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Hers is one of the names that come into most minds when thinking of visionary female architects of our country. Brinda Somaya is an excellent Architect and Conservationist who believes her role to be that of a ‘Guardian’ to the cultural and historic environment. True to her sensitive ideologies, she has a number of noteworthy projects to her name that involve building, re-building, restoration (such as the Rajabhai Clock Tower and Library Building, Mumbai) and adaptive reuse among others.
She is also a member of multiple prestigious architectural and environmental committees both in and outside India.
Revathi Kamath was a Delhi-based Architect who specialized in Mud Architecture. In her own way, by building luxury projects out of materials that were mostly associated to the deprived communities of our country, she was an Architectural revolutionary. She believed that her best project was always the next one.
Her purview of an ecological civilization could be seen in the optimistic person she was and in her environmentally harmonious projects.
This Bangalore-based Architect has woven her way through sustainable architecture which loudly shows in her work. Chitra Vishwanath has always prioritized site ecology in her construction by employing sustainable materials like mud, cob, rammed earth, etc., and clubbing them with her intention to use our resources positively and to reduce waste.
Owing to her vast knowledge and expertise in environmental and socioeconomic Architecture, Sheila Sri Prakash is the first woman in India to establish her own Architectural practice which is now an international, award-winning one. Shilpa Architects have been giving birth to many residential, commercial, and civic projects that consider not just holistic spatial planning but also key aspects like human psychology. She is also widely consulted by governing authorities for her oeuvre in urban planning and sustainability.
Anupama Kundoo’s work thrives by reaching a level of detail that brings about an intimacy through the senses and thereby forges a bond with her audience. It is in fact a very mature and research-driven approach to space building that has been rooted by connecting with the users. She believes in ‘incremental improvement’ that eventually creates an abundance of both knowledge and substance. She says, “As passionate as I am about my work, my work is not about me”; the beauty of her mindset throws strong reflections on her equally charming work.
Abha Narain Associates have done numerous architectural services for the country in Architectural Conservation, Building Restoration & Retrofit and Historic Interiors among various other allied fields. The firm has been crucial in the conservation of many historic and cultural sites all over the country. Abha Narain Lambah has a Mater’s Degree in Architectural Conservation from SPA, Delhi and the firm has contributed a long list of literary works in the field that imparts immense knowledge about our country’s vast heritage and its preservation.
Much like the former, Aishwarya Tipnis is an Urban Conservationist and her firm has been the driving factor for the successful completion of many conservation plans that range from havelis, forts, temples and entire colonial settlements even. The scale of these projects is respected by collaborating with specialists ranging from historians to graphic designers to craftsmen. Her field is also one that focuses on the finesse that comes from attention to detail; detail in something as small as even the tiles on the floor that go on to make the heritage of a region.
Vinita Chaitanya, an Architect specialising in luxury interiors for residential and hospitality projects will give you just the right mix of Indian and Western and still make you feel at home. Using her ‘contemporary classic’ style, she has designed the interiors for high end clients and is herself a keen luxury enthusiast. She has an inclination to Indian art pieces which she combines with her travel collections and experiences to mould fabulous spaces that elevate the atmosphere by speaking to the user.
It is a pleasure to look at the wide-ranging portfolio of Architecture Brio. Their main focus is on the contextual placing of the built environment so that it responds to the unbuilt around it. This philosophy is probably what makes each one of their projects look like a new interesting adventure.
Architecture Brio, having teamed with Billion Bricks Homes is also the first to design the world’s first entirely carbon-negative home for the underprivileged. This is not only an addition to technology but also to the humanitarian aspect of Architecture.
It is fair to say that Shimul Jhaveri Kadri is not just a fine Architect but also a thinker who is a class apart. Her residential, commercial, educational, hospitality, and civic works speak of an architecture that is supported on a strong narrative and does more than provide solutions. Her buildings stand out and yet stand harmoniously with a carefully analyzed surrounding that welcomes her built forms as their own.
Samira Rathod is a strong propagator for the inculcation of playfulness into the functionality of a structure. Her work is also sensitive to the environment and about the psychosocial impact on the end users. Her forms have an obvious air of cheeriness which stems from her intention to have cohesive indoor-outdoor connectivity. In The School of Dancing Arches, the asymmetrical arches provide immense value to an already characterful curved façade.
The School of Dancing Arches, Gujarat
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