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Bimal Patel

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Nationality
  
Indian


Name
  
Bimal Patel

Bimal Patel

Born
  
August 31, 1961 (age 62) (
1961-08-31
)

Occupation
  
Architect, Urban Planner, Academician

Parent(s)
  
Hasmukh Patel, Bhakti Patel

Iuc bimal patel part 1


Dr. Bimal Patel (born (1961-08-31)August 31, 1961) has over 30 years of professional, research and teaching experience in architecture, urban design and urban planning. He is President of CEPT University in Ahmedabad. CEPT University focuses on understanding, designing, planning, constructing and managing human habitats. Dr. Patel is also Chairman of the Board of Governors of the School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal. He leads HCP Design Planning and Management Pvt. Ltd., a leading architecture, planning and project management firm. Dr. Patel also founded Environmental Planning Collaborative, a not-for-profit, planning research and advocacy organization. He obtained a Diploma in Architecture from the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad in 1984, followed by a dual Masters and a Doctorate in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley in 1995. Dr. Patel’s practice has focused on transforming urban design and planning practice to make them more effective in improving Indian cities. His research interests are in Land Use Planning, Real Estate Markets, Building Regulations, Land Management and Urban Planning History.

Contents

River urbanisation by bimal patel


Early life and education

Bimal Patel lives and practices architecture and city planning in Ahmedabad, India. Ahmedabad is also the city that he grew up in and its architectural history and planning culture have influenced and informed his work. He studied at the School of Architecture, Center for Environmental Planning and Technology, CEPT, from 1978 to 1984. In 1981, he apprenticed with Frei Otto at the Institute for Lightweight Structures, Stuttgart, Germany. Living and working in Stuttgart also gave him the opportunity to travel through much of Western Europe at a young age.

After receiving his first professional degree in architecture from CEPT in 1984 and a year of work in Ahmedabad, Bimal Patel moved to Berkeley to study at the College of Environmental Design, CED. He graduated with M.Arch. and M.C.P. degrees in 1988 and a Ph.D. from the Department of City and Regional Planning in 1995. He worked closely with Prof. Allan Jacobs, Prof. Donlyn Lyndon, Prof. Manuel Castells and Prof. Mike Teitz at the CED and Prof. Richard Walker of the Geography Department. UC Berkeley and the openness of CED provided him with the opportunity and freedom for intellectual exploration beyond the confines of Architecture and City Planning.

Career

While still working on his Ph.D. dissertation, Bimal Patel returned to India in 1990 and joined his father’s architectural practice. One of his first building design projects, a campus for The Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Ahmedabad, won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1992. In 2000 he was selected to build the New Campus for the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Over the years he has built up a significant body of architectural and urban design work ranging from single family homes, to institutions, industrial buildings and urban redevelopment projects. HCPDPM the firm that he heads has won numerous awards for its projects. Urban design projects, like the Kankaria Lake Development, are the first of their kind in the country.

In 1997, Bimal Patel founded Environmental Planning Collaborative. EPC, a not-for-profit company to work with local governments on city planning and continues to head the company today. EPC was one of the very first non-government organizations in India to successfully work with government on statutory planning and one that has participated in the rejuvenation of city planning in a variety of ways. Its projects include organizing workshops and seminars, preparing statutory urban and regional plans, developing coursework for planners, managing development projects, undertaking research and advocating causes. Some of EPC’s significant projects are the Development Plan for Ahmedabad (2002), Development Plan and Town Planning Schemes for the reconstruction of Bhuj, Kachchh after the earthquake of 2001 and Reformulating Planning Legislation for Delhi. In 1998, UNCHS Global 100 Best Practices Award commended EPC for its revitalization plan for Surat’s inner city. In 2003 EPC’s work on the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project won the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Urban Design and Planning.

Dr. Patel is President of CEPT University in Ahmedabad. CEPT University focuses on understanding, designing, planning, constructing and managing human habitats. His work there involves academics as well as institutional leadership and development.

