19ARH210T - HISTORY OF

ARCHITECTURE IV - CONTEMPORARY
CYCLE - 3

CRITICAL REGIONALISM

Ar.MANJARI.K,M.ARCH
Assistant Professor,
SAID,SRMIST
 Critical Regionalism
 Need for critical regionalism
 Paulo Soleri
 Laurie Baker
 Anant Raje
 B.V.Doshi
 Geoffrey Bawa
 Tadao Ando
 Hassan Fathy
 Exploring the concept of Critical regionalism architects works

Ar.MANJARI.K,M.ARCH
Assistant Professor,
SAID,SRMIST
CRITICAL REGIONALISM
The term Critical Regionalism was coined by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre in the
early 1980s, and was later elaborated by architectural critic and historian Kenneth
Frampton in his essay ‘Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture
of Resistance’, published in 1983.

Critical regionalism can be defined is an architectural approach that strives to counter the
homogeneity inherent in modernist architecture By using contextual forces, critical
regionalism imparts a sense of place and meaning to architecture.

Kenneth Frampton
coined the phrase
Critical Regionalism to
define the elements of
topography, climate,
light and tectonics
fundamental to the art
of building – these are
equally valid today.
Critical regionalist designs are sensitive to the local
climate as well as the technological constraints of the
local building industry. The practitioners of critical
regionalism seek to integrate global
architectural and technological developments with
regional sensibilities derived from spatial, cultural
and historical contexts.
According to Frampton, critical regionalism should
adopt modern architecture critically for its universal
progressive qualities but at the same time should
value responses particular to the context.
Säynatsalo Town Hall
Emphasis should be on topography, climate, According to Frampton, this building by Alvar
light, tectonic form rather than scenography and Aalto is a typical Critical Regionalist building.
the tactile sense rather than the visual.

• As put forth by Tzonis and Lefaivre, critical regionalism need not directly draw from the
context, rather elements can be stripped of their context and used in strange rather than familiar
ways.

• Critical regionalism is different from regionalism which tries to achieve a one-to-one

correspondence with vernacular architecture in a conscious way without consciously partaking in
the universal.
CRITICAL REGIONALISM IN INDIA

RAJ REWAL – Traditional

architecture was based on a vocabulary
of design
which may not be relevant today even
in Kashmir or Rajasthan. We are
building with concrete with concrete
frame structures, infill walls and now
also beginning to build partially
industrial structures. The base of
contemporary architecture has to be
new techniques of building.

and
CHARLES CORREA - "Our identity we are searching for is going to be pluralistic. It is not a
mono centric one."India is a pluralistic society. It has many layers of orders. Firstly overviews are
very important in looking for identity. Secondly identity is not a single pattern.
•Architect should have the right instincts so that he can tell the difference between something
authentic and something superficially picked up. There are three streams that create built form.
The first is what is being constructed in the rural areas. It is indigenous. And the second is new
popular. The third is the architect. We are the purveyors of myths and of ideologies.
PAOLO SOLERI
Born in Turin, Soleri studied architecture at the Polytechnic
University of Turin in 1946 where he received a doctorate with
highest honors. After, he moved to the United States, he was an
apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright for a year and a half in Arizona.

In 1950 Soleri returned to Italy with his wife where he was

commissioned to build Ceramica Artistica Solimene; a ceramics
factory in Vietri. He adapted the ceramic industry processes
learned to use in his designs and production of windbells and
siltcast architectural structures.
PAOLO SOLERI
Although Soleri designed and
built homes and bridges, as time
went on he turned his attention
increasingly to his “arcologies”,
which conceptually addresses
the interrelationship between
architecture and ecology. Soleri
complied 30 arcologies in his
book, Arcology: The City in the
Image of the Man (1969).

This featured intricately-rendered cities of

the future where people would live, work
and play in harmonious self-sufficiency.

Arcologies are self-contained, vertically

layered megabuildings that combined living,
working and natural environments into
condensed superorganisms.
Soleri called for a “highly integrated and compact three-dimensional urban form that is the
opposite of urban sprawl with its inherently wasteful consumption of land, energy and time
tending to isolate people from each other and the community”.
 Arcosanti struggled to attract
residents, reaching a peak
population of about 200 in the
mid-1970s.

There are fewer than 60

permanent residents of the town,
but thousands of students and
tourists still arrive at Soleri’s
“urban laboratory” each year to
learn more about the architect’s
ideas and methods.

