The journey of

ACHYUT KANVINDE
1

HISTORY
2

EARLY LIFE
Kanvinde was born in Achara,
in
the
Konkan
region
of
Maharashtra, in 1916 in a large
family. His mother died when he was
two and his father was an arts
teacher in Bombay. He was raised
by his large extended family in the
seclusion of the village, his father
being away in Bombay where he was
an art teacher in schools.
EDUCATION

Kanvinde

Kanvinde had the calling of a painter and did enrol in

an art school but the family decided that architecture
would be a better profession for him, a living could be
earned more easily. so entered the Architecture
Department at Sir J.J. School of Art in 1935, the first of
the three existing architecture programs in the country
then. It was then headed by Claude Batley, who was also
the premier architect of the country.
Kanvinde graduated with distinction in 1941, but with
the tumults of the World War and the rapidly spreading
national struggle for independence, didnt get a steady job
till 1943 when he joined the newly formed CSIR as an
architect. Achyut Kanvinde attended Harvard Graduate
school of Design in 1945 becoming the first Indian
architect to have studied in America.
3

EXPERIENCE UNDER CLAUDE BATLEY

-TRADITIONAL INDIAN ARCHITECTURE
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
IIM Ahemdabad
climatological principles
BATLEYS TEACHINGS
Batley in his teaching and his active practice maintained
this new ideal of Architecture: it was a universal craft tailored
rationally to regional parameters. In 1934, he published a
volume of measured drawings of traditional Indian building
and in his lectures he tried for an informed appreciation of the
similarities and differences of Indian and European classical
buildings. In his practice he avoided the loud, revolutionary
eclat of the machine-age imagery popular in the west in
favour of an archeologically literate fusion of Western
classical order with Indian building traditions and coupled with
sound climatological principles. His works and his thinking
were obvious models for his students
4

Batley on Indian architecture,"its origins,

developments and decadence had
followed the perfectly normal course of all
the other world architectures and was
inevitably based on the exigencies of local
climate, building materials and social
conditions".
Kanvinde
remembers him as "a very important
man in shaping the outlook of many
architects of my generation, also of the
earlier generation"
A TURNING POINT IN KANVINDE S LIFEStarting from 1930s Indian pioneers anticipating the
inevitable independent Indian Republic, were planning an
ambitious series of Scientific and Technical institutions. This
culminated in CSIR being formed in 1942. Plans were
made to have the trained persons to translate these
dreams to reality; technical education having been kept
under much control in the colonial state in contrast with
scientific or humanistic education, there were no Indian
architects and engineers qualified to take these roles.
Hence from CSIR, Kanvinde was chosen to do studies in
planning and design of laboratory buildings as the first
group of people under the Government of India fellowship.
Kanvinde joined Harvard Masters programme of
Architecture program in 1945 which was then being much
acclaimed for its new fountainhead of functional and social
promise of Modern Architecture under its migr director

Walter Gropius
5

Experience under WALTER GROPIUS

THE BAUHAUS STYLE
Studying under walter gropius, kanvind 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 Gropiuss
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.
Gropiuss insistence for using
space as a tool for expressing
universal human values was
what left most lasting influence
on his mind.
Thus, Kanvinde adopted
the progressive imagery
and techniques of the
International style

Chief Architect of CSIR, 1947

Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research

He graduated with a thesis on science laboratories, on

which he had worked for most of his two years of study
and as planned, returned to India in 1947 and was
appointed as the Chief Architect of CSIR.

Vikram Sarabhai

During this period as the chief

architect of CSIR, Kanvinde was
influenced
by
many
famous
personalities
including
Vikram
Sarabhai. He had a wide multidisciplinary vision, with his wife
Mrinalini, a renowned exponent of
classical dances he had even started
Darpana, an institution of the
performing arts.
During the construction of PRL,
he met Kanvinde and became a close
friend. He had helped found the
ATIRA to do applied research of
direct interest to industry and was its
director. Kanvinde, naturally was the
person chosen to build this institute
which made him come in contact with
the Ahmedabad textile- industrial
society

VERGHESE KURIEN

The first buildings to come up as the chief architect were

ATIRA at Ahmedabad, completed in 1952
CSIR Headquarters at New Delhi, completed in 1953
PRL at Ahmedabad, completed in 1953
CEERI at Pilani, completed in 1955
CEERI

