A Man With a Purpose
One of the leading legends in architectural space, Architect Hafeez Contractor shares his journey and work with us over a cup of chai. Winner of over 75 national and international awards, Hafeez Contractor has made a mark with his work in the Indian subcontinent.
A brief interview with him was enough to showcase his love for not just aesthetic buildings, but purposeful and functional spaces that actually help the people living in it. Here are some excerpts from the interview.
Inspiration & The Mission for Housing
You’ve been working in the industry for several decades, what has inspired you to stay afloat?
“I try to solve the problems I see in the industry. I don’t mean just as an architectural solution, but also in terms of the needs of the people and the needs of the country. I have been working with so many corporations and builders, but in the last few years my emphasis and devotion has been in upliftment and eradication of slums. Why? Because more than 50% of the people living in Mumbai actually live in slums."
"Where will we be if we are the 3rd or the 4th largest economy in the world but still have 30% of the population living in the slums? Imagine where we could be if we put this population into liveables spaces.”
“Everything I have done in my career is for a purpose. And I now advocate for affordable housing for every Indian.”
Contractor continues to fondly talk about one of his redevelopment projects some years ago where he remembers being taken to a Ganpati temple by the local Maharashtrian ladies dressed in traditional attire. He says, “I thought they are doing what my mother used to do for good omen.” But one of the localite told him that these ladies were taking his aarti. Upon asking why, the ladies looked at him and said that today they could not go to the toilet after sunrise and before sunset. But with new housing, they have convenient access to a toilet and privacy.
“I will never ever forget those lines”, says Contractor. “The conditions of how they stay, how they stay get up at night at 2-3am to fill up water, there’s open drainage surrounding their house and what not. They are surviving in this condition, they are cooking, living, going to work. Imagine if they get housing, what is it that they cannot achieve? Nobody is giving importance to housing but it’s the biggest infrastructure we need."
Changing Trends & Global Resources
What is your take on the changing trends in architecture and its future?
“Architecture is an art, it is also engineering, and it will change with fashion. We used to not focus so much on high end housing before, but now we do. Where is the future of architecture going, that’s the important question."
"Why? Because of the disparity in the need and resources. Our biggest resource is Earth and the population is constantly increasing. Things are changing and what happens when our population doubles up? Where will we go? Where will we grow our food? We’ve destroyed our forests. How are buildings going to be made to also consider natural disasters like typhoons and earthquakes? New buildings will have to think of these issues. Imagine, India has 18% of the world population but just 2% of the world’s land.”
We could differentiate between various styles of old architecture from history… Is there something called Indian architecture or there can be no such bifurcation?
“Why did the Mughals build in a particular way? Because of the resources available - stone and sand. Why are the houses in South India different from houses in North of India? It all depended on the nearest resources available at hand. Today, if I want any resource, I can get it easily. The availability is better. Things were far off before, but now I can go to New York for a couple of hours and take a flight back the next afternoon with everything I need.”
This shows that globalisation has made architectural design also global and hence more fluid and creative. The abundance of resources has definitely helped with this changing trend.
Sustainability & The Legacy of FSI
What are your thoughts on sustainable architecture?
“Everyone will talk about sustainability and architecture, but no one will be willing to follow the crux of it. Until there is money in it. Our generation right now is at a cusp - we need to take the opportunity to be more sustainable in architecture and otherwise. Do it so the future generation does not have to suffer.”
Historical monuments told us stories of the past? What is the story you want your buildings to tell?
“I have been advocating for years and years and talking about higher FSI (Floor Space Index). Why? Because we should have FSI in parity with our population. If I have 500-600 people in my office, I will at least have these many chairs to sit on. Why do we have so many people living on the streets? Do they love it? No. They are there out of no choice."
"Imagine, Mumbai only has 110 square km of space for development, excluding national parks and railways and what not. The population is around 22 million people, so how can they be accommodated? How high will the buildings have to be? High FSI and high rise is the answer. I was the guy to tell Chandra Babu Naidu to open up and make unlimited FSI. Look at where Hyderabad is now. There are several high rises. My thing that I want to be remembered for is the guy who fought for higher FSI.”
Memorable Projects & Advice for the Future
Talking about memorable projects, Contractor shares that there are plenty that he is proud of. Including the Jio centre for Mrs. Ambani, Infosys building and many more. He shares that he is involved in all his projects and so every project has a story to tell.
The conversation would be incomplete without asking for any wisdom for young architects and this is what he responds to that question:
“The scope is tremendous. If you look at it the right way, the scope is so large because we have to build so much for our population. According to statistics, in India we have to build one Chicago every year for everyone to get housing. You will have to invent new things, you will have to think of something better than what we thought of.”
A truly inspiring message to the youngsters which simply says - be better than us, do better than us.