Talks

Delhi: Building the Modern

2 September 2017

Panelists: Mahendra Raj, Raj Rewal, Kuldip Singh, Sanjay Kanvinde and Ram Rahman

Moderated by Ram Rahman

This panel discussion is part of the exhibition ‘Delhi: Building the Modern’, one of the seven exhibitions under ‘Stretched Terrains’ curated by Roobina Karode. It brings together a rare gathering of acclaimed senior architects whose architectural models and structural drawings of iconic buildings in Delhi are on display in the exhibition. Each speaker shared anecdotes, memories, artistic concerns and influences from international architecture movements and challenges of forging a new language of modern architecture in post-independence India. Sanjay Kanvinde talked about his father late architect Achyut Kanvinde’s idea of architecture and discussed the comprehensive book of his works that he recently edited. Ram Rahman presented buildings designed by Habib Rahman and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of modern architecture. The panel also briefly focused on the contribution of the revolutionary ‘Design magazine’ edited by Patwant Singh from 1957 to 1988, which was first of its kind experimental magazine that published contemporary architecture, urban planning, industrial design, visual arts and graphics. Another crucial subject of discussion was the recent demolition of ‘Hall of Nations’ by the present-day government, the iconic Pavilion designed by Raj Rewal, and structural engineering done by Mahendra Raj, both of whom were in attendance.