ATIRA
PRL

CSIR
8

Kanvinde and Rai,

Private practice with architect Shaukat Rai
1955

The new potential of pursuing his own architectural

vision made Kanvinde resign from his job in 1955 to found
his practice with Rai. Sarabhai and others ensured a
steady flow of works. The first buildings from this
association were
Darpana Dance School, at Ahmedabad, completed in 1962
Hariballabhdas House, at Ahmedabad, completed in 1968

University of Agricultural
Sciences, Bangalore

National science
centre, New Delhi

With Mallika and Dr. Sarabhai, Kanvinde

gradually developed a common vision of
architectural profession in the young nation
tied with the other arts and humanities
9

KANVINDES WORKS WITH DR. SARABHAI

The relation with Sarabhai having so deepened;
Kanvinde was now being consulted on various matters.
Dr.Sarabhai had helped to found the IIM in Ahmedabad in
1962, and worked as its honorary director. In this
ideologically charged context, Kanvinde had an important
role in Louis Kahns selection as the architect.

IIM in Ahmedabad
Dr. Sarabhai died in 1971 and a quarter of a century of
a memorable association came to an end. . Between 1947
to 1971, Dr. Sarabhai was responsible for creating more
than 25 institutions in various fields of science,
management, education, research and performing arts and
Kanvinde was intimately involved with shaping most of
those. Dr. Sarabhai was largely responsible in making Indian
Space program as strong as it is today . The fact that
Kanvinde earned the confidence and respect of such men
reveals as much about the architect as about the patrons.
10

KANVINDE WORKS with VERGHESE

KURIEN
Verghese Kurien, another of the nation builders,
began working with the farmers in 1949, after
returning to India from Michigan State University, He
organised a cooperative organization to help market
milk directly to the consumers. After years of
struggle, the cooperative began to produce dramatic
results. In 1965 the NDDB was created replicate the
program on a nationwide basis

For his institution's

headquarters in Anand, Kurien
turned to Kanvinde who started
this major complex in 1967. In
1974, a major production
facility at Mehsana was
constructed In both the places,
with an efficient functional
organisation, a major concern
was to respond to the sociocultural matrix of the users of
the cooperative complex, who
were poor farmers in a
predominantly
agrarian
economy.

VERGHESE KURIEN

11

In addition to leading NDDB in its quest to

improve world nutrition, Dr. Kurien played a key role
in many other organizations. He is the chairman of
the IRMA, which Kanvinde constructed from 1978.
Currently a new phase in NDDB is being designed.
With Kuriens patronage, Kanvinde had a lifetime
involvement with this industry demonstrating how
architects of vision need visionary clients to realise
their ideas.

Milk processing plant, Mehsana

12

THE0RY &
PHILOSOPHY
13

The ARCHITECTURAL
INTERPRETER

Jawaharlal Nehru

India attained independence on

August15, 1947 with the new
Prime Minister thundering from the
constituent assembly session the
new national agenda "to create a
new nationunfettered by the
traditions of the past"Though
with the absolutist promise of
Nehrus rapid industrialisation,
mechanisation, and growth of the
new country, the modernist
vocabulary
was
often
synonymous, it had to contend
with Gandhis idealist vision of
reliance on traditional technology,
rural economy, frugality and
moderation.
Thus Kanvinde
strategy became a

Mahatma Gandhi

Strict modernist vocabulary

while preserving and reinterpreting
Indian tradition

CSIR became the important vehicle for realising the Prime

Ministers vision of a new India where science and technology
played a central role. Kanvinde, in turn, became the architectural
interpreter of the vision. The building programme was ambitious;
targets were even set for turnovers of industries to be set up
based on research carried out in the laboratories.
14

the Bauhaus-international m
the Bauhaus was a
style "unity ofTheartaimandof technology"
to give
artistic direction to industry, which was
as lacking in 1919 as in the mid-19th
century, when the Arts and Crafts
movement began.
Kanvinde was
introduced to Bauhaus by non other
than Walter Gropius.

