Hafeez Contractor

Hafeez Contractor (born 1950) is an Indian architect.[1] He has designed many skyscrapers in India, primarily in the city of Mumbai.[2] As of 2019, he is the architect of the three tallest buildings in India - The 42 in Kolkata,[3][4] and the twin towers of The Imperial in Mumbai.[5][6] He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in January 2016 by the Government of India.[7]

Hafeez Sorab Contractor
Born (1950-06-19) 19 June 1950
Bombay, Bombay State, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materUniversity of Mumbai, Columbia University
OccupationArchitect
Spouse(s)
Pearl Contractor
​
(m. 1962)​
Parent(s)Sorab Rustom Contractor (father)
AwardsPadma Bhushan
Buildings23 Marina
The Imperial
BITS Pilani Goa Campus
Infosys Training Centre
The 42
DY Patil Stadium
Websitewww.hafeezcontractor.com

Early life

Hafeez Contractor was born at Bombay (now Mumbaai) on 19 June 1950 in a Parsi family. He studied at Boys' Town Public School Nashik then later Academy of Architecture[8] at the University of Mumbai in 1975 and won a scholarship to Columbia University, where he completed a master's degree.[9]

Career
The Imperial Towers

Hafeez Contractor started working in 1968 as an apprentice with his uncle T. Khareghat while working toward his architecture degree.[10] In 1977, he became an associate partner in the firm.[10]

In 1991, Contractor was enlisted to add buildings to Infosys' Bangalore campus.[11][9] He went on to design that firm's first software-development park outside Pune,[12][9] and its corporate educational facility near Mysore.[13][9] His most famous project is Hiranandani Gardens, a township in Powai, a suburb of Mumbai.[9] 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. That building was, in turn, displaced by The 42 in Kolkata, which was also designed by Contractor and architecturally topped out at 260m.[3] He also designed 23 Marina in Dubai,[14] which was briefly the world's tallest all-residential building, and is 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[15] 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 also designed the Turbhe railway station in Navi Mumbai and in 2018 offered to 19 railway stations for free.[16] 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".[17] 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.[17]

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."[9]

References
  1. TNN, 18 Dec 2010, 09.53pm IST (18 December 2010). "Architect for conserving rare heritage monuments". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2011.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "Hafeez Contractor - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  3. "The 42 - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  4. Apr 16, TNN | Updated; 2019; Ist, 15:06. "'The 42' in Kolkata becomes India's tallest building | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. "The Imperial I - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  6. "The Imperial II - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  7. "Padma Awards 2016". pib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  8. "Academy Of Archictecure - Our illustrious alumni". aoamumbai.in. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  9. Brook, Daniel (19 June 2014). "The Slumdog Millionaire Architect". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  10. "Hafeez Contractor AIIAGD ARCH. MS ARCH. & UD (USA): Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  11. "Infosys Bangalore". The Future of Design. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  12. "Infosys office at I T Park at Pune". The Future of Design. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  13. "Exterior - Infosys Global Education School, Mysore". The Future of Design. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  14. "23 Marina - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  15. "Award-winning airport renovation relies on Indian granite". www.stoneworld.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  16. "Architect Hafeez Contractor Offers To Design 19 Railway Stations For Free". NDTV.com. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  17. "Green buildings are a joke: Hafeez Contractor". The Times of India. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
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