[Hafeez Contractor with his team (Photo: Hafeez Contractor Facebook page)]
New Delhi: Four Architects of the country, including Hafeez Contractor, have offered to design free of cost stations across India, including several in Mumbai, as part of a redevelopment project being rolled out by the Indian Railways.
"The very reason that we (he and his firm) are doing it for free is to show them (the government) what can be done," Hafeez Contractor, the Padma Bhushan awardee known for his eclectic style and iconic buildings, said. Contractor recently had discussions with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, told PTI that the pro-bono offer was his way of "helping my country".
"Normally, what happens is that all government jobs are given to those who quote the lowest tenders, who then do a lousy job. That way both the government and the country suffer. This is my way of helping the country and to tell them what standards have to be met", Contractor said adding that the country suffers when a "lousy job" is done.
Sanjeev Kumar Lohia, Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC), the nodal agency for redeveloping 600 railway stations, said Contractor was among four who had offered to design railway stations free of cost.
"We had an open invitation for professionals to work pro-bono for developing concepts and master plans for redevelopment of stations. Hafeez Contractor has shown interest in 19 stations," Lohia said. He also said that the corporation had received such offers from another noted architect and two firms. "However, we have not finalised any of the designs yet. It is at a preliminary stage," he said.
Among the stations Contractor has offered to redesign are Dadar, Parel, Wadala, Bandra and Khar in Mumbai. Others who have offered to do pro-bono work is architect-activist, P K Das, one of the foremost voices on preservation of open spaces in Mumbai. Two other architecture firms have also shown an interest.
Lohia said the IRSDC has also started the process of empanelling architects who are experienced designers for the transport sector - metro, airports, bus terminals etc -- and have an expert on the railways working with him. "We need architects as we have to redevelop as many as 600 stations. Designing for railways is different from any other modes of transport. One design error could cost lives. As of now, we have empanelled 11 architects/agencies," Lohia said.
Railway minister Goyal is also slated to hold an architects' meet soon to discuss ways to take the project further. After redevelopment of stations, the railways plans to remain in the business of only running trains, leaving the management of stations to private players. Under the current station redevelopment plan, the railways allocates operation and maintenance of stations to the developers, including of toilets on platforms, vendors, food stalls, parking and waiting rooms, news agency PTI reported.
Hafeez Contractor was born in Mumbai in a Parsi family. He earned his graduate diploma in architecture from the Academy of Architecture at the University of Mumbai in 1975 and won a scholarship to Columbia University, where he completed a master's degree. Some of the buildings designed by Hafeez Contractor include The Imperial in Mumbai, whose twin towers were the two tallest residential buildings in India between 2010 and 2017, and The 42 in Kolkata, which is expected to earn that distinction upon completion in 2018.
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