Samira Rathod Explained

Samira Rathod
Nationality:	Indian
Alma Mater:	Sir J. J. College of Architecture University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Partner:	Kirti Rathod
Practice:	Don Wald and Associates Ratan J. Batliboi Samira Rathod Design Associates

Samira Rathod (born Samira Mehta in 1963^[1]) is an Indian architect, furniture designer, writer, and teacher based in Mumbai. She is a Principal of Samira Rathod Design Associates.

Biography

Samira Rathod attended the Sir J. J. College of Architecture in Mumbai^[1] and graduated in 1986. Thereafter, she received a Master in Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1988.^{[1] [2]}

Samira Rathod worked for the California firm of Don Wald and Associates on various projects including some for Clint Eastwood. Returning to India, she worked for Ratan Batliboi^{[1] [2]} and then eventually started her own partnership firm in 1995 called RLC.^[1] Her 1996 solo furniture exhibition called 'Liasons de Formes'^[1] led to a much broader public recognition in India.

In 2000 she started a solo practice called Samira Rathod Design Associates.^[3]

In 2008, she founded SPADE, a critical architectural publication with a focus on Indian architecture.^[4]

Rathod is an adjunct faculty member at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA) in Mumbai.

Work

Samira Rathod worked on residential architecture, offices, schools and factories.^[2]

• 2010: The Broacha House, Alibag.^[5]
• 2012: The Camera House^[6]
• 2016: The Acid test (Apartment design), Mumbai^[7]
• 2017: The Shadow House, Mumbai, India^{[8] [9]}
• The Bangalore House
• The Mariwalla House^[1]
• The Hariharan House
• The Karjat House (designed for Morarka Gannon with a kitchen, dining hall, a living room, bedrooms and 6 bathrooms)^[10]
• Mumbai office of retailer Hometown^[11]
• 2019 : School of Dancing Arches (with asymmetrical arches^[12]), Bhadran, India^[13]
• 2022: Dismantling Building: A Kit of Parts^[14] at Chemould Prescott Road

The style of Samira Rathod is characterized by playful shapes and eclectic designs. She works with a cohesive approach of interior/exterior, which explains some of her architectural choices.^[15]

Exhibitions in which she has participated include a contemporary architecture exhibition at the Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur (February–April 2018), where she exhibited 'A Wall as a Room',^{[16] [17]} and a travelling exhibition, 'The Death of Architecture Circa 2000' (2018), featuring 13 leading Indian architects, in which Rathod's piece 'In the Presence of Absence' explores an almost abandoned town near Vadodara.^{[18] [19]}

Publications

• Samira Rathod, Museum of Trees (2018): a documentation of the 3000 trees of the Byculla Zoo in Mumbai.^[20]

Awards

• 2015: Honorable mention for the arcVision Prize - Women and Architecture by the Italcementi Group.^{[2] [3] [21]}
• The Habitat Award for Single Residence Winner's Trophy for The Karjat House^[22]

External links

• Samira Rathod on practice of interior design, Thinkmatter.in, 8 March 2019

Notes and References

1. Book: Desai . Madhavi . Women Architects and Modernism in India: Narratives and contemporary practices . 2016 . Routledge . 9781315454634 . https://books.google.com/books?id=DcRCDQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Samira+Rathod%22&pg=PT454 . 11 December 2018 . 26: Samira Rathod (1963-).
2. News: Rao . Bindu Gopal . Building dreams, scaling heights . 11 December 2018 . The Deccan Herald . 10 April 2015.
3. News: Agazzi . Davide . Il coraggio di osare L'arcVision alla giovane svizzera Angela Deuber . 11 December 2018 . BergamoNews . 6 March 2015.
4. News: Pandey . Tejal . Let's talk about design . 11 December 2018 . The Hindu . 10 May 2017.
5. https://archello.com/project/the-broacha-residence The broacha residence
6. http://www.home-review.com/2012/02/the-camera-house/ The Camera House
7. http://www.home-review.com/2016/11/the-acid-test/ The Acid Test
8. https://www.archdaily.com/871479/the-shadow-house-samira-rathod-design-associates The Shadow House / Samira Rathod Design Associates
9. Web site: Gregory. Rob. Broacha House by Samira Rathod Design Associates, Alibaug, Maharashtra, India. The Architectural Review. 15 October 2015. 23 August 2010.
10. Book: Ngo . Dung . World House Now: Contemporary Architectural Directions . 2003 . Universe . 9780789308856 . 11 December 2018.
11. Jayakar . Devyani . Hometown's Mumbai office is a wooded wonderland for its employees . Architectural Digest . 13 July 2018 . 11 December 2018.
12. Niveditaa Gupta, Samira Rathod Design Atelier, school in Bhadran (India), Arquitecturaviva.com, 4 September 2019
13. https://www.archdaily.com/923446/school-of-dancing-arches-samira-rathod-design-associates School of Dancing Arches / Samira Rathod Design Associates
14. News: Bhuyan . Avantika . 14 July 2022 . "Step into the imaginarium of architect Samira Rathod" . Mint Lounge |url=https://lifestyle.livemint.com/how-to-lounge/art-culture/step-into-the-imaginarium-of-architect-samira-rathod-111657768871926.html .
15. Marianna Guernieri, India. A school for perpetual hide and seek, Domusweb.it, 22 August 2019
16. News: Varghese . Shiny . A contemporary architecture exhibition at the Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur, questions the notions of space and time . 11 December 2018 . The Indian Express . 29 March 2018.
17. News: Bhuyan . Avantika . Art and architecture at Jawahar Kala Kendra . 11 December 2018 . Livemint . 17 February 2018.
18. News: Exhibition chronicles 'death of architecture' . 11 December 2018 . The Times of India . TNN . 1 December 2018.
19. News: Varghese . Shiny . Sense of a Beginning . 11 December 2018 . The Indian Express . 12 July 2018.
20. News: Sahoo . Priyanka . Museum of Trees: Little known facts of trees in Mumbai's Byculla Zoo . 11 December 2018 . Mumbai Mirror . 26 November 2018.
21. Web site: Scalco. Chiara. The Swiss architect Angela Deuber is the winner of the third edition of the arcVision Prize. Arketipo. 15 October 2015. 17 March 2015.
22. Book: Architecture + Design. January 2004. S.K. Bhayana for Media Transasia (I) Pvt. Limited. 42.