THE PLANNING AND DESIGN OF

LUTYENS DELHI

Mayank Shekhawat
Vedika Agrawal
Image Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/12/29/delhi-journal-the-

Image source: http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-lutyens-delhi

The capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in

Image 1

Image 2

Reasons for the shifting of the capital:

Controversial partitioning of Bengal In 1905 - right to vote between

Bengali Hindus n Muslims.
Delhis geographical position at the centre of northern India (rough
equidistant from Bombay and Calcutta)
Delhis historic importance (Important seat of the Mughal empire) (For
Hindus maharbharata-era city of Indraprastah)
Perceived political need to rearticulate british power.
Image 1 Source: http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?
md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=713

1911 Foundation stone for New Delhi

at Delhi Darbar
On December 15, 1911, King George V and Queen Mary laid
the foundation stone for New Delhi, at a Darbar under a
purposely built Shah Jahani dome. The message was clear:
the British were the legitimate successors of the
Mughals and their new capital was intended to express the
power of the Raj,just as Shah Jahans capital had expressed
the authority of the Mughals.

Image Source: http://www.iicdelhi.nic.in/publications/uploads_diary_files/491816November112011_IIC

%20Occasional%20Publication%2032&33.pdf

The initial
design of
New Delhi

Image Source:
http://www.wmf.org/sites/default/files/wmf_article/pg_38-

Lutyens
had
initially
designed Delhi with all the
streets
crossing at right angles,
much like in New York.
However, Lord Hardinge told
him of the dust storms that
sweep the landscape in
these parts, insisting on
roundabouts, hedges and
trees to break their force,
giving him the plans of

Image source: http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-

Intentions of the
Layout:
Lutyens Delhi was planned on the most
spacious
garden
city lines
great by
The layout
of Lutyens
Delhiwith
wasthe
governed
avenues
decorated
with classical
buildings
with
three major
visual corridors,
linking
the
lush
landscape.
government
complex with :

Jama Masjid
Indraprastha
Safdarjungs Tomb
Image 1

Image 2
Image Source (Image 1 and Image 2): http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-

Features
1. The plan reflects Lutyens transcendent fervour for geometric
symmetry, which is expressed through amazing sequences of
triangles
and hexagons, through sightlines and axes.
2. Lutyens plan is also
remarkable
for the generous green
spaces,
lawns, watercourses,
flower and
fruit-bearing trees,
and their
integration with
the parks developed
around
monuments.
3. The attempt was to
include all
natural and historical
wonders in
Image Source: http://www.srmuniv.ac.in/downloads/townplaning.pdf the new city.

The Road Network

Besides the major Pathway,

there were extremely wide
avenues. The original
design of the road network
was capable of
accommodating 6000
vehicles, however these
avenues, had the
potential of increasing
their carriageway-the
reason why the road layout
has survived till today.

In general the road network

consisted of diagonals
and radials, at 30
degree/ 60 degree
angles to the main axis,
forming triangles and
hexagons.

Image source: http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-

Lutyens Delhi - Zoning

GOVERNME
NT COMPLX
BUNGLOW
ZONE
COMMERCI
AL
DISTRICT

GOVERNMENT
COMPLEX

Image source: http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-

Image source: http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-

Image source: http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-

The Government Complex/ Administrative

area
1. Lutyens laid out the central administrative area of the city.
2. At the heart of the city was the impressive Rashtrapati
Bhawan, located on the top of Raisina Hill. The Rajpath connects
India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhawan, while Janpath, which
crosses it at a right angle, connects South end with
Connaught Place.
3. The Secretariat Building, which houses various ministries of
the Government of India including Prime Minister's Office are
beside the Rashtrapati Bhawan and were designed by Herbert
Baker.
4. Also designed by Baker was the Parliament House, located on
the Sansad Marg, running parallel with the Rajpath.

Image Source: http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-lutyens-delhi

The Rashtrapati
Lutyen's
grandiose Government House (Rashtrapati Bhawan) Bhawan

located on Raisina Hill, and one of New Delhi's major thoroughfares,

Rajpath, connects it to the Purana Qila

Lord Hardinge chose the Raisina Hill for

locating the viceroys palace because:

It was a well drained.

Constituted of slopes and
plains between the ridge and
the river.
Its eastern and southern
Image 1
margins were studded with
monuments of vanished
empires.A broad crescent
from Shahjahanabad and
Kotla Firoz Shah, south to
Tughlaqabad and the Qutub
with tombs of Safdarjung and
Lodhis as well as Jantar
Image 2
Mantar in the foreground
Image 2
could
be Image
viewed
from the
Source (Image
1 and
2): http://www.indiansecretsrevealed.com/rashtrapati-bhavan-trip/

Image Source: http://www.indiansecretsrevealed.com/rashtrapati-bhavan-trip/

The Secretariat

The Secretariat Building was designed

by architectHerbert BakerinIndoSaracenic Revival architecture.
Much of the building is in classical
architectural style, yet it
incorporatedMughalandRajasthan
i architecturestyle and motifs in its
architecture.
Image 1
These are visible in the use ofJali.
Another feature of the building is a
The style
of architecture
dome-like structure
known
as
used in Secretariat
theChatri.
Building is unique to
Raisina Hill. In front of
the main gates on
buildings are the four
"dominion columns",
given by Canada,
Australia, New Zealand
Image 2
Image 3
and South Africa.
Image Source (Image 1 and Image 2): http://www.indiansecretsrevealed.com/secratariat-buildingtrip/

Image Source (Image 3):

The Parliament House

The Parliament Hous was designed

byEdwin LutyensandHerbert
Baker.

