Hafeez Sorab Contractor | |
|---|---|
 Hafeez Contractor (left) in 2016 | |
| Born | (1950-06-19)19 June 1950 (age 75) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Sorab Contractor Roshan Contractor |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan |
| Practice | Architect Hafeez Contractor |
| Buildings |
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| Website | www |
Hafeez Sorab Contractor (born 1950) is an Indianarchitect.[1] He has designed manyskyscrapers in India, primarily in the city ofMumbai.[2] As of 2019, he is the architect of thethree tallest buildings in India –The 42 inKolkata,[3][4] and the twin towers ofThe Imperial in Mumbai.[5][6] He was awarded thePadma Bhushan in January 2016 by theGovernment of India.[7]
Hafeez Contractor was born inMumbai on 19 June 1950 into aParsi family.[8] He attended Boys' Town Public School Nasik before moving on to the University of Mumbai'sAcademy of Architecture in 1975. He then won a scholarship toColumbia University, where he completed his master's degree.[9]
×==Career==While pursuing his architecture degree, Contractor began working in 1968 as an apprentice under the supervision of his uncle and mentor Tehmasp Khareghat.[10][11] He joined his uncle's company T. Khareghat in 1977 as an associate partner.[11]
In 1991, Contractor was enlisted to add buildings toInfosys'Bangalore campus.[12][9] He went on to design that firm's first software-development park outsidePune,[13][9] and its corporate educational facility nearMysore.[14][9] His most famous project isHiranandani Gardens, a township inPowai, a suburb of Mumbai.[9] In 2005, Contractor designed the twin-tower residential skyscraper, The Imperial, whose 254-metre-tall (833 ft) 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 byOne Avighna Park (266 metre) in 2017. That building was, in turn, displaced by The 42 in Kolkata, which was also designed by Contractor andarchitecturally topped out at 260m.[3] He also designed23 Marina inDubai,[15] which was briefly the world's tallest all-residential building, and is currently third behind the nearbyPrincess Tower and432 Park Avenue inNew York City.
Contractor's other projects include thedomesticterminal at Mumbai'sChhatrapati Shivaji Airport[16] and theDY Patil Stadium, which serves as the home stadium for both theMumbai Indianscricket team andMumbai City FCfootball team. He also designed theTurbhe railway station inNavi Mumbai and in 2018 offered to 19 railway stations for free.[17] He was the architect forChief 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. An interview of his was published in the official[18] Class 8 English book.××××××
Contractor has referred to the standardized ratings used in Western countries for certifyinggreen buildings as a "joke".[19] 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 offarmland.[19]
In aNew York Times profile he was described asBollywood'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]
| Name | Year completed | Image | City | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Hospital, Indraprastha |  | ||||
| Sarala Birla Academy | |||||
| ITC Grand Central | 2004 | Mumbai | Art deco styled Hotel skyscraper | ||
| ITC Royal Bengal | 2019 |  | Kolkata | Art deco styled Hotel skyscraper | |
| DY Patil Stadium | 2008 |  | Navi Mumbai | ||
| The Imperial | 2010 |  | Mumbai | Tallest building in India between 2010 and 2018 | [5][6] |
| 23 Marina | 2012 | Dubai | |||
| One Horizon Center | 2014 | Gurgaon | [20] | ||
| Mantri Pinnacle | 2016 |  | Bangalore | Tallest building in Bangalore | [21] |
| The 42 | 2019 |  | Kolkata | Tallest building in India between 2018 and 2019 | [3] |
| Lokhandwala Minerva | Mumbai | [22] | |||
| Turbhe railway station |  | Navi Mumbai | |||
| CIDCO Spaghetti Housing | 2005 | Navi Mumbai |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
