Contemporary Architecture

Architectural Styles of India

MODERNISM (Lighthouse cinema, Kolkata/ STC Building, New Delhi)
Modernism is an attitude. An attitude is composed of a belief and a value. A modernist is
someone who believes that there are better ways of doing things. Westernisation is
often considered a synonym for modernisation, and certainly, many ideas from the West
have flowed into India. In architecture, a modernist is often considered to be somebody
who simply supports any break with the past. Often it is a person who advocates a new
look for buildings a new style.
Architects may be more
concerned with the spatial
organisation of buildings the way
spaces are enclosed and related
to each other,
their composition geometrically
and/or in their sequence as an
observer moves
through them. More broadly, a
modernist architect believes that
architecture is
a medium for improving the lives
of people.
Modernist architecture is also, despite many protestations to the contrary, a set of
styles; ways of solving problems using particular sets of patterns.
Modern architecture,and what we accept as being modern, has been shaped by the
debate between those who design buildings based on methods proven successful in the
past and those who seek something completely fresh based on a perception of brave
new worlds.
In architecture, a
modernist is often considered
to be somebody who simply
supports any break with the
past. Often it is a person who
advocates a new look
for buildings—a new style.
Architects may be more
concerned with the spatial
organisation of buildings—the
way spaces are enclosed and
related to each other,
their composition
geometrically and/or in their
sequence as an observer moves
through them. More broadly, a modernist architect believes that architecture is
a medium for improving the lives of people.
Many buildings in India have continued to be designed within the artistic paradigms
established during the first two decades after Independence. Some of them
have been designed by the same architects who executed the earlier work but there
is other such work by a generation entirely new in terms of age, if not architectural
ideology. Changes took place in Modernist design everywhere—for instance,
it became more visually lively—but the work was carried on in the same intellectual vein
as in the past.

Deconstructivism
Deconstructivism in architecture, also called deconstruction, is a development of
postmodern architecture that began in the late 1980s. It is characterized by ideas of
fragmentation, an interest in manipulating ideas of a structure's surface or skin, non-
rectilinear shapes which serve to distort and dislocate some of the elements of
architecture, such as structure and envelope. The finished visual appearance of
buildings that exhibit the many deconstructivist "styles" is characterized by a stimulating
unpredictability and a controlled chaos.
Originally, some of the architects known as Deconstructivists were influenced by the
ideas of the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Eisenman developed a personal
relationship with Derrida, but even so his approach to architectural design was
developed long before he became a Deconstructivist. For him Deconstructivism should
be considered an extension of his interest in radical formalism. Some practitioners of
deconstructivism were also influenced by the formal experimentation and geometric
imbalances of Russian constructivism. There are additional references in
deconstructivism to 20th-century movements: the modernism/postmodernism interplay,
expressionism, cubism, minimalism and contemporary art. The attempt in
deconstructivism throughout is to move architecture away from what its practitioners see
as the constricting 'rules' of modernism such as "form follows function," "purity of form,"
and "truth to materials."

Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and
Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired
related movements in music and literature. The first branch of cubism, known as
Analytic Cubism, was both radical and influential as a short but highly significant art
movement between 1907 and 1911 in France. In its second phase, Synthetic Cubism,
the movement spread and remained vital until around 1919, when the Surrealist
movement gained popularity.

English art historian Douglas Cooper describes three phases of Cubism in his seminal
book, The Cubist Epoch. According to Cooper there was "Early Cubism", (from 1906 to
1908) when the movement was initially developed in the studios of Picasso and Braque;
the second phase being called "High Cubism", (from 1909 to 1914) during which time
Juan Gris emerged as an important exponent; and finally Cooper referred to "Late
Cubism" (from 1914 to 1921) as the last phase of Cubism as a radical avant-garde
movement.

