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. 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. Although Kadri has been a stalwart in the field of architecture in his own right, not often has his deep involvement with architectural thought in India been recognised or for that matter, recorded and analysed.