When stepping into IF.BE for the first time, I note the receding of sound. That, and the quality of light—beautiful natural light spilling into the 10,000 square feet of space. My grim face breaks into a happy smile when I spot a huge banyan tree in the courtyard. Reeling from a blazing summer afternoon, it feels as if I’ve stepped into an oasis. Shades of brickwork and splashes of green intermingle with workers bustling about in various parts of Mumbai’s newest cultural centre in the commercial precinct of Ballard Estate. But there is barely any noise; it’s all calm and cool and collected. Later, when mulling around the space, I am convinced the hushed tones and quiet labour is dictated by the sacred quality of the space.
Taking an old ice factory in Mumbai’s commercial neighbourhood and spinning it into a centre dedicated to design, architecture and the arts is an ambitious plan, to say the least. But architect Kamal Malik has never shied away from uphill tasks. His commitment to light and nature has been vividly documented in his past projects. When Malik was introduced to the space, it was a functioning ice factory. “They were still making blocks of ice in the main factory, moving them into the cold store. The first thing I noticed was the quality of light; it was fascinating,” he says. It reminded him, he laments, that we as a human race have forgotten the sun.
“WE WANTED A NEUTRAL AND DEMOCRATIC PLACE WHERE THERE'S NO BIAS, A PLACE WHERE WE CAN DISCUSS URBANISM, WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE DOCKS, WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE CITY. BUT IT SHOULD BE A NEUTRAL, DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM."Kamal Malik
The gargantuan banyan tree was another draw. “A banyan tree with that kind of a canopy right in the middle of a courtyard is something that every architect dreams of,” Malik exclaims. The troubling part was that the tree itself was being choked, surrounded as it was by hutments, debris and office space. Two little temples had been embedded into its roots. “It was a metaphor for the condition of Planet Earth,” he emphasises, while in flashback mode. The tree, now cleared of all the debris, stands proud and tall, rising through the roof in the courtyard.