The Architecture of I.M. Kadri

The Architecture of I.M. Kadri traces the body of work of Iftikhar M. Kadri, founder, partner and principal architect of IMK Architects, who began his practice in Mumbai in the 1950s. As an architect who shaped his practice largely in the early decades after India’s independence, in the commercial capital of a young nation, he contributed greatly to the design of emerging typologies like the high-rise apartment, the office tower and the hospitality industry in Mumbai and India, going on to build in the Middle East, Hong Kong, Tajikistan, Malaysia, and so on. Kadri’s journey and practice as an architect in the five decades following India’s independence account for a different history of architecture in India than the one otherwise available. His journey is also the journey of Bombay/Mumbai as the emerging commercial capital of India – a city whose tryst with architecture is very different from that of Delhi or Ahmedabad, the other two sites of important Modern architecture in India.