Alfaz Miller

A doyen of contemporary Indian architecture, Alfaz Miller speaks to us about what bothers him about our built-environment and the changes he foresees as the younger generation takes on the mantle.

- Mridula Sharma

An alumnus of Bombay University, Alfaz Miller entered the stream of Indian architecture in 1972. In his 40 odd years of professional experience, ranging from smaller projects of residences to corporate, institutional and large projects, such as airports; he has been a part of the many changes that Indian built-up environments have been through. It also gives him the spot in contemporary history to review how things have changed and are looking like, especially when today’s cityscapes are super-imposed against other international cities. We spoke to him about his concerns and the forthcoming changes he sees as the younger generation takes over.

Having seen the transition in the Indian built-up environment, what does the next quarter century look like, to you?

After seeing the transition and failures of the Indian built environment, the next quarter century looks gloomy and chaotic. The appalling conditions of our built environment stems from the total lack of urban planning in India. The growing and ‘urbanely mobile’ population, and lack of infrastructure, often leads to compromises in basic planning principles, density of development, and most importantly, the severe lack of open public spaces. Certain areas should be pedestrianised. There is no urban planning in place. The total lack of a ‘design guidelines’ appropriate to our climate, results in a visual chaos. Also, the deteriorating quality of construction management leads to poor quality of buildings and infrastructure.