800px-BauhausType

Among his most important

ideas was his belief that all
design whether of a chair, a
building, or a city should be
approached in essentially the
same
way:
through
a
systematic
study
of
the
particular needs and problems
involved, taking into account
modern construction materials
and
techniques
without
reference to previous forms or
styles

Functionalists believed that

the shape and form of a building should emerge out of the
logical arrangement of spaces inside and not from any
predetermined idea like symmetry.
a building should only have features that were functionally
necessary, and no non-functional decoration.
Use of the latest technologies and industrial products in
construction such as RCC and industrial doors and windows. 15

The various Bauhaus characteristics

visible in Kanvinde's works would be

asymmetry
severe
blocky
cubic shapes
smooth, flat plain, undecorated
surfaces
complete elimination of all
mouldings and ornament
flat roofs
very free planning
adoption of steel-framed or
reinforced-concrete post-and-slab

16

GANDHI KRISHI
VIGYAN
KENDRA,1913
latest technologies
products in
construction such as
RCC

ATIRA at
Ahmedabad, 1952
repetitive
arrangements of
windows

NATIONAL SCIENCE
CENTRE, DELHI
asymmetrical, cuboid
forms

17

IIT KANPUR

The
lightn
ess of
logic
Rationalist that he was, Kanvinde liked to reveal the
internal functions in a building (for example, office block,
walkway, auditorium) as separate masses. These were
then arranged in ways that were functional from inside
and elegant from outside.
This analytical approach is evident in the buildings
at IIT Kanpur that he designed in the 1950s.
Here he clearly separates parts of buildings according
to their material, and also achieves a delicacy of effect.
The library, for instance, is a Reinforced Cement
Concrete (RCC) frame with infill walls in exposed brick.
By inserting gaps and shadows between the concrete
and brick components, Kanvinde was able to make rough
and heavy materials look light.

18

National Insurance Academy,

pune

The
light
ness
of
logic
That lightness spoke of the primacy of ideas over
matter, of logic over contingency. It was a theme that
never really left his architecture.
It appears at the National Insurance Academy at Pune
late in his career. On the one hand, the elevated walkways
speak of a desire to float above the irregularity of the
ground condition. On the other, they speak of efficient
movement almost like on a conveyor belt.
Either way, it is possible to
detect a persistent reluctance
to embrace a site or a context
wholeheartedly in much of
Kanvindes work.
Yet, his work is often
responsive to subtle needs of
dwellers even if within the
terms of a given problem.
19

Milk processing plant, Mehsana

Function
with
feelingRational
yet
humane
He was a self-effacing person, but his work helped
shape some of the things we automatically expect in
buildings today
spaces were humane
you felt welcome and
comfortable.
efficient function ,no
wastage of space, elegant
Kanvinde himself achieved this by seeking
sculptural ideas in the functional needs of a building. For
instance, Mehsana near Ahmedabad, he arranged
ventilation shafts into an elegant arrangement of towers
that make this industrial facility look elegant.

20

IIT KANPUR

b-iit-kanpur, httpwww.admissiondiary.com

Rational
yet
humane
size and
scale

At one level, the humaneness is about size and

scale. Even in more technologically-oriented projects,
Kanvinde always tried to bring buildings down to a human
scale.
At IIT Kanpur, it was the slenderness of concrete
members and the lightness of brick forms that helped
The comfort of the
people in the working
environment
was
of
utmost importance to
Kanvinde. The building
block was broken down
into small office spaces
opening into private
terraces which acted as
relaxation spaces.
21

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BANK MANAGEMENT

(NIBM) Pune, 1985.

Sense of
placeconnection
to the built
heritage in
a locality
At another level, humaneness can be about a
sense of place, and a connection to the built heritage in
a locality. Both emerge together at NIBM, perhaps
uniquely in Kanvindes body of work.
There, Kanvinde chose to build in the local basalt stone
(Deccan trap), common in older architecture in
Maharashtra.
He also spread the low rhythmic buildings across a well
landscaped site in such a way that walking from one set
of spaces to another involves passing by (or through)
gardens. From inside and out, the campus offers a
series of comforting continuities across domains that
are usually separated in urban life. The building thus
redeems some of the promise of early modernism that
had fired the young Kanvinde.
22

IIT KANPUR
23

THE ACADEMIC BLOCK

The Indian Institute
of Technology was set up
in industrial city of Kanpur
in 1959. IIT Kanpur has a
sprawling campus spread
over an area of approx. 4.3
square km, just north-west
of the city. Among all IITs,
IIT Kanpur has the second
largest campus (1,055
acres).
The campus is a selfcontained community, with
residences for students,
faculty, and regular staff.

Kanvinde believed in
healthy interaction between
the students and the
teachers
and
within
students.
He
provided
various courtyards and
informal
spaces
which
encouraged interaction.

