Bringing The Connection With Nature Back

Modern cities face the challenges of excessive traffic jams, lack of spaces, which are detrimental to the health of residents and create several problems in one’s day-to-day life. “Contemporary fast-paced lifestyle has led to a sense of isolation and create a disconnect with nature,” says Rahul Kadri, Partner & Principal Architect, IMK Architects. 

Kadri was speaking at the Future of Design 2021 virtual event organised by BW Businessworld on 10th April. The event saw design thinkers and leaders in the design industry from across the country present their ideas. 

Addressing the challenge of how to bring the connection with nature back, Kadri stated, “The five principles of healthy cities are: transport-led development, city country fingers, urban-rural transect – zoning of urban to rural and forest areas, walkable neighbourhoods and buildings with set-backs to allow for an active street life.” He added, “The key to better health lies in restoring our connection with nature and fostering interaction as social beings. These are the two pillars.” 

Some of the measures that are being taken in various places are vertical farming, rooftop farming, city farming parks and courtyard farming. Biophilic design (designing modern buildings with integrated elements of nature into it) is also an emerging trend. 

As the Principal and Partner at IMK Architects, Kadri has led several architecture and town planning projects. Some of their notable projects are for Tata’s, JSW and the Reliance group, Hotels & Resorts for Taj & Club Mahindra, College Campuses for Symbiosis and The Supreme Court Of India, and more.

In 2003, when Kadri assumed the position of Principal Architect and Partner at IMK Architects, the period was marked by significant shifts in India’s socio-cultural landscape — in a liberalised economy. Models of patronage and typologies of projects were evolving while modern technology made inroads into the architecture and construction industry. Concerns of climate change emerged in the mainstream discourse as well. He has said, “We at IMK Architects had always focused our practice on social consciousness and urban ecological sensitivity. Today, a unique, collaborative SCRUM based design process that involves intense workshops with all project stakeholders, ensures the effective and efficient delivery of holistic design solutions from buildings to city master-plans — vibrant, dynamic, healthy and robust spaces where people thrive.”

Beyond this, Kadri is an active participant and the Managing Trustee of ‘Save The Children India’ — an organisation that is committed to the cause of education for lesser privileged children. He is also the Vice-President of The Pride India an NGO, to promote the holistic development of marginalised rural people. 

This year, the FOD event and awards focused on design for a sustainable world. After facing massive disruption cause by the pandemic, using design to create solutions for problems that plague mankind is the need of the hour. The FOD awards recognise and felicitate the best prototype and finished design by designers, architects, innovators and businesses.