PRAGATI MAIDAN

FORM, SPACE AND ORDER

Decoding the form and spatial elements
• Built for the Trade Fair Authority of India at pragati maidan , New Delhi in
1982.
The complex was planned, designed and constructed within a period of 18
months.
It constitutes a central hall having a clear span of 44m and a height of 22m
supported on 8 hollow circular shaft like columns of 3.4m diameter placed at
the vertices of an unequal but symmetrical octagon .
•The complex has a covered area of 9,450 sqm .
•The structure is cast-in-situ RCC and founded on 408 driven cast-in-situ
concrete piles of 50cm diameter.
•Approximately 4,380 cubic of structural concrete of various grades and
750mt of reinforcing steel have been used in the construction.
 Each of the four 'Halls of
Industries' is similar in design
and is 44m x 44 m x 16m
high.

Free standing coffered

mezzanine floors
cantilevering out of
cylindrical shafts provide
additional exhibition area in
each hall.

The Pragati maidan' rest on spread

footings tied together with high tensile steel
The 'Halls of Nations' is supported on pile bars. The entire complex was analysed,
foundations tied together with post designed and built in a period of 18 months.
tensioned plinth beams

CONSTRUCTION PRAGATI MAIDAN

•Octahedra measuring 5m from joint to joint
were employed as the basic 3D unit of the
space frame ,which rests on 8 points around
the essentially square planned and allows 11m
wide openings between the supports.

•An effective system of environmental control

inside the building was another outcome of
the 3D structure , as solid triangular panels at
regular intervals provided sun screens – a
modern equivalent , according to some
authors of the traditional jali in Indian
architecture .
 The design was
evolved to meet the
constraints of-
•Time
•Availability of
materials
•Labor
•To reflect
symbolically and
technologically,
India's intermediate
technology in the
25th year of its
independence.
 • The depth of the
structural system was
utilized as a Sun
breaker and
SUN BREAKER
conceived of in terms
of the traditional Jali
a geometrical pattern
of perforation that
serves to obstruct
directs rays of the
harsh Sun while
permitting air
circulation.
JALI

sections
 STUDY OF SOLIDS AND VOIDS
• In Pragati
Maidan ,2
degrees of
voids and
present.
• voids
through out
the structure
• voids
going halfway
through the
structure PRAGATI MAIDAN
elevation
• solids
DETAIL
 MASSING

• HALL OF NATIONS- has an uninterrupted volume of height 3m-30m.It

exhibit commerce of various committees. It also has open area for trade
exhibits.

• HALL OF INDUSTRIES- height varies from 2.5m-15m. Group of smaller

pavilions enclosing a central area by ramps for- toilets, air exhibits and
other services below the ramp.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
PRAGATI MAIDAN

HALL OF INDUSTRIES

HALL OF NATIONS
ANALYSING THE SPATIAL ELEMENTS ON THE BASIS OF

•DENSITY AND DEPTH OF THE STRUCTURE

•EFFECT OF OPENING

•SCALE AND PROPORTION

 DENSITY AND DEPTH OF THE STRUCTURE

•The facade of the structure is made of space frames.

•The add depth to the structure as some of the frames happen to act as solids
and others as void.
•The density of solids and voids is maintained which also makes it visually
appealing.
•A degree of depth is infused in this structure because of these solids and
voids.
EFFECT OF OPENINGS AND LIGHT

•The solid and void on the facade

acts as a connection between
inside and outside.
SOILD •The internal space has a balance
of light coming inside.
VOID •The doors are oriented straight,
so the sloping facade acts as
weather protection.
•The internal space has ample of
light and ventilation because of
the skin of the structure.

DOOR
GEOMETRY IN SECTION
• IN SECTION,
TRIANGULAR PANELS
WERE USED FOR AN
EFFECTIVE SYSTEM OF
CONTROL BY SUN
SCREENS.
• SPACEFRAMES ARE IN
REINFORCED CONCRETE
• TENSION BEAMS
GEOMETRY IN PLAN
• IN PLAN, OCTAHEDRAL
MESURING 5M FROM
JOINT TO JOINT WERE
EMPLOYED AS BASIC 3D
UNITS WHICH RESTS ON
EIGHT POINTS. IT HAS
11M WIDE OPENINGS
BETWEEN AIR
SUPPORTS.
 OUR ANALYSIS
• The Hall of Nations, Hall of Industries and the Nehru Pavilion reflect structural
ingenuity, richness and complexity in spatial and formal character as well as
layering of space and architectural character.
• The buildings, acknowledged all around the world as icons of modernity have
found a place in the annals of architecture and Indian cultural history.
• The buildings show how a deep understanding of our traditional structures can
be reinvented as topological transformations accommodating the modern.
• The building accommodate the persistence in the memory of the city's form
and our shared cultural heritage, a value that all cities long for.
• In addition, it reminders of our country's ability to innovate with limited
resources and clever use of manpower.
• The architectural forms have a value beyond their building constructs. They
manifest a shared Indian cultural legacy.
• Yashasvi Admane- 1.
• Komal Gopale- 15.
• Sanhita Mehendale- 31.
• Janhavi Sankhe- 45.
• Shipra Yadav- 62.