Built for the Future, Out of the Past

Setting out to name most influential architectural works post-Independence in such a vast, diverse country as ours is like trying to finish walking in one of Escher's Impossible Constructions.

- HABEEB KHAN

In the initial years itself, the traditional architectural gene was to encounter the modern temper of Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. Indian masters like B.V. Doshi, Charles Correa, Achyut Kanvinde, Raj Rewal, Anant Raje, Laurie Baker, Habib Rahman, Joseph Stein and Hasmukh Patel contributed to that conversation with modernism. The novelty writ itself in scores of buildings: Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, Dudhsagar Dairy in Mehsana, India International Centre and Asian Games Village in Delhi, India Coffee House in Thiruvananthapuram, Capitol Complex in Chandigarh, Dasmesh Academy in Anandpur Sahib, Kanchanjunga Apartments in Mumbai and many more path-breaking projects that defined India and its aspirations in the first five decades. For this special issue, we have identified significant works of a new India that have been built recently and are torchbearers for a contextually sustainable future of India.

The Oberoi Udaivilas Udaipur, 2003

India has a long and varied architectural heritage, and the artisanal skills intricately associated with it were part of the legacy. After Independence, as Indian architects took a conscious decision to turn to modernity to become cades later, the need to re-establish traditional building methods, materials and skills gave a new impetus to the idea of employing traditional craftsmanship in projects. The Oberoi Udaivilas stands as an exemplary project born out of this thought process, whereby local craftsmen were given an opportunity to revive their age-old skills and an India-specific architecture was created and curated by Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri of Abhikram.

Krushi Bhavan

A Bhubaneswar, 2018