a 1987IndI

Snehal Shah’s interest in the monumental architecture of the past – the Renaissance and subsequent periods in Europe, and also medieval architecture in western India, especially the Solanki period of the 10th-13th centuries – astonishes. He has researched medieval water architecture in western India, and his studies in that hitherto neglected field are producing remarkably insightful information. His concerns for response to climate and making spaces that are lively are informed by his historical understanding: this guides the spatial language of his architecture, the functional concepts, and the aesthetically appealing elements and motifs he creatively transforms and incorporates into his own designs. Today he is one of India’s foremost contemporary architects. Professor MA Dhaky, Director (Emeritus), American Institute of Indian Studies, Gurgaon

One explanation of Snehal’s amazing range of projects and diversity of designs is that he has strategically located himself between the past and the future. Snehal’s intense interest in architectural history, especially of western India, the region from which he hails, has sensitised him to traditional stone and timber constructional techniques, rigorous geometric codes of design, and local environmental conditions, especially the scarcity of water in an arid landscape. Returning to India thus equipped, Snehal has over the last 20 years embarked upon an ambitious repertory of private and public buildings that testifies to a unique cosmopolitan sensibility and refined aesthetic. Dr George Michell, art and architecture historian