subject: Doshi reflects on career designing supermarkets [print this page] Doshi reflects on career designing supermarkets
BETHPAGE, N.Y. Architect and designer Dinesh Doshi recently published a book, "The Art and Science of Store Design," which chronicles his career and knowledge in the industry. Doshi is the head of his own architectural firm, Architectonics International Inc., which he started in 1982 and is based in Bethpage, N.Y.
In "The Art and Science of Store Design," Doshi said he tried to be as precise as possible and also kept it in simple language so students, retailers, and businesspeople around the world will read it and understand how to take advantage of a facility.
Doshi, who was born in Sudan and went to prep school and college in India, has a master's degree from the Pratt Institute of Architecture and City Planning in New York. He joined the company, Creative Design International, whose founder designed supermarkets. Doshi said that he began working on designing supermarkets and convenience stores just as the industry was taking off.
When he first began working at Creative Design International, Doshi said he wanted to be a city planner, so he designed stores like they were cities. He worked for Creative Design International for almost eight years, and in 1982 he started his own business. Today, Doshi's Architectronics International employs five people. He said he still applies the same principles of city planning to his work, which allows him to see things from a different perspective.
Doshi's focus is on the design and architecture of food-retailing stores. He has finished over 600 store design projects, and they include convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores and fast food restaurants. The book details space lighting, signage, layout, construction, materials, marketing and management. It also features a Doshi secret.
Doshi does something known he calls the "pre-design evaluation," which is when he makes clients fill out an application so he understands issues such as their goals, targets, and intentions. He said this is the start of the entire design and communication process with clients and it is important to understand them to make sure the architect gives them the right fit. Basically, the store has to be a comfortable fit for the person operating it.
"I tell all my clients, I say, I'm a great tailor,'" he said.
The pre-design evaluation is intensive and it needs to be the most serious part of the entire process because once this process is over, there is a clear understanding of the established direction the project will take, according to Doshi.
In the fall of 2006, Doshi decided to write "The Art and Science of Store Design" and found W.B. King, a ghost writer based in New York to help him. However, shortly thereafter, Doshi's business headquarters went up in flames and he lost documents and store designs. He said the firefighters "just flooded the whole place with water," and the building was destroyed by the fire.
King said it ended up being a remarkable time to write the book because Doshi was trying to preserve history and a freak event tried to take it away from him. Though some documents were lost, King said he was able to go through others which were damaged by water and stunk of mold, and salvage them.
Doshi said the fire was an awakening that really pushed him to get the book together in its wake and record all that he has learned and experienced to pass on to the next generation. He added that his book is meant for people worldwide, and he hopes someone in India or China, looking to open a store, reads his book for guidance. For Doshi, that would be the thrill of his life.
King said he would absolutely be on board if Doshi asked him to co-write another book. He added that Doshi is the type of person who thinks about a person's first step into a store and how his design concepts take someone through the store.
He believes young architects will get a lot out of the book, which is a tutorial of Doshi's 30 years of experience. "It's all right there," he said.
Issue Date:May 15, 2008,Posted On:5/19/2008 in: IndUS BUSINESS JOURNAL
