Transformation of Lutyen's Delhi by Karan

LIST OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement

page no. 1

Chapter – 1

3 - 10

INTRODUCTION 1.1 Aim 1.2 Objectives 1.3 Research Question 1.4 Scope 1.5 Limitation 1.6 Methodology

3 3 5 6 7 8

Chapter – 2

11 - 16

ABOUT DELHI 2.1 Geography

2.2 History

Chapter – 3

17 - 25

IMAGE OF LUTYEN‟S DELHI 3.1 Site selection

3.2 Planning of Capital city

Chapter – 4

26 - 39

CASE STUDIES 4.1 Method of analysis 4.2 Case studies -

Chapter – 5

26 Connaught Place

Park street area

34 40 - 41

CONCLUSIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude to:

My guide, Ar. Rashmi Balluja Tandon, who helped me put the entire dissertation and understand the topic. Prof. Prabhjot Singh Sugga, our dissertation coordinator, who helped us at every stage of making of this dissertation. My family and friends for being there and giving input at every stage.

1.1 AIM To study the evolution of Lutyen‟s Delhi and trace out the real image of city and how it transforming as time passes. The dissertation covers a study of the factors which are responsible for the transformation of Lutyen‟s Delhi. The study will be confined to the overall level of the city, only after a study of the urban fabric at the city level would it be right to understand the problems of our cities today and to appreciate specific aspects which deserve detailed deliberation. 1.2 OBJECTIVES The underlying factors responsible for the overall changes are of a similar nature to those that have affected cities throughout the world like social and economic status, advancement in technology etc. in additional there are specific factors which relate to the function of Delhi as the national capital and give it a distinct identity of its own. This is why I want to study about the real character and image of Lutyen‟s Delhi and why it will transform day by day?  What is the real image of Lutyen‟s Delhi?

 What are the main components of Lutyen‟s Delhi?

 What are the factors which affect the design of sir Edwin Lutyens?

 What are the impact of these factors which affects the Lutyen‟s Delhi?  Why is the city structure moving away from coherent planning?  How can we ensure preservation of our architectural heritage?

The big question is – Why the real image of Lutyen’s Delhi is transforming? Our cities are loosing harmony in their component parts and there is marked lack of unity in their so called diversity. Day by day and year by year the situation is changing for the worse and the discrepancy between what is desirable and what is obtaining is becoming wider. We must learn from our past and recent experiences so that we can predict the problem we are likely to face in the future and must modulate our efforts to neutralise the ill effects of the conflicting development forces at work. As a student of architecture I feel that I should know the context under which design are conceived-the larger whole of which a building is only a part. I appreciated the need to supply planning in wider context that is establishing the city scale. I am interested in 2

establishing the components inter relationship of these factors â&#x20AC;&#x201C;the material or tangible factors which one can define however, the presence of other intangible factors that contribute to giving every individual city a distinct character should also be given appropriate consideration. The underlying factors responsible for the overall changes are of a similar nature to those that have affected cities throughout the world like social and economic status, advancement in technology etc. in additional there are specific factors which relate to the function of Delhi as the national capital and give it a distinct identity of its own. The city of Delhi has been a capital city since antiquity and has therefore a rich and varied history which has left its numerous visible impressions. It is an amalgam of the glory and mysticism of the past and some chaotic growth of its recent past again an accident of history due to partition of the country. To keep up with glory of its past, corrective measure must be initiated to prevent our losing one of the most beautiful cities of the world. The influx of population has had its repercussions on all related services which are support the population pressure and to keep the city need attention. A study of the factors that have been responsible over the years for the growth and development reveals the cause leading to the existing problems with a view to finding a viable solution to this major challenge to the fraternity of architects and town planners. In spite of all the studies and suggestion made in the past, the city would continue to grow beyond the planned framework if the implement of proposals made in the master planned are not carried out force fully. The gravity of the situation must appreciate by all its inhabitants and timely action by all concerned authorities is required to save our beautiful Delhi from unplanned growth.

1.3 INTRODUCTION OF RESEARCH QUESTION Delhi is fortunate to have been the focal point of the historical culture of India. Delhi itself contain many important cities through the long past of Delhi history, Imperial Delhi(New Delhi) is an important component of fast growing modern Delhi, situated at the core of the capital, the city, is designed by sir Edwin Lutyens. It has a definite character and style which reflect the „imperial‟ and „royal‟ image of the British empire. Contrast between the organic, pedestrian oriented highly dense old Delhi which contrasting sharply with the planned, vehicle oriented low density, open plan Lutyens Delhi. New Delhi has its own image which is completely different from the rest of Delhi. It‟s planning is based on the “garden city” concept which results in the open plan and it becomes the user friendly. New Delhi could survive as a separate entity only upto1947, after partition the establishment of New Delhi as the capital of India. There is rapid growth in the population of New Delhi which turns into the suburban area surrounding the Lutyens designed Delhi. Much more development has taken place in the recent past within the limits of Lutyens Delhi which has resulted in the loss of original character. The value of land in the city centre has increased to such a large extent that bunglows are being demolished, only to be replaced by overpowering by multi-storeyed towers. This is why I want to study about the real character and image of Lutyen‟s Delhi and why it will transform day by day? The big question is – Why the real image of Lutyen’s Delhi is transforming?

1.4 SCOPE To explore about city development, growth and its original character, I have to do detail study of a city which produce the good outcome from which we can understand the real image of city and how it affected by the other factors. There are few restricted regions which reflect the original image of the capital but are undergoing changes. The study shall be mainly restricted to New Delhi( Lutyen‟s Delhi) Imperial Delhi is an important component of the expanding modern Delhi. Situated at the core of capital, this city, designed by sir Edwin lutyens, had definite character reflecting the „Imperial‟ or the „royal‟ image of the British empire. Much development has taken place in the recent past within the limits of Lutyens‟ Delhi which has resulted in the loss of original character. The value of lands in the city-centre has increased to such a large extent that bungalows are being demolished, only to be replaced by overpowering multi-stored towers. However, there are certain areas the still retain, to some extent, the original image of the Imperial capital. It is these areas that should be studied in order to understand what contained the real essence of Lutyens‟ Delhi. The importance of such a study is evident while re-developing the rest of Lutyens‟ Delhi. Conserving the best of old elements is keeping its character, but retaining all the elements is difficult. In order to enhance its image, we must identify the elements that define it. These should be adjusted in the elements that should be adjusted in the pattern of the ever changing city. Assuming that changes are going to occur, and accepting their necessity, the principles originally considered within the confines of Lutyens Delhi. The purpose of this study is to discover as to what extent it is possible to control development in order to maintain, and enhance, the image of the Imperial capital, while respecting today‟s context.

