A SEARCH FOR POST-MODERNISM IN INDIAN ARCHITECTURE
Arjun Mukerji Dr. Sanghamitra Basu [Published in: ABACUS, Vol.6, No.1, Spring 2011. pp.11-20. ISSN: 0973-8339] 1.0 INTRODUCTION
In 1870, the English painter John Watkins Chapman used the term post-modern to mean ‘more modern than modern’ (Jencks, 1991, p.20). The meaning remains preserved when looked strictly from a chronological point of view, and modern translates to contemporary, but stylistically, post-modernism is not a double-dose of modernism. In fact, it is in its reaction and opposition to modernism that postmodernism best expresses itself, be it in literature, art, architecture, or social theory. Post-modernism signals the emergence of a period of multiple changes in society, involving information advances, consumerism, the omnipresence of simulations, and the rise of a post-industrial order (Brooker, 1999, Featherstone, 1991, as cited in Bloland, 2005, p.123). In social theory, post-modernism is a reaction to grand narratives on the nature of the universe, and “offers no vision of theory beyond many voices in continual play” (Allan & Turner, 2000, p.364). In literature, post-modernism is a reaction to the unity and primacy of narrative, often playfully denying the possibility of meaning, and eradicating eradicat ing the distinction dis tinction between high and low culture with the employment of pastiche, the combination of multiple cultural elements, including subjects and genres not previously deemed fit for literature. In the visual arts, postmodernism was a rejection of the grand narratives of artistic direction, eradicating the boundaries between high and low forms of art, and disrupting the conventions of genre with collision, collage, and fragmentation. Postmodern
art
holds
that
all
stances
are
unstable
and
insincere,
and
therefore irony, parody, and humour are the only positions that cannot be overturned by critique. Pluralism and diversity emerge as other defining features. Several of these attitudes are shared by post-modern architecture. However, the commonly assumed distinction of modern as artistic autonomy and post-modern as mass culture does not hold good in architecture as it does in some other fields (McLeod, 1989/1998, p.681). p.681). Also, it is worthwhile to remember that modernism and post-modernism remain inextricably entwined, and often have a fuzzy boundary as
opposed to a clear binary distinction (Bloland, 2005, p.138). The significance of post-modernism in architecture has to be sought both in the theories professed and the paradigms refuted. Post-modern architecture is the architectural style which evolved from middle to late twentieth century, as a response to the perceived failures of the modern movement in architecture. It is worthwhile to look at the international experience of postmodernism in order to understand the post-modernist architecture in India, which “parallel those elsewhere in the world because, at a generic level, the architectural problems of India are not unique. Their specific solutions may be” (Lang, 2002, p.151). 2.0 POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE: THE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
It is always difficult and reductive to define a growing and complex movement like post-modern architecture, and understandably, a number of different theories and perspectives have arisen while attempting to do so. Sections 2.2 to 2.4 outline the various attitudes and try to identify the common ground, but at first we analyze modernist architecture as the springing board of post-modernism. 2.1. Modernist Architecture
Modern refers to the core values of “Enlightenment - the centrality of reason, the belief in progress, the virtues of individualism, and faith in the scientific method” (Bloland, 2005, p.122). Modernism in architecture may be understood as a direct consequence of the industrial revolution. As if as a homage to the invention of new materials and the advent of new technologies, the modernist paradigm was to frankly expose and showcase these materials and techniques of construction. Function and efficiency were the primary inspirations for design. Uniformity and a rationalist approach were considered a necessity to cater to an industrialized and urban society, and mass construction and industrialized building systems provided the necessary support. The resultant machine-aesthetic was minimalist, sans ornamentation, employing platonic geometrical forms and planer surfaces. Classical or historical references were consciously avoided, even though they might have been inspirations for some architects like Le Corbusier (Curtis, 1987, p.108). The general attitude is well expressed in oft-quoted maxims like: ‘Form follows function’, ‘A house is a machine for living in’, and ‘Less is more’.
