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Modernism and Identity in the Indian Subcontinent: a Sketch of Minnette De Silva and Her Works

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Modernism and Identity in the Indian Subcontinent: A Sketch of Minnette de Silva and her Works A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Architecture In the School of Architecture and Interior design of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning By Anam Akhter (B.Arch) M.S. Architecture University of Cincinnati July 2018 Committee Chair: Jeff Tilman, PhD Committee Member: Rebecca Williamson, PhD i /Abstract Problem: How does national politics affect architecture and how are architects an important influence in not only the design process (as an opposition to the prevalence of ‘process’ in architectural design), but also as politically conscious individuals that can determine and act on social issues and make an impact or contribution? The Thesis focuses on the life and work of post-independent Sri Lanka’s first Modernist architect Ms. Minnette de Silva and her contribution to Regional Modernism which was an attempt to synthesize modernism with vernacular forms and crafts of the country. By looking at de Silva’s work through several lenses like national politics, identity issues, Modernism & CIAM, it will be shown how crucial developments in architecture have taken place (and could take place in the future), due to these influences, and the agency of the architect. More specifically, it will be shown how the question of IDENTITY came about in politics and hence in architecture (due to the influence of the Indian Independence movement whose ethos lay in asserting an ‘Indian-ness’ that was radically different from the colonial power), how de Silva asserted herself as a new voice in Sri Lankan architecture as a modernist trained form the AA, and how the identity of de Silva touched aspects of the ‘exotic’ – which has political connotations in itself, and how modernism figured out in her designs that sought to be modern as well as regional. The outcome of this study is a master’s level Thesis on the work of de Silva highlighting her contribution to the Regional-Modern architecture in Sri Lanka as a product of not just a ‘Modernist zeitgeist’ but also her own politically aware personality. This study is important not just in illustrating the work of a pioneering woman architect in Sri Lanka, but also to raise questions in architectural practice on its single-minded emphasis on the ‘Process’ of design, it’s ignorance of the background and political activism of the architect themselves, relevance of questions of identity in contemporary architecture, and the emergence of local, assertive architecture across the globe. ii © Anam Akhter iii /Acknowledgements Now that I come to think about it, writing the acknowledgements seems like a task as formidable as writing the thesis itself. I can start from the beginning, and that can be a list of my own autobiography’s characters; patience please! I am simply too indebted to sound coherent and logical for some sentences. First and foremost, as always, are my parents, my aunt Abha, and my sisters – my family whose contributions at every step of my life is immense. Their unwavering support has been my source of perennial strength, along with my fervent goal to make them proud and have a mere percentage of the greatness they possess. And this extends to my entire family – my amazing grandparents, my uncles and aunts, my cousins, and my nephews and nieces. At DAAP, I have had some amazing teachers to help me navigate the course of this, well, course. My greatest thanks to Prof. Rebecca Williamson for incredibly cool classes and warm support, Prof. Edson R. Cabalfin for serious and quite introspective studies served with his infectious joviality, Prof. Aarati Kanekar for sharp insights that pierce the heart of the problem and send us scampering for solutions, Prof. John Hancock for teaching us the trickiest of subject matters (phenomenology and research colloquium) in ways astonishingly simple, and Prof. Jeff Tilman for taking a leap of faith on me – accepting to be my thesis advisor despite never having taught me, and then being such an awesome and helpful advisor. Further humble thanks to Prof. Conrad Kickert, Prof. Vikas Mehta, and Travis Miller – the people responsible for my certificate in Urban Design, and occasional breaks from too much architectural theory. Additionally, Prof. Whitney Hamaker, Prof. Adrian Parr, and Prof. Pravin Bhiwapurkar have contributed greatly to my journey here and enriched my perspectives multidimensionally. A very sincere thanks to Prof. Alexander Christoforidis for making my professional work while a student here possible, and Ms. Missy Jo Hollingsworth for making my stress buster i.e. horseback riding, possible. My friends and classmates – Muhammad Nafisur Rahman, Shagul