1.5 LIMITATIONS  

The dissertation can study the areas which are come under the boundary of Lutyens Delhi.



The dissertation not studied the NCR areas of Delhi.



literature.

Data for inaccessible areas would be based on the secondary case studies or other

The factors responsible for selection of different parts of city should be fully understood since the idea is to study the city structure, which have been existing for quite a long period of time, so as to study the various phases of development in the city.

1.6 METHODOLOGY

THEORETICAL RESEARCH

ANALYTICAL RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

1. In order to understand the change in the image of New Delhi, I decided to define that what constitutes the image of Lutyens Delhi. According to Sir Edwin Lutyens, What is the approach behind the design of Lutyens Delhi. 2. After defining the image of New Delhi I studied the change in the city during different time capsules after the completion of New Delhi in 1931. 3. To understand the change in city, first I go through all of the master plans of city which made the changes in the city image. 4. After the understanding of master plans I check that what the changes are done by them and how they impact on the image of Lutyens Delhi.

THEORETICAL RESEARCH

APPROACHES OF IMAGE OF CITY DESIGN THEORETICAL RESEARCH EVOLUTION

MASTER PLAN DEVELOPMENT

1. In order to understand the image of New Delhi, I understand first, the approaches of design by Sir Edwin Lutyens to design New Delhi, after this I am able to define the real image of Lutyens Delhi. 2. After the understanding from this I defined the real character or image of city. 3. After understanding the image of New Delhi, I explore the transformation of city through the various master plans of city. These master plans were issued by the DDA (Delhi Development Authority) for the betterment of city. 4. After go through the master plans, I checked the execution of master plan in city development and explore its impact.

ANALYTICAL RESEARCH

CASE STUDIES

PARAMETERS FOR CASE STUDIES

1. To understand the transformation, I did two case studies which contain the real character of Lutyens Delhi. 2. To understand all the impact of master plans development on the city image I have to do some case studies of some important components of city. 3. Interviews and photographs for the better understanding of case study areas.

2 ABOUT DELHI The city of Delhi has an antiquity that dates back to some three thousand years. It is however apparent that its age alone is not what made Delhi significant, it has been the site for a succession of cities each of which constituted the capital town of a prosperous kingdom thus forming a landmark in the country history. Delhiâ&#x20AC;&#x;s primary importance lay in its military, political and strategic location and the other favourable factors were the continuous flow of water promised by river Yamuna for drinking, irrigation and commerce, promised access to unlimited amount of red sandstone for building purposes and lastly the surrounding fertile soil with plenty of water for irrigation that provided rich harvests to feed its population. Delhi was also associated with continued strength and success it began to gather a kind of hallowed reputation which also contributed in its becoming a capital city successively for thousands of years. 1.1 GEOGRAPHY DELHI : LOCATION Delhi is the capital of India, is a metropolitan city with ever expanding boundaries. Delhi lies in the latitude 28.38 N and longitude 77.12 E. The location of Delhi is on the western end of the Gangetic plain, which is drained by river Yamuna. The third largest city of India, Delhi along with New Delhi and Delhi Cantonment comprises the National Capital Territory that is collectively governed by the Central Government. Delhi is connected with other parts of the world through its International airports. It also have domestic airports and railway network which connects the capital city from other parts of country. Within the Delhi there is good connectivity through its public transport, it have public buses, autos and taxi services and the Delhi metro, latest addition in the Delhi transport system which gives the new life to city.

DELHI : CLIMATE

Delhi have composite climate which results city experiences four major seasons with extreme weather conditions. Peak summers and winter months generate undesirable conditions whereas remaining months of the year are pleasant. Peak summer seasons starts from month of April and going till the end of June, in which the maximum temperature rises to the 45 degree Celsius. Peak winter seasons is from mid â&#x20AC;&#x201C; November 10

to mid – February when the temperature drops as low as 5 degree Celsius. After the winter season ends in mid – February the autumn seasons starts and going till the start of April, which is very pleasant time in Delhi. Rainy season is come with the monsoon winds in Delhi and starts from the mid – July and going till the September. DELHI : VEGETATION The vegetation of Delhi is also varies because of its varied seasons and topography which comprises the different size of trees and plants. The entire topography of Delhi is divided into a ridge and the Yamuna flood plain because of this reason these regions have distinct type of vegetation. Mainly, Delhi is known for its medium sized trees and herbs with varied flowering trees and plants.

Source: travellingamera.com

2.2 HISTORY

According to a legend, Delhi was first occupied somewhere around the 3rd century. It is said that the son of Pandu of the epic Mahabharata ruled Delhi on the banks of Yamuna and called his capital Indraprastha. Their city seems to have occupied the site of the present ruins of „Purana Qila‟. According to another legend, long after the decline of fabled Indrapr astha, a prince named „Delu‟ or „Delhi‟ ruled Delhi from the present site of Qutub Minar. According to an inscription on the Iron pillar the city was abandoned for 792 years after its inception and later founded again in 1905 A.D. and was ruled by the Tomar Rajput Raja Anang Pal II of Kanauj on the same site as the Qutub today. In the 12th century the Tomar Rajputs were overthrown by the Chauhan Rajputs of Ajmer. The last Chauhan Prithvi Raj III‟s (Rai Pithora) rule is believed to have extended from the Himalayas down upto the Vindhyas was defeated in 1193 A.D. by the invader from Afghanistan- Mohammad Ghori. Delhi was then the most important Hindu city and 27 temples had been built within it limits. This defeat led to the firm and long line of Mohammedan rulers in India during his tenure of more than six and half centuries Delhi functioned as the capital of a reigning monarch for an aggregate of 530 years from 1206 – 1490, 1530 – 1564 and 1648 – 1857. The seven successive dynasties were those of turks of slaves, Khiljis, Tughlaks, Sayyids, Lodies, Mughals, Afghans or Surs and again Mughals. During their rule Delhi witnessed the establishment of numerous capitals scattered over an area of about 45 square miles. Qutub-ud-din Ibak was the first of the Sultans rule from the same city of „Lal Kot‟ built by Anang Pal and extended by his successors. In 1303, Alah-ud-din Khilji in search of better defense against the Mangols built „Siri‟ at a distance of about two miles in the north-east of Lal Kot. In 1321, Ghiyasud-din, the first Sultan of the Tughlak dynasty shifted his court to „Tughlakabad‟ a fortress city which he built around a rocky hill five miles away in the east of Lal Kot. His successor Mohammed Tughlak after his mis-adventure of the wholesale transfer to Daulatabad, 700 miles away in the Deccan, returned to Delhi but moved his court to the older site. Here in 1344 he founded 'JAHANPANAH' by building walls to join up Siri and lal kot, thereby enclosing the poulous suburb lying between the two cities. In the year 1354 Firoz Shah Tughlak 12