By the 1960’s , an increasing sense of monotony of uniformity, apathy, insecurity, lack of belongingness and ensuing social problems became serious concerns (Jacob,1961), which led to renewed introspection by civic societies, sociologists, urban planners and designers, and post-modern paradigms emerged. When the late modernist Philip Johnson dismissed “the Crutch of Utility… (as) poppy-cock… (since) all buildings work”, as well as the ‘Crutch of Structure’, it clearly undermined the very paradigm of utilitarian modernism (Johnson, 1954/2006). Widely publicized images of the demolition of the Pruitt Igoe Housing Complex were, as if, the final blow to modernism. In view of the above, post-modernism may be understood as a challenge to “the rationalization of space and the imposition of a strict and systematic order on daily life; and, in its place, some postmodern architecture makes space more personalized through the use of pastiche, the blending of styles, and the inclusion of historical references” (Allan & Turner, 2000, p.364). The development of post-modern architectural theory is briefly discussed in sections 2.2 to 2.4. 2.2. Early Theories of Post-Modern Architecture
Early post-modernism developed through a criticism of modernism, for being abstract, formal and inaccessible — for having lost the traditional communicative role of architecture. In advocacy of post-modernity in architecture, Paolo Portoghesi placed emphasis on ‘presence of the past’ and historical continuity (Portoghesi, 1980/2006). Robert Stern supported the idea of historic continuity, together with pluralistic communication, context and ornament (Stern, 1980, as cited in Jencks, 1991, p.13), and Heinrich Klotz stressed on the importance of narrative (Klotz, 1988, as cited in Jencks, 1991, p.15). Charles Jencks identifies post-modernism as having a “double-agenda which criticises Modernism and Traditionalism while, at the same time, selecting elements from both of them” (Jencks, 2006b, p.6). He elaborately charts and analyses the different tendencies and characteristics of post-modern architecture: the historicism which included straight revivalism to neo-vernacular and abstraction, the radical eclecticism rich in ornamentation, juxtaposition and layering, the use of metaphor and symbol for communication or expression, the employment of humour, and the evolution of kitsch as culture (Jencks, 1991). In his 13 propositions for post-modern architecture, Jencks recommends complexity and multi-valence in architecture,
intended to be communicated to a pluralistic audience through symbols, metaphors, reference to the past and classicism (Jencks, 1996/2006a). There
are
other
theoretical
viewpoints
advocating
cultural
diversity
and
experientialism, while at the same time emphasizing the communicative role of the built environment through ‘meaning’. Christian Norberg-Schulz suggests perception of form has a cultural basis, and these forms need to be ordered to evolve a formal language of architecture (Norberg-Schulz, 1965/2006). Jane Jacob’s urbanism calls for interconnection, symbiosis, ecology, diversity and difference — leading to an organized complexity (Jacobs, 1961, as cited in Jencks, 1991, p.11). Complexity in such cases may result from diversified perceptions, reflection of multicultural associations, as well as through a repertoire of past traditions. Robert Venturi, another protagonist of the theory of complexity and contradiction (Venturi, 1966/2006), also emphasizes the communicative role of architecture when he advocates the use of the ‘decorated shed’, i.e. symbol, instead of the ‘duck’, i.e. icon (Venturi, Brown & Izenour, 1972/2006). It is important to note here that there were other responses arising out of the disillusionment with modernism which paralleled early post-modernism. Most notable of these was Kenneth Frampton’s idea of Critical Regionalism, which takes a middle course between ‘Enlightenment idealism’ and ‘New Historicist materialism’, seeking to cultivate an identity-giving culture as well as to employ universal techniques. Frampton recommends a concern for nature over culture, and the tactile over the visual, and speaks against “the ever-present tendency to regress into nostalgic historicism or the glibly decorative” (Frampton, 1983/2002, p.22). This approach may be better understood as a reformed modernism rather than a new architectural style. 2.3. Late Post-Modern Architecture
Schismatic post-modernism or deconstructivism, spearheaded by Peter Eisenman, developed through a celebration of the disintegration of communication and the impossibility of postulating any meaning or cultural consensus. It is in essence poststructuralist, denying structuralism’s search for “underlying scientific rules of discourse that organize social life” (Best & Kellner, 1991, as cited in Bloland, 2005, p.122). This strain avoids historicist imagery, contextualism and humanism, and
