30 Oct Retrospective – then and now
‘Retrospective – then and now’
About: A panel discussion with designers, who were a part of the iconic Women In Architecture 2000 Plus conference. Moderated by Asad Lalljee, this discussion attempts to understand the way in which women have shaped their practices and their insight into the future of design in India. The idea is to look back and evaluate the change that we have witnessed in the two intervening decades to evaluate the future of women in the profession and the ever-evolving nature of design practice. We hope that the discussion will be a reflection on the past twenty years and will be able to touch upon the changing patterns of design practice in India and globally.
About: Brinda Somaya, Brinda Somaya is an architect and urban conservationist. Upon completion of her Bachelor of Architecture from Mumbai University and her Master of Arts from Smith College in Northampton, MA, U.S.A, she started her firm Somaya and Kalappa Consultants in 1978 in Mumbai, India. In May 2012 she was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from her alma mater, Smith College. In 2014 she was awarded the Indian Institute of Architects – Baburao Mhatre Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement. In 2016 she was appointed as the Chairperson of the Board of Governors, School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada. In 2017 She joined the Board of the Lafargeholcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, Zurich, Switzerland. Presently she is the A.D. White Professor-at-large at Cornell University, U.S.A. Her firm has recently won the competition for the `Restoration and Upgradation of the historic Louis Kahn Buildings of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A).Over four decades she has merged architecture, conservation and social equity in projects ranging from institutional campuses and rehabilitation of an earthquake-torn village to the restoration of an 18th century Cathedral, showing that progress and history need not be at odds. In 2004 Brinda Somaya won the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage award for the restoration of the St. Thomas Cathedral in Mumbai. Her monograph `Brinda Somaya Works & Continuities’ was published in 2018.
LOCATION: Mumbai, India | STUDIO: Somaya and Kalappa Consultants | DESIGN FIELD: Architecture and Practice
About: Shimul Javeri Kadri, Shimul Javeri Kadri studied architecture in Mumbai at the Academy of Architecture, and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. She founded and nurtured SJK Architects towards its current avatar as a firm that values culture and climate and builds gently in the context. Shimul Javeri Kadri is a woman with a mission; she uses her 5 foot nothing frames to pursue her causes – building naturally and lightly, and supporting equality through education and feminism. The diversity of geographical landscapes her studio has worked across India is reflected in the multiple vocabularies that they have adopted to adapt to the climatic and cultural environments. Shimul Javeri Kadri’s interest is in an architecture that is meaningful for the India of today, drawing from historical wisdom, but relevant and exciting for the vibrant Indian market has led to an award-winning practice. The added responsibilities as an occasional writer, jurist, speaker and teacher are the outcome of her overwhelming desire to present, engage and discuss her passions and concerns of 30 years of practice.
LOCATION: Mumbai, India | STUDIO: SJK Architects | DESIGN FIELD: Architecture and Practice
About: Abha Narain Lambah, Abha Narain Lambah is a practising Conservation Architect, and principal of Abha Narain Lambah Associates, Mumbai, who received has a Master’s degree in architectural conservation from the School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi She is the recipient of the Eisenhower Fellowship (U.S.A) 2002, the Charles Wallace Fellowship (U.K) 1998, the Attingham Trust Fellowship 2007, the Sankriti Award 2003, Architect of the Year Award 2019 Architectural Digest and Architect of the Year Award CNBC Awaaz 2017. Her architectural practice focuses on conservation and museum projects across the country and includes the restoration of 15th Century temples in Ladakh and Hampi, mosques, palaces, forts and caravan sarai’s. She is a consultant to ICCROM, Global Heritage Fund and World Monuments Fund. Abha Narain Lambah has been an advocate for Mumbai’s heritage and in the past 25 years has done pioneering work on urban guidelines for heritage precincts such as Banganga, Khotachiwadi, Dadabhai Naoroji Road and has prepared the successful nomination inscribing Mumbai’s Art Deco & Victorian ensemble as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She has authored a range of books on Mumbai including the “The Victorian & Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai”, “Kala Ghoda: Celebrating Mumbai’s Art District”, “Through the Looking Glass: The Grade I Heritage of Mumbai” and many more.
