Kamal & Arjun Malik - A Partnership Of Generations

The father-son architect duo follows a natureinclusive outlook that augments a seamlessness in their designs, and their working relationship

- Tina Thakrar

Architect and spearhead of Mumbai-based Malik Architecture, Kamal Malik settles down for our interview, telling us about the last 23 days he spent with the locals in Italy, travelling from the southernmost tip up to the Alps. He’s had only two work-related phone calls during these few weeks, relying wholly on his son, Arjun, to handle work back home. The two share a similar philosophy of design, which stems from an honest respect for nature, its processes and its beauty. This pervasive influence on their lives has been a unified philosophy for both, albeit to different degrees. Set up almost 40 years ago, Malik Architecture is a multidisciplinary practice that approaches architecture in the subcontinent as a synthesis of ecology and spirit — ecology, through a more integrated approach to design, and spirit, through balance and tranquility. Led by veteran Kamal Malik, the firm has handled projects that go beyond residential and commercial spaces to include R&D centres, healthcare institutes, public spaces and even master planning projects.

THE CONTEXT

Kamal Malik comes from an army family that moved around a lot, and having spent a lot of time in the Himalayas, his upbringing involved a close relationship with the environment. The mountains grew to be a major influence on his process of thought, and consequently, his designs.