AR.

ACHYUT PRAKASH KANVINDE

POST INDEPENDENCE MODERN ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

HAMIRPUR, H.P.

SUBMITTED BY:
SUBMITTED TO:
AR. SHUBHAM DOGRA ARNAV DASAUR (15631)
DINESH KATARIA (15603)
(DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, RISHAB KHAN (15633)
NIT HAMIRPUR)
ABHINAV KUMAR (15610)
(B.ARCH, 5TH SEMESTER)
PADMASHREE ACHYUT
PRAKASH KANVINDE
INDIA (1916-2002)

BIRTH: 28TH DECEMBER, 1916 (ACHARA, KONKAN

COAST, SINDHUDURG DISTRICT, MAHARASHTRA)

DEATH: 6TH DECEMBER, 2002

NATIONALITY: INDIAN

PROFFESSION: ARCHITECT
MAJOR CONTRIBUTION:
CONSIDERED THE PIONEER OF WHAT MAY BE TERMED THE MODERN MOVEMENT IN ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA.

PADMA SHRI ACHYUT KANVINDE OCCUPIED UNIQUE POSITION IN THE HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY INDIAN ARCHITECTURE. HE WAS
AN INDIAN ARCHITECT, TEACHER, WRITER AND A COMMITTED MODERNIST AS HE ALWAYS DESIRED TO TAKE INDIAN ARCHITECTURE
TO BE GLOBAL AND TO THE HEIGHT OF INTERNATIONAL STYLE.
LIFETIME ACHIVEMENTS:
(AWARDS AND RECOGNITION)

PRESIDENT IIA (1974-75) GREAT MASTER NATIONAL AWARD BY J.K. INDUSTRIES LTD.1993

AWARDED PADMA SHRI IN (1976) OUTSTANDING KONKAN AWARD 2003.

RECIPIENT IIAS BABU RAO MHATRE GOLD MEDAL FOR LIFE TIME TMA PAI FOUNDATION MANIPAL IN 2003.
ACHIEVEMENT (1985)
HE IS THE AUTHOR OF A BOOK CALLED CAMPUS DESIGN IN INDIA.
HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PRACTICES THAT THEN FLEDGED A+D
MAGAZINE PROFILED IN [A+D VOLUME 1] (1985) FOR MANY YEARS KANVINDE BECAME A SPOKES PERSON OF
ARCHITECTURAL PROFESSION.
HE WAS ALSO A PART OF THE JURY ON THE COMPETITION FOR THE
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTER FOR ARTS, ALONG WITH B.V.
DOSHI.

NATIONAL AWARD OF INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS FOR

ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING 1990
INSPIRATION & INFLUENCES:
CLAUDE BATLEY & WALTER GROPIUS

CLAUD BATLEY WALTER GROPIUS

1945-1947
1935-1940
IN HARVARD SCHOOL OF
SIR J.J. SCHOOL OF ART,
DESIGN, USA FOR MASTER
MUMBAI FOR BACHELORS
DEGREE, WITH A THESIS ON
DEGREE.
SCIENCE LABORATORIES.
(UNDER CLAUDE BATLEY AS
(UNDER WALTER GROPIUS AS
HOD)
HOD)
CLAUDE BATLEY -1941

BATLEY'S RESPECT FOR INDIA'S TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE, HIS RESPONSIVENESS TO FUNCTIONAL NEEDS, AND HIS SENSITIVE APPROACH TO
DESIGN HAD A LASTING EFFECT ON KANVINDE'S MIND.

AVOIDED THE LOUD, REVOLUTIONARY CLAT OF THE MACHINE-AGE

FOLLOWER OF FUNCTIONALISM

EXPIRIENCE UNDER CLAUDE BATLEY:

CLAUDE BATLEY INTRODUCED KANVINDE TO THE WORLD OF ARCHITECTURE. THIS WAS THE PERIOD WHEN KANVINDE LEARNED TO APPRECIATE
THE VALUES OF INDIAN ARCHITECTURE. HE WAS FAMILIARIZED WITH

ITS ORIGINS
ARCHITECTURE BASED ON THE EXIGENCIES OF LOCAL CLIMATE, BUILDING MATERIALS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS
LITERATE FUSION OF WESTERN CLASSICAL ORDER WITH INDIAN BUILDING TRADITIONS
CLIMATOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

