An exhibition curated by Kaiwan Mehta
Produced by Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Mumbai and Architecture Foundation
Gallery MMB Mumbai
27 October – 31 December 2021
How does one understand what is the practice of architecture? What makes practices within a generation similar and yet how does a significant practice establish its own routes of work and ideas? Rahul Mehrotra set up his architecture studio in the 1990s one of the most tumultuous decades in India and Mumbai’s history… as a researcher, critic, and academic he has written as much as his studio has built… what does his practice signify, and more importantly what does his practice tell us about our contemporary history? We discuss the idea of architecture practice in contemporary India, while we think along with buildings that 30 years of RMA Architects have designed and built, with a special focus on six recent projects.
To listen to Ranvir Shah speak to Rahul Mehrotra reflect on his praxis – RMA Architects through the context of Mumbai, visit web link.
Read excerpts from the conversation published in The Hindu here.
Rahul Mehrotra, looks back at his 30-year practice in this city for a new book, discusses why embracing Mumbai always reaps rich rewards.
In conversation with Jane Borges of Mid-day Mumbai.
Read here
Rahul Mehrotra speaks about the themes in his new book – Working in Mumbai, the Central Vista project, the role of architecture in society and more with Naresh Fernandes at Scroll.in.
Read full interview here.
With climate change, nature will command us — sustainable architects must respect that
Rahul Mehrotra talks to Srijana Mitra Das of Times Evoke.
Read article here.
Rahul Mehrotra in conversation with STIRworld on practice, theory and academia.
Read here.
Working in Mumbai is a critical reflection on thirty years of the practice of RMA Architects. Rahul Mehrotra, a Principal Architect at RMA Architects, weaves a narrative to connect his multiple engagements in architectural practice, including teaching, research, documenting, writing and exhibiting since the establishment of the practice in 1990. The book is structured around the subjects of interior architecture, critical conservation, and work and living spaces that straddle the binaries of the global and the local as well as the rural and the urban.
The Indian edition published by The CEPT University Press, is a portfolio of the selected works of RMA Architects, the projects are curated so as to unravel and clarify the challenges faced by architects in India and in several parts of the “majority” world where issues related to rapid urbanization and the impacts of global capital are among the many that dispute conventional models of practice. Working in Mumbai is used emblematically to interrogate the notion of context and understand how the practice evolved through its association with the city of Bombay/Mumbai.
Join us at the Book Launch and a Lecture by Rahul Mehrotra on Friday, 13th August 2021 at 6.00 pm with Dr. Tridip Suhrud (Provost, CEPT University) and Chirayu Bhatt (Deputy Provost, CEPT University). Join a Zoom Meeting here.
The book can be purchased online in India here and outside India here .
Working in Mumbai is a critical reflection on thirty years of the practice of RMA Architects. Rahul Mehrotra weaves a narrative to connect his multiple engagements in architectural practice, including teaching, research, documenting, writing and exhibiting since the establishment of the practice in 1990. The book is structured around the subjects of interior architecture, critical conservation, and work and living spaces that straddle the binaries of the global and the local as well as the rural and the urban. While the book is a portfolio of the selected works of RMA Architects, the projects are curated so as to unravel and clarify the challenges faced by architects in India and in several parts of the “majority” world where issues related to rapid urbanization and the impacts of global capital are among the many that dispute conventional models of practice. Working in Mumbai is used emblematically to interrogate the notion of context and understand how the practice evolved through its association with the city of Bombay/Mumbai.
Now available to order in India on Amazon
For outside India, order here
Rahul Mehrotra has been appointed Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design and the John T. Dunlop Professor in Housing and Urbanization at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
From the announcement: “As we look toward our collective ‘near future,’ Rahul brings an unmatched depth of insight to this contemporary moment. His extraordinary synthesis of pedagogy, practice, and a generous ethos will continue to guide us into challenging but essential debates and discoveries.” – Sarah M. Whiting, Dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture.
See the full announcement here.
See the citation from the jury for RMA Architects’ shortlisted scheme for the Sydney Modern Project, as well as the other finalists here
The scheme is conceived to take advantage of the natural landform of the site by embedding the new building in the landscape. This formal modesty allows the design concept to articulate a striking relationship between the existing and new buildings with most of the new spaces placed underground.
The scheme is porous and facilitates movement from the Royal Botanic Gardens and The Domain through the Gallery with a strong series of stepped terraces and ramps that reach down the site into Woolloomooloo.
The central concept of a ‘void’ connecting to both sky and earth is a powerful idea and the suggested creative programming would offer interesting ways of interpreting an art museum and its collection. Spaces created through the setting of a circular void in a rectilinear plan would provide unique spaces for curatorial creativity within the art museum context. The galleries for both contemporary art and temporary exhibitions are beautifully articulated spaces.
Through its deep commitment to the site and its potential for innovative programming the rigorously argued scheme presents a number of interesting ideas that address the concept of a 21st-century art museum.
‘The building is an armature for Art.
A Gallery should not be a singular image and overpower the artefacts; rather the site allows a plural dispensation of architectural strategies and form (or non-form, or earth-building)’
-RMA Architects
Rahul Mehrotra was interviewed by Scroll.in regarding the Mumbai Coastal Road Project. See the full interview here
Rahul Mehrotra gave at TED Talk on ‘The Architectural Wonder of Impermanent Cities’ at TED2019 | Bigger than Us in Vancouver. See the full video here
Three Court House was featured on ArchDaily. See the full article here.
Rahul Mehrotra was interviewed on RMA Architects’ exhibit for the 2018 Venice Bienalle, Soft Thresholds, which was awarded a special mention by the jury. See the full video here.
Rahul Mehrotra visits and explains the design for the CEPT Library in Ahmedabad for the Getinspired short film series. See the video here.
Rahul Mehrotra wrote an opinion piece for Domus, “The crucial issue in our cities today is inequity”. See the article here.
Rahul Mehrotra was interviewed by Craig Applegath on “Designing for Adaptation and Regeneration” for the Twenty First Century Imperative Podcast.
See more here and listen to the full podcast.
RMA Architects feature in Arkinka Magazine 274, September 2018
CEPT Library published in Architectural Record Magazine
CEPT Library published in Architecture + Design magazine, March 2018
