THE Mozart of critical regionalism

1. SUBMITTED BY:-
ANKUSH 13603
ARCHIT 13613

2. One of the India's best-known
architects, Raj Rewal is recognized
internationally for buildings that respond
sensitivity to the complex demands of
rapid urbanization, climate and culture.
In a country that is both developing and
industrialized, whose architectural
inheritance is ancient and recent and
whose society is conservative and
pluralist.
Rewal's work combines
sophisticated technology and a sense of
history and context, imparted not only
by design but by local material such as
ochre and rose sandstone, evoking the
great Mogul monuments.
An Introduction...

3.  Born: 1934
 Educated in Delhi and London.
 Rewal worked in Michel Ecochards's office in
Paris before starting his practice in New Delhi.
 He has received among many other honours,
the Gold Medal from Indian Institute of
Architects and the Robert Mathew Award from
the Commonwealth Associations of Architects.
 Raj Rewal Associates is based in Delhi and
has been in practice for the last 35 years.
The architectural firm has been acclaimed
for its housing projects and urban design and
public buildings.
An Introduction...

4.  His humanist approach to architecture responds
to the complexities of rapid urbanisation, the
demands of climate, cultural traditions, and
building crafts and technologies.
 His built works comprise a wide range of
building types, including the Nehru Pavilion, the
Scope office complex, the Central Institute of
Educational Technology, the World Bank
building, the National Institute of Immunology,
the Parliament Library, and the Asian Games
Village, all located in New Delhi
An Introduction...

5. WORKING LIFE
 HE WORKED AS AN ARCHIECTURAL ASST. IN VARIOUS PRACTICES IN LONDON
& THEATRE SCENERY DESIGNER IN THE EVENINGS.
 HE BECAME ASSOCIATE OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS
(RIBA)
 1961-1962 : WORKED IN THE OFFICES OF MICHEL ECOCHARD,
ARCHITECT,PARIS
 1962 : RETURNED TO NEW DELHI TO SET UP HIS OWN ARCHITECTURAL
PRACTICE.
 1963-1972 : TAUGHT AT DELHI SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE.
 1974 : OPENED A SECOND OFFICE IN TEHRAN,IRAN
 1985 : FOUNDED THE ARCHITECTURAL RESEACH CELL WITH RAM
SHARMA
 1986 : CRATOR OF EXHIBITION “TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA”
FOR THE FESTIVAL OF INDIA IN PARIS

6. PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
& ACHIEVEMENT
• He completed his professional education in Europe.
• He met with 3 encounters which shaped his architectural ideology.
• He developed his ideology and followed it for the rest of his life.
• First encounter, he relates to his interest in structures during which he
developed during the review of his diploma projects.
• Second one accounts on his working experience that he gained while he
was working as an assistant manager for several Avante Grade theatre
productions in London. As a set designer for the drama shows, he learnt
that each dramatic work had a particular character which he interpreted
as the rasa of the building.
• Third encounter, he worked with Michel Ecohard in Paris, before beginning
his own architectural practice. In this office, he learned the principles of
Urban design and Planning.

7. I
N
F
L
U
E
N
C
E
S
THE “ROLE MODELS” FOR RAJ REWAL ARE :-
1. LE CORBUSIER
2. CHARLES CHORREA
3. LOUIS I. KAHN
INFLUENTIAL PLACES:
1. RAJASTHAN
2. OLD TOWNS
3. TADITINAL HAVELI HOUSE
4. ANCIENT BUILDINGS
5. MODERN BUILDINGS AS WELL
6. WESTERN THEORIES OF URBAN PLANNING &
BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

8. “Tradition should not be
approached for its
underlying order, not for
its superficial effects, it
should be rethought in
terms that are right for
the possibilities and
limitations of the present
social order”
…Raj Rewal
…
PHILOSOPHY

9. Rewal’s designs have some
things in common with those of
his contemporaries Charles
Correa, Balkrishna V Doshi
and Achyut Kanvinde— such
as broken-up forms, open
courtyards and sociable living or
working environments. But
Rewal’s work has its own range
and grammar. Unlike the other
architects, and like Joseph
Allen Stein also in New Delhi,
Rewal has built largely in one
place and climate — Delhi, and
hot, dry north India.
PHILOSOPHY

