Nari (Nariman) Gandhi

Born January 1, 1934

Surat, India
August 18, 1993
Died Khopoli near Mumbai, India

Nationality Indian

Work

Buildings Daya residence (Mumbai), Patel

residence (Surat), Gateway to
mosque (Kolgaon), Jain house
(Lonavala)
 Early life and education

Nariman (Nari) Dossabhai Gandhi was born in 1934 in Sprat to

a Zoroastrian Parsi family from Bombay, he was one of the six
children with three brothers and two sisters

Nari completed his schooling at St. Xavier's High School,

Fort, Mumbai, and studied architecture at Sir J. J. College of
Architecture, Mumbai for five years in early 1950s. He traveled
to USA to apprentice with Frank Lloyd Wright at the Taliesin and
spent five years there. After Wright's death in 1959, Nari left
Taliesin and studied pottery at the Kent State University for two
years
 Career
He also briefly worked for the American Architect Warren
Weber. He was a good friend of Bruce Goff. Nari returned
to India in early 1960s. He taught at the M.S.
University, Baroda and at the Academy of
Architecture, Mumbai for a brief period. He passionately
worked on as many as 30 projects over a period of as
many years. He died in a tragic accident in 1993 near
Khopoli, while he was on the way to one of his project sites
at Kolgaon
While working in India, Nari continued to work on
Wright's ideology of organic architecture and further
developed his own unique style with a subtle influence of
local climate and culture
. He ceaselessly continued to work on Wright's idea of 'flowing
space'. Nari worked without an office and rarely made any
drawings for any of his projects. Nari spent a lot of time on his
sites and worked closely with the craftsmen and often
participated in the construction process himself

Personal life
Nari lead a very simple life. He never married and had no
children. He was a very religious man and believed in
the Zoroastrian way of life. The simplicity of his life reflected in
his work. The strong creative force behind his work also
shaped the way he looked at ordinary things in life. In the later
years of his life, Nari was greatly influenced by the ideas of
the Indian philosopher Judd Krishnamurti. He used to say
that Silenceand Void are synonyms of the word God
 Architectural style

Archicture style

Nari's ideologies and works were in sharp contrast to the

mainstream architectural thinking. His works display a
distinctive organiccharacter. They appear to have evolved as a
response to the context, remaining strongly rooted to the site
and being very well connected to the surroundings. Nari's works
display highly skilled craftsmanship and structural ingenuity. He
has stacked earthen pots to construct arches out of them and
built stairs out of brick arches. Throughout his works you see
extraordinary use of stone, brick, wood, glass and leather
 Nari rejected conventional ideas and paradigms and
introduced his own through his work. Through his work, he
started 'rethinking' about standardised practices and set up
his own. When you visit any one of his houses, you will notice
an evident 're-thinking' of the arrangement of various
functions within the house. Each building designed by Nari is
as an example of unconventional thinking in architecture
He created built spaces that remained forever connected to their
un-built surroundings allowing sunlight and wind to interact with
the inside and animate the space with time. Each house is a
series of dialogs between the built and the unbuilt
 Selected works
•Mountain Lodge for Jal Gobhai at Lonavala
•Residence for Asha Parekh at Juhu, Mumbai
•Farm house for S H Daya at Alibag
•Residence for S H Daya at Versova, Mumbai
•Residence for S H Daya at Madh island, Mumbai
•Residence for Kishore Bajaj at Karjat
•Residence for Rustom Mehta at Korlai, Alibag
•Residence for Shreya and Kishor Dalal at Awas, Alibag
•Mausoleum at Kolgaon near Ahmednagar
•Gateway to mosque at Kolgaon
•Tejani house at Lonavala
•Patel residence at Surat
•Jain house at Lonavala
 Jain Bungalow
ArchNet Site ID AS09302
Variant Names P.K. Jain's Bungalow, Usha Jain's
Bungalow
Street Address Bushy Village
Location Lonavla, India
Architect/Planner Nari Gandhi
Client Pramod and Usha Jain
Date 1989-1992
Century 20th
Decades 1980s, 1990s
Jain Bungalow
Jain Bungalow
 Jain Bungalow
Located on a sloping site, this house is designed to blend with the
terraced gardens that begin above the entry level and slope
downwards, following the stepped sectional profile of the house
itself. These terraces are planted with numerous varieties of local
plants and trees. A single large roof plane, dotted with dormer
windows and covered with Mangalore tiles, has deep overhangs
and creates a stepped profile that is accentuated by the
mountainous backdrop. Radiating struts shoot up from the ground
level to support these deep roof overhangs; other metal trusses
emerge from the masonry walls to support the massive roof
The Jain bungalow has a total of 9 rooms: a prayer room, a living
room, a card room, a kitchen, a dining area, and four bedrooms.
Situated at a lower elevation than the site boundary, the entry
level houses a double-height living room, a kitchen and an
arcuated prayer hall.
One can enter the other areas of the house using the 600 mm
wide straight-flight staircase that originates in the living room and
runs centrally through the house, dividing it in two parts with
rooms flanking each side on different levels. The staggered spatial
arrangement of the bungalow was partially dictated by the existing
trees on site. Internal courts on different levels are covered in
transparent corrugated roofing sheets; these courts bind the
stepped and disconnected arrangement of independent rooms
together. Dormer windows overlooking the landscape around the
bungalow also serve to visually unify these rooms

The structure consists of stone masonry walls of varying sizes and

colours, composed of igneous rocks from the Western Ghats of
Maharashtra. The masonry walls are integrated with steel struts
and trusses which then support the sloping roof. Walls of the
internal courtyards are embellished with small chips of stones,
similar to those of another Nari Gandhi work, the Moon Dust
house in Versova..
 