instead exhibits a technological imagery full of fragmentation, dispersion, and disturbance. Deconstructivism may well be understood as a reaction to early post-modernism. In its preference for the abstract and hi-tech, and its rejection of tradition, deconstructivism may even appear similar to modernism, but the rejection of fundamental ideologies like functionalism and structural rationalism makes it postmodern. Ironically, it may be observed that deconstructivism also looks to the past for developing its rhetoric, only now the search is centred on a more recent past — that of constructivism, structuralism and modernism. 2.4. Unity in The Post-Modern Pluralism
The diversity and pluralism of the post-modern movement poses a challenge to defining it. Early post-modernism, in the variety of all its tendencies, remains united in its objective of architectural communication and cultural identity. The justification is not in programme, structure, or function, but in meaning. The deconstructivists, dialectically opposite, celebrate the decomposition of meaning. However, what is immediately apparent is that the territory of the post-modern debate remains: meaning and its dissolution (McLeod, 1989/1998, p.681). In view of the international experience, we intend to seek post-modernism in Indian architecture. However, in order to provide an understanding of the attitudes and tendencies which give rise to the Indian experience, it is essential to have an overview of the evolution of contemporary architecture in India. 3.0 CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA
While charting the growth of contemporary Indian architecture, Jon Lang identifies four distinct phases of modernism in India as: early modernism, first generation modernism, second generation modernism, and post-Nehru modernism (Lang, 2002). Each of these phases may be briefly discussed, and their contribution towards the evolution of post-modernism is analyzed, as follows: 3.1. Early Modernism in India
Galconde House (1936-48), Pondicherry, designed by Antonin Raymond, is generally considered as the first modernist building in India. However, Indian architectural practice continued to experience a constant tussle of looking back into the past for cultural relevance and looking forward to a rationally designed future.
Surendranath Kar, under the influence of Rabindranath Tagore at Shantiniketan, and following ideas of the swadeshi era, came up with explorations of ‘nationalist design’, but it failed to garner the attention of major architectural firms. From about the first quarter of the century, the contemporary art deco and streamline moderne styles started to capture the imagination of Indian architects, and were profusely employed till as late as the 1960’s (by which time they were already considered passé in the western world). A parallel evolution, with integration of indigenous cultural precedents, was the eclectic Indo-deco style. The ‘modern Indian architectural movement’, spearheaded by Sris Chandra Chatterjee in the 1920’s and 1930’s, was reactionary to art deco and essentially revivalist, representing a ‘belief that the past can give order to the present and be a source of identity and pride for the people who see it as part of their culture’. However, in execution, it was considered pastiche and retrogressive. The colonial heritage of neo-classicism continued to influence Indian th
architectural practice well into the middle of the 20 century. Though the style of international modernism, which thrived in the west from the 1920’s to 1960’s, was familiar to the Indian architectural fraternity, there was limited evidence of it being employed, other than in the isolated rationalist works of foreign architects, like Muthesius, Dudok, Raymond, and Koenigsberger, unconnected with the Indian architectural firms. It was the political independence of India that signalled a desire to create a new world, much like the World War II did in Europe, and international modernism started gaining ground as the architectural vocabulary for the purpose. The modified classicism of Claude Bately gradually gave way to early modernism. Architectural firms like Ballardie, Thompson and Mathews sought simplification of the art deco exuberance to meet modernist demands, and Walter George tried to adapt the norms of modernism to the climatic nature and construction process of India. The synthesis of these two approaches gave rise to the utilitarian modernism that characterizes a major part of contemporary Indian architecture (Lang, 2002, p.33). Early modernism was also a result of the designs of the Public Works Departments: notably, the CPWD in New Delhi, the Orissa PWD in Bhubaneswar, and the Mysore State PWD. Architecture of this generation was characterized by modernist principles in planning and construction, with a mixture of revivalist elements. Interestingly, the