10. PHILOSOPHY
• ARCHITECTURAL THEORY - BUILDINGS SHOULD RESPOND TO
COMPLEX DEMANDS OF RAPID URBANISATION, CLIMATE & CULTURE.
• CONCEPT - BASE OF DESIGNING HOUSING IS TRADITIONAL
ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA AND A DUAL CONCERN FOR A BUILDING’S
EXPRESSIVENESS BY MEANS OF INCORPORATING HISTORICAL
PRECEDENTS INTO URBAN DESIGN.
WINDOW OPENINGS CONSTITUTE A
MODERN INTERPRETATION OF CARVED
JALIS IN ANCIENT BUILDINGS
MORPHOLOGY OF OLD TOWNS INTO A
CONTEMPORARY EQUIVALENT.
(SHEIKH SARAI MASS HOUSING COMPLEX)

11. An approach to architecture in the 80’s that countered PLACELESSNESS and LACK OF
MEANING
CRITICAL REGIONALISM
Raj Rewal emphasized on topography, light
and climate rather than scenography
Critical regionalism seeks architectural traditions deeply rooted in local
condition that results in intelligent and appropriate architecture

12. • Raj Rewal has some things in common with his
contemporaries such as BV Doshi, Achyut Kanvinde-
broken up forms, open courtyards, sociable living and
working environments.
• He has dealt largely with areas of similar climate such
as Delhi and Jaipur, which are hot and dry .
• The main problem of critical regionalism
is to seek answers to the question of Paul
Ricour: "How to be modern and to
continue the tradition, how to revive an
old dormant civilization as part of
universal civilization."

13. FEATURES
• CLUSTERING OF BUILDINGS
(ASIAN GAMES VILLAGE)
• COURTYARDS PROVIDING PUBLIC
SPACE WITHIN THE BUILDING.
(ASIAN GAMES VILLAGE)
• SCATTER OF TERRACES PERMITTING
YET ANOTHER SET OF ACTIVITIES
( SHEIKH SARAI HOUSING)

14. FEATURES
• STREETS : NARROW, SHADED ,
BROKEN UP INTO SMALL UNITS
CREATING PAUSES, POINTS OF REST
& CHANGING (SHEIKH SARAI)
•GATEWAYS : ALLOW FOR A CHANGE &
CONTAIN A CONTUNITY, BRIDGES FORMED
BY LINKING 2 NEIGHBOURING HOUSES (ASIAN
GAMES VILLAGE)

15. MATERIALS
• SANDSTONE - GIVES TRADITIONAL YET MODERN LOOK
• CONCRETE- HOUSING • BRICK CLADDING- RESIDENCE

16. • Rewal has helped transform a
modernism learnt from the West,
quietly, into its very opposite. The
continuities with Modernism in his
best work balance some relatively
radical departures from Modernist
dogma. Rewal has developed a
distinctive grammar of his own.
• This grammar reflects two
apparently opposed value systems:
the traditional one of the hot and
dry parts of India, with its taste for
pattern and ornament, and the
Western Modernist one of abstract
expression. Rewal has been able to
combine the possibilities that each
one offers with the least discord.
This reflects a concern
for climatic sensitivity
and energy efficiency.
He is pained to see
developers investing in
glass. “Glass is for
colder climates. Its
transparency is nullified
in hot weather as you
have to cover it with
heavy curtains. As you
shut the door to nature,
the cost of air
conditioning goes up
substantially.”
GRAMMAR OF HIS FORMS

17. Rewal’s grammar uses some of the principles of traditional architecture in Rajasthan —
upper floors project outwards to shade lower walls, jalis cut glare or improve a façade.
He uses the same material — sandstone — often, but as cladding for RCC (reinforced
cement concrete) and masonry structures rather than structural work. In effect, Rewal
reinterprets traditional stone architecture in modern brick and RCC.
British High Commission Housing-New Delhi Engineers Indian House, New Delhi
GRAMMAR OF HIS FORMS

18. “Breathing life and feelings into buildings,
rasa of architecture comes alive most
resoundingly in eminent architect Raj Rewal’s
works”

19. HIS WORKS
1. PARLIAMENT LIBRARY
2. HALL OF NATIONS
3. ASIAD GAMES VILLAGE
4. VAI CAMPUS
1
2
34

20. Parliament Library, New Delhi

21. PROJECT DETAILS
 Client: Lok Sabha Secretariat, GOI
 Architect: Raj Rewal Associates, New Delhi
 Structural Engineer: CPWD, GOI
 Contractor: L&T Ltd., ECC Construction
Division
 Built Area: 60’460 m²
 Cost: INR 270 crore
 Design 1993 - 1994
 Completed 2003

22. PHILOSOPHY
 Le Corbusier Inspired.
 Inspired by the Rasa theory.

23.  Raj Rewal believes that contemporary architecture
should take advantage of all the most advanced
technologies that modernity has to offer. However
this does not stop him from taking from traditional
everything that can hold value.

