The Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai was designed to encourage public participation through hands-on exhibits and experiments. It features a workshop concept with participatory exhibits rather than static displays. The building utilizes a structural system of hollow concrete tubes to support large spans for exhibition halls while also concealing ventilation ducts. Circulation routes guide visitors through various exhibition halls connected by staircases and glazed passageways. The building achieves spatial organization and division of large spaces through split levels that follow the sloped terrain.

1. Achuyut
Kanvinde
Indian brutalist philosophy

2. Introduction
➢ Born in 1916, Achara , Maharashtra.
➢ 1935 Sir J.J. School of Art Studied
➢ Architecture under Claude Batley.
➢ 1945, in Harvard for master degree , with a thesis on science
laboratories.
➢ 1947 appointed as the chief Architect of CSIR.
➢ Formed Kanvinde and Rai in 1955.

3. Lifetime achievements
➢ Awarded Padma Shree in 1976.
➢ President IIA (1974-75)
➢ Co-authored book “ campus design in india”.
➢ IIA’s Babu Rao Mhatre gold medal for life time achievement in 1985.
➢ Great masters award from JK Industries Ltd. In 1993.
➢ Was also a part of the jury on the competition for the Indra Gandhi National
Center for arts along wth B.V.Doshi.

4. Influences
– Claude batley-1941
Avoided the loud, revolutionary éclat of the machine-age.
Follower of functionalism.
– Walter gropius-1954
Gropius’sinsistence for using space as a tool for expressing
universalhuman values was what left most lasting influence on
his mind .

5. Philosophies
FUNCTIONALISM
MODERN ARCHITECTURE
AND BRUTALISM
REGIONALISM

6. Functionalism
There buildings were
always conceived with
first priority given to its
functions, and the social
values when designing
spaces .
He rejected symmetry.

7. Modern Architecture And Brutalism
– 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.

8. Regionalism
Local climate,
Building materials and
Social conditions
Sound climatological principles.

9. INDIAN
INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY
KANPUR

10. Introduction
– LOCATION – on the Grand Trunk Road, 15 km west of Kanpur City
– Constructed during 1960-1965
– Campus occupies a 1055 acre area.
– The Academic Complex is located centrally at the site and free from traffic noise.
– Academic buildings: 13 departments, PK Kelkar Library, Computer Centres faculty offices,
laboratories and administrative buildings
– Around 7000 students, 390 faculty, and 1000 staff members (and their families) reside on
campus
– No. of buildings: 108
– 10 boys hostel and 2 girls hostel
– With Sports complex, Housing for faculty
– The site is flat with the canal on one side and transportation route on the other side.
– Pedestrian and vehicular traffic are completely segregated

12. Concept and Ideology
– The residential campus is planned and landscaped with a hope for environmental
freedom.
– Halls of residence, faculty and staff houses and community buildings surround the
central academic area to provide flexibility in movement and communication.
– Core Pedestrian island which consist of lecture halls surrounded by landscaping and
water body forming the main focus of the campus.
– The academic area is well connected by a long corridor which links all the major
buildings
– The academic area is set up in vicinity of Hostels to provide quick accessibility to
students
– Conventional type of buildings were designed as isolated islands of departments
– Activities which students and faculties share are designed to encourage meeting and
interaction

13. Academic area
Institute's Academic Area
comprises academic buildings
and facilities including the PK
Kelkar Library, Computer
Centre, National Wind Tunnel
Facility and SIDBI (Small
Industries Development Bank
of India) Innovation and
Incubation Centre.
1
It also houses faculty
offices, laboratories and
administrative buildings.
2
The academic area is
connected by a long
corridor which links all
the major buildings
3

15. Main
campus

16. PK KELKAR LIBRARY
– Established in 1960 as Central Library.
– Renamed as P.K. Kelkar Library in 2001.
– Four-storied building (covered area: 5730 sq. m.)
– Basement - 700 sq m
– Ground floor - 700 sq m
– First floor -1630 sq m
– Second floor - 2700 sq m
– Staff strength – 40
– Exposed brickwork - reduces maintenance costs and enhances aesthetic appeal
– The library forms an important part of the whole complex.
– It is a framed structure based on grid.
– The whole building is built in R.C.C with a brick facade.

