Be the terraces on the Amba Deep Tower at the turn of KG Marg in Delhi, or the brick balconies of Jawaharlal Nehru University, if there one thing architect CP Kukreja knew, it was how to make his buildings climate-sensitive. Founder of the 50-year-old firm CP Kukreja Architects (CPKA), Kukreja passed away last year at the age of 80. A retrospective of his work is on display at the Sushant School of Art and Architecture (SSAA), Ansal University, till May 31. It’s the third in the series of exhibitions on modern Indian architects.

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[CP Kukreja's] son Dikshu affirms his father’s view of looking eastward for inspiration at a time when international architects such as Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn were leaving their imprints on India’s landscape and design minds. Though Kukreja earned his education in architecture and urban planning abroad — Melbourne, Canada and England — it made him aware of the need for sustainable, energy-efficient designs that blended tradition with modernity.

“While he saw the need for modern architecture, he also embraced what was inherently Indian. Context was important to him and he never forgot where his buildings were sited. His research on tropical architecture, which led to his book, explains how design in India should be, and his projects were a demonstration of those principles,” says [his son] Dikshu.

Seen as a commercially successful firm that has won numerous awards, Dikshu reinforces what held his father’s imagination. “My father had a no-fuss approach to architecture. It was meant as a source of shelter, revenue and culture, for peace and tranquillity, all of which embodies a person’s existence,” he adds.