Arcosanti Apse, 2006 (Provided by Wikipedia)

Arcosanti, 2005 (Provided by Wikipedia)

The greenhouse effect is a membrane that seals off an area of ground that can be cultivated,
extending the growing season to practically twelve months, and also saves a great amount of
water. ...
With the "greenhouse,“ one has intensive agriculture, limited use of water and extension of
seasonal cycles. This is the horticultural effect.
Then there is the apse effect. Some structures can take in the benign radiation of the sun in winter
months, and tend to cut off the harsh radiation of the sun in the summer.
By the chimney effect, which is connected with the greenhouse effect, one can convey, passively,
energy through the movement of air and heat from one area to another.
So we have these four effects; there is also the capacity of masonry
to accumulate and store energy-the heat sink effect. With relatively large masonry, one can store
energy during the warm hours of the day, and give it out during cool or cold hours of the night.
The intent is to see if these five effects can be organized around what we call the urban effect.
PAOLO SOLERI – UNDERSTANDING THE ARCO SANTI COMMUNITY
ARCO SANTI RESIDENCE

HEXAHEDRON ARCOLOGY
 Hexahedron Arcology (The City in the Image of Man)
Putting his ideas into motion, Soleri bought
land overlooking the Agua Fria River, 70
miles north of Phoenix. This was the start of
Arcosanti. Soleri spent most of his career
trying to build an eco-Utopia in the desert
planned for 5,000 people in 1970. His vision
was originally designed to be 20 stories high
which supported a study center for
experimental workshops and performing arts.

The construction was

assisted by student
volunteers from all
over the world to help
provide a model
demonstrating Soleri’s
concept of Arcology.

Babelnoah (The City in the Image of Man)

The main facilities planned for the CRITICAL
MASS were the uncompleted portion of the
East Crescent (third floor apartments, Keystone
unit and amphitheater roof), West Crescent,
Teilhard de Chardin Complex, La Loggia,
Pizza Piazza, and Energy Aprons.
PIZZA PIAZZA - foundry and ceramics
production areas, a Visitor Center and Gallery,
a pizza parlor, and three floors of residential
and hotel units.
CRESECENT COMPLEX - large meetings
and assemblies as well as housing for their
participants along with long-term residents.

ENERGY APRON
The Energy Apron features varied microclimatic conditions for diversified horticulture. A number
of experiments are involved in the design of the greenhouses, among them a water collection and
recycling system, the shading of the greenhouse by vines to obstruct the summer sun, and warm
air collection on a large scale.
In the winter months, the warmed air will be directed
into the buildings above to provide additional heating.
CHRIDIN - conference-exhibition-housing
facility located immediately south of the East
Crescent. Twelve small housing units will be
built along the top of the cloister, with an open-
air theater below. The buildings will connect
directly with the Energy Apron Greenhouse
located on the south slope.
LA LOGGIA
La Loggia is primarily designed as residential
space for short-term and long-term residents.
On the north side, La Loggia faces Tristan's
Wall, a composition of precast panels offering a
vertical landscape in the backyard. La Loggia
also provides immediate access to the Energy
Apron with food and energy production
features, providing a unique living experience
for residents. Each room has an expansive view
of the valley.
ARCO SANTI – FUTURE
Arcosanti is a living community, an urban laboratory whose
design has been continuously evolving since the idea was
first conceived by Paolo Soleri in 1963. Initiated in that year
as a nimble proposal entitled “Macro-Cosanti,” an
enlargement of the Cosanti theme, it has always intended to
demonstrate how intrinsic bio-techno-logical paradigms like
miniaturization and complexity may be applied to the
design of a real community.
These concepts and others – chief among them 'leanness' - began to emerge from the architecture
of Cosanti itself. Since Arcosanti’s construction commenced in 1970, its evolution has continued
from the research, drawing, modelling and publications that the Cosanti Foundation has
constantly been developing.
LAURIE BAKER
March 2, 1917 – April 1, 2007)
Lawrence Wilfred "Laurie" Baker was a British-born Indian
architect, renowned for his initiatives in cost-effective energy-
efficient architecture and designs that maximized space,
ventilation and light and maintained an uncluttered yet striking
aesthetic sensibility.
• He went to India in 1945 in part as a missionary and since then
lived and worked in India for over 50 years.
 ARCHITECTURAL STYLE –
Designing and building low cost, high quality, beautiful
homes.

• Suited to or built for lower-middle to lower class clients.

• Irregular, pyramid-like structures on roofs, with one side
left open and
tilting into the wind.
• Brick jali walls, a perforated brick screen which utilizes
natural air movement to cool the home's interior and
create intricate patterns of light and shadow. Baker's
designs invariably have traditional Indian sloping roofs
and terracotta Mangalore tile shingling with gables and
vents allowing rising hot air to escape.