Iconography of the chandrashala in the Vigyan Bhavan, by CPWD, New Delhi, is not worked into the fabric of the structure like most revivalist elements, but stand out as an ‘iconic exclamation point’, conforming to much later approaches of Venturian of post-modernism (Brown, 2009, p.63). What is noteworthy is the continual shift in attitudes experienced before the international modern style gained a strong foothold as the predominant architectural style. These early aspirations of achieving a relevant architectural vocabulary may well be considered as a precursor to the post-modernist experience in India. This quest received renewed impetus after the rise and fall of late modernism as discussed in the following section. 3.2. Late Modernism in India
Post-independence, the architecture of the British was politically unacceptable, though its adaptation to Indian regional climates was grudgingly appreciated (Lang, 2002, p.58). Inspired by the Nehruvian vision, Indian architectural thought sought inspiration from the United States and Europe. The influence of Frank Lloyd Wright’s empiricism and, more significantly, that of Gorpius’s Bauhaus paradigm of rationalism is noteworthy in architecture of this era. India witnessed individual works of a number of foreign architects like the Reserve Bank of India, Kolkata, by John Ritchie, the Tata Centre, Kolkata, by Holabard & Root, and the United States Embassy, New Delhi, by Edward Durrell Stone. Moreover, several young foreign architects started practicing in conjunction with Indian professionals, notable amongst them being Joseph Allen Stein, Benjamin Polk, and Bernard Kohn, and there association proved instrumental in dissemination of modernist paradigms. Also, a significant number of Indian architects received their training abroad and started employing the new approaches learnt from their international exposure. This new generation included Habib Rahman, Achyut Kanvinde, and Charles Correa, to mention only a few. Other architects and craftsmen soon picked up the patterns and forms of the first generation of modernists. Reinforced concrete structures, with large glazing, flat roofs, freestanding stairs, cantilevered porches, and cubistic massing soon became the hallmark of the modern Indian building. However, it should be noted that several
modernist works went beyond the puritanism of modernity, and continued to display a respect to the cultural context, like Stein’s India International Centre, New Delhi. The second generation of modernism emerged with the coming of Le Corbusier and the rise of the rationalist ‘Chandigarh school’ on one hand, and on the other, the more empiricist work of Louis I. Kahn. Functionality, pragmatism, and modernist vocabulary were complimented with an expressionist vision, a concern for climatic and social context, and a brutalist image. The influence of the masters was carried on and evolved by Indian architects like B. V. Doshi, who is now considered a master in his own right. The structural innovations of Pier Luigi Nervi and Felix Candela also served as inspirations and gave rise to the architecture of structural dexterity as illustrated by Raj Rewal’s exhibition halls in New Delhi. It is interesting to note that within Corbusier’s abstract sculptural forms, and interplay of solids and voids, several Indian references are carefully woven in (e.g. the Assembly Hall’s roof is curved like a cow’s horns), and Kahn’s use of brick almost resonates with the post-modern neo-vernacularism of the west. The Post-Nehru modernist generation saw the emergence of many important Indian architects. Their works are rich in variety and ingenuity, and a discussion of these would be beyond the scope of this paper. However, it is worthwhile to note that there was a rising disillusionment with the utopian paradigms of modernity, and while many Indian architects, and especially the PWD, continued with rationalism and utilitarian modernism, there were important instances of departure. Treatment of architecture as symbolic sculpture is observed in projects like the Lotus Temple, New Delhi, by Fariburz Sahba, and the Matrimandir in Auroville, by Roger Anger. Again, brutalism evolved from being a puritan aesthetic to a frugal ethic, and embodied a search for Indianness, as in the works of Kanvinde and Raj Rewal. Also, vernacular architecture regained ground as a valid inspiration, like in Uttam Jain’s design for Jodhpur University, where traditional materials are presented in a modern expression. All of these remain modern in their paucity of added decoration, avoidance of direct or abstract elements for historical reference, and lack of flamboyance, but a nascent quest for ‘meaning’, ‘identity’ and ‘context’ cannot be denied. 4.0 POST-MODERNISM IN INDIA
