Building Type - Housing

Year - 1982
Asian Games Village was built in 1982 to house athletes for the games. 500
housing units were designed as a group housing in 35 acres. The aim was to create an
urban pattern of low rise high density based on a sequence of open spaces linked by
shaded pedestrian pathways. The peripheral roads are connected to the cul-de-sac parking
squares which in turn give way to individual garages or car porches attached to the houses
or apartment blocks.
The concept is based on a sequence of open spaces, interlinked with narrow pedestrian
streets shaded and kept alive through a careful mix with recreational and communal area.
The streets are consciously broken up into visually comprehensible units, often with
gateways, so there are pauses, point of rest and changing vistas.
The central spline of the layout is reserved for pedestrian courts and streets of various
clusters. About eight percent of the houses and apartments have access from pedestrian
enclosures as well as parking squares.
Drawing on earlier urban housing models, Rewal's Asian Games Village in New Delhi used
a network of streets and squares with vehicular access at either end of the site. Its
morphology resembles a traditional village, with cubic solids and voids that are
characteristic of the Indian urban fabric (compare with cities such as Jaisalmer Old Delhi).
They offer shade and yet remain vitally alive to the pressures and pleasures of the people
who live there. Entrance gateways with linked upper terraces punctuate the sequence of
courtyard and garden spaces.
City: Ahmedabad, RAMAKRISHNA HOUSE
Market Area: Residential Buildings
Type: Apartment Block
Project Year: 1964
This large residence, built for one of Ahmedabad's mill owners, is based on the spatial and
climatic concepts developed in the Tube House and the Hindustan Lever Pavillion. The plan
sets up a series of parallel bearing walls, punctuated by interior courts and "canon",
climaxing in the living room which opens out onto the main garden to the south.
The house is placed at the northern end of the site so as to maximize the size of this garden
and to enhance the spatial sequence of getting there.
KANCHENJUNGA APARTMENTS:

The building had to be oriented east west to capture prevailing sea breeze and views to
the city.
But also the orientation for hot sun and heavy rains
Solution in old bungalows wrapping a protective layer of verandahs around the main
living areas
Kanchanjunga an attempt to apply these principles to a high-rise building
This building has 32 different apartments with 4 types of flats varying from 3 to 6
bedrooms.
Interlocking of these variations expressed externally by shear end walls that hold up the
cantilevers
Minimalist surfaces cut away to open up double-height terrace gardens at the corners
Complex spatial organization of living spaces
Superficially, this 28-story tower, with its concrete construction and large areas of white
panels, bears a strong resemblance to modern apartment buildings in the West
Towers proportion 1:4
(21 sqm and 84 m high)
Garden terraces actually a modern interpretation of a feature of the traditional Indian
bungalow: the verandah
Each apartment provided with a deep, two-story-high garden terrace that is oriented away
from the sun so as to afford protection from the elements
Charles Correa:
Education

1946-1948 inter-science. St. Xaviers college, university of Bombay
1949-1955 B.Arch., University of Michigan.
1953-1955 M.Arch., Massachusetts institute of technology.
Professional Experience

1955-1958 partner with G.M. BHUTA associates
1958- to date in private practice.
1964-1965 prepared master plan proposing twin city across the harbor from Bombay.
1969-1971 invited by the govt. of Peru
1971-1975 chief architect to CIDCO
1975-1976 consultant to UN secretory-general for HABITAT
1975-1983 Chairman Housing Urban Renewal & Ecology Board
1985 chairman dharavavi palnning commision
Charles Correa, in full Charles Mark Correa (born September 1, 1930, Secunderabad,
India), Indian architect and urban planner known for adapting Modernist tenets to local
climates and building styles. In the realm of urban planning, he is particularly noted for his
sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor and for his use of traditional methods and
materials.

Correa began his studies at Saint Xaviers College at the University of Bombay (now
Mumbai), and he went on to study at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (194953)
and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1953
55). In 1958 he established his own Bombay-based professional practice.