IN 1934, HE PUBLISHED A VOLUME OF MEASURED DRAWINGS OF TRADITIONAL INDIAN BUILDINGS AND IN HIS LECTURES HE
TRIED FOR AN INFORMED KANVINDE REMEMBERS HIM AS "A VERY IMPORTANT MAN IN SHAPING THE OUTLOOK OF MANY
ARCHITECTS OF MY GENERATION, ALSO OF THE EARLIER GENERATION
WALTER GROPIUS-1945

THE MOST LASTING IMPRESSION ON KANVINDE'S MIND WAS GROPIUS'S INSISTENCE ON USING SPACE AS A TOOL FOR EXPRESSING HUMAN
VALUES.
GROPIUSS INSISTENCE FOR USING SPACE AS A TOOL FOR EXPRESSING UNIVERSAL HUMAN VALUES WAS WHAT LEFT MOST LASTING
INFLUENCE ON HIS MIND.

EXPERIENCE UNDER WALTER GROPIUS:

THE BAUHAUS STYLE

STUDYING UNDER WALTER GROPIUS, KANVIND DEVELOPED A WHOLE NEW OUTLOOK TOWARDS ARCHITECTURE. HE WAS GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE BAUHAUS
STYLE, WHICH LATER ON WAS ADOPTED IN HIS VARIOUS BUILDINGS. KANVINDE WAS INITIALLY UNPREPARED FOR THE SPACE CONCEPTS TAUGHT IN GROPIUSS
SCHOOL. HAVING STUDIED UNDER BATLEY, HE WAS NOT CONVERSANT WITH THE PROGRESSIVE IMAGERY AND TECHNIQUES OF THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE. BUT
PROGRESSIVELY WHAT HE WAS MUCH AFFECTED BY WAS THE SOCIAL ORDER AND THE OPTIMISM IMPLIED BY THE MODERNIST PARADIGM.

THE VARIOUS BAUHAUS CHARACTERISTICS VISIBLE IN KANVINDE'S WORKS WOULD BE:

ASYMMETRY
BLOCKY
CUBIC SHAPES
SMOOTH, FLAT PLAIN, UNDECORATED SURFACES
FLAT ROOFS
ADOPTION OF STEEL-FRAMED OR REINFORCED-CONCRETE POST-AND-SLAB.
CAREER:
HIS JORNEY IN ARCHITECTURE

SHRI KANVINDE WAS A VERSATILE PERSONALITY, A CRITIC, A WRITER AND A VISITING PROFESSOR IN
REPUTED UNIVERSITIES IN INDIA AS WELL AS ABROAD.
CBRI ROORKEE (1947) PHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, AHMEDABAD (1947)

COUNCIL FOR SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH (1948) AHMEDABAD TEXTILE INDUSTRYS RESEARCH ASSOCIATION (1953)
CBRI ROORKEE (1947) PHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, AHMEDABAD (1947)

COUNCIL FOR SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH (1948) AHMEDABAD TEXTILE INDUSTRYS RESEARCH ASSOCIATION (1953)
FOLLOWED BY AN EXPERIMENTAL PHASE- IN THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FIVE YEARS HE DESIGNED:

EACH APPEARS TO BE AN EXPLORATION IN A DISTINCTLY

NEW DIRECTION.

(I) IIT KANPUR

HARIVALLABDAS HOUSE HAS BEEN TAKEN UP IN DETAIL LATER ON.

DOODHSAGAR DAIRY IS MONSTROUS, RAW, AND PROBABLY ONE OF THE

FIRST OUTBURSTS OF WHAT CAN BE CALLED KANVINDES BRUTALISM.

(1I) HARIVALLABDAS HOUSE

THE FORM IS VERY ROUGH, AND BLOCKY. HE HAS

ALWAYS BEEN DESCRIBED TO BE MODEST AND
APPROACHABLE, AND ALWAYS HAS PREFERRED TO
KEEP A LOW PROFILE. THIS BUILDING PRESENTS A
STARK CONTRAST TO HIS CHARACTER.

(III) DOODHSAGAR DAIRY

CAREER:
1948 : APPOINTED AS THE CHIEF ARCHITECT OF CSIR.

