Joseph Allen Stein was an American architect who came to India in the 1950s and designed several landmark buildings in New Delhi. Some of his most notable works include the Triveni Kala Sangam Arts Complex, the India International Centre, the Ford Foundation Headquarters, and the India Habitat Centre. Stein's designs blended modern architecture with local materials and influences, incorporating open spaces, landscaping, and careful attention to detail. His goal was to create buildings that harmonized with their surroundings through an approach he termed "modern regionalism".

1. JOSEPH
ALLEN
STEIN(1912 –
2001)
TANVI CHADHA
B.ARCH
MBS SPA

2. • Joseph Stein, an American architect was
a major figure in the establishment of a
regional modern architecture in the San
Francisco Bay area in the 1940s and
1950s.
• He is noted for designing several
important buildings in India, most notably
in Lodhi Estate in Central Delhi,
nicknamed "Steinabad" after him, and
where today the 'Joseph Stein Lane', is
the only road in Delhi named after an
architect.
• The area has a series of buildings
designed by the late Joseph Allen Stein,
who transformed a small part of the
Capital with his vision.

3. India under prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a liberal land open to ideas and hungry for
progress.
Joseph Allen Stein came to India in the early 50s - at a time when the full glow of the
'Nehruvian enlightenment' was influencing the emergence of an entire new, modern India.
While other famous architects were coming and working in the country around the same time -
Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, Charles and Ray Eames, Edward Durrel Stone, Maxwell Fry and
Jane Drew - Stein differed from them in that he had made India his home and sought to be
actively involved in the making of the new society.
It was in his New Delhi buildings - notably the TRIVENI KALA SANGAM ARTS COMPLEX
(1957-77) and the INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE (1959-62) - that his full design
personality emerged.
Both were immediately distinguished by their elegant formal spaces, beautifully muted by
covered walkways, extensive planting and landscaping and their meticulous detailing.
In Delhi, surrounding the IIC he continued to build a series of buildings, which have become
landmarks - THE FORD FOUNDATION, THE UNITED NATIONS, the WORLD WIDE
FUND FOR NATURE and most recently the huge INDIA HABITAT CENTRE.
If anyone could match the Lodhis and their architecture, it is this series of buildings
built by Joe through the 1960s and 1970s.

4. TRIVENI KALA SANGAM ARTS COMPLEX
COVERED WALKWAYS

5. STEIN’S WAY OF DESIGNING
• The influence on Stein, was a view, which incorporated organic materials,
brick, stone and wood, with a willingness to decorate through texture and
volume, yet retaining a simplicity and human scale.
• He typically designed two-to four-storey buildings that fused with the
surrounding trees, gardens and pools; flowers and vines would spill over the
walls. Mr Stein’s designs were modernistic, but inspired by India’s past.
FORD FOUNDATION
HEADQUARTERS,
DELHI

6. Stein had said:
"Two things have essentially guided my work. One is what
you might call an interest in and search for an appropriate
modern regionalism. I would put equal emphasis on both
words, 'regional' and 'modern', because regional without
modern is reactionary, and modern without regional is
insensitive, inappropriate. The second one is to seek the
character of the solution in the nature of the problem, as
much as one possibly can"
What Stein achieved, in a way, was to bring his 'California
Modern' into an Indian context, altering his design
vocabulary by the observation of Indian life and construction
systems.

7. Mr Stein foresaw what the juggernaut of progress would do
to the delicate balance of ecosystems; his designs sought to
find harmony. In an interview in 1982, he said:
“India has intense and sharply drawn environmental
problems. There is probably no possibility of solutions here,
except along what may be called Gandhian lines, which
means essentially seeking simple and ecologically gentle
solutions.”
This thought was best translated in the India International
Centre, an oasis for Delhi’s intellectuals.

8. INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE

9. Founded in 1958 & inaugurated in 1968, its setting up was the idea of Dr S. Radhakrishnan, the
then Vice President of India & Mr John D Rockefeller.
The India International Centre (IIC), for more than the last five decades has been the
intellectual fountainhead of the country. Situated in the heart of New Delhi, the Centre lies next
to the famous Lodi Gardens, where tourists are often seen taking heritage walks amidst the
picturesque scenery.
Completed in 1962, this is a world of grassy open spaces, placid pools, paved walkways, jaalis,
porticos and canopies. The buildings, instead of soaring high, give a feeling of coming down to
meet the earth. Bougainvillea crawls up the stone walls, mynahs nibble on the grass, and lotus
leaves float in the water. The daylight falls soft, and shaded spaces are close by.

