Ahmedabad Architecture Guide
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The material in this compilation has been gathered from various bibliographic and internet sources. Since the purpose of this booklet is that of a general nature and not commercial, we have taken the liberty to exclude such references. We acknowledge, thus, the contributors of imagic and drawing material in open domain what has been put together here for academic purposes only. This compilation has been put together by the following students from School of Environment & Architecture: Kalpita Salvi, Radhika Rathi, Radha Iyer - First year batch of 2016
Additions & Editorial support Anuj Daga 2017
NOTE:
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Please carry Identity card issued by the college on the site visit.
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Carry a copy of your address proof: Aadhar card/passport copy/driving licence
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Bring along A4 size sketchbook, sketchenpens, soft pencils for site studies
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Lock and security chain to be used during train journey to secure your luggage.
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Carry personal medicines, caps and sunglasses.
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Travel light. Do not carry excess baggage
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The Indian Institution of Management (IIM) grants permission for studying its campus from the exterior and entering its classrooms/conference facilities is not permitted.
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For the Heritage walk, sleeveless tops and shorts are to be strictly avoided while visiting the Islamic monuments. A scarf or handkerchief or cloth will be required to cover the head while visiting these monuments. It is suggested to not wear shoes with laces as we need to remove them about four times during the walk.
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Please maintain silence and complete discipline while visiting institutions and other places. 2
SCHEDULE 2016
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Index
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Ahmedabad: Brief Introduction
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Sidi Saiyyed’s mosque
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Indian Institute of Management
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Sangath
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National Institute of Design
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Manavsadhna Activity Centre
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Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology (CEPT)
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Hussain-Doshi Gufa
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Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute
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Centre for Environment Education
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Premabai Hall
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The Sun Temple at Modhera
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Ahmedabad Textile Mill Owner’s Association
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Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya
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Institute of Indology
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Step Well at Adalaj
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Glossary
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Historical Growth of the City of Ahmedabad
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AHMEDABAD: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION GEOGRAPHY Ahmedabad is located in a sandy and dry area. Except for the small hills of Thaltej-Jodhpur Tekra, the entire city is almost flat. Since Ahmedabad lies on the western side in the state of Gujarat, which is basically a desert area; it experiences extreme type of climate. There are 2 main lakes located in the city limits – the Kankaria lake, and the Vastapur lake: Kankaria lake, located in Maninagar, is an artificial lake developed by Qutb-ud-din Aybak in 1451. The Sabarmati bifurcates the city into eastern and western parts, connected by nine bridges, two of which were constructed after independence. Though the river is perennial, it gets dried up in the summer, leaving only a small stream of water flowing. Ahmedabad became capital of the newly formed Gujarat State in the year1960 but a new capital was established at Gandhinagar in 1970 which is 32km away from Ahmedabad. HISTORY The history of Ahmedabad stretches as far back as in the 11th century and linking it self with old towns of Ashaval and Karnavati about 1000 years ago. In the year 1411 AD, Sultan Ahmed Shah built citadel and encouraged development of trade and commerce. In 1456 AD, an enclosing wall was constructed defining a periphery to the city-limits. The city within this wall got structured into wards, organized by 12 main roads each terminating at a gate in the wall. In 1487, Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, fortified the city with an outer wall 10 km (6.2 mi) in circumference and consisting of twelve gates, 189 bastions and over 6,000 battlements. With the coming of the railway around 1860, development began to spill over (beyond the citylimits) towards the northeast and southeast of the walled city. The first textile mill was started in 1861 here by Ranchhodlal Chhotalal. This also resulted in the industrial and residential development across the western side of Sabarmati River. Construction of 5 bridges – Ellis Bridge, Gandhi Bridge, Sardar Patel Bridge, the Nehru Bridge and the Subhash Bridge accelerated this development. But by and large the industrial development has remained concentrated on the eastern side and the walled city has continued to grow in density due to incorporation of fringe areas into the city limits.
