Anuradha Mathur (1960 — 2022) was a practicing

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

and a professor in the Landscape Architecture department at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. She was based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

but has worked all over the world. Her professional focus was water, particularly how its utilization can lead to its excess or scarcity and its opportunities for resilience-based design.

Education

Mathur earned her Bachelor of Architecture from the School of Architecture in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1986. She went on to earn a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991.

Career

Mathur frequently worked with Dilip da Cunha on water-centered landscape design and projects. They have completed work in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, the Western Ghats of India,

Sundarbans Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal ...

, Coastal Virginia, and at the US–Mexico border. Mathur and da Cunha have presented their work at GIDEST (Graduate Institute for Design, Ethnography, & Social Thought) Seminar at the

New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers ...

, NY and at the IFLA ( International Federation of Landscape Architects) Conference in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. They have also created forums for others to present work, including the 2011-2012 international symposium titled "In the Terrain of Water," held at

PennDesign The University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design is the design school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It offers degrees in architecture, landscape architecture, ...

. As a professor, Mathur has led studios in Mumbai, Jerusalem, and the Western Ghats of India. In 2013-2014, she and da Cunha lead a team from PennDesign to examine coastal resilience in the

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

area of coastal Virginia. The project, funded by the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

, was called "Structures of Coastal Resilience." In 2016, Mathur and da Cunha were Geddes Visiting Fellows at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

Major publications

With da Cunha, Mathur has written: *''Soak: Mumbai in an Estuary'' (NGMA and Rupa & Co, 2009) *''Deccan Traverses: the Making of Bangalore’s Terrain'' (Rupa & Co, 2006) *''Mississippi Floods: Designing a Shifting Landscape'' (Yale University Press, 2001) Mathur and da Cunha also co-edited: *''Design in the Terrain of Water'' (A+RD Publishers, 2014)

Awards

Mathur and da Cunha have won the following awards as a partnership: * Pew Fellowship Grant (2017) *

Architectural League of New York The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construct ...

’s Young Architects Award *

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

’s John R. Bracken Fellow Award * Geddes Fellowship from the University of Edinburgh

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathur, Anurada University of Pennsylvania faculty University of Pennsylvania alumni American landscape architects Women landscape architects