built his fortress palace 'FIROZ SHAH KOTLA' about ten miles in the north of Jahanpanah. The next city, 'DIN PANAH' was founded by the second Moghul emperor Humayun in the 1530's. the purana quila of today was a part of this city. Humayun was drewen out of delhi by sher shah suri the founder of the short lived Afgan dyansty. Sher Shah, developed and extended this city in the north west along Firozabad, and renamed it 'DELHI DHER SAHI'. Humayun however returned to recapture the throne from stnds between the outer north- eastern side of the red fort walls and the railway bridge over the G.T. road from Calcutta. After Humayaun's death, Delhi ceased to be the capital of the Moghuls for a long span of 93 years. in 1638 the 5th Mughal emperor Shah Jahan commenced the construction of the Red Fort and the walled city of Shahjahanabad on the site Mughal empire for 209 years. The first half of this century were years of comparative peace and progressive prosperity for the city. Its zenith was reached during aurangzebs rule when this second 'Greater Delhi' came to form against a conurbation of four towns of shahjahanabad, firozabad, Delhi of Shershah and Humayun's Din panah which included thriving suburbs which we now included as Subzi Mandi, Sadar Bazaar and Paharganj. With the death of aurangeb in 1707, there set in for this city a long and protected period of decline punctuated by a series of said events leading to a progressive reduction in its population.

The major ones were:

1. The shoe sellers riot of 1729. 2. Maratha raid of 1737. 3. The sack of Nadir Shah in 1739. 4. The civil war between Safdarjung and Imadul-Mulk in the 1750's. 5. Alternate occupation by Ahmed Shah Abdali and Marathas in 1757-61. 6. The great famine of 1782. 7. Cruelties of rohilla gulam Khadir in 1788. 8. Maratha seigue of 1804 and 9. The british punitive measures of 1857 including the deporting of Bahadurshah, public killing of his three sons complete evacuation of Muslim population from within the walled city and the immediate surroundings of the Red fort. 13

Source: Sentinels of Raisina Hill.

After this in 1912 Delhi once again become the capital of British India and so reacquired the political factor that had fostered the growth of all the Delhis of the past. In 1947 came independence accompanied by partition, both of which played their part in accentuating the already accelerating process of Delhiâ&#x20AC;&#x;s growth.

Hence Delhi was made the capital of different kingdom that ruled India time and again therefore it is right to say that to rule India one must rule Delhi. However, one wonders why the location of the capitals kept shifting although only by a few kilometres each time. According to a native proverb-three things make a city - "Daria, badal and Badshah", so perhaps it was the vagaries of the river Yamuna and the failure of the clouds to pour down their waters that led to the shifting of the capital cities to the banks of Yamuna which has been gradually changing its course eastwards. The above statements has been reinforced by the writings of various travelers who have visited India in the last few centuries. Today very little remains of the earlier cities of Delhi, most of these consist of a few monumental remnants, some have small settlements around them but these have most probably been formed during the last few years. Shahjahanabad however still survive with the Red fort and the township surrounding it. Although its character today totally contrasts with the image that crosses our mind once we read any of the earlier descriptions. After tracing out the Delhiâ&#x20AC;&#x;s history, I realize that with the development of every new city, the boundary of the city has been extended. Today, Delhi had grown several times in size since the first city and till date it is also expanding through the NCR regions.

Source: bnb4delhi.com

IMAGE OF LUTYEN’S DELHI “We are pleased to announce to Our People that on the advice of Our Ministers,

tendered after consultation with Our Governor General in Council, We have decided upon the transfer of the seat of the Government of India from Calcutta to the ancient Capital Delhi…” With these words on 12th December, 1911, King George V delivered a sensational surprise in all over country by giving a new capital city. After the announcement of the transfer of the Imperial capital to Delhi the important tasks were arise, that how it all done and by whom and how they specify the site for the Imperial seat of power – the Government house which would serve the residence of the Viceroy of India. One of the first steps in the process of establishing a new capital city was to deal with the land acquisition matter because the area to the west of the river Jamuna (Yamuna) was to be handled by the Punjab Government, and that east of the Jamuna by the United Provinces, they both moved ahead in a very frenetic way. Because, before the announcement by the King George V of shifting the capital from Calcutta to Delhi, the city of Delhi was the part of greater Punjab and Delhi was not chosen luckily for the next capital city of India. Meanwhile, not content with hugging the coast, the British now ventured inland. By using well trained military force, allegations of misrule, machinations, alliances, one side treaties, taking advantage of internal dissensions and aided by new technologies such as the railways and telegraph, they moved in the unstoppable way across the many subcontinents, sweeping through the Mysore, Hyderabad, central India and to Oudh (Awadh), Sindh and the Punjab. The city of Delhi and its surrounding areas was taken in 1803; Emperor Shah Alam II was left in nominal control. However, in 1858, Delhi too was merged into the empire, and the city becomes more than the status of just a small town in the greater Punjab. At that time the population of the city had risen from about 1,50,000 in 1868 to about 2,30,000 in 1911 and revenue from Rs. 1,93,272 in 1870-71 to Rs. 13,56,250 in 1911-12. British council members mentioned that the splendid monuments of Delhi‟s past had not been neglected in the construction of new capital city. The British had taken more than 300 years, but after a long and extraordinary journey which started from a small port on the west coast of India, it finally ended at which results emerged as the capital of their vast Indian Empire – Delhi. 16

