ARCHITECT RANJIT SABIKHISubmitted by: Momd. Saqib Sarit Sekhar Bhunia Contemporary architecture: ARCHITECT RANJIT SABIKHI and studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. then went to Milan to work for Gianluigi Banfi. and Washington University. architecture was suggested as an alternative career. Geoffry Charles Hamilton Powell was born in 1920 in India. before contracting tuberculosis. which left him with only one kidney. Faced with the institutional challenge. was always known as Joe. His architectural experience includes a two-year stint with Chamberlin Powell & Bon in London where he worked on the Golden Lane Housing project and early concept designs for the Barbican. He came over in 1947 and worked briefly for William Holford and Myles Wright on the City of London Plan. and with a talent for drawing. Major works include educational institutes. Switzerland. He taught for 16 years at the SPA. The 1950s in England pre-empted the 1960s in India . an inevitable hiatus in India. housing. with Philip Powell and Jacko Moya. Many groups were formed. Unfit for the army. and Ernesto Nathan Rogers (BBPR). both from Liverpool University. where Nehru's administration model and strategies needed more time to be set up to achieve professional authenticity and validity. He studied at Wellington College and was expected to enter the army. and he entered the Architectural Association in October 1939. the son of an army officer. His work has been professionally recognized by awards and has also been included as part of international exhibitions on Indian architecture. New Delhi. Peter Hugh Girard Chamberlin (1919-78).a logical delay. and shared digs in Monken Hadley. the so-called „Taliesin‟. Professional Advisor to' the IGNCA international Competition. Lodovico Belgiojoso. and Masters in Civic Design in 1959. He has been (Visiting Critic to the Harvard School of Design. and Bon was noted for his culinary skills.C. Louis. His father and uncle were restaurateurs. who were evacuated to Hadley Wood. Powell described him as “a lovely man. He has participated in several international conferences and has also served as a member of the jury for major projects including the design of the New World Bank HQS in Washington D. Christof Bon was born in 1921 at St Gallen. And recently. hotels and embassies. christened by the small group after Frank Lloyd Wright‟s home. who combined a gentleness of voice and manner with a powerful will”.Arch degree in 1957. He is thus of that AA generation.Ranjit Sabikhi received his B. Member of a panel of technical experts appointed by the government 10 prepare a new conceptual Master Plan for Delhi. Enrico Peressutti. As a principal in his own practice from 1961 onwards he has worked on substantial projects in India as well as in the Middle East and in South East Asia. St. before he left in 1975 as Head of the Dept of Urban Design. the task before the new professionals was both gigantic and astonishing. jury member to evaluate a limited design competition for the new World Bank headquarters at Washington DC. north of London. and he seems to have had that larger than life quality typical of the great Victorian politician. Contemporary architecture: ARCHITECT RANJIT SABIKHI . that bring dignity to both. the visual sell of the building. The clients brief insisted on a physical separation of the two categories of apartments and this was developed in the form of a separating street. Kahn. Post-modernism has undeniable. the recall. It also pioneered Civic Design. INDIA INEW DELHI. The early sixties' period of architecture in India came under the immediate influence of the monumental aesthetics of the post Chandigarh era. when it was regarded as one of the best architectural schools in the country. put more emphasis on the visual aspect. the reference. flanked on one side by the group of student hostels. without facile imitations or mediocrity . That image: the colonnade of Connaught Circus. have 'tweaked' a few details. Its a complex of four secretaries apartments and four junior staff quarters. and on the other by the staff residences. now called anything from Urban Design to Town Planning. that either comments on the ambiguous relation with the west and still survives in its regional context. have achieved this. or the iconographic link to other forms. reference alone is not excusable. Though suspicious of western influence. The Japanese. Powell and Bon wrestle with muscular concrete. as with literature and art. perhaps. associate . Ten years ago. In other words. too. an alteration of a Mediterranean modernism with an English engineering precision.Sikri or Connaught Circus.. Scorned. some fractured. It is. or Jaisalmer. YMCA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING FARIDABAD. But it is. is open to unfulfillment. is recognizable almost immediately. was at Liverpool School of Architecture. Presumably. Whether the model is Corbusier. though their traditional legacy is somewhat simplified and more accessible than the legacy of India's rulers over the centuries. From a detached position. In the District Centre. The complex is dominated by the central group of academic buildings. Choudhury will have seen Kanvinde and others wrestle with similar problems . as in literature or art. 1969. Sabikhi's grounding. somewhere in between. endless synonyms are possible) to the one major shopping image of Delhi. words like 'refer'. the Design Group. is thus 'dated‟ in the chronological sense. Mr. it is still clear that no indigenous architecture (or very little) has emerged. and recently they. NEW DELHI. when subjective wrong was justified as right. Some remained. the ornamentation. the dialogue in one such group.many architects set up to negotiate the imperfect administration and political structuring of the building programme. a question of dispersal. the echo. nothing like the superficial details. But. A central pedestrian spine connects all the residential buildings to the academic complex cutting across pleasant landscaped Contemporary architecture: ARCHITECT RANJIT SABIKHI . And. may just dilate. if but a little displaced in the Indian context. a facade here or a column there. Taken favorable. recall. architect tried to refer (echo.Sabikhi saw Chamberlain. we have to assume there are competent. this is considered the missing 'message' level of the building. it is considered the superficial level. Here we discussed about some of his projects STAFF HOUSING FOR THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YMCA. Sabikhi acknowledges that things have changed. pillars and columns in their institutional buildings in England. 