RAJ REWAL 1934 - Present

Indian Architect , Design Consultant , Urban Planner

This page intentionally left blank Previous page, top: interior of the Rewal House

Middle: Shadow play in the interiors of the Parliament Library. Below: Parliament Library - Colored marble floor pattern in the form of a yantra, an ancient Indian graphic that aids

meditation.

His architecture

Raj Rewal is known, primarily, for his humanist approach to architecture. His

work is built keeping in mind the pluralist Indian society, responding to demands

of urbanisation, cultural tradition and gives utmost importance to the craft of

building. He expertly combines sophisticated technology with a deep rooted

sense of history and context – creating building that strike a chord within us.

Harmonic Combinations:

His architecture reflects two value systems, which to the layman, seem highly

opposed. He melds the traditional system of hot, dry India – one of pattern

and ornament – with the Western Modernist system of abstract expression, with

the least possible discord.

While he incorporates structural innovation in big buildings, he excels equally in

creating softly nurturing spaces for everyday living.

Influence on work:

Ar. Rewal‘s works has its own range and grammar. His work (by

his own admission) has been greatly influenced by

contemporaries, such as Le Corbusier, Achyut Kanvinde and

Balkrishna Doshi. But unlike these architects, he has built largely

in one place and climate - Delhi, and hot dry regions of North

India.

Influences of traditional housing patterns in Jaisalmer and

{{{{_{{{, which he has extensively studied and written about,

figure largely in his mass housing schemes.

Broken-up forms, open courtyards and sociable living/ working

environments are integral approaches of his design.

Timeline

1939 – 1951 : Childhood spent in Delhi and Simla

1951 – 1954 : Attended the Delhi School of

Architecture

LONDON

1955 – 1961 : Completed formal training at the

Brixton School of Building, London

Post schooling, he worked as assistant manager in

avant garde theatre production.

He, then, became an associate of the Royal

Institute of British Architect (RIBA) and went on to

work in Michel Ecochards‘ office in Paris.

NEW DELHI

1962 : Set up practice in New Delhi

1963 – 1972 : Taught at the Delhi School of

Architecture

Other Career Milestones …

1972 : Became curator of the exhibition

‗Traditional Architecture in India‘ for the ‗Festival

of India‘ in Paris.

1985 : Founded the Architecture Research Cell

Top: A view of the Rewal home

Architectural Ideology

According to Raj Rewal, infusing emotion in building can help solve the

problem of building in a pluralistic society, such as India‘s.

Rasa and Rationalism:

He propagates a theory of rasa as his building strategy, where he states

that functional design should be inspired with ‗a particular flavour‘ or

mood. Also, according to him,

“The distinction that fine art has no practical use, decorative art no

symbolic meaning and utilitarian object no pretensions to beauty has been

the root cause of much of the banal architecture of the last 50 years”

Inset: The

decorative scheme on the underside of the domes of the

Parliament Library. Ar. Rewal lays stress on artisan crafts which

contribute to beautiful design that is intrinsically ‗Indian‘. Right: The geometrically inspired

decorative scheme of the Ismaili Centre at Lisbon.

Characteristic elements 1. Cluster housing, 2.Response to visual imagery, 3. Interlocking courtyards,

4. Narrow streets, 5. Roof terraces, 6. Gateways, 7. Textures and Materials

Above: Interior of the Permanent Exhibit Complex, New Delhi

CLUSTER HOUSING

Ar. Rewal‘s mass housing systems are arrived

at by creating a catalogue of dwelling types

and combining them in different ways .

They are then interlocked by means of

overhanging balconies, roof terraces,

cantilevered rooms, open courtyards, etc.

creating subtle distinctions in house types.

VISUAL IMAGERY

Creation of geometric systems and

responses to visual imagery are apparent in

Raj Rewal‘s architectural works. He has been

greatly responsible for the revolution in

geometric design systems.