The search for a contemporary Indian identity existed from much before the rise of international modernism in India, as discussed in section 3.1, and continued to manifest itself right through the period of late modernism. With the global disillusionment with modernism, and the international rise of post-modernism as the architecture of ‘meaning’ and context, the quest found new directions. Jon Lang identifies three distinct tendencies which characterize the post-modern experience in India. These are: “(1) the use of past elements or form in an abstract manner, (2) a drawing on the vernacular past to indigenize architecture, and (3) a recognition of the variety of problems that exist in a society and an attempt to address them directly” (Lang, 2002, p.121). However, only the first two may be considered as morphologically evident post-modern architecture, though the last is also a response to the post-modern world. The following sections illustrate evidences of the first two approaches, as well as other traits of post-modernism (as reviewed in Sections 2.1 and 2.2), identifiable as parallels to the International repertoire. 4.1. Abstractionism
Historicism often found its expression in post-modern architecture through the use of abstracted traditional forms. Stanley Tigerman’s use of Ionic silhouettes for the Pensacola
Place
Apartments,
Chicago,
is
a
classic
example
of
western
abstractionism. Similar use of abstracted historic forms as cultural references in contemporary Indian architecture actually started long before the international postmodernist debate, and this strain continues to thrive in agreement with the international development. Several instances of Indian abstractionism have religious associations. In the Mazhar of President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, designed by Habib Rahman, the architect uses an abstraction of the silhouette of the Taj Mahal. In the Dakshin Delhi Kalibari Temple by Sumit Ghosh, we witness abstracted forms of a Bengal Roof in the garbha griha, and a temple shikhara fused with a multiple conoid base which
represents the traditional Kalibaris. The Prarthana Mandir of the Ramkrishna Mission Vidyapith in Purulia, West Bengal, by Sunil Pal and Ramananda Bandopadhyay, employs a mushroom-like dome atop a tower, decorated with abstracted leaf forms, to symbolize the Panchavati. By their very nature, religious
structures probably demand cultural references in order to convey continuity in meaning to the lay-people. However, these references were not mere copying of historic shapes and forms but a creative response through abstraction and transformation which makes them post-modern, in contrast to the earlier IndoSaracenic works of British architects in India. The use of abstractionism is also evident in some non-religious buildings. In the School for Spastic Children in New Delhi by Romi Khosla, the form of rock-cut caves of Ajanta symbolize protection and shelter. Again, in the Oberoi Hotel in Bhubaneswar by Satish Grover, the plan form of the Hindu temple and the Buddhist vihara evolve to create an interesting sequence of spaces. 4.2. Ornamentation
Ornamentation re-emerged in postmodernism as a noticeable shift from the modernist paradigm of minimalism. The employment of sculptures and murals was an integral part of traditional Indian architecture, and understandably, it became one of the key features adopted in the Indian experiments of post-modernity. The ISCON Temple, New Delhi and the Lake Kalibari, Kolkata, designed by the first generation modernist master Achyut Kanvinde, show elements of ornamentation which may well be identified as post-modern. C. P. Kukreja’s buildings at the IIM Lucknow campus are notable examples of employing decorative elements in post-modern Indian building façades. Several instances of graphic elements may be noted at Charles Correa’s Jawahar Kala Kendra, which, though metaphorical, are also decorations in their own right. The relief murals in concrete at the Mahindra College Campus by Christopher Beninger, and the painted murals in the style of the Kalighat Patachitra, employed by Charles Correa at The City Centre, Kolkata, also exemplify
the same trend, though they are rather understated and may also be paralleled to Le Corbusier’s use of murals in Chandigarh. Hafeez contractor’s design of Hiranandani Gardens, like many of his other works, employs a profusion of decorative elements inspired by western classical architecture, and is reminiscent of the works of Ricardo Bofill. A number of commercial developments all over India follow this trend of decorative pastiche façades fixed on to utilitarian modernist plans, in line with Robert Venturi’s concept of a ‘decorated shed’.
