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Work in India???

weAREtheSTONES

My girlfriend was born an raised in Bombay, India and we met in Architecture school in the US 3 years ago. When we both graduate she wants to move back home but i am wondering if there will be enough architecture to be built? Living in India sounds very exciting but I need to make career decicions. What type of architecture is being built there now? Hows the pay? Living conditions? American acceptance? Is business boming?
thanx in advance-----------stones

 
Feb 16, 05 12:30 am
TickerTocker

dude,

i'm working in bombay. there's more than enough architecture waiting to be built. a lot of the stuff coming up in bombay right now is developer-built housing. however, there is a lot of diversity to be found as well, if you know where to look. there are a few, young firms around really trying to push the envelope. don't expect miracles, but once you're here, you'll probably appreciate the difficulties these guys go through to build a little bit more. construction is still labour-intensive, since the labour's so cheap and plentiful.

the pay is shitty. really, genuinely shitty. especially if you convert it into dollar terms. you'll probably just about enough to get by, but of course, that also depends on your lifestyle, level of education etc. of course, an american in bombay would probably command a premium in the salary market. and if you have a masters, then i don't think you should have too much trouble with salary. again, don't mentally convert to dollars. you'll be disappointed. but the costs of living here are much lower than in the states. so it evens out, i guess.

yes, business is booming.

anyway, if you need to know more, or have any specific questions, mail me.

Feb 16, 05 5:19 am  · 
 · 
vado retro

ahhh i thought it was called mumbai now?

Feb 16, 05 5:22 am  · 
 · 
MADianito

yeah it changes name every some time....as also other cities in asia since the name describes the city, so the name changes to describe it when it changes

Feb 16, 05 11:36 am  · 
 · 
TickerTocker

it's been mumbai for more or less 10 years now. it was ALWAYS bombay before that. it was a political move, to keep a very large vote bank happy...

can't really say its changed anything on the ground. everybody still calls it bombay...

Feb 16, 05 12:08 pm  · 
 · 
MADianito

CHARLES CORREA in INDIA is the only decent option i know to work in india.....a friend of mine wanted to work w/him....instead he's now working w/Hollein

Feb 16, 05 12:17 pm  · 
 · 
TickerTocker

well, charles correa doesn't do all that much these days. he operates more as the reclusive godfather and chief spokesperson for the profession now. he and b.v. doshi. though i've heard correa's designing the neuroscience building in MIT. of course, my info could be wrong...

i think it really depends on the sort of work you're looking to do here. there's a lot of big-firm developer driven stuff around, a lot of stiff-upper lipped corporate firms, a lot of smaller firms working with natural, indigenous materials, some firms more interested in social research than architecture, some really avant-garde types as well. there really are all kinds.

unfortunately, few firms have any sort of web presence. so i can't really point you anywhere...

Feb 16, 05 12:26 pm  · 
 · 
TickerTocker

but the way i see it, architecture in india (especially bombay) is really going to boom over the next decade. the way people are salivating over china now, i think that wave is going to crash here too...

Feb 16, 05 12:27 pm  · 
 · 
MADianito

well is not a secret... many articles talking about those chinese an indian boom... n seems china is right now winning the race cause they have easier policies for companies to settle there...but everyone says india is going to catch up soon....

its a crazy (capitalist) world where we live in....

Feb 16, 05 12:30 pm  · 
 · 
TickerTocker

i agree, MAD.

the thing is, i think it's easier to implement anything in china, especially government policy, given the sort of authoritarian and top-down leadership they have. and they're really far down the "red capitalist" route, aren't they?

india's very messy (and gregarious and vibrant) flavour of democracy is hardly conducive to quick, efficient functioning. the country just isn't programmed that way. but the changes are happening. it's slow, yes, but it's visible. we're bound to catch up to china sooner or later, in terms of development at least.

unfortunately, we're still lagging behind china (and most other places as well) in terms of directing and conditioning our development. we don't really have a strong stance on where we want to be headed. for bombay, the "london model", "hong kong model" and the "shangai model" are tossed around the newspapers every couple of weeks. hopefully, that'll change soon.

