Interpreting Geometries- Flooring of Rashtrapati Bhavan by
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Publisher: Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India
Interpreting Geometries- Flooring of Rashtrapati Bhavan
Authors: Sangeeta Bagga Mehta & Saumya Sharma
Publisher: Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India
ISBN: 9789354095849, Pages: 247, Size: 32 cm x 29 cm, Weight: 2.27 kg, HB
Price: INR 2,252/- / $ 78
This book has been conceived with the objective of providing a new insight into the floor designs of Rashtrapati Bhavan. It will help the readers appreciate the thoughts and ideas of the famous designers who enriched the aesthetics of this building. They will also gain a new perspective on geometry as an inherent part of the art and architecture. This book unveils historic flooring patterns of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, residence of first citizen of the country, wherein authors have mapped, documented and thereafter decoded intricate flooring compositions designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens during construction of The Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
The idea of this publication stems from the inherent importance and value of the complex as the residence of the first citizen of India. An initial reconnaissance survey of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, carried out by the authors, revealed the exquisite patterns of flooring with unique geometric layouts and compositions. These flooring patterns, which are both floral and abstract, run through the different areas of the complex and yet bind together the spaces viz loggias, porticos, entrance halls, staircases, grand halls, ceremonial halls, and attendant spaces. The use of various materials such as red and buff sandstone, marble, Indian patent stone, wood, and terrazzo present a visual aesthetic that enhances the spatial quality, sequentially, and the flow of spaces from one area into another. It is a unique example where a building of such colossal and palatial nature and proportions in Indio has deployed the art of geometry in flooring and this has further enhanced the exuberance, grandness, and historic value of the residence of the country's first citizen. Thus, it became imperative for the authors to document this unique repository of flooring patterns designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens for the abode of the Viceroy of India in 1912 (a project that lasted until 1929).
THE PROJECT AND THE ARCHITECT
Imperial Delhi Government House (1929-1947): Rashtrapati Bhavan (1947 onwards) At the Coronation Durbar at Delhi in 1911, King George V announced the decision to move the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi. At that time Lord Hardinge was the Viceroy of India. A three-member committee was constituted to serve as the Delhi Planning Committee with E.L.Lutyens, J.A. Brodie, and Captain Swinton as the members. Lutyens' appointment in India was upon the recommendation of Sir Richmond Ritchie, permanent Secretary at the India office. The committee's first task was to conduct a survey of the possible sites for the new capital.
Professor (Dr.) Sangeeta Bagga Mehta: Principal CCA, is an Expert Member of the International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage. A Jury Member for the Urban Edge Prize Seminar, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, she co-curated the Urban Edge Exhibition on the Urban Villages within and around Chandigarh, with a book "Chandigarh Rethink' on the city's natural and man-made edges. As Nodal Officer, UNESCO World Heritage Nomination of the Capitol Complex, Chandigarh 2015, she curated several heritage walks on the city's heritage zones. Steering the postgraduate Architecture program at CCA, Dr. Mehta engages in summer schools, and co-curricular activities with an equal passion of which the latest has been the RIBA Presidents Medal exhibition and Symposium hosted of CCA, an invited residency to the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal for the Pierre Jeanneret archive and preparation of the State of Conservation Report to UNESCO on the Capitol Complex. Spearheading the Institutional Consultancy in CCA, Dr. Mehta has led the teams for projects like Northern Railway stations redevelopment, Accessible India Campaign Audit for Public Buildings in Chandigarh, Gram Panchayat Spatial Development Plan for Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), Gol.
Ar. Saumya Sharma: Assistant Professor CCA, has completed her Masters in Architectural and Settlement Conservation in 2011. Her professional experience includes being a research assistant and team member for the World Heritage Nomination Dossier for the Historic City of Ahmedabad, Documentation of Bidar Fort, Restoration of Mall Road Shimla, and Documentation of Manor Villa Shimla for Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission. A former Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies Shimla, she has authored the book 'Approach to Conservation and Restoration: Specific Focus on the Cultural Heritage of Shimla' published (2019) by the institute. Working as Assistant Professor in Chandigarh College of Architecture since 2019, apart from the academic activities she has been a team member in various research-based consultancy projects with the college such as the conservation project for the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kalka Shimla Railway platform, preparation of State of Conservation report for Capitol Complex, Chandigarh (the largest site of the Transboundary UNESCO World Heritage inscription), Spatial Development Plans for two Gram Panchayats in Haryana for Ministry of Gram Panchayats and conducting Accessibility Audit for 17 buildings in Chandigarh for Ministry of PWD.
Publications Division is continuously endeavoring to outreach its efforts to further enrich and diversify its content and to reach more and more people. With this end in mind, Publications Division is making meticulous efforts to make partnership arrangements with reputed institutions, Gandhian Organizations, and prestigious publishers working for similar causes of enriching the reading public. Publications Division is also making similar arrangements with its sister organizations in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Such partnerships have already started bearing fruits and the Publications Division is being enriched with quality publications in the areas of Gandhian thought, art, culture, cinema, and other aspects of national heritage.
- Santanu Ganguly
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