Anup Kothari: An architect of hospitals to embassies and more

Iconic Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai to Delhi's Escorts hospital, they have one thing in common. Well, both were designed by visionary architect Anup Kothari, 84, who was passed away recently in capital. His phenomenal body of work included hospitals, embassies, commercial buildings and private houses. That he was among the most accomplished and creative architects of our times is an understatement. In his over half-century long career, he had proved time and again that when he designs any building, he cares for the end users, senior citizens, handicaps and ladies on her family way. His buildings are not fancy, but comfortable to those who visit or stay there. Stairs of his buildings are always joy to climb. The gap between two stairs were always short. That makes climbing less or hardly tiring.

An architect who had also designed Leelawati Hospital in Mumbai to Max Hospital in Saket, Patpadganj to BLK hospital in Delhi, he always said that building hospital is a complex task since it involves safety, comfort, precision as well as creativity."In India, a hospital is

the most complex thing to make. We have different requirements from the West. Apart from the medical facilities and procedure rooms, Indian hospitals have a remarkably high visitor patient ratio. We have to design in such a way that there is no cross-traffic."

Did you know that Jaslok Hospital was first meant to be an apartment building and then the owner said to him that it should convert it, and Anup Kothari was given the task. He converted it into a hospital with creativity and flair. So because it was first apartments, they could not build x-ray rooms as these kind of rooms have to have higher ceilings. So Anup Kothari used the 18th floor to add height and accommodate these special rooms. Also, hospitals need wide entrances and there was no entrance in the original building and that had to be created too.

When it comes to hospitals he creates spaces to which visitors are restricted. He also tackled the problem of patient attendants by creating an attendants' room, with pantry facilities which opens out onto the nurses' station.

And then he got the chance to do Escort hospital in Delhi. And that was a big opportunity, a Greenfield project, which he designed and the clients were, of course, the HP Nanda of Escorts and Dr Naresh Trehan. This gave him an experience because he was spending at least four hours a day, every day without fail at the Escorts hospital. And he created history with the most beautiful hospital.

That he became an architect and adores the design of Connaught Place is hardly surprising as he was born in Connaught Place where his architect father, NK Kothari had an office cum residence. He knew every inch of Connaught Place and was greatly impressed by the Robert Tor Russel designed Connaught Place, yet he tried to create his own niche.

As Anup Kothari was based in Delhi, it had given him ample opportunity to design over one dozen embassies. "I am very proud that I was responsible for the Ethiopian, South Korean and part of Bulgarian embassy, designed by me without any collaboration. An interesting thing happened when I was designing the South Korean embassy. The ambassador wanted me to make a South Korean pagoda in the campus. So he asked me, would you like to go to South Korea. Newsweek had covered a very famous architect, Professor Kim, who had won a competition from the queen of Iran. So I mentioned, if I have to go to South Korea, I have to meet this man. So the ambassador said, alright, we'll arrange it. And I had the opportunity to spend a week with him and see his work, meet his people. His office was quite international."

Famous people wanted their houses designed by him

Over the years he had designed houses for the billionaire Shiv Nadar in Friends Colony, Shweta Nanda's family house and many others in Golf Links and Sunder Nagar in Delhi. He always anticipated the needs of a family before they could even articulate them and accommodated those needs in his design. He used to say the feel of the house should be good. That's his whole philosophy; it's about the big Indian family, modern and separate but still together. And of course, being able to create beauty and space out of nothing, and that's what set him apart. "I believe that living spaces must reflect and interpret the personality of the people that occupy them,' he says. "One is creating not sculpture but a living space that has to revolve around his needs. A house is good not because of its interiors, which are props, but because of its architectural space.

A Modern school alumnus, Anup Kothari went to Sweden to study Architecture firmly believed that as an architect, one has to be open to criticism - and learn from it. Criticism is the only way one can grow. Architect must always open to learn from young architects too.

In Delhi, he was designing various multi-storey buildings like Hansalya - that was the first building in India where everything in a commercial building happened. That is your shopping centers, airline offices, commercial, banquet hall, and a hotel. This building at Barakhamba Road operated 24 hours a day, as compared to any buildings in Delhi. So it was a hit.

And designing PTI building on Parliament street had given him tremendous amount of joy and pride. Actually, his father NK Kothari had designed umpteen number of buildings in Parliament Street from 1950 to early 70s like RBI building to Bank of Baroda Building. He often used to say with smile on his face that Parliament Street should be rechristened as Kothari Street. He was not wrong.

(The author is a Delhi-based journalist who closely follows South Asia, business, Delhi and Indian Diaspora)