July 21, 2002

I had been toying with the idea for umpteen years. I had it all worked out — or so I assumed. Pakistani architects’ own houses was intended to focus on 25-30 architects, established professionals as well as young practitioners from all over the country who had designed and built houses for themselves. It was felt that architects, while designing their own homes, would be able to express their design philosophies and styles more effectively, without compromising to clients’ tastes and values, or to other external factors. Such houses would thus be the truest possible expressions of the owner-architects’ abilities and attitudes, reflecting their personalities and life-styles.

It was not an entirely original idea. While a student at the university in the sixties, I had come across a book Houses architects design for themselves, which included 61 American houses grouped into categories by type — site-inspired, budget houses, traditional designs, etc.

Years passed, and I just could not find time from my work to get down to the book. In Pakistan high-quality, professionally produced books are not a commercially feasible proposition. I found it difficult to commit myself.

The reasons are many: The cost of production of such books is very high. Apart from the professional time involved in research and writing, there is the cost of illustrations or photography, the design and layouts and, finally, the cost of paper, films and printing. There is little interest in this country for buying or reading books, or for giving away attractive books as gifts. Since the market for the sale of books is small, the cost of production is rarely recovered through sales alone. I was aware that some form of financial assistance or institutional sponsoring was required. From where?

On a visit to Frankfurt to participate in the annual Frankfurt Book Fair in October 1999, my wife Rumana met a representative of the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development. The Prince Claus Fund (The Hague, Netherlands), stimulates and supports activities in the field of culture and development, by granting awards, funding and producing publications, and by financing and promoting networks and innovative cultural activities.

Upon her return and urging, I prepared a proposal for funding the development cost for a 150-page book, and submitted it to the Prince Claus Fund in February 2000.

As luck would have it, the Fund approved a grant for the book within a month. This enabled me to take up this work, seriously. I started in earnest almost right away. Although no formal announcement was made to solicit entries, the total number of architects with their own houses kept growing. One professional led to another. At one time I had nearly 125 names on my list. Subsequently, some names were dropped due to lack of response.

To resolve editorial issues such as eligibility, sequencing and grouping, extent and style of coverage and the structure of the book, it felt desirable to have an editorial committee. I therefore requested two eminent local architects, Prof Kausar Bashir Ahmed and architect/planner Arif Hasan, both having extensive academic and publications experience to be on the committee. Their guidance throughout has been invaluable.

It was decided to compile not only the technical information pertaining to each house, but also its history, the level of satisfaction (with the house) experienced by the family, the architect’s own viewpoint at the time the house was built, and the same today.

The first issue to be taken up by the committee was eligibility: “Who is an architect?” For the purpose of this book, it was decided to consider any professional practising as an architect i.e. offering services accepted as architectural services. He or she should have designed a place of residence in Pakistan, be it a single-family unit, or a shared facility of which at least one unit should be occupied by the architect and, as the case may be, his or her immediate family.

The second issue was to establish the most meaningful and fair sequence in presenting this large number of projects. It was felt that, as far as possible, the projects should be listed chronologically, by date of completion. It was further felt that these projects should be grouped into ten-year periods starting from the fifties. This would make it easier to see them in the context of the time period when they were built. It would also facilitate in identifying evolutionary, technical, or stylistic trends over this period.

The coverage given to each project was determined by its contextual significance, its value as a landmark or trend-setter, and its importance as the work of a (successful) professional.

For the benefit, especially of the non-Pakistani reader, it was decided to include some information about Pakistan, and the five major cities where the projects (except two) are located.

The book covers 106 houses, belonging to 110 professionals. This compilation serves as a catalogue of attractive houses and home interiors from Pakistan, projecting some of the most creative talent available within the country, at its best. This is complemented by a commentary and four short essays, which present an overview of the historic, social and environmental concerns, and also the evolutionary trends that can be seen in this collection. Rumana and I worked together as a team. We travelled together to the various cities, to meet architects residing and working there, and to document their houses. Obtaining suitable photographs of the houses was not always easy. Only a few architects had a photographic record, or arranged pictures on my request. There were really no professional architectural photographers available locally. I therefore decided to take the on-site photos myself. I also compiled the relevant data, and have written the house descriptions. Rumana, a professional designer, has done the layout of the complete book, cover to cover, with tremendous enthusiasm and charm.

The book was expected to be ready by early 2001. However, increase in the overall scope of work, due to the substantial increase in the number of houses covered, has pushed the schedule back more than a year. The funds made available for the development cost have long been exhausted.

There has been little effort to publish books on architecture or the arts in Pakistan. During the last fifty years, perhaps only a handful of books on any aspect of Pakistani architecture have been printed. This book is intended to appeal not just to professionals, but also to the non-specialist or curious reader both within Pakistan and abroad. The book has therefore been designed as a coffee-table publication. It has been ready to go for printing for some months now.

We had decided at the outset to publish this book ourselves — an expensive proposition. However, a book such as this, with fewer illustrations, or fewer in colour, or printed on cheaper paper would not be the same thing at all. It would in fact lose all its attraction and appeal. One cannot count on returns from sales either, as these are not assured, and may take a long time in collecting. In order to pay the printer’s bills, we have approached various institutions for sponsorship and are hopeful that, if not one, perhaps a small group will agree to sponsor the book jointly. If funding comes through, the book should be available before the end of this year.

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