Art Deco (Imperial Hotel, New Delhi)

Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which had its origins in Paris in the first
decades of the 20th century. The style originated in the 1920s and continued to be
employed until after World War II. Led by the best designers in the decorative arts such
as fashion, and interior design, Art Deco affected all areas of design throughout the
1920s and 1930s, including architecture and industrial design, as well as the visual arts
such as painting, the graphic arts and film. At the time, this style was seen as elegant,
glamorous, functional and modern.
Art Deco was an opulent style, and its
lavishness is attributed to reaction to the
forced austerity imposed by World War I.
Its rich, festive character fitted it for modern
contexts.
Art Deco made use of many distinctive
styles, but one of the most significant of its
features was its dependence upon a range
of ornaments and motifs.

Art Deco is characterized by use of

materials such as aluminium, stainless
steel, lacquer, Bakelite, Chrome and inlaid
wood.
The bold use of stepped forms and
sweeping curves (unlike the sinuous,
natural curves of the Art Nouveau),
chevron patterns, the ziggurat, the fountain,
and the sunburst motif are typical of Art
Deco.
The hotel was opened in 1931, designed in
mix of Victorian and colonial architecture
with a hint of Art Deco style by architect,
D.J. Bromfield, an associate of Edwin
Lutyens, who in turn designed the new
capital of British Raj, New Delhi, also
inaugurated in the same year, and
contained in Lutyens' Delhi. The Imperial was built by S.B.S. Ranjit Singh, son of R.B.S.
Narain Singh, honoured by the British Raj, at the Coronation Durbar of 1911, wherein
New Delhi was declared the new Capital of India from Calcutta.
Art Noveau (Espalnade Mansions, Kolkata)
Art Nouveau is an international movement and style of art, architecture and applied art—
especially the decorative arts—that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century
(1890–1905).The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art". A reaction to academic art
of the 19th century, it is characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-
inspired motifs, as well as highly stylized, flowing curvilinear forms. Art Nouveau is an
approach to design according to which artists should work on everything from
architecture to furniture, making art part of everyday life.
Although Art Nouveau fell out of favour with the arrival of 20th-century modernist styles,
it is seen today as an important bridge between the historicism of Neoclassicism and
modernism.
Art Nouveau is now
considered a 'total'
style, meaning that it
encompasses a
hierarchy of scales
in design —
architecture; interior
design; decorative
arts including
jewellery, furniture,
textiles, household
silver and other
utensils and lighting;
and the range of
visual arts. In the
philosophy of the
movement, art
should be a way of
life.For many Europeans, it was possible to live in an art nouveau-inspired house with
art nouveau furniture, silverware, crockery, jewellery, cigarette cases, etc. Artists
desired to break all connections to classical times and bring down the barriers between
the fine arts and applied arts. Art Nouveau was underlined by a particular way of
thinking about modern society and new production methods, attempting to redefine the
meaning and nature of the work of art so that art would not overlook any everyday
object, no matter how utilitarian. Hence the name Art Nouveau - "New Art".

International Style (Ahmedabad Museum)

The International style was a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and
1930s, the formative decades of Modernist architecture. The term had its origin from the
name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson written to record the
International Exhibition of Modern Architecture held at the Museum of Modern Art in
New York City in 1932 which identified, categorized and expanded upon characteristics
common to Modernism across the world. As a result, the focus was more on the stylistic
aspects of Modernism. Hitchcock's and Johnson's aims were to define a style of the
time, which would encapsulate this modern architecture. They identified three different
principles: the expression of volume rather than mass, balance rather than preconceived
symmetry and the expulsion of applied ornament. All the works which were displayed as
part of the exhibition were carefully selected, as only works which strictly followed the
set of rules were displayed.
The common
characteristics of the
International style
include: a radical
simplification of form, a
rejection of ornament,
and adoption of glass,
steel and concrete as
preferred materials.
Further, the
transparency of
buildings, construction
(called the honest
expression of
structure), and
acceptance of
industrialized mass-
production techniques
contributed to the international style's design philosophy. Finally, the machine aesthetic,
and logical design decisions leading to support building function were used by the
International architect to create buildings reaching beyond historicism.
International Modernism, born of the Rationalist spirit of continental Europe,
was the core of avant-garde international architectural practice from 1920 to 1960.
It has remained the basis for much subsequent work.

