CONCRETISING INDIAN ARCHITECTURE'S IMAGINATION

The early 1970s were a very exciting time to begin one’s career as a young architect in India.

- RAJNISH WATTAS

Having finished my graduation from the Chandigarh College of Architecture, I had come to Delhi after securing a job with the prestigious firm of Joseph Allen Stein & Associates. The office at Sunder Nagar on Mathura Road, adjacent to Delhi’s Zoological Park or Chidiya Ghar, was very close to the ruins of the hoary Purana Quila. This lent to the surroundings a sense of timelessness and tranquillity and a reflective ambience. Stein was a man of immense imagination, a sense of history, and great respect for India’s cultural heritage. A born teacher, he had a lot of compassion and encouragement for young architects, and was thus the perfect mentor to begin one’s career with.