1955: FORMED KANVINDE AND RAI (HIS PRIVATE FIRM WITH SHAUKAT
RAI A CIVIL ENGINEER AND COLLEAGUE FROM HARVARD, THAT RESULTED
IN A UNIQUE AND EXEMPLARY PARTNERSHIP)

1970: MORAD CHOWDHARY JOINED THE FIRM WITH FIRM ACQUIRING

ITS PRESENT NAME_ KANVINDE RAI & CHOWDHARY ASSOCIATES.

1974-1975: HE WAS VICE-CHAIRMAN OF IIA (INDIAN INSTITUTE OF

ARCHITECTURE) AND AUTHORED THE BOOK CAMPUS DESIGN IN INDIA.
DESIGN PERCEPTION & PHILOSOPHY:
(HIS THOUGHTS)

STRICT MODERNIST VOCABULARY WHILE PRESERVING AND REINTERPRETING INDIAN TRADITION.

ACCORDING TO HIM:
OUR ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION IS IN A MOST CONFUSED STATE AS THERE IS NEITHER CLEAR THINKING NOR DEFINITE IDEOLOGY. SOME OF OUR SO-
CALLED LEADING ARCHITECTS ARE DECORATING THEIR CEMENT CONCRETE BUILDINGS WITH PLASTER COPIES OF STONE TRIMMINGS OF TEMPLE AND
MOSQUE ARCHITECTURE IN THE NAME OF TRADITION AND NATIONALISM. ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE ARE ALSO NUMEROUS EXAMPLES WHERE MODERN
BUILDINGS OF NORTHERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ARE BEING BLINDLY COPIED, WHICH IS EQUALLY REPREHENSIBLE.

THE ARCHITECTS WHO ARE CONFRONTED WITH PROBLEMS PECULIAR TO MODERN FUNCTIONAL DESIGN HAVE TO, AT THE SAME TIME, CREATE AN
ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION THAT WOULD REFLECT THE PRESENT-DAY CULTURE OF INDIA.

ARCHITECTURE IS DEFINED AS SATYAM SHIVAM SUNDARAM. MEANING THAT WHICH IS BEAUTIFUL EMBODIES TRUTH WITH PURE & CLEAN QUALITIES.

KANVINDE REALIZED THAT NO MEANINGFUL ARCHITECTURE COULD EVER BE BUILT WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE CLIMATE & GEOGRAPHY OF THE REGION AS WELL AS
THE PATTERN OF SOCIETY.

ARCHITECTURE IS NOT A MUSEUM OF MATERIALS.

HE USED BRICKS, STONES, CONCRETE & AGGREGATE PLASTER WITH EQUAL FINESSE AND WAS ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR DIFFERENT MATERIALS WHERE
DEMANDED BY THE CLIMATIC CONTEXT.

HE MOSTLY USED THE LOCALLY AVAILABLE MATERIALS.

HE TREATED HIS BUILDING WITH VASTUSHASTRA.

HE BELIEVED IN VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE.

HE BELIEVED THAT THE IMAGE SHOULD BE SUCH THAT CAN SET THE MOOD AND INTEREST FOR WHICH THE BUILDING STANDS FOR.

BOTH INHERENT VALUES AND HISTORICAL INFLUENCES CONTRIBUTED TOWARDS GOOD ARCHITECTURE.

HIS WORK CARRIED OUT THE SPIRIT OF MODERN MASTER WHICH HAD A SCIENTIFIC, RATIONAL & TECHNOLOGICAL BASE.

HIS BELIEF IN APPLICATION OF MODERN TECHNOLOGIES MADE HIM RECEPTIVE TO NEW IDEAS & CONCEPTS, IN SEARCH FOR A DEMOCRATIC
EXPRESSION TO INDIAN ARCHITECTURE.

HIS WORK WAS STRAIGHT FORWARD NORMS OF FUNCTIONAL PLANNING, INVARIABLE ATTEMPT TO ACHIEVE A FORM-ORIENTED EXPRESSION.

ALL HIS LIFE, HE WAS CONSTANTLY EXPLORING NEW WAYS OF RE-INVITING THE VOCABULARY OF ARCHITECTURE.

AN ART CAN BE TO NOURISH THE SENSES. ART IS PURELY AN AESTHETIC EXERCISE.

