Biography of PADMASHREE Achyut Prakash Kanvinde who was the first indian architect to be sent abroad by indian government for masters in architecture.

1. AR. ACHYUT PRAKASH KANVINDE…
POST INDEPENDENCE MODERN ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA…
SUBMITTED TO:
AR. SHUBHAM DOGRA
SUBMITTED BY:
ARNAV DASAUR (15631)…
DINESH KATARIA (15603)…
RISHAB KHAN (15633)…
ABHINAV KUMAR (15610)…
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
HAMIRPUR, H.P.
(B.ARCH, 5TH SEMESTER)…
(DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE,
NIT HAMIRPUR)…

2. PADMASHREE ACHYUT
PRAKASH KANVINDE…
INDIA (1916-2002)…
BIRTH: 28TH DECEMBER, 1916 (ACHARA, KONKAN
COAST, SINDHUDURG DISTRICT, MAHARASHTRA)
DEATH: 6TH DECEMBER, 2002
NATIONALITY: INDIAN
PROFFESSION: ARCHITECT

3. MAJOR CONTRIBUTION:
CONSIDERED THE PIONEER OF WHAT MAY BE TERMED THE MODERN MOVEMENT IN ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA.
PADMA SHRI ACHYUT KANVINDE OCCUPIED UNIQUE POSITION IN THE HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY INDIAN ARCHITECTURE. HE WAS
AN INDIAN ARCHITECT, TEACHER, WRITER AND A COMMITTED MODERNIST AS HE ALWAYS DESIRED TO TAKE INDIAN ARCHITECTURE
TO BE GLOBAL AND TO THE HEIGHT OF INTERNATIONAL STYLE.

4. LIFETIME ACHIVEMENTS:
(AWARDS AND RECOGNITION)
• PRESIDENT IIA (1974-75)
• AWARDED PADMA SHRI IN (1976)
• RECIPIENT IIA’S BABU RAO MHATRE GOLD MEDAL FOR LIFE
TIME ACHIEVEMENT (1985)
• HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PRACTICES THAT THEN
FLEDGED A+D MAGAZINE PROFILED IN [A+D – VOLUME – 1]
(1985)
• HE WAS ALSO A PART OF THE JURY ON THE COMPETITION
FOR THE INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTER FOR ARTS,
ALONG WITH B.V. DOSHI.
• NATIONAL AWARD OF INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS FOR
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING 1990
• GREAT MASTER NATIONAL AWARD BY J.K. INDUSTRIES
LTD.1993
• OUTSTANDING KONKAN AWARD 2003.
• TMA PAI FOUNDATION MANIPAL IN 2003.
• HE IS THE AUTHOR OF A BOOK CALLED CAMPUS DESIGN IN
INDIA.
• FOR MANY YEARS KANVINDE BECAME A SPOKE’S PERSON
OF ARCHITECTURAL PROFESSION.

5. INSPIRATION & INFLUENCES:
CLAUDE BATLEY & WALTER GROPIUS…
CLAUD BATLEY WALTER
GROPIUS
1935-1940
SIR J.J. SCHOOL OF ART,
MUMBAI FOR
BACHELORS’ DEGREE.
(UNDER CLAUDE BATLEY
AS HOD)
1945-1947
IN HARVARD SCHOOL OF
DESIGN, USA FOR MASTER
DEGREE, WITH A THESIS
ON SCIENCE
LABORATORIES.
(UNDER WALTER GROPIUS
AS HOD)

6. CLAUDE BATLEY -1941
BATLEY'S RESPECT FOR INDIA'S TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE, HIS RESPONSIVENESS TO FUNCTIONAL NEEDS, AND HIS
SENSITIVE APPROACH TO DESIGN HAD A LASTING EFFECT ON KANVINDE'S MIND.
• AVOIDED THE LOUD, REVOLUTIONARY ÉCLAT OF THE MACHINE-AGE
• FOLLOWER OF FUNCTIONALISM
EXPIRIENCE UNDER CLAUDE BATLEY:
CLAUDE BATLEY INTRODUCED KANVINDE TO THE WORLD OF ARCHITECTURE. THIS WAS THE PERIOD WHEN KANVINDE
LEARNED TO APPRECIATE THE VALUES OF INDIAN ARCHITECTURE. HE WAS FAMILIARIZED WITH
• ITS ORIGINS
• ARCHITECTURE BASED ON THE EXIGENCIES OF LOCAL CLIMATE, BUILDING MATERIALS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS
• LITERATE FUSION OF WESTERN CLASSICAL ORDER WITH INDIAN BUILDING TRADITIONS
• CLIMATOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
IN 1934, HE PUBLISHED A VOLUME OF MEASURED DRAWINGS OF TRADITIONAL INDIAN BUILDINGS AND IN HIS
LECTURES HE TRIED FOR AN INFORMED KANVINDE REMEMBERS HIM AS "A VERY IMPORTANT MAN IN SHAPING
THE OUTLOOK OF MANY ARCHITECTS OF MY GENERATION, ALSO OF THE EARLIER GENERATION “

