PEOPLE & PLACES | BIG LIVING
NAME: Mikhail Budhai
BUSINESS: Studio Liguanea
TIME IN BUSINESS: 2 Years
HOMETOWN: Kingston, Jamaica.
STUDIES: Industrial Design in Rochester, NY
TIME LIVING IN NYC: 10 years!
ONE THING AUDIENCE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU: My grandfather was 100% Indian.
FAVORITE WORK/PROJECT: This is hard! Probably the Corridor store I designed and built in the West Village that opened in 2023.
DESIGN INFLUENCES WITH MIKHAIL BUDHAI
NAME: Mikhail Budhai
BUSINESS: Studio Liguanea
TIME IN BUSINESS: 2 Years
HOMETOWN: Kingston, Jamaica.
STUDIES: Industrial Design in Rochester, NY
TIME LIVING IN NYC: 10 years!
ONE THING AUDIENCE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU: My grandfather was 100% Indian.
FAVORITE WORK/PROJECT: This is hard! Probably the Corridor store I designed and built in the West Village that opened in 2023.
Mikhail Budhai is a DJ, designer, and founder of Studio Liguanea in NYC. He specializes in furniture and product design for residential and commercial applications and is currently the lead designer at Studio Liguanea. We caught up with Mikhail on some of his top influences that have shaped his views on design.
DESIGN INFLUENCES WITH MIKHAIL BUDHAI
#1 - Mom and Aunt Budhai
My mom and aunt have always had an incredible eye for designing spaces and have definitely influenced my design taste since I was very young.
#2 - Construction & Manufacturing
“I studied Civil Engineering before Industrial Design and worked as a Design Engineer for West Elm for 7 years so my design process is influenced by a deep understanding of construction/manufacturing.”
#3 - Jean Prouve
Jean Prouve and similar designers from that period that were focused on the idea of using existing common manufacturing technology and materials to create aesthetically pleasing household objects.
#4 - Luis Barragan
I love his work because it takes the above Jean Prouve industrialist aesthetic and softens it through color and light. It's a perfect balance of the older European design sensibilities with the lightness and color of the tropics. Visiting his projects in Mexico City was truly life changing for me.
#5 - Architecture
I find a lot of product design inspiration in Architecture. I like the idea of synthesizing architectural forms, proportions, details into my designs by scaling these larger details down.
Casa Luis Barragán, Mexico City