3.1 SITE SELECTION New Delhi was conceived as the capital of India in the age of crisis in Imperialism. The primary concern of the Government of India in transferring the capital to Delhi was to locate a more durable and subtle public opinion than what was available in Calcutta and to use it as a necessary peg to hang the battered psychological sensibilities and ideological foundation of the Raj, and as Butler put it – “we have to make New Delhi one of the worlds of wonder and topic of discussion.” The first step in the process of establishing a new capital was land acquisition. A number of buildings were also identified for acquisition, notably the Ludlow Castle, Maidens Hotel, and the Metcalfe House. The land acquisition was become a barrier in between the construction of a new capital city which will slow down the process and exceed the cost of whole project. To solve this, Lord Hardinge finally ordered, in January 1912, that he was taking direct control over all land acquisition matters. On the other hand, Hardinge and many others, including planners and architects in England, saw it as a golden opportunity to establish a first-rate and well planned city. But the problem was that Delhi was a living city with a great historical past, which overflowing with monuments and other important structures and from this the British Planning Committee reached to a decision that Delhi‟s past history and marvellous work of different time periods by different kingdoms had not been neglected in the construction of new capital city. They laid out the some parameters of what a city planner must keep in mind: “History and tradition, taking into account racial and religious preferences and prejudices, sanitation, water and drainage. Capabilities of defence of Government quarters, control of mobs etc. Facilities of traffic and transit, and arrangements made with sufficient foresight so that no portion of a growing city can ever be congested or blocked, while there should be nothing to prevent the introduction of any new methods from flying machines onwards. Power of expansion provided for, so that not only can the city itself expand, but its various activities expand „in situ‟. Parks, gardens and open spaces, facilities for all forms of recreation for all classes. Landscape effects – wood and water – as well as architectural effects.

The placing of the people on the ground, offices, shops, dwelling houses for all classes and races, with their churches and temples, hospitals and schools, places, hotels and rest houses, markets, slaughter houses, refuse destructors etc. Possibilities of scientific advancement to be unchecked. Wireless telegraphy, telephonic, pneumatic and other communications, electric power, heating, cooling, creature comforts etc.” are all had to be thought about in the making of new capital city. Finally, by 1912 the architects who designed New Delhi too had been commissioned by planning committee. Edwin Landseer Lutyens(1869 – 1944) with his old friend Herbert Baker (1862 – 1946) as his collaborator, had been given the job. Hardinge notes that Lutyens was “more of a country-house architect and has no experience of anything big”. The viceroy decided to choose him because he acknowledges in a manner that it was too much to except someone in England to have planned anything big. But what we do know is that Hardinge wanted him to finish everything quickly which Lutyens maintained was not possible for the single person to supervise the this type of monumental size of construction. So he pushed the name of Herbet Baker to be made his collaborator. Baker had made his name and fame in South Africa. Before joining Lutyens in designing in Delhi, he had worked on the Union buildings in Pretoria when that city was designated in 1910 as the administrative capital of South Africa. Lutyens and Baker had been friends since they first met in the 1880s as apprentices to a London based architect. But, in the process of designing the magnificent new capital, however their friendship suffered from the endless tensions and grudges. The crucial problem of the planning of New Delhi was the selection of site. Based on the general principles were set by the planning committee. Finally, Lutyens found two options (a) southern setting near Malcha on the Gurgaon road. (b) keep the Durbar site in the centre of settlement, to make use of the existing civil station and to shift the cantonment west towards the Naraina. Hardinge was convinced with that options but before finalising these sites he waited for the experts suggestions on them. After the Delhi planning committee survey they rejected the site by cited four main reasons (a) that it would involve acquisition of expensive residential, business and manufacturing areas of civil lines. (b) The land lay in the danger zone as regards health and huge expenditure on sanitation and drainage. 18

(c) The site is cut up by the Ridge, the Najafgarh drain and other rail and communication lines. (d) There is a lack of government land. The committee also rejected the area of Naraina on the western slope of the Ridge, that it had no connection with the historical past and it shut out all the views of Shahjahan‟s Delhi. The first site plan prepared by the Delhi planning committee provided three avenues ran from north-east to south-west. At the one end there is Government house at Talkatora, and other end, by the dome of Jama Masjid. However Hardinge realised that it was not possible to cut out the part of old Delhi and Paharganj which were all historical assets. After all rejections, Hardinge took the charge and concluded on the decision that the Government house should face the river Jamuna, and that the Secretriat should be situated in close proximity. The buildings should not only have a good view of the Jama Masjid, but also of Indrapat, Humayun‟s Tomb, the Lodi Tombs and Safdurjung‟s Tomb. This new axis, with the Government house as the pivot, would, in fact, also bisect the new city. At last, they choose a site in the east of Raisina Hill. It was Nethersole‟s recommendation that the Government house should be situated on the top of the Raisina hill and it will look like the high feature of Ridge. From all of this they succeed to construct a visual connection in between the new capital city and its surroundings that how they managed to make connections through the different parts of city which belong to a particular era. Finally, the site chose Raisina Hill, from where the country‟s future will be build. 3.2

PLANNING OF CAPITAL CITY

There was intense controversy over the design style of architecture to be adopted for the construction of New Delhi. Lord Hardinge was of the opinion that the Indian architecture style should be assimilated to make the new capital acceptable to Britain‟s Indian subjects. Whereas, Lutyens was directly oppose that idea to assimilate the Indian architecture style with European style, because he never impressed from the Indian architecture style. His comments, as recorded by his daughter Mary in her biography of her father, were altogether quite contumelious. This is what he had to say about the Indian architecture styles.

Source: wikipedia As far as Hardinge was concerned, that there remained only one other hurdle now, and Lutyens‟ antipathy to Eastern architecture styles. He was not sure about the Baker‟s opinion about the Eastern architecture style. For Herbet Baker an imperial architecture had to be „not Indian nor English, nor Roman, out simply imperial‟. This meant as he expressed in his letter to the Times of 3rd October, 1912 that at its heart must be a political objective: that of capturing in stone the spirit of British Indian Empire. Lutyens wanted to do in European Classicism. Lord Hardinge finally decided to go with the mixture of East and West architecture styles. According to him it could be symbolical for the 20th century of India.

