HAFEEZ CONTRACTOR
Hafeez Sorab Contractor is an Indian architect. He has
designed many skyscrapers in India, primarily in the city
of Mumbai. As of 2019, he is the architect of the three
tallest buildings in India - The 42 in Kolkata, and the twin
towers of The Imperial in Mumbai.
Born: 19 June 1950 (age 72 years), Mumbai
Spouse: Pearl Contractor
Award: Padma Bhushan
Practice: H S Contractor Consultancy Pvt Ltd
Parents: Roshan Contractor, Sorab Contractor
Education: Columbia University, University Of Mumbai
THE TWIN TOWER OF THE IMPERIAL
HEIGHT :256.0 M / 840 FT
FLOORS :60
OFFICIAL NAME :THE IMPERIAL I
OTHER NAMES :SD TOWER I
NAME OF COMPLEX :IMPERIAL TOWERS
TYPE :BUILDING
STATUS :COMPLETED
COMPLETION :2010
COUNTRY :INDIA
CITY :MUMBAI
ADDRESS :M P MILLS COMPOUND
FUNCTION :RESIDENTIAL
STRUCTURAL MATERIAL :CONCRETE
THE IMPERIAL IS A MODERNIST STYLE TWIN-TOWER RESIDENTIAL SKYSCRAPER COMPLEX IN THE
BILLIONAIRES ROW OF MUMBAI, INDIA. IT WAS THE TALLEST SKYSCRAPER IN INDIA FROM 2010 TO 2019
WHEN IT WAS OVERTAKEN BY LODHA THE PARK WHICH AGAIN WAS OVERTAKEN BY WORLD ONE IN
BARELY A YEAR'S TIME. IT HAS BEEN HOME TO SEVERAL HIGH-NET-WORTH INDIVIDUALS
THE IMPERIAL IS A TWIN-TOWER RESIDENTIAL. SKYSCRAPER COMPLEX IN MUMBAI, INDIA THAT WERE THE TALLEST BUILDINGS IN THE COUNTRY TILL JUNE 2012 WHEN
PALAIS ROYALE TOPPED OUT.
THE TOWERS ARE LOCATED AT THE SEA FRONT IN TARDEO, SOUTH MUMBAI. CONSTRUCTION WAS COMPLETED AND THE TOWERS WERE INAUGURATED IN 2010.
THE IMPERIAL TWIN TOWERS ARE BUILT ON FORMER SLUM LAND WHERE THE CURRENT RE DEVELOPMENT MODEL OF BUILDERS PROVIDING FREE LAND AND
REHABILITATION TO SLUM DWELLERS IN EXCHANGE FOR RIGHTS FOR PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT, WAS FIRST PUT INTO PRACTICE ON A BIG SCALE.
NARI GANDHI
BORN: 1 JANUARY 1934 , SURAT ,INDIA .
DIED : 18 AUGEST 1993 (AGED 59).
NATIONALITY : INDIAN
OCCUPATION : ARCHITECT
NARIMAN (NARI) DOSSABHAI GANDHI WAS BORN IN 1934 IN SURAT TO
A ZOROASTRIAN PARSI FAMILY FROM BOMBAY. HE WAS ONE OF THE SIX
CHILDREN WITH THREE BROTHERS AND TWO SISTERS.
NARI COMPLETED HIS SCHOOLING DDFF AT ST. XAVIER'S HIGH SCHOOL,
FORT, MUMBAI, AND STUDIED ARCHITECTURE AT SIR J. J. COLLEGE OF
ARCHITECTURE, MUMBAI FOR FIVE YEARS IN THE EARLY 1950S. HE TRAVELLED
TO US TO APPRENTICE WITH FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AT THE TALIESIN AND
SPENT FIVE YEARS THERE. AFTER WRIGHT'S DEATH IN 1959, NARI LEFT TALIESIN
AND STUDIED POTTERY AT THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY FOR TWO YEARS.
