![]() ![]() The building has no inherent formal meaning. We need to see beyond numbers, requirements, and energy efficiency. However, function is a low-hanging fruit when it comes to designing symbolic public buildings for a country such as India. The Bharat Mandapam does fulfil all the functional requirements that the government might have envisioned. The building has spacious meeting rooms and convention halls and infrastructural capabilities that make it “state-of-the-art” or, to use a more attractive term, “world class”. It has a large amphitheatre which, apparently, outdoes the Sydney Opera House. It meets the functional needs of a convention centre as these have evolved over time. The building expands the outdated facilities of the old Pragati Maidan complex. There was another set of meanings that the government provided. Historian Mustansir Dalvi called it the culmination of Nehruvian infrastructure building that began with the Bhakra Nangal Dam.īut interestingly, not everything was religious. According to Rewal, the brief given to him was to showcase India’s self-reliance and ability to create cutting-edge infrastructure. The Hall of Nations was 246 ft by 246 ft of uninterrupted exhibition space, the largest in the country, made possible by the use of space frames of reinforced concrete members. The design was a result of Rewal’s exceptional ability to abstract forms and Mahendra Raj’s structural design genius. The Hall of Nations, built in 1972 to celebrate India’s 25 years of Independence, was actually a marvellous building. Between this noise of grandiose marvellousness, we must dissect the meanings that the building carries and how they have changed from the ideas behind the Hall of Nations, Raj Rewal and Mahendra Raj’s iconic building that was brought down to make way for Bharat Mandapam. Industrialist Anand Mahindra went on to say that the old Pragati Maidan complex was a “source of embarrassment”. The building has been called an “architectural marvel”. On July 26, the Bharat Mandapam, a new convention centre in Pragati Maidan, was inaugurated.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |