Revathi S. Kamath (1955-2020) was an Indian

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 ...

and planner based in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. She is a pioneer of mud architecture in India. In addition to this, she is also credited with building the tallest stainless steel structure in India.

Early life

Revathi Kamath was born in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

in a

Tamil Brahmin Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana in addition to other regions of India. The ...

family. She spent her formative years in

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 ...

and tribal areas along the

Mahanadi river The Mahanadi River is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam which was the first major multipurpose river valley project after India's independence ...

, where her father, an engineer was working on the Hirakud dam. These early years left a deep impression on her understanding of nature, people and the rhythms of life.

Education and early career

She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Architecture (1977) and completed a post-graduate programme in Urban and Regional Planning (1981) both from the

School of Planning and Architecture The Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs) are centrally funded technical institutes located across India. They are a group of autonomous public institutes of higher education under Ministry of Education, Government of India. They were est ...

, Delhi. After graduation, she worked with Stein, Doshi and Bhalla for a year and later with Rassik International, Architects and furniture designers in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. In 1979, she started work with The GRUP (Group for Rural & Urban Planning), a partnership firm between Vasant Kamath, Romi Khosla and Narendra Dengle. She has also worked for the National Institute of Urban Affairs in 1981. She was visiting Faculty (1984–87) and Assistant Professor (1987–91) at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.

Architectural practice

In 1981, she opened a firm with Vasant Kamath, "Revathi and Vasant Kamath", which later came to be known as "Kamath Design Studio - Architecture, Planning and Environment" (2005). The studio has handled a wide variety of projects, in diverse social, economic and geographical contexts. The Anandgram Project for Rehabilitation of slum dwellers near

Shadipur Depot Shadipur Depot is a residential and industrial area in West Delhi, named after nearby Shadipur settlement. This is also a depot for the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). It is also known for the 'Baljit Nagar', were in Kathputli Colony, puppet ...

, Delhi was one of the earliest in early 1983. Revathi Kamath is noted for her sensitive efforts for conceiving the "Evolving Home" concept for redevelopment. She consulted with 350 families to understand individual needs and to give them a first home on the ground. Three of her projects have been nominated for the Aga Khan Award. They are the Akshay Pratishthan School in Delhi, Community Center at

Maheshwar Maheshwar is a town, near Khargone city in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh state, in central India. It is located on State Highway-38 ( Khargone city- Barwaha- Bandheri Highway),13.5 km east of National Highway 3 (Agra-Mumbai highway ...

and Nalin Tomar House at

Hauz Khas Hauz Khas is a neighborhood in South Delhi, its heart being the historic Hauz Khas Complex. Well known in medieval times, the Hauz Khas village has buildings built around the reservoir. There are remnants of Islamic architecture roughly color ...

, Delhi. Revathi has contributed to the exhibition – "Traditional Architecture in India" for the festival of India in Paris, in 1986. She was also on the contributing design team for the Eternal Gandhi Multimedia Museum. She was co-curator and designer for the exhibition "Craft: A Tool for Social Change" for VHAI (Voluntary Health Association of India) in 2003. She worked for the Museum for Tribal Heritage,

Bhopal Bhopal (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes,'' due to ...

, the Gnostic Center, Delhi, a research center for growth of consciousness, Jiva Wellness Center and Jiva University for Yogic Sciences also.

Selected projects

* Desert Resort in

Mandawa Mandawa is a town located just 29 km from Jhunjhunu city in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, India. It is part of Shekhawati region. Mandawa is located at . It has an average elevation of 316 metres (1036 ft). The nearest rail ...

, Rajasthan * Mud house for Nandita and Amit Judge, Delhi * House for Nalin, Hauz Khas village, Delhi * Jivashram animal shelter, Delhi * Akshay Pratishthan, Delhi * Community Centre, Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh * Weavers’ housing project, Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh * School for weavers’ children at Maheshwar,

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

* Kamath house, Anangpur (in collaboration with Vasant Kamath) * Gateway for Jindal Power Plant at Tamnar,

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

(in collaboration with Ayodh Kamath) * VIP Guest House for Jindal Power Limited at Raigarh, Chhattisgarh (in collaboration with Vasant Kamath) * Auditorium at Raigarh, Chhattisgarh *

Tal Chhapar Sanctuary Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is a sanctuary located in the Churu district of Northwestern Rajasthan, in the Shekhawati region of India. It is known for blackbucks and is also home to a variety of birds. The sanctuary is 210 km from Jaipur on the ...

for Government of Rajasthan, Churu, Rajasthan * Museum for Tribal Heritage, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh * Gnostic Centre, Delhi (ongoing project)

Awards and honors

* Revathi Kamath received the World Women in Arts,

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, and Design (WADe Asia)—

Sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

Award in 2018. * Revathi Kamath has also been the recipient of the prestigious Aga Khan Award.

References

External links

* http://www.aecworldxp.com/aecvideo/revathi-vasant-kamath-vasanth-and-revathi-kamath-architects-new-delhi * http://www.aecworldxp.com/aecvideo/artistically-informal * http://www.kamathdesign.org/

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamath, Revathi 1955 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Indian architects Artists from Bhubaneswar Indian women architects 20th-century Indian women artists Women artists from Odisha Indian urban planners Women urban planners Businesspeople from Bhubaneswar Businesswomen from Odisha 20th-century Indian businesswomen 20th-century Indian businesspeople School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi alumni