The Architecture of I M Kadri

Book excerpt: * I.M. Kadri was one of India's most prolific architects, instrumental in designing and building important landmarks in India and abroad* The Architecture of I.M. Kadri is a portfolio and a detailed analysis about building concepts and architecture in India* The book is illustrated with special photography by Rajesh Vora and includes hand-drawings by Kadri himself The Architecture of I.M. Kadri traces the body of work of Iftikhar M. Kadri, founder, partner and principal architect of IMK Architects, who began his practice in Mumbai in the 1950s. As an architect who shaped his practice largely in the early decades after India's independence, in the commercial capital of a young nation, he contributed greatly to the design of emerging typologies like the high-rise apartment, the office tower and the hospitality industry in Mumbai and India, going on to build in the Middle East, Hong Kong, Tajikistan, Malaysia, and so on. Kadri's career charts not only an important journey in India's history, but he is also someone who contributed to the discourses on Modern and Traditional architecture in India, working within the forces of real estate and commerce, and with state, private and corporate clients. His works help us open the debates on what is the role of architecture, its ideas of beauty and strength, its existence within the world of politics and economics.Contents: Foreword by Peter Scriver; Five decades of change; A convergence of architectural idioms; Building life in a metropolis; Designing the urban home; The question of beauty; Transitions in architecture; The journey of life; Portfolio of drawings; Project chronology.