7. WALTER GROPIUS-1945
THE MOST LASTING IMPRESSION ON KANVINDE'S MIND WAS GROPIUS'S INSISTENCE ON USING SPACE AS A TOOL FOR
EXPRESSING HUMAN VALUES.
GROPIUS’S INSISTENCE FOR USING SPACE AS A TOOL FOR EXPRESSING UNIVERSAL HUMAN VALUES WAS WHAT LEFT MOST
LASTING INFLUENCE ON HIS MIND.
EXPERIENCE UNDER WALTER GROPIUS:
THE BAUHAUS STYLE
STUDYING UNDER WALTER GROPIUS, KANVIND DEVELOPED A WHOLE NEW OUTLOOK TOWARDS ARCHITECTURE. HE WAS GREATLY INFLUENCED
BY THE BAUHAUS STYLE, WHICH LATER ON WAS ADOPTED IN HIS VARIOUS BUILDINGS. KANVINDE WAS INITIALLY UNPREPARED FOR THE SPACE
CONCEPTS TAUGHT IN GROPIUS’S SCHOOL. HAVING STUDIED UNDER BATLEY, HE WAS NOT CONVERSANT WITH THE PROGRESSIVE IMAGERY
AND TECHNIQUES OF THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE. BUT PROGRESSIVELY WHAT HE WAS MUCH AFFECTED BY WAS THE SOCIAL ORDER AND THE
OPTIMISM IMPLIED BY THE MODERNIST PARADIGM.
THE VARIOUS BAUHAUS CHARACTERISTICS VISIBLE IN KANVINDE'S WORKS WOULD BE:
• ASYMMETRY
• BLOCKY
• CUBIC SHAPES
• SMOOTH, FLAT PLAIN, UNDECORATED SURFACES
• ‘FLAT’ ROOFS
• ADOPTION OF STEEL-FRAMED OR REINFORCED-CONCRETE POST-AND-SLAB.

8. CAREER:
SHRI KANVINDE WAS A VERSATILE PERSONALITY, A CRITIC, A WRITER AND A VISITING
PROFESSOR IN REPUTED UNIVERSITIES IN INDIA AS WELL AS ABROAD.
HIS JORNEY IN ARCHITECTURE…

9. CBRI ROORKEE (1947)… PHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, AHMEDABAD
(1947)…
COUNCIL FOR SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH
(1948)…
AHMEDABAD TEXTILE INDUSTRY’S RESEARCH ASSOCIATION
(1953)…

10. CBRI ROORKEE (1947)… PHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, AHMEDABAD
(1947)…
COUNCIL FOR SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH
(1948)…
AHMEDABAD TEXTILE INDUSTRY’S RESEARCH ASSOCIATION
(1953)…
CBRI ROORKEE (1947)…
COUNCIL FOR SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH
(1948)…
PHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, AHMEDABAD
(1947)…
AHMEDABAD TEXTILE INDUSTRY’S RESEARCH ASSOCIATION
(1953)…

11. FOLLOWED BY AN EXPERIMENTAL PHASE- IN THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FIVE YEARS HE
DESIGNED:
(1I) HARIVALLABDAS
HOUSE
(I) IIT KANPUR
(III) DOODHSAGAR DAIRY
THE FORM IS VERY ROUGH, AND BLOCKY. HE
HAS ALWAYS BEEN DESCRIBED TO BE
MODEST AND APPROACHABLE, AND ALWAYS
HAS PREFERRED TO KEEP A LOW PROFILE.
THIS BUILDING PRESENTS A STARK
CONTRAST TO HIS CHARACTER.
EACH APPEARS TO BE AN EXPLORATION IN A
DISTINCTLY NEW DIRECTION.
HARIVALLABDAS HOUSE HAS BEEN TAKEN UP IN DETAIL LATER
ON.
DOODHSAGAR DAIRY IS MONSTROUS, RAW, AND PROBABLY ONE
OF THE FIRST OUTBURSTS OF WHAT CAN BE CALLED KANVINDE’S
BRUTALISM.

