Brinda Somaya – Architect

Brinda Somaya was born on 28 June 1949 is an Indian architect and urban conservationist. She is also an author who wrote Silent Sentinels. In May 2012 she was the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Smith College. In 2014 she was awarded the Indian Institute of Architects – Baburao Mhatre Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement. She was named as Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University in 2017.

Education

She completed her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Mumbai University and her Master of Arts from Smith College in Northampton, United States.

She started her practice in 1978 in Mumbai, India. From 1978 to 1981 she was joined by her sister Ranjini Kalappa, also an architect.

Career

Brinda Somaya has merged architecture, conservation and social equity in projects ranging from institutional campuses and rehabilitation of an earthquake-torn village to the restoration of an 18th-century Cathedral, showing that progress and history need not be at odds. Her philosophy: ‘the Architect’s role is that of guardian – he is the conscience of the built and unbuilt environment. This belief underlines her work that spans large corporate, industrial and institutional campuses and extends to public spaces, which she has rebuilt and sometimes reinvented as pavements, parks and plazas. Master-planning and building design of multiple corporate and educational campuses have become one of her areas of expertise.

Award-winning works

• Tata Consultancy Services,
• Banyan Park, Mumbai;
• Nalanda International School, Vadodara;
•  Zensar Technologies, Pune.
• Her firm has won the competition for the `Restoration and Upgradation of the historic Louis Kahn Buildings of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) as well as the new Academic Buildings of the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IIT-B).

Brinda is a Member of the National Advisory Board of NCSHS (National Centre for Safety of Heritage Structures. As a member of the Committee of `Environmental Impact Assessment of New Construction Projects for `Ministry of Environment & Forests’ Government of India, the Mumbai Urban Heritage Conservation Committee, and Mumbai’s Initiative for the Protection and Improvement of Streets and Public Spaces, Brinda Somaya has been actively involved in participating in her country’s and city’s development. She was also on the IAWA Board of Advisors (International Archives of Women in Architecture), the U.S.A. and Founder Trustee of the HECAR Foundation which has brought out several publications on Heritage and Architecture

Awards

she has won numerous international and national awards.

• In 2004 Brinda Somaya won the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage award for the restoration of the St.Thomas’ Cathedral in Mumbai.
• She is also a Leading European Architects Forum award winner for the new Nalanda Schools Campus in Baroda in 2006.
•  She was the first woman to have won the Wienerberger Golden Architect Award for lifetime achievement, in 2007.
• In 2008 a mention was awarded to Brinda Somaya by the UIA (International Union of Architects) Sgoutas Prize for the alleviation of poverty for her Bhuj Village Project.
• In 2013 she was chosen as one of the 100 GLOBAL PUBLIC INTEREST DESIGN persons working at the intersection of design and service globally.

 

Brinda has delivered analytical and critical talks as well as presented papers in India and abroad on her work – and other connected subjects. She has given lectures in the U.S.A, U.K., Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka & India and her work has been exhibited in the USA, UK & Japan.