Amity School of Architecture and Planning, Noida

ARCH 164: HISTORY AND THEORY OF

ARCHITECTURE
Year I - Semester II
Module III - Hybridities and Regional Features

Prepared By –
Dr. Sukanya Ghosh, Visiting Faculty
Art Deco and Modernist Transition
Art Deco
• Art Deco would be called a movement.
• It was prevalent around the 1920s to 1940s.
• It emerged in France before World War I and had its effect all over the
world in not only in buildings but in every other tangible art form.
• Art and Objects: The style was applied to everything from high-end
jewellery to everyday items like radios, clocks, and furniture.
• It was a shortened form of art decorative.
• It embodied the progressive and cosmopolitan spirit of the time.
• Art deco is concentrated in Mumbai, but nonetheless, the few parts of
India that it has touched have left a significant impression.
• Art Deco architecture in India is a captivating fusion of Western design
elements with Indian influences.

Key Features of Indian Art Deco

• Strong vertical lines, curved corners, cantilevered balconies (designed

for breeze), and symmetrical façades.
• Sunburst rays, zigzags, speed lines, marine motifs (like waves), and
stylized tropical flora.
• Widespread use of reinforced concrete allowed for innovative, sculptural
shapes.
Eros Cinema, Mumbai
• This building, one of the world heritage sites, open in 1938.
• Built by the architect Shorabji Bhedwar
• It is a part of the Victorian and art deco.
• Its facade look is a mix of red sandstone and cream paint and the foyer forms
the connection at the intersection of the two wings.
• The foyer is in white and black marble with touches of gold.
New India Assurance Building, Mumbai

• Built-in 1936, this is an office building entirely built-in reinforced concrete with Egyptian-looking murals and
figurines on its facade.
• It was designed by Sarhe and Bhuta, and artistically designed by N.G Pansare.
• One of its facades projects strong art deco features with some classical touch in its vertical ribs.
 Raj Mandir Cinema in Jaipur
• Art Deco-style single-screen theater designed by architect W.M. Namjoshi
in 1976.
• Known as the "temple of cinema," its exterior features a meringue-shaped
structure with bold, symmetrical curves, while the interior is characterized
by grand chandeliers, pastel colors, and ornate, opulent details providing a
palace-like experience.
• The exterior is a prime example of streamline modern design, characterized
by smooth lines and a large, illuminated, asymmetrical facade.
• Meringue-Shaped Auditorium: The auditorium is famously shaped like a
meringue, creating a unique, visually striking viewing space.
• Opulent Interior: Inside, the lobby features a grand, sweeping staircase, soft
indirect lighting, and extravagant, detailed, and opulent ceilings.
• The entrance often features a "nine stars" motif, representing the nine
gemstones, fitting with the "Pink City" aesthetic.
Characteristic Features
• Geometric patterns, sleek lines, and intricate detailing
• Vibrant pastel colours, metal accents and ornate motifs.
• Streamline effect used on rectangular, blocky forms that are arranged
geometrically.
• Maintained consistent detailing inside and out, utilized bold colour contrasts,
featured fragmented, angular shapes, decorated windows, and embellished
corners with tower-like parapets.
• It was defined by its bold features, hard-edged, often richly embellished
designs.
• Art Deco blends modern and traditional materials such as stucco, terracotta,
glass, chrome, and steel.
• Emphasizes on vertical lines to draw eyes upward.

These elements collectively shaped iconic structures celebrated for their

timeless elegance.
Vernacular Resilience and Typology Revival
Vernacular Architecture
• Refers to building traditions native to a region or culture, using local materials and traditional
methods shaped by climate and customs.
• The term "Vernacular architecture" in general refers to the informal building of structures without
using the services of a professional architect. It is the most widespread form of building.
• It has evolved through trial-and-error methods.
• It embodies specialized knowledge of local environment, often passed through craftsmen
generations. Vernacular buildings achieve simplicity of means and common sense learned over
centuries.
• Vernacular forms integrate seamlessly with local conditions and are inherently sustainable –
minimizing transport and energy by responding passively to climate.

