Conference Proceedings National Conference: CIMA2020

Theme: Cultural Transformation In Contemporary World ISBN No. 978-93-81131-03-9

The modern architectural heritage of India: Interpreting Values & cultural

significance

Ms. Priyanka Gayen,

PhD Scholar, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi
Dr Jaya Kumar,
Professor, Department of Architecture, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi
Dr Amit Hajela,
Professor, Vastu Kala Academy, College of Architecture, New Delhi

Abstract
Modern architectural heritage has various tangible & intangible values associated with them. It is
the cultural significance of and the association of these values, which makes it heritage. Like
ancient architectural heritage, the post-independence architecture of India has a potential
association of values of cultural transformation, social & technological development, innovation,
tradition & lifestyle. This paper attempts to explore the various values of the post-independence
architecture of India, which makes it an integral part of the nation's cultural heritage. The period
under consideration is five decades after independence (1947 to 2000)for this research. Cultural
significance of the architecture of this period has been explored through the history of modern
architecture of India and the significant modern architecture in the broader setting. For a
comprehensive understanding of the cultural significance from a global perspective, there is a
brief discussion of the values considered by major organisations involved in the recognition &
protection of 20th-century heritage. In light of the broader spectrum of values associated with the
architecture of this period and the cultural significance of the post-independence architecture of
India, the values associated with the significant modern public buildings of this period have been
identified.

Keywords: modern architectural heritage; values; cultural significance

1. Introduction

In the present context, a broader and more inclusive definition of heritage has allowed the built
heritage of the 20th century to be recognised for its historical & cultural values. From ancient
times to the 21st century, India has had pluralistic manifestations of intense, political and
cultural experiences resulting in multi-layered built heritage. After the independence, the socio-
economic and political growth and transformation laid the path to a clear new order in the
architectural development of India. Modern architecture are important artefacts and are part of
the Indian urbanism as they chart out a path for Modernity in India. They are the physical
evidence of our cultural development, which is integral to our cultural heritage.
The cultural significance of heritage is associated with an array of values which qualify its
significance. Therefore, articulation and understanding of these values acquire greater
importance when heritage decisions are being made about what to conserve.

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Today, in the 21st century, India has within its boundaries some of the absolute masterpieces of
modern architecture worldwide. It is home to some of the most important works created by Le
Corbusier, B.V. Doshi, Charles Correa, Joseph A. Stein and Louis I. Kahn among the other
masters, and is regarded by many as one of the key sites of mid-20th-century architectural
design 1. Over the last 70years, many buildings (Figure 1) in different states which possess
significant architectural value, have been documented. But, so far, there are no specified
guidelines for the evaluation & designation of modern architectural heritage, even though the
ASI act was amended in the year 2010.

Therefore, it is essential to recognise the cultural significance of modern architectural heritage.

This paper attempts to determine the values & corresponding attributes of modern Indian
architecture, which establishes its appreciation and recognition as heritage.
2. Modern movement and the post-independence architecture of India
Modern architecture is considered to be inclusive of all the architectural developments after the
Middle Era and is regarded to be the living architecture of the 20th century. Concept of modern
heritage is defined based on the importance of "permanence" and "continuity", the
interrelationship between "material" and "memory" besides the influence of tradition on the
expression alongside the development of local or regional expressions 2. In the 20th century, the
modern movement arose in the West & spread across the nations. Post-World War II, there was
a significant impact, wherein modernity overtook the world, and different regions responded
distinctively to this process. It is the convergence between the culture, location and regional
diversity of the modern architectural heritage that became the defining factor of this heritage.
On the contrary, the understanding of modern architecture in Asia is complicated. The
infiltration of Western architecture is regarded as the beginning of "modern architecture" in
Asia and evolved under the influence of modernism as a consequence of industrialisation,
urbanisation, westernisation, colonisation, decolonisation and nation-building process 2. The
contemporary architecture of Southeast Asia witnessed the emergence of new architectural
typologies which were a fusion of various elements, materials, and technology, each with the
distinctive effect of local circumstances of economic, social, cultural, political and climatic
conditions.