LAYOUT OF THE CITY As mentioned earlier, the architecture, road design and landscape of New Delhi was meant to expose power, monumentality and dignity-with the the imperial theme cleraly expressed in the central Vista-the rest developed as green, spacious bunglow areas. The layout of Lutyens' Delhi was governed by the wishes of the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, to establish three major visual corridors, linking the goverment complex with: (A)Jama masjid; (B)Indraprastha; and (C)Safdarjung's tomb The circular building of the Parliament House (Council chamber) marked the terminus to the axis towards Jama Masjid. In the middle, along the axis, is located Connaught place, an immense, circular, colonnaded commercial node, which even today is the nerve centre of Delhi's business establishments. Along the axis leading to Indraparataha on Purana Qila, in the East-west direction, is the main ceremonial green called the central Vista, with the Kingsway penetrating the capital complex between the two secretariats. The visual links to the historical monuments of Jama Masjid and Safdarjung's tomb meet the axis at 30' and 60' angles. The rest of the roads followed the same pattern.

Processional Routes The principal parkway, Kingsway, forms the main processional route which leads from Purana Quila, through the ceremonial gate, towards the forecourt at the base of Raisina hill from there on the path cuts blocks towards the Vicerory's palace. Crossing this 440-feet parkway, at right angles is a north-south axis, the Queensway, terminating in Connaught Place in the north and a proposed Anglican Cathedral in the south. The intended ceremonial route leads southward from this "place"to the cross section of kingsway and queensway, then west to the goverment complex. At the junction of the two main avenues a four large buildings were to be placed within the central vista, forming a culture/intellectual palza. These were the Oriental institute, the National meusem, National library and the Imperial record office. 21

Another alternative processional route led south from Delhi gate of the Red fort and Shahjanahbad, past the palace of the Indian Rajas, allowing a grand view of river Jamuna and the proposed artificial lake at the eastern end of the Kingsway. Halfway from the old city the route turns southwest, converging on the commemorative column at the east end of the central vista, which was later replaced by the canopy converging the statue of King George 5 placed in a hexagonal park Residential allocation Within the hexagonal grids, areas were allocated on criteria of race, occupational rank and socio-economic status. The axis leading north-east from the Secretariats to the railway plaza, in the direction of Jama Masjid, forms the city's main business avenue. in the area SouthWest of the station lie the houses of the local administrators and the European clerks' residences. Segregated to the west, between Talkatora gardens and the unattractive paharganj, are the residence of the Indian clerks. Lands and allocated in the immediate vicinity of the Raisina acropolis for housing member of council and other highest officials. The commanderin chief's residence lies directly south of the secretariats. Senior gazetted officers were placed directly east of this avenue around the hexagon- Princess'park. The club, an indispensable fixture of the colonial settlement, placed South-West of the Vicerory's Palace, was easily accessible the club was reserved for golf and a race course. Parks were proposed around the areas of safdarjung's tomb and the Lodhi tombs on the southern boundary. Other parks separated Imperial Delhi forming a green belt that virtually ringed the capital city.

Bunglows Lutyens‟ designs for official quarters were considered too expensive, but Baker‟s were accepted. Lutyens didn‟t like that Baker‟s bungalow‟s design chose over him. It is nothing less than a great irony that the bungalows he so despised are today we all known as “Lutyens Bungalows”, from which he didn‟t design even a single Bungalow.

Source: Author

The Lutyenâ&#x20AC;&#x;s Bunglow zone[LBZ], besides being historically significant has tremendous ecological value, with its huge green cover it acts as the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x;s lungs repairing air damaged by pollutants, giving Delhi the unique distinction of having an inner city area cooler then the outer edge. Basically, Bunglows were originally planned for senior officials of the British India Government comprises of large residential plots North and South of Rajpath developed in a formal low density pattern along wide avenues lined with closely spaced shade giving trees. It enjoys a unique gardens character within the capital city. Approximately 1320 acres of land in Lutyens Delhi have been identified as the Bunglow area.

Road network Beside the major parkway, all avenues ranged from 600' to 60' in width. The original design of the road network was capable of accommodating 6000 vehicles, however these avenues, planned as parkways, had the potential of increasing their carriageway- the reason why the road layout has survived till today. In hierarchical order, the grand parade avenue was the first, followed by the axial roads oriented east-west on north-south. The next in order were the radials and the diagonals, usually oriented south west-north east or south-west-north west; with the collector streets last in order. In general the road network consisted of diagonals and radials, at 30'/60' angles to the axis, forming triangles and hexagons. Points of climax were placed along the avenues after

every 1/4 or 3/4 mile as beyond this the perception of focal points is greatly reduced. The advantages of the pattern of roads, was such that, in order to reach one's destination, the diagonal provided the shortest distance. No control of traffic was necessary at roundabouts. Though these intersections contained more than four avenues, which did not meet at right angles, there was very little scope for misalignment simply because of the very rigid and organised symmetry in the layout. One could easily choose the correct avenue, either by keeping count or with the help of visual exposer of the avenue across the roundabout. Formality was maintained by continuity of tree species along particular avenues. in the DIZ area (north-west), reserved for Indian clerks, the road network is such thst it was easily comprehended, however due to excessive monotony, confusion is frequent. The road network had two foci, one at the canopy at the eastern end of central vista and the other at Connaught Place. Most of the roads converged at these two foci. The width of avenues was directly related to the height and setback of the buildings along them, and vice versa. The capital city.as designed by Sir E. Lutyens can clearly be sub-divided into three distinct zones; Bungalow area south of Rajpath, Cenral Vista and North of Rajpath which in turn contains distinctly different residential area for the Indian clerks (DIZ), Connaught Place and Bungalow area. Today the character of each of these areas is changing tremendously. In order to study the image of Lutyens Delhi, (as it was, and as it is today) each of these zones will be understood separately through the case studies.

4.1 SELECTION OF CASE STUDIES As for the study of evolution of Lutyens Delhi I decided to choose to do two case studies of area of Lutyens Delhi. Connaught Place, was my first choice because it is the centre of all nearly activity and holds an important physical location in the layout of the city. It is due to its geometry plays an important role in connecting various other important parts of the city. Connaught Place is a important landmark which serves the function as the business district of Delhi. Through the study of CP I can segregated the development process of different criteria like technology and how CP force to influence the nearby building architecture style from its presence. Second case study I choose which can show the evolution in terms of density, and how the densities affect the overall image components of Lutyens Delhi like landscaping and the road networks. Then finally I choose Park street area which provides the accommodation to Government officials.

