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 WORK IN PLAIN WORDS, YET THE ALLEGORY HERE
IS TOO APPARENT TO AVOID. THE HOUSE IS STAGED ON AN ELEVATED PLATFORM, A
BEACHED BOAT OF BRICK, WITH SANDSTONE PAVING BELOW ECHOING THE BEACH
BEHIND AND LEADING THROUGH A RIBBED UNDERBELLY OF ARCHWAYS AND FLYING
BUTTRESSES, PAST TWIN SUBMERSIBLE-LIKE BEDROOMS TUCKED INTO THE
LANDSCAPE, AND ONTO A SEA OF LAWN AT THE FAR END.
Nari Gandhi’s Vision: Play of Light
Having passed through this portal, a subtle line of force—evident only as a strip of grass
flattened by repeated footsteps— directs movement along a gently modulated slope to the
‘upper’ deck. Framed by soaring segmental arches on either side, this primary space opens
to vistas of shores both real and conceived; the filigree of voids that punctuate the
masonry screens above produce a play of light from dawn to dusk. From here, one flight
of cantilevered stone steps leads up to the crow’s-nest vantage of a wooden loft, while
another spirals down 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
“WHEN THE HOUSE WAS BUILT SOME 30 YEARS AGO, THE ROOF WAS
MADE OF WOVEN COCONUT THATCH, THE NOW REPAINTED BRICKS WERE
THEIR ORIGINAL COLOUR, AND THE LANDSCAPE WAS SAND,” SAYS
ASHWIN CHARI, A YOUNG ARCHITECT WHO HAS FURTHERED A NOT-SO-
UNUSUAL FASCINATION WITH THE MASTER’S WORK BY SEEKING OUT HIS
CONTEMPORARIES FOR ANECDOTES AND HIS CLIENTS FOR PERMISSION
TO MEASURE-DRAW OTHERWISE UNDOCUMENTED PROJECTS.
“NARI LARGELY WORKED WITHOUT DRAWINGS, INSTEAD OBSERVING
THE SITE BEFORE MAKING INTUITIVE AND SPONTANEOUS DECISIONS
ABOUT WHERE AND HOW TO BUILD.” THEREAFTER THE PROJECT WOULD
PROCEED MORE AS AN EXERCISE IN WORKMANSHIP, 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 OWN WAY BEFORE RETURNING TO FURTHER
EXPERIMENT.
NARI GANDHI’S VISION: AN ECCENTRIC GENIUS
“THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE WHO CALLED HIM ECCENTRIC AND HIS
BUILDINGS IMPRACTICAL,” SAYS MEHTA, “BUT IT WAS NOT SO. HE WAS 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, WITHOUT COMPLETING THE COURSE, AND WENT INSTEAD TO
APPRENTICE WITH FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AS A TALIESIN FELLOW, SPENDING
MOST OF HIS FOUR YEARS THERE IN THE GARDENS, GROWING THE PERFECT
STRAWBERRY FOR WRIGHT, OR SPLITTING STONES AT A NEARBY QUARRY,
RATHER THAN IN THE DRAFTING HALL.
IN A RARE INTERVIEW SOMETIME LATER, HE SAYS THIS WAS, IN ESSENCE, NO
DIFFERENT FROM BUILDING A HOUSE, BECAUSE IN EITHER CASE “YOU DO IT
FROM WITHIN”. AFTER WRIGHT’S DEATH, NARI WENT ON TO STUDY POTTERY
AT THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY BEFORE RETURNING TO INDIA IN 1960,
WHERE HE COMPLETED SOME 20 PROJECTS OVER 30 YEARS UNTIL HIS OWN
TRAGIC DEATH IN A CAR ACCIDENT WHILE VISITING A SITE.
THANK YOU
