“Architecture Is Art With Engineering”

From path breaking projects to pioneering benchmarks, architect Reza Kabul has changed the way we look at design

- Aditi Pai

As a child, he aspired to be a pilot only to fly all over the world. But life had other plans. After his degree in architecture from MSU Baroda and a three-year stint with Hafeez Contractor, Reza Kabul started his practice from his father’s Irani café in Worli. “The big advantage was that the premises had a telephone line,” he says. A telephone connection was a big luxury in Mumbai in the 80s for anyone wanting to do business. Three decades later, as a leading architect in the country, Reza Kabul zips across continents building hotels, resorts and homes in cities from California to Mauritius. His 7,000 sq ft plush office in Bandra has photographs of all major projects he has done in the past 31 years, but a place of pride goes to Shreepati Arcade, the first ever residential tower project in India, the Marine Plaza hotel and the Radisson Hotel in Mauritius—projects that remain most special to him.

What was your first big break?