Therefore, C.P. Kukreja Architects (CPKA), established by his father in 1969 after it won a competition to design the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), “created a multi-disciplinary office, a first of its kind in the country, where we brought on-board professionals with a multitude of in-house expertise such as master planning, structural engineering, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), project management, costing and estimation etc”.

“The firm went on to do many other significant projects in the late 70s and early 80s when India was on a growth-path of creating townships for public sector companies such as KRIBHCO, IFFCO, GAIL, Powergrid etc. With the major thrust post economic liberalization of the country in the 1990s, there was a surge in design and development of multinational companies,” added Kukreja, who had been studying in the US and Europe and returned to India to join the practice in the late 1990s, added.

At the turn of the century, Kukreja said, the firm “began pushing, with even greater force, the concept of integrating sustainability and technology through architecture which is an effort that is needed today more than ever. Our projects through the years have been reflections of this ideology of a futuristic aesthetic where the structures are responsive to their environment. At the same time, the designs are also curated to address the present-day issues, bringing with it a sense of responsibility”.