Hafeez Contractor

Hafeez Sorab Contractor
Born 1950 (age 67–68)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Alma mater University of Mumbai, Columbia University
Occupation Architect
Spouse(s)
Pearl Contractor (m. 1962)
Parent(s) Sorab Rustom Contractor (father)
Awards Padma Bhushan
Buildings 23 Marina (Dubai)
The Imperial (Mumbai)
BITS Pilani K. K. Birla Campus (Goa)
Infosys Training Centre (Mysore)
The 42 (Kolkata)
Website www.hafeezcontractor.com

Hafeez Contractor (born 1950) is an Indian architect.[1] He has designed many skyscrapers in India, primarily in the city of Mumbai.[2] Buildings designed by him include The Imperial in Mumbai, whose twin towers were the two tallest residential buildings in India between 2010 and 2017,[3][4] and The 42 in Kolkata, which is expected to earn that distinction upon completion in 2018.[5] He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in January 2016 by the Government of India.[6]

Early life

Hafeez Contractor was born in Mumbai into a Parsi family. He studied at the Academy of Architecture[7] at the University of Mumbai in 1975 and won a scholarship to Columbia University, where he completed a master's degree.[8]

Career

The Imperial Towers

Hafeez Contractor started working in 1968 as an apprentice with his uncle T. Khareghat while working toward his architecture degree.[9] In 1977, he became an associate partner in the firm.[9]

In 1991, Contractor was enlisted to add buildings to Infosys' Bangalore campus.[10][8] He went on to design that firm's first software-development park outside Pune,[11][8] and its corporate educational facility near Mysore.[12][8] His most famous project is Hiranandani Gardens, a township in Powai, a suburb of Mumbai.[8] In 2005, Contractor designed the twin-tower residential skyscraper, The Imperial, whose 254 metre-tall Tower I became the tallest residential buildings in India (with Tower II slightly behind) upon completion in 2010 - a distinction it held until it was displaced by One Avighna Park (266 metre) in 2017. Contractor is the architect for The 42 in Kolkata, which is expected to be completed in 2018, but has architecturally topped out at 268m. He also designed 23 Marina in Dubai,[13] which was briefly the world's tallest all-residential building, and currently third behind the nearby Princess Tower and 432 Park Avenue in New York City.

Contractor's other projects include the domestic terminal at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport and the DY Patil Stadium, which serves as the home stadium for both the Mumbai Indians cricket team and Mumbai City FC football team. He was the architect for Chief Minister of Telangana’s official residence, Pragathi Bhavan completed in November 2016. He has been assigned to design the campus of Indian Institute of Petroleum & Energy, Visakhapatnam.

Architectural style

Contractor has referred to the standardized ratings used in Western countries for certifying green buildings as a "joke".[14] In his view, conditions in India require a rating system that takes into account the unique problems faced by that country, such as the loss of farmland.[14]

In a New York Times profile he was described as Bollywood's "Starchitect". The article described Contractor's style as having "no signature, save a penchant for glitz." Contractor said of his own work, "[Y]ou definitely like a woman with lipstick, rouge, eyelashes. So if you make your building more beautiful with some appliqués, there’s nothing wrong."[8]

References

  1. ↑ TNN, 18 Dec 2010, 09.53pm IST (2010-12-18). "Architect for conserving rare heritage monuments". The Times of India. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  2. ↑ "Hafeez Contractor - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  3. ↑ "The Imperial I - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  4. ↑ "The Imperial II - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  5. ↑ "The 42 - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  6. ↑ "Padma Awards 2016". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  7. ↑ "Academy Of Archictecure - Our illustrious alumni". aoamumbai.in. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brook, Daniel (2014-06-19). "The Slumdog Millionaire Architect". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  9. 1 2 "Hafeez Contractor AIIAGD ARCH. MS ARCH. & UD (USA): Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  10. ↑ "Infosys Bangalore". The Future of Design. 2017-09-21.
  11. ↑ "Infosys office at I T Park at Pune". The Future of Design. 2017-09-21.
  12. ↑ "Exterior - Infosys Global Education School, Mysore". The Future of Design. 2017-09-21.
  13. ↑ "23 Marina - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  14. 1 2 "Green buildings are a joke: Hafeez Contractor". The Times of India. 2011-09-14.
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