18. MATERIALS
In Kanpur, the local
availability of high quality
brick and the prevalent
labour and construction
practices made Kanvinde go
for reinforced concrete for
structural frames and brick
as infill's.
Reinforced-concrete post-
and-slab construction, with a
series of flat slab-floors and
a flat roof-slab carried on
concrete columns or posts

19. IIT-K
– The Bauhaus influence in Kanvinde’sstyle is clearly visiblein the buildings
of IIT Kanpur.
– Cubic shapes ,smooth, flat plain, undecorated surfaces ,complete
eliminationof all mouldings and ornament ,flat roofs
– Reveals the internal functions in a buildingas separate masses.
– Arranged in ways that were functional from inside and elegant from
outside.
– Kanvinde stronglybelieved that the elevation of a structure should be
defined by the functions inside.

22. – Elevated pedestrian walkway
– Sheltered and yet openness
– Protection from hot sun yet allow breezes

24. – THE NATIONAL WIND TUNNEL FACILITY
– established in 1999 at IITK to meet the national
needs in areas of aeronautical and non -
aeronautical R and D activities, houses the most
versatile and effective wind tunnel in India. It has
various simulation and measurement systems,
interchange able test sections and is capable of
testing at wind speed up to 80 m/s

26. COMPUTER CENTRE HOSTEL BLOCK
HOUSING FOR
FACULTY

27. OPEN AIR THEATRE

28. CONCLUSION
– His works are generallyraw and unemotional.Yet he managed to make his
designs appealing and welcoming.
– His designswere distinct and unique yet having one thing similar-
functionalism.
– His designsappear to be built with a large amount of thought havingbeen
given to making them functionally efficient and practically feasible.
– Conventionaltype of buildingswere designedas isolated islands of
departments.
– Activities which students and faculties share are designed to encourage
meeting and interaction.

29. NEHRU SCIENCE CENTER
MUMBAI

30. INTRODUCTION
Contemporary museums are forms of open education and
they have to meet the growing demand for more information,
more communication and thereby more activity.
One of the most fascinating contributions to the designing of
scientific/technological museums is the “workshop centre”. Rather
than an awesome display of exhibits with “do not touch” sign boards,
and technical jargon, which offer nothing in visual terms besides
being a scientific encyclopaedia, the workshop concept encourages
public participation through visual demonstration.
The Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai, is one such workshop, which
involves the visitor in a scientific experience, giving him participative
role in experiments, so that he/she no longer remains a mere
spectator.

31. LOCATION
– The Nehru Science Centre is located off E. Moses
road, Worli, Mumbai. The northern and western
sides of the complex are surroundedbe slums
makingit impossibleto link the structure with the
planetariumon the western side. The entire
complex spreads across a sloped marshyland
covering about 8 acres.
– The generalprogrammerequires13 acres of
reclaimedland to accommodate15,000 sq. m. of
built up space, comprisingof severalfunctions
relatedto the museum.

32. GOALS
To sum up, the aim is to
fulfil the receptivityof the
mind and to create a
space with variationand
interest.
The main object during
the designis to arouse
and stimulate interests of
the human mind.
Thecentrehascertain
goals
1. To stimulate public awareness and interest in science and technology.
2. To co-operate with the education system in the provision of an education
facility for illustrating the cultural significance relevant, and also the limitations
of science and technology.
3. To promote the dissemination of knowledge of science and technology to all
people with the co-operation of the scientific community and industry.
4. To act as a focus for scientific activities among surrounding
regions.

33. CONCEPT
– Need artificiallightingfor effective
presentationof exhibits, the ideaof
forced ventilation emerged.
– At the same time the idea of
creatingspaces of a certain quality
which helps the receptivityof the
mind.
– Apart from spatialorganization, the
maindesign problem was to
establish circulationof movement
– A series of multi-directionalunits
was created with largecolumn for
free spaces

34. ACTIVITIES
1. Exposition without walls – children’s science park with
interactive exhibits of scientific phenomena,greenery and aviary.
2. Expositionwith walls – science for children, sound and hearing
and sight, discovery and our heritage.
3. Educationalextension counter – mini planetarium,camp
corners, creative ability centre, teachers’ training programmes,
science fair, seminars,quiz, ‘I m a mother’ shows, film shows,
popular lectures and many more.

35. FUNCTIONS
– This complex houses a varietyof activities and exhibits intended
by the CSIR (Council of Scientific and IndustrialResearch) to
popularize science and technology
– A children’s museum with a demonstrationhall and facilities for
education
– A museum of the history of science, a hall of Industry and an
outdoor science park
– Discovery of India expositions, Art Gallery, Auditorium and
Exhibition halls

38. SERVICES
NEHRU SCIENCE CENTRE

39. FEATURES
– One of the most outstanding features of the Nehru Science
Centre is the efficiency with which their services have been
carried out.
– The toilet block is placed on the rear side in such a way that
all the pipes are concealed within the shaft.
– The water tank has been suitably hidden between the tops
of the ventilation shafts.
– The restrictions on the number of windows in the exhibition
halls has affected cross-ventilation.
– Thus forced ventilation became necessary and it was
preferred because the other alternative of air-conditioning
the building was very expensive.

