About HPCE
Himanshu Parikh Consulting Engineers (HPCE) was founded in 1982 by Prof. Himanshu Parikh. After studying in Cambridge University he worked as a structural engineer in the U.K. for ten years on highly reputed projects, before starting his own practice in India. He has held various positions outside his practice, including professor at School of Planning, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology in Ahmedabad, visiting lecturer at Cambridge University and member of Governing Council of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
The Practice has done innovative work in structural engineering as well as in the fields of habitat planning, infrastructure design, and environmental upgradation with an emphasis on urban low- income areas. Clients come from both the public (including international agencies such as DFID, Worldbank and UNICEF) and private sectors. From 2002 to 2005 the practice associated with Buro Happold, UK.
The Practice has undertaken habitat and infrastructure planning in several cities of India including Bombay, Jaipur, Nagpur and Jalgaon. In addition, a great deal of work has been done in the cities of Ahmedabad, Baroda, Indore and Bhopal at revitalizing the distressed urban areas of the cities including renewal and upgradation of all the low income communities. The work relies heavily on using the topographical advantages of nature to produce economic, efficient and low- maintenance regeneration of cities and villages. The success of any project depends on the information available. All projects undertaken by HPCE are therefore preceded by professional surveys of the areas and a comprehensive socio-economic database. Computers are used for analysis, computation and design. Use of tailor made software enables the designers to study various options so that optimum cost and performance solutions are reached. The final design choice is made in interactive sessions with the communities involved in order to address their needs to the maximum extent.
The developmental work has been recognized as pioneering and has won several awards including the United Nations World Habitat Award in 1993, the United Nation Habitat II Best Practice recognition for Slum Development in 1996, 1998 and 2006, Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1998 and a Citation by Government of India in the same year. In recognition of his contributions, in 2005, Mr. Parikh was invited as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Arts.
The group specialises in challenging institutional, educational, health, hospitality, residential, commercial and industrial buildings using steel, brick and R.C.C for a variety of uses. We have also worked with traditional materials and technologies. Two five star hotels were constructed in Rajasthan for the Oberoi Hotel Group using random rubble walls as load bearing elements. New design codes for using stone as a structural element in modern buildings were developed by HPCE for this specific assignment with appropriate laboratory testing and analysis. Both conceptually and in detail, we optimise structures for safety, performance, economy and conservation of resources.
A steel roof was designed for a village in such a way that it could be fabricated and transported to the site and then assembled in pieces by the farmers. Reinforced concrete shell roofs have been developed for religious institutions and hospitals. Cable structures have been used for many fun structures such as marques and pavilions. And recently the largest span space frame roof in India was developed for the auditorium of Swaminarayan temple complex in Rajkot.
Following the major earthquake in Gujarat of January 2001 HPCE assisted several groups in reconstructing houses and schools for the affected areas. Special effort was made in these projects to design earthquake resistant housing for rural areas which would meet the technical needs in tune with local materials and skills.