Right: The Asian

games housing complex in New

Delhi Below: The

geometrical façade scheme

for the Ismaili Centre at Lisbon

Left: Asian Games housing scheme: Spaces for pedestrian and vehicular movement (indicated in grey)

“The interlocking courtyards at Fatehpur Sikri, Padmanabhapuram

and Khiva, with their varying scales to accommodate different

functions, embody principles of design which have important lessons

for contemporary public buildings, where people congregate.”

Above: Sketch of the Olympic Housing Complex IN France

Top: One of the courtyards in the Indian Parliament Library

COURTYARDS

Effects of lighting and cool breezes were

created in the Asian Games Village, through

central courtyards, a direct result of Ar.

Rewal‘s studies in Jaisalmer.

STREETS

In Ar. Rewal‘s mass housing schemes (eg: the

Asian Games Village and Sheikh Sarai Housing,

New Delhi), narrow, shaded streets link up a

variety of residential clusters. Thus the ‗cluster‘

is consciously broken up into small units that

incorporate pauses, rest stops and vistas.

ROOF TERRACES

These remain integral to his housing solutions.

The benefits of roof terraces include

•providing outdoor spaces on hot summer

nights

•Acting as an extension to upper level living

areas

•Absorbing heat during sunny winter days, to

keep nights warm.

Left: “Traditional housing in hot dry

climates is based on the roof terrace

as an essential feature of design.”

Inset: Shaded internal streets connecting various cluster courtyards.

“Each gateway is like the opening of a new chapter in a

book.”

Inset: Gateways formed by joining cantilevered rooms overhead

GATEWAYS

Ar. Rewal‘s gateways have been inspired from the gateways of

Jaisalmer which, over the ages, have denoted various housing

zones. They were traditionally built as sentinel posts and designed to

keep intruders out.

Ar. Rewal‘s gateways are formed by linking overhead functional

roof terraces or joining cantilevered rooms in adjoining apartments.

They serve to accommodate change while retaining continuity or

act as punctuation marks that open up a new series of spatial

experiences.

THE fabric OF DESIGN

Ar. Rewal‘s use of local and time-tested materials for hot dry

climates, such as ochre and rose sandstone, gain him points -

contributing immensely to the ‗Indian‘ness in his buildings. And

evoking the Mughal greats.

Above: Gateways in the Asian Games Village, denoting territory, are formed by linking functional overhead terraces. Left: Massing accentuated by deep shadows and contrast between grit finish walls and rubble masonry .

Indian Parliament Library Engineer’s India House

The Rewal Home Sheikh Sarai Housing

World Bank – Delhi Chapter Embassy Staff Housing

Permanent Exhibit Complex Ismaili Centre

National Institute of Immunology

Nehru Pavilion

rasa in design

This page intentionally left blank Previous page, top: Glass block in the Parliament library

Second: National Institute of Brain Research. Third: View of the Engineer‘s India House Below: Entry to the Ismaili Centre, Lisbon

Above: In the atrium, at the entrance to the library – natural light reduces the need for electrical lighting.

Right: Parliament Library - Interior

PARLIAMENT LIBRARY

In the words of Lord Stamfordham, private secretary to British King George V in the early 20th century,

New Delhi was designed to let Indians "see, for the first time, the power of Western science, art, and

civilization.“

TYPOLOGY : PUBLIC BUILDING

Ar. Rewal was asked to build the Indian Parliament Library, keeping in mind its colonial setting amongst

buildings designed to show the ‗power of Western civilisation‘. Accordingly, his design responds

thoughtfully - responding to its monumental context, while ingenious in originality. It displays high

technology with a regional expression. Ironically, though modern, and placed in Lutyens‘ Delhi, its

inspiration is pre -colonial.

INSPIRATION

•The mandala: The mandala has deep meaning and said to exist in temple architecture to achieve a

spiritual experience of one's connection to the cosmos. It thus serves the library‘s objective of quiet thought

and introspection.