4.3. Neo-Traditional and Modern Indian Vernacular
The use of “pitched roofs, chunky detailing, picturesque massing and brick” was the hallmark of a neo-vernacular post-modernism in the western world (Jencks, 1991, p.81). But the inspiration from traditional Indian building practices came in various forms: materials, building technology, shilpaic canons, settlement patterns, and aesthetic values. While some of the resultant architecture is visually identifiable as having vernacular inspiration, some appear rather modernist despite being rooted in traditional empirical knowledge. The fuzziness between modern and post-modern is most pronounced while examining this trait. Nari Gandhi’s residences, Gerard da Cunha’s Nrityagram, and Laurie Baker’s works, like St. John’s Cathedral, Tiruvalla, display the use of traditional building forms, vernacular technology, and materials like stone, bamboo, brick, mud and thatch. Appukuttam Nair and Narayan Rao’s Kalakshetra Theatre in Chennai, and Charles Correa’s Crafts Museum in New Delhi are excellent examples of interpretation of vernacular architecture in a modern typology. While The Craft Museum draws inspiration from the Indian village, the historic cities of North India serve as models for a large number of housing developments like Raj Rewal’s Asiad Village, and Charles Correa’s Tara Housing. In these designs, the streets, chowks , and the courtyards regain their importance as important living spaces. The Hotel Mughal Sheraton, Agra, by Arvind Gupta and Associates, employs patterns derived of Mughal architecture, while B. V. Doshi draws his inspiration from Fatehpur Sikri in his layout of IIM Bangalore. Darshan Kumar Bubbar’s Methodist Centre in Mumbai is based on the Chandita Mandala, and is articulated through an indigenous system of proportions, yet remaining utilitarian and modernist in appearance. 4.4. Humour
Tigerman’s Hot Dog House is said to find justification in its attempt to make his client laugh (Jencks, 1991, p.94). Though it would be difficult to cite such striking examples of humour in contemporary Indian architecture, it has been well employed in the designing of interior spaces. Charles Correa’s use of Mario Miranda’s cartoons of theatre-goers in the Kala Akademi, Goa, reflect an underplayed wit, while the graphics and installations at the MTV Office, Bangalore, by Khosla Associates, are examples of the frivolous and kitsch. Correa’s use of trompe l’oeil and stage set
decorations in Hotel Cidade de Goa, Panjim, creates an interesting and humorous interplay of the real and unreal. A very different variety of humour, albeit unintended, is aroused by the pastiche façade decorations, which Gautam Bhatia sarcastically refers to as Punjabi Baroque, Bania Gothic, Marwari Mannerism, Anglo-Indian Rococo, etc (Bhatia, 1994). Though the grotesque may not always qualify as humour in architecture, it is important to note these as valid post-modern tendencies. Also, these may well have been the architects’ attempts to humour their clients, just like Tigerman. 4.5. Juxtaposition and Layering
Post-modernism, by its inherent eclecticism, fosters the concurrent use of culturally dissimilar elements. The two opposing approaches to this would be in seeking harmony in the variety, and in the celebration of the juxtaposition through highlighting the contrast. Hafeez Contractor’s design for the Global Training Centre at Infosys campus, Mysore, is a particularly stunning example of juxtaposition where a Parthenon-like classical façade is flanked by wings of minimalist modern blocks on either side. A similar juxtaposition is evidenced in the utilitarian block and the fortlike entrance structure of the Radisson Ffort Resort by Prabir Mitra, where the latter forms an outer layer to the interior modern space, and is somewhat comparable to Frank Gehry’s own house. The richly decorative façades attached to the otherwise utilitarian commercial blocks, as already discussed in section 4.3, are also valid instances of post-modern layering. 4.6. Metaphor & Symbolism
Symbols and metaphors become increasingly important elements when architecture intends to convey meaning. As already noted, in the School for Spastic Children, New Delhi, by Romi Khosla, the metaphor of the cave is interpreted as a symbol of protection. This is reminiscent of the Hillington Civic Centre by Andrew Derbyshire, where the pitched roofs coming down almost to the ground are a symbol of protection — overpowering the walls, which are symbolically defensive and hostile. In Hafeez Contractor’s design for the Russy Modi Centre for Excellence, Jamshedpur, free standing columns and pyramidal forms become symbols of classical civilizations, eliciting comparisons for the achievements of the house of Tatas.