Places of
Interaction

24

IIT KANPUR- SITE PLAN

ACADEMIC BLOCK
WAS
centrally
located by Kanvinde
He
provided
Segregated
Pedestrian
and
Vehicular traffic. The
yellow
marked
pathways depict the
vehicular
traffic
whereas
the
blue
marked pathways are
pedestrian.
The
pedestrian
pathways
form
a
network through the
entire
academic
complex
The vehicular traffic
is segregated from
the
academic block to
Single
entityavoid noise.
elevated pedestrian
walkway

25

Pedestrian
movement system

Elevated pedestrian walkway

Sheltered and yet openness

Protection from hot sun yet allowing breezes
ELEVATED PATHWAYS are the typical features
provided in the campus of IIT Kanpur. They connect various
building blocks in the campus. They emerge and end in the
building itself. The pathways have been designed keeping in
mind the hot climate of kanpur so as to provide shelter and
protection

26

The Bauhaus
influence in Kanvindes
style is clearly visible in
the buildings of IIT
Kanpur.

FACULTY BUILDING

LECTURE HALL COMPLEX

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

The common
characteristics in the
buildings for example-

LIBRARY

Exposed red and brick

curtain
walls
Exposed
concrete frames
provide uniformity to the
buildings
27

Respecting the climatological

conditions

BUILDING
STRUCTURESsheltered spaces

Kanvinde always respected the local climate of

the site in consideration. He created various sheltered
spaces around and within the buildings to provide shade
against the harsh summer sun

A view of the library

in IIT Kanpur showing
the sheltered pathways
and the spaces which
could also be used as
interaction spaces

28

Computer centre, IIT Kanpur

terrace

Research

Research

Conf
erenc
e

Comput
er

Key
punch

First floor PLAN

Researc
h
Compute
r
resear
ch

Computer

terrace

Ground floor PLAN

revealed 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.
Unnecessary
ornamentation
were
avoided.

Elevation

29

nvironment Science dept of IIT Kanpur-

ive star rated building by GRIHA

The

SustainabilityLocal Climate

Environment
Science dept of IIT
Kanpur, a five star
rated building is the
crown of Kanvinde's
works in the field of
sustainability.
Sun path analysis
Appropriate design of
external shades
Efficient glazing
81 % area is daylight

The various
building blocks are
arranged in a zigzag
pattern keeping in
mind the position of
the
sun
during
different times in a day
so that every block
receives
maximum
sunlight
30

ACHYUT KANVINDEThe Architect

31

KANVINDE- THE MODERN INDIAN" ARCHITECT.

when we approach the prevalent
interpretations and descriptions of Kanvindes works,
a sense of marvel cant be avoided at the complex
associations and narratives behind their simplistic
definitions. Kanvinde has been often referred as a
"modern Indian" architect.
In their book written to
"attempt an impartial appraisal
extending to the historical
context from which, the
architectural expression of
India is evolving", Bhatt and
Scriver assert that

"(his) early buildings were

competent straightforward renditions of the
Bauhaus aesthetic by a young convert to
Gropiuss notions of architectural space
defined by function",
Meanwhile introducing one of Kanvindes works in an Indian
journal, Kalamdani claims that

"(he) is one of the few architects

who
has
consciously
attempted
an
application
of
the
values
of
early
modernismRemaining
relatively
unperturbed by passing fancies, swings of the
pendulum, or the so-called vagaries of time".
32

Kanvinde neo Gandhian Brutalism

By the end of 1960s Kanvindes expressive
architectural palate of spatial and structural system as
observed in his IIT, Kanpur and later in NDDB, Anand
commissions were variously interpreted as

"an architectural expression that

reflected the culture and
aspirations"
"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. In retrospect, that style shows
a remarkable similarity with the brute morphology of
vernacular architecture of various parts of India.

IIT Kanpur

33

KANVINDE VIEWS HIS OWN WORK AS A CHANGING

PROCESS

"The crux of the matter is that we

observe and assimilate and in the process
discover ourselves. What we try to achieve
or pursue in terms of aesthetics is a
changing process. The aesthetics is
essentially a conduct; aesthetics and ethics
are the
products
of the
thing
In this
process there
are same
two aspects
of his formative
years that are manifested in his work
On the one hand, he was raised in a rural environment
where the tradition and moral conduct was nurtured.
He was catapulted into the world of technology, avantgardism at Harvard. In rural India, the personal and the
concrete were highly valued; (Fig.22) while in Gropiuss school
the collective and the abstract were emphasised

The interactions of
these two aspects of
his experience and
training constitute the
essence
of
his
evolution.