10. • Considered one of the country’s premier cultural
institutions, the India International Centre is a non-
government institution widely regarded as a place where
statesmen, diplomats, policymakers, intellectuals, scientists,
jurists, writers, artists and members of civil society meet to
initiate the exchange of new ideas and knowledge in the
spirit of international cooperation. Its purpose, stated in its
charter, was ‘to promote understanding and amity between
the different communities of the world’.
In short, the Centre stands for a vision that looks at India as a
place where it is possible to initiate dialogues in an
atmosphere of amity and understanding.

11. The Building
• The inspiration for IIC was Tokyo’s International House of
Japan. Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, who at the time was the Prime
Minister of India also helped in the selection of the beautiful
4.76 Acres site adjacent to Lodi Gardens. With the aid of many
other enthusiasts & Joseph Allen Stein, created this marvellous
structure.
Stein has made use of exposed concrete, massive piers & exposed
roof patterns in the construction of this structure. The curving
pattern of the IIC structure, the curving paths & walkways in the
adjacent Lodi gardens lend a complementary & beautiful effect.
The building blends beautifully with the garden, as if it’s a natural
extension.

13. The Three Wings
The IIC Complex has been designed into 3 separate wings to
reflect its three different functional aspects. IIC has been
designed as 'Triveni', which in Sanskrit means Convergence.
• The West Wing is constituted by a lounge & a dining room.
• One may stop at the South Wing in order to spend some time
at the library. Also, the auditoriums, publication division &
all the administrative offices lie here.
• In the North Wing lies the residential area with its hostel
rooms being in great demand. Most residential rooms at the
main complex open directly to the lawns or the Lily Pond on
GF, and are provided with private Verandahs on the 1st &
2nd Floors.

14. INDIA HABITAT CENTRE

15. The India Habitat Centre, constructed in the late 1980s, was
Stein’s last major work. The pinnacle of his art, he designed it as
a series of blocks, linked by shaded courtyards, stairs and
walkways, screened from the sun as well as the noise of traffic.
To soften the concrete and tarmac, the vertical face of each
building sported flowers and creepers – as do the Ford
Foundation and the Triveni Kala Sangam.
Writing in 1982, Mr Stein shared his wisdom:
“In the 20th century, the pressures of population, land
speculation, the tight and often sterile industrialised construction
requires that the architect consciously seek not to spoil the earth
with his work as he extends hard constructions even onto the last
recess of Nature.”

17. • The creation of a green and healthy environment forms the backbone
of the complex. This contributes to the urban level functions and also
creates a healthy and pleasant environment for the working
employees.
• Given the heat of the Indian summer, many of the exterior spaces are
shaded by delicate blue patio covers, casting intricate shadows and
further blurring the distinction between inside and out.

18. • Building are grouped around climate
temperate courts.
• Shaded by overhead sun screens and
enlivened by vertical gardens.

19. • The courtyards are planted
with a pleasing array of
greenery – large pots and beds
of evergreen shrubs and tall
trees, providing a more
human feel and scale amongst
the concrete monumentality.
• Although rarely credited,
Stein’s wife Margaret was
responsible for much of the
interior and planting design in
his work, and the successful
combination of their two styles
is well illustrated here, at the
Habitat Centre.

20. The entire facade is cladded with red bricks which
give a majestic look to the structure. Vertical and
Horizontal ribbon windows have been used with a
special glass that restricts the entry of sunlight.
The reflectors are installed above the
building to provide shade and prevent sun
from entering into the building. The
reflectors are aligned at an angle which
reflect back 70% of the sunlight and change
their angle during winter to allow sunlight to
fall on the windows.
Since the building lies in the hot and dry climatic
zone, evaporative cooling is very effective.

21. In 1992, Mr Stein was awarded the Padma Shri.
Artist Ram Rahman had said:
“He brought a ‘California modernism’ sensibility to
this country. He was good at working with local
materials, be it granite or glazed tiles, both influences
of Tughlaq architecture.”
In a world of falling standards, his work remains
exceptional.