(“Text as taken from the website”)
Kamal Malik
Founder and Director Kamal Malik was born and raised in Shimla, in the pristine environs of the Himalayas; it is no surprise that, even today, nature remains the source of his inspiration. He completed his architectural studies at the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) in New Delhi. Over the last 46 years, Kamal has created some iconic and award-winning buildings, from the Lupin laboratory and the American School of Bombay to the Stone House in Jodhpur, experimenting with materials, techniques, and processes. Kamal is also a committed art collector, with a wide collection spanning antiques, sculpture, paintings, and objets d’art.
Arjun Malik
Arjun completed his Bachelor’s in Architecture at the Rachana Sansad Academy of Architecture in Mumbai and went on to receive a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University in New York. Before completing his Masters in New York, Arjun worked at Malik Architecture for three years and returned to the practise in 2005. When he’s not brainstorming with the MA team at the studio, you can find him playing football at the Bombay Gymkhana with his team or spending time with his beautiful wife Melinda and nine-year-old son, Gautam.
Practice Ideology
Malik Architecture is an award-winning Mumbai-based multidisciplinary design practice with over 47 years of experience. Their practice has, from its inception, attempted to develop a contemporary design syntax for the Indian subcontinent by approaching architecture as a synthesis of “ecology” and “spirit”. Ecology implies a seamless, cohesive, and holistic approach to design. This is achieved through the assembly of a group of highly motivated and evolved specialists in different disciplines. It is about creating lasting relationships that become so deeply intertwined that the whole ceases to be the sum of its parts and instead becomes a living, breathing organism in itself.
The designers believe that spirit implies balance, understanding, and tranquilly, inspired by the quote “Architecture is the spatial execution of spiritual decisions” by Luis Barragan.
Their work draws inspiration from nature, not only through its physical forms but also through its principles and processes. They have also tried to resurrect the Indian artisan as well as cultivate the use of local materials as a corollary to encouraging sustainability. This is exemplified by their works that incorporate load-bearing brick masonry, stone masonry, exposed concrete, and most recently, the innovative use of structural steel.
Their diverse, dynamic, and radical portfolio of works includes Residential, Commercial, R&D, Healthcare, Hospitality, Educational, Cultural, institutional, and master planning projects.