Shafiq, Bhaswar Mallick, iv and Ashna Singh – the people I could always go to and complain, and receive words of wisdom (or not – they were as stressed as me!). This also applies to Lavanya Varma, Niloufar Kioumarsi, Benyameen Ghareeb, Jing Tian and Shubber Falah. Plus Ladan Zarabadi – my heroine for her bold academic pursuits! My teachers all through my life – it is imperative to thank each one of them, and now I realize that the number of them might be around a hundred. But if I made you – the reader – smile at the first paragraph, it is because all my English teachers were exceptional. Likewise, if I can count, then I must count in all my math teachers. My friends in the United States – Karishma Randhave, Devika Chauhan, Samruddhi Kolhe, Paul Valesky – for having my back, at my home on the other side of the world. And of course, all my friends in India whom I could ring up any time and talk as if we spoke just yesterday, and well- wishers and acquaintances who were a part of my life and not necessarily so now. Thank you for helping me grow. v Table of Contents ii. Abstract iv. Acknowledgements vii. List of Figures 1. Introduction | 1 2. Thesis Problem statement: Politics + Architecture + Architect | 7 3. Role of Politics: a. Indian Independence Movement – a note through Nehru’s book | 10 b. De Silva & Politics | 17 4. The Architect, in question | 21 5. Role of Architecture: a. Modernism + Gender | 24 b. Regional Modernism | 27 c. Few works by de Silva | 41 6. Architecture through Politics a. Identity and the Exotic with Gender | 53 b. Identity Politics of Landscape and the Built work | 59 7. Design Considerations – her Work | 61 8. Conclusion and Future Work | 70 Bibliography | 72 vi /List of Figures Fig 1 De Silva at her home and Studio in Kandy, beside a detachable bookshelf she designed.(de Silva 1998) Fig 2 De Silva inspecting construction work (de Silva 1998) Fig 3 Group photograph of CIAM 1947 (de Silva, 1998) Fig 4 Contextualizing de Silva (Akhter 2018) Fig 5 Politics + Profession + Architect = Architecture (Built Work) Fig 6 Ms. De Silva and Le Corbusier in CIAM Conference 1947, Bridgewater (de Silva 1998) Fig 7 Quit India Movement, 1942 (Pimputkar 2017) Fig 8 Newspaper page of ‘the Times of India’ on August 15, 1947 (Adrija 2017) Fig 9 ‘Mother India’ or Bharat Mata, offset print, 1937, painting by P.S. Ramachandran Rao Fig 10 Standing and Recumbent Budhha in Polonnarua, Sri Lanka (de Silva 1998) Fig 11 De Silva addressing Poland Peace Conference (De Silva, 1998) Fig 12 De Silva, Mulk Raj Anand and Picasso (De Silva , 1998) Fig 13 Newspaper article on de Silva (De Silva, 1998) Fig 14 Left: Corbusier’s sketch on Siva (an Indian God), Right: and de Silva, at the Great Indian Exhibition, 1947, at Royal Academy (de Silva, 1998) Fig 15 Villa Savoye Plans (Bianchini 2017) Fig 16 Villa Savoye front elevation and section (Bianchini 2017) Fig 17 Le Corbusier’s sketch of Villa Savoye terrace view (Akhter 2017) Fig 18 Villa Savoye view from site (Martin-Gambier 2014) Fig 19 Villa Savoye view of terrace (Martin-Gambier 2014) Fig 20 Plans and elevation of Pieris House (De Silva 1998) Fig 21 View of Pieris House form street (Robson 2011) vii Fig 22 View of interior courtyard at Pieris House (Robson 2011) Fig 23 View of interior courtyard at Pieris House (Robson 2011) Fig 24 Entrance forecourt with carport (de Silva 1998) Fig 25 Carport with Bo-leaf shape grille (de Silva 1998) Fig 26 Front view with carports (de Silva 1998) Fig 27 Left: De Silva against terracotta tiled decorative wall (adjacent to carport), photographed by Brian Blake, Right: dancing figure on the terracotta tile. (de Silva 1998) Fig 28 Pilotis meets flat roof, and decorative tile wall with beeralu (wooden railing beads – a traditional Kandyan entity) (De Silva 1998) Fig 29 Dumbarra mat door panel (de Silva 1998) Fig 30 Left: Limestone wall in the front, Right: lacquered baluster at staircase (De Silva 1998) Fig 31 Pieris House (De Silva, 1998) and Villa Savoye ((talk) 2008) Fig 32 Pieris House Ground Floor (De Silva, 1998) and Villa Savoye Ground Floor (ARCHITECTURE 2012) Fig 33 View, Karunaratne House (Robson 2011) Fig 34 Plans and section, Karunaratne House (de Silva 1998) Fig 35 Interior, Karunaratne House. (Robson 2011) Fig 36 View from Living room. (de Silva 1998) Fig 37 De Silva at staircase – mural by George Keyt at the back, and lacquered balusters at the foreground. (de Silva 1998) Fig 38 Left: Concrete wall with tiles of dancing figures, Center: tile detail, Right: Door with dumbarra mat panel depicting ‘tree of life’. (de Silva 1998) Fig 39 View of interiors at upper level (de Silva 1998) Fig 40 Ground level view of Amerasinghe House (de Silva 1998) Fig 41 Plans and section of Amerasinghe House (de Silva 1998) viii Fig 42 View at ground level (Robson 2011) Fig 43 Wooden sliding doors, an open relationship of inside-outside.
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