Brinda Somaya: Works and Continuities, edited by Ruturaj Parikh, offers the viewer an unusual and all-encompassing opportunity to explore one of contemporary India’s most eminent architects. Somaya’s architectural heritage rests not only upon her structures, but also on the philosophies that guided her vision towards sustainability, cultural continuity, and inclusiveness. Ruturaj Parikh’s contemplative anthology assembles a series of essays, photographs, and narratives of projects that intertwine the personal with the professional, providing a gripping account that both moves and teaches.
Ruturaj Parikh considers Brinda Somaya a storyteller who uses bricks and mortar along with context for expounding her design intentions. The work chronicles Somaya’s design philosophies on conservation, community, and culture. She processes architecture with theoretical readings. To produce a built environment that harmonizes with its natural environment is seen in some of Somaya’s other works, including that of the Nalanda International School, where older materials were employed with predictability and climatic sensitivity.
Parikh’s editorial vision will distinguish these nuances with precision, allowing for the thematic character of Somaya’s technique to be neither diluted nor unduly glorified. Each of Parikh’s chapters opens with a curatorial remark that situates its particular focus within a larger temporal and sociopolitical context of Somaya’s works. These introductions provide a spine for the specialists and, importantly, the generalists within the readership.
- It Found a Good Balance between Theory and Practice: The book strikes a fine balance between theoretical study and practical applications. Before going into technical drawings and design considerations, Parikh makes sure the reader understands the context. This kind of balance is able to hold the interest of anyone, from the practicing architecture or design student to a casual design enthusiast.
Modernity, Gender, and Heritage
A salient feature of the book is intersectionality in architecture. It’s organized around Somaya’s themes of historical conservation, gender inclusion, and contemporary relevance. Says Parikh, pulling together multiple viewpoints displaying how Somaya’s works interact with and alter urban and rural narratives.
- Her restoration of the St. Thomas Cathedral in Mumbai and the Rajabai Clock Tower is a luminous example of heritage mending. The book, instead of celebrating the aesthetic result, looks into the ethical dilemma of engaging in heritage sites. Thus, Parikh takes these instances to show how Somaya’s design ethos keeps the residents intact and suitably modifies the functionalities.
- Feminist Undercurrents: The publication whispers homage to Somaya as the pioneering emerging architect within a sector highly tilted in gender imbalance. Parikh does not expressly deal with gender issues but rather allows them to pervade through anecdotal references, interviews, and historical documents that illustrate her strength and leadership.
The book gives pleasure to sight.
High-definition images along with archival visuals are embedded in its lustrous pages and detailed architectural drawings that go into depth and immediacy of the written content. Parikh has ensured that every image is not only illustrative but also has to help the readers decipher materials, spatial sequencing, and user interaction open-plan architecture of educational campuses to the complexities of restored heritage buildings in as detailed and narrative-driven manner as the accompanying text. Readers now develop an almost tactile understanding of Somaya’s architectural language that frequently mixes modern forms with local customs.
Ruturaj Parikh’s curated book, Brinda Somaya: Works and Continuities, is not confined to a standard monograph; it is multidimensional and contemplative, documenting the evolution not only but also interpreting the evolution of Somaya’s technique. Above all, Parikh makes sure that the editorial guiding light of the book is intellectual, yet it remains readable, technical, and personal.
This book is reference material for anyone with any interest in sustainable design, cultural architecture, or gender issues in the creative professions. Its true strength lies in its level of engagement with Somaya’s work and with India’s greater architectural conversation. Parikh’s very detailed curating shows how important Somaya’s architectural voice remains in this rapidly changing world.
This volume besides being good academic material, good professional inspiration, or good for cultural understanding, also deserves shelf space with anybody interested in the future of architecture.
REFERENCES Parikh, R. (ed.) (2018). Brinda Somaya: Works and Continuities. Mapin Publishing. Available at: https://www.mapinpub.in (Accessed: 10 April 2025).