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Plan
Sectional drawing of Sidi Sayyid’s mosque at Ahmadabad in Gujarat from James Burgess’ ‘Original Drawings [of] Muhammadan Architecture of Ahmadabad.’ The Sidi Saiyyed mosque, built between 1572-73, was constructed by a nobleman at the court of Sultan Muzaffar III (r.1561-72) along the citadel’s walls. The mosque is known for the tracery designs in its ten semicircular shaped windows. 8
Sidi Saiyyed’s Mosque / 1573 built by Sidi Saeed or Sidi Saiyyed
Sidi Saiyyed mosque, one of the famous mosques of Ahmedabad was built in 1573 by Sidi Saiyyed, a slave of Sultan Ahmed Shah. The mosque is famous for its latticework done on 10 semi circular windows also known as ‘Jalis’ (placed on the side and rear arches) which is made up of stone. The mosque is famous for its ten carved semicircular tympani windows with exquisite tracery in the form of tree stems and branches, each 3 m wide and 2 m high. The windows are cut in Gujarati sandstone and have both Hindu and Islamic influences. Two of the four windows on the western wall are considered to be the finest examples of carved stone tracery in India. Decorated in a “palm and parasite” motif, one of the windows is composed of a series of palms alternating with flowering trees, with leaves and tendrils filling the background, and the second window has a single tree entwined around a palm, with branches covering the field of composition. There are also three other windows in the south end, and three empty spaces on the north end for similar windows, though those were never added.
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Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad / 1962-1974 Architect: Louis I Kahn
The Indian Institute of Management was intended as a centre for training the next generation of Indian business leaders and its methods were to be based on the Harvard School of Business Administration. The project was sponsored by the Sarabhai family who previously commissioned Le Corbusier to design their own Mill Owners Association Building and the municipal museum. The commission was originally offered to B.V. Doshi who had worked with Le Corbusier but Doshi recommended Kahn for the project. Doshi became Kahn’s associate architect and close collaborator on this project which would engage Kahn for rest of his life. Throughout his career, Kahn was fascinated with the school as an institution. Yet he was rarely commissioned to design a school. The Institute was conceived by its founders as a residential institution where management was to be taught by the case-study method, based less on formal lectures and more on informal seminar discussions. Kahn believed this education model was similar that he longed to teach at his own design studio classes. Kahn’s first designed for the main building was a square plan with a central square courtyard and square masses at four corners to which Kahn described “I used the square to begin my solutions because the square is a non-choice.” Having started as a symmetrical closed block square the main building of IIM progressively became more asymmetrical and opened as the design was developed. As Kahn famously stated, “I have made all these buildings answerable to each other, even though the scale of house and dormitory and the school is so different.”
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Served & Servant Spaces by Louis I Kahn
Kahn categorizes his spaces into two major categories: Served vs. Servant spaces. In Kahn’s interpretation of this concept, servant spaces are generally those that contain the elements in which habitation would be brief/impossible, or spaces that contain mechanical, or purely functional, aspects. The served spaces are the primary habitation-oriented spaces like living rooms, bedrooms, etc. This was quite an important articulation for modern architecture to think about spatial organization.
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Sangath - Plan
Sangath / 1979-1981 Architect: B. V. Doshi
Sangath is a fragment of B. V. Doshi’s private dream: a microcosm of his intentions and obsessions. Inspired by earth hugging forms of Indian vernacular, it also draws upon vault suggestions of Le Corbusier. A warren of interiors derived from the traditional Indian city. It is also influenced by source as diverse as Louis I Kahn, Alvar Aalto and Antonio Gaudi. Sangath departs usual architectural office as it includes a research centre and community related offices. The principle design element is the vaulted roofing and the building is sunk into ground to make the vaults more prominent and to create a stepped outdoor space for lectures and slide shows. Low-technology construction methods and energy related elements are incorporated in the design and decoration of the building and recycled material are used in both an energy– related and decorative way.
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Plan as miniature, concentrating on Elements of architecture.
Thumbnail done Indian style in which the architect expresses the expected path system for water.
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Plan
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National Institute of Design - Ahmedabad / 1961 Architect: Giraben Sarabhi and Charles Eames
The National Institute of Design (NID) is a design school in Ahmedabad, India. The institute functions as an autonomous body under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, government of India. NID is recognised by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research under Ministry of Science and Technology, government of India, as a scientific and industrial design research organisation. In 2010 Business Week placed NID in its list of top design schools in the world. As a result of the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1953, the government of India invited the design team of Charles and Ray Eames to recommend a programme of design to serve as an aid to small industries in India. On the basis of their document, ‘The India Report’, the government of India set up the National Institute of Design in 1961 as an autonomous national institution for research, service and training in industrial design and visual communication. The Sarabhai family, especially Gautam Sarabhai and his sister Gira, played a major role in establishment of this institute.[3] Designer and sculptor Dashrath Patel was its founder secretary. He held the post till 1981, and was awarded the Padma Shri in the same year.