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India's modernity commenced with independence, on 15th August 1947, marked with the
beginning of an era in
which the Indian nation developed its technological, industrial, infrastructural and urban
dimensions 3. Like other Southeast Asian countries, modern architecture of India came through
colonisation, decolonisation and the nation-building process followed by industrialisation,
western imitations, and self-actualisations. The history of modern architecture in India is the
history of how Indians have become modern and modernity is one of the many overlays that
constitute India 4.
The vision of New India articulated by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal
Nehru, was futuristic and unrestrained by medievalism and tradition. The emphasis on
industrialisation, scientific & technological development and projects in the sector of
education & healthcare, which were critical to the nation-building process came to the forefront
of the emerging modern Indian architecture. Besides the above, the architectural modernism of
India was rooted in the notions of a free society and universal history and was not seen as an
aesthetic device alone, but was a part of a visionary, ethical, and conceptual approach for
addressing the social realities, within the backdrop of traditions as an expression of the
opportunities and optimism of the new age.
3. Values of modern architectural heritage
The late 1980s and early 1990s saw a surge of interest and international activity in the
conservation of 20th-century heritage, which prompted the framing of public regulations, legal
arrangements, the formation of influential international organisations like ICOMOS, Council
of Europe, DOCOMOMO and the emergence of many interest

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groups. This wave of interest prompted governments in

some countries to consider the identification and
protection of 20th-century heritage, initially from the
early-modern era and almost exclusively for their
architectural significance. Over the past few decades,
national & international organisations have identified a
different set of values for the assessment of the cultural
significance of the 20th-century heritage. Comparative
study of the assessment models of major organisations
involved in the recognition & protection of 20th-century heritage gives a broader understanding
of the cultural significance of modern architecture from a global perspective.

The method deployed to evaluate the existing approaches towards the conservation of modern
heritage found its relevance in Maslow's grounded theory leading to the identification of significant
values critical to the assessment & designation. The analysis was undertaken based on the values
identified by various organisations, and the emphasis is given to aspects which define the process
of assessment relevant to a specific context for which they were developed. The study (Table 1)
shows that there is an agreement on the association of different values to modern architecture.
The comparative analysis of these models led to the identification of the broad themes which were
commonly considered in different models. The intangible values include historical value, social
value, spiritual value, creative value, and even scientific value. Also, original materials,
construction techniques, plan features are regarded as the originality of the design idea, the
document value of the building, the memory value it carries for the community, identity value it
creates for the city or nation are regarded as significant values of the 20th-century architecture 6.
Also, the strong predominance of 'canonic' historiography of this period makes canonical merit a
critical value. The content analysis of the above was correlated to modernism in India, post-
independence, to identify the values associated with the architectural heritage.

4. Values of the modern architectural heritage of India

The outcome of the above analysis led to the formulation of the values. It was further qualified
by their attributes relevant to the modern architecture in India, and these can be listed as the
following (Table 2):

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Architectural value Architectural narrative - Language

Non-material attributes expressed through other attributes:
Form & Design
Composition, scale, proportions & details
Ideas uniqueness of design
Distinctive character
Representative typology of the period
Architectural integrity
Design principles - the intellectual value
Canonical value Representative work of a master architect of the period
The architectural impact of the designer
Engineering Construction techniques & systems - representative of the period
value & Structural innovation
Technological Material & substance
merit influence on building composition
the aesthetic
the technology
reproducibility & availability
Contextual value Physical Location
Relationship of built form with its surroundings and the
significance of itsplacement in that area
Historic
Functional

Setting
The site, the context & the unique intentions
Relationship & interaction between people, the environment & the site or place
Visual relationship
Ecological relationship
Historic relationship
Spatial relationship
Scientific value Use
The capacity of the building to house & perform the activities
it is used for
New functions & the spatial patterns
Functions - the functionalism of the building
Historic value The historicity of the building
The historicity of the mass of the works
The building's role in local development
Directly associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to broadpatterns of history
Directly associated with the lives of persons of great significance in our
past (a
figure of outstanding importance)
Regional value Tradition
The associated cultural meaning of the material used - how
they were used

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Adaptability to different climatic conditions

Reinterpretation of traditional forms & elements
Local distinctiveness
Themes & the individual vocabulary of different regions
Social value Social impact
Reflection of the changing communal and social characteristics of the
period
Role & function in community
Spirit & feeling
Association

