is your design philosophy?

My projects have a common focus: openness, simplicity, focus on space, judici­ous use of materials and integra­tion of nature. Nature disarms people and creates calm within the chaos. Design has the power to influence the psyche. I don’t see it as landscape, architecture or interiors as islands; I see design everywhere and in everything.

Is landscaping restricted to larger spaces?

No! Most believe you need big spaces, and nature cannot be spread creatively in small areas. I beg to differ. The narrow pocket in the lower level of my studio is testimony. We turned a tiny 400 sq.ft space into a secret garden in an urban space to enjoy and showcase. With imagination and planning, even a small nook can be transformed.

What kind of landscaping is ideal for smaller spaces [apartment, rooftop,  balcony etc.]?

In our office, for example, we used locally sourced materials like laterite stone, bricks and dry walling for cladding. It’s a deliberate combination of plants like Buddha’s belly, Crab Lily, Bamboo with a gravel bed, pebbles, wooden deck and lawn. Our aim is to combine simplicity and finesse to bring out the essence of the space. Indirect and soft mood lighting bring the exceptional elements into focus, underplaying the rest of the areas and creating visual depth.

What distinguishes your landscapes from others is how they blend into the built space. How do you manage that?

The design must be influenced from the surro­undings, client needs. It’s possible when we design the interiors and landscape in sync.

An example is a farmhouse we designed using trademark Greek Mykonos colors like white, grey, aqua blue and turquoise. The doors and windows are salvaged materials, and the colors add a Bohemian feel. The terrace is an island, where nature comes into its own. Covered with a rustic pergola made of old bamboo and clad with flooring that is remi­niscent of the grey stone flooring in Greece. 

Given India’s vibrant and colorful culture, we don’t experiment much and stick to monochromes. Apart from color, we created quaint niches for candles, unique collages and structures that blend in with the eclectic feel of the house.

Your designs have a pleasing appeal and not over-the-top. How do you manage that?

The hardest thing for a designer is to know where to stop. It is important to understand how much is too much? Hence, we ensure that everything is selected carefully to create a meaningful space that is rich by design and not by material.

How do you integrate the landscape into the interiors when presented with a blank slate?

It’s the use of our imagination! For example, take White Sands – a restaurant on the fifth floor of a commercial building– all I had was an empty shell and freedom of creativity. The site conjured up an image of ships anchored,  backdrop of waves on a island. Taking off from that, the ship took center stage in the form of the bar.

So, how do you incorporate your imagination into the project at hand? 

At White Sands, with the ship as the bar, we  used wooden flooring to clad the ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ decks. A bridge connects these two terraces fusing the entire thing. A unique feature is the wine rack carved out of unfinished logs and lit by antique German lamps. Adding to the ship theme, the dining area is covered by canvas that billows like sails.  

The idea was to do something unpretentious and minimalist. Also, the casual atmosphere gives the space the freedom to be used in multiple ways.