Indian author, award-winning architectural journalist, curator, editor, and educator Ar. Apurva Bose Dutta (www.apurvabose.com) works at the intersection of architectural design writing, thinking, discourse, curation, journalism, criticism, and communications. Apurva’s passion for communication and academic background has translated into her unique 18-year career with the AEC industry, involving global collaborations with prominent multimedia publishing houses, firms, organisations, and institutions affiliated with architecture, design, and building. Apurva is extensively recognised for her pioneering initiatives in architectural writing. Her well-received first book, Architectural Voices of India, documented the voices of nineteen distinguished Indian architects and built a framework for a discourse on architecture.
Toni Morrison, the American Novelist, said, ‘If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’ This drove my urge to author my books Architectural Voices of India (2017) and the recent Architectural Inheritance and Evolution in India. The theme of the latter– architectural families in India, was one which I had been toying with for some time. Eventually, it manifested during the pandemic when the significance of families came to the forefront and the boundaries between work and home blurred. I started pondering over the circumstances of architects who stay and work together and do not have the luxury of leaving behind their ‘architectural minds’ at their offices because architects are known to live with architecture. The subject seeps into familial bonds and their way of living. These circumstances become more intriguing in India, where family bonds are considered sacred, and efforts are invested to maintain harmony.
This underlining concept of the book mandated further research: how architecture as a profession is inherited across families; how it translates into analogous or disparate journeys, varying interpretations of ideologies, and multiple working approaches in the same family; and the synergies, agreements, disagreements, working equations and collaborations it can create between family members.
To explore this concept, ten prominent architectural families in India and their 44 architect family members with decades of architectural contribution became a part of the narrative. The featured families include S.D. Sharma & Family (Chandigarh), Zacharias (Kerala and Bengaluru), Khans (Nagpur & Gujarat), Shahs & Gores (Mumbai), Uttam C. Jain & family (Mumbai), Kembhavis (Karnataka), Shahs & Khannas (Gurgaon, Mumbai, & Vancouver), Kanvindes (New Delhi), Puris (Mumbai), and Sumit Ghosh & Family (New Delhi).
Detailed discussions with the families revealed that there was no conventional template of evolution adopted by every family. Even if they retained their inherited architectural legacy or revolutionised it, they adapted or evolved basis their strengths.
The book takes readers through the journeys of these family members and their attempts at creating individual and collective marks. While the family members across seven decades narrate their tales, their perspectives and anecdotes highlight the changes that architecture has confronted during these decades. These families become a lens to evaluate India’s architectural inheritance and evolution.
The approach to the book was exemplary of the diverse skills that an architectural writer needs to tap into: intensive research on every family member, conducting video conversations with every family (to a tune of 2.5-3 hours/ family), analysing the direct and indirect takeaways of the conversation while transcribing them, and formalising the available information into essays. The epilogue became a shared platform between the families where parallels are drawn between them and their circumstances.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/Home TRENDS India/1698847576/articles/yLKrbRkHE1698914939383/5991900618.jpg]
My journey with the book has made me realise that the privilege that the successors inherited was less about the inheritance of a legacy, practice, perspective, or methodology. It was more about the opportunity to witness their siblings, parents, and grandparents dabble in architecture every day, making that learning an inherent lifelong process.
Architectural Inheritance and Evolution in India is published by Altrim Publishers and supported by the Council of Architecture of India. For more information, visit www.apurvabose.com/ book-architectural-inheritance and-evolution-in-india/.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/Home TRENDS India/1698847576/articles/yLKrbRkHE1698914939383/0094888945.jpg]
QUOTES FROM THE BOOK
The Kembhavis
Late Sharad Kembhavi, Nalini Kembhavi, Indrajit Kembhavi, Nita Kembhavi, Partha Kembhavi, Soumya Partha Kembhavi; Kembhavi Architecture Foundation, Hubli and Bengaluru
‘An architect must learn when to stop thinking and make decisions. Sometimes you are oblivious that you may have hit the solution, and this is where the family comes into the picture and makes it easier for you.’ — Nalini Kembhavi
As opposed to heterogenous families, where the money comes from different pools, for a family working in the same firm, a deeper pool of financial resources needs to be built.’ — Indrajit Kembhavi
[https://cdn.magzter.com/Home TRENDS India/1698847576/articles/yLKrbRkHE1698914939383/4156469949.jpg]
My understanding about structure and services came from dad; mama helped me with the concept and design. We also shared their passion, adventure, and ambitions for architecture.’ — Nita Kembhavi
‘Dad had an astute understanding of a building’s structure and anatomy, which inspired my interest in construction.’ — Partha Kembhavi
‘Between my in-laws, I imbibed my design sensibilities. I also observed how Inder and Nita, who were transitioning to Bengaluru when I entered the family, synergised their work and were strengths to each other.’ — Soumya Partha Kembhavi
[https://cdn.magzter.com/...