•Curved walls to enclose more volume at lower material

cost than straight walls.

•His respect for nature led him to let the peculiarity of a

site inform his architectural improvisations, rarely is a
topography line marred or a tree uprooted.
•This saves construction cost as well, since working
around difficult site conditions is much more cost
effective than clear-cutting.
 LOW COST CONSTRUCTION – ADVANTAGES
•Energy saving eco-friendly compressive roof.
•Decorative & Highly Economical for larges spans.
•Maintenance free

Filler slabs employ replacing 'unproductive' concrete by

a 'Filler' material which reduces the weight of the slab
and also the cost by reducing the amount of concrete
used.
Also, since the
weight of the slab is
thus reduced, lesser
steel is required for
reinforcement,
further reducing the
cost.
EXAMPLE 1 – THE HAMLET
This is Baker's home in Trivandrum.
• This is remarkable and unique house built on a plot of land along the slope of a rocky hill, with
limited access to water
• However Baker's genius has created a wonderful home for his family
• Material used from unconventional sources
• Family eats in kitchen
• Electricity wiring is not concealed. The wall is decorated from broken pottery, pens, glass.
Gables for proper air circulation and ventilation
EXAMPLE 2 - MRS NALINI NAYAK`S RESIDENCE,
ULLOOR, TRIVANDRUM (1971)
The main house is formed by a simple three-floor stacking of the
pentagon on nine-inch-thick brick walls
• internally each floor divides into the bedroom, bath and landing
• The additional segment on the ground, forming the living/dining
and kitchen, is structured with bays of half brick thickness,
alternating wall and wall and door.

Requirements:-
• Meeting place.
• working place (training).
• Open spaces.
• Classroom & dormitories
ANANT DAMODAR RAJE
• Born in Mumbai , India on 26 September 1929
• was well known architect , intellectual and teacher
• 1954 :graduated from sir .J.J. School of fine arts , Mumbai
• 1957-1960 : professional practice with ar. B.V.Doshi , in
Ahmadabad
• 1961-1964 : professional practice , in ahemdabad
• 1964-1968 : in the office of Ar.Louis khan in philadelphia
• 1969-1971 : working on construction of IIM with Ar.Louis
khan
• Later he became the honorary director of school of
architecture , Ahmadabad(C.E.P.T.)

WORKS :

1. Indian Institute Of Forest Management, Bhopal.

PHILOSOPHY OF ANANT RAJE

 Strongly feels that post independence architecture in India was triggered by architects like
Louis Khan & LE Corbusier who were not architects and thus do not refer our traditional values.

 Prefers more open spaces as most activities in the country are performed in courtyards ,
streets or open spaces .

 Very much concerned to issues like economy, climate , traditional aspects etc.

 Working in hot dry climate he realized that open planning not only achieves economy in space
utilization , economy in structure design , economy in overall building expenditure but a meaningful
solution to building in such a climate – he thus preferred open planning.

 “An architect possesses a strong conviction of theory and design.”

According to him architecture is not conceived as container of specific activates but as a place to facilitate
the course of human environment.

Raje’s work has consistently revolved around interrelationship of indoor and outdoor spaces , an
appropriate and honest approach to materials ,proper climatic response, and hierarchy of spaces

 Encouraging interaction through built form.

Resource conservation.

 Built in flexibility and open ended ness of design.

INSTITUTE OF FOREST
MANAGEMENT, BHOPAL
Location: Bhopal, India
Architect/Planner: Anant Damodar Raje
Client : Indian Institute of Forest Management
Year :1984
Type : educational Building
Usage: training center

•The project restates time tested premises of the court

and garden, fundamental to most Islamic architecture
in India.

•The land straddle two hills with outcrops of slate.

The natural vegetation is wild grass, which has been
allowed to grow, augmented by rows and clumps of
trees.

•The rooms, arcade and porch, are made from a

simple vocabulary of trabeated and arcuated
construction, with the walls clad with stone screed in
shades of green and yellow grey that establishes a
close rapport with the site.
ARCHITECT - ANANT RAJE

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE : MODERN

The design of Indian Institute of Forest
Management (IIFM), Bhopal was inspired
by the concept of continuity.
Institutions are self-contained entities,
whose growth is nurtured by a process of
self-renewal through the various stages of
their development.
Located in Nehru Nagar, in the southern west corner of the city
of Bhopal.

Situated on a hill that overlooks the Bhadbhada barrage that

controls the overflow of the upper lake or Bada Talab of Bhopal.

The spillway for Bhadbhada tails around the IIFM hill , giving
it a scenic Location surrounded by water on three sides during
good monsoons.

