Raj Rewal

❝ W H E N T R A D I T I O N M E E T S I N N OVAT I O N ❞
One of the India's best-known architects, Raj
Rewal is recognized internationally for buildings
that respond sensitively to the complex demands
of rapid urbanization, climate and culture. In a
country that is both developing and
industrialized, whose architectural inheritance is
ancient and recent and whose society is
conservative and pluralist.

Rewal's work combines sophisticated technology

and a sense of history and context, imparted not
only by design but by local material such as ochre
and rose sandstone, evoking the great Mogul
monuments.
 Introduction
• D.O.B.- 24 November, 1934
• Place Of Birth: Hoshiarpur , Punjab , India
• Education :
1. Schooling :- Harcourt Butler Secondary School,
Shimla (1939- 1951) .
2. Graduation :- Delhi School of Architecture, New
Delhi (1951-1954) .
3. 1955 -1961 - Attended the Architectural
Association School for 1 year in London.
4. Completed his formal professional training at
Brixton School of Building, London.
• He worked as an architectural asst. in
various practices in London & as a
theatre scenery designer in the evening.
• He became associate of the Royal
Institute of British Architects (RIBA) .
• 1961-1962 : Worked in the office of
Michel Écochard Architects, Paris.
• 1962 : Returned to New Delhi to set up
his own architectural practice.
• 1963-1972 : Taught at Delhi School of Architecture.

• 1974 : Opened a second office in Tehran, Iran.

• 1985 : Founded the Architectural Research Cell with Ram

Sharma.

• 1986 : Curator of the exhibition “Traditional Architecture in

India” for the festival of India in Paris.
• He completed his professional education in Europe.
• He had 3 encounters which shaped his architectural ideology which followed for the rest of his life.
o First encounter, he relates to his interest in structures which he developed during the review of his diploma
projects.
o Second one accounts on his working experience that he gained while he was working as an assistant manager for
Avante Grade theatre productions in London. As a set designer for the drama shows, he learnt that each dramatic
work had a particular character which he interpreted as the rasa of the building.
o Third encounter, he worked with Michel Écochard in Paris, before beginning his own architectural practice where
he learned the principles of Urban design and Planning.
Influences
RAJASTHAN OLD TOWNS TRADITIONAL HAVELIS

of urban planning & building

technology

ANCIENT BUILDINGS MODERN BUILDINGS WESTERN THEORIES

Role Models Le Corbusier

Charles Correa

Louis I. Kahn
Philosophy
“Tradition should not be approached for its
underlying order, not for its superficial effects, it
should be rethought in terms that are right for the
possibilities and limitations of the present social
order”
• Rewal’s designs have some things in common with those of his
contemporaries Charles Correa, B.V. Doshi and Achyut Kanvinde—
such as broken-up forms, open courtyards and sociable living or
working environments. But Rewal’s work has its own range and
grammar.

• Architectural Theory - Buildings should respond to complex

demands of rapid urbanization, climate & culture.

• Concept - Base of designing housing is traditional architecture of

India and a dual concern for a building’s expressiveness by means of
Philosophy
incorporating historical precedents into urban design.

• Critical Regionalism- An approach to architecture in the

80’s that countered place lessness and lack of meaning
Raj Rewal emphasized on topography, light and climate
rather than scenography Critical regionalism seeks
architectural traditions deeply rooted in local condition
that results in intelligent and appropriate architecture
• Rewal has developed a distinctive grammar of his own. . This
grammar reflects two apparently opposed value systems:
• the traditional one of the hot and dry parts of India, with its taste for
pattern and ornament,
• And the Western Modernist one of abstract expression.

• Rewal has been able to combine the possibilities that each one offers
with the least discord. This reflects a concern for climatic sensitivity
and energy efficiency. He is pained to see developers investing in
glass. “Glass is for colder climates. Its transparency is nullified in hot
weather as you have to cover it with heavy curtains. As you shut the
door to nature, the cost of air conditioning goes up substantially.” Philosophy
• Rewal’s grammar uses some of the principles of
traditional architecture in Rajasthan — upper floors
project outwards to shade lower walls, jalis cut glare or
improve a façade. He uses the same material — sandstone
— often, but as cladding for RCC (reinforced cement
concrete) and masonry structures rather than structural
work. In effect, Rewal reinterprets traditional stone
architecture in modern brick and RCC. British High
Commission Housing-New Delhi Engineers Indian
House, New Delhi
• He has dealt largely with areas of similar climate such as Delhi and Jaipur, which are hot and dry.

