“The world has changed a lot and we need to think about how we will build to accommodate the millions who come to the city, without compromising our farmlands. Almost every day, people come to me with plots of land that are orchards and they want to convert them into residences and offices. Imagine if we have about 20,000 sq. km to build a new city,” [Hafeez Contractor] says, as he takes a fresh sheet of tracing paper and draws a large circle. And then plots five squares in different corners with ample space between them. “Take about 10-12 acres each and have high density developments, with 60-80 floors, where you have underground stations, offices on the top, gardens on the deck and residences above them. These four to five nodes, that can house a million people each, can be linked by underground transport and you leave the rest of the land free to grow your food. You won’t impede the biodiversity, the rivers won’t be dry, and you’ll still have development. The world can be saved1 by an architect,” he says.
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In the Central Vista project, Contractor’s firm was among the six shortlisted ones. As he shows sketches of it, he says, “Shouldn’t the new Parliament building put India on the world map? Do we have a single iconic building that we can be proud of? In the US, there is the Empire State Building; in London, you have The Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe), but in India, we can’t think beyond the Gateway of India or Taj Mahal. Why is there the need to use red sandstone today? When Lutyens and Baker used it, it was easily available and the material of the time. I don’t deny heritage is important. If you have a grandparent and a child at home, each will eat and dress differently. Both are important; you can’t only hold on to the past. It’s said in India, if you don’t have a kid, you can’t carry forward your legacy. Apne architecture ka koi aulad nahi hai (Our architecture has no one to carry it forward),” he says.
Quoting Winston Churchill, he says, “We shape our buildings, and, afterwards, our buildings shape us.” Which is why, criticism of his work sometimes bothers him. “A painter can wake up any time of the day and paint the way he wants; there is no law against it. But, as architects, we have to think of the by-laws, the FSI (floor-space index), land size, and we fight against all odds — of time, complying with fire and seismic regulations — and it merits no mention in the media. Indians don’t deserve good architecture,” he says.
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- 1. “I’m building 1,50,000 houses for the poor under the PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana). I want to eradicate slums in Mumbai. It’s my biggest love, but, of course, in an office of 600 people working on many different projects, there are other flings, too,”