34

BALKRISHNA DOSHI ON KANVINDE

Speaking at the first
Architect Achyut Kanvinde
Memorial Lecture, Balkrishna
Doshi hailed him as the
pioneer of modern architecture
in
India

Although he came from an art deco

architecture background, there was an
aspiration in him, an aspiration to do
something different in a country where things
were changing at a fast pace, everyday,
I believe as an architect, you cannot
create what you are not, and going by this
diktat, Kanvinde came across as a humane,
sensitive individual. His buildings spoke
volumes about his humanity and also indicated
that he was searching for his own self, through
his works,
It was a time when everyday
something new was being created and India
was just coming to terms with its newlyacquired independent status. Kanvinde gave
full rein to his innate creativity in such a
charged environment,
35

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),
His ultimate concern was for his
profession and for society and that came
through quite effortlessly in all his works.
Kanvinde traveled extensively across the
country and always made it a point to carry
books and magazines along. He used to say the
long travels gave him time to read, reflect and
introspect. Kanvindes stellar contribution can
be summed up succinctly as that depicting
plasticity, humility and humanity,

36

KANVINDE- THE HUMANITARIAN

There are infinite number of concerns,
influences and traditions that have shaped Kanvindes
works and his assimilation and self-discovery is
drawing him closer to his self, an elusive identity
hidden and revealed by the palimpsest of human
existence. 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 one of the
reasons his works have not been
as widely known as they could be.
Early this year, addressing the
Indian architectural educators, he
suggested, " The role which the
schools have to play is to expose
students to various situations and
train them to cultivate and
appreciate values so that they can
experience and sharpen their
senses through observation and
practice". In the autumn of his
distinguished life, his humanity and
concerns need to be better
understood.
37

Kanvinde- An
architect less
acclaimed for

It was Kanvinde and not as

is widely believed Le Corbusier in
his work in Chandigarh, who first
introduced Modernism and the
aesthetics of Function into the
dormant
Indian
Architectural
scene. What Kanvinde introduced
was the Modern legacy of rational
and pure structure.
The state sponsored
vision of New India, as
Kanvinde had himself translated
into architecture failed to offer
this identity. Le Corbusiers
Chandigarh had by this time
been completed and these
persons were sceptic of its
wide-ranging acclaim and its
relevance..
These concerns made Kanvinde organise the
Lalit Kala Academy seminar in 1959 where Nehru
himself addressed and responded to the
professionals debate

38

Opening the discussion, Kanvinde observed that

"Our architectural expression is in a

most confused state as there is neither clear
thinking
nor
definite
ideologythe
architects who are confronted with problems
peculiar to modern functional design have
to, at the same time, create an architectural
expression that would reflect the presentday culture of India"
Nehru retorted with "you may agree or
disagree with what has been
attempted at Chandigarhbut it
has changed your lives"

39

Kanvinde- critical acclaims

Kanvinde and Rai,
was one of the most
influential and productive
architectural practices of
India. His works have been
much discussed in India and
often emulated and he has
himself
received
much
personal recognition and
professional accolade.
The forgotten architect
However neither in the international architectural
discourse nor in the standard 20th century architectural
historiographic literature have they been even
mentioned. It is even more intriguing to find that they
have rarely been discussed in the publications of last few
decades when there was a spurt in the interest in nonWestern, regional architecture and built work from the
Indian subcontinent were noticed for the first time
outside India. Moreover in the actual cases that they
were discussed they have been interpreted as per the
predilection(s) of the author(s) and categorised to
conform to one or the other of the prevalent architectural
movements. They have not received the critical attention
that they deserve.
40

PORTFOLIOES
President of the Indian Institute of Architects
(1974-6).
Chairman of the Scientific and Finance Section
of the Central Building Research Institute,
Roorkee, (1970-75).
served on juries for national and international
competitions and projects
lectured at the schools of architecture in New
Delhi, Ahmadabad and Bombay.

AWARDS

1975 received the Padma Shree, a

national award for excellence
1985 the Gold Medal of the Indian
Institute of Architects.

41

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Wikipedia
F:\A.P Kanvinde\Achyut_Kanvinde.htm
F:\A.P Kanvinde\alofsin.html
F:\A.P
Kanvinde\article_sick_buildg_syndrome.html
F:\A.P Kanvinde\gkvk information.html
F:\A.P Kanvinde\New CSE Building,
F:\theory of design\indian-institute-oftechnology-kanpur_files\a.htm
F:\A.P Kanvinde\IMAGES\webmap,
httpwww.iitk.ac.in.gif
BOOK REFERENCE
Campus design in India
and Miller

Kanvinde

Submitted byTarannum oberoi

Romal garg

42