Set in Stone Naintara Maya Oberoi studies the legacy of Raj Rewal Image courtesy: Architectural Research Cell Research Image courtesy: Architectural Pompidou Centre Véronèse Image courtesy: ©Hervé

In Perspective n 1961, a young Raj Rewal, fresh out planner as well. He worked extensively in the ideal incubatory environment for the young as dividers around the busy office mimic the In the Centre The Parliament of the Brixton School of Building in mid-20th century in what were then French Rewal. There, he developed an intellectual white buildings of the Sheikh Sarai housing Pompidou Library with its London, went to meet with French mas- colonies and protectorates, designing and understanding of how architects could—or complex he designed in the seventies, which Part of the special reference point ter planner Le Corbusier in . The laying the plans for the city centre of Damascus, should—shape a city, and saw first-hand how surround the office. Rewal’s projects are scat- section devoted to in the background greatI architect was welcoming, but had little the first master plan for Beirut and a massive regional culture, building traditions and cli- tered all over Indian cities, though it is in Rewal’s works in or no work for Rewal to do at the time. So he urbanisation project for Casablanca. As late as mate solutions could be the sources of modern that his stamp is most visible. “Architects, ur- Modernités Plurielles rang a fellow architect’s office to see whether 1978, Ecochard was still designing master plans urban planning ideas. ban designers and planners create an envelope. 1905-1970 they could offer this young Indian a job. That for the new capital of the Sultanate of Oman Five decades after leaving Ecochard’s of- [Now] how people use it, within it, is another fellow architect was Michel Ecochard, and that and for Teheran in Iran. His plans applied ideas fices, Rewal is sitting in his own office in New thing,” he said. “At a citywide level, you can phone call probably changed the landscape of of vernacular architecture, taking as their point Delhi’s Triveni Commercial Complex in Sheikh only put the seeds in, as urban design. And modern Indian cities. of departure local culture and time-tested ways Sarai—a sunlit, glass-walled office tiled with then it grows. A city is a very living thing.” A graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in of dealing with the geography of a site. books and papered with plans and old draw- As chairman of the Delhi Urban Arts Paris, Ecochard was an urban designer and city Back in Paris, Ecochard’s office was an ings. The low white brick walls that function Commission, Rewal has been pushing for a

94 : The indian quarterly : APRIL – JUNE 2014 ON DESIGN : 95 renewed focus on the city’s neighbourhoods decades were particularly fruitful for Indian Quiet Courtyard and the sprucing up of public spaces so that architecture. A new nation needs new insti- National Institute Delhi becomes more pedestrian friendly, with tutions, and somewhere to house them, to of Immunology, local area- and municipal ward-specific plans. give shape to the social and political aspira- “Planning and urban design, these are integrat- tions of the new order. Building commissions, ed processes,” he explained. “Planning is done enormous in their scope, were given out for the whole city. Local area plans, what we through national open competitions, where a call urban design (the French are very good jury of peers evaluated the proposals. Rewal at it), lie somewhere between planning and won several of these tenders, embarking on a architecture. What is happening in India, long career of designing and constructing state and elsewhere as well, is that this is all often institutional buildings. dictated by the market economy, by consumers The earliest generation of modern archi- and building promoters, which has caused a tects working in India in the fifties and sixties— serious disruption in urban planning.” Habib Rahman, Achyut Kanvinde, Joseph Allen This April, the National Gallery of Modern Stein, JK Chowdhury, the Design Group—were Art in New Delhi is hosting a massive retro- fairly functionalist in their approach. Rahman spective of Rewal’s work—the first time that and Kanvinde, in particular, had studied under the NGMA is showing architectural work. The Walter Gropius at the Massachusetts Institute Musée National d’Art Moderne in the Centre of Technology, and their style followed the Pompidou in Paris is also hosting some of global current of European and American Rewal’s work, in a special section devoted to modernism. The simplicity of this genera- the architect as part of its permanent exhibi- tion’s designs, with little embellishment, is tion, Modernités Plurielles 1905–1970, which visible in buildings like Habib Rahman’s New will run until early 2015. Rewal hopes that the Secretariat in Kolkata. At the same time, sever- NGMA exhibition will bring the focus back to al Central Public Works Department buildings the design and architectural quality of urban went the opposite way, doggedly imitating the spaces. “That’s why the Pompidou is having Indo-Saracenic style of Lutyens’ Delhi, so as to a dialogue between the kind of modernity as blend in with existing buildings. expressed in my works, and as the European ar- But the architects who came later had dif- chitects are doing it. Is there a dialogue? Is there ferent responses to the questions of how to any possibility for learning from each other?” create and express Indian modernity. How Born in Hoshiarpur in Punjab in 1934, could they build democratic, modern archi- Rewal was propelled by an early love of tecture for a nation still struggling with the drawing towards the School of Planning and ideas of democracy and modernity? How Architecture in Delhi in the early fifties. This could they refrain from imitating overbear- was followed by a stint in London, which in ing Western architectural discourses, which turn led him to Paris in 1961. glossed over individual societal differences? He returned to India to set up his own prac- Conversely, how could they infuse their new tice in Delhi in 1962, also teaching history at aesthetic with the resonances of India’s his-

