India: Who is Bimal Patel? Ace architect who designed the new Parliament building

India’s renowned architect, Bimal Hasmukh Patel is the mind behind the new triangular building of Parliament, which was inaugurated on Sunday, May 28. The student of legendary architect Balkrishna Doshi, Patel has also contributed to the designing of mega-structures like the Sabarmati Riverfront and Kashi Vishwanath Corridor. In the past few years, he has successfully delivered some of the most difficult modern infrastructure projects in the country.

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Back in 2016, when the Lok Sabha speaker requested the urban development minister to consider constructing a new Parliament building, Patel said, “What we do with Parliament building to cope with the future will powerfully signify who we are, how we view our past, where we see ourselves going.” In 2023, seven years later, the new parliament stands tall in its own words.

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Amid all celebrations and grand inauguration of the new Parliament building, here is everything we should know about the prime designer of this building of democracy.

Bimal Patel: Making of an ace architect

Bimal Patel was born in 1961 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He studied architecture at the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) from 1978 to 1984. In 1981, he apprenticed with Frei Otto, a German architect and structural engineer known for his use of lightweight structures.

After receiving his first professional degree in architecture from CEPT in 1984 and a year of work in Ahmedabad, Patel moved to Berkeley to study at the College of Environmental Design, CED. He graduated with an M.Arch and a PhD from the Department of City and Regional Planning in 1988 and 1995 respectively.

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Patel joined his father’s practice in Ahmedabad in 1990. One of his first building design projects, a campus for The Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Ahmedabad, won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1992. His projects span across varieties, from single-family homes to institutions and industrial buildings.

His significant and award-winning projects include the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad, Ahmedabad Management Association, Bhuj Development Plan and Town Planning Schemes (post-earthquake), C G Road Redevelopment, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Gujarat High Court, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad New Campus, Kankaria Lake, Sabarmati Riverfront and the Swarnim Sankul at Gandhinagar.

Bimal Patel’s significant projects

Some of Patel’s best architectural designs apart from the new Parliament building are:

IIM, Ahmedabad (new building)

Tata CGPL Township, Kutch

Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project

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Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar

Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad

Ministers’ Block and Secretariat Campus Development, Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar

Vishwanath Dham, Sri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir, Varanasi

Inspiration behind the triangular design of the new Parliament building

Patel said the new Parliament House was designed triangular since it sits on a triangular plot. "The new Parliament building was designed in a triangular shape since it sits on a triangular plot and has three main spaces Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and a Central Lounge. Also, triangles are sacred geometries in various religions and cultures of the country. The Sri Yantra uses a triangle, the three Gods or the Trinities are a triangle and therefore the triangle is sacred," Patel was quoted as saying in a report by Moneycontrol.

(With inputs from agencies)

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