Munishwar Nath Ashish Ganju is a thought leader in Indian architectural philosophy...Based in New Delhi, Ganju cares about the fact that over a quarter of Delhi’s population lives outside the law in unauthorised colonies. He lives and works on the urban fringe, to demonstrate by example the principle of urban renewal by citizens. — Forbes

Born in 1930 in the southern Indian city of Secunderabad, Mr. Correa studied at St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai and then went on to attend theUniversity of Michigan and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. to study architecture.

“To work in India is the great advantage of life in the Third World. The issues are so much bigger than you are; they give you a chance to grow,” Mr. Correa wrote in his book ‘Housing and Urbanization.’ — blogs.wsj.com

The father of modern architecture Le Corbusier and the most influential architects of the 20th century Louis Kahn will not find place in the latest heritage conservation list of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

Ahmedabad happens to be the only place in the world where Le Corbusier had designed four different buildings. Louis Kahn's IIM-A building too does not figure in the list of heritage buildings. — Times of India

The slum, of course, is the hottest button in urbanism. Beneath the cliché that half the world’s population lives in cities — and that urban populations will double by 2050 — is the fact that only bottom-up informal settlements, or slums, can absorb several billion new residents in the timeframe. [...]

URBZ is notable in that it offers a third way at looking at Dharavi — as both a failure and a better path to success than stillborn smart cities or other attempts at top-down instant urbanism. — nextcity.org

Recently, the Indian cabinet green-lit a £10 billion scheme that will be divided equally between building 100 smart cities, and rejuvenating another 500 cities and towns over the next five years. Yet many experts and planners fear that such “insta-cities”, if they are made, will prove dystopic and inequitable. Some even hint that smart cities may turn into social apartheid cities, governed by powerful corporate entities that could override local laws and governments to “keep out” the poor. — The Guardian

Most buildings in the country today use the minimum structural safety standards that the government has prescribed, say building safety experts and structural engineers.

"Our codes offer the lowest level of earthquake safety protection. We are designing for one-fifth the intensity that might hit a particular earthquake zone," says Sangeeta Waj, technical director at global design firm AECOM.

Experts however point out that there is no separate code in India for high rise buildings. — The Economic Times

Residents of the world’s most polluted city—New Delhi, in case you were still wondering—can now find out exactly how toxic the air in their neighbourhood is. [...]

“People are clueless about the air they are breathing. If there is fog, they think it might be pollution,” he said. “People will have this information on their fingertips now.” [...]

While the government figures out a way to bring pollution under control, this app could help people buy time. — qz.com

Out of a super-star list of competitors, a team led by Steven Holl Architects won the competition to design the North Wing -- or the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum -- of the Mumbai City Museum in India. The museum is one of India's leading cultural institutions and is undergoing a renewal process to establish itself as a cultural destination. The new 275 crore (approx $44.3 million) building will include new galleries and facilities. — bustler.net

Old Indian cities like Varanasi, Amritsar, Kolkata and even Delhi, could be in for a facelift over the next few years with the Narendra Modi government planning to develop modern satellite towns around these cities under the 100 Smart City programme, while upgrading the decaying infrastructure of the old towns. [...]

All new cities will have integrated transport — modern bus systems, trams, metro rail and bicycle tracks — aided by satellite mapping, garbage disposal and solid waste management. — articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

From this unlikely office, Contractor is helping to create the face of 21st-century India — a nation of flourishing wealth and entrenched poverty that looks, according to the economists Amartya Sen and Jean Drèze, “more and more like islands of California in a sea of sub-Saharan Africa.” [...]

Inside the high-rises, several million dollars buys not only granite countertops and Arabian Sea views but also electricity that never goes out and water that always runs. — nytimes.com

Election day means Gujarat is closed for business—except in Gift City.

Officially known as Gujarat Information Finance Tech City (hence, Gift), construction equipment is everywhere and dust is in the air. [...]

This is the type of development that Narendra Modi supporters hope will be a microcosm for the rest of India should he become prime minister. [...] Here’s a (very stylized) artist rendition of what the area will look look, according to the government brochure. — qz.com

[...] architectural historian William J R Curtis has set off the alarm bells by warning about the looming threat of destruction on Chandigarh's architectural heritage, terming the damage to buildings as "vulgarization" and "massacre."

According to Curtis, there is a clear and present danger to the legacy of city creator Le Corbusier and that the restoration measures are needed to be taken now. — timesofindia.indiatimes.com