The inspiration for the project came from the historical town of
Mandu.

The natural vegetation is wild grass , which has been allowed to

grow , augmented by rows and clumps of trees.

Walls cladded with stone in shades of green and yellow grey.

 PROJECT DETAILS:

Builtup Area : 17500 Sq.M

Site : 65 Hectares Hilly site
Client : Govt Of India.

SPACES :

I. Academic Complex :
Classrooms, Library,
Auditorium, Seminar rooms
II. Living Zone :
Dormitories, Kitchen,
Dining , Spaces for group
meetings.

o Hilly site is occupied by

academic complex and is
marked by cohensive group of
buildings which constitute
academic zone.

o The academic complex has a

court surrounded by classrooms,
library , auditorium and seminar
rooms.
PLAN
 Demonstrating rigours and containing faiths so
necessary, and yet elusive in practice. The IIFM
building has become a touchstone for the
professional, especially the young.

Humanism & Urbanism: Using primarily

Enlightenment design methods, and developing a
particular variant of technique or the mode of
knowing best represented by the school of Louis
Kahn, Anant Raje constructs an ideogrammatic
representation of architecture

The chaotic metropolis of Bombay deeply influences Raje and

he infact proclaims himself an "urban man" contrary to Doshi
who although from the same school, looks to village life.
•The library building is four storied serves focal point of academic
court.
•An amphitheatre with seating capacity
of 750 is planned for multipurpose
activities.
o There are water bodies all over site.
Water is carried in narrow channels to
green areas. A water reservoir on top
of one of hillocks gives sharp focus the
landscape.
MAIN APPROACH
MAIN PLAZA
o Living zone consists of students dormitories, dining areas, spaces
for group meetings. The students dormitories are located at southern
tip of academic complex.
o All dormitories faces lakes on southern slopes and are close
proximity to library.
o The openings are recessed in shadow pockets which becomes
dominant architectural feature controlling and directing scale and
proportion throughout the complex.
o Rows of trees between dormitories and academic complex create
buffer zone besides providing shaded walkways connecting group of
dormitories.
o The entire campus is constructed of brick masonry for walls. RCC
is used for internal frame structure.
o Lintels are standardized and left exposed concrete surfaces.
o The areas around opening is clad with rough kota stone . The
remaining part of exterior masonry wall surfaces is plastered stone
washed grit.
o Course stone masonry retaining.
The chaotic metropolis of Bombay
deeply influences Raje and he infact proclaims
himself an "urban man" contrary to Doshi who
although from the same school, looks to village life.

Anant raje’s Stress is placed on integration of

culture and spiritual wellbeing and efforts
as designer are aimed at process of integration of man,
the space around him and the elements making up the
space.
The plan of the Institute depicts a set of space requirements for various activities. The complex should be
architecturally interpreted as a homogenous entity rather than as separately identified buildings for specific
functions on distinct territories

This perception of continuity mitigates isolationist tendencies and eases the progress towards academic
and social interaction, both of which are the hallmark of a successful and flexible Institute. To this end,
the plan attempts lo create a sense of community without contradicting the student's need to feel
independent.
Relating the Buildings: The 65 hectares of site is open and rises
approximately 50 meters from the lower road level on a hill
plateau, and is heavily contoured on the western and
southern sides, while the eastern side has gradual slopes. The
major axis runs north- south, and the main circulation spine is
located on this north-south axis.
ACADEMIC COMPLEX :
Court surrounded by classrooms , a library , an
auditorium , a seminar room.
Library building being four storeyed serves as the focal
point of academic complex.
LIVING ZONE :
Consists of student dormitories , a kitchen , dining areas
and a space for meetings.
Dormitories face lake and are located at the southern tip
of the complex.
OPENINGS :
Openings are recessed into shadow pockets which
become the dominant feature
controlling and directing scale and proportion throughout
the building.
Library
 Dining halls Student Dormitory The building seems
to be truly ahead of its
time and completely
in compliance with
Raje’s philosophy of
architecture which
aimed at simplicity
and honesty.