Correas early work combined traditional architectural valuesi.e., the colonial bungalow,
traditional symmetrical spacewith the Modernist use of materials exemplified by figures
such as Le Corbusier, Louis I. Kahn, and Buckminster Fuller. In particular, Correa was
influenced by Le Corbusiers use of striking concrete forms. The importance of the site was
a constant in Correas approach. Complementing the Indian landscape, he worked on an
organic and topographic scale in early commissions such as his Gandhi Smarak
Sangrahalaya (195863) in Ahmedabad and the Handloom Pavilion (1958) in Delhi.
Considerations of the Indian climate also drove many of Correas decisions. For residential
commissions, he developed the tube house, a narrow house form designed to conserve
energy. This form was realized in the Ramkrishna House (196264) and the Parekh House
(196668), both in Ahmedabad, which has a hot and arid climate. Also in response to
climate, Correa often employed a large oversailing shade roof or parasol, an element first
seen in the Engineering Consultant India Limited complex (196568) in Hyderabad.
In the late 1960s, Correa began his career as an urban planner, creating New Bombay (now
Navi Mumbai), an urban area that provided living and housing for many who lived across
the harbour from the city limits. When designing in the midst of overpopulated cities, he
tried to create quasi-rural housing environments, as is evident in his low-cost Belapur
housing sector in New Bombay (198386). In all of his urban planning commissions, Correa
avoided high-rise housing solutions, focusing instead on low-rise solutions that, in
combination with common spaces and facilities, emphasized the human scale and created
a sense of community.

His later works, which continued his long-standing interests, include Surya Kund (1986) in
Delhi; the Inter-University Centre for Astrology and Astrophysics (198892) in Pune,
Maharashtra; and the Jawahar Kala Kendra arts complex (198692) in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
From 1985 to 1988 he served as chairman of Indias National Commission on Urbanisation,
and from 1999 he served as a consulting architect to the government of Goa.
Correa has taught in many universities, both in India and abroad, including MIT and
Harvard University (both in Cambridge, Massachusetts) and the University of London. His
many awards include the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture from the Royal Institute of
British Architects; the Praemium Imperiale prize for architecture (1994), awarded by the
Japan Art Association; and the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1998).
AWARDS:

1961 Prize for low-income housing early
1972 Correa was awarded the PadmaShri by the President of India
1980 Correa was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Michigan
1984 He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects
1985 Prize for the Improvement in the Quality of Human
Settlements from the International Union of Architects.
1986 Chicago Architecture Award.
1987 the Gold Medal of the Indian Institute of Architects
1990 the Gold Medal of the UIA (International Union of Architects)
1994 the Premium Imperial from Japan society of art.
1999 Aga khan award for vidhan sabha, bhopal
Diversity
In Bombay Salvacao Church at Dadar ; Kanchanjunga Apartments
In Goa for the Cidade de Goa Hotel and the Kala Academy,
In Ahmedabad Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya ; Ramkrishna House
Delhi The LIC Centre; British Council Building
Kerala Kovalam Beach Resort Hotel
Andamans Bay Island Hotel in Port Blair
Architectural utility and grandeur spread over the subcontinent
Correa and Corbusier
Like most architects of his generation he has been influenced by Le Corbusier , but by his
response to the Mediterranean sun with his grand sculptural decisions he believes that
Corbusiers influence in the colder climates has not been beneficial because these heroic
gestures had to withdraw into defensible space, into mechanically heated (and cooled).
By developing climatic solutions for different sites and programs, Indian architect Charles
Correa designed the Kanchanjunga Apartments. Located in Mumbai, the U.S.
equivalent of New York City in terms of population and diversity, the 32 luxury apartments
are located south-west of downtown in an upscale suburban setting embodying the
characteristics of the upper echelon of society within the community. The Kanchanjunga
Apartments are a direct response to the present culture, the escalating urbanization, and
the climatic conditions for the region. They pay homage to the vernacular architecture that
once stood on the site before the development in a number of ways. More on Kanchanjunga
Apartments after the break.
In Mumbai, a building has to be oriented east-west to catch prevailing sea breezes and to
open up the best views of the city. Unfortunately, these are also the directions of the hot
sun and the heavy monsoon rains. The old bungalows solved these problems by wrapping a
protective layer of verandas around the main living areas, thus providing the occupants
with two lines of defense against the elements.
Four different types of apartments interlock across the width of the block, ending in
double-height terrae gardens at the corners that act like partly protected verandas, their
internal spatial complexity expressed as semi-regular graphic cut-outs up the height of the
block.
Correa pushed his capacity for ingenious cellular planning to the limit, as is evident from
the interlock of four different apartment typologies varying from 3 to 6 bedrooms each.
Smaller displacements of level were critical in this work in that they differentiated between
the external earth filled terraces and the internal elevated living volumes. These subtle
shifts enable Correa to effectively shield these high rise units from the effects of both the
sun and monsoon rains. This was largely achieved by providing the tower with relatively
deep, garden verandas, suspended in the air. Clearly, such an arrangement had its
precedent in the cross-over units of Le Corbusiers Unite d Habitation built in Marseilles in
1952, although here in Mumbai the sectional provision was achieved without resorting to
the extreme of differentiating between up-and-down going units.
The building is a 32 story reinforced concrete structure with 6.3m cantilevered open
terraces. The central core is composed of lifts and provides the main structural element for
resisting lateral loads. The central core was constructed ahead of the main structure by slip
method of construction. This technique was used for the first time in India for a multistory
building.
The concrete construction and large areas of white panels bears a strong resemblance to
modern apartment buildings in the West, perhaps due to Correas western education.
However, the garden terraces of the Kanchanjunga Apartments are actually a modern
interpretation of a feature of the traditional Indian bungalow: the veranda.
Architect: Charles Correa
Location: Mumbai, India
Project Year: 1970-1983.