Photograph: Ferrante Ferranti Ferrante Photograph: the SPA. As luck would have it, the next two tory and culture, without falling into kitschy

96 : The indian quarterly : APRIL – JUNE 2014 ON DESIGN : 97 He wanted the Parliament Library to complement Parliament House, not compete with it; to be a place for learning, not power

pastiche? In contrast to the more functional naturally from the landscape, a natural pro- In 1985, Rewal curated an exhibition in Par- signature which occurs in his work in vary- Corbusier-influenced styles of the fifties, Re- gression from the Lal Qila. is titled Traditional Architecture in India on be- ing scales. “In fact, his aesthetic in many of wal and his contemporaries—Kuldip Singh, It is perhaps easier to look at Rewal’s work half of the Indian government. As curator, his his buildings is derived from the structural , Balkrishna Doshi and others— from above—a viewing angle that demon- task was to meticulously study and record the expression of the jali,” said Ravindran. “He produced work that was rooted in its climate and strates the massive scope and sprawl of his details of a large number of Indian monuments, has converted the jali pattern, which one has surroundings, using ancient and medieval tech- constructions. At the Pompidou Centre, the which served to reinforce his understanding seen in small scale, modulating the light that niques and decorative elements to make state- rooms of the long gallery on the fifth floor of architecture as cultural expression. “His de- comes through from the vertical surfaces in ments of “modernity”. Among Rewal’s work at open onto the Rewal section: a series of ma- sign system invokes [the] memory of historical traditional constructions, into structure, using the time are the buildings for the Bhikaji Cama quettes, drawings and videos. Coincidentally, precedents, both as two and three dimension the Islamic geometry inherent in the jali as a Bazaar (1964) and the Hall of Nations Exhibi- they are mounted just a few feet away from two forms,” said Menon. “It involves structural form of structural expression.” tion Complex (1974) in Delhi. “Unlike Doshi, Ecochard drawings. “Construire la ville processes beyond the routine such as struc- The Hall of Nations in Pragati Maidan is one for instance, Rewal was not that close to Le Cor- Indienne”, reads the description here, demon- tural lattices and Vierendeels (an architectural such monumentally abstract expression of the busier; perhaps because he had more distance strating how essential Rewal’s work is for an feature) and a sophisticated understanding of jali. Built to commemorate the 25th anniversary from him, critiques of Corbusier’s functionalist understanding of the Indian metropolis. A surface finishes. Together, they have resulted of India’s independence in 1972, the reinforced approach came easier to him,” said Aurélien film is being projected onto one wall, the stolid in a recognisable style of architecture.” concrete structure is a kind of half-pyramid; Lemonier, curator and conservator at the terraces of the Asian Games Village flickering By his own account, Rewal was trying to the geometric panels of the jali work as a brise- Centre Pompidou. on and off. On other walls, films by Rewal’s change the very grammar of Indian design. soleil, or sun-breaker, and permit the circula- “Fortuitously, his [Rewal’s] career coincid- son Manu are playing on loop. The intricate When he returned to India, he constructed tion of air. Large space frames at the time were ed with the period of institution building and models for the Asian Games Village, the Indian his first few buildings in brick. But soon, sur- generally made in steel. The decision to use