12. 1948 : APPOINTED AS THE CHIEF ARCHITECT OF CSIR.
1955: FORMED KANVINDE AND RAI (HIS PRIVATE FIRM WITH
SHAUKAT RAI A CIVIL ENGINEER AND COLLEAGUE FROM
HARVARD, THAT RESULTED IN A UNIQUE AND EXEMPLARY
PARTNERSHIP)
1970: MORAD CHOWDHARY JOINED THE FIRM WITH FIRM
ACQUIRING ITS PRESENT NAME_ KANVINDE RAI & CHOWDHARY
ASSOCIATES.
1974-1975: HE WAS VICE-CHAIRMAN OF IIA (INDIAN INSTITUTE
OF ARCHITECTURE) AND AUTHORED THE BOOK “CAMPUS
DESIGN IN INDIA”.
CAREE
R:

13. DESIGN PERCEPTION & PHILOSOPHY:
(HIS THOUGHTS)…
STRICT MODERNIST VOCABULARY WHILE PRESERVING AND REINTERPRETING INDIAN
TRADITION.

14. ACCORDING TO HIM:
“OUR ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION IS IN A MOST CONFUSED STATE AS THERE IS NEITHER CLEAR THINKING NOR DEFINITE
IDEOLOGY. SOME OF OUR SO-CALLED LEADING ARCHITECTS ARE DECORATING THEIR CEMENT CONCRETE BUILDINGS WITH
PLASTER COPIES OF STONE TRIMMINGS OF TEMPLE AND MOSQUE ARCHITECTURE IN THE NAME OF TRADITION AND
NATIONALISM. ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE ARE ALSO NUMEROUS EXAMPLES WHERE MODERN BUILDINGS OF NORTHERN
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ARE BEING BLINDLY COPIED, WHICH IS EQUALLY REPREHENSIBLE.”
“THE ARCHITECTS WHO ARE CONFRONTED WITH PROBLEMS PECULIAR TO MODERN FUNCTIONAL DESIGN HAVE TO, AT THE
SAME TIME, CREATE AN ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION THAT WOULD REFLECT THE PRESENT-DAY CULTURE OF INDIA.”
ARCHITECTURE IS DEFINED AS “SATYAM SHIVAM SUNDARAM”. MEANING THAT WHICH IS BEAUTIFUL EMBODIES TRUTH WITH PURE & CLEAN
QUALITIES.
KANVINDE REALIZED THAT NO MEANINGFUL ARCHITECTURE COULD EVER BE BUILT WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE CLIMATE & GEOGRAPHY OF
THE REGION AS WELL AS THE PATTERN OF SOCIETY.
“ARCHITECTURE IS NOT A MUSEUM OF MATERIALS”.
HE USED BRICKS, STONES, CONCRETE & AGGREGATE PLASTER WITH EQUAL FINESSE AND WAS ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR DIFFERENT
MATERIALS WHERE DEMANDED BY THE CLIMATIC CONTEXT.
HE MOSTLY USED THE LOCALLY AVAILABLE MATERIALS.

15. HE TREATED HIS BUILDING WITH “VASTUSHASTRA”.
HE BELIEVED IN VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE.
HE BELIEVED THAT THE IMAGE SHOULD BE SUCH THAT CAN SET THE MOOD AND INTEREST FOR WHICH THE BUILDING STANDS
FOR.
BOTH INHERENT VALUES AND HISTORICAL INFLUENCES CONTRIBUTED TOWARDS GOOD ARCHITECTURE.
HIS WORK CARRIED OUT THE SPIRIT OF MODERN MASTER WHICH HAD A SCIENTIFIC, RATIONAL & TECHNOLOGICAL BASE.
HIS BELIEF IN APPLICATION OF MODERN TECHNOLOGIES MADE HIM RECEPTIVE TO NEW IDEAS & CONCEPTS, IN SEARCH FOR A
DEMOCRATIC EXPRESSION TO INDIAN ARCHITECTURE.
HIS WORK WAS STRAIGHT FORWARD NORMS OF FUNCTIONAL PLANNING, INVARIABLE ATTEMPT TO ACHIEVE A FORM-ORIENTED
EXPRESSION.
ALL HIS LIFE, HE WAS CONSTANTLY EXPLORING NEW WAYS OF RE-INVITING THE VOCABULARY OF ARCHITECTURE.
AN ART CAN BE TO NOURISH THE SENSES. ART IS PURELY AN AESTHETIC EXERCISE.
HE BELIEVED THAT A GRID OF COLUMNS FORMING A MATRIX GIVING STRUCTURAL AND SPATIAL ASPECT WOULD TURN A DESIGN
TO MORE SOPHISTICATED AND FACETED.