The employment of metaphors may time and again be observed in the works of Charles Correa. In the British Council Library, Delhi, the abstract imagery of the giant tree in the façade becomes a symbol of India, and may well be interpreted as a metaphor: the tree of knowledge. An axial progression through three nodes with elements representing the Hindu axis mundi, the Muslim Charbagh, and the European inlay depicting the age of reason, symbolizes historic interface between cultures. The cosmological references for Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur, and the Interuniversity Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, also rely on the use of metaphors and symbols. 4.7. Narrative
The post-modern sense of concept, context and continuity is reflected in the building up of narratives, real or concocted, through architectural spaces. Charles Correa designed Cidade de Goa as a city with virtual imagery and real dwellings, narrating the life and culture of an Indo-Portuguese town. The layout of dwellings along a street is reminiscent of Kresge College. In the Radisson Ffort Resort, Raichak, Prabir Mitra recreates a British naval fort which relays a fictitious narrative as to its antecedents. The Belgian Embassy complex, by Satish Gujral, depicts a colonial vision of India as a ruin and relates a reconstructed Indian history of “disparate temporalities” — Harappan, Mauryan, Gupta, and even the Kahn-influenced modern (Brown, 2009, p.90). 4.8. Cosmology
Historically, architecture of various cultures has attempted to present a model for the cosmos. The Indian Vaastu-shilpa tradition was intrinsically linked to Hindu cosmology, astrology, and mythology, and was considered superstitious and retrogressive by the modern architectural fraternity, until post-modernism rendered it with a patina of avant-garde and intellectualism. The layout of the Vidhan Bhavan, Bhopal, and the Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur, by Correa, were inspired by the Navagraha Mandal: the archaic Indian notion of the cosmos. At IUCAA, Pune,
Correa’s attempt is to express more contemporary notions of the Cosmos with metaphors of expanding universe and centrifugal energy. The layout of the Mahindra United World College Campus, by Christopher Beninger, again draws parallels with the “ Jambudweepa in a Mandala, and the (…) rings of sacred islands spread out in the oceans of salt-water, ghee, milk and honey”. (Naidu, 2004)
4.9. Deconstruction
Charles Correa’s Hindustan Lever Pavilion is an early example displaying a striking fragmentation of space, and the Tillany Museum, Bangalore, by Inform Architects, may be cited as a conscious effort at deconstruction, but otherwise, built examples of deconstructivist architecture in India are rare. Building technology and skill available in India is probably not favourable to such architecture; indeed, very few designs have been realized even in the affluent western world. Also, it may be conjectured, the absence indicates that fragmentation, disorientation, and alienation are yet to become predominant realities of Indian society. Some of the gravity-defying structures by Hafeez Contractor at Infosys Mysore may indicate that deconstruction has finally arrived, but how much of the styling arises out of the theoretical paradigm is questionable. However, several un-built design competition entries and students’ projects do reveal the contemporary Indian architect’s fancy for this strain of postmodernism. It is also witnessed in the design of interior spaces, like that of the AVLC Building, Lonavala, by Sanjay Puri. 4.10.
Multi-valence
Undoubtedly, the most important paradigm of post-modernism is meaning, and especially, multiple coding. Jawahar Kala Kendra may be taken as a suitable attempt at multi-valence, where Correa presents parallel references to ancient Indian cosmology and shilpaic traditions, Indian visual culture, the context of the city of Jaipur, as well as to Jai Singh and Jawaharlal Nehru as individuals who were both traditional and modern. Again, B. V. Doshi’s Hussain-Doshi Gufa reveals multiple references: the cave, the forest, the circle, the mountain, the breast, and the Buddhist stupa. It is as much architecture as an object of art in itself, much like Gehry’s
Guggenheim Museum at Bilbao. 5.0 Conclusion In the preceding sections, several traits have been identified in contemporary Indian
architecture, which can be identified as post-modern when compared to the international repertoire. However, two important questions arise, which may be discussed as follows. 5.1. What Happens post Post-Modernism?
Brown points out: “It is not that the question of how to be both modern [contemporary] and Indian has been resolved” (Brown, 2009, p.162); the search for
an Indian identity continues. A small group of critics has put forth a range of theories that aim to describe culture and/or society in the alleged aftermath of postmodernism, which include performatism, hypermodernity, altermodernism, and digimodernism (Bulley, 2010). None of these new theories and labels has so far gained widespread acceptance, and post-modernism remains the most relevant paradigm for the continual quest. 5.2. How Post-Modern is Indian Post-Modern Architecture?
Richard Bernstein states: "There are moments in history when, because of all sorts of historical accidents… a new set of metaphors, distinctions, and problems is invented and captures the imagination of followers" (Bernstein, 1992, as cited in Bloland, 2005, p.124). Did India witness such a moment which may give rise to a ‘new set’ of architectural aesthetic? Advanced capitalism, which has been often identified as a major stimulus for post-modernism (Allan & Turner, 2000), is only nascent in India. Might this mean post-modern architecture does not have the necessary catalyst to emerge as a critique of socio-economic realities, and is experienced only because of formal influence of international trends? Also, Indian modernism itself was often a modified expression: a regional third world modernism, at times bordering on some of the very attitudes of postmodernism. For example, neo-traditionalism emerges as the most predominant postmodern tendency in India, whereas the traditional had continued to influence Indian modernism throughout its growth and development. Thus, can Indian post-modern architecture be interpreted as a revolution in reaction to the modernist practice or a progressive evolution of it? Further studies may confirm the suggestion of a possibility of arriving at the same solutions through two very different paths.
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