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Da Costa Mahindroo Architects

People.

Each project is a collective. Our collaborative work draws on the multidisciplinary skills of our team, but also on the exchanges and experiences of the people with whom we conceive and live the project. From conception to completion this involvement allows us to produce a sustainable approach valorising the physical and intellectual context of each project through a singular poetic statement. 

Our creative environment is enriched by the diversity of Team and its extensive expertise focusing on new materials, innovative typologies and advanced modes of design and production.

Directors.

DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects

Michel da Costa Gonçalves
Architect / Designer / Director

After studying in France and Spain, Michel da Costa Gonçalves graduated in architecture with honours from ENSAPL in France. He later completed a Master’s degree in Emergent Technologies & Design at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London before co-founding RARE architecture and then DROO. Michel previously worked with Shigeru Ban in Paris, as project manager for the new Pompidou Centre. He was also project manager for Architecture Studio on projects in China, Greece and Saudi Arabia (Rotterdam Architecture Biennale 2004 selection).

He is Co-director and author of the urban living book series “Villes” (Edition Autrement). Publications include articles in AA Files, Tank and a contribution on evolutionary computing as part of Springer Verlage, Natural Series. In addition to practice, he teaches a studio at the Architectural Association.

Over the last few years, Michel has developed a number of projects with high profile engineering constraints. His interests in the integration of digital modelling and production tools in both the design and construction phases have contributed to the practice’s innovative approach and cost-effective bespoke solutions.

Amrita Mahindroo
Architect / Urbanist / Director

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Amrita Mahindroo holds a Masters degree with Honors from MIT in Architecture and Urbanism, a Bachelors degree in Architecture with Honours from the University of Melbourne.

Amrita’s work actively bridges research and design to explore the implications of the big questions of macro-economics and emerging technologies, environmental and social change on our cities and how these filter down to the very tangible questions of striving to better the human experience of the built environment around us. Amrita works closely with local communities and education institutions alike to create strong public engagement on each project.

She regularly chairs Juries, Think tanks and urban development conferences to maintain a strong link to the wider community, including urban youth initiatives through workshops in schools. She has a breadth of experience in both private and public sector projects including Residential, Retail and Hospitality and Contemporary Art Museums and Urban regeneration plans, with projects in worldwide. Amrita has had the opportunity to lecture and publish widely across the US and Europe on her research including, UCLA, UPenn and MIT.

Team.

Harikleia Karamali + Pauline Billot + Marie-Christine Beris + Charlotte Jianoux + Maylis Pillet + Chiara Costanzelli + Alfredo Chavez Romero + Armand Guzhda + Alessandra Tagliatesta + Clara Saade + Baya Imadalou

All.

Eugenie Naert (FR) + Carl Greaves (AU) + Kai Hian Ong (SG) + Delphine Luboz (FR) + Yvonne Weng (CN) + Coralie Huon (FR) + Agata Borack (PO) + Robert W. de Miguel (ES) + Luca de Gaetano (IT) + Anne Paillard (FR) + Ido Sav (IE) + Julien Loiseau (FR) + Claude Ballini (LU) + Guillaume Appriou (FR) + Audrey Cousquer (FR) + Harikleia Karamali (GR) + Maria Bjerg Norkjaer (DK) + Alexandra Singer-Beider (FR) + Jacqueline Gray (AU) + Roberto Sanz Asensio (ES) + Daniela Covarrubias (US) + Roccardo Torresi (IT) + Oriana M. Cole (US) + Calvin Chua (SG) + Maria Capdevila (ME) + Fragiskos Konstantatos (GR) + Eugene Tan (SG) + Hussam Dakkak (SA) + Guan Xiong Wong (MY) + Pedro de Pascual Samper (ES) + Taeho Kim (SK) + Jean-Baptiste Geley (FR) + Gary Dupont (FR) + Anna Larkin (UK) + Duncan Gebbes (FR) + Valeria Garcia Abarca (ME) + John Naylor (UK) + Virginie Prie (FR) + Julie Maria Legaz (FR) + Kien Pham (VT) + Clara Garcia Puig (ES) + Kent Burns (NZ) + Tadeo Ciaurriz Taberna (ES) + Giorgio Paolini (IT) + CEline Benoiste (FR) + Joana Pedro (PT) + Rachel Kahlil (UK) + Nurit Moscovici Amar (IE) + Jo Foong (AU) + Teymour Benet Brady (ES) + Mawena Yehouessi (FR) + Vitor Fernandes (PT) + Hao Wen Lim (SG) + Ahmad Tahhan (JR) + Nadia dos Santos (PT) + Dominique Staindl (AU) + Adam Grzesik (PO) + Luiza Andreis (BR) + Karolina Malec (PO) + Carolina Gismondi (IT) + Marta Kluk (PO) + Nicolas Baran (US/FR) + Vaclav Suba (CZ) + Maciej Pitek (PO) + Julio Rufián Andújar (ES) + Thanisorn De vapalin (TH) + Lisa Rukavina (LU) + Giacomo Volpe (IT) + Eva Hürlimann (CH) + Marie-Christine Beris (CH) + Laura Gonzalez Gil (ES) + Alize Soubeyran (FR) + Arthur Brandlin (CH) + Pauline Billot (FR) + Biyi Sogbesan (UK) + Ana De Lima Carvalho (CH/BR) + Pedro Marcelino (FR) + Thomas Blain (UK) + Jonathan Kiener (FR) + Raphael Boscarto (CH) + Inigo Jiminez (ES) + Eleonore Gueyffier (FR) + Charlotte Jianoux (FR) + Maylis Pillet (FR) + Chiara Costanzelli (IT) + Alfredo Chavez Romero (ES) + Armand Guzhda (IT/AL) + Alessandra Tagliatesta (IT) + Clara Saade (FR) + Baya Imadalou (CA)

Jobs.

 

We are always looking for enthusiastic and creative people with an interest in upmarket international projects. If you are interested please email your CV and work sample pdf portfolio to cv@drooprojects.com.

 

Vacancies

DROO has opportunities in their London office. 
We are looking for an enthusiastic and organised person with an interest in upmarket international projects. You should be self-motivated and be able to work independently. Knowledge of cad, 3d and a graphic suite is essential. Initially the internship will be for 2/3 months.

Engage.

Through children’s books, lectures, exhibition, or higher education workshops, we are dedicated in passing on our engagement in the inclusive betterment of shared spaces. Using our personal journeys and the communal experience, we attempt to highlight the designer’s roles today.

If you wish to contact us to organise or participate in future events, please use info@drooprojects.com.

DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects

LATEST NEWS

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Timelessness

DROO has extended and refurbished Arc Polo Farm in Surrey, UK, adding a clubhouse clad in charred timber to an existing ensemble of barns and stables.

DROO Da Costa Mahindroo

European Award 40/40

Congratulations to Amrita Mahindroo for her European 40 under 40 Award. The European Centre highlights the next generation of architects and designers who will impact the future living and working environments, cities, and rural areas. The prize recognizes the sensitive work of our practice in both dense urban and rural contexts through both Architecture and…

DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects

SAEE Congress

Thank you Congress SAEE 2023 for the invitation to Belgrade. It was a pleasure for DROO to be speaking about individual and common experiences of working towards more sustainable futures in Architecture and Urban planning. Much work ahead yet to be done. It was great to see the initiatives the city of Belgrade is taking.…

DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo

URBAN FACTORIES

Heritage as cultural preservation should consider also encompassing the preservation of other embedded vital resources. Our proposal for an Urban factory for RIVP considers how to comfortably retain valuable craft manufacturing and light industry within our cities and adapting our buildings to suit shifting climatic needs.   The HAM is a vertical factory in Paris,…

DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects

Laureate FAIRE 2022

We are delighted to be awarded the FAIRE 2022 research grant for our “Stealth chimneys”. In the chaotic beauty of Parisian roofscapes, our proposal aims at collaboratively accompanying households in their transition away from their dependence on gas. Our research will focus on new types of infrastructure to support the installation of alternative clean technologies…

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Architecture Engaged

DROO will be speaking at the USC School of Architecture in Los Angeles, Monday 29h. It is an honor to open the lecture series Architecture ENGAGED.

DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects

International Slavery Museum

We were delighted to be amongst the shortlisted firms for the future International Slavery Museum – National Museums Liverpool – in partnership with Henneghan Peng and Donald Insall. All the best to NML on this fantastic project. I was particularly touched by NML’s political and reconciliatory ambitions to both represent contemporary identity and acknowledge head on the…

DROO Architects - Paintworks - Housing and Offices in London by DROO Architects

Buildings should have many lives

We see our work as a chapter in the long lives of existing buildings, they have pasts and will have futures beyond us, and like layers of urban strata, our approach is always one of layering strands of the past, present, and future into our work. As such, we are delighted that our retrofit work…

DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects

Can architects make a difference?

“From venerable institutions to small practices, the days of architecture staying silent amidst complex societal and environmental issues are over. Or are they?” Amrita Mahindroo will join the debating panel at the Royal Academy (RA) as part of the Architecture Symposium Debate: Can architects make a difference? The joint event organised by the RA and…

DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects

Distributed Urbanism

Urban distributed By some estimate Amazon has an inventory of about 12 million available items and counting. It is fair to say that this number easily trumps any big box retailer or logically any average street retail. This distributed shop is unmatched by choice and increasingly by availability but our increasing reliance on remote shopping…

DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects

Live / Work in Pandemic times

After months of in house working and schooling, urban centres must engage with a set of new behaviours to retain their necessary importance. In the world where reuse and density should be encouraged, our City Approach project celebrates the increasing global reality of LIVE / WORK / SCHOOL / HOME. As celebrated through this latest…

DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects

The fragility of our urban eco-systems.

The Next Space Think Tank tackled some of the biggest questions around the fragility of our urban eco-systems in the face of major environmental, social, healthcare and food security challenges. The day brought about many fantastic conversations and a strong sense of hope and responsibility as designers to be active agents of change. Here, sharing our…