16. LOGIC OF
LIGHTNESS:THE COMPLETE FOCUS ON THE
MATERIALS TO BE USED IN
CONSTRUCTION KANVINDE ALWAYS TRY
TO DEVELOP SUCH AN ATHESTIC FOR A
HAVEY MASS CONSTRUCTION THAT
LOOKS LIGHT.
BY INSERTING GAPS AND SHADOWS
BETWEEN THE CONCRETE AND BRICK
COMPONENTS, KANVINDE WAS ABLE TO
MAKE ROUGH AND HEAVY MATERIALS
LOOK LIGHT.
THAT LIGHTNESS SPOKE OF THE
PRIMACY OF IDEAS OVER MATTER, OF
LOGIC OVER CONTINGENCY. IT WAS A
THEME THAT NEVER REALLY LEFT HIS
ARCHITECTURE.

17. DESIGN PRINCIPLES:
MARGINALISED INTO FUNCTIONALIST OR BRUTALIST CATEGORIES, IMPLYING THAT
HIS
WORKS COULD NOT FIT EASILY IN THE DOMINANT NARRATIVES OF THE PERIOD

18. ALL HIS CREATIONS WERE IN STRICT CONFORMITY WITH THESE THREE
PRINCIPLES: -
FUNCTIONALISM MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND BRUTALISMREGIONALISM

19. FUNCTIONALISM:
THERE BUILDINGS WERE ALWAYS
CONCEIVED WITH FIRST
PRIORITY GIVEN TO ITS
FUNCTIONS, AND THE SOCIAL
VALUES WHEN DESIGNING
SPACES.
THE REJECTED SYMMETRY.

20. MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND BRUTALISM:
BUILDINGS WERE CONCEIVED IN A STRICT MODERNIST
VOCABULARY.
SIMPLIFICATION OF FORM AND CREATION OF ORNAMENT FROM THE
STRUCTURE
ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY DETAIL
VISUAL EXPRESSION OF STRUCTURE, AS OPPOSED TO THE HIDING
OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
BRUTALISM IS A CHILD OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE
TYPICALLY VERY LINEAR, FORTRESS LIKE AND BLOCKISH, OFTEN
WITH A PREDOMINANCE OF CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION
DEVELOPED TO CREATE FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES AT A LOW COST,
BUT EVENTUALLY DESIGNERS ADOPTED THE LOOK FOR OTHER
USES SUCH AS COLLEGE BUILDINGS

21. HIS WORKS ARE BASED ON MODERN ARCHITECTURE OF WEST, BUT
ALSO PRESERVES INDIAN TRADITION.
HERE THE PARADOX IS THAT WHAT (BRUTALISM) IN THE WEST WAS POPULAR FOR THE DYNAMISM AND
THE AESTHETIC OF VIGOUR, IN NEO-GANDHIAN INDIA OF 1970s IS REGARDED A REALISTIC AND
EXPRESSIVE PRODUCT OF INDIA.
BY THE END OF 1960s KANVINDE’S EXPRESSIVE ARCHITECTURE WAS VARIOUSLY INTERPRETED AS "AN
ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION THAT REFLECTED THE CULTURE AND ASPIRATIONS" AND "CLEARLY
REFLECTED THE RISE OF THE BRUTALIST POLEMIC OF ARCHITECTURE.” EXPRESSED CONCRETE
STRUCTURE IN COMBINATION WITH BRICK BECAME THE DYNAMIC DETERMINANT OF FORM AND ORDER.

22. REGIONALISM:
• INEVITABLY BASED ON
THE EXIGENCIES OF
• LOCAL CLIMATE,
• BUILDING MATERIALS
AND
• SOCIAL CONDITIONS
• SOUND
CLIMATOLOGICAL
PRINCIPLES

23. SIGNIFICANT ARCHITECTURAL WORKS:
NOT THE DESTINATION BUT THE JORNEY IS WHAT REALLY MATTERS…
OF AND FOR THE CONTEXT:
ACHYUT KANVINDE’S MODERN INDIAN
ARCHITECTURE…

