#OnTheCover Karl Wadia reflects on the concept of understated luxury and his commitment to creating meaningful spaces that connect people to nature

Architects wield the power to change the world around you. With his impressive repertoire, Architect Karl Wadia is transforming the built landscape around him—from the world’s third largest net zero energy building at Manipal
University in Jaipur to India’s tallest building at 300+ metres, the 135-acre re-imagined IIM Calcutta campus with a 2036 Zero Carbon Road Map, the National Maritime Museum in Gujarat’s Lothal, the Island City Centre Towers in Mumbai, several university campuses for BITS Pilani, the sensitive Dharavi Redevelopment, and many more.

His tryst with architecture began with a summer internship at Architect Hafeez Contractor’s studio when he was in school. “At the time, my only interest was in savouring the yummy biscuits dipped in milky coffee. However, I did pick up my love for line geometry and art of glass tracing. There were no computers back then, and so I suppose working with hands made me subconsciously develop the love for architecture. I’ve never considered an alternative profession, but never say never.”

Karl is now recognized as one of India’s most significant architects. Upon earning his Masters degree from Columbia University, New York, and gathering four years of precious work experience at KPF London, Karl returned to India to set up his design studio under his long term mentor, Padma Bhushan Shri Hafeez Contractor. He now heads a team of over 180 architects and designers. When asked about the responsibility of an architect, Karl says, “It’s simpler than people make it out to be. If you put yourself in the shoes of the user you are designing for and take care of four or five major elements that keep us alive and happy, it’s straightforward. We thrive on earth because of light, air and water. And I think that’s the basic principle. We ought to design buildings that bring people closer to nature as much as possible. Use materials that allow transparency from the inside and the outside. Create spaces that shelter you when it’s harsh outside. Create spaces that are not too heavy on natural resources. It might sound utopian or like jargon, but it is really that simple. It’s easy to create meaningful architecture if it’s kept simple.” Karl’s portfolio is diverse and extensive—high rises, mixed use developments, museums, institutions, public infrastructure projects. His unique approach to luxury, his commitment to sustainability, knowledge of materials, and penchant for technology and innovation sets him apart. Here’s a deep dive into the mind of the master architect:

Seema Sreedharan (SS): What does luxury mean to you?

Karl Wadia (KW): Luxury is personal. It has different connotations for different people. For me, it’s the freedom to be in your space, that may or may not conform to the traditional notion of luxury. When you talk about luxury, it should activate all your senses.

SS: How do you think the notion of luxury has evolved in the Indian context?

KW: We come from a rich cultural heritage where luxury was once abundant in India. Our country having faced various struggles, now presents luxury in two extremes: on one hand, there’s the ostentatious display focused on appearance and status which I do not subscribe to; whereas on the other, there’s a more understated, personal form of luxury. Today, luxury is becoming accessible to all, across a range of price points, which is a welcome shift.

SS: How do you balance the Indian consumer’s desire for cultural identity with the influx of global design?

KW: For a very long time, we were inspired by the West, especially when it came to luxury and materiality, but now you see this desire for Indian fabric, Indian materials, Indian cultural identity. This kind of luxury is so much more enjoyable, because it’s rooted in its context, it’s rooted in the climate that we live in, the colours come out much
better with the colour of the sun that we have in our country. So, I think the Indian consumer is enjoying his or her luxury because it feels more authentic and natural to them.

SS: Can luxury coexist with sustainability?

KW: Luxury and sustainability must coexist, there are no two ways about it. Human nature is to seek luxury, to want more comfort in an environment that need not necessarily offer it, and that’s why we must be more sustainably responsible for what we do. That’s why this notion of understated luxury is so very important, where in a sense
less is more; provided less is very high quality. For example, Volvo & BMW made a commitment to ensure that all the interiors in their cars are made from recyclable materials, and when touch it or feel it does feel very plush. Luxury in interiors & architecture will go in that same direction where the simple will become beautiful. It’s the simple materials of wood, steel, glass, leather and other such materials that will become beautiful and luxurious.

To be very honest, academia in India 25 years ago offered little in terms of education or emphasis on sustainability. We had to learn it from our traditional buildings. And the problems of the past are not the problems of today. In the past, you had rudimentary problems such as availability of materials and technology. Today, of course, our problems are so very different. While the building industry has a very large carbon footprint, it serves the needs of a growing India, and that carbon footprint is surely going to impact the cities of the future.

In that sense, we are obligated to think about sustainability. It started off as a buzzword, but I think some of us have taken it seriously. We, as a design studio, most certainly do. As and where we can, we like to design our buildings in a passively sustainable way. What I mean is don’t design buildings that need lots and lots of cooling and heating, and then try and figure out how to reduce energy consumption by having copious amounts of solar panels. It’s counter intuitive.

Rather design buildings frugally that use less material, less ground coverage, are passively oriented. Then once you’ve done your best to bring down the inherent energy and water demands, that’s when we can talk about solar, etc.

SS: Take us through a project of yours where the design navigates between scale, functionality, luxury and sustainability.

KW: Let me take you through the National Maritime Museum of India. The site selected for the museum is just a kilometre away from the old archaeological ruins of Lothal, where the oldest known dry dock in the world was discovered some 4,000 years ago. Lothal was also a strategic port town in the Harappan Civilization that traded with the Mediterranean. In that sense, this is perhaps one of the first known regions in the world where human beings became refugees due to climate change. It is with all this context and history that we set out to design India’s National Maritime Museum and Heritage Complex.

The site is literally in the middle of nowhere if you ask anyone where Lothal is. But the site is blessed in a way that every year in the monsoon season it becomes a catchment area for a large 64 sq km flood plain. So, to make this arid desert location into a water positive project, we are building these huge lakes to collect almost 33 crore litres of water every monsoon. This water will be enough to ensure the National Maritime Museum of India spread over 375 acres is a water positive project.

While we will have access to external water piped resources, we will rarely feel the need to use it. We are developing the site in a way that it is not just net zero water, but water positive, and the same extends to our requirement for energy.

SS: Collaborations, especially in the streams of architecture and design lead to some interesting results. Could you take us through some of your most interesting collaborations?

KW: Collaboration is at the heart of architecture, woven into the very fabric of our practice. Architects have long delivered projects by uniting the arts, sciences, engineering, and design disciplines, creating integrated, cohesive works. A recent example is our work on the Maritime Museum of India. As lead designers, we’ve collaborated closely with exhibition designers, planners, archaeologists, curators, tourism specialists, and such experts from various fields to bring this project to life. On the global stage, our ongoing partnerships with Foster + Partners and OMA have been particularly rewarding. These collaborations are enriched by clients who treat all partners equally, fostering a deeper, more meaningful creative process.

Also Read: 23DC Architects blends innovative design with cultural heritage, transforming everything from private residences to public spaces into sustainable works of art that stand the test of time