Urbs Indis

Robert Stephens is a Bengaluru-based architect, husband, father and introvert. Creating experiences and spaces that are deeply rooted in India's urban history is his passion. In 2007 Robert moved from Summerville, South Carolina to Mumbai, India. He lived in the Maximum City for 16 years, working with an architecture studio on projects ranging from private residences and corporate offices to educational institutions and cultural spaces. Since 2010 Robert has been creating a contemporary archive of aerial photography focused on India's megacities. Captured 10,000 feet above sea level, the images have appeared in publications such as The Guardian, DOMUS India and Scroll.in, and exhibited in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and Edinburgh. His love for Mumbai, urban history and the built environment led to his first book, Bombay Imagined: An Illustrated History of the Unbuilt City. Completed in 2022, the self-published title features two hundred dreamy plans for the megacity that remain forever unrealised. Robert has presented more than two dozen public talks on Bombay's past futures, an experience that he deeply enjoys despite an eternal fear of public speaking (remember, he is an introvert). Bombay Imagined has also transformed into exhibitions in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. In 2023 Robert, with his wife Tina, son Kairav, and cat Bonnie moved to Bengaluru. In the Garden City he began an independent architecture studio, and his first project is the Urbs Indis Library & Garden. He continues to practice architecture, creative writing and aerial urban photography on a daily basis.