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Manavsadhna Activity Centre / 2005-06 Architect: Yatin Pandya
Set amidst the largest slum of the city, Manavsadhna centres are a cluster of multipurpose activity campuses consisting of school for the young vocational training centre for the ladies, gymnasium for the men, crèche for the toddler, health camp on weekends, craft production unit for women and community centre for festive celebrations and events. The centre is an apt example of sustainable design using recycled waste as the building components. Waste such as fly ash, dumpfill site waste, crate packaging, plastic water bottles, glass bottles, rag, wrappers, metals crapand broken ceramic wares, compact disc and electronic hardware etc. have been transformed into walling, roofing, flooring and fenestration elements. The architecture thus creatively demonstrates environmental concern by reducing pollution and energy through recycling of waste,empowers the poor economically by generating economic opportunities through value addition processes and improves their quality of life by developing affordable and durable alternative building products for their homes.
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Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology (CEPT) / 1966-1968 Architect: B.V. Doshi
The CEPT campus is located in the heart of the Ahmedabad city. Doshi believed that a student of architecture must be surrounded by beauty and art, so that he/she develops into well rounded creative person, ‘sensitive to the emotional, spiritual, cultural and aesthetic dimensions’. The philosophy is epitomized in the campus design itself, with built and open spaces forming a harmonious whole with nature, interspersed with sculptures, installations and other art works. The language Doshi has used is of exposed brick with concrete, emphasizing the slabs and the beams to create a natural coarse texture, which has weathered over the years and now almost forms part of the land. The buildings are organized as double storied linear masses, open from both sides, letting in plenty of light and ventilation into the studios. The studio spaces have bay spaces facing the exterior, creating semi-private spaces which are yet totally open to the exterior - spaces where the individual can be alone with nature even in the environment of a studio. The beauty of the campus is that the buildings help in containing the spaces and creates external spaces and platforms, which act as extensions into the open nature. There exists a harmony running throughout the whole campus, building and nature coexisting in a comfortable relationship. The campus is full of neem trees, which as Doshi keeps saying, were planted over the years since its initial phase. CEPT is excellent example of balance between nature and structure and plays important role in Indian Architectural education system.
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Details of Architecture block at CEPT 24
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Sections
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Hussain-Doshi Gufa / 1995 Architect: B. V. Doshi in collaboration with M. F. Hussain
Artist M. F. Hussain asked B. V. Doshi to design an underground art gallery which he called gufa. He also emphasized that this gufa should become a demonstration of collaboration between a painter and an architect. According to BV Doshi in good architecture one must experience joy and celebration. It must affect our inner self. It cannot be distinguished separately as modulation of light or surfaces or supporting system. On the contrary a good design merges floors, walls, ceilings into a contiguous whole and creates an organic space almost like a living being. He took inspiration from kurma which had thin white shiny surface. The modulation of the skin was complex, due to inter-mingling of rounded shapes of varied height, dimensions and inclination. Therefore, he made the interiors fluid and comfortable. The entire mass appeared to be almost mobile and suspended. But what is unexpected is the experience inside. One must. Its a surprise the find it larger than what we expect. the skylights that we see on roof as protuberances are not immediately visible, yet the light they let in makes the whole gufa glow. The columns which appear randomly of varied thickness with some inclination, appear like tree in natural forest but it’s a simple load bearing structure. Hussain painted the black cobra on domes connecting two large rotundas being inspired from rituals of tribal workers at construction sight, who were in turn deeply affected by technique of construction and believed they were reliving their own ancient ritual of Pithora Bava. The Gufa has now become a place celebrating first ever collaborative acts of painting and architecture
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Plan: Gandhi Labour Insitutte
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Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute / 1980-84 Architect: B. V. Doshi
