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Continuities and discontinuities
Published in Piyush Tiwari, Jyoti Rao, Delhi's Changing Built Environment, 2017
Among noteworthy examples of buildings constructed during 1960s and 1970s, which draw upon Le Corbusier’s works, are the Akbar Hotel (1969) (modern-day Akbar Bhawan) (Figure 4.87) and Shri Ram Centre (1969) by Shiv Nath Prasad (Figure 4.86). The former relies heavily on the Le Corbusier-designed Unite d’habitation (1952) in Marseilles, while the latter is much more original in form. Very faithful to the Rationalist ideology, Shri Ram Centre uses pure geometric forms, each of which is identified with the function they serve. As sculptures of reinforced concrete, these buildings are at times categorised under Brutalist architecture in Delhi. However, Lang (2002) explains that the exposure of building material and construction technique, as observed in buildings from 1970s, was the necessity of austerity more than being the aesthetic of Brutalism. In fact the inspiration for exposing rustic building materials lay in Indian vernacular architecture, and it happened that Brutalism concept in Europe paralleled to what was happening in India for other reasons (Lang, 2002).
Mastering the Hard Stuff: The History of College Concrete-Canoe Races and the Growth of Engineering Competition Culture
Published in Engineering Studies, 2019
Engineers and industry especially appreciated the chance to stress favorable impressions of concrete, given the substance’s often-negative connotations. The 1950s to 1970s represented the heyday of Brutalist architecture. Designs such as Le Corbusier’s 1952 Marseille apartment complex Unite d’ Habitation aimed to represent rugged functionality, stripping away meaningless ornamentation.48 Fans promoted ‘raw concrete’ as tangible authenticity, lending striking muscularity to buildings. Architecture writer Leonard Koren praised Brutalism as ‘three-dimensional poetry’ that sculpted dramatic angles, intersecting spaces, and variegated textures.49