LOCATION: Mumbai, India | STUDIO: Abha Narain Lambah Associates | LOCATION: Architecture and Practice
About: Neera Adarkar, Neera Adarkar is a practising architect, activist and an urbanist based in Mumbai. A graduate from Sir J. J. College of Architecture, Mumbai University and a post-graduate in Industrial Design from IIT, Mumbai, she has been awarded Honorary Doctorate by the department of Urban planning, Urbanism and Architecture of the Katholieke University, Belgium. Neera Adarkar is running a joint practice under Adarkar Associates, engaged in architecture, planning, conservation and urban research. Her work emerges from a deep concern of social, urban and gender issues. Involved in many urban issues, she actively participated in the struggle for Textile Mill Lands of Mumbai. She is at present chairperson of Society of Environment and Architecture which has started a graduate school of architecture in Mumbai. She has been part of the women’s group which voluntarily overviews the Development Plan of Mumbai 2034, from a gender perspective. She has co-authored with Meena Menon ‘One Hundred Years One Hundred Voices: Oral History of Millworkers of Girangaon’ (2004) and has edited an anthology: ‘The Chawls of Mumbai: Galleries of Life’ (2011). Her forthcoming book MultipliCITIES traces the urban, cultural heritage of Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
LOCATION: Mumbai, India | DESIGN FIELD: Architecture and Practice
About:Eli Giannini, Eli Giannini is responsible for the design direction of the practice MSG Architects where she brings to her work tenacity and passion for the craft of design with a special interest in developing architectural typologies into project-specific responses. She led the team that was awarded the 2013 National AIA Frederick Romberg Award for Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing for the McIntyre Drive Social Housing Project in Altona and the 2014 Regional AIA Award for the New Generation Bendigo Library redevelopment. Eli Giannini has contributed to the architecture profession as RAIA National Councilor, Chapter President, Chair of the Victorian Chapter Awards Task Force, and has served as chair on several RAIA Victorian Chapter and National Conference organizing committees. She was the chair of the Course Advisory Committee of the Faculty of Design at RMIT University and a Member of the Program Advisory Committee for SIAL and the Master of Design Innovation and Technology from 2008 to 2016. In 2014 to 2016 she was Deputy Chair RAIA National Gender Equity Committee. Eli Giannini has promoted design, theory and research through her writing, exhibitions and conference presentations and as an eminent architect of design competitions juries.
LOCATION: Melbourne, Australia | STUDIO: MGS Architects | DESIGN FIELD: Architecture and Practice
About:Hirante Welandawe, Hirante Welandawe graduated from the University of Moratuwa and obtained her Masters from the Alvar Aalto University in Helsinki. She worked initially under Master Architect B.V. Doshi whose work had a profound influence in the direction of her work. She started work with numerous personalized homes which helped her to develop a particular people-centric way of approaching architecture focusing on socio-cultural profiles and lifestyle. She is a Visiting Design Tutor of the Department of Architecture, the University of Moratuwa has received several design awards and was nominated for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2010. Hirante Welandawe’s interest is in exploring the potential that Architecture offers to enhance the lived experience of the individual and the community.
LOCATION: Columbo, Sri Lanka | STUDIO: HW Architects | DESIGN FIELD: Architecture and Practice
About: Moderator Asad Lalljee, Asad Lalljee is Senior Vice-President Essar Group and CEO of Avid Learning, a public programming initiative and creative platform under the Essar Group. Asad Lalljee has several years of advertising, publishing, marketing and business development experience, both in international and domestic markets. Prior to relocating to India, he worked for 14 years as one of the ‘Mad Men’ advertising executives on New York’s Madison Avenue. Under Asad’s leadership AVID has distinguished itself with a wide variety of arts and cultural programming and is currently at the forefront of India’s cultural hub.
LOCATION: Mumbai, India | STUDIO: Avid Learning
PANEL DISCUSSION
8TH JANUARY 2020
SPEAKERS LIST
BRINDA SOMAYA, SHIMUL JAVER KADRI, HIRANTE WELANDAWE, ELI GIANNINI, NEERA ADARKAR, ABHA NARAIN LAMBAH -MODERATED BY ASAD LALLJEE