•The Adinatha temple (1439 AD) at Ranakpur: Adinatha is square in plan, with cardinal axes meeting at the

center, leaving open-to-sky courtyards in the leftover spaces. In addition to being an icon of Indian

architecture, the courtyard plans admit daylight and have social and climatic advantages.

The Guru and the King …

“In a library that needs neither defense nor ceremony, such forms (interior open air spaces) seem to

symbolize an introversion characteristic of the ancient Indian guru.”

To give the Library an identity of its own while respecting the Parliament building (beside which it is set),

Ar.Rewal says he drew on Indian history and likened the relationship between the buildings to the

relationship between guru and king. A guru acknowledges the power of the king — neither confronting nor

submitting — and retains the strength of his integrity as a sage.

Located on a 10-acre (4-hectare) site, the Library can accommodate three million volumes on its two

basement floors. It has hi-tech networks and facilities for microfilm, multimedia, and satellite links.

The full-height central core of the building, formed at the point of intersection of the two axes, houses the

reading room for Members of Parliament, the research and archival storage, a committee room, and a

banquet hall. Beyond this central core are the courtyards, and, further beyond, separate entrance lobbies

occur for MPs, scholars, and the public.

PLAN

•Area: approx. 55,000 square meters

Inspired by pre-colonial Indian architecture, the building

has been designed with a square base and symmetrical

composition.

Due to site conditions and trees, the Northwestern corner

of the plan remains incomplete. Otherwise, the plan with

its courtyards and axes, imitates its historic precedents.

The corners of the incomplete square and nodes formed

at the ends of axes specify function.

As is traditional, the axes and the sides of the square form

corridors and outline the courtyards. Each courtyard

symbolizes one aspect of the Indian constitution.

•One is an amphitheater, symbolizing freedom of

expression.

•Another courtyard has a pool of water symbolizing

equality.

•A tree forms the focal point of the third courtyard,

representing social justice.

Above: Courtyard serving as an amphitheatre Top: Glass block in the floor illuminates two

basements below.

The domes are perhaps the building's most significant

feature. A bonus from Ar. Rewal‘s experiments in earlier

buildings, several domes of different sizes and types

make up the roof.

THE MAIN DOME:

It spans 25 meters, and is made entirely of glass. In spite

of Delhi‘s soaring temperatures. Ar. Rewal insisted on

glass to let in light.

Thus, specially developed reflective glass efficiently

reduces glare and heat build-up, letting in magical views

of the blue sky, the sun minus its heat and glare, and the

seasonal monsoon clouds.

The dome is formed at the point of intersection between

the building‘s two major axes. The point of intersection

projects up in the dome in the form of two bands formed

by the structural frame for the glass panels. The

remainder of the dome consists of a lattice of structural

frames held together by a network of steel cables

converging at key tension nodes.

Other domes are of various sizes, constructed of

lightweight fibre cement, bright steel lattice, tensile

cables, structural glass and glass bricks.

They are built of thin fiber-reinforced concrete shells, sometimes with inset glass panels.

Other structural elements of the building are of

reinforced concrete. The slabs are coffered to support

long spans. The diaphragm walls and the foundation

slab of the underground structure resist inward and

upward pressure from the water table through anchors

into the surrounding soil and the rocky substrate.

Above: Main dome serving as an apical reminder that we are at the intersection between the two main axes. Below: Dome profile

Top: View of the Engineer‘s India House Left: Façade treatment on the building

Extreme Left: View

ENGINEER’S INDIA HOUSE TYPOLOGY : OFFICES, YEAR: 1983

Located in the Bhikaiji Cama area in New Delhi, the

objective was to create an air-conditioned office space with

the least possible outlay and, thus, minimum running

expenses. It also needed to incorporate administrative,

design and financial services, and public relations offices.

These purely functional spaces have been effectively housed

in a 14 storey building.

Characterised by geometric systems, the very form of the

building has been derived with the aim of saving energy.

Design is based on four cores, containing lifts, staircases and

services. They are designed to cut down harsh glare from the

south west. The four cores act as major structural elements

and, along with four central shear walls, support an average

office floor of 54m x 24.6m.

