Joseph Allen Stein An American Architect in Delhi
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Joseph Allen SteinAn American Architect in Delhi
About The Architect• Joseph Stein, (April 10, 1912 – October 6, 2001) was an
American architect and a major figure in the establishment of a regional modern architecture in the San Francisco Bay area in the 1940s and 1950s during the early days of the environmental design movement. In 1952 he moved to India. He is noted for designing several important buildings in India, most notably in Lodhi Estate in Central Delhi, nicknamed "Steinabad" after him, and where today the 'Joseph Stein Lane', is the only road in Delhi named after an architect. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1992.
BiographyBeginnings, 1912• Joseph Allen Stein was born in Omaha, Nebraska, into a
Jewish family.• His father was a photographer. Stein's father purchased his
business from a photographer who recorded the massacre of Native Americans by US troops These images periodically still come to his mind.
• Attends the University of Illinois, and wins a scholarship to Fountainebleau, France in 1933-34. Stein tied for the scholarship with a Finnish-American student, Eero Saarinen.
• Studies at Cranbrook in 1935-36 with Eliel Saarinen, and Swedish sculptor Carl Milles.
• Models for Milles' fountain at St. Louis, "The Meeting of the Waters", serving as the figure engraved with the inscription ". . .and he saw the people.. . "
Stein In Los Angeles
' Moves to Los Angeles in the late 1930's. Works for Richard Neutra, Hamilton Harwell Harris and the Los Angeles Housing Authority. Witnesses the environmental degradation and migration out of the Dust Bowl of the central United States toCalifornia. Completes housing studies for migrant workers with architect Gregory Ain, becoming acutely aware of addressing issues of social justice in architectural design. Stein's Low Cost House Prototype for the Southwest is published in Architectural Forum in 1940, an attempt to bring the cost of housing down to that of the automobile. He is invited to Taliesin West to meet Frank Lloyd Wright.
San Francisco• Relocates to San Francisco in the mid- 1940's, sharing an
office with architect John Funk and landscape architect Garrett Eckbo . Funk's work is featured on the cover of the Museum of Modern Art's first book on American modern architecture, Built in the USA. Stein meets architects Edward Larrabee Barnes and Mary Barnes, Eric Mendelsohn, Hannes Meyer, artist Diego Rivera, photographer Imogen Cunningham; and planner Fran Viollich, Jack Kent, and others who go onto form Telesis, a group dedicated to "progress intelligently planned". With Viollich and Barnes, Stein teaches at the California Labour School. founded by labour unions whose emphasis includes working to prepare students to design and build their own homes and gardens once the War is over. Guest lecturers included Neutra, Wright, Meyer, Rivera.
• The front yard entrance of this home by Joseph Stein, architect, design this Mill Valley home. The 400 sq ft addition on the right was added in 1989 to mimic the original. Stein builds his home and garden in Mill Valley, to similar dimensions as his earlier low cost housing studies. He hires a young Charles Moore to his first architectural job.
• Mexico. Israel. France, Switzerland. 1950-1952. Stein and his family visit Mexico and Israel, and stay for a period in France and in Switzerland with Stanlev White and then Hannes Mever . J.Stein draws plans for ideal communities of small dwellings in the tropics and in the mountains, to be built through self-help and cooperation among neighbours. In France, he meets a young Indian architect named B.V. Doshi who is working for Le Corbusier.
1952: THE INDIA OF NEHRU AND RADHAKRISHNAN
• Calcutta, 1952- 1955. Neutra recommends Stein to lead the Department of Architecture at Bengal Engineering College. Stein founds a firm that becomes Stein, Chatterjee and Polk, Architects, Engineers Planners. Polk had worked on Gandhi's rural reconstruction program. Stein completes urban and rural demonstration housing projects, visited by Nehru. Stein's rural design is similar to Gandhi's settlement at Wardha, conceived as a example of attainable simplicity to support Indian democracy . Nehru commissions two capital cities and four Industrial townships to establish a new India.
TURNING POINT, 1977: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF STEIN DOSHI AND BHALLA• Delhi, Ahmedabad, 1977- 1993. The establishment of the firm of
Stein Doshi and Bhalla. In addition to major works across the country, the firm establishes a research component in each office. In Delhi, Stein researches mountain environment, in Ahmedabad, Doshi explores Indian conditions, and enriches the education of a generation of Indian architects through undertaking research into Indian traditions.