As of Febuary, 2008, the Jain bungalow stands with some minor modifications made
after its completion in 1992
 Gobhai Mountain Lodge
Variant Names Mountain Lodge
Street Address Tungarli dam, Lonavla
Location Lonavla, India
Architect/Planner Nari Gandhi
Client Jal Gobhai
Date 1964-1965
Century 20th
Decade 1960s
Building Type residential
Building Usage private residence
The Gobhai mountain lodge was the first project by the
architect Nari Gandhi, and was arguably the first time
Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West "desert masonry"
method was utilized in India. Sited on a cliff in a very
remote location near an elevated dam reservoir, the
lodge remains difficult to access even with a heavy
vehicle.
The architect made use of locally quarried stone and
semi-skilled labor within a modest budget, carried out for
an architect friend. The walls of the house were built with
Wright's method: large stones are placed within wooden
formwork, with the more flat/finished sides of the stones
facing outwards. Concrete is poured from the top, and
after setting, the form work is removed, leaving a rough
finish.
Alarge roof with deep overhangs above verandas (including long
projections at the gable ends) and eaves which touch the ground
was built in sheets of asbestos cement. Its trusses are wood. The
flooring for the lodge is simple concrete, with grooves that follow
the triangular geometry of the roof.
The most striking design element in the building is its plan: the
architect used the east-west meridian as a central divisor of the
site, and then used a 30/60 triangle as the form generator for the
house along this meridian. The contours of the site played a minor
role, but this triangular layout was intended to maximize the heat
and light of the sun along the site. Within the lodge, the main living
areas were exposed to maximum sunlight, and the deep roof
overhangs protected the house from the regional heavy rains.
Within the angles of the triangular plan, openings were aligned to
views of the nearby reservoir and valley, and the distant Rajmachi
fort.
Uttam C. Jain
 Uttam C. Jain (born 1934)
•Full  Name :  Uttam Chand  jain
•Born :  1934
•Advanced study scholarship from the National University of
Tucuman, Argentina, 1959
•First Class Honours degree in Architecture - Indian Institute of
Technology, Kharagpur, 1958

Philosophy
In the operational realities, if an attempt is made to highlight the
ideological postures leading to the directions of value as accepted
in all design-decisions resulting into tangible architectural ambient,
the efforts are also directed towards creating a preference in the
public mind for consumption of good design in their day to day
living.
 Key projects
•Capitol Complex, Naya Raipur, India, 2006-Ongoing, Institutional
•Shri Tirupati Balaji General Hospital, Panthawada, India, 2004-2007,
Hospital
•Aga Khan School, Mundra, India, 2002-2006, Institutional
•Umaid Heritage, Jodhpur, India, 2003-2005, Master Plan
•Prerna Sthala, Yavatmal, India, 2002-2003, Memorial
•Landmark, Bombay, India, 1993-2002, Workspace
•University of Jodhpur, Jodhpur, India, 1969-1999, Institutional
•Universal Harmony Hall, Mount Abu, India, 1993-1995, Convention
Centre
•Habibganj Railway Station, Bhopal, India, 1989-1995, Transport
•Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Bombay, India,
1985-1987, Institutional
 Key awards:
•2007, A+D & Spectrum Foundation Architecture Awards 2006,
New Delhi, India
•2005, Golden Architect Award 2004, A+D & Spectrum Paints Ltd.,
New Delhi, India
•2002, Chairman’s Award – Architect of the Year 2001, J.K. Cement
Ltd., India
•1992, President’s Award – Baburao Mhatre Gold Medal, Indian
Institute of Architects, India
•1991, JIIA Awards, Indian Institute of Architects, Bombay, India
•1969, Commonwealth Institute of Architects, London, UK
 Philosophy
•In the operational realities, if an attempt is made to highlight the
ideological postures leading to the directions of value as accepted in all
design-decisions resulting into tangible architectural ambient, the efforts
are also directed towards creating a preference in the public mind for
consumption of good design in their day to day living.
•The immediate surroundings is  source of construction materials; snow,
stone, straw, reed, wood or mud is the indigenous materials for
constructing an enclosure.
•The relationship between human being and the building being
established, what develops and grows around becomes a measure for
man and his society.
•There is a place for everything and everything has its place.
•Spatial configuration in his design is an attempt to invoke a spirit that
will establish a symbiotic bond between the present and the past.
Rural Primary School, Kuha
Bandodkar Memorial, Panaji, Goa
•FORM : Realization of shelter form and its content are in response to a
given place, climate, and time.
•AESTHETICS: It is the aesthetics of openness contrasted with
enclosures that highlights the different features from the rest of the
façade.
Conclusion :
Uttam C. Jain is one of the great contemporary architect of India . After
studying his projects we understand his philosophy that “ The
relationship between human being and the building being established,
what develops and grows around becomes a measure for man and his
society” . His project shows lots of good architectural solutions and their
implications in Indian climate and behaviors. The use of arches , vaults ,
domes , squinched , pillars , cutouts in facades , courtyards , pergolas etc
are the major elements of his design. His designs are mere a excellent
response the site and surroundings.