The magnificence of the clear sky is brilliantly framed through the

circular rings supported on the arches , carefully and precisely as one
would stack cards.
Instead of concrete being rendered into a monolith, the facade
displays a variety of textures in concrete and stone.
BALKRISHNA DOSHI
D.O.B.-26 August 1927,In 1950 he became a senior designer on Le
Corbusier's projects in Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.His craft under Le
Corbusier for four years. (1951-54)
Awards:
Associate Member, Royal Institute of British Ar., 1954 Fellowship,
Graham Foundation, 1958

Honorary Fellow, American Institute of Ar., 1971 Fellow, Indian Institute

of Architects, 1971 Padma Shri Award, Government of India, 1976
Doshi worked closely with Louis kahn and Anant raje , when Kahn
designed the campus of the Indian Institute of Management.
He was presented in 1995,Aga Khan Award for Architecture, for the
Aranya Community Housing in Indore, India.
WORKS :

1. IIM - BANGLORE
IMPORTANT BUILDINGS

•SANGATH VASTU SHILPA FOUNDATION

•CEPT UNIVERSITY
•GANDHI LABOUR INSTITUTE
•NIFT,NEW DELHI
•TAGORE HALL,AHMEDABAD

•ARANYA LOW COST

HOUSING-INDORE
•IIM UDAIPUR
•HUSSAIN- DOSHI GUFA
•IIM BANGALORE
•INSTITUTE OF
INDOLOGY,AHMEDABA
D
PRINCIPLES

Doshi's work has consistently revolved around

the interrelationship of indoor and outdoor
space.
Doshi followed it in his architecture by
providing openness in buildings through
colonnades, pergolas, porticos, sky lights etc.
The success of any project depends on
effective construction, contracting, logistic
planning and co-ordination
 UNDERSTANDING THE
SPATIAL PLANNING OF
IIM, BANGALORE

The IIMB campus was designed

by celebrated architect B V
Doshi.
The campus is a destination and a
pilgrimage for students of
architecture and practicing
architects, with the architecture
of the academic and
administrative blocks becoming a
case study. Completed in 1983,
the original stone architecture is Geographical Location : Bangalore lies in the southeast of
now complemented by the the South Indian state of Karnataka.
greenery, just as B V Doshi had Location-site is in hilly area in south
intended. Bangalore on Banerghatta. Contexturban setting , linked by a
highway. Site area-102 acres
Topography-undulating terrain with gentle slope
Climate-temperature arid climate. Vegetation-lush green belt
of tropical rain forest, beautifully landscaped and
maintained.
B.V Doshi PHILOSOPHIES

According to him Architecture of a building is conceived not as a container of specific activities

but as a place to being habited , as a place to facilitate the course of human environment.
Doshi is work has consistently revolved around the interrelationship of indoor and outdoor
space , an appropriate and has one approach to materials , proper climatic response and
observance of hierarchy and order that has always been present in the best modern architecture .
Fatehpur Sikri’s courtyards and the
gardens of Bangalore merged in B V
Doshi’s mind’s eye.
• He picked up the gardens and put
them in the courtyards.
• He made green corridors, which
allow for academic exchanges to be
carried beyond the classroom.
• A good integration of climatical
factors ,the ‘Sun Path diagrams’, and
proper implementation of ‘Vastu
Shashtra’ was one of the best qualities
of B.V.Dodhi’s
architecture.
• A perfect blend of modern and
traditional architectural style.
Site Zoning : Influence of IIMA zoning
• Site divided into 2 halves; northern for staff housing and southern for educational block.
• Doshi’s plan tightened up so that the academic zones were arranged around interlocking courts
and terraces linked by galleries.

Southern zone is wrapped

with a blanket of
greenery, Screens off
unwanted noise
emanating from road and
breaks visual link with
surrounding spaces
IIM Bangalore
The 54,000 sq mt IIM B
complex, built on a 100-
acre campus, is based
on the design of the town
of Fatehpur Sikri, laid out
by Akbar in the 16th
century. The
architect, B V Doshi,
achieved this vision by
linking a network of
corridors, courtyardsand
external spaces allowing
for future extensions
• Achieved by adopting a network of corridors linking together all volumes,
courtyards ,and externals.
• Pergolas wit creepers are used instead of just plain roofs for corridors.
• Vistas are also included.
• Pedestrian movement designating within academic complex and student’s
dormitories.
• Roads are restricted to outside of the buildings.
• Roads have trees on the sides.
AMENTIES

MATERIALS USED

• The construction of the entire complex

is made simple and standardized using
exposed concrete, lattices, frames, and
wall system using rough blocks of local
gray granite.

