POST INDEPENDENCE

ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA
BUILDING: IIM AHMEDABAD
ARCHITECT: LOUIS KAHN
SAAYA KAPOOR
309109
C.A.
THIRD YEAR ARCH.
J.N.E.C.

1.
 The age of Indian architecture after
Independence
A study of major changes that took place after the independence in the field
of architecture in India
•India is one of the countries in the world with the richest
history. One of the many things India is known for is art and
architecture. The field of architecture in India has
undergone significant changes since independence.

•Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of the

independent India is widely known for his far vision, he was
a modernist who favoured state intervention. Nehru was
the one to take the initiative of betterment and
development of art and architecture in India.
Maulana Azad Memorial, Delhi, 1958-59
•A new era of architecture began when the very famous
architect Le Corbusier was invited to design the capital of
the Punjab state, Chandigarh. Le Corbusier’s
uncompromising functionalism consciously broke with the
past ‘historicism’ of imperial architecture. Other invited
architect, the very notable Louis Kahn created the avant-
garde architecture with the little spice of the ‘Mughal’, in
Ahmedabad.

Hall of Nations , Delhi, 1972

2.
 INDIA AND INDEPENDENCE

Realisation of freedon in following fronts:

Cultural, Political, Social and Economic.

Yardsticks in future development of India:

GANDHI:
• Absolute belief in science and technology but passionate about rural India.
•Local materials, local skills, cost effective architecture.
•Going back to roots.
•Sabarmati Ashram, Sabarmati, Gujarat.

NEHRU:
•Very forward looking.
•Interested in what science and technology have to offer.
•Strength of industrialization.
•Belief in liberal, modern, independent, industrialized India.
•Nehru, championed a vision of architecture that embraced the current
western centric practices namely modernism.
•Tremendous sense of urgency to build.
•Urbanisation demanded creation of new cities and towns.
•Demand for new built form types: schools, hospitals etc.

3.
 PHILOSOPHIES OF NEW INDIA
1. RIVIVALISM: Going back to seek inspiration from the past
2. MODERNITY: Inspired by the contemporary spirit of the age.
3. CONTINUITY: Found favor with the older generation of architects who were
skeptical about modernism.

Vidhan Soudha, Bangalore, New Secretariat Building, National Museum CPWD, New
1952-1956 Ahmedabad, Delhi,
REVIVALISM MODERNISM CONTINUITY

4.
 LOUIS I KAHN
Born on 20 February 1901
American architect
Born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky

Louis Kahn, the American architect known for combining Modernism

with the weight and dignity of ancient monuments, was born 113
years ago today. Kahn might be categorized as a late Modernist, and BUILDING = HUMAN
a hugely influential one at that. WILL TO BE
KAHN’S STYLE: DESIRE TO BE
WILL TO EXPRESS
•Kahn’s architecture is notable for its simple forms and compositions.
•Kahn’s design of buildings is characterized by powerful massive forms.
•Through the use of brick and poured- in concrete masonry, he developed a
contemporary and monumental architecture that maintained sympathy for
the site and did not loose its proportion.
•Louis Kahn’s work infused International style with a highly personal taste,
poetry of light and exposing the materials without altering.
•His buildings were like mathematical theorems, well-realised to the
last brickbat came with a great emotional sweep. Linear perfection. Monastic
lines. Reductionist volumes. Unadorned surfaces. Geometric harmony.
5.
KAHN’S PHILOSOPHY:
•Kahn believed architecture was not just about function but intention, not just purpose but inspiration
and emotional connection.
•He wanted to build modern buildings with evolved techniques but he wanted to make spaces
breathe, and he wanted them to communicate with the shifting light of night and day, and to be
relevant and timeless.
•Louis Kahn used to tell his students: if you are ever stuck for inspiration, ask your materials for
advice."You say to a brick, 'What do you want, brick?' And brick says to you, 'I like an arch.' And you
say to brick, 'Look, I want one, too, but arches are expensive and I can use a concrete lintel.' And
then you say:' What do you think of that, brick?' Brick says: 'I like an arch.' He was known as Louis Kahn:
the brick whisperer.
•He believed strongly that architecture should appeal not only to practical and aesthetic needs but
alsoto the humanistic needs of the people and communities it serves.
•Kahn was inspired by the work of many modern architects, including Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd
Wright,and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and was equally drawn to classical and ancient forms of
building