Source: Author

Connaught Place

Park street area

4.2 CASE STUDY CONNAUGHT PLACE: Connaught Place is the centre of nearly all activity in Delhi holds an important physical location in the layout of the city. It, due to its geometry plays a vital role in connecting various walks of Delhi‟s life. It, is practically the „heart‟ of Delhi which connecting various walks of Delhi‟s life. Its location is along the various radials, like the Cultural Centre at Mandi House, India Gate and the Government buildings, the National Museums and the Archives, the Parliament, the State Emporiums and the Gol Dak Khana, the Shivaji Stadium and the Railway Station. So, basically it acts as a unique binding link in Lutyens Delhi. The capital city of New Delhi, and the proposed central business district of Connaught Place have grown manifolds over the years and definitely have a certain quality of life about them, with the world coming together in this age of globalization, and boundaries being shattered every passing minute, Connaught Place has changed rapidly and dramatically.

Source: Rajiv Gupta, “Reaviling the Deeper Structure of Connaught Place.

The Post-Independence Times The Connaught Place of today is very different from what it was originally conceived to be by the British, and that is really not much of a surprise. The market forces have changed over the decades, so has the lifestyle of the people. The Delhi population has multiplied like anything with the human and traffic loads playing a major role in shaping Connaught Place into what its today.

Source: Author Since Independence, the city of Delhi has changed a lot. It has grown is size manifold. Innumerable changes have marked these five centuries. The world has become smaller due to tremendous growth in the fields of transportation and telecommunication. The social composition of the city has changed along with the whole world. The openings up of the world markets have created rich Indian class. The influx of MNCs into the Indian market also has a major role to play this. All these changes have been reflected a lot upon Connaught Place and its surrounding areas. After the Independence in the 50s, New Delhiâ&#x20AC;&#x;s growth was rapid, unplanned and often chaotic. Connaught Place was also getting flooded by refugees who were either squatting or opening up kiosks all over the place. During the Early years after Independence, the major changes in Connaught Place were the development of the various refugee rehabilitation

markets like the ones at Janpath, Shankar and the Yusf-zai markets. In the days following the partition, refugees, defacing the very character of the shopping centre, invaded the corridors, parks and other open spaces of CP. Every inch was encroached upon for pending and other activities. The verandahs were declared public property to remove the squatters. New „temporary‟ markets were constructed to help settle the refugees. Markets like Janpath market, Shankar market and the Yusufzai market are all a product of this refugee rehabilation. To accommodate these markets in a better way, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) purposed the underground market, the Palika Complex which serves the parking and the shopping centre to accommodate the CP crowd. The site chosen for this market space was green wedge left by the original Delhi Planning Commission and Edwin Lutyens himself, because the NDMC don‟t want to affect the overall planning of CP. The green area was quite popular with shoppers as a break out space and as a congregational area. The main motive of Palika complex is that it helps the NDMC to earn extre revenue but also help rehabilitate the shopkeepers and squatters on Janpath and in turn serve the ever growing number of shoppers in New Delhi. A full-fledged shopping complex along with its own parking but it also made to cater to the ever increasing number of vehicles in Connaught Place itself. Hence, two structures rise, but without disturbing the Luyens planning and principles, the Palika Bazaar and the Palika Parking. The Palika Bazaar is a 125,000 sqft underground shopping centre in two levels. It was designed so as to maintain the pre-existing feel of Connaught place. The roof, though slightly raised is used by many a shopper to relax in the evenings with the family. This serves as a refreshing green oasis in between the brick and concrete jungle.

Source: Author

Technology When Connaught Place start transforming in late 80â&#x20AC;&#x;s and early 90â&#x20AC;&#x;s and it emerged as a metropolitan city of India it faces many problems in the terms of handling the increasing traffic and accommodate the crowd in a better way, because at that time CP becomes the main business centre of Delhi. To solve the daily collision in between the traffic and the pedestrian users the construction of many subways in and around CP. This helped the city in many ways. It increased the safety of the thousands of pedestrians who visit CP every day, for their business or pleasure, it also helped smoothen out traffic flow and regulate it better around the outer circle, reducing the waiting time on red lights. It also tried to give New Delhi a new and trendy look, the look of a city shaping up for the future. The NDMC also tried to open small shops and kiosks in these pedestrian subways, which activate the subways life. In past years many experiments were tried out with traffic controls to ease out with ever increasing pressure of traffic on the whole set-up of Connaught Place. Now a few of the radial avenues from inner circle to the outer have been closed, and the rest have been made one-way only. The latest and the most revolutionary change to have taken place in the history if the Connaught Place is the designing of the underground Metro Rail station in the heart of CP. Its ironic that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) actually put the metro station where the original Delhi Planning Commission had envisioned the Railway Station. The idea, then, had to be dropped as it was becoming unfeasible to really apply it there. A large railway junction like the New Delhi Station requires a lot of areas as hinterland, which would have been tough to provide. In the case of DMRC the scale is massively reduced, it just caters to a city and has no inter-city traffic as a normal metro station would have had. The Rajiv Chowk metro station is slated to serve about 45000 people in the hour at peak times. The importance of this metro station will increase manifold when both the blue and yellow lines get completed. The blue and yellow lines both are two of the longest of the metro lines. Not on the longest, but connect the New Delhi Railway station, the highly residential and commercial satellites towns of Delhi, NOIDA and Gurgaon and the Airport. Lots of questions were raised whether Connaught Place will retain its old world classical charm after the coming up of the metro station. It has to be noted, DMRC has done 29

its utmost best to keep the intrusions caused by the ventilator shafts into the ambience of Connaught Place to a bare minimum. They have gone ahead by landscaping the top of the metro station better than what it used to be previously, but the big trees which people still remember fondly have now been done away with them.