24. History
1921 small library constructed in Central
Legislative Assembly
Parliament building an appendage as earlier
Viceroys house was the authority center

25. Design Requirements
 The Library was expected to be ‘apt for the 21st
century’ while also complementing the majestic
heritage from the British.

26.  Not only to serve as repository of books, legislative
debates and parliamentary papers but also to provide
up-to-date and storehouse of knowledge on which
members of parliament could draw.

27. How were the architects chosen?
 A limited competition for the new addition to India’s
Parliament was organised by the government in 1989
 The winner, announced in 1991, was the renowned
architect Raj Rewal, author of many prominent works
throughout India

28. Functional requirements
Library functions – a main reading; AV library, research and
computer divisions; conservation laboratory; archival room
Parliamentary functions – the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies
and Training (BPST), Library Committee Room, Parliament
Museum; Media, press briefing room
Meeting halls - 1,100-seat auditorium

29. Parliament
 NeoColonial Indian Architecture
 Designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in
the first half of the 20th century, the city plan
includes India Gate (War Memorial), Rajpath
(parade route), and the Rashtrapati Bhavan
SURROUNDINGS

30. Adinath Temple, Ranakpur
ARCHITECTURAL INFLUENCES

31. Architectural influences
• Adinath Temple, Ranakpur
• Mandalas

32. • Datia Palace, MP
• Adinath Temple, Ranakpur
• Mandalas
Architectural influences

33. • Datia Palace, MP
• Adinath Temple, Ranakpur
• Mandalas
• Taj Mahal
Architectural influences

34. • Datia Palace, MP
• Adinath Temple, Ranakpur
• Mandalas
• Taj Mahal
• FINALLY
Architectural influences

35. FEATURES
•A VARIETY OF DOMES CONSTRUCTED OF LIGHT
WEIGHT FIBRE SHEET,STRUCTURAL GLASS&GLASS
BRICKS ADMIT FILTERED LIGHT TO THE SPACES
BELOW.
•BALANCE BETWEEN LIGHT WT. ELEGANCE OF
HIGH TECH DOMES &THE RED WHITE SANDSTONE
USED ON WALLS &FLOORS
THE FOCAL CENTRE- SPECTACULAR .INVOLVES A
COMPOSITE ARRANGEMENT OF 4 PETALS USING
SUN REFLECTING GLASS ,STAINLESS STEEL TIED
TOGETHER WITH DELICATE TENSION RODS.

36. FEATURES
•4 STOREY HIGH ATRIUM GETS LIGHT EVEN
INTO THE BASEMENT THAT STORE NEARLY 3
MILLION BOOKS IN COMPACT SYSTEM
CEILING &CANTILEVER STAIRS –
EXPOSED CONCRETE,SOFTEN BY
TEXTURED LEFT BY WOODEN FORM
WORK
`
FLOOR- KOTA STONE IN
BROWN&BRONZE CARRIED THROUGH A
TEAK FRAMED DOOR

37. •LANDSCAPE - GRASS
EMBAKEMENTS HAVE BEEN
PROVIDED ABOVE
COMPLEMENTING THE DENCE
SPACE OF ADJOINING PARLIAMENT
HOUSE.
•COURTYARDS ARE
PROVIDEDOR DIRECT LIGHT
&VENTILATION
•MATERIAL –
SANDSTONE,CONCRETE,JALIS
FEATURES

38.  The sub-structure of the Library makes use of innovative foundation
systems based on diaphragm walls that go to a depth of 14 metres
below ground.
STRUCTRE

39.  The structure of standard floors is a reinforced concrete frame system
with coffered concrete slabs, supported by circular reinforced
concrete columns
Structures

40.  There are five types of structural lattice, each designed to carry a
cluster of shallow bubble domes made of lightweight concrete.
Spanning five metres each (less in the auditorium), these domes are
precast shell structures in fibro-cement, termed ‘fibre-reinforced
concrete’ (FRC)
Structures