Pragati Maidan is a venue for large exhibitions and conventions in New Delhi, and with
72,000 sq. metres of exhibition space, it is Delhi's largest exhibition centre.
The overall layout and project was designed by architect Raj Rewal,who also designed some
key buildings such as the Hall of Nations.[2] It was inaugurated on 3 November 1972 by
then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, on the eve of the International Trade Fair called Asia
72.,[3][4] It covers over 150 acres (0.61 km2) overlooking the historic Purana Qila, which
stands opposite Gate no 1, Pragati Maidan is flanked by Mathura Road to its West and
Bhairon Road on the South. To its east runs the main railway line to Central and Southern
India. Pragati Maidan is situated in Central Delhi.
Pragati Maidan offers about 61,290 sq. metres of covered exhibition space in 16 halls,
besides 10,000 sq. metres of open display area.[6] The complex houses 18 exhibition
halls,[7] several buildings, eateries, performance spaces and compounds, including
headquarters of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), and hosts over 70 national
and international exhibitions annually, with the largest being the India International Trade
Fair.
The Institue For Indology building in Ahmedabad was one of Balkrishna Doshi's
first public buildings as a solo artist outside of Le Corbusier's office.
At this stage Doshi is deep in the shadow of his previous employer, although some
individual developments are already starting to surface - mainly in the idea to store the
collection of Indological documents in an open-to-outside-air basement, preserving the
climatic conditions under which they'd previously been kept.
Also, the peripheral ambulatory/shade zone is typologically Indian. It can also be thought
of, here, as a kind of thickening of the brise-soleil into occupiable space (as opposed to the
bold thickening of the sun-breakers' actual mass in Corbusier's own Indian buildings). But
at that point we're chasing ourselves in circles - wasn't the brise-soleil itself in some sense
inspired by these kinds of interstitial spaces sheltered behind screens.
The composition, meanwhile, is quite familiar - this is a near cousin to the elevation of the
unbuilt Governor's Mansion for Chandigarh. Of course, since Doshi was in the office for
that project, it's again hard to say where exactly the idea originated.
The Indology building in Ahmedabad was one of Doshi's first public buildings as a solo
artist outside of Corb's office. At this stage, Doshi is deep in the shadow of his previous
employer, although some individual developments are already starting to surface - mainly
in the idea to store the collection of Indological documents in an open-to-outside-air
basement, preserving the climatic conditions under which they'd previously been kept.
There are also some ideas about the site section being intended to draw breezes up and
over the central plaza; I'm not sure how successful all of this ended up being, but it does
suggest priorities slightly displaced from those of the old boss.

Also, the peripheral ambulatory/shade zone is typologically Indian, and for good reason of
thermal comfort, as any of my Georgian friends who've spent time on a good deep porch in
the Summer can probably understand. Given that it's materialized in concrete, though, it
also reads as a kind of thickening of the brise-soleil into occupiable space (as opposed to
the bold thickening of the sun-breakers' mass into sculptural elements in Corbusier's
Indian buildings). But at that point we're chasing ourselves in circles - wasn't the brise-
soleil itself in some sense inspired by these kinds of interstitial spaces, sheltered behind
screens, in vernacular architecture?

The composition, meanwhile, is quite familiar - this is a near cousin to the elevation of the
unbuilt Governor's Mansion for Chandigarh. Doshi was closely attached to that project, so
perhaps he used this building as a chance to work out an idea that didn't get realized a few
years before.

Check out the brutal exposed concrete (weathering horribly in this climate) and the
complex but abstract articulation that breaks the composition down, into what I suspect
are Modulor-sized units. The elevation has a charming brittleness with all those thin
vertical elements - - like a house of sticks re-rendered as a house of stone. This isn't quite
Doshi at his most Brutalist, but even so, we get a real sense here of an already-divergent
sensibility.