Source: DMRC Section showing level of Metro Platform

Architecture style As we discussed in previous chapter that Lutyens Delhi is designed with the mixture of Neoclassical and traditional or vernacular elements of Indian Architecture style. Ganesh Bhikaji Deolalikar (1890-1979) was the first Indian to head the Central Public Works Development in New Delhi (CPWD). Shirdhar Krishna Joglekar, a graduate of GBK, was the next. They faced the problems of how to develop the Mall area of New Delhi in response to the needs of an expanding democratic government which required new administrative and institutional buildings. They faced the strong problem to choose in front of the strong urban design and the architectural precedents set by Lutyens and Baker. The Modernist designers took the position that the precedents were largely irrelevant and, on political if not aesthetic grounds, should not be heeded in the development of the city. The CPWD however decided to build to the existing order. When CPWD decided to go with the Lutyens and Baker style, then the main problems were arise that their planning is accommodate the low density whereas the Delhi is a one of the fastest growing city of India. Then they finally decided to do some extent of changes but without disturbing the image of Lutyens Delhi. Its all affect we can saw in the evolution of Connaught Place. At that time all knows that CP is emerging as a central business hub for the city, so to accommodate the CP as a business centre for the city they decided to demolish some bungalows which are part of the CP on the Barakhambha road and on the Kasturba Gandhi road which comes from the CP, which in future turn into tall buildings. At that time the Habib Rahaman was the chief architect of (1970-1974). He designed the Rabindra Bhawan in 1961 at that time he was very influenced by the Bauhaus architecture in Europe, so he also try to incorporate the Bauhaus thinking in his design. His first design for the Rabindra Bhavan was a box like structure which is inspired by the Bauhaus and it is considered „nonsense‟ by Nehru when he examined the proposal, because according to Nehru the architecture should convey the history of that place and its surroundings and there should be a connection with the history. Rahman redesigned the building into a more free-flowing form with slender, continuous jaalis in abstract rather than literal forms. Connaught Place‟s Barakhambha and Kasturbha Gandhi roads turn into high rise. If we see the buildings on Barakhambha road then each building tell their story from which we get the idea that how CP evolved during time passes. The end corner building of Barakhambha road „Hansalya‟ which is a 81m tall building with having ornamented façade 31

which influenced by the Indo-deco style of architecture. After some period of time many buildings construct along the same road but they all different from the Hansalya building, basically they are more influenced by the modernistic approach the straight lines and cuts in buildings which helps in the shading of building. If we saw the latest buildings on Barakhambha road, they are totally influenced by the IT sector buildings which are constructed in the Gurgaon and NOIDA. These tall buildings affect the architecture of CP, but didnâ&#x20AC;&#x;t change the image of CP because at the time of British Government CP was to made as the business centre of city and at the present time it also serves the same function.

Source: Author

From this we can easily reach to a conclusion where we find that a city which is designed by the Lutyens and Baker for Britishers to show their imperialism on India and construction of a capital which represent the image of country worldwide. They both Lutyens and Baker did their job in a best way decided to choose and make architectural precedents which is related to its vernacular or traditional architecture. 32

PARK STREET AREA: Park street area is important part of Lutyens Delhi which contained the important nodes of Lutyens Delhi. This area is fall in between the Connaught Place and Rastripati Bhawan, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x;s why it becomes the important node in between the two important landmarks of Lutyens Delhi. Park street area and its surroundings are characterised as very typical space, because it serves many different functions. This area is start from the Baba Khark Singh Road which comes out from the Connaught Place, and a strong physical form the Alexender Place (Gol Dak Khana), Gole Market and goes till the Talkatora Stadium, which is the last landmark in the North of Lutyens Delhi. There are one side of the road MP (Member of Parliament) Bunglows are there, whereas on the other side of the road there are Government employees apartments (type-2 & 3) and there is a one popular market area, Gole Market was provided to meet their basic needs, which is the part of Lutyens planning. Park street area connects all these areas and act as the important node in between these areas.

Source: Google map

Resedential Zones New Delhi was planned to achieve the specific identity and objective, to make Central Government Offices, residences for officers, staff, support personnel and facilities as selfcontained entity. The overall plan was grand in scale with a garden city character within an â&#x20AC;&#x153;imperialâ&#x20AC;? framework. There are many Bunglows constructed during the making of capital city for the accommodation of British officers, but after the Independence these Bunglows catered the MPs (Member of Parliament of India), but due to low density it is difficult to accommodate all Government officials in the Lutyens Delhi. This district of Lutyens Delhi is very critical to transform, to increase the density in that area, because this area contains the image of the garden city. The Master Plan envisaged redevelopment in a very guarded manner, stress is being placed on conservation of the garden city character. The prescribed Master Plan gross densities of the residential zones vary from 25 PPA to 150 PPA. The overall consideration was to protect the green cover of area and the scale and volume of new development Original Bunglows of the Lutyens Delhi, which are turned into the multi-storey buildings according

during

new

development. Source: Author

New multi-storey buildings which

took

the

place

Bunglows.( MP apartments)

Source: Author

The whole Park street area slowly transformed into multi-storey residential towers, but important point is that Master Plan developers understand that tree cover is the important part of the Lutyens Delhi, which they handle very carefully during the new constructions of multistorey towers. They clearly defined the right amount of setback area for the volume or form of the building that it does not affect the image of Lutyens Delhi.

Source: www.archinomy.com At present time there are some bunglows which are present on the Park street area and serves their function, but to maintain these types of lavish bunglows needs services. If we see in present scenario, these bunglows have their service lanes with full of unauthorised construction by their servants or other service class people and they develop the unhygienic conditions which are not suites the lifestyle of residents of Lutyens Delhi and it affects the image of Lutyens Delhi.

Source: Author

Illegal construction in the service lane of Bunglows and develop unhygienic conditions.

Road Networks The major impact of metropolitan growth on Lutyens Delhi, is in the terms of demand to change the built form to make it denser, then it directly affects the transport of the city, which can destroys the spatial homogeneity of the green and it cannot be used as open space. There is a strategy by the Government and Master Plan developers to control the vehicular movement in the Lutyens Delhi, that these road networks connects the Government offices and their employees are accommodated nearby the office areas which it reduce the traffic movement. In the reduction of traffic in the Lutyens Delhi the public transport have an very important role, DTC buses and Delhi Metro reduce the vehicular movement on roads. These roads are all part of the Lutyens planning in the making of capital city. At that time he designed these road networks to thought of the use in future and he designed wide roads, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x;s why they are existing till present.