It was built with indigenous

materials and by Indian labour
and the architecture of the building
bears a close imprint of the Indian
tradition.

The layout of fountains both

inside and outside the building, the
use of Indian symbols, the
"Chhajjas and the varied forms of
"Jali" in marble are reminders of the
story of the craftsmanship displayed
in ancient monuments and
memorials.

COMMON
FEATURES

THICK
BAND
JALIS

http://www.hindustantimes.com/The-Budget-s-journeythrough-Parliament/Article1-1056413.aspx

BUDDHIST
DOME
THICK
BAND
JALIS
http://monuments-in-india.blogspot.in/2009/12/rashtrapatibhavan.html

BUDDHIST
DOME
THICK
BAND
JALI
S
http://www.indiansecretsrevealed.com/secratariat-

THE PRINCELY STATES

Starting from India Gate, at
the
lowest and eastern end of
Rajpath,
nearby land was allocated to
numerous princely states,
each of
which built small palaces,
such as
theBikaner House (now
the
Rajasthan tourism office)
andJaipur
House(now the National
Gallery of
Modern Art).
It might be said that this
placement
Image Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/newdelhi/of-princes-palaces-and-plushmirrored the British

THE HYDRABAD
HOUSE

The largest of all palaces in New Delhi a building that suited the status
of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Designed by Edwin Lutyens. The majestic
mansion had 36 rooms.
Lutyens designed Hyderabad House in the shape of a butterfly a plan
that he had first used for Papillon Hall in Leicestershire in 1903.
The main architectural feature of Hyderabad House is a dome with an
entrance hall beneath which symmetrical wings radiate at an
angle of fifty-five degrees. Its round arches flanked by rectangular
openings to the height of the impost was inspired by the
Pantheon in Rome, a city where Lutyens stayed in 1909. For the first
floor windows of the grand place, Lutyens chose a combination of
rectangular and round arches that were inspired by the Uffizi to
the Arno in Florence.
The majestic
building that boasts of courtyards, archways, obelisks,
age Source:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/5403445

THE BARODA
HOUSE

Situated next to Hyderabad House, is another magnificent building

designed by Edwin Lutyens. He designed the Baroda House on a train
from Bombay in 1921, and it took 15 years to build it. The Gaekwad
of Baroda , who was educated in England, wanted his palace in New
Delhi to be Anglo-Saxon in style.
The grand Baroda House was known for its terraces, grand
corridors, cooling arcades, beautiful gardens and wellventilated salons and richly done up living rooms. Gaekwad led
a very westernised lifestyle.

Image Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/newdelhi/of-princes-palaces-and-plush-

THE PATIALA
HOUSE

Patiala House was formerly the palatial residence of the Maharaja

of Patiala (in Punjab). part of central vista, this building, built in
the 1930s, has a central dome with a butterfly layout, similar
to other buildings o the Lutyens zone. Today it houses the district
Courts complex for New Delhi District. 'A double Vtoreyed
building, the central portion is emphasized with a domed
pavilion on the terrace and projection porchover the upper
storey, there is a projecting chajja running the entire
length of the old building. It has seen interesting occupants
Image Source:
ever since the Maharaja vacated it.
http://www.delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/doit_session/Session+Judge/Home/Delhi+District+Courts/Patiala+Hous

THE JAIPUR
HOUSE

Jaipur House (National Gallery of Modern Art) is located diametrically

opposite Hyderabad House. Like other princes residences, the building was
also designed in the shape of a butterfly with a central dome. But
very few people know that it was British architect Charles Blomfield, who
designed the building. It was designed in a mix of neo-classical and Art
Deco style. The butterfly-shaped building has two symmetrical
wings radiating from the central court.
Two similar wings radiate towards the back facing the gardens.
The faade of this comparatively austere palace is marked by two
levels of small, vertical, slit-like windows. A continuous sunshade
or chajja in redstone caps the entire faade. The building has

Image Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/newdelhi/of-princes-palaces-and-plush-points/article1-

Drawbacks

In this whole process almost

no attention was paid to the
problems of Old Delhi. Due
to the creation of New Delhi,
Old Delhi experienced a 28%
surge in population from
1916-1926 resulting in the
spilling over of the population
from inside the walled city to
the Paharganj area, whose
restructuring was later
abandoned by Lutyens due to
resource constraints.
Also, no provision of housing
was premeditated for the
large no. of skilled and
unskilled workers which
immigrated in for the
construction work of New
Delhi.
This
negligence of the
Image
Source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Lut
planners towards Old Delhi

yens'_projected_Imperial_Delhi,_from_the_Encyclop

References
Books:
David Gordon (2006) Planning Twentieth Century Capital Cities, : Routledge.
Robert Byron (1997) New Delhi, New Delhi: Asian Educational Services.
Lucy Peck (n.d.) Delhi: a thousand years of building.
Websites:
ARCHITECTURE OF DELHI - Delhi-city in conflict. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://delhi-architecture.weebly.com/delhi-city-in-conflict.html. [Accessed 12 October
2013].

Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi Design of Delhi: Edwin Lutyens. 2013. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://sites.asiasociety.org/princesandpainters/design-of-delhi-edwinlutyens/. [Accessed 11 October 2013].

Changing Image of Lutyens Delhi | Archinomy. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-lutyens-delhi.
[Accessed 12 October 2013].

New Delhi. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at: http://archnet.org/library/places/oneplace.jsp?place_id=2722&order_by=title&showdescription=1. [Accessed 15 October