• it is low on maintenance; the building is

cool and light is controlled.
• Greenery was a third material
introducing a vital vegetal ornament.
GEOFFREY BAWA
Geoffrey Manning Bawa
•Born in 1919
•In 1938 Geoffrey went to Cambridge to read English and later studied
Law in London.
•worked for some time in a Colombo law firm.
•Soon tired from the legal profession
•1948 he came to a temporary halt in Italy where, seduced by its
Renaissance gardens
•He returned to Ceylon where he bought Lunuganga.
•Wanted to make Lunuganga an Italian garden but laid bare his lack of
technical knowledge.
•1951 he began a trial apprenticeship with Edwards, Reid and Begg.
•1953 he applied to the Architectural Association School in London.
•Finally qualified as an ARCHITECT in 1957 at the age of 38.
PRACTICE - Geoffrey Bawa started in the firm of Edwards Reid and Begg.
• His fellow partners from 1959 to 1967 were Jimmy Nilgiria and Valentine Gunesekera.
• The Danish architect Ulrik Plesner joined the practice in 1959 and worked as
a close collaborator with Bawa until the end of 1966.
• After 1967 Bawa’s sole partner was Dr. K. Poologasundram who acted as engineer and office
manager until the partnership was dissolved in 1989.
• In 1990 Bawa founded ‘Geoffrey Bawa Associates’.
• Channa Daswatte acted as his principal associate from 1993 until 1998.

PHILOSOPHY - Highly personal in his approach, evoking the pleasures of the senses that go
hand in hand with the climate, landscape, and culture of ancient Ceylon(Present day SriLanka).
•Brings together an appreciation of the Western humanist tradition in architecture with needs and
lifestyles of his own country.
•The principal force behind TROPICAL MODERNISM.
•Work with a sensitivity to site and context.
•His designs break down the barriers between inside and outside, between interior design and
landscape architecture.
•He reduced buildings to a series of scenographically conceived spaces separated by courtyards
and gardens.
•His ideas are providing a bridge between the past and the future, a mirror in
which ordinary people can obtain a clearer image of their own evolving culture.
EXAMPLE 1 – LUNUGANGA, BENTOTA
Street Address Dedduwa Lake
A small rubber plantation consisting of a house and
Location Bentota, Sri Lanka
25 acres of land
Architect/Planner Geoffrey Bawa
•A low hill planted with rubber and fruit trees and
Date 1949-1998
coconut palms with rice fields.
Century 20th
•Surrounded by the Dedduwa lake.
Decade 1990s
NOW - The Italian inspired garden with
spectacular views over lakes and tropical jungle Building Types landscape, residential
together with a simply designed plantation house. garden, private
Building Usage
residence
THE REASON - When Bawa came back to Ceylon in 1949, he became almost totally
involved in the pleasures of altering his house and transforming the rubber plantation into a
wonderfully beautiful, rolling landscape; staircase and terraced, squared into paddy fields, on
the edge of a long lake with a wild island in its centre.

This he so enjoyed that he decided to become an ARCHITECT .A garden is not a static object,
it is a moving spectacle, a series of scenographic images that change with the season, the point
of view, the time of day, the mood. So Lunuganga has been conceived as a series of separate
contained spaces, to be moved through at leisure or to be occupied at certain times of the day.
Geoffrey Bawa created this tropical garden idyll.

The Italian inspired gardens, with spectacular views over the lake and tropical jungle, has been
transformed into a series of outdoor rooms creating a huge feeling of space with vistas that have
been carefully chosen to emphasize their beauty with points of architecture and art; from
entrances, pavilions, broad walks to a multitude of courtyards and pools.
PLANTATION HOUSE –
•A collection of courtyards, verandahs and loggias create a haven of peace and inspiration.
•Suites are individual and beautifully decorated to provide a relaxing and memorable
environment.
STUDIO -
•Set at the edge of a cinnamon plantation
•High on the hill overlooking the lake to the south thus giving the privacy.

This is not a garden of colorful flowers, neat borders and gurgling fountains: it is a civilized
wilderness, an assemblage of tropical plants of different scale and texture, a composition of green
on green, an ever changing play of light and shade, a succession of hidden surprises and sudden
vistas, a landscape of memories and ideas.
• This is not a garden of colorful
flowers , neat borders and curling
fountains –
1. It is a civilized wilderness
2. An assemblage of tropical plants
of different scale and texture
3. A composition of green on green
4. An ever changing play of light
and shade
5. A succession of hidden surprises
and vistas
6. A landscape of memories and
ideas
Today the garden seems so natural, so established, that it is hard to appreciate just how
much effort has gone into its creation. Vast quantities of earth have been shifted, trees and
shrubs have been planted and transplanted, branches have been weighed down with stones
to train their shape.
In 1948, a young man dreamt of making a garden. Today the garden is in its prime but, after
the passage of over fifty monsoons, the young man has grown old. As he sits in his
wheelchair on the terrace and watches the sun setting across the lake it may be that he
reflects on his achievement.
This is a work of art, not of nature: it is the contrivance of a single mind and a hundred
pairs of hands working together with nature to produce something that is 'supernatural'.
SRI LANKAN PARLIAMENT BUILDING

The new sri lankan parliament is an asymmetric group of colonnaded pavilions with striking
copper roofs, built on an island the ‘floating’ on a man-made lake.