Their Known Work… INDIAN HABITAT CENTER BHARAT DIAMOND BOURSEKASHMIR CONFERENCE CENTERUNICEF HEADQUARTERS DELHIMASTER PLAN OF DAL LAKE
At Last..• Among his notable buildings outside Delhi was the Express Towers,
the first high rise built in India, and at the time it was completed, the tallest building in South East Asia.
• Several of his disciples went on to establish leading architectural firms and real estate development businesses; J. K. Jain (architect & real estate developer), Chairman at Dasnac Designarch; and Anuraag Chawla and Meena Mani (architects), Principals at Mani & Chawla, to name a few.
• In 1993, Building in the Garden, a study of his work, by Stephen White, dean of the School of Architecture at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island was published. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor, in 1992. He married Margaret Suydam in 1938. He died on October 6, 2001, at age 89 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is survived by their sons David and Ethan.
Design Features
• Interrelationships of site with landscape, structure and materials; sun and shade.
• Horizontal and vertical Garden. • Use of local material.• Use of jali• Use of courtyard. Blend of built and garden that
makes the space extended.• Use of modern construction techniques.• Shell geometries –Dome, Vault and factory roof
system
His Beliefs.. Thus, the modern style of architecture designed by Joseph Allen Stein adapted to varying geological and climatic conditions. • Stein believed in using building materials in their original
form—like he never covered stone with plaster.• There is a strong relationship and harmony between the
immediate environment and the buildings.• His works were based on American Empiricist tradition.
He Said…
• "It appears to me that we have firm basis for developing richer and more varied communities. I have come to think that in architecture and planning, regionalism allows scope for all that is positive and functional in modern architecture, and also can provide stimulus for the enrichment and particularization that gives architecture its appeal to the multitudes, while also meeting the highest standards of the profession .'"
His Major And Known Works In Delhi, INDIA
Indian International Center
There was an attempt to create something which depended upon simplicity and relationships rather than things. So this is not a five-star appearance in marble and granite. But it is a place where a certain kind of relationship exists—between the garden and the building and the water and the earth and the sky, and the learning and activities that take place and the things that happen...’
- J.A. Stein
• IIC facilities for a variety of artistic and scholarly activities, conference and symposia organized by nation and international groups.
• The centre’s 18600 square meter(4.6acres) site at Lodi estate was designed
• The grounds of the IIC and adjacent Lodi gardens could function as one entity.
The Centre is composed of Stein’s characteristically individually Articulated blocks –
• 46 guest rooms,lounge and dinning room in one,
• Programmed blocks of library and offices,
• Domed Auditorium are all grouped around two great courts,
• Connected by porticoes and ground level and rooftop verandahs.
Construction
• The construction methods and procedures employed in the building of the India international center were typical of the methods and skill levels available in India at the time of construction(1958-62).
• The pre-casting of some of the elements on the ground was undertaken in order to ensure high –quality construction, both in terms of structural integrity and finish.
• The IIC is virtually a hand-made building.
Indian Habitat Center
• The height of the building is around 30m high. The entire facade is cladded with red bricks which give a majestic look to the structure. Vertical and Horizontal ribbon windows have been used with a special glass that restricts the entry of sunlight.
• The concept of IHC is based on environmental and regional planning energy and its judicious use, relevance of technology, transport and communication, lifestyle social and cultural linkage, fiscal policies, legal and management system and information technology
• It is a complex of institutional and office spaces , conferences and library facility for groups involved with environment and habitat issues.
• The external facade is in a language of exposed red brick, exposed concrete and glass.
• Use of horizontal and vertical ribbon windows having slots in them for plantation purposes.
• Carefully conceived brick patterns in the courtyards and variegated brick coursing in the building’s vertical piers.
Shading Device
• The reflectors are installed above the building to provide shade and prevent sun from entering into the building. The reflectors are aligned at an angle which reflect back 70% of the sunlight and change their angle during winter to allow sunlight to fall on the windows.
List of organizationsAssociation of Indian Automobile ManufacturersAll India Brick & Tile Manufacturers FederationAll India Housing Development AssociationBuilding Materials & Technology Promotion CouncