Studio Querencia

Studio Querencia is a bespoke architecture and interior design studio based in Mumbai, founded by Kiraan Ajay Aggarwal. A question I often get asked, of course after getting asked how to pronounce it, is what Querencia means. While a quick Google search would tell you that it is a Spanish word for the part of a bullring where the bull takes its stand, the implication and derivation of the meaning is what I would like to throw light on. In bullfighting, a bull may stake out his Querencia, a certain part of the bull ring where he feels strong and safe. Querencia, thus, is a place where the bull naturally wants to go in the ring, a preferred locality. It is a place which develops in the course of the fight where the bull makes his home. This is the place where he draws his strength from and is impossible to kill. While it is difficult to extract the essence of the word in translation, a derived parallel connotation, simply, means a place where one feels safe and draws their strength from and where one feels their most authentic self. In short, a space where one feels the most at home and at ease. That, in a nutshell, is what the Studio attempts to achieve. The strive is always to create spaces where one draws their strength of character from and where one feels like themselves, un-embellished with the requirements of the outside world. For those curious, it is pronounced as q-ren-ci-ah or key-ren-ci-ah.