• The main problem of critical regionalism is to seek answers to the question of Paul Ricour: "How to
be modern and to continue the tradition, how to revive an old dormant civilization as part of
universal civilization."
Features-
CLUSTERING OF BUILDINGS (ASIAN
GAMES VILLAGE)
Features-
COURTYARDS PROVIDING PUBLIC
SPACE WITHIN THE BUILDING.
(ASIAN GAMES VILLAGE)
Features-
SCATTERING OF TERRACES
PERMITTING YET ANOTHER SET OF
ACTIVITIES( SHEIKH SARAI HOUSING)
Features-
STREETS : NARROW, SHADED ,
BROKEN UP INTO SMALL UNITS
CREATING PAUSES, POINTS OF REST
& CHANGING (SHEIKH SARAI)
Features-
GATEWAYS : ALLOW FOR A CHANGE
& CONTAIN A CONTUNITY,
BRIDGES FORMED BY LINKING 2
NEIGHBOURING HOUSES (ASIAN
GAMES VILLAGE)
 • Sandstone - Gives traditional yet modern
look ( used in public buildings )

Materials • Concrete- Housing complexes

• Brick Cladding- Residence

PROJECTS
RESIDENCES
• Sham Lal house, New Delhi
• Rewal house, New Delhi

HOUSING
• French Embassy Staff Quarters, New Delhi
• Sheikh Sarai Housing Complex, New Delhi
• Zakir Hussain Co-operative Housing, New Delhi
• Asian Games Village, New Delhi Best Works
EXHIBITION AND LARGE SPAN
• Nehru Memorial Pavilion, New Delhi
• Hall Of Nations and Hall Of Industries, New Delhi
• Karnataka Pavilion, New Delhi
 OFFICES
• Bhikhaji Cama Bazaar, New Delhi
• Engineers India House, New Delhi
• State Trading Corporation, New Delhi
• SCOPE Office Complex, New Delhi

RESEARCH &EDUCATION
• National Institute Of Public Finances and Policy, New
Delhi. National Institute Of Immunology, New Delhi
• French School and Cultural Centre, New Delhi
• Central Institute Of Educational Technology, New Delhi
Asian Games Village
(New Delhi)

• Building- Housing

• No. of units- 700

• Site area- 35 acres

• Year- 1980-82
1. Asian games village is first of its kind in the game
series to house athletes of the Asian games. Builts on
the remains of the 15th century khilji dynasty of Siri
fort.

2. The complex is situated in siri fort area near hauz

khas village, delhi .

3. The site is surrounded by Siri fort sports complex on

the northern side, shahpur jat village on the southern
side, a green belt on the eastern side.

4.The complex has a common entry and exit gate which

connects to the main road.
CONCEPT
1. Clustering of buildings
2. Courtyard providing public space within the building.
3. Scattering of terraces creating an interactive space.
4. Streets are narrow, shaded broken up into small units
creating pauses, points of rest, and changing points.
5. Green areas and Courtyards are spread all over the
site which can be accessed from almost all sides of the
site.
6. Terraces that are formed provide semi-private space
which obviously reminds the characteristics of houses
of Jaisalmer.
7. Vehicular and pedestrian movement is segregated but
closely interlinked for convenience
8. Peripheral roads are connected to cul-de-sac parking
areas where it gives access to dividual garages or car
porches attached to houses or apartment blocks.
9. The parking space is on the ground only and has no
basement or stilt for the same.
10. The basic unit of 4 apartment is designed in such a
way that it is linked with the Courtyard in between to
create a variety of interlinking spaces.
11. The central spine of the Asian games village is
reserved for the pedestrian courts and streets of various
clusters.
12. Each 2bhk flats faces an internal Courtyard
13. A small cluster has 2 apartments on one level served
by a single core.
14. A two small cluster share a Courtyard.
15. 3 sets of two clusters each make a big cluster.
16. This cluster faces the Courtyard which internally
connected
17. The combination of various dwelling type In an
urban pattern of unusual diversity makes the Asian
games village quite remarkable.
18. The public Courtyard accommodates a multiple of
activities like festivals, marriages, playing area.
19. Its morphology resembles a traditional village, the
cubic solid, and void that are characteristics of an
Indian urban fabric compared with the city such as
Old Delhi.
The joining together of several blocks which
retain their identity yet from a cohesive cluster, is
an enduring vernacular tradition within the
Indian subcontinent.