Gandhi Labour Institute was established by Gujarat Government in 1984 to provide for education, training, study and research in labour and related subjects. The institution has been designed by architect B V Doshi and it reuses many elements from Sangath, his office. The concrete vaults covered in white china mosaic, the faceted terraces, earth mounds, greet plaster on external walls and an amphitheatre; all these elements form a language which was also explored in Sangath. The institution houses a library, an exhibition space, an auditorium, teaching areas, offices and a dormitory block. The building is approached at the first floor with a forecourt and wide steps flanked by a pool. One enters under a transversal vault which then feeds laterally into the various departments as well as the hostel block. This transversal vault, to me, is the most powerful space in the entire institution and gives this place, a unique identity. The transversal vault and space underneath have an archaic quality of Buddhist caves. This theme of the cave-like spaces, a sense of space that has been carved out, keeps constantly occurring in Prof. Doshi’s works. The material palette of this institution comprises of greet plaster as external finish, exposed concrete, polished Kota stone for flooring and wood for doors-windows. The terraces and vaults on the top are finished with white china mosaic. source: http://architecture-practice.blogspot.in/2008_06_01_archive.html
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Centre for Environment Education / 1984 Architect: Neelkanth Chhaya
The Centre for Environment Education in Ahmedabad is an institute founded with a mandate to further environmental education by the Government of India. While CEE centres are spread all across India, the one at Ahmedabad, which is the headquarters, is about 32 years old now. Established in 1984, this building has been designed by architect Neelkanth Chhaya, former dean of CEPT university, when he was still a young architect. Spread over a site of about 14 acres, the CEE-Ahmedabad campus houses several functions catering to the programs of sustainability and environmental education. Simple square cubic spaces nested within each other enclose spaces in varying degrees of openness. Responding appropriately to the climate, the building offers enough release spaces into its heavily landscaped outdoor, which is never too warm under the thick canopy of trees. The multiple terraces under the tree cover are seemingly more habitable than the inside. They give different degrees of privacy and proximity with people. Three strategic sections give rise to distinct experiences: 1. Building fully / partially under the ground 2. Building leveled with the ground 3. Terracing the ground. The complex becomes the framework for landscape in allowing trees and natural vegetation to grow on it. Different terraces are architecturally tied up using pergola pavilions. The embeddedness of the building thus releases into the air very subtly, almost like reducing itself to the bare branches of the overall form. The inside and outside fold into each other in unique ways opening you up in new directions. Kachha and paved pathways transition into each other without interrupting movement.
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Premabai Hall Architect: B. V. Doshi
Premabhai hall houses the Gujarat Vidyasabha, an institution of national repute and is also used for other performing arts then theatre . The building represents one of Doshi’s rare exploration of civic monumentality. In it concrete is used to create dramatic interlocking spaces, revealed light sources and robust textures surfaces. By the late 1950’s Doshi already had experienced of theatre design when he brought to completion the Tagore Theatre in Ahmedabad, the essential counterpart of Le Corbusier’s city museum the first version of Premabhai hall was conceived in the same period as an egg-shaped lattice structure containing the auditorium. The idea was inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes. Later projects for Premabhai Hall were worked out in 1960’s as funds flowed in. Doshi concentrated on stepped section to contain the auditorium. At the back cantilevered overhangs afforded a lobby of grand proportions, into which stairs and upper walk protruded.
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Sun Temple at Modhera - Plan
The Sun Temple at Modhera / 11th cent. CE
The Sun Temple at Modhera dates back to early 11th century CE and was built by King Bhimdev in 1026 CE. It was during the same period that the Jain temples at Mount Abu were constructed. The Rudra Mahal temple at Siddhapur also dates back to this period. Also re-constructed at the same time was the Somnath temple at Somnath Patan. Interestingly, the grand Brihadehdeeswarar temple at Thanjavur in South India was constructed during the same time. Even in its ruined state, the sun temple at Modhera is magnificent. There is no worship offered here now. There is no shikhara either. The temple has a sanctum, a pradakshina patha and a sabha mandapa in front. The exterior of the sanctum has many carved images of the Sun God, portrayed as wearing a belt and long shoes as in the Dakshinaarka temple at Gaya. The mandapa in front of the sanctum has beautifully carved pillars with exquisite toranas adorning the entrances. The exterior of this temple is intricately carved. This temple has been designed such that the sun’s rays illuminate the sanctum at dawn, during the time of the equinoxes. In front of the temple is a colossal tank, which was once known as Surya Kund or Rama Kund. The tank has a series of carved steps leading to the bottom. Several miniature shrines adorn the steps of the tank - which is an art gallery in itself. Modhera is now the site of several dance and cultural festivals. The sun temple and the ambience here provide a majestic backdrop for the exhibition of performing arts.