overlapped the concerns for ‘Indian’ identi- National Science Academy on Bahadur Shah rounded by the faded red sandstone in Delhi, concrete instead was a particularly brave one, ty that preoccupied architectural practices Zafar Marg and the Nehru Memorial Pavilion he was struck by the possibilities of this ma- intended as an expression of Indian technolog- after independence,” urban planner, architect in Pragati Maidan—all in Delhi—among oth- terial. “In Delhi,” he said, “I lived opposite ical capability and design, which marked the and convenor of INTACH’s Delhi chapter, AG ers, stand in the centre of the room, while a Humayun’s Tomb, and so it seeped into you start of a fruitful collaboration between Rewal Krishna Menon, said over email. “On both charcoal drawing of a cross-section of the Per- that stone is our material. And we in India are and celebrated structural engineer Mahendra counts his contributions have been unique manent Exhibition Complex in Pragati Maidan some of the best at using it.” Architect and ur- Raj. “[Rewal] has a strong sense of structure, and compelling. While rooting his architecture testifies to how complex and staggeringly ban planner KT Ravindran spoke of stone as which he tries to express as much as possible, in ‘tradition’ . . . he has remained loyal to the ambitious the design is. being the trademark of a Rewal construction. and which stands out very conspicuously in ethics of modernism and eschewed pastiche “The singularity of Rewal’s architecture is “You know a Raj Rewal building from five kilo- most of his projects ... It was always a pleasure as a strategy.” a very clear understanding of how to bring a metres away. In particular, stone surfaces char- for me to associate with him on his projects ... Yet, taking stock of Rewal’s work is not easy. strong Indian identity into the modern, indus- acterise his buildings. Even when the buildings The structural solutions which emerged and It’s monumental and omnipresent, striking trial, secular, democratic age,” said Lemonier. are represented in photographs and so on, it’s which stand out quite boldly in these projects graceful notes in an increasingly haphazard “He was the first, perhaps with Kuldip Singh, the robustness of stone that qualifies his archi- gave me a considerable sense of achievement cityscape. It’s especially hard to step back to grasp how to link the roots of ancient and tecture.” Rewal has said elsewhere that he was and satisfaction. ... The Hall of Nations, the from his work standing anywhere in Delhi. medieval Indian architecture to its very mod- particularly struck by the stone construction Halls of Industries and the State Trading Com- His confident, elegant buildings have settled ern future, as envisaged by the Nehruvian state. at Fatehpur Sikri. He has also used sandstone plex were the most challenging and satisfying.” into their surroundings, in part due to their That is what we’ve tried to show here in the grit mixed with cement as a facing material For his housing designs, though, Re- use of sandstone, in part due to their air of be- museum. He understood the question of func- for the National Institute of Immunology on wal leaves the monumental behind for a ing firmly anchored in the ground. To the eye tion very well, but it’s another path to reach Aruna Asaf Ali Marg in New Delhi, in colours more human scale. The Asian Games Village accustomed to the ubiquitous sandstone of the question of identity. It’s as international that mimic the rocks surrounding the campus. Complex near Siri Fort, designed and built north India, they look as if they have emerged as it is Indian.” The jali (latticework) pattern is another for the games of 1982, used precast concrete