Vernacular Resilience
• The capacity to withstand or adapt to environmental and social stresses (storms, heatwaves,
earthquakes) without catastrophic failure.
• Studies found that vernacular homes have a few times lower embodied energy and lower
operational energy compared to modernized dwellings, and exhibit higher thermal comfort
resilience under future climate scenarios.
Typology revival
• Refers to re-adopting or adapting traditional building types or forms in contemporary projects.
• Using regional typology revival to engage local traditions through design reference rather than exact historical copy.
• Designers can create a sustainable environment by culminating traditional Vernacular with modern techniques of
construction.
Location Typology Materials Climate/Design Strategies
Bhunga Hut Kachchhi Bhunga Rammed earth, thatch, Thick cylindrical walls (thermal mass); conical
(Kutch, India) circular hut wood thatch roof; earth floor coolness
Himalayan Kath-Kuni Himalayan stone- Stone masonry, deodar Timber-band walls (flexible to earth quake);
(Himachal, India) wood farmhouse wood, mud sloping slate roofs (snow load); small high
windows
Kerala Nalukettu Traditional joint- Wood, laterite, Central courtyard (light/air); integrated water
(Kerala, India) family courtyard terracotta tiles harvesting; high plinth (flood protection)
house

Bhunga Hut Himalayan Kath-Kuni Kerala Nalukettu

Materials & Construction Techniques:
• Vernacular buildings use local, renewable or low-carbon
materials – such as rammed earth, bamboo, timber, lime plaster,
stone, thatch – chosen for climatic fit and ease of renewal.
• Construction often employs interlocking or modular systems:
• These methods allow easy repair or component replacement,
embodying a circular design logic where maintenance (not
demolition) is built in.

Use of Bamboo in construction

Use of stone in construction

CEBs (Compressed Earth Blocks)
 Auroville Homes

Adaptations of Adobe in modern construction:

Architects Hassan Fathy, Nadir Khalili and Indian Architects Brick wall by Architect Laurie Baker
such as Laurie Baker, Chitra Vishwanath have used the adobe
construction to build the structure.
Climate Adaptation:

• Every vernacular system embeds passive climate strategy.

Thick earthen or stone walls provide thermal mass,
damping day–night temperature swings.
• Roofing is tailored: steep thatch or tile roofs with deep
overhangs keep out rain and sun, often with ventilated
attics.
• Window and wall openings are placed to promote cross-
ventilation and stack effect.
• Courtyards and verandahs are common: they shade
interiors and channel breezes
• Colours and finishes also adapt: whitewashed lime in hot
deserts reflects heat.
• In flood-prone areas, houses may be stilted or floating to
tolerate rising water. Vernacular materials often manage
moisture naturally (e.g. breathable thatch and earth floors).
• Rainwater harvesting is integral: for example, Kerala’s
Nalukettu houses have internal tanks and eaves designed
to collect roof runoff for use.
Cultural & Social Meaning:
• Vernacular forms carry deep cultural identity.
• Building types often reflect social structures (extended families, trade
guilds).
• Ornament, layout and orientation often encode tradition (sacred directions,
community gathering spaces).
• Buildings are typically constructed by or with communities (e.g. family
labour), reinforcing social cohesion.
• It reconnects communities with ancestral knowledge, preserving “architectural
storytelling” that links past and present.
• Vernacular housing often includes spaces for livestock, storage, craft (e.g.
Rajasthan houses with cattle sheds), reflecting economic functions integrated
with homes.
Economics:
• Vernacular construction is typically low-tech and low-cost.
• Using on-site materials and local labour minimizes expenses and life-cycle
costs.
• Maintenance over decades is cheaper than demolition/build a new, due to the
focus on repairable structures.

Policy & Regulation: Internationally, forums like UNESCO have begun to

recognize vernacular heritage as a climate resource, signalling policy shifts.
National Crafts Museum, New Delhi.
• Architect Charles Correa interpreted India’s vernacular architecture in a modern typology, the Museum(1975-90) at
Pragati Maidan, New Delhi
• The space provides a forum to craftspeople nationwide to showcase their art – and the process of its creation– to
visitors
• Its spaces massed together to recreate an Indian village.
• The Museum incorporates extensive use of vernacular material – stone, bamboo,
brick, mud, thatch – and uses craftwork as both interior and exterior ornamentation.
• A very impressive series of spaces that hold together as a unit and display a high
degree of functional efficiency.
• It demonstrates a successful transition of the vernacular to the modern, as also
how traditional architectural vocabulary need not be synonymous with
‘backward’.
Rajkumari Rajnavati Girl’s School, Jaisalmer

• Rajkumari Rajnavati Girl’s School in Jaisalmer for

its brilliant use of local materials.
• Designed by US-based firm, Diana Kellog
Architects, the school has become an architectural
marvel regarding space for economically challenged,
geographically remote, and marginalized
communities worldwide.
• The building is in an oval form with a courtyard in
the center and the classes in the periphery.
• The entire structure is made of locally sourced
sandstone and used monolithically.
Krushi Bhavan, Bhubaneswar – Studio Lotus
• Situated in the state of Odisha, Krushi Bhavan is a government facility for Odisha’s agriculture and farmers’
empowerment.
• Krushi Bhawan illustrates how a Government facility can extend itself to celebrate local context, craftsmanship
and sustainability and become a vital part of the social infrastructure.
• The designers adapted the vernacular architectural elements that beautifully showcase the traditional facade design
of the building.