NURU KARIM: DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE

The award-winning architect’s portfolio is at the intersection of art, architecture and technology. For Nuru Karim, architecture is an ongoing experiment, one that is meant to find solutions for designing for a better life.

- SEEMA SREEDHARAN

“I wish I had engineered the termite mound,” says Nuru Karim, architect and founder, NUDES. According to him, the termite mounds are one of the greatest bio-engineering marvels. “These tiny social insects follow a genetic process and work in unison to create these monumental structures.” Architecture happened to him early, at the age of 13. “The draw was hypnotic. I had made my decision.” His first encounter with the design was a botanical experiment in school where they were asked to add a few pulse seeds to a wet cotton ball and watch the seeds germinate over a few weeks. “The transformation was incredible, and I still remember this experiment exceptionally vividly.”

Perhaps the process of creation fascinated him and that instilled in him the urge to create, experiment, and find solutions.