The site was originally a marsh and was dredged to form a small island to support the structures
and a wide shore with dense tree cover. The approach is along a causeway and across a forecourt.
Again, bawa has used a modernist framework to support indigenous components of past
architecture and produced a building of great beauty and harmony.

Building is designed in a style of regional modernism ; while the building is an example

of modernism, it still respects sri lankan vernacular architecture.
The parliament complex has the illusion of symmetry, which contrasts sharply with
the organic form of the lake it is located in.
 The chamber, the focus of power, lies within the main pavilion with balconies and
galleries rising three storey's. The tiered terraces below hold administrative and committee
offices. Other pavilions accommodate rooms of varying functions.
traditional wood and stone columns, reminiscent of ancient palaces and temples,
supports the copper roofs
the lake itself can be read as a tribute to sri lanka’s two millennia of tank building,
recalling the sea of parakramabahu and the tree-lined lake at kandy

REGIONAL ELEMENTS IN BUILDING

In their final form the parliament roofs are an abstraction of the traditional kandyan roof.
The use of copper in place of tile gives them the thinness and tent-like quality of a stretched
skin, transporting them far from the realms of historical artwork while recalling the fabled 'brazen
roofs' of anuradhapura.
The project was commissioned by President J.R. Jayawardene in 1979 and was in recognition of
Bawa’s increasing prestige. The completed design brought him even more international kudos.
The Parliamentary complex is Bawa’s most symbolic work, conceptualized as movements
through spaces, resulting in the asymmetrical configuration. It is also perhaps the only project
where he has allowed form to override the priority of landscape.
TADAO ANDO
Born in Osaka
He did not receive any formal architectural schooling, instead he
trained himself by reading and travelling.
"I was never a good student. I always preferred learning things on
my own outside of class… There's a lot of great traditional
architecture in the area. I was studying architecture by going to see
actual building, and reading books about them.“

"I traced the drawings of his early period so many times, that all
pages turned black” - ANDO
CHURCH OF THE LIGHT

The Church of the Light embraces Ando’s philosophical framework

between nature and architecture through the way in which light can
define and create new spatial perceptions equally, if not more so, as
that of his concrete structures.

Completed in 1989, the Church of the Light was a renovation to an

existing Christian compound in Ibaraki. The new church was the first
phase to a complete redesign of the site – later completed in 1999 –
under Ando’s design aesthetic.
For Ando, the Church of Light is an architecture of duality – the dual nature of existence –
solid/void, light/dark, stark/serene. The coexisting differences leave the church void of any, and
all, ornament creating a pure, unadorned space. The intersection of light and solid raises the
occupants awareness of the spiritual and secular within themselves.

The employment of simplistic materials reinforces the duality of the space; the concrete structure
removes any distinction of traditional Christian motifs and aesthetic. Besides an extruded cross
from the east facing façade, the church is composed of a concrete shell; the concrete adds to the
darkness of the church by creating a more humble, meditative place of worship. As a testament to
minimalist architecture, the crosses void in the east facing wall is the only prominent religious
symbol present in the church.
Formally, Ando’s Church of the Light
is minimalist and reductive of religious
paraphernalia to a simple cruciform
extrusion, which is often criticized as
disturbingly empty, void, and
undefined. Although it has been stated
to be nothing more than six walls and a
roof, there is a whole level of design
aesthetic implemented by Ando and his
contractors that is misread and
unrecognized by the occupants.
The concrete construction is a reinforcement of
Ando’s principal focus on simplicity and
minimalist aesthetic; however, the way in which
the concrete is poured and formed gives the
concrete a luminous quality when exposed to
natural light.
Ando’s approach to light
and concrete in the
Church of the Light, as
well as his other projects,
has a surreal effect that
perceptually changes
material into immaterial,
dark into light, light into
space.

Ando’s decision to place the cross on

the east façade allows for light to pour
into the space throughout the early
morning and into the day, which has a
dematerializing effect on the interior
concrete walls transforming the dark
volume into an illuminated box.
HASSAN FATHY
Egyptian Architect (1900 – 1989)
The master builder, Hassan Fathy (1900-1989) was one of
the first architects to break with modern architecture and to
found a new approach based on a conception of interpreting forms
and masses from the past.
He was unique in believing that this language could exist
alongside that of an aggressively modern one that cut all ties with
the past he Designed 160 separate projects from modest country
retreats to fully planned communities, markets, schools, theatres,
places for worship and for recreation.
ARCHITECTURAL PERSPECTIVES –

•Ancient design methods and materials

•Utilizing a knowledge of rural Egyptian economic situation
•Space design suitable to surrounding environment
•Low cost construction without using R.C.C and steel
• Training locals to build ones own house.