Steele, if I remember correctly, suggests that Doshi would take a hard look at his own early
projects, particularly in terms of performance under the climate, and began modulating his
work in response. This seems basically correct to me; there are certain elements in this
building that you will not see again in Doshi, particularly the vast, brutal plaza between the
museum block and the Institute. While a scenic setting for photos of marching monkeys, it
wouldn't be at all pleasant in full sun.

(Speaking of full sun - this batch of photos will alternate between "day" and "evening"; I first
visited in the very late afternoon and took what shots I could; I then had to meet someone
near this building on another day and figured I'd pick up some more well-lit views.)
The main body of the building, behind the screen of the verandahs, is actually clad with
this nicely veined, greenish stone (marble?) You don't really get the full richness of it, either
because it's just dusty and worn or because it misses a bit of polish or something.
Naturally it never gets rained on, which would otherwise do lovely things. Anyway, I wish
there were color photos from the time of first construction - seeing this only in black and
white misses this part of the story.
Amdavad ni Gufa
an underground art gallery in Ahmedabad, India. Designed by the architect Balkrishna
Vithaldas Doshi, it exhibits works of the Indian artist Maqbool Fida Hussain. The gallery
represents a unique juxtaposition of architecture and art.The cave-like underground
structure has a roof made of multiple interconnected domes, covered with a mosaic of
tiles.[2] On the inside, irregular tree-like columns support the domes. It was earlier known
as Hussain-Doshi ni Gufa.
There are facilities for special painting exhibitions and for projecting films. Gardens and a
cafe are located above ground.
The structure's contemporary architecture draws on ancient and natural themes. The
domes are inspired by the shells of tortoises and by soap bubbles. The mosaic tiles on the
roof are similar to those found on the roofs of the Jain temples at Girnar, and the mosaic
snake is from Hindu mythology. The Buddhist caves of Ajanta and Ellora inspired Doshi to
design the interior with circles and ellipses, while Hussain's wall paintings are inspired by
Paleolithic cave art.[5] The interior is divided by tree trunks or columns similar to those
found at Stonehenge.
A simple floor of wire mesh and mortar was used instead of a traditional foundation.[5][7]
All the structure's components are self-supporting, relieving stress by their ubiquitous
continuity. Ferrocement, only one inch thick, was used for the undulating walls and domes
in order to reduce load.[7][9] The cave was constructed by unskilled tribal labourers using
only hand tools.[10] Broken ceramic crockery[5] and waste tiles were used to cover the
domes' exterior, which bears a transversal mosaic of a snake.[2][7][9]
Work was carried out in two phases: the first was the construction of the main cave as an
underground art gallery, while the second covered the surrounding structures including the
paving, the caf, and a separate art gallery for exhibitions.
The gallery space is below ground level. A partially hidden staircase leads to a circular door
which opens into a cave-like space. Though designed to display paintings, the cave has no
straight walls, instead using a continuation of the curved dome structure which extends
down to the floor. The domes themselves are supported by irregularly shaped inclined
columns, similar to those found in natural caves. They are also said to resemble the trunks
of trees.[1] The entire design is made up of circles and ellipses.[4] Light arrives though
snouts, creating spots of light on the floor which move around as the day progresses,
intended to create a mystic atmosphere.
This gufa covers a site area of 1000m and sprawls across a built-up area of 280m. It is
located on the green campus of the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology. The
gallery or gufa is worth visiting because of the painting abstractions of Paleolithic art
created by Hussain and the aesthetics of the surroundings which reminds one of the
Buddhist caves of Ajanta and Ellora. The visual imagery of the cave attracts tourists from
all walks of life along with a host of students, painters, art critics and researchers.
Though amorphous and contagious, the interior space of the cave is an exquisite maze of
curvilinear walls, inclined domes, undulating floors and leaning columns. Domes, shells
and skylight protrusions of various dimensions throw light on the partly buried space and
accentuate the effect of paintings displayed here. Light illusions are integrated into the
ambience of the gallery to create the perfect setting for a healthy dialogue between
architecture and art forms.
Some of the notable features of the interiors of Amdavad ni Gufa are its earth mounds,
china mosaic finish and fibrocement construction techniques. It is evident that the designer
has drawn inspiration from simple hand tools, elaborate computer designs and the
unskilled workers who helped him prepare the masterpiece.