Rationalism (Shodhan House, Ahmedabad)

The intellectual principles of
rationalism are based on
architectural theory.
Vitruvius had already
established in his work De
Architectura that architecture
is a science that can be
comprehended rationally.
This formulation was taken
up and further developed in
the architectural treatises of
the Renaissance.
Progressive art theory of the
18th-century opposed the
Baroque beauty of
illusionism with the classic
beauty of truth and reason.

Twentieth-century rationalism derived less from a special, unified theoretical work than
from a common belief that the most varied problems posed by the real world could be
resolved by reason. In that respect it represented a reaction to historicism and a contrast
to Art Nouveau and Expressionism.
The Effect of Rationalist Thought
Many Indian architects of the era were inspired by the spirit of Independence and
set out to explore all the possibilities for architecture that Rationalist thinking
opened up. As such they were following Nehru in his effort to shape India to his
own image of what the country should be. Modernist architectural thought paralleled
Nehru's political ideology. By 1980, a substantial body of architectural work
had been produced in India by a growing number of architects working within
the Rationalist tradition. Their architecture, nevertheless, had an empirical con-
tent that grew from the 1950s onwards as they increasingly paid attention to the
reality of contextual concerns.

Functionalism
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building
based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first
appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly
in regard to modern architecture.

The place of functionalism in building can be traced back to the Vitruvian triad, where
'utilitas' (variously translated as 'commodity', 'convenience', or 'utility') stands alongside
'venustas' (beauty) and 'firmitas' (firmness) as one of three classic goals of architecture.
Functionalist views were typical of some gothic revival architects, in particular Augustus
Welby Pugin wrote that «there should be no features about a building which are not
necessary for convenience, construction, or propriety» and «all ornament should consist
of enrichment of the essential construction of the building.

The debate about functionalism and aesthetics is often framed as a mutually exclusive
choice, when in fact there are architects, like Will Bruder, James Polshek and Ken
Yeang, who attempt to satisfy all three Vitruvian goals.

Neo-Modernist Architecture (IIT Kanpur)

Neomodernism is a term that has at times been used to describe a philosophical
position based on modernism but addressing the critique of modernism by
postmodernism.
Neo-Modernist architecture in India could well be regarded as the third genera-
tion of post-Independence
modern architecture in the
country. For Indian
architects who were
educated in the United
States in the 1940s and
1950s it shows
a third stage in their
evolution, a maturation of
their work into what could
easily
be called the Indian School
of Modernist Architecture.
For many younger Indian
architects it is a product of
their educations and the
influence of contemporary
work, not only of their Indian predecessors, but also of those around the world.
What occurred in India is that the ideas and thought behind Modernist architecture
persisted but the forms associated with the architecture increasingly began
to be adapted to local conditions. Some critics call this work the 'Second Modernism'
because it represents an effort to create a regional architecture within the
Modernist fold (Pallasmaa, 1988). The debt to the Modernist masters is fully
acknowledged but their implicit approval, from beyond the pyre or grave, is not
sought.

Post Modernist Abstractionism (School for Spastic Children, New Delhi)

Postmodern art is a term
used to describe an art
movement which was
thought to be in
contradiction to some
aspect of modernism, or to
have emerged or
developed in its aftermath.
In general, movements
such as Intermedia,
Installation art, Conceptual
Art and Multimedia,
particularly involving video
are described as
postmodern. The traits
associated with the use of
the term postmodern in art
include bricolage, use of words prominently as the central artistic element, collage,
simplification, appropriation, a return to traditional themes and techniques as a rejection
of modernism, depiction of consumer or popular culture and Performance art.
If one accepts Post-Modernist architecture as only that involving the application
of abstracted traditional building design motifs and patterns in new architecture,
in India, this kind of work began independently. The goal was to make buildings
meaningful to lay people. Other efforts have been made to achieve this end but
they have taken design elements from the past literally as in the earlier Indo-Saracenic
work of British architects and that advocated by the Modern Indian Architectural
Movement during the 1930s and 1940s. In those works little effort was made to
transform historic shapes into abstract representations of them. The difficulty Post-
Modernist architects have had is in making the abstractions recognizable to others.

Submitted By
Vishal Chouhan
1st sem M.Arch (B.S.)