Category Archives: Essays

Palmyra House in Monochrome Photographs

Monochrome images reveal the many dimensions of Bijoy Jain’s architecture as light interacts with surfaces of changing quality.

Monsoon has a very peculiar mood at the Palmyra House. Set in a landscape of a palm plantation, the house has a very tactile quality.  The unique atmosphere that the landscape and the structures of the site compose is elevated by the strong monsoon breeze that blows from the Arabian Sea. Continue reading Palmyra House in Monochrome Photographs

In Gratitude

Retirement Address by Prof. Neelkanth Chhaya

After more than 25 years of service to the school of architecture at C.E.P.T, Prof. Neelkanth Chhaya formally retired in 2013. This address was presented by him on November 19, 2013 at Piraji Sagara Basement at C.E.P.T.

Protecting Modern Masterpieces in India

A Conversation between William J.R. Curtis and an Unknown Indian.

UI  You are known around the world as a historian and critic of architecture who defends quality against mediocrity, and who maintains a long view of events. In a recent article, ‘Nothing is Sacred: Threats to Modern Masterpieces in India’, (Architectural Review, April 2014)*, you have sounded the alert about the vulnerability of major works in India such as those by Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn in Ahmedabad, and of course those by Le Corbusier in Chandigarh. Subsequently in the Times of India you have argued in favour of the legal definition and defence of modern architectural heritage. What are these threats and what can be done to protect these universal masterpieces of modern architecture? Continue reading Protecting Modern Masterpieces in India