The endless repetition of a single type of block

or slab has proved a dreary (dull) solution.

The street facades of Jaisalmer exhibit a simple

methodology , where each house owner bought
readymade elements of carved stone balconies
and doors, creating a rich street composition.

Traditional clusters surround a variety of open

spaces with different functions around a unified
pattern of movement.
Hall of Nations,
Pragiti Maidan

• Inaugurated : 1972

• Demolished : 2017
It was the world’s first and largest-span space-frame structure

The Permanent Exhibition Complex is designed to form the focus of

130 acres of Exhibition ground designed by Raj Rewal in New Delhi.

The design was evolved to meet the constraints of time, availability of

materials and labor, but above all, to reflect symbolically and
technologically, India's intermediate technology in the 25th year of its
independence.

Officially known as the Hall of Nations and Industries, the

building was made from concrete cast in- situ and used a
tessellating triangular structure to form a capped pyramid.

Rewal stated it as a “symbol of an achievement by young

architects in a newly-independent India, creating a style
which could be constructed with limited means, yet
be uniquely Indian.” In early 1963
Raj Rewal leaned on geometry and proposed
four halls linked by ramps.

The largest of these is the hall of nations.

The hall of nations is a structure based on

tetrahedrons , triangulated forms and hexagons,
which is seen in jails' in India.

Raj Rewal re-interpreted the traditional Indian

element of design with ultra-modern form and
techniques. Hence he created a powerful image
to represent India’s modernity.

He used space frames as both, roof and wall

combined to diffuse the harsh sunlight in Delhi.
Hence the structure itself becomes a sun-
breaker.
Each of the four hall of industries is similar in design and is 44 x 22 x 16 M
high.

Free standing coffered mezzanine floors cantilevering out of cylindrical

shaft like columns provide extra exhibition space in each hall.

The ‘ hall of nations’ is supported on pile foundations ties together

with post tensioned beams.

The main pavilion of the Hall of Nations has a clear span of 78

meters and a height varying from three meters to 21 meters,
thereby providing a vast capacity for items to be exhibited,
from books to bulldozers.

The plan of these pavilions is square with chamfered

corners, providing eight anchoring points. The corners
were inspired by the tomb of Moghul Emperor
Humayun. Nehru Pavilion Plan Nehru Pavilion
Cross section 2 (Isometric view) Nehru Pavilion
Plan.
The depth of the structural system was utilized
as a Sun breaker and conceived of in terms of
the traditional 'jali', a geometrical pattern of
perforation that serves to obstruct directs rays of
the harsh Sun while permitting air circulation.

The concrete space frame structural system used,

was very unusual at the time, because
conventional space frame structures were built in
steel.

Reasons for using concrete instead of steel for

construction was :
1. Steel sections was not readily available in India,
hence had to be imported.
2. Skilled fabricators were not available.
3. Economic limitations.
Parliament library,
New Delhi.
PURPOSE

1. Symbolically a house of knowledge, the Parliament Library has its site next
to the Parliament House in Lutyens Delhi.
2. Both visually and symbolically, the central hall of the existing Parliament
denotes power, consensus and democracy and is linked to the central
core of the new complex.
3. For the library, a formal structure is conceived within the Indian
tradition, built in a contemporary idiom to capture the essence
without mimicry of past historical styles.
4. The site measures 10 acres with a built-up area of 50,000 sqm.
The design for the existing Parliament follows the "Beaux Arts",
the central line axis planning criteria.
5. It is circular in plan with three axes culminating in a central
dome.
6. Courtyards form an important feature of the design
vocabulary, keeping in mind Delhi's extreme climate.
7. They help in creating a dust free atmosphere and in
reducing the summer heat.
8. The height of the building is restricted to the
podium level of the Parliament House.
CONCEPT BEHIND THE DESIGN

To give the library an identity of its own while

respecting the Parliament building, Rewal says he drew
on Indian history and likened the relationship between
buildings to the traditional 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. Regionally quarried
sandstone.
The tubular steel roof structure of the scholars'
reading room with skylight panels inset in the roof
domes. Hand crafted stone jalis are used throughout
the building.
BASIC IDEA

Rewal decided to sink part of the library underground, leaving two of the four
floors above grade. The terrace of the library aligns with the first floor level of
the Parliament building.