SIX MAJOR PRINCIPLES THAT FORM THE CRUX OF FATHY'S WORK :

• The belief in the primacy of human values in architecture

• The importance of a universal rather than a limited approach
• The use of appropriate technology
• The need for socially oriented, cooperative construction techniques
• The essential role of tradition
• The re-establishment of cultural pride through the art of building
 EGYPT
Geographical location North of Africa,
touching Mediterranean sea :

Climate Dry, Arid

Special River Nile flowing from

feature south to North
Main
Farming on the banks of
Occupati
River Nile
on

As an architect, he was influenced the most by the monumental architecture in the Pharaonic
period also, strongly influenced intellectually by the concept of the vernacular arch. of the
Nubians.
• Hassan Fathy’s main purpose was housing the poor in developing nations by applying the
concept he was strongly influenced by which is the vernacular architecture of the Nubians which
opened up his mind to discover the true essence of the heritage and being inspired by the
ancestor’s work.
• His goal was to combine between a comfy descent housing & being poor, because after all,
home is where the person should feel comfy at ease serene
and cool no matter what was the temperature and the circumstances outside.
"Matchbox houses" were too hot in the summer and too cold in winter.
 Nubian craftsmen were masters at constructing domed and vaulted roofs of mud brick which
they also used for the walls. Hassan Fathy developed his own ideas, inculcating traditional Arab
styles like the malkhaf (wind catcher), the shukshaykha (lantern dome) and the mashrabeya
(wooden lattice screens) which could be combined with the mud brick construction

• He designed complete communities including utilities and services, country retreats, and special
projects and homes.

• Hassan Fathy had already worked for decades in his beloved Egypt before he
designed and built for the homeless community of Gourna, Upper Egypt, which attracted
international acclaim.
• One would enter a home made out of local natural resources with dome shaped ceilings and no
electrical air-conditioning, to find a sudden descent of peace and calm within a cool atmosphere.
New Gourna was a housing project
masterminded by Hassan Fathy with the
objective of re-housing the Seven Thousand
people of Gourna, a village built on the site of
the Tomb of the Nobles, part of the ancient
cemetery of Thebes (now Luxor, Egypt). The
project incorporated traditional techniques
and materials and vernacular styles with the
benefit of contemporary know-how,
generating an economically and ecologically
sustainable building
ethos that was integral to
the community that
would occupy the village.
Sadly, after six years of work, due to bureaucratic backing problems
among others, the scheme was abandoned before completion. With
villagers resistant of the move from the start the settlement was soon
unsettled and much of the architecture has since been lost.

Despite the educational

value of the scheme and
the knowledge and
philosophies embedded
there, the site has been
mostly overlooked for 60
years and has only recently
been recognised by
UNESCO who have now
started work to preserve
what is left of New
Gourna.
MATERIALS AND BUILDING TECHNIQUES

New Gourna showcases the potential of traditional techniques as genuine solutions to some
contemporary problems. All of the buildings here are built from the earth of which they stand, in
the form of either adobe or, as in most cases, baked mud bricks. A huge brick production yard
was setup on site to supply the build with adjacent water supply, established using the holes the
generated by the excavation of mud for bricks.
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

Gourna was a village grown out of tomb raiding, a community of

people who lived off of the proceeds of artifacts supplied by the
ancient graveyard, on and around which their settlement had
established itself, as well as work connected with official
excavations. The time came when the tombs were not as fruitful
as they once were, tourism died down and the authorities became
less and less tolerant of raiders. Inevitably the Egyptian
government eventually decided it was time to evict the Gournis
from the historically significant site of the established home.
VAULTS STREET SCENE

BOYS' SCHOOL, FAÇADE BRICKMAKING

EARTH AND CLIMATE
New Gourna is in Upper Egypt, the region occupying the south of the country. Water is plentiful,
even for the further reaches of the settlement that are not directly on the Nile, as a network of
waterways has been developed over the centuries, carrying water inland to help sustain life.
However, rainfall is scarce and temperatures reach 50 degrees in the summer so most of the land
itself is dry and much of daily life for the inhabitants revolves around water.
The central principle of critical regionalism is
surely a commitment to place rather than a
space”

- Kenneth Frampton

Ar.MANJARI.K,M.ARCH
Assistant Professor,
SAID,SRMIST