Feb 16, 05 1:28 pm  · 
 · 
sameolddoctor

hey stones,

i think it would be definately worthwhile for you to go work in India for a while - and then see if its viable to settle there. There is lots of work going on now, but more work in New Delhi than in Mumbai. A friend just back from India told me that most firms are getting so much work that they have to refuse taking additional projects to maintain some level of sanity. But of course Delhi is much more commercially inclined.

Thinking aloud - you can take the route of going to some huge arch. company here in the US, (like Gensler, RTKL etc) some of who want to have offices in India - and asking them about the prospects of helping them set up shop there. though difficult, i know most offices are salivating over the huge possibilities that can be had in India.

One more thing is that a masters degree from the US will open many doors for you in the academic world. Most institutes in India could really use some decent exposure from people educated abroad - and the pay will be much better than working as an intern. Maybe a combination of teaching and working...

But again, DO NOT convert to dollars - it will make you sad and depressed

my .02 cents

Feb 16, 05 2:26 pm  · 
 · 
weAREtheSTONES

thanks everyone for your input. whats funny is my g/f - father is a developer in bombay- Though i will only be getting my 5 year degree next may, i planned to goto TUDelft to get an urban design degree(msc) directly after that. (2 more yrs)

Feb 17, 05 12:25 pm  · 
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weAREtheSTONES

tickertocker where are you from----india---us.....etc?????

Feb 17, 05 12:27 pm  · 
 · 
TickerTocker

i'm from bombay. just out of school, been working for about 4 months now.

doctor's right, in a way, when he says that there's more work in delhi than bombay. there's a lot more space there, and lot more people throwing money at it.

bombay is more interior-design oriented, since there's just no place to build anymore! however, there's a lot of work happening in the suburbs and on the outskirts of the city. and i mean A LOT of work. but that's largely because there's a real estate boom on now. for the rest of the time, bombay firms keep themselves occupied by working elsewhere in the country, especially down south, towards bangalore and hyderabad.

maybe you should take some time out after getting your degree to come here and check out the scene for yourself. it might give you a different perspective on things, especially since you're going to be doing a masters in urban design. and more so since "asian urbanism" is so hot right now. just a suggestion...

Feb 17, 05 1:03 pm  · 
 · 
naya

boss,when u all are talking about delhi and bombay(mumbai) u just cannot forget kolkata. it is one place hese days which is developing in all the aspects, be it infrastructure, architecture, urban development, etc. yes but there too the ratio of commercial projects is much bigger than genuinely good architecture, but at the same time money is not at all the problem

Feb 20, 05 5:45 am  · 
 · 
Suture

weAREtheSTONES,

Where are your stones? Your ball and chain tells you to jump and you ask how high? She tells you she is moving and you follow? Does she care about what YOU think? Would you have thought of moving to India on your own?

There are plenty of Indian ladies here in the US. I even hear that Aishwaria Rai is coming over to this side. Maybe its time to get the latest model.

Feb 20, 05 11:53 am  · 
 · 
sameolddoctor

suture,

to each his/her own

Feb 20, 05 1:16 pm  · 
 · 
GT+...:(

I hope you and your girlfriend go back to India. No Offense. But if any more goddamn foreigners come and take our jobs I'm gonna kill somebody. I mean it pisses my ass off. So please get the out of here. You got your degree. You took your spot in college that could have gone to an American student. Take your degree, shove it up your asses, and leave.

Feb 20, 05 2:24 pm  · 
 · 
Tim DeCoster

No offence GT+, but perhaps this type of egocentric and defensive attitude is at the very root of the problem you describe. I'm not picking on you specifically, there are many in this profession who hold similar opinions. I do, however, think that your personal attack on weAREthe STONES was highly out of line.

The profession of architecture has always been rooted in culture; the co-mingling of the best ideas from every society are melded together into the best possible solution.

I just can't see these two opinions jiving. There is no reason for an American architect to feel threatened unless they draw a line in the sand and refuse to play nice with others. Of course, perhaps this is a problem more rooted within our own culture than anything else.

sorry for the rant, but it had to be said.

Feb 20, 05 4:28 pm  · 
 · 
Helsinki

whew. It seems that of some odd reason I've run into a number of racist posts on archinect, that don't even try to be "funny"... what's going on, has the educational level/age/IQ suddenly dropped?

Feb 20, 05 5:09 pm  · 
 · 
abracadabra

to whomever,
i'll go anywhere in the world for a project i am hired to do.
stop me if you can, but i doubt it..