This placement leaves a large hall in the middle for flexible

office planning. The stepped floors between cores and

extended floors to the east and west create a zone of

surface under shade, thereby reducing temperatures.

Thus, the structural cores, along with stepped floors act as a

large sun breaker.

THE REWAL HOUSE TYPOLOGY: RESIDENCE, YEAR: 1975

Two independent houses, one for the architect

and his family, the other for his parents, were

designed to be interrelated while providing

the required privacy.

Separate entrances and front lawns are

provided across an extremely narrow frontage

of 5m.

MATERIALS:

Use of materials has been limited to exposed

brick, painted white internally. Ceilings and

cantilevered stairs are of exposed concrete,

textured by wooden formwork during

construction.

Top: Living Spaces on multi-levels Below: Living space at higher level – cantilevered exposed concrete steps Extreme right: Double-height living space and entry

SHEIKH SARAI HOUSING, NEW DELHI TYPOLOGY: MASS HOUSING SCHEME, YEAR: 1982

It was planned as a low-rise, high density

housing scheme for the Delhi

Development Authority.

It has clearly demarcated areas for

pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

Keeping in mind the viability of

interaction in these spaces, he has

provided interlinked squares of varying

scales for community activities.

All unites have been provided with

courtyards or roof top terraces, where

possible. These subtle variations in a

basic housing unit, help create shaded

streets, courtyards and split level

platforms.

Above: Housing units in the Sheikh Sarai housing scheme Below: Demarcated areas for vehicular and pedestrian traffic (indicated in grey) Far right: Layout view of the entire housing complex

WORLD BANK, NEW DELHI OFFICE TYPOLOGY: OFFICES, YEAR: 1994

Ar. Rewal attempted to harmonize the new structure to its

surroundings and exploit its sensitive location for a modern

functional office.

The design is based on a central courtyard (seen right,

below)that allows natural light and ventilation to all rooms.

All office rooms, including workstations, either have exterior

views or look into the courtyard.

The design of the World Bank Office echoes the Lodhi

buildings of yore, where the building‘s classic symmetry

envelopes a sunken garden. It thus provides carefully

diffused light with maximum ventilation.

The scale of the court creates a zone of building under

shade , thereby reducing air conditioning loads. It acts as

an open area with a controlled microclimate, with

potential for interaction. It also functions as an open spill-

out for the lobby and exhibition spaces, and is frequently

utilised as a multipurpose arena.

Left: View of the roof terrace

Right, top: Balconies

wrapping the workspaces; Not the vertical lines

in façade treatment

Right, below: Interior

multifunctional courtyard

THE ISMAILI CENTRE, LISBON TYPOLOGY: PUBLIC BUILDING (MULTIPURPOSE)

The building was designed in cooperation

with the Portuguese architect Frederico

Valsassina. Located in a site of 18,000 sq.

meters and occupying an area of 5500 sq.

meters (the remaining occupied by green

spaces), the complex is composed of three

areas: institutional, community and

religious.

It assimilates architectural styles from

Lisbon's Mosterio dos Jeronimos, the

Fatehpur Sikri and the Alhambra.

It contains two jamat khanas, a community

hall, an amphitheatre, a National Council

chamber, and a Char Bagh – a direct

influence of ancient Persian gardens.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF IMMUNOLOGY TYPOLOGY: HOUSING COMPLEX

Ar. Rewal‘s National Institute of Immunology

Housing Complex comprises an institute

block, senior staff housing, junior staff

housing, lower staff housing, a lecture hall

complex, and an animal housing facility.

“The design solution for the Institute

reflects the potential for developing

apartments, that can be linked to form

clusters.”

Design essentially consist of individual

buildings/clusters arranged around

courtyards as discrete units that can be

interrelated. Clusters at the Institute are

linked together by pathways across

enclosures with constantly shifting axes

offering changing views into the distance.

