Glocal Architecture

Plurality in the Indian context

by Anneke Abhelakh

Cities such as Mumbai and Delhi grow by half a million people a year. This is thirty-four people an hour and approximately one new inhabitant every two minutes. In the largest democracy in the world with more than 1 billion inhabitants, hundreds of different languages are spoken and at least as many Hindu gods are worshiped, alongside many Buddhist gods, Christian saints, the prophet Mohammed and all the elementary forces of nature. In addition, the cast system still exists alongside its abolition and, socially and culturally, many nuances in clothing and eating habits are evident in each region and in towns and villages. In the north the country is surrounded by mountains and rivers and on all the other sides by the ocean. The climate, notably the monsoon and the position of the moon, are of great influence on the daily lives and the psyche of the inhabitants.

All these influences appear to be incorporated and accepted with open arms and become embedded as a matter of course in places where all the space appears to be overrun. This capacity for absorption and diversity of manifestations also applies to the developed environment. When considering architecture in India one first thinks mainly of the historical monumental buildings such as one of the wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal (1645). The famous mausoleum built by the Persians by order of Shah Jahan. Then New Delhi, designed by the British Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1911 under the authority of King George V as the new capital of the British-Indian empire. It took twenty years before the government buildings, which were a mix of Western classicism and Indian decorative motifs were completed. Chandigarh was founded in 1953. Following independence, the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, commissioned Le Corbusier to create a new capital for Punjab since the old one, Lahore, belonged to Pakistan after 1947. In addition to the enormous influence of Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, in a far more subtle way – with his Nationaal Assemblee in Dacca and the Institute of Management in Ahmedabad – influenced the language of the architecture.

Le Corbusier’s dreams were for a long time the new ideal for a whole generation of architects. He built a number of villas and a museum in Ahmedabad. There he was assisted by the Indian architect, Balkrishna Doshi who, following his studies in Bombay, had worked with Corbusier in Paris. This year, the AFFR is screening a portrait of this architect. Doshi’s greatest services are his work as lecturer and founder of many institutes in the field of spatial planning and architecture. His philosophy about the social responsibilities of the architect in India are noble and theoretical and, just like his tendency towards self promotion, they are indebted to the great master.

After 1947 many Indian architects graduated at foreign universities in Europe or the USA. Such as Gautam Sarabhai who worked with Frank Lloyd Wright in Taliesin or Habib Rahman, who studied under Walter Gropius at MIT in Boston. The best-known architect from this generation is Charles Correa who studied under Buckminster Fuller at MIT. There is also a film about him at this film festival. His work is international and, at the same time, each project differs when compared to the Indian building tradition. Following independence there was a leaning towards a characteristically-domestic, post-colonial architecture. Raj Rewal is another man whose work was principally influenced by Modernism based on tradition. The parliamentary library in New Delhi is an example of this. Laurie Baker, a somewhat older architect of English origin, was highly productive and, following a meeting with Ghandi, he decided to stay in India. His life’s work was dedicated to building for people with low incomes in an economically and ecologically responsible way. His principles and methods stem from the inventiveness and force of the locality.

In the early nineties, under the influence of the radical economic reform policy of the then prime minister Rao, the country underwent liberalisation at a very fast pace. The days of a centrally-controlled economy were past, the free market took over and the large cities in particular generated gigantic economic growth, including construction fever, sky-high land prices and foreign investment. The generation of architects who are now building, such as Mehrotra, Gurjit Matharoo or Hafeez Contractor, appear to be less concerned with the search for a unique Indian identity or recognisability in their work. They work on an oeuvre without direct representation of any cultural references. The ensuing revolution in architecture will not focus so much on style but more on the balance between people and the environment.

The films Volume Zero, The Works of Charles Correa (Arun Khopkar, 2008) and Doshi (Premjit Ramachandran 2009) are being screened at AFFR2009

Date: 29.10.2009 Tags: egodoc

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Screening of ‘an opportunity to build’ (1985) by Rob Klaasman and Maarten Kloos.

And the winner is….

The Complete Metropolis

Infinite Space on TV

Oscar nomination for Logorama

Glocal Architecture

Plurality in the Indian context

by Anneke Abhelakh

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