Toni Morrison, the American Novelist, said, ‘If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’ This drove my urge to author my books Architectural Voices of India (2017) and the recent Architectural Inheritance and Evolution in India. The theme of the latter– architectural families in India, was one which I had been toying with for some time. Eventually, it manifested during the pandemic when the significance of families came to the forefront and the boundaries between work and home blurred. I started pondering over the circumstances of architects who stay and work together and do not have the luxury of leaving behind their ‘architectural minds’ at their offices because architects are known to live with architecture. The subject seeps into familial bonds and their way of living. These circumstances become more intriguing in India, where family bonds are considered sacred, and efforts are invested to maintain harmony.
This underlining concept of the book mandated further research: how architecture as a profession is inherited across families; how it translates into analogous or disparate journeys, varying interpretations of ideologies, and multiple working approaches in the same family; and the synergies, agreements, disagreements, working equations and collaborations it can create between family members.
To explore this concept, ten prominent architectural families in India and their 44 architect family members with decades of architectural contribution became a part of the narrative. The featured families include S.D. Sharma & Family (Chandigarh), Zacharias (Kerala and Bengaluru), Khans (Nagpur & Gujarat), Shahs & Gores (Mumbai), Uttam C. Jain & family (Mumbai), Kembhavis (Karnataka), Shahs & Khannas (Gurgaon, Mumbai, & Vancouver), Kanvindes (New Delhi), Puris (Mumbai), and Sumit Ghosh & Family (New Delhi).
Detailed discussions with the families revealed that there was no conventional template of evolution adopted by every family. Even if they retained their inherited architectural legacy or revolutionised it, they adapted or evolved basis their strengths.
The book takes readers through the journeys of these family members and their attempts at creating individual and collective marks. While the family members across seven decades narrate their tales, their perspectives and anecdotes highlight the changes that architecture has confronted during these decades. These families become a lens to evaluate India’s architectural inheritance and evolution.
The approach to the book was exemplary of the diverse skills that an architectural writer needs to tap into: intensive research on every family member, conducting video conversations with every family (to a tune of 2.5-3 hours/ family), analysing the direct and indirect takeaways of the conversation while transcribing them, and formalising the available information into essays. The epilogue became a shared platform between the families where parallels are drawn between them and their circumstances.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/Home TRENDS India/1698847576/articles/yLKrbRkHE1698914939383/5991900618.jpg]
My journey with the book has made me realise that the privilege that the successors inherited was less about the inheritance of a legacy, practice, perspective, or methodology. It was more about the opportunity to witness their siblings, parents, and grandparents dabble in architecture every day, making that learning an inherent lifelong process.
Architectural Inheritance and Evolution in India is published by Altrim Publishers and supported by the Council of Architecture of India. For more information, visit www.apurvabose.com/ book-architectural-inheritance and-evolution-in-india/.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/Home TRENDS India/1698847576/articles/yLKrbRkHE1698914939383/0094888945.jpg]
QUOTES FROM THE BOOK
The Kembhavis
Late Sharad Kembhavi, Nalini Kembhavi, Indrajit Kembhavi, Nita Kembhavi, Partha Kembhavi, Soumya Partha Kembhavi; Kembhavi Architecture Foundation, Hubli and Bengaluru
‘An architect must learn when to stop thinking and make decisions. Sometimes you are oblivious that you may have hit the solution, and this is where the family comes into the picture and makes it easier for you.’ — Nalini Kembhavi
As opposed to heterogenous families, where the money comes from different pools, for a family working in the same firm, a deeper pool of financial resources needs to be built.’ — Indrajit Kembhavi
[https://cdn.magzter.com/Home TRENDS India/1698847576/articles/yLKrbRkHE1698914939383/4156469949.jpg]
My understanding about structure and services came from dad; mama helped me with the concept and design. We also shared their passion, adventure, and ambitions for architecture.’ — Nita Kembhavi
‘Dad had an astute understanding of a building’s structure and anatomy, which inspired my interest in construction.’ — Partha Kembhavi
‘Between my in-laws, I imbibed my design sensibilities. I also observed how Inder and Nita, who were transitioning to Bengaluru when I entered the family, synergised their work and were strengths to each other.’ — Soumya Partha Kembhavi
[https://cdn.magzter.com/...
You're reading a preview of
Home & Design Trends (Digital) - 1 Issue, Volume 11 No. 1