Modernism in India brought a new order in the architectural development of the nation, which
was distinctly metropolitan, and at the same time was an outgrowth of the traditional principles,
a search for 'Indian Architecture'. The shift from traditional craft to industrialised construction
brought with it the introduction of new uses for traditional materials, new materials, and
component-based systems. Along with it came the boom of new building typologies (hospitals,
institutions, mass housing projects, hotels, offices, district centres) for functionalistic purposes
within the modernist ideology.
The modern era was an age of innovations, and the principal cultural value of the built
environment was embedded in their innovation. The process of dealing with 'constructing the
nation' through architecture and placing their modernity within the cultural context resulted in
divergent and innovative architectural forms and solutions and which reinforced the pluralism
that has for centuries characterised the Indian landscape. Architectural masters like Louis Kahn,
Le Corbusier, derived a whole new vocabulary out of regional reflections, establishing a
climatic, material and constructional rationale, not only for India but South Asia at large. They
brought a quasi-sacred dimension to architecture within the modern secular & functional
context.
With Chandigarh, the new capital city of Punjab, Le Corbusier came to India with a powerful
vision of the future. It acted as a decisive catalyst, triggering a developing sense of architectural
form and syntax. Inspired by this vision, young Indian architects like B.V. Doshi entered into
the process of producing new archetypes for an industrialising society using rationality and
functionalism to generate imaginative new forms 7 . New towns, the new planned cities like
Jamshedpur and Bhuwaneswar by Otto. H. Konigsberger emerged as new typologies of Indian
cities.
The modern architectural form was always simple, rational, and functional, an expression of the
"Spirit of the modern Age" (logical, contemporary, innovative, progressive) 8. Thus, looking at
the modern architectural heritage through the lenses of aesthetic merit alone is not sufficient.
The buildings of modern India were designed between the binary oppositions of continuity and
change, traditional and modern, regional and international, handicraft andtechnology, and so
forth. What matters above all are ideas, the depth of the ideas and the ways ideas are given form
9
.
Post-independence, the limitations of a developing economy, instead of being an inhibiting
constraint became a creative force for architectural & technological innovations. The
dependence on a labour-intensive building industry, lack of heavy mechanical equipment, use of
simple tools and hands for all major operations posed challenges to the architects. They looked
for economical and flexible design, responsive to situation changes and using the technologies
available at the time mixed with the local building tradition; combining western products from
the industrial revolution with the local wisdom of region 10. Despite these technical and
economic limitations, work of immense significance had emerged.

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The modern architecture of India was a manifestation of the nation's social and cultural history
of the late 20th century, a link in the history of the evolution of the built environment. Public
buildings of this period are not only the products of architectural heritage but are also sources
of the history of the development and architecture of each city, and therefore the history of the
modernisation process of India. With the attainment of independence, the idea of a unified and
homogenous 'Nation' became an ineluctable reality, and manifested itself in many forms of
artistic expression, including architecture 11. The architecture during the 1950s and subsequently
in the 1960s found increasing ambivalence about the notion of secularism and by the 1970s saw
a newfound sense of national identity drove a marked shift towards traditional and vernacular
building principles centred around the region & the architects. This idea centred on identity had
shifted the discourse of Indian architecture from the quasi-scientific social concerns of the early
post-independence period to a culturally based search for "Indianness." 12 The ideology of
modern through tradition became the philosophy of most Indian architects who echoed similar
sentiments through
their building designs. This found translation in use of traditional elements of Indian
architecture interpreted through modernistic expressions. Alongside being the reflection of the
socio-cultural and physical environment, Indian architecture was always embedded in the
principles of sustainable development from time immemorial. The modern architecture found
its roots in the traditional building typologies, designed in response to different climatic zones
and utilising the principles of architectural design.
Like in ancient heritage, the notions of symbolism and the idea of the local are two important
factors of modern Indian architecture. The idea of 'symbol' can be equated with the assertion of
a regionalist identity in modern architecture, alongside the quest for seeking an international
identity. The idea of 'local' in modern architecture dealt with specific issues such as climate,
behaviour, etc. rather than leaning on oversimplifications of history and progress. The modern
architectural heritage of India carries the social, cultural and economic traces of the period. It is
rooted in the memory of the city carrying the memory value of citizens.
5. Conclusion

The significant buildings of post-independence India are manifestations of the developmental

history of India and have made a substantial impact on the urban identity of the nation. These
landmarks were the physical manifestation of the social, cultural, economic and political
transformations of a developing country, reflecting the aspirations of the people yet rooted in
the values of traditions and the region. The architecture is an expression of opportunities and
newfound optimism during this period, having a strong association of tangible & intangible
values. It is significant that after seven decades of independence, we yet do not have a
scientific method, to assess the significance and value of modern architecture. It is critical to
the development of most emerging economies in the world and how they connect to all sectors
in the physical domain, giving identity to each one of them. The strong association of tangible
and intangible values of the architecture and the built environment of the mid-20th century
cannot be separated from our cultural heritage; they are the by-products of civilisation, the
ideology and cultural processes of India.
The values identified above should become the basis of establishing the assessment criteria and
designation framework of modern architectural heritage in India.

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