41. Columns are mostly concrete, except for the detached steel columns
around the building’s periphery. The basic infill materials are brick and glass
brick
Structural lattices are essentially made of tubular elements, with a
combination of steel tubes, solid and hollow steel castings. Volumetric
space lattices on larger spaces have high tensile bars in addition
Materials

42. The ingredients of the FRC shell domes, all precast on site, include steel fibres,
cement,aggregate, reinforced steel, micro-silica fumes, blast furnace slag, super
plasticiser and water
The glass dome over the Focal Centre is made of stainless steel pipes of different
diameter and curvatures.
Materials

43. PLANNING

44. a
n
n
I
n
g
Each courtyard
symbolizes one
aspect of the
Indian constitution
• One is an
amphitheater,
symbolizing
freedom of
expression.
• Another
courtyard has a
pool of water
symbolizing
equality.
• A tree forms
the focal point
of the third
courtyard,
representing
social justice

45. South-west courtyard with amphitheatre, surfaces clad in red and white sandstone.

46. South-west courtyard with amphitheatre, surfaces clad in red and white sandstone.

47. HALL OF NATIONS Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

48. The Permanent Exhibition Complex is designed
to form the focus of 130 acres of Exhibition
ground designed by Raj Rewal in New Delhi. The
design was evolved to meet the constraints of
time, availability of materials and labour, but
above all, to reflect symbolically and
technologically, India's intermediate technology in
the 25th year of its independence. The depth of
the structural system was utilized as a Sun
breaker and conceived of in terms of the
traditional 'jali', a geometrical pattern of
perforation that serves to obstruct directs rays of
the harsh Sun while permitting air circulation.The
main pavilion of the Hall of Nations has a clear
span of 78 metres and a height varying from
three metres to 21 metres, thereby providing a
vast capacity for items to be exhibited, from
books to bulldozers.

49. Located on Mathura Road, next to Purana Qila, Pragati maidan(130 acres
of extensive ground), is rated as the “Finest Exhibition Complex” in Asia.
Besides the 15 giant exhibition halls, there is 10,000 square meters of open
area for trade related exhibitions
LOCATION:

50. •Exhibition space
•To reflect symbolically &
technologically India’s important place
in the modern, industrializing
community of nations.
BUILDING TYPE: EXHIBITION
YEAR: 1972
LAND: 130 Acres
The main pavilion has a clear span of 78
metres and a height varying from three
metres to 21 metres, thereby providing a
vast capacity for items to be exhibited,
PLAN
SITE PLAN
HALL OF NATIONS

51. A limited competition was held in 1970 for the design of permanent exhibition
spaces for the International Trade Fair 2 years later, & Raj Rewal‟s proposal
was selected.
The main pavilion of the hall of nations has a clear span of 78 m and a height
vary from 3 m to 21m , thereby providing a vast capacity for items to be
exhibited from books to bulldozers.
The hall of industries is a combination of 4 smaller pavilions by ramps
enclosing a central area for open air exhibits, utilities, toilets, and other services
are located under the ramps.
Although each of the halls was initially conceived as a full pyramid the
truncated form was adopted in order to avoid unnecessary constructions.
HALL OF NATIONS

52. Octahedra measuring 5m from joint to joint
were employed as the basic 3D unit of the
space frame , which rests on 8 points around
the essentially square planned and allows
11m wide openings
between the supports.
An effective system of environmental
control inside the building was another
outcome of the 3D structure , as solid
triangular panels at regular intervals provided
sun screens – a modern
equivalent , according to some authors of the
traditional jali in Indian architecture .
HALL OF NATIONS

53. ASIAN GAMES
VILLAGE, NEW
DELHI, 1980

54. VIEW OF A SECTOR

55. Concept is based on sequence of
open spaces linked by narrow,
shaded pedestrian streets and
containing both residential and
commercial activities
An obvious source of inspiration for such narrow streets linking the housing units is the
traditional street scale pattern found in many indian cities , where narrow paths become
spaces for encounters between people, the open squares offer a sense of neighbourhood

57. Vehicular movement
Green area

58. A cluster in asian
games village –
the basic unit of
four appartments
is designed in
such a way that it
can be linked with
cantilevers on
ends and partly
on fronts to
create a variety of
interlinking
spaces.
ASIAN GAMES VILLAGE