HE BELIEVED THAT A GRID OF COLUMNS FORMING A MATRIX GIVING STRUCTURAL AND SPATIAL ASPECT WOULD TURN A DESIGN TO MORE
SOPHISTICATED AND FACETED.
LOGIC OF LIGHTNESS:
THE COMPLETE FOCUS ON THE MATERIALS TO
BE USED IN CONSTRUCTION KANVINDE ALWAYS
TRY TO DEVELOP SUCH AN ATHESTIC FOR A
HAVEY MASS CONSTRUCTION THAT LOOKS
LIGHT.

BY INSERTING GAPS AND SHADOWS BETWEEN

THE CONCRETE AND BRICK COMPONENTS,
KANVINDE WAS ABLE TO MAKE ROUGH AND
HEAVY MATERIALS LOOK LIGHT.
THAT LIGHTNESS SPOKE OF THE PRIMACY OF
IDEAS OVER MATTER, OF LOGIC OVER
CONTINGENCY. IT WAS A THEME THAT NEVER
REALLY LEFT HIS ARCHITECTURE.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES:

MARGINALISED INTO FUNCTIONALIST OR BRUTALIST CATEGORIES, IMPLYING THAT HIS

WORKS COULD NOT FIT EASILY IN THE DOMINANT NARRATIVES OF THE PERIOD
 ALL HIS CREATIONS WERE IN STRICT CONFORMITY WITH THESE THREE PRINCIPLES: -

FUNCTIONALISM REGIONALISM MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND BRUTALISM

FUNCTIONALISM:

THERE BUILDINGS WERE ALWAYS

CONCEIVED WITH FIRST PRIORITY
GIVEN TO ITS FUNCTIONS, AND THE
SOCIAL VALUES WHEN DESIGNING
SPACES.

THE REJECTED SYMMETRY.

MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND BRUTALISM:

BUILDINGS WERE CONCEIVED IN A STRICT MODERNIST VOCABULARY.

SIMPLIFICATION OF FORM AND CREATION OF ORNAMENT FROM THE

STRUCTURE
ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY DETAIL

VISUAL EXPRESSION OF STRUCTURE, AS OPPOSED TO THE HIDING OF

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

BRUTALISM IS A CHILD OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE

TYPICALLY VERY LINEAR, FORTRESS LIKE AND BLOCKISH, OFTEN WITH A

PREDOMINANCE OF CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION

DEVELOPED TO CREATE FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES AT A LOW COST, BUT

EVENTUALLY DESIGNERS ADOPTED THE LOOK FOR OTHER USES SUCH AS
COLLEGE BUILDINGS
HIS WORKS ARE BASED ON MODERN ARCHITECTURE OF WEST, BUT ALSO
PRESERVES INDIAN TRADITION.
BY THE END OF 1960s KANVINDES EXPRESSIVE ARCHITECTURE WAS VARIOUSLY INTERPRETED AS "AN ARCHITECTURAL
EXPRESSION THAT REFLECTED THE CULTURE AND ASPIRATIONS" AND "CLEARLY REFLECTED THE RISE OF THE BRUTALIST
POLEMIC OF ARCHITECTURE. EXPRESSED CONCRETE STRUCTURE IN COMBINATION WITH BRICK BECAME THE DYNAMIC
DETERMINANT OF FORM AND ORDER.

HERE THE PARADOX IS THAT WHAT (BRUTALISM) IN THE WEST WAS POPULAR FOR THE DYNAMISM AND THE AESTHETIC OF
VIGOUR, IN NEO-GANDHIAN INDIA OF 1970s IS REGARDED A REALISTIC AND EXPRESSIVE PRODUCT OF INDIA.
REGIONALISM:

INEVITABLY BASED ON
THE EXIGENCIES OF

LOCAL CLIMATE,

BUILDING MATERIALS
AND

SOCIAL CONDITIONS

SOUND CLIMATOLOGICAL
PRINCIPLES
SIGNIFICANT ARCHITECTURAL WORKS:
NOT THE DESTINATION BUT THE JORNEY IS WHAT REALLY MATTERS

OF AND FOR THE CONTEXT:

ACHYUT KANVINDES MODERN INDIAN ARCHITECTURE
YEAR WORK TYPOLOGY

1947: CBRI ROORKEE SCIENCE LABORATORY

1947: PHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, AHEMDABAD
1948: CSIR (COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH)
1953: AHMADABAD TEXTILE INDUSTRY'S RESEARCH ASSOCIATION
1959: PK KELKAR LIBRARY, IIT KANPUR EDUCATIONAL
1960-1965: IIT KANPUR CAMPUS
1961: IIT DELHI
1963: DARPANA DANCE ACADEMY, AHMEDABAD COMMERCIAL
1964: GANDHI KRISHI VIGYAN KENDRA, BANGALORE INSTITUTIONAL
1964: HARIVALLABHDAS HOUSE, AHMADABAD RESIDENTIAL
1967: RESIDENCE OF A.P. KANVINDE
1970: CAMPUS BUILDING FOR NATIONAL DAIRY DEVELOPMENT BOARD, INSTITUTIONAL
ANAND
1970-1973: DOODHSAGAR DAIRY, MEHSANA (MILK PROCESSING PLANT FOR THE INDUSTRIAL
NATIONAL DAIRY DEVELOPMENT BOARD)
1978: MAHATMA PHULE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, RAHURI INSTITUTIONAL
1979: INSTITUTE OF RURAL MANAGEMENT, ANAND
1980-1985: NEHRU SCIENCE CENTER, MUMBAI
1987: SHER-E-KASHMIR INSTT.OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, SRINAGAR GOVERNMENT BUILDING
1989: LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY AND HIGH COURT, SRINAGAR INSTITUTIONAL
1991: NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTER, NEW DELHI
1992: NATIONAL INSURANCE ACADEMY, PUNE CAMPUS
1992: BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY
1996: METRO DAIRY, KOLKATA INDUSTRIAL
1998: ISKCON TEMPLE (TEMPLE AND VEDIC INSTITUTE FOR ISKCON), EAST OF RELIGIOUS
KAILASH, NEW DELHI
2000: BANAS II DAIRY, PALANPUR INDUSTRIAL
CASE STUDIES:

1. IIT KANPUR
2. ISKCON TEMPLE, EAST OF KAILASH, NEW DELHI
3. NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTRE, NEW DELHI
4. NEHRU SCIENCE CENTRE, MUMBAI
5. IIT DELHI
6. DOODHSAGAR DAIRY, MEHSANA
7. HARIVALLABDAS HOUSE, AHMEDABAD
INFERENCES:
THE LEARNING

THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN MODERN AND POSTMODERN GET BLURRED IN KANVINDES

ARCHITECTURE
A CLOSER LOOK AT KANVINDES WORKS SUGGESTS A SENSITIVE INTERPRETATION OF INTERNATIONAL MODERNISM TO THE INDIAN CONTEXT, BUT WITH A
RESISTANCE TO OBSESSIVE PAN-INDIAN IDENTITY CONSTRUCTIONS BASED ON IMAGINED PASTS.

KANVINDE NEGOTIATED ELOQUENTLY BETWEEN THE UNIVERSAL AND THE LOCAL, ENGAGING WITH THE CHANGING CONCERNS OF THE TIME.

KANVINDE PLAYS WITH SPACE AND FORMS. HIS DESIGNS ARE SLENDER, BALANCED, PROPORTIONATE, NEAT AND WELL CRAFTED.

HE BELIEVED THAT THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE PARTS AND MATERIALS OF THE BUILDING ARE A WORKING MORALITY.

THE BUILDING IS IMPORTANT BUT MOST IMPORTANT IS THE GATE OF THE USER. EXAMPLE IS ISCKON TEMPLE.

HE GAVE MUCH MORE IMPORTANCE TO THE NATURAL LIGHT. HE GAVE SUCH A FORM TO THE BUILDING THAT IT CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF
VENTILATION AS WELL AS EXCESSIVE HEAT.

WHILE HIS COMMITMENT TO PRINCIPLES OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE IS DISCERNABLE, HIS BUILDINGS ARE STRONGLY ROOTED IN THEIR
CONTEXT.

A STUDY OF KANVINDES INDIAN BUILDINGS - HOW HE SUBTLY RECONFIGURED THE MODERNIST LANGUAGE WITHOUT RESORTING TO POPULAR
TRENDS, PROVIDES AN ALTERNATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE HISTORY OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA.
THANK YOU