Hottie of the Week: Zayd Bilgrami

Who is he?

Tall, dark and handsome are just some of the words that can be used to discribe the sophisticated and intellectual Zayd Bilgrami, Director of the Najmi-Bilgrami Collaborative, one of the leading architecture firms in Pakistan. He is a graduate of the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and has always been inclined toward arts. He finds a unique pleasure in conceptualising places and homes for people to inhabit and contribute to the shaping of the urban framework of Karachi. His artistic streak has won him many accolades, including Best Interior Design for the Standard Chartered Building, awarded by the Institute of Architects Paksitan last year. Zayd maintains a diversified approach to his work and remains a very hands-on worker, often retreating into his projects for hours on end and plays light jazz music to keep his spirits alive. And as if his architectural genius wasn’t enough, Zayd is one of the most handsome young men in the Karachi social scene! All we can say is that his wife is one lucky girl…


Why we love him

Architecture is in Zayd’s blood. He draws inspiration from things around him, perhaps a song or a photograph he might come across and transforms it into a design. He is an avid fan of international architects like Calatrava, Tadao Ando and Diller Scofidio and hopes to live up to their standards someday. As for now, Zayd is a self-confessed workaholic and strives to give people their dream homes every day.

But being a workaholic has never stopped Zayd from leading a fun-filled life. As he himself says, he may be ambitious, systematic and a dry-wit but the time after 10 pm is strictly reserved for partying. He is a toughie but melts before the carefree laughter of his two daughters. An all around family man, Zayd is fond of water sports and hopes to take his family on a white water rafting trip to the untouched coastlines of Pakistan someday.

What you didn’t know about him

Zayd gained a whopping 10 lbs of weight during a summer internship in Tokyo a few years ago, just because he loves eating sushi!

He loves to have his things in order and coordinates his wardrobe according to colour.

For Zayd an ideal woman is someone who is beautiful and elegant with a punch of personality. She has to be strong and driven as innate confidence and ambition to achieve her goals is what he find most attractive. Lucky for him, he already found the woman of his dreams and married her!

Published in The Express Tribune, Ms T, February 9^th, 2014.