59. VAI CAMPUS ROHTAK

60. • LOCATION
• DATE
• BUILDING TYPE
• CONSTRUCTION
METHOD
• MATERIAL
ROHTAK, HARYANA
2013
INSTITUTIONAL
BRICK AND RCC
CONSTRUCTION
WITH EXTENCIVE USE OF RED
& WHITE SAND STONE CLADING
ON BOTH IN EXTERIOR AND IN
INTERIOR
MOSTLY RED & WHITE SAND
STONE
VIA CAMPUS

61. • SUVPA IS AN INTEGRATED
CAMPUS OF FOUR DIFFERENT
DEPARTMENTS
•CAMPUS IS DIVIDED
INTO 6 DIFF. BLOCKS
1. DEPT. OF ARCHITECTURE
2. DEPT. OF FINE ARTS
3. DEPT. OF FILM & TV
4. DEPT. OF FASHION DESIGN
5. ADMINISTRATION BLOCK
6. AUDITORIUM
• ALL THE BLOCKS ARE
ORRIENTED IN SAME DIRECTION
ACCORDING TO THE SUNPATH

62. •FOUR DEPT. BUILDINGS HAVE A
CENTRAL COURTYARD INFLUENCED
FROM THE RAJASTHANI ARCHITECTURE
•EXTENCIVE USE OF RED SANDSTONE
GIVE THE BUILDING A FEEL OF
RAJASTHANI ARCHUTECTURE
•CIRCULAR COLLUMNS ARE USED
INSTEAD OF SQUARE COLLUMNS THAT
ARE HIGHLIGHTED WITH DIFF. MATERIAL
AND ADD TO THE ASTHETICS VALUE OF
THE CAMPUS,
•INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR OF STUDIOS
& CLASS ROOMS ARE GIVEN VERY
MUCH ATTENTION BY USING COFFERED
CEILING AND SOUND ABSORBING
TREATEMENTS ON THE WALLS

63. • USE OF CLOISTERS
IN SINGLY LOADED
CORRIDORS INSPIRED
FROM RAJASTHANI
ARCHITECTURE
• THE DESIGN OF THE
AUDITORIUM IS BASED ON
THE CONCEPT OF SUN DIAL
•THE AUDITORIUM BUILDING
IS DIVIDED INTO TWO
PARTS.
•THE LOWER PART IS THE
AUDITORIUM WHERE AS
THE UPPER PART IS A
LIBRARY.

64. • THE AMPHITEATRE IS
LOCATED NEAR THE FINE
ARTS DEPARTMENT.
• FIBRE GLASS ROOFING IS
DONE IN THE APHITHEATURE
• THE ROOFING
IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF
PARLIAMENT LIBRARY.

65. • SAND STONE IS INNOVATIVELY
USED FOR MAKING SIGN BOARDS
IN THE CAMPUS.
• THE AUDITORIUM ,
CAFETERIA , AMINISTRATION
BUILDING AND THE
AMPHITHEATURE BUILDING
ARE CLADDED WITH WHITE
SAND STONE.
• WHEREAS THE ACADEMIC
BLOCKS ARE CLADDED WITH
RED SANDSTONE.

66. Our ANALYSIS...
 Rewal has tried to express a new sense of vocabulary that fuses
urbanism and architecture. He has tried to define a grammar
based on twentieth century technology that will achieve the
richness, variety, climatic sensitivity, scale and geometrical
discipline that he has perceived in great urban complexes of the
past such as Jaisalmer and Jaipur.
 Raj Rewals synthesis blends old and new, international and
regional, but does not lapse into pasctiche.
 Particular attention has been paid to ways in which the building
forms can temper the unremitting harshness of the climate. On the
external perimeter, the upper floors overhang to create deep
shadows. Throughout, windows are deeply recessed to shield the
interior from the sun glare and give the building an almost
sculptural articulation.

67.  Most of his buildings are contemporary buildings expressing a
liveliness, a boldness and technical research whose real material
is neither steel, nor stone nor concrete, but light and history. A
secular light, which has been much worked on, but without
transforming it into something sacred.
 He Masterfully takes advantage of the irregularities of the site, the
dwellings, with walkways, courtyards and terraces offer a
harmonious physical entity for living and working.
 He not only relates the building to its immediate very difficult
physical and historical context, but to deeper strains of Indian
culture and history. And he has married these to modern
technology and functional analysis.
 Discovering the past, and reinventing the future. The fusion of both
that’s were he fits into.
Our ANALYSIS...

68. Thank
You
ANKUSH 603
ARCHIT 613