Source: Author But in future, the problem will be arise because of the development in future in the area which is surrounded by the Gole Market, where the present density ranges from 50 to 70 PPA. This is one of the most valuable residential areas located in the proximity of Parliament street, Connaught Place and Indraprastha Estate. According to MPD the Gole Market area will be redeveloped to an optimum desirable residential density to 150 PPA.

Landscape In the planning of capital city, Lutyen‟s had a main concept of “garden city”, garden in between the cities which balance the system of city and creating an environment which is suitable for all users. Lutyens Delhi is known for its garden in between the roads, there are at every junction of a road is a roundabout which has a garden, mainly it is famous for its “golchakars” and every “golchakars” has its own and unique image by installing statues and fountains from which it will become a part of user‟s memory. The garden city concept works well in Lutyens Delhi whereas crowded Delhi is daily deal with the problems of jams, and congestion and in Lutyens Delhi traffic moves swiftly due to its roundabouts. The city of Lutyens Delhi is also known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards on the both sides of the roads. The tree-lined boulevards are also the part of Lutyen‟s planning. Behind these trees boulevards there are officer‟s bunglow which has low heights, they has only the ground and first floor construction. Tree-lined boulevards restrict the direct view of bunglow from the road.

Source: www.archinomy.com Roundabouts of Lutyens Delhi

Delhi Government was succeeding to maintain these roundabouts in the proper conditions and recreate the essence of garden city. But due to resolve the traffic problems, they cut down some of the pathways and turn their green area into road to increase the width of road. The use of green buffer zones within the bunglow plot boundary cuts off the visual link and noise from the road in front. The typical Lutyens Bunglow is a single storied dwelling with a sprawling lawn in the front. There is a service road (usually 3m wide) in front beyond the low boundary wall. Between the service road and the main vehicular road is a 3m wide pavement. The wide pavement is interspersed with another layer of trees. The overall density and scale of this area is drastically different from any other part of Delhi.

Source: Author Green roundabouts in between the roads.

CONCLUSION

Over the years, the imperial plan formed the nucleus of growth in Delhi. After when we got the Independence, the constituent assembly in New Delhi declared India an independent domination within the British Commonwealth. By January 26 of the following year, India had changed its status from an independent dominion to a republic. The Lutyens Delhi capitol complex was easily appropriated to house and represent India‟s first democratic government despite all its connotations. The vice regal lodge was rechristened Rastripati Bhawan or the President‟s house housing the President who is the figured of the Indian constitution. Baker‟s Secretariats retained their original function as offices for ministers and other officials. Democracy promoted an ironical shift of real power from Lutyens, place to Baker‟s circular Legislative Building (now Parliament house), which was an afterthought, tucked away in a corner at the bottom of the Raissina hill beneath all the pomposity and splendour above. The asserts that the change of meaning was not so seamless after all but it surely triggered future transformations based on the few functions and importance given to specific buildings. Although the sanctity of the King‟s way was maintained to a greater degree the rest of the plan soon succumbed to becoming the centre of the business and shopping district of New Delhi. The King‟s way (now Raj path), its lavish green lawns and water features have become a public space for the entire city to enjoy. Raj path remains the true face of democracy where people of all incomes, tourists and locals alike come to spend picnics or take an evening walk or drive. I strongly believe that Lutyens Delhi Plan was a good plan, true to its time and place, it was able to achieve the imperial order that British intended to impress upon the people of India. The architectural articulation of the plan achieved a fair distinction in fusing the East and West with the West creating a unique Anglo-Indian vocabulary that was used as inspirations by many over the following years all over India. Although it erased some contextual identities, it also formed interesting relationships between the existing context and the new development. Whether by accident or by design, the flexibility of the plan in embracing new meaning after independence remains a novel characteristic of the plan. Although the large plot sizes and the wide roads in the Lutyens Delhi were designed to accommodate expansion of human and vehicular populations, but the Government choose to preserve low densities and prevent growth in this area. Lutyens Delhi‟s elitism and imperialism have been preserved in the heart of world‟s largest democracy. 39

The capital has been incredibly flexible in ways not intended by virtue of the plan and the architecture of city, yet it may not have been allowed to change in ways it was designed to be flexible. Many believe that the scheme disregards the traditional housing prototypes and promotes social segregation and imperial philosophies. In my opinion a social segregation may exists but it is attributable to vested real estate interests and political agendas that masquerade in the name of preservation. When I start this dissertation my argument was that the growth criteria or evolution of Lutyens Delhi is going in the right direction or not, or the development of this area affects the image of Lutyens Delhi. But afterwards all research and analysis I can conclude that the evolution of Lutyens Delhi goes in the right direction. From 1911, when the announcement by the King Georg V for shifting the capital city and till date at present Lutyens Delhi goes from the many changes as it was political or introduction of technology to make life more easy and comfortable, but after all of these it contains its image which is carved by the Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker. In conclusion, the Lutyens Delhi plan was an effective design which is flexible for the city transformation and yet contains its real image. During my research and analysis I found that Government of India and MPD developers have important role in the transformation of Lutyens Delhi and they are totally in the favour for the preservation of real image of Lutyens Delhi. However, as the citizens of Delhi we have to understand our role in the development of city and take the right direction in the favour of transformation but without affecting the image of city.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dhirendra Singh & Mohan Joseph, 2011, Sentinels of Raisina Hill, 1st edition. Kotla Mubarakpur, New Delhi – 3. Sinha Amit Kumar, 2008, Urban city form – Delhi, 1st edition, School of Planning & Architecture. Architect Christopher Benninger, 2012, „Dehli city in conflict‟, Delhi architecture.weebly.com. Nayanjot Lahiri, 2011, „Delhi‟s capital century(1911-2011)‟, Colloquium program for agrarian studies, Yale University. Jon Lang, 2002, A concise history of Modern Architecture in India, Permanent Black, Mall road, Ranikhet. Geography, „Maps of India‟,Delhi. Delhi Development Authority, 1980, „Proceedings of the Seminar on the future of New Delhi‟). Sharma Shilpa. (2008). Role of open spaces in Lutyens Delhi. (Dissertation, School of planning & Architecture, Delhi

Sinha Amit Kumar. (2008). Urban city form - Delhi. (Dissertation, School of planning & Architecture, Delhi).

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