Only the domes of the library rise higher. The sight lines leading to the
colonnade and entablature of the Parliament are left unobstructed.
Also, the exterior walls of the library are clad in the same red and
beige sandstone as that used in the Parliament building.

This local stone has been used extensively in northern and

northwestern India through the centuries and therefore
expresses regionalism.
In these two decisions regarding height and materials,
the guru acknowledges the power of the king. But the
guru's wisdom and integrity are demonstrated in the
architecture of the library.

The plan of the building is inspired by precolonial

Indianarchitecture such as the magnificent
Taj Mahal, with itssquare base and symmetrical
composition.
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 (MPs),
the research area and archival storage, committee room, and a banquet hall.

Beyond this central core are the courtyards, and further beyond are
separate entrance lobbies for MPs, scholars, and the public.

The corners of the incomplete square and the nodes formed at the
ends of the axes are designated for various functions. 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.
TECHNOLOGY AND STRUCTURE

The domes are perhaps the building's most

significant feature. Several domes of different
sizes and types make up the roof and benefit
from Rewal's experiments in earlier buildings.

The central dome, spanning 82 feet (25 meters),

is entirely of glass that was specially developed
for this building.

The intense heat and glare of New Delhi, with

summer temperatures rising to over 110 degrees
Fahrenheit (43 degrees Centigrade), make
conventional glass impractical for skylights.

The glass dome above the central core.

Rewal insisted on using glass to let in light.

Conventional reflective glass reduces glare and heat build-up, and

this specially developed glass is claimed to be still more efficient in
resisting heat transfer. The result: almost magical views of the
blue sky, of the sun minus its heat and glare, and of the seasonal
monsoon clouds.

This dome reminds you that you are standing at the

intersection of the building's two main 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 made of thin fiber-reinforced
concrete shells, sometimes with inset glass panels.
Tensile forces are transferred through tubular
steel members. • 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.
SHAMLAL HOUSE
- NEW DELH
The design for Sham Lal house placed an
emphasis on blending the entrance hall, dining
and living room spaces with the front garden as
much as possible.

The large pivoting doors of glass and teak define

the living room garden boundary, and can be
opened for social occasions.

The house was designed for a leading journalist

and writer.

A double-height space contains the entrance hall

and stairs to the first floor
Three bedrooms and the upper floors have
access to roof terraces.

A small basement under the dining room serves

as library.

Construction is of reinforced concrete and brick

with traditional materials such as kotah stone and
teak for finishings.
RAJ REWAL HOUSE-
NEW DELHI
In 1973, He designed 2 independent house units, one for the architect and his
family, the other for his parents.

He were designed in such a manner as to give both privacy and inter-

relatedness to each other.

Communication between the two houses is through the kitchen yard,

at the back,

While separate entrances and front gardens are provided across

an extremely narrow frontage of only 5 meters for each.

Living, dining, kitchen and study areas are on the ground

floor, yet the introduction of a small cellar under the
dining room offered the possibility of a split-level and
hence greater richness.

Part of the living room is of double height, and is

overlooked by mezzanine.
A small interior courtyard within the two units brings indirect light and
good cross-ventilation to these spaces.

Large pivoting glass doors provide continuity between the living room
and the garden outside.

The use of material is restricted to exposed brick externally and

internally (painted white outside).

The ceilings and cantilevered stairs are of exposed concrete,

softened by the texture left by wooden form work..

The flooring of kotah stone in brown and bronze achieves

a certain continuity, carried through in the teak-framed
doors and windows.

The rewal house served as a prototype for his later

large scale mass housing designs.

A view downward into the living and dining area.

THANK YOU

Ritik Bajaj – 27/18

Shriya Agarwal – 32/18