HUMAN AGREEMENT
•THE ROOM IS THE BEGINNING OF ARCHITECTURE
•THE PLAN IS A SOCIETY OF ROOMS
•A LONG STREET IS A SUCCESSION OF ROOMS
•THE CITY IS A PLACE OF ASSEMBLED INSTITUTION.
•THE ROOM AND PLAN, THE STREET AND CITY = INSTITUTIONS BASED ON HUMAN
AGREEMENT

6.
 INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, AHMEDABAD

Date of establishment: 1962, established to meet the demand of industries

for competent managers as well as to improve prevalent management
technique.
Location: Vastrapur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Climate: hot dry climate, with very high temperature and harsh sun.
Topography: flat land form with negligible slope.
Vegetation: sparse vegetation, difficult to maintain.
Site area: 106 acres
STUDENTS = 1105
FACULTY = 110
ARCHITECT : Louis I Kahn
7.
 HISTORY OF IIM:
While Louis Kahn was designing the National Assembly Building in
Bangladesh in 1962, he was approached by an admiring Indian
architect, Balkrishna Doshi, to design the 66 acre campus for the
Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India.

LOCATION

Location: Vastrapur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

ABOUT
•YEAR OF COMPLETION: 1963
•CHIEF ARCHITECTS: LOUIS I KAHN
B.V. DOSHI
ANANT RAJE
•SITE AREA: 66 ACRES
•BUILDING: CONTEMPORARY STYLE

8.
SITE

9.
SITE ZONING:
•The campus has an old campus and a new campus.
•The master plan of the institute is divided into two parts
• ACADEMIC BLOCK:
1. Library
2. School building
3. Faculty blocks
4. Dormitories
5. Louis Kahn Plaza INITIAL SITE SKETCHES BY LOUIS KAHN
• RESIDENTIAL BLOCK for faculty and clerical staff.

• Influenced by the management philosophy and student’s busy schedule Kahn integrated the living
and learning spaces.
• All activities are places within walk able distance.

ORIENTATION:
The diagonal layout had the advantage of the building being oriented towards the southwesterly
breezes. The orientation also helps to cut out the west sun reducing glare.

CIRCULATION PATTERN:
Circulation in IIM campus is through three major roads
1. Peripheral
2. Internal
3. Smaller internal roads
Separate accesses are provided for the institutional complex and the residential area.

10.
MAIN ENTRANCE- LOUIS KAHN PLAZA
HARVARD STEPS

RJMCEI AUDITORIUM COURTYRD

THE PROMENADE CLASSROOMS HELICAL STAIRWAY

PICTURES OF THE CAMPUS

11.
PLAN OF ACADEMIC BLOCK

12.
LIBRARY BLOCK
1. The library building is a five storied structure with rectangular plan.
2. It is approached by a broad, imposed flight of steps from the parking lot.
3. The design has been convinced to entail movement from the active space to most private and quiet
carrels at the farthest reaches.
4. FIRST FLOOR : main reading hall
5. SECOND FLOOR: accommodate triple height reciting hall and conference hall
6. THIRD FLOOR : accommodates bound volumes of journals.
7. FOURTH FLOOR : has bound volumes of old books and journals.

2- library

Ground floor plan Second floor plan

13.
SCHOOL BUILDING BLOCK

CLASSROOMS

1. The shape of the classroom is hexagonal

2. The design of classroom is based on the seminar type interaction between the students and the
faculty.
3. Windows are high to get glare free light.

14.
DORMITORIES
1. The shape of each dormitory block is square with two residential wings, triangular lounge and a
service area.
2. The position of the staircase and washroom are meant to protect the living room from sun and glare
without obstruction and the breeze and ventilation.
3. The dorms are places one behind the other to obtain the much needed breeze and cross ventilation

15.
AUDITORIUM DINING HALL

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

•CAPACITY 550 SEATS

•AREA
•ENTRANCE LOBBY 560 SQ.FEET
•FOYER 560 SQ.FEET
•AUDITORIUM HALL 3000 SQ.FEET
•CONFERENCE ROOM 200 SQ.FEET
•SEMINAR ROOM 400 SQ.FEET

16.
THE LARGE FAÇADE OMISSIONS ARE ABSTRACTED PATTERNS FOUND WITHIN THE
INDIAN CULTURE THAT WERE POSITIONED TO ACT AS LIGHT WELLS AND A NATURAL
COOLING SYSTEM PROTECTING INTERIOR FROM INDIA’S HARSH DESERT CLIMATE.

17.