ACHYUT KANVINDE

•Kanvinde was born in 1916 in a small village on the Konkan coast. Raised in a joint family in the village.

• Kanvinde had the calling of a painter and did enroll in an art school but the family decided that architecture would be a better profession for him.

• He entered the Architecture Department at Sir J.J. School of Art in 1935 then headed by Claude Batley, who was also the premier architect of the country. He passed out in 1941. 1943, he joined the newly formed Council for Scientific and Industrial Research as architect. •Achyut Kanvinde attended Harvard Graduate school of Design in 1945.

ACHYUT KANVINDE

1916

1935

Sir JJ college of arts

1945Harvard school of design

1966IIT KANPUR

1973

Doodhsagar dairy,Mehsana

1976Awarded padma shree

IIA’s Babu Rao Mhatre Gold Medal

1985

National ScienceCentreNew Delhi

1991

1993Great Masters Award from JK Industries Ltd.

ISKCON Temple, East of Kailash, Delhi 1998

TIMELINE

EXPIRIENCE UNDER CLAUDE BATLEY

Claude Batley introduced Kanvinde to the world of architecture. This was the period when Kanvinde learned to appreciate the values of Indian architecture. He was familiarized with• Its origins•Architecture based on the exigencies of local climate, building materials and social conditions•literate fusion of Western classical order with Indian building traditions•climatological principles In 1934, he published a volume of measured drawings of traditional ‘Indian’ building and in his lectures he tried for an informed Kanvinde remembers him as "a very important man in shaping the outlook of many architects of my generation, also of the earlier generation“

EXPERIENCE UNDER WALTER GROPIUS

THE BAUHAUS STYLEStudying under walter gropius, kanvinde developed a whole new outlook towards architecture. He was greatly influenced by the Bauhaus style, which later on was adopted in his various buildings. Kanvinde was initially unprepared for the space concepts taught in Gropius’s school. Having studied under Batley, he was not conversant with the progressive imagery and techniques of the International style. But progressively what he was much affected by was the social order and the optimism implied by the Modernist paradigm.

TIMELINE OF HIS WORKS 1954 - 1964

Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad

Harivallabdas House, AhemdabadCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research

Ahmedabad Textiles Industries Research Association

Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra Bangalore (1965)

IIT Kanpur Campus (1966)

Doodhsagar Dairy ,Mehsana (National Dairy Development Board) (1973)

Institute of Rural Management, Anand (1979)

Nehru Science Center, Mumbai (1985)

National Science Center, New Delhi (1991)

The various Bauhaus characteristics visible in Kanvinde's works would be• Asymmetry• Blocky• Cubic shapes• Smooth, flat plain, undecorated surfaces•‘Flat’ roofs• Adoption of steel-framed or reinforced-concrete post-and-slab.

Kanvinde played with space and form and much more importance to natural light.He believed that “the relationships of the parts and materials of the building are a working morality.

STYLE- BRUTALISM & REGIONALISMBy the end of 1960s Kanvinde’s expressive architecture was variously interpreted as "an architectural expression that reflected the culture and aspirations" and "clearly reflected the rise of the Brutalist polemic of architecture.” Expressed Concrete structure in combination with brick became the dynamic determinant of form and order. Here the paradox is that what (Brutalism) in the West was popular for the dynamism and the aesthetic of vigour, in neo-Gandhian India of 1970s is regarded a realistic and expressive product of India.

• 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 design.

• The Doodhsagar dairy is monstrous, raw, and probably one of the first outbursts of what can be called Kanvinde’s brutalism. The form is very rough, and blocky.

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

• The grid based spatial organisation 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 farmers.

Rhythmic Ventilation shaftsSlit windows

Graphic Bands

Centrally located academic block

Vehicular movement

Pedestrian movement

• Elevated pedestrian walkway• Sheltered and yet openness• Protection from hot sun yet allowing

breezes

IIT KANPUR

The Bauhaus influence in Kanvinde’s style is clearly visible in the buildings of IIT Kanpur.

•cubic shapes•smooth, flat plain, undecorated surfaces•complete elimination of all mouldings and ornament•‘flat’ roofs

Terrace

Terrace

Computer

• Reveals the internal functions in a building as separate masses.• Arranged in ways that were functional from inside and elegant from outside.• Kanvinde strongly believed that the elevation of a

structure should be defined by the functions inside.

National Science Center, New Delhi, India (1991) Situated in the vicinity of old monuments of Delhi providing a new fabric to the city and at the same time feeling of the ancient building.

•A set of vertical volumes that rise gradually- this buildings is visually appealing, and unimposing. It has a large grand flight of steps on its entrance.•The skylights- which are the dominant highlight of the design are a common repeating element in many of his works- such as the Doodhsagar Dairy, and the Nehru Science Center, Mumbai. •The building seems to have a simple & efficiently designed structural system, and a functional approach in its layout.•The building accommodates a complex of workshops, library, lecture halls and observatory.

•Site Location- Bhairon Road, Adjacent Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.• Site Area- 7000m2 •Materials Used: RCC frame, brick infill plastered in a fine stone grit finish.

Harivallabdas HouseAhmedabad, India (1964)

Distinct living modules are arranged under a sweeping parasol and sensitively sited in a garden setting. We can clearly understand the internal functions of this building by observing it from the outside- as they appear as separate masses. These are arranged in ways that are functional from inside and elegant from outside.

•Site Location- Ahemdabad.•Site Area- 1200m2 •Materials Used: RCC frame, brick and grit finish.

•Visual appeal- due to its divided massing, their proportions and horizontality.•Modern for its time- built in 1964.•Exposed circulation spaces•Dull neutral colors used, like in most of his other works.

CONCLUSION•Kanvinde’s career spanned a period of about 50 years. It was a prolific career in that the scale and number of projects he worked on from the beginning are incomparable. •There are infinite number of concerns, influences and traditions that have shaped Kanvinde’s works. A much deep-probing understanding of his life and his work responsive to his larger interests and concerns seems important to clarify the important phase of the political and social process in the creation in the new country which he shaped and guided. Humility and reticence are acclaimed hallmarks of his persona, which is probably one of the reasons his works have not been as widely known as they could have been. •He gave his attention to the students of architecture, and was passionately involved with them. He lectured at SPA, CEPT and JJ amongst other colleges.

“In each of his buildings, whether residential, commercial or government complexes, one can see an attempt to break away from traditional architectural design and yet, design them keeping in mind all the aspects conducive to a great building (such as climate, use of space, orientation and aesthetics),” revealed Doshi to a packed auditorium.

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