KORLAI BUNGALOW
NARI GANDHI’S VISION: ARCHWAYS AND BUTTRESSES
IT’S DIFFICULT TO DESCRIBE HIS W ORK IN PLAIN W ORDS, YET THE ALLEGORY HERE
IS TOO APPARENT TO AVOID. THE HOUSE IS STAGED ON AN ELEVATED
PLATFORM, A BEACHED BOAT OF BRICK, W ITH SANDSTONE PAVING BELOW
ECHOING THE BEACH BEHIND AND LEADING THROUGH A RIBBED UNDERBELLY
OF ARCHW AYS AND FLYING BUTTRESSES, PAST TW IN SUBMERSIBLE-LIKE
BEDROOMS TUCKED INTO THE LANDSCAPE, AND ONTO A SEA OF LAW N AT THE
FAR END.
Nari Gandhi’s Vision: Play of Light
Hav ing passed through this portal, a subtle line of force—ev ident only as a
strip of grass flattened by repeated footsteps— directs mov ement along a
gently modulated slope to the ‘upper’ deck. Framed by soaring
segmental arches on either side, this primary space opens to v istas of
shores both real and conceiv ed; the filigree of v oids that punctuate the
masonry screens abov e produce a play of light from daw n to dusk. From
here, one flight of cantilev ered stone steps leads up to the crow ’s-nest
v antage of a w ooden loft, w hile another spirals dow n to the kitchen, back
to the carport and out to the main gate. The self-guided tour is complete.
NARI GANDHI’S VISION: INTUITIVE DESIGN
“W HEN THE HOUSE WAS BUILT SOME 30 YEARS AGO, THE ROOF W AS MADE
OF W OVEN COCONUT THATCH, THE NOW REPAINTED BRICKS W ERE THEIR
ORIGINAL COLOUR, AND THE LANDSCAPE W AS SAND,” SAYS ASHW IN
CHARI, A YOUNG ARCHITECT W HO HAS FURTHERED A NOT-SO-UNUSUAL
FASCINATION W ITH THE MASTER’S W ORK BY SEEKING OUT HIS
CONTEMPORARIES FOR ANECDOTES AND HIS CLIENTS FOR PERMISSION TO
MEASURE-DRAW OTHERWISE UNDOCUMENTED PROJECTS.
“NARI LARGELY W ORKED WITHOUT DRAW INGS, INSTEAD OBSERVING THE SITE
BEFORE MAKING INTUITIVE AND SPONTANEOUS DECISIONS ABOUT W HERE
AND HOW TO BUILD.” THEREAFTER THE PROJECT W OULD PROCEED MORE AS
AN EXERCISE IN W ORKMANSHIP, WITH HIM SELECTING MATERIALS AND
DEVELOPING GENERIC DETAILS, AS IF PROGRAMMING THE DNA OF THE
DESIGN, THEN LEAVING THE MASONS TO EXPLORE THESE IN THEIR OW N WAY
BEFORE RETURNING TO FURTHER EXPERIMENT.
NARI GANDHI’S VISION: AN ECCENTRIC GENIUS
“THERE W ERE SOME PEOPLE WHO CALLED HIM ECCENTRIC AND HIS
BUILDINGS IMPRACTICAL,” SAYS MEHTA, “BUT IT W AS NOT SO. HE W AS FAR
AHEAD OF HIS TIME.” BORN IN 1934 TO A PARSI FAMILY IN BOMBAY,
NARIMAN DOSSABHAI GANDHI LEFT THE SIR JJ COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
IN THE MID-1950S, W ITHOUT COMPLETING THE COURSE, AND W ENT INSTEAD
TO APPRENTICE W ITH FRANK LLOYD W RIGHT AS A TALIESIN FELLOW ,
SPENDING MOST OF HIS FOUR YEARS THERE IN THE GARDENS, GROW ING THE
PERFECT STRAW BERRY FOR WRIGHT, OR SPLITTING STONES AT A NEARBY
QUARRY, RATHER THAN IN THE DRAFTING HALL.
IN A RARE INTERVIEW SOMETIME LATER, HE SAYS THIS W AS, IN ESSENCE, NO
DIFFERENT FROM BUILDING A HOUSE, BECAUSE IN EITHER CASE “YOU DO IT
FROM W ITHIN”. AFTER W RIGHT’S DEATH, NARI W ENT ON TO STUDY POTTERY
AT THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY BEFORE RETURNING TO INDIA IN 1960, W HERE
HE COMPLETED SOME 20 PROJECTS OVER 30 YEARS UNTIL HIS OW N TRAGIC
DEATH IN A CAR ACCIDENT W HILE VISITING A SITE.
THANK YOU