'echo'. twenty years ago. at Janakpuri. The ubiquitous magazines cannot fail to have their influence. Sabikhi is western trained. Mies. 'recall' were not part of the architect's vocabulary. Sabikhi hurries on to say. the icing on the cake. The same basic system of planning on a square grid with a system of alienating terraces on each floor ensured an overall unity of concept. always. 1963.. and flexible in the ideological sense . innovative ways of using reference. Mr. NEW DELHI. The site. where Nehru's administration model and strategies needed more time to be set up to achieve professional authenticity and validity. cultural. a system of precast concrete louvers has been proposed.a logical delay. The residential units have been classified into five different types and converge onto the central green. The central complex which houses a variety of activities was conceived as a kind of pin-wheel structure allowing the expansion of different wings in due course depending on future needs NATIONAL DAIRY DEVELOPMENT BOARD REGIONAL TRAINING CENTRE. is recognizable almost immediately. which is almost triangular. the Design Group . a library and a residential unit with eight monitories for local trainees and a set of four guest rooms. JANAKPURI DISTRICT CENTRE NEW DELHI. some fractured. and although they have been built within the same constraints as applicable to other housing development in the city including DdA's own housing they present a refreshing contrast in concept and design. the task before the new professionals was both gigantic and astonishing. Specific spaces have been defined for the erection of signs and hoardings. but from a distance. STAFF HOUSING. This project envisages the development of a hundred dwelling units on a two-acre site for the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) staff at NOIDA. INDIA Contemporary architecture: ARCHITECT RANJIT SABIKHI . The 1950s in England pre-empted the 1960s in India . All parking has been restricted to the north-eastern edge of the site and partially extends to serve the B type units along the south-eastern boundary. a meeting hall. NOIDA. From a detached position. etc. many architects set up to negotiate the imperfect administration and political structuring of the building programmed. in tum. they still read as a screen which. the dialogue in one such group. It was decided to consolidate the different requirements into a single complex whilst retaining the distinct identity of the training center as well as the residential unit. library cultural center and a hotel. Yamuna Apartments was one of the first co-operative group housing schemes to be completed. air conditioners.. Simultaneously providing for social. Faced with the Institutional challenge. fonns part of the standard facade and serves as a unifying element. faces a storm water nullah and bund on the west towards the River Yamuna with residential units distributed along the boundaries within required set-back lines. Some remained. The programmed called for a small training center comprising two classrooms and an auditorium. YAMUNA APPARTMENT. The remaining land is landscaped. NATIONAL DAIRY DEVELOPMENT BOARD. JALANDHAR. and recreational requirements through the provision of cinemas. and in order to be able to camouflage the multitude of fixtures such as air coolers. KOLKATA . TAJ BENGAL HOTEL. an inevitable hiatus in India. UTTAR PRADESH . facing a club.gardens without crossing any of the vehicular roads. The two areas are organized around separate courtyards connected by a short corridor. INDIA. Man\] groups were formed. The early sixties' period of architecture in India came under the immediate influence of the monumental aesthetics of the post Chandigarh era The District Centre at Janakpuri developed on a 35 acre site serves as an important shopping centre india came under the catering to the needs of a large residential population of the area. These louvers are spaced wide enough to allow light and air to penetrate through. the basis for a garden concept. as well as an ambience in keeping with the context of the city. NEW DELHI Located on a site adjoining the historic Jantar Mantar Observatory. the building edge joining Mohamadpur Village with its lower height and shaded pergola areas for infonnal and other service activities. the DLF CENTRE follows the curved form of the erstwhile Narendra Place building on the same site and also reflects the curved form of the Park Hotel on the opposite side across Parliament Street. a 250 room hotel is conceptualized as a triangular form enclosing a central atrium – the form being dictated largely by the shape and location of its site. effort has been made to endow it with a definite sense of place. The building draws from the colonial backdrop of the city and at the same time attempts to integrate with the garden environment of the adjoining Zoo by extensive landscape and plantation. NEW DELHI. The architecture of the HUDCO Bazaar tries to mediate the scale and activity between Bhikaji cama Place and Mohamadpur Village. is more sensitive to the character of the village. A substantial site of 13 acres provided Hotel (1979). The opportunity to refine the integration of internal and external space in a meaningful composition came with the design of the Mughal Hotel at Agra. While the side facing the Bhikaji cama Place contains large shops and offices in three storied stepped buildings. Intended as a major urban hotel in calcutta.The Taj Bengal. HUDCO BAZAR BIKAJI CAMA PLACE. Here again Fatehpu Sikri and the Mughal and Rajasthani forts served as models and sources of inspiration. DLF CENTER. INDIA-1995. MOGHUL SHERATON AGRA. Contemporary architecture: ARCHITECT RANJIT SABIKHI . Contemporary architecture: ARCHITECT RANJIT SABIKHI .