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Drawings - ATMA
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Ahmedabad Textile Mill Owners’ Association / 1954 Architect: Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier came to India on invitation by Jawaharlal Nehru to design Chandigarh, the new capital of Punjab. Along with this he was invited to Ahmedabad and was commissioned to build five buildings. One of this was the new headquarters for the Ahmedabad Mill Owners’ Association. The textile industry in Ahmedabad was the one that brought Ahmedabad economic prosperity and political prominence. As Le Corbusier began working predominately in warmer environments, he developed a set of architectural devices in response to climatic and cultural contexts. He took cues from India’s vernacular architecture, emulating the deep reveals, overhanging ledges, shade screens, and grand, pillared halls. He introduced brise-soleil, designed to prevent sun from penetrating the facade, and employed these in combination with thickened facades and unfinished concrete in many of his later projects. Surrounded by ample open space, the Mill Owners’ Association Building was not forced to contend with an existing urban fabric, allowing the architect to propose a distinctly modern aesthetic. “The situation of the building in a garden dominating the river furnishes a picturesque spectacle of cloth dyers washing and drying their cotton materials on the sand bed in the company of herons, cows, buffalo, and donkeys half immersed in the water to keep cool. Such a panorama was an invitation...to frame views from each floor of the building.” - Le Corbusier
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Five Points of Architecture by Le Corbusier During his career, Le Corbusier developed a set of architectural principles that dictated his technique, which he called “the Five Points of a New Architecture� and were most evident in many of his projects including ATMA. The five points are:
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Modulor by Le Corbusier The Modulor is an anthropometric scale of proportions devised by Le Corbusier (1887–1965). It was developed as a visual bridge between two incompatible scales, the imperial and the metric system. It is based on the height of a man with his arm raised. It was used as a system to set out a number of Le Corbusier’s buildings.
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Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya - Floor Plan
Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya - Roof Plan 40
Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya /1958 Architect: Charles Correa
Charles Correa played a defining role in developing architecture of post-Independence India and has designed some of the most outstanding structures. The commission was the Correa’s first important work in private practice. In order to reflect the simplicity of Gandhi’s life and the incremental nature of a living institution the architect used modular units 6 metres x 6 metres of reinforced cement concrete connecting spaces, both open and covered, allowing for eventual expansion. The initial construction of museum consisted of 51 modular units. Some of the units are enclosed by walls; the exhibition spaces so created counterpointed by areas for rest where the visitor can sit. Since its inauguration by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1963 the units have been added to, extending the existing pattern.
Section
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Instittute of Indology - Plan 42
Institute of Indology / 1957-1962 Architect: B.V. Doshi
The Institute For Indology building in Ahmedabad was one of Balkrishna Doshi’s first public buildings as a solo artist outside of Le Corbusier’s office. At this stage Doshi is deep in the shadow of his previous employer, although some individual developments are already starting to surface - mainly in the idea to store the collection of Ideological documents in an open-to-outside-air basement, preserving the climatic conditions under which they’d previously been kept. Also, the peripheral ambulatory/shade zone is typologically Indian. It can also be thought of, here, as a kind of thickening of the brises-soleil into occupable space (as opposed to the bold thickening of the sun-breakers’ actual mass in Corbusier’s own Indian buildings). But at that point we’re chasing ourselves in circles - wasn’t the brises-soleil itself in some sense inspired by these kinds of interstitial spaces sheltered behind screens. The composition, meanwhile, is quite familiar - this is a near cousin to the elevation of the unbuilt Governor’s Mansion for Chandigarh. Of course, since Doshi was in the office for that project, it’s again hard to say where exactly the idea originate.
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Adalaj ni Vav Plan & Section
Step Well at Adalaj / 1499
The Adalaj Step Well was built in 1499 by Queen Rudabai as a resting place for travelers, villagers and pilgrims visiting the area. The five-storey step well was built to serve not only as a cultural and a utilitarian space but also as a spiritual refuge for the villagers who came every morning at the well to fill water, offer prayers to the deities carved on the walls and to interact with each other under the cool shade of the vav or step well. It is believed that the small frieze of navagraha or nine-planets on the wall towards the edge of the well protects this step well from evil spirits. Remarkable feature of this step well is that in entire Gujarat this is the only step well with three entrance stairs which meet at the first storey, underground in a huge square platform. Architecture of this step well is such that the direct sunlight does not touch either the steps or the landing except for a brief period at noon thus making the temperatures inside the step well six degrees less than the outside temperatures.
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Glossary pradakshina patha: circum-ambulatory path. sabha mandapa: assembly pavilion/court. kund: water tank generally open to sky. sanctum: a sacred place, especially a shrine within a temple or church pol: from sanskrit workd pratoli - entrance to an enclosed area that forms a quiet world secluded fromthe clamour and rush of outside. vav: a step well. brise-soleil: from French, “sun breaker�), is an architectural feature of a building consisting strategically arranged horizontal and vertical fins on a building facade that reduces heat gain within that building by deflecting sunlight. pilotis: supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. rotunda: any building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building. ledge: a narrow horizontal surface projecting from a wall, cliff, or other surface.
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School of Environment and Architecture Eksar Road, near C.K.P Colony, Borivali West, Mumbai 400 091 Phone +91 22 2833 7582 contact@sea.edu.in | www.sea.edu.in
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