30 MIMAR 37

THE CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT

STUDIES AND ACTIVITIES
POONA
Christopher C. Benninger

1. View up the hillock towards the east-

facing elevation of the Institute for Rural
Development.

proposition; and for the preparation of

proposals for action.
Unlike cultural artefacts of the past,
which reflected a Utopia, or a slice of
paradise, the environment at the CDSA
campus is an enclave which represents just
one possible arrangement. But it is not a
passive reflection; it is an intended
response, which expresses the concepts of
sustainable environment through its forest
and orchard, planted on its one-time
wasteland site; in the water harvesting of
the hillside; in the use oflocal materials;

W
and in the crafting of structures by local
Project Data ith Independence, India artisans.
Location: Poona, India. became free, and the pace of The Centre is located on the periphery
Architect: Christopher C. Benninger. transformation hastened. of Poona, an industrial and educational
Architectural Team: Manisha Boradkar, Urbanization, industrializa- centre in western India with about two
Rajiv Vishwas Rao, Madhav Joshi, tion, and the introduction of high million inhabitants. The climate of Po on a,
Gautam Balsekar, Nikita Oak. technology all placed new pressures on a about 200 metres above sea level, is mild
Prime Contractors: Dinshaw and Dinshaw . growing, multi-racial, multi-linguistic the year round, except for a hot period
Structural Engineers: C. E. Godse and nation. Pandit Nehru pondered a new in April. During the rest of the year it is
Associates. society with the new purposes of either rainy, during May to September,
Electrical Contractors: Maintain. secularism, planned progress, and or balmy, from October to March. A
Fenestration: Jogo Engineers . constitutional rights. As architectural great deal of the life of the Institute
Covered Area: 743.5 sq.m. (existing); 720.3 artefacts reflect the intentions of each era, therefore takes place out-of-doors, or
sq.m. (planned). so research institutions emerged in the under semi-enclosed spaces . The campus
subcontinent, reflecting the intentions of sits on a terrace, along the fall of a hill,
The Centre for Development Studies and this new society, whose purpose is where the slopes oflndia's Western Ghat
Activities was founded in 1976 by Christopher symbolized more by a question mark, Mountains meet the great plains of the
Benninger and his wife and colleague, Aneeta than by an exclamation. If previous Deccan Plateau. Such a location provides
Gokhale, with Barbara Ward as the Founder societies were characterized by a sure vistas up into the mountains, or down a
Patron. Through the medium of the Delos direction towards a vision of the future, valley to the city.
Group, Margaret Mead, Buckminster Fuller, India is characterized by a search, and a A fabric of build has emerged from the
Arnold Toynby and others contributed to re-search for what it is, and what it assemblage of three generic elements.
formulating the founding principles of the wants to be. Stone, which has been cleared off the land,
Centre, which instigates and analyses The Centre for Development Studies where terraces are planted with orchards,
development work throughout India, Bhutan, and Activities (CDSA), Poona, is one such forms a strong pattern of east-west
Sri Lanka and Nepal. An autonomous centre expression of this great quest. Rather than parallel walls. They shade the interiors
for advanced studies of Poona University, a laboratory of experimentation, it is a from the southern sun, and are punctured
sponsored by the Indian Council of Social place of exploration and reflection on the by framed views into the bucolic valley
Science Research, it carries out research and great laboratory that is India. The villages, below. Reflecting the ancient terraces of
advisory functions for community groups, towns and regions are a complex socio- the region, the walls provide a clear
development authorities, financial institutions, economic context, from which the structure to the fabric .
the UNO and the ministries of national Institute gathers information, analyses it, The north-south enclosing elements are
governments. A two-year postgraduate and attempts to improve the emerging of transparent sliding panels, shaded by
programme in development planning and development scenario. Most of the large verandahs. These screens can be
management, sponsored by the CDSA, is Centre's work is field-based, and action- adjusted in individual spaces to regulate
based on the campus, and attended by students orientated. The campus is a place of the breeze; hence there are no electric
from Africa, America, Asia and Europe. retreat, analysis, debate, intellectual fans in the complex. They also provide
 MEZZANINE FLOOR

ENTRANCE
2 ACADEMIC QUADRANGLE
: SCHOOL FOR 3 OFFICE
--------- { DEVELOPMENT 4 STUDY
---7----' PLANNING 5 SEMINAR
6 DIRECTOR
7 CLASS ROOM
8 DINING ROOM
9 KITCHEN
10 WET CORE
11 COMPUTER LABORATORY
12 STUDIO
13 ADMINISTRATION
14 RECREATION

[::J UNDER CONSTRUCTION

INSTITUTE FOR RURAL

~~~~& DEVELOPMENT
EO GROUND FLOOR

011 5 10M
~
32 MIMAR 37

BUILDINGS FOR HIGHER EDUCA TION AND RESEARCH

2 3

energy-free lighting during the day. 2. The academic quadrangle is arranged villages, and the city beyond. There is a
The third element is that of tile roofs, around a podium. (This view is looking kind of rhythm between that which is
which slope more steeply towards the towards the west.) sure, and that which is fleeting. The
west, from whence strong winds blow, presence of pattern, of proportion, and of
bearing the heavy monsoon rains off the 3. A view from the entrance forecourt of texture provide a constant sense of
Arabian sea. Facing east, they slope more the Institute for Rural Development across consistency, but then there are no
gently against the delicate morning sun. a podium towards the classroom. boundaries. Just when one feels one is
This asymmetry, which is used enclosed by nurturing roofs, one realizes
throughout the fabric , reflects the 4. Kund-like steps demarcate, and create it was a prelude to an invitation to the
thoughtful mind which is always an informal place to sit. (This view is mind, to look out, away from one's self,
wondering. The three elements are held looking towards the east.) and to contemplate the cosmos. These
together by a system of courts, or chowks, physical devices, which link the day-to-
stone stairs and paved pathways . Every institution has two contradictory day work of the Centre to the spiritual,
Staggered steps, sitting blocks, or ottas and aspects: its rituals and its aspirations. The evoke the ideology of the institution,
lotus ponds all reflect local forms of space rituals bring order into an architectural which calls upon each member t6 think
moulding, common in the village squares, expression, but they can also be negative freely, but also to make some contribution
mosque courtyards, and temples of this influences, in that they foster bureaucracy to his context, his society. Rather than a
mountainous region. and stifle aspiration. So, as a counterpoint tight lattice of order, which holds things
All of the elements are patterned into to order, there must also be mystical together, the lattice is used as a pattern out
a language in which functional spaces can elements, which invoke the spirit and call of which individual perogatives emerge.
be conceived of as nouns, and visual- out to it to be free. At the Centre, a Some platforms are created ostencibly for
spatial links become the verbs, connecting number of devices make an entreaty to an ancient brass pot to sit on, or as a base
the whole into various graphic ideas, the habitues to stop 'seeing', and to 'be'. for an antique bird feeder. But these
which change their tone of meaning with A wall which encloses, which defines, mechanisms are in fact used to attract the
the variable light of day, and the is unexpectedly interrupted by an mind away from the core of the institute,
transforming colours of the seasons. opening, revealing the sky, clouds, hills, where daily tasks, and the details of work,
 MIMAR 37 33

BUILDINGS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

5 6

could overpower one's creative energies. 5. View across the lower court to the entrance represents what is nurturing, and its eyes,
The internal spaces are closely linked of the School for Development Planning. An looking up to the sky, ~epresent the search
with the external ones, beyond ancient brass pot acts as a focal point, around for wisdom. People anhe Institute call it
transparent screens, through verandahs, which spaces re-orient as the eye moves. 'Karuna', which means in Sanskrit 'wisdom
extended porches, and platforms. Under tempered by compassion', which is the
the tile, polished teak ceilings radiate a 6. View between the School of guiding spirit of the Centre.
warm sense of shelter, and their slopes Development Planning and the Institute for Construction, which began in 1988, is
focus spaces inward, while the wandering Habitat and Environment, towards the ongoing, and in the near future the library
eye steals distant illusions. Seminar 'illusionary' windows into the podium. In and computer centre will be initiated.
rooms, studios, and entrance halls are the centre is the bird1eeder or chabutra.
double-storeyed, the upper portion often PHOTOGRAPHS BY NIKITA OAK
merging into a mezzanine, or higher floor 7. The Director's meeting area, from the
space. Glass fenestration allows views balcony in the mezzanine floor. CHRISTOPHER C. BENNINGER STUDIED
through other structures, and an openness ARCHITECTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY
prevails. One can see what activities are of the Institute range from the design of OF FLORIDA AND AT HARVARD
UNIVERSITY, AND THEN STUDIED
taking place, yet one can claim authority very small artefacts required in everyday URBAN AND SOCIAL POLICY AT THE
over one's own privacy. This openness life (like drawer handles, or light switches), MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECH-
reveals the deep-rooted meaning of the to regional plans, and national policies NOLOGY. HE TAUGHT AT THE SCHOOL
Institute, in which the liberated mind which temper macro- development. OF ARCHITECTURE (AHMEDABAD), AND
LATER AT HARVARD (1969-71), AND
searches for the resolution of specific The Centre houses a major collection of HE INITIATED THE SCHOOL OF
problems, often through team-work, or Rajput and Mogul miniature paintings, silk PLANNING AT AHMEDABAD WITH
through the exchange of ideas . screens by Balakrishna Doshi, ancient BALAKRISHNA DOSHI (1971). HE ACTS AS
The landscaping, furniture, interiors, bronze statues, and concrete reliefs by AN ADVISOR TO DEVELOPMENT
AGENCIES, SUCH AS UNCHS (HABITAT),
structures and much of the artwork, have Christopher Benninger. A statue presides THE WORLD BANK, THE ASIAN
been created by the Institute's own mem- over the main podium, sculptured by the DEVELOPMENT BANK, UNFAO, AND
bers. Thus, the research/action concerns famous Indian artist Piraji Sagara. Its body UNICEF. [M)