Feb 20, 05 5:13 pm  · 
 · 
GT+...:(

ok ok. Fine. It's just it's always foreign people coming a being students here or taking jobs here. You see few American architects work oversees, unless it's for an American based firm, or an American student taking part in an overseas program from there own American school. So I'm sorry, maybe it is for the better but that doesn't mean I don't have to stop bitching. Do any of you actually undertsand my point or do you know what's happening and refuse to point it out. Nothing personal.. . .ok well I guess it is but still.

Feb 20, 05 5:34 pm  · 
 · 
TickerTocker

GT+, my friend. fuck you too.

Feb 21, 05 4:05 am  · 
 · 
GT+...:(

no. .. .. . .fuck you pal

Feb 21, 05 8:09 am  · 
 · 
MADianito

GT+ if u had a firm...n u have to pay ppl, what u preffer??? pay an ignorant redneck wich spend all its college drinking beer, and maybe still is having that as its only amussement in life since he discover alcohol until he was 21??? or u just give the job to someone who can do the job no matter where is she/he from??? go back to ur farm in Kansas dude, n keep living/thinking like 50 years ago (an as a redneck cowboy that u are)....

besides that, hope u have a nice day....

Feb 21, 05 10:58 am  · 
 · 
e

if you are a talented designer, you have nothing to fear.

Feb 21, 05 11:11 am  · 
 · 
MADianito

e...talented in general (u can do plenty of stuff in an arch office besides design) i think the only talent GT have is on shaving his and his friends head and shooting a shutgun in his farm

;-)

Feb 21, 05 11:23 am  · 
 · 
e

mariano, true indeed regarding talent. thx for correcting. just speaking from my own perspective. watch it with the redneck stuff. i come from the backwoods of southern maryland. ;]

Feb 21, 05 11:27 am  · 
 · 
MADianito

just try to catch some shadow so we can differenciate ones from the others "e".....

r u cousin of captain E-O ??? (damn what a bad joke, sorry too much hours at studio)

Feb 21, 05 1:19 pm  · 
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sameolddoctor

hey GT+ asshole, im sorry if some immigrant took your job, but i think you well deserve it.

And e, I think mariano has a point here, very slightly true though. This is just MY observation where I work, so generalizing would be wrong, but i have observed that, recently with the terrible luck we've had hiring people, mariano is not totally wrong.

Feb 21, 05 1:50 pm  · 
 · 
e

sameold, i don't think i am disagreeing with mariano. what did you think i was disagreeing with him about?

Feb 21, 05 2:12 pm  · 
 · 
agitty

Wow, a totallyl interest thread hijacked by a bigot. What a drag.

Feb 21, 05 4:48 pm  · 
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sameolddoctor

again GT+ when you say so few american architects are working abroad, you might want to take your face up to the toilet seat and do a nice big flush on your head. For the record, when i was hunting around for a job, all (and I mean all, from the 80 people to the 2 people) firms had chinese projects. What do you say to that???

yes i think you should get out of your barnyard once in a while and look around.

and sorry, e, just forget 'and e' in my last post !!! i read your post and wrote mine....so....

Feb 21, 05 6:44 pm  · 
 · 
weAREtheSTONES

Quoting GT+--------------I hope you and your girlfriend go back to India. No Offense. But if any more goddamn foreigners come and take our jobs I'm gonna kill somebody. I mean it pisses my ass off. So please get the out of here. You got your degree. You took your spot in college that could have gone to an American student. Take your degree, shove it up your asses, and leave.

where else in the world can you get a four or 5 year degree and it doesnt count as a masters-the freaking US. having said that most people who get this degree are not of the avon-gard (probobly miss-spelt) so they are content being lazy and working as a cad monkey in some cheese ass firm. and when is the last time you have heard of a cad monkey really making it? go ahead make a list! Mabee you should expand your horizon a little farther than the us --as far as looking for work- mabee you dont notice amreicans working abroad b/c you simply dont look.

Feb 21, 05 7:06 pm  · 
 · 
newstreamlinedmodel

Hay!

Let’s stop beating up on GT+ so I can go back and beat up on Suture. Not really, because he’s entitled to his opinion, but I’d say just the opposite.

