CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE

PRATHIK M PISHERVCA

ACHUYT KANVINDEPadma Shri Achyut Kanvinde occupied unique position in the history of contemporary Indian architecture. He was an Indian architect , teacher, writer and a committed modernist as he always desired to take Indian architecture to be global and to the height of international style. 1916 - 2002

INTRODUCTION

BORN- 1916 DIED : 6 DECEMBER 2002

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION:

HE WAS BORN IN 1916 IN KONKAN REGION OF MAHARASTRAHIS FATHER WAS AN ARTS TEACHER IN BOMBAY.HE FINISHEDHIS BECHOLER IN ARCHITECTURE FROM SIR J.J. SCHOOL OF ARTS(1935-1940), LATER HE STUDIED DESIGN IN HAVARD UNIVERSITY UNDER WALTER GROPIUS.

CAREER:

HE RETURN TO INDIA IN 1948 ANDWORKED ON THE PLANNING AND DESIGN OF SEVERAL LABORATORIES FOR THE COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH. HE SET UP HIS PVT. FIRM WITH SHAUKAT RAI A CIVIL ENGEENEER IN 1955.

WORKS• Physical Research laboratory, Ahmedabad • Ahmedabad textiles Industries research association• Harivallabdas house, Ahmedabad• Gandhi krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bangalore• PK Kelkar library, IIT Kanpur,• Dudhsagar diary, Mehsna ( national diary development

board)• Institute of rural management, Anand• Nehru Science Center, Mumbai• National Science Center, New Delhi• National insurance academy, Pune• ISKCON temple, East of Kailash, Delhi

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTSAwarded Padma Shree in 1976.President IIA  (1974-75)Co-Authored book “Campus Design in India”. IIA’s Babu Rao Mhatre Gold Medal for life time achievement in 1985 Great Masters Award from JK Industries Ltd. in 1993. Was also a part of the jury on the competition for the Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts, along with B.V. Doshi.

INFLUENCESClaude Batley -1941Avoided the loud, revolutionary éclat of the machine-ageFollower of functionalism

Walter Gropius-1945Gropius’s insistence for using space as a tool for expressing universal human values was what left most lasting influence on his mind.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHIESAll his creations were in strict conformity with these three principles:-

FUNCTIONALISMMODERN ARCHITECTURE AND BRUTALISMREGIONALISM

Kanvinde plays with space and forms. His designs are slender, balanced, proportionate, neat and well crafted.

The building is important but most important is the gate of the user. Example is “Isckon Temple”.

He gave much more importance to the natural light. He gave such a form to the building that it can solve the problem of ventilation as well as excessive heat .

He believed in Vernacular Architecture. He believed that the image should be such that can set the mood and interest for which

the building stands for. Both inherent values and historical influences contributed towards good architecture.

LOGIC OF LIGHTNESS

THE COMPLETE FOCUS ON THE MATERIALS TO BE USED IN CONSTRUCTION KANVINDE ALWAYS TRY TO DEVELOP SUCH AN ATHESTIC FOR A HAVEY MASS CONSTRUCTION THAT LOOKS LIGHT.

The institutional buildings he designed in the first five years, are conservative. All having:similar facades. Horizontal, clean volumes,  aesthetically pleasing proportions of fenestration. Ribbon windows. A grid frame structure- unexposed, and plastered exterior finish. 

Followed by an experimental phase- in the course of the next five years he designed:  (i) Harivallabdas House (ii) IIT Kanpur  (iii) Doodhsagar Dairy 

Dudhsagar Dairy ,MehsanaLocation: mehsana, gujarat,

india.

National Dairy Development Board built in 1973

One of the largest Milk processing unit in asia

STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE : BRUTALISM

The primary task was to respond to functional demands of the dairy interior;the need for effective layout and optimal ventilation which formed the central idea of the designThe dudhsagar dairy Monstrous and rawThe form is very rough and blockyCold characterFortress like structure One of the first outburts of kanvinde’s brutalism

To evacuate the heat generated out of milk condensing and spray drying equipment, a system of ventilation ducts linking all the working areas around the periphery of the both the buildings climinating the ineffective exhaust fan

FEATURES

The grid based spatial organization and shafts, although intrinsic to the technical process, are articulated by kanvinde to form a rhythmic composition – reflecting a level of autonomy in expression. The intention of making a triumphant gesture of the modernising dairy industry representing the small scale dairy representing the small scale dairy farmers

Rhythmic ventilation shafts

Slit windows

Graphic bands

The natural slope of the site utilized to advantage of a multi level processing system

Milk receiving is done at the roof

Processing is done at the second level

The third and the lower most level accommodate the worker’s amenities

ventilation points are expressed as large shafts that rise above the roof levelThey evacuate the hot air by natural convection eliminating the need for mechanical exhaust system

Walls and structure are more theatrical than technical in their function of containing and supporting the process within

Banding of the exterior finish helps articulate the muscular feature of the building