24. • 1947: CBRI ROORKEE
• 1947: PHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, AHEMDABAD
• 1948: CSIR (COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH)
• 1953: AHMADABAD TEXTILE INDUSTRY'S RESEARCH ASSOCIATION
• 1959: PK KELKAR LIBRARY, IIT KANPUR
• 1960-1965: IIT KANPUR
• 1961: IIT DELHI
• 1963: DARPANA DANCE ACADEMY, AHMEDABAD
• 1964: GANDHI KRISHI VIGYAN KENDRA, BANGALORE
• 1964: HARIVALLABHDAS HOUSE, AHMADABAD
• 1967: RESIDENCE OF A.P. KANVINDE
• 1970: CAMPUS BUILDING FOR NATIONAL DAIRY DEVELOPMENT BOARD,
• ANAND
• 1970-1973: DOODHSAGAR DAIRY, MEHSANA (MILK PROCESSING PLANT FOR THE
• NATIONAL DAIRY DEVELOPMENT BOARD)
• 1978: MAHATMA PHULE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, RAHURI
• 1979: INSTITUTE OF RURAL MANAGEMENT, ANAND
• 1980-1985: NEHRU SCIENCE CENTER, MUMBAI
• 1987: SHER-E-KASHMIR INSTT.OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, SRINAGAR
• 1989: LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY AND HIGH COURT, SRINAGAR
• 1991: NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTER, NEW DELHI
• 1992: NATIONAL INSURANCE ACADEMY, PUNE
• 1992: BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY
• 1996: METRO DAIRY, KOLKATA
• 1998: ISKCON TEMPLE (TEMPLE AND VEDIC INSTITUTE FOR ISKCON), EAST OF
• KAILASH, NEW DELHI
• 2000: BANAS II DAIRY, PALANPUR
YEAR WORK TYPOLOGY
SCIENCE LABORATORY
“
“
“
EDUCATIONAL
CAMPUS
“
COMMERCIAL
INSTITUTIONAL
RESIDENTIAL
“
INSTITUTIONAL
INDUSTRIAL
INSTITUTIONAL
“
“
GOVERNMENT BUILDING
INSTITUTIONAL
“
CAMPUS
“
INDUSTRIAL
RELIGIOUS
INDUSTRIAL

25. CASE STUDIES:
1. IIT KANPUR
2. ISKCON TEMPLE, EAST OF KAILASH, NEW DELHI
3. NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTRE, NEW DELHI
4. NEHRU SCIENCE CENTRE, MUMBAI
5. IIT DELHI
6. DOODHSAGAR DAIRY, MEHSANA
7. HARIVALLABDAS HOUSE, AHMEDABAD

26. INFERENCES:
THE LEARNING…
THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN MODERN AND POSTMODERN GET BLURRED IN
KANVINDE’S ARCHITECTURE…

27. A CLOSER LOOK AT KANVINDE’S WORKS SUGGESTS A SENSITIVE INTERPRETATION OF INTERNATIONAL MODERNISM TO THE
INDIAN CONTEXT, BUT WITH A RESISTANCE TO OBSESSIVE PAN-INDIAN IDENTITY CONSTRUCTIONS BASED ON IMAGINED
PASTS.
KANVINDE NEGOTIATED ELOQUENTLY BETWEEN THE UNIVERSAL AND THE LOCAL, ENGAGING WITH THE CHANGING
CONCERNS OF THE TIME.
KANVINDE PLAYS WITH SPACE AND FORMS. HIS DESIGNS ARE SLENDER, BALANCED, PROPORTIONATE, NEAT AND WELL
CRAFTED.
HE BELIEVED THAT “THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE PARTS AND MATERIALS OF THE BUILDING ARE A WORKING MORALITY.”
THE BUILDING IS IMPORTANT BUT MOST IMPORTANT IS THE GATE OF THE USER. EXAMPLE IS “ISCKON TEMPLE”.
HE GAVE MUCH MORE IMPORTANCE TO THE NATURAL LIGHT. HE GAVE SUCH A FORM TO THE BUILDING THAT IT CAN SOLVE THE
PROBLEM OF VENTILATION AS WELL AS EXCESSIVE HEAT.
WHILE HIS COMMITMENT TO PRINCIPLES OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE IS DISCERNABLE, HIS BUILDINGS ARE STRONGLY
ROOTED IN THEIR CONTEXT.
A STUDY OF KANVINDE’S ‘INDIAN’ BUILDINGS - HOW HE SUBTLY RECONFIGURED THE MODERNIST LANGUAGE WITHOUT
RESORTING TO POPULAR TRENDS, PROVIDES AN ALTERNATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE HISTORY OF MODERN
ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA.

28. THANK YOU…