Totally go dude and not really even for romantic reasons. If you’re into staying with your girlfriend what better wan to be able to live somewhere else and get an entrée in to the culture. I’d not know anything about it really but everything I’ve heard about Bombay makes it sound cool (Like apparently, even the super villains over there will like totally drop everything all of a sudden and bust out in a crazy dance routine).

Careers are funny, the more you abuse them the tougher they get. Oversees work experience seems to look good on the resume and having a foot in too places can be a good place to be anyway but, even without that, I think there is a lot to be said for doing the less obvious thing.

Feb 22, 05 12:13 am  · 
 · 
MADianito

mmhhh anyway i got lost on this "discussion" but i will add a couple of random fsacts that i dunno why i should post here...

i know an american guy, architect, who works here at Barcelona @ Cloud 9 (enric ruiz-geli)mmmhhh... and he doesn't even have a degree, he had just done some semesters here some at sci-arc etc., there's actually i think plenty of american archs working at Barcelona...

second thing.... u know the percentage of americans that have a passport and travel outside the us???, that would give us a 'general view' of the narrow vision mentality OF SOME PEOPLE...

bests...

Feb 22, 05 9:14 am  · 
 · 
GT+...:(

Quote by Mariano:
"GT+ if u had a firm...n u have to pay ppl, what u preffer??? pay an ignorant redneck wich spend all its college drinking beer, and maybe still is having that as its only amussement in life since he discover alcohol until he was 21??? or u just give the job to someone who can do the job no matter where is she/he from??? go back to ur farm in Kansas dude, n keep living/thinking like 50 years ago (an as a redneck cowboy that u are)...."

Mariano. Your earlier comment basically points out you think any American working in a firm is a redneck. I see, only rednecks can be pissed about all the jobs were losing overseas right? Let me tell you something, and it's nothing personal I'm sure your a nice guy. I would love to beat your frickin face in. I am originally from and grew up in one of the largest cities in the most developed wealthy country in the world, the U.S. You, judging by your name, might not originally be from this country. You will never get it. You will never understand it and I guess I don't expect you too. But I don't think you should blame me for feeling this way. I'm sorry I was rude in my comments to weAREtheSTONES. I was a little ticked at the time. But don't sit here as a foreigner(if you are one) and tell me this is not an issue. . . . .ass.

Feb 22, 05 12:03 pm  · 
 · 
newstreamlinedmodel

I don’t know what your problem is then. Maybe all the polluted urban drinking water has given you brain damage.

I think if you look at the amount of work American architects are doing overseas compared to the amount of architecture work that is “going overseas” (which I’m not sore what you mean by. You don’t like them coming here? Or us going there? Or them doing work here from over there? Or them coming here and hiring us to work for them?) You’d see that this is one sector where we’re doing pretty well. Culture’s our big export right?

Anyway if this thread proves anything its that the notions of “us” and “them” get pretty vague and that the idea that work exists in some physical place and somehow belongs to one group of local red-necks or another before it even becomes work doesn’t hold water when you understand how globalized things are.

Obviouly the ability corporations now have to outsource menial grunt work allows them yet another avenue to dick over their workers and workers in other countries but to blame immigrants or foreigners or Indian girls who go to architecture school here or whoever your blaming here is totally beside the point.

The reason to be a professional in this country is to have skills that can’t be outsourced.

Feb 22, 05 1:08 pm  · 
 · 
a-f

Hey GT+, why do you only comment on the posts by someone who is obviously not living in the States? If Mariano's comments aren't valid ("You will never get it. You will never understand it" bla bla bla), why are you not responding to your fellow Americans' critique? And why do you think globalization is only an American phenomenon?

Feb 22, 05 1:14 pm  · 
 · 
e

gt, i'm a redneck and an american and i'm not pissed off. btw, nice comment about beating his face in. wtf?

