Dulal Mukherjee & Associates

Company Name

Dulal Mukherjee & Associates

The roots
Growing up amidst the lush green rural settings of the Dooars in North Bengal, young Dulal Mukherjee always sensed a deep reverence for the vastness and unconquerable majesty of nature. “My impressionable years were spent in the city of Varanasi. The medieval charms of the meandering lanes flanked by imposing edifices and the ancient ghats on the Ganges created a sense of awe in my young mind,” he says. Later on, when the family shifted base to Kolkata, he was equally taken in by the grandeur of the imperial structures in the College Street neighbourhood. “When I finally enrolled into the architecture course of Bengal Engineering College… I felt as if I had come home.”

The nurturing
Mukherjee achieved a first class in the Bachelor’s degree in Architecture (1964) and topped the Master’s degree class in Town and Regional Planning (1966), both at the Bengal Engineering College, Calcutta University. “I feel that staying in a hostel environment automatically evokes a sense of sharing and camaraderie, and also instills one with a certain self-reliance and independence.” Mukherjee’s inspiration has steadfastly remained India’s ancient architecture. In recent times, he has been moved by the creations of Frank Lloyd Wright, especially Fallingwater, which reflects complete harmony between man and nature.

The fruits
His independent practice, Dulal Mukherjee & Associates, was established in 1969. The overriding philosophy of the firm – a 45-strong team of experts from the architecture and allied fields – is ‘form follows function’, wherein the requirement and necessities of the client and end-user have always been the lodestar. The recurrent use of strong geometric forms in their purest sense is also predominant. Co-defining and putting flesh on the bones of these principles is an inherent passion for the magnanimity of nature.

The turning points
“In 1967, I won the first prize in a design competition for the interior design of International Terminal Building at Kolkata, which was a significant boost to my career,” reminisces the architect. “An opportunity to renovate a portion of the residence of the royal family of Nepal followed suit and led me on to start my professional practice.” The first completed project which he handled independently was the Birla Temple at Barasat in West Bengal in the year 1968. The challenges came in the form of a shoestring budget and the task of convincing a client of traditional mindset to accept a contemporary form for the temple. “The overall impact was significant, and it taught me how to tackle the delicate balance of reality with the ivory tower.” Then, there is the Babylon Apartments in Kolkata’s upmarket neighbourhood of Alipore. Deviating from the mundane, box-like concrete structures, the fluctuating quality of the building profile, as elements change from floor to floor, created an interesting diversion. The plan is based on a rigid module of 27 squares, and each floor is punched out on a basis of 27 squares – thereby creating numerous setbacks, recesses, protrusions and cut-outs, resulting in staggered terraces on each floor.

The destination
An architect, says Mukherjee, dreams till his last breath. “The realisation of my unfulfilled dreams is one of the guiding forces that drive me forward. In recent years, I have been forcefully driven by the dream of developing and upgrading the city of Kolkata.” Though the journey, thus far, has been a long, arduous one for Mukherjee, he would like to continue the practice for as long as possible. “I would like to be known as a sensitive designer who thrived for improvement throughout his life. ”