Though the basic unit is somewhat rigid, the

individual units are distinct through varying

requirements of apartment size, and differing

assemblage of rooms.

Though unique, the buildings are unified

externally by façade treatment with

sandstone grit, parapet piercing, proportion

of doors, deep set windows and stone

flanking walls for the courtyard.

Above: Front elevation Below: The housing complex

EMBASSY STAFF HOUSING TYPOLOGY: MASS HOUSING, YEAR: 1994

It was constructed to provide housing for the service

personnel of the French Embassy.

Arranged in clusters of eight, the buildings had load

bearing walls supported on concrete slabs and detailed in

timber.

The two storey units were arranged around a square, with

a circular pathway accessing all units. Framed gateways

with pedestrian passages connecting the street to

individual garages clearly demarcate the central

enclosure. The narrow streets running throughout the

housing complex, both shaded and active, interconnect

the different open spaces.

Each two storey unit contains five residences, three on the

lower and two on the upper floor. Each dwelling unit has a

private enclosed garden and an outdoor living room at

the rear, reflecting the traditional British ‗terrace‘.

Anticlockwise, from right: •Units grouped around a central open space •Entry to the Upper floor units •Ground floor plan

PERMANENT EXHIBIT COMPLEX, NEW DELHI TYPOLOGY: PUBLIC STRUCTURE

The structure consisted of two halls, currently

known as the Hall of Nations and the Hall of

Industries.

The two buildings were linked at mezzanine levels

by a series of circulation ramps which , in turn,

enclosed an outdoor exhibition area. Sanitary

services were then housed under the ramps.

The Hall of Industries consisted of four space

frame structures, with a total span of 144 feet. The

Hall of Nations, however, consisted of a single

space frame spanning a total of 256 feet.

The external structure consisted of a sequence of

solids and voids , which act as a jali to filter in

natural sunlight, while minimizing glare.

Clockwise, from top: •Concrete Façade, close up •Exterior detail in the Hall of Nations: Solids and voids thermally protect interiors •Interior of the Hall of Nations

CIDCO HOUSING, BOMBAY TYPOLOGY: MASS HOUSING, YEAR: 1993

―The challenge of mass housing can be

approached as one long story or as a

series of interconnected episodes.‖

The scheme faces the challenge of providing low cost

housing for about 1000 units in Bombay. Envisaged as an

answer to the rampant burgeoning of slums in the area,

the design opts for a different kind of settlement pattern.

Rather than creating parallel monolithic blocks ‗of grim

dimension‘, the design is fragmented into smaller clusters

enclosing a variety of spaces (a Rewal characteristic).

These are cohesively arranged on the sloping side of a

hillock and strung together with pedestrian pathways.

Clockwise, from top: •The form of the tenement block enhances the courtyard and roof terraces, creating community spaces. •Interconnected spaces and entries to upper floors •Use of jali and red sandstone is a characteristic feature in Rewal‘s design.

Can architectural forms reawaken a sense of community?

Raj Rewal, on his housing solutions:

“The prototype is regard as the cluster system, and not the project itself. We incorporated more than

16 types of individual flats and house designs within the scheme, but the system we designed to create

public space, semi-public space and private space – important features in our climate and in our

culture – is what is prototypical. These different spaces correspond to different relationships among people.

One category of acquaintance is greeted on the street, but not taken into the privacy of the home. Another

category belongs to the mohalla, and with them, one has a closer relationship. Each category of relationship has its

corresponding category of social space. Whenever one designs mass housing one has to have some sort of

prototype like this in mind .Otherwise, one will again end up with the block and slab invented by the West and repeated

throughout the world, or terrace housing.”

Raj Rewal, on the colour in his housing schemes: (In the Asian Games Village), “we used a finish of stone pebbles or grit which is permanent. We

used monochromes of yellow, brown, orange and natural stone of the buildings themselves to avoid all-gray housing – one of the terrors I have seen elsewhere. Warm colours give variety, that was the

main thing. The colours will never change.”