The Architecture of I.M. Kadri

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 journey and practice as an architect in the five decades following India’s independence account for a different history of architecture in India than the one otherwise available. His journey is also the journey of Bombay/Mumbai as the emerging commercial capital of India – a city whose tryst with architecture is very different from that of Delhi or Ahmedabad, the other two sites of important Modern architecture in India.

Kaiwan Mehta

Born in Mumbai, Kaiwan Mehta, has studied Architecture, Literature, Indian Aesthetics, and Cultural Studies. He is a theorist and critic in the fields of visual culture, architecture, and city studies. He is completing his doctorate at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bengaluru, under the aegis of Manipal University; he has now published as well as exhibited his research work and ideas internationally.Since March 2012 he has been the Managing Editor of Domus India (Spenta Multimedia) and is associated with Jnanapravaha (Mumbai) where he set up the Art, Criticism and Theory programme as well as the Architecture, Resources and Culture segment. He has been elected as the Jury Chairman for two consecutive terms (2015–17 and 2017–2019) for the international artists’ residency programme across 11 disciplines at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, Germany. He is also the co-founder and director of Arbour Research Initiatives in Architecture and has been the Executive Committee member with INTACH, Mumbai. Aditionally, Mehta has also co-curated with Rahul Mehrotra and Ranjit Hoskote the national exhibition on architecture – “The State of Architetcure: Practices and Processes in India” (UDRI, 2016) at the NGMA, Mumbai. Another book by the author is Alice in Bhuleshwar: Navigating a Mumbai Neighbourhood.