Jawahar Kala Kendra is a cultural centre in Jaipur, India dedicated to Jawaharlal Nehru. Architect Charles Correa designed the centre based on the original city plan of Jaipur, arranging squares to represent the nine planets. The 9.5 acre complex includes art galleries, workshops, a library, and Shilpgram, a rural complex with replicas of huts from different regions of Rajasthan showcasing crafts and culture. By invoking the original city plan and using local materials like red sandstone, Correa created a space that blends traditional Indian concepts with contemporary design to display and promote India's cultural heritage.

1. INTRODUCTION
• Jawahar Kala Kendra is an arts and crafts centre located in the city of
Jaipur.
• The centre is important not because of the nomenclature but its close
association with the city of Jaipur itself.
• The centre was built in the year 1986 and the construction completed in
1991.
• The centre was launched by the state government to provide space to the
cultural and spiritual values of India and display the rich craft heritage.
• The centre is dedicated to the late prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru.
• This cultural centre for the city of Jaipur, is dedicated to the memory of
India's great leader Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Ideas for the building, sited in an open field near the university in a new
part of the city, formed in Correa's mind; but it was not until 1986 that the
concept for the building was finalized.
SITE LOCATION:
ARCHITECT’S SKETCH OF THE ENTRANCE FACADE
Architect :Charles Correa
Construction time :6 years
Constructed by :PWD
Site area :9.5 acres
• The centre is an analogue of the original city pIan of Jaipur drawn up by the Maharaja,
a scholar, mathematician and astronomer, Jai Singh the Second, in the mid-17th
century.
• His city plan, guided by the Shipla Shastras, was based on the ancient Vedic madala of
nine squares or houses which represent the nine planets (including two imaginary ones
Ketu and Rahu).
• Due to the presence of a hill one of the squares was transposed to the east and two of
the squares were amalgamated to house the palace.
CONCEPT:
MAP OF JAIPUR AS PRECEDENT
KETU BUDH CHANDRA
RAHU GURU
SHUKRA
MANGALSHANI
TYPICAL PLAN
• Correa's plan for the kendra invokes directly the original navagraha or nine house
rnandala.
• One of the squares is pivoted to recall the original city plan and also to create the
entrance.
• The plan of jaipur city based on the nine square yantra in which one
square is displaced and two central squares combined.
• The squares is defined by 8m high wall, symbolic of the fortification wall
along the jaipur old city
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2. • A volumetric model each dimension
is 30x30x8m
AA
PLANNING:
• Defined space
according to usage
Museum/
gallery
Learning space
Administration
Recreational
spaces
• Library
• Print making studio
• Scupture studio
• Alankar museum
• Sudhershan terracotta gallery
• Chaturdik gallery, running wall space 485 ft
• Sukriti gallery running wall space 160 ft
• Surekh gallery running wall space 160 ft
• Parijat-1 gallery running wall space 60 ft
• Parijat-2 gallery running wall space 88ft
• Srajan workshops
• Satkar cafeteria
• Guest house and dormitory
• Madhyavarthi-open theatre
• Rangayan,krishnayan,director theatre
• Shilpgram
FACILITIES:
Madhyavarthi Entrance plazaAlankar
museum
Art galleries
SECTION-AA
Dome over the entrance plaza
The ceiling which depicts animals ,
mountains , rivers and animals in a
traditional Indian cosmology, it
shows how well Correa was able to
meld the traditional with the
contemporary.
The central courtyard can be viewed from all the galleries
• Material:red sand stone and white
marble
• Vastu symbols on façade of each unit
• Small punctures on walls for
ventillations.
• Light shafts have step profiles with
marble capping
• Smaller openings
• Light shafts at corner of each unit
• Central courtyard bring in
light and air
RESPONSE TO CLIMATE:
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3. 1 2 3
4 5 6
7
8 9
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8
9
ENTRANCE
PLAN
1.SANDARBH LIBRARY/DIR.DOCUMENT
–G.F
AUDIO VISUAL READING -F.F
2.SPHATIC ART GALLERY -G.F
DIR.MUSIC AND DANCE -G.F
SPHATIC ART GALLERY -F.F
3.PARIJAT-1 -G.F
PARIJAT-2 -G.F
SRAJAN WORKSHOPS -G.F
SRAJAN PHOTO WORKSHOP -F.F
4.ALANKAR MUSEUM -G.F
CURATOR -F.F
INDEX:
5.SUDARSHAN SUKRATHI -G.F
SUREKH -G,F
CHATURDIC ART GALLERY -F.F
6.SATKAR CAFETERIA -G.F
GUEST HOUSE AND DORMITORY -F.F
7.ADMIN BLOCK RECEPTION -G.F
CONFERENCE,CASHIER -G.F
8.MADHYAVARTHI OPENTHEATRE
9.RANGAYAN KRISHNAYAN -G.F
DIRECTOR THEATRE -F.F
CIRCULATION:
Internal circulation
External circulation
• Grid iron planning
• Central courtyard
• Inward looking
• 2 major axis
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4. SHILPGRAM COMPLEX:
POND
CANTEEN
DURGAPUR
HUT
WELL
JAIPUR
HUT
TOILETS
KOTA
HUT
SIKAR HUT
BHARATPUR HUT
BARMER
HUT
• Adjoining the main building of the
jawahar kala kendra is shilpgram- a
rural complex with six huts
symbolizing the rural ambience of
various regions of Rajasthan.
• These are -
marwar, braj, shekhawati, tribal,
desert land and hadoti from the
districts namely bharatpur , kota ,
durgapur , barmer , sikar and Jaipur
• Apart from routine based art-culture
oriented activities a mega annual
festival named “lokrang" is held in
the month of october – november to
celebrate the enigmatic and
vivacious folk art and cultural
tradition of India.
• The ‘‘lok rang’’ or say ‘‘national
folk festival’’ comprises national
handicraft fair and national dance
festival.
CANTEEN
PLAN EXTERIORINTERIOR
• Rectangular mud house with central courtyard and raised platform
around.
• The central court was used for dining and the raised platform had
preparation area.
• Country tile roof
DURGAPUR HUT
PLAN
• Rectangular mud hut with atone
foundation
• Façade painted with white
limestone
• Roofing-clay plates and pots.
KOTA HUT:
PLAN ELEVATION
JAIPUR HUT:
PLAN VIEW PLAN
BHARATHPUR HUT:
ELEVATION
SIKAR HUT
ELEVATIONPLAN
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5. BARMER HUT
PLAN ELEVATION
CRITICALANALYSIS:
• Response to program: A volumetric module which is very well defined
• Response to context: going with traditions
• Circulation and planning: grid iron planning with connectivity
• Density :specially even, programmatic density varies
• Hierarchy :well defined, based on programme it occupies
• Community space: mixture of formal and informal space
• Response to climate: central court, small openings
• Scale of unit relatable to humans as it does not overpower us and also
makes the ground spaces feel larger and not claustrophobic.
• Negligence in maintenance of the entire complex leading to detrioration
of spaces eg:shilpgram had lot of commercial activites going on and the
huts were occupied by workers
MORE ACTIVE
LESS ACTIVE
PROGRAMMATIC DENSITY:
The planning as a whole was in monumental scale and it was like a no man’s
land . The two active spaces were central courtyard and cafteria.
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