Awards and honors

Distinguished Alumnus Award, College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley, 2008
Prime Ministerʼs National Award for Excellence in Urban Planning and Design, awarded to the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, 2002
Emerging Architect Commendation Award, AR+D, 2001
World Architecture Award, 2001
Salzburg Seminar Fellowship, 2000
UNCHS, Best Practices Award, 1998
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 1992
Research Fellowship, American Institute of Indian Studies, 1990-91
Newhouse Foundation Grant, 1988-89
Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, 1987
College of Environmental Design Council Scholarship, 1985–86

In Periodicals

Dalvi, S. (2011) ʻLouver as protagonistʼ, Domus India, Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 46– 59
Stathaki, E. (2011) ʻTeam Buildingʼ, Wallpaper*, 147, pp 122–126
Tursi, A. and Rossato, L. (2011) ʻAhmedabad, the Sabarmati riverfront as opportunity for an urban renewalʼ, Paesagio Urbano, pp. 78–93
Gregory, R. (2010) ʻIndian Institute of Managementʼ, Buildings (162), The Architectural Review, 1363, Vol. CCXXVIII, pp. 66–71
Krishnan, G. (2010) ʻBimal Patelʼ, Pool, 04, pp. 18–21
Scheffer, K. and Fenk, A. (2009) ʻSabarmati Riverfront Development Projectʼ, Topos: The International Review of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, 68, pp. 42–45
Burte, H. (2008) ʻExtending an Iconʼ, Mint, Vol. 02, No.152, pp. 12–13 Chhaya, N. (2008) ʻFrom the Treasury of Shadows; into the Light of Reasonʼ Spade, Vol. 01, 70-87
Rajaram, R. (2008) ʻSabarmati: India's First Riverfront Developmentʼ, Architecture Update, Vol. 01, Issue 22, pp. 9
Sheth, B. (2007) ʻRiverfront redux - More to Sabarmati project than meets the eyeʼ, Down to Earth, pp. 7–8
Pilo, A. (2006) ʻA Linear Scaleʼ, Architecture + Design, Vol. XXIII, No.02, pp. 50–54
Carsten, H. (2005) ʻCampus Extension of IIMAʼ, Bauwelt, Vol. 06, pp. 2
Jackson, N. (2001) ʻWorld Architecture Awards 2001: Regional Winner: Education Category – Ahmedabad Management Associationʼ, World Architecture, Issue No. 98, pp. 81
Davy, P. (2001) ʻIndian Summaryʼ, The Architectural Review, Vol. CCX, No. 1258, pp. 74–75.
Wislocki, P. (1997) ʻAhmedabad Authority: The Gujarat High Court Complexʼ, World Architecture, 58, pp. 62–63
Sabiki, R. (1989) Journal of American Institute of Architects, ʻDesign Reviewʼ; Architecture, September 1989
ʻContemporary Architecture in India: the emerging generationʼ, Spazio e Societa, (1987), Vol 38

In Books

Johnson, C. (2011) Indian Cities: Managing Urban Growth, Australia: Metropolis Publication
Mehrotra, R. (2011) Architecture in India Since 1990, Germany: Pictor Publishing
Rossl, S.(2009) ArchitetturaContemporanea India, Motta Architettura, Milano The Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century World Architecture (2008) Phaidon Press Inc., London
Gast, K. (2007) Modern Traditions - Contemporary Architecture in India, Berlin: Verlag
Lang, J. (2002) A Concise History of Modern Architecture in India, Delhi: Permanent Black
Mehrotra, R. (2001) World Architecture: A Critical Mosaic 1900 – 2000, Vol. 8, Vienna: Springer Verlag
Lang, J., Desai, M., Desai, M. (1997) Architecture and Independence, Oxford University Press
581 World Architects in the World, (1995)Tokyo: TOTO Shuppan
Bahga, S., et al. (1993) Modern Architecture in India – Post Independence Perspective, New Delhi: GPC
Steele, J.(ed.) (1992) Architecture for a Changing World, Great Britain: Academy Editions

Exhibitions

Mohile Parikh Centre for Visual Arts, National Centre for Performing Arts, Bombay, 1998
Aedes Gallery, Berlin, 2003
Aedes Gallery, Berlin, 2009

References

Bimal Patel Wikipedia