Amit Devale

Background

About Amit Devale

I am an architect. But do not wish to work as one. I was born and brought up in Mumbai and have spent 2/3rd of my life here. I had a good hand in sketching and chose to get into architecture for my graduation. Little did I know it would open up an entirely new world for me. I participated in inter-college competitions and as I grew in my studies, I realized I am more enthusiastic about working on city level issues related to planning, policies and guidelines. That’s when it happened. I decided to work only on city wide issues; public transportation, riverfront development, streetscapes, urban design guidelines for better pedestrian infrastructure, etc. I applied for internship with a think tank in Mumbai, and it helped me explore my own city to almost every nook and corner. This paved way to my interest in documentation and photography of places, structures, people, cultures, festivals, heritage, formation of neighborhoods, etc. I started writing informally about the nitty-gritties of the city that probably not all were aware of. I started traveling alone into the small pockets of the city to enjoy the place, understand how people lived, what they did for living, how was daily life happening, etc. it has played a vital role in my shaping as a person and as a professional. Although I did my post-graduation in Sustainable Architecture, the fire to work on development issues was burning and I decided to implement this knowledge in my interests on sustainable urban development. All of this has helped me narrow down on my core area of interest, public transportation and pedestrian infrastructure. I look forward to developing this interest and refining my knowledge about it on my way ahead. I have managed to keep my creative flair intact; I sketch regularly, I travel as and when I find time, I do click a lot of pictures to document and to have a memory of that place. In this run, I have also managed to start a small venture of my own with my sketches and illustrations, and I create daily commodity products out of it. It’s pretty new and taking good shape. I want to develop it along with my core career opportunity, so I stay productive all along. I am looking forward to getting involved in sustainable development of tier 2 and tier 3 cities in Maharashtra, to begin my journey. It would be great to collaborate with like-minded professionals having similar aspirations and goals. If you need any help on anything related to my work, please feel free to reach out. I would be glad to connect - aadevale87@gmail.com