98 : The indian quarterly : APRIL – JUNE 2014 ON DESIGN : 99 His confident, elegant buildings have settled into their surroundings, in part due to their use of sandstone, in part due to their air of being firmly anchored in the ground

was to be erected on a triangular site next door. holds up the central glass ceiling, floods the sandstone complex is fitted with photovoltaic Rewal’s library has a subtly intelligent re- spaces with light. As an architectural metaphor panels, which are capable of generating enough lationship with Sansad Bhavan. While the Par- it is stunning. (The chakra etched at the very power to run the entire university, except for liament is one single circular unit, the library top is perhaps not as subtle.) Exactly below this its air-conditioning. comprises circular or semi-circular buildings lies a graphic lotus flower. The luminous com- For Rewal, design is not a purely cer- linked in a cosmogram or mandala design, like munal space is strangely moving as you watch ebral enterprise. Unlike many architects, he satellites around the central structure—an idea the light change during the course of the day. thinks from a structural point of view. The taken from the Ranakpur temple in Rajasthan. His design for the Ismaili Centre building materiality of his work is important to him, The library does not attempt to rival the Parlia- in Lisbon is similarly attentive to light, bring- as he cares about space and shape. “He has, ment building. Rewal capped the structure at ing together elements inspired by the Iberian of course, a conceptual point of view, but he the level of the Parliament’s base floor, with Peninsula’s indigenous architecture, the mon- is also someone who really knows how to additional floors dug out underground instead. asteries of Batalha and Jerónimos, Fatehpuri materialise a concept,” said Lemonier. In a film directed by his son Manu—part of the Sikri and the Persian char bagh garden layout. Ravindran agreed: “It’s not that he lives only exhibit at the Centre Pompidou—he explains The six courtyards are dotted with fountains, in a world of spaces and forms; he enters it that he wanted the building to complement running water and trees, and there is another through structure. That’s a very interesting Parliament House, not compete with it; to be characteristic Rewal jali, made in prefabricated dimension which is not often described, a place for learning, not power. The relation- stone joined and supported by steel. “Fortu- because he is best known for his details.” Image courtesy: Architectural Research Cell Research Image courtesy: Architectural ship he was trying to achieve, he says, was nately for me, when I worked in Lisbon or else- There are people who say that Rewal is At Ease components for a mini-township of 500 that of “a king and a guru”. If Parliament is the where later on,” Rewal pointed out, “they were perhaps one of the foremost architects of the Raj Rewal homes. He eschewed monolithic apartment seat of Indian power and governance, then also good at stone.” past 100 years to employ what architectural blocks for irregular patterns and fragmented the library would be the seat of knowledge or Unlike the new aquarium-inspired glass theorist and historian Kenneth Frampton has structures and geometries, which arrest the eye enlightenment. Its façades are clad in red and buildings that dominate certain parts of Del- called “critical regionalism”, reconfiguring at different points. The apartments are stacked beige sandstone, polished in the case of the hi and other Indian cities, Rewal’s projects are indigenous building practices in line with so that the upper floor juts out above the lower, interiors. The complex is also oddly asym- climate conscious and soberly aware of where modernism. But Lemonier disagreed. “Rewal providing shade and also giving each flat a sepa- metrical, owing to a grove of trees in one corner they stand. Often, the form of the building looks at Indian architecture not in terms of rate terrace. The blend of medium- and low-rise that pre-dated the project, and thus rendered itself reduces energy consumption and costs, history, but as culture,” he said. “Culture as a housing is inspired by the traditional organi- impossible a perfect square—a fact that didn’t by deploying courtyards, insulation on the permanent thing, not a thing to preserve and sation of Jaisalmer, with pedestrian pathways, disturb Rewal. walls, roof terraces and deep-set windows. make citations from. And he looks at it with the natural ventilation and a sequence of commu- The satellite sections of the library ac- But he doesn’t exactly shy away from futuristic eyes of a modern architect. His work is both a nal spaces. There are few wide avenues; in- commodate an auditorium, a press centre technology either. He is currently very excited critique of functionalism and of regionalism; a stead, the narrow streets are meant to promote and administrative offices, capped by small about his latest project—“My last project is al- third path, which, though modern, and specifi- social interaction. bulbous domes in glass and fibre-reinforced ways my favourite”—the brand new Visual Arts cally located, is not regionalism. That [Framp- But it is perhaps in the Parliament Library concrete, to trap light. Its central cluster holds Institutional Campus in Rohtak, Haryana. In ton’s idea] would be like saying Humayun’s in Delhi where we see Rewal’s finest work as the reading room, research and archival areas Rewal’s ambitious layout for the 22-acre cam- Tomb is regionalist. Of course, it’s in Delhi, so an architect. The challenge for this project, for and meetings rooms, and is edged by three pus in the suburbs of that city, the four divi- it’s located somewhere, but its discourse is of which tenders were put out in the eighties, was courtyards, containing a water pool, a sunken sions—architecture, fashion, film and televi- universality. Rewal’s work, to me, is the same. how to respond to the already existing build- amphitheatre and a tree, representing liberty, sion, and fine arts—have different identities It’s situated in the sandstone of Rajasthan ings on Raisina Hill, especially Parliament equality and justice respectively. But the cen- housed in four distinct quadrangles, each with and north India, with the sun of India and House. That behemoth was practically breath- tral hall is empty. Its stone interiors rising up its own foliage: laburnum, ficus, gulmohar and the heat of India, and the culture of India, but ing down the neck of the new addition, which into a striking, spidery steel framework that plumeria. The entire roof of the white-and-red it’s universal.” n

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