40. Ventilation
– The ventilation system is purely mechanical.
– The centrifugal fans blow the air in through the vent shafts and
the tube-axial fans provided at the exhaust.
– Two blowers have been fitted at the terrace level.
– These blowers are actually backward curved centrifugal fans
with double width and double inlet.
– These blowers suck the surrounding air through the R.C.C.
louvers and force it down the galvanised iron duct in to the
ventilation shafts. The shaft is a hollow tube measuring
2.3mX2.15m. The forced air is thrown in to each display area
through an inlet at the roof level.

41. DISADVANTAGES OF
VENTILATION
– The polluted air is thrown out from the exhibitionareas through an outlet at the floor level by means
of tube axial fans mounted on top of each shaft. The ventilation system has the following
disadvantages –
– 1. The amount of air changes facilitated by the system does not achieve comfort levels.
– 2. When forced air reaches the louver level the force exerted by the blowers on the air is
considerably reduced. Thus one does not feel the fast air movement, which is necessary in a
humid place like Bombay.
– 3. The air inlets and outlets are placed just ten feet away from each other.
– 4. Loud noise and vibrations are caused by the blowers in spite of the use of glass fibre lining on
the ducts.

42. BUILT-UP
SPECIFICATIONS

43. INTERIORS
– The number of exhibition halls, at various levels, is connected by staircaseblocks with
illuminatedby skylights and other fully glazedpassageways.
– But each exhibition hall with its massivearea of 500 sq. m. coupled with a heightof 4.0m
projects an overwhelmingeffect on the young visitor.
– The use of minimumnumber of windowshas given way to largedisplayareason the
walls. This effect of a largevolume is brought down by hangingcolourful banners from
the ceiling, though at some places it has been controlled and regulatedby stepping the
roof slabs.
– The split-levels used to maintainthe natural topography of the site has helped in
achievingan effect of spatialorganisationand physical as well as visual divisionof large
spaces.
– The colour schemes of the exhibitionhall interiors consists of brightprimary colours
used particularlyto attractchildren and initiatethem to the use of exhibits.
– The colour of the ceiling is darkenedso that no attention is drawntowardsit.

44. CIRCULATION
– The circulationpattern broadlyfalls under two basic needs – the movementof people
and that of the exhibits.
– Visitors enter the mainhall on the first floor level of the B block through a flightof steps
leadingfrom the landscapedforecourt. From the mainhall they are gradually routed
through the exhibitionarea.
– The circulationroute directs the public to the second floor from where they ascend
viewingthe exhibits.
– Through the central staircasein block B one ascends to the Discovery Hall. From here
one moves on to block C reachingthe Hall of Nature.
– The visitor then starts to descend in this block, passingthrough the Hall of Industries
and HeritageHall to reach the ground floor level to the temporaryexhibition halls.
– After exploring them, the visitor comes to the café lobby.
– One climbs up to the entrance hall to exit from the stepped bridge.

45. MATERIAL CIRCULATION
– Material circulation is a very importantaspect of museum design,which is
organised by bringing the material to be stored to the depositoryin the
basementby a vehicular ramp.
– The materials used in fabrication are sent to the workshop.
– Material movementin the exhibition area is through a large freight lift in
the central zone.
– Supplies to the kitchen are also routed through the basementreceiving
space.

46. MATERIALS AND
DISADVANTAGES
The exterior surface of the structure, for low maintenance cost, is finishedwith
LOCAL GREY STONE, GRITPLASTERWITH GREYCEMENT (1:1) panels created by
making grooves on the grit plaster at certain intervals.The finish, although good
in appearance has certain disadvantages,such as –
– 1. The grooves left between the panels are not watertight and are a cause of
heavy leakage during the monsoon.
– 2. Rich mixture of cement has been used to cast large panels which have
cracked due to expansionand contraction. Even these cracks are the cause of
monsoon leakage.
– 3. The grit plaster used does not hold on R.C.C. surface therefore patches of
shot-crete fallen from a few places spoiling the elevation.

47. STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
As the site is reclaimed, since it was a marshy land, pile foundation had to be
used.
The structural system is conceived with structural supports placed at 12.0m c/c.
These supports are made up of hollow 2.3mX2.15m L.C. concrete tube which
functions both as structural components and conceal the air distribution system
and the services.
Large unobstructed spans were essential for the exhibition halls of the science
centre. Therefore ribbed or waffle slab is used.
The floor slab consists of 0.9mX0.9m fabricated or pre-cast R.C.C. waffle units.