Feb 22, 05 1:14 pm  · 
 · 
g-love

gt (and i swear i hope that your name has nothing to do with georgia tech otherwise i'm going to be a little worked up for hijacking the name of 'my' university).

you make no sense at all. and it's not a question of 'getting it'. you, obviously, don't 'get' economics 101. there isn't some fixed number of jobs here that need to be doled out to an equal number of americans. nor is it the same overseas. trying to say 'they' are stealing 'our' jobs is asinine. i'm an employer and i could give two whits of a rats ass where the person came from. in fact, diversity of experiences is a pretty damn good thing to have in the office.

you want to be pissed off over something? go boycott walmart. that's right, the homegrown 'all-american' company is almost singlehandedly supporting the chinese economy, depressing (not just holding steady) actual wage growth here amongst the lower middle class, and is forcing most of these american companies to head overseas looking for ever cheaper labor just to survive. that and they have the brass balls to fly the flag and drench themselves in patriotism. where does a 'foreigner' coming to study here and staying have factor in this equation??? oh right, we can screw ourselves silly when we want to.

it's more frightening to me that you graduated from an american university and can still be so clueless....

Feb 22, 05 1:26 pm  · 
 · 
GT+...:(

g-love,
I bet you are a frickin left-wing tree-hugging vegetarian. You goddamn hippi. Anyway, fine, I don't care anymore. I have a great job. I make a decent living. so who cares I guess. The foreign people that are taking jobs over here are nice people. Often they have families they are supporting. Besides, somebody's got to flip my burgers. Sorry for changing the subject of the original email.

Feb 22, 05 4:51 pm  · 
 · 
g-love

gt -

tree hugging - yes.
vegetarian - when there are so many great tasting animals in this world? no.
hippie - never had anyone make that assertion.

so, is name calling your only reply? or just calling people out?

Feb 22, 05 5:10 pm  · 
 · 
e

g-love, seems gt is a georgia tech'er.

Feb 22, 05 5:13 pm  · 
 · 
g-love

yeah i caught that from above....

Feb 22, 05 5:15 pm  · 
 · 
Tim DeCoster

I hang my head in shame that this conversation is occurring on a board made to discuss architecture. Maybe THIS is why our profession is struggling a bit.

When traveling in Europe I have also felt shame just in being from the US. I hate this feeling; I don't even want to be associated with this type of bigotry or ego-centrism.

Another point to consider. Who is the foreigner in the US? Well, all of us are. I have recently read a somewhat convincing article stating that even Native Americans are indeed not native, but invaders themselves. Please think before you throw down other cultures. The benefits of diversity far outweigh any imagined negative aspects. The only people who have anything to fear are the bigots themselves.

Feb 22, 05 6:38 pm  · 
 · 
MADianito

mmhhh i have nothing against the states, not from there, know them very well, etc....(but not planning to live in the states, guess what there's plenty of [i]"largest cities in developed wealthy countries in the world"[i]) and i didnt said all americans in an arch firm r rednecks, im just saying GT that u r one (more straight than that i can't tell u, but seems ur kind of slow to catch it) i actually have very good friends there american born and raised....blah anyway this is boring...have a nice life GT im tired of u....

Feb 22, 05 6:45 pm  · 
 · 
sameolddoctor

"Besides, somebody's got to flip my burgers"

hey GT+....venture out to the nearest Mikky D's and see whos flipping the burgers

moreover...lets put an end to this discussion

Feb 22, 05 7:05 pm  · 
 · 
MADianito

just to finish:

quoting someone in this discussion:
"...You, judging by your name, might not originally be from this country. You will never get it. You will never understand it..."

quoting www.whitehouse.gov:[/b]

Department of Commerce
Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
www.doc.gov

Department of Justice
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
www.usdoj.gov

Department of Labor
Secretary Elaine Chao
www.dol.gov

Department of Transportation
Secretary Norman Mineta
www.dot.gov

Department of Housing &
Urban Development
Secretary Alphonso Jackson
www.hud.gov

- The President nominated Alex Azar, III to be General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services
- The President nominated Theresa Alvillar-Speake to be the Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact in the Department of Energy.
- The President nominated Roger Francisco Noriega to be the Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the Organization of America States, with the rank of Ambassador.
- The President nominated Kirk Van Tine to be General Counsel of the Department of Transportation
- The President nominated Gaddi H. Vasquez to be Director of the Peace Corps.

so GT "...judging by your name..." n comments i think ur a rascist redneck who "will never get it" and the worst part is that [i]"...You will never understand it..."[/b], but since i dont judge ppl that i dont know just by their name, i will just wish u a happy hunt with ur friends at kkk, and hope never see ur lame comments round here again...

Feb 22, 05 7:18 pm  · 
 · 
MADianito

oops sorry for that..... bold letters

Feb 22, 05 7:21 pm  · 
 · 

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