48. FORM

49. EXTERNAL FORM AND
STRUCTURE
– The buildinglooks interestingwhen viewedfrom all the angles. It creates a sense of
curiosity and mystery in the minds of the visitors. The science museum with its immense
proportions and massingdoes not overpower the visitor’s senses. The shot-crete used
gives a ruggedand stark look to the structure; verticaland horizontalgrooves are
introduced.The buildinghas few windows minimisingthe elevationalfeatures and
shafts have been skilfully used to addinterest to the elevation and have served in
animatingthe skyline.
– The Structure
– The mainaccess to the structure is through a flightof shallow steps with an
ascendingstepped bridgewhich opens into a spacious podiumon the first floor level
of block B, instead of the conventional pattern of entering the structure at ground
level

50. This block houses the administrative and technical staff and the permanent office. Block A
is connected to the first floor and ground floor level to block.BLOCK A
The main entrance of the museum is a three-storey structure consisting of two hexagons
connected by a rectangular staircase block. Each hexagon forms a display area of 500 sq.
m. The first floor of this block houses the central hall and the hall of science. As one enters
the entrance hall from the open air podium one sees a massive exhibit based on the
principles of conservation of energy. Behind this exhibit is the main staircase leading to
the other exhibition halls. On the right hand side of the entrance is the reception along with
the souvenir shop and the waiting area. On the split level 1.3m higher than the entrance
hall is the ‘Fun Science’ gallery housing interesting exhibits. Halls on the second floor are
devoted to ‘Light and Sight’ and ‘Sound and Hearing’ exhibits. The third floor comprises of
the ‘Discovery Hall’ and the computer section. The Discovery hall is connected by a
passage to ‘The Hall of Nature’ in block C. these passages connecting different blocks are
in the form of fully glazed corridors. On the ground floor of block B is the cafeteria and
temporary exhibition gallery. The basement houses services such as the depository,
kitchen and storage for the science museum.
BLOCK B

51. It is similar to block B and comprises of various display areas such as ‘Hall of Industries’
and the ‘C.V. Raman’ hall on the ground floor. ‘Evolution’ and ‘Heritage’ on the first floor,
‘Heritage’ and Activities Hall on the second floor and the hall of Nature on the third floor.
BLOCK C
It houses the auditorium, library and conference hall. It has an independent access, which
leads to a common entrance for both the library and the auditorium. The entrance doors
are very narrow and at 45 degree angle causing great inconvenience to the visitors.
BLOCK D

52. FORM AND
FUNCTION
– It is in cylindrical form
– The service zone is located at the lowest
level, accessible to vehicles.
– The main entry is 18-20m wide and tunnel
shaped
– The dome is providedto show the entry
– The sun shade is in an elliptical manner

53. FORM AND FUNCTION
– Circulation has been defined so that visitorsreturn to entry level and can
proceed to the cafeteria and other social facilities at ground level.
– Ventilation to all areas is ensuredby a blower system.
– The structural system is in waffle slab and the structural columns at 12m
centers house the ventilationshafts.

54. AREA STATEMENT
Spaces Area (sq. m.)
Administrative block Entrance hall 30
General staff 110
Meeting room 25
Technical officer 12
Director's office 35
Administrative office 30
Toilets 20
Store 20
Temporary workshop Fabrication room 240
Assembly hall 270
Cabins (4 nos.) 40 each
Residential accomodation Staff (6 nos.) 50 each
Visitors (10 nos.) 12.5 each
Ladies' dormitory 70
Gents' dormitory 100
Security booth (3 nos.) 10 each
Snack counter (35 people) 100
Visitors' toilets

55. Science museum Entrance podium 40
Entrance lobby 350
Ticket booth 15
Science hall Science for children 500
Evolution 500
Vintage car 500
Display halls Light and Sight 300
Sound and Hearing 500
Hall of Industries 500
Raman's achievements 300
Our Heritage I and II 300
Hall of Activities I (Discovery) 300
Hall of Activities II (Nature) 300
Auditorium Entrance hall 125
Sitting for 250 300
Projection room 12
Stage and store 65
Library 270
Conference room 30
Cafeteria 150
Kitchenette and pantry 50
Total built-uparea = 6291 sq. m.
Total plot area = 32,376 sq. m.
Therefore ratio = 1:5

56. Thank you
- Anjali Anand
- Anjali.S
- Chandramani
- Swathi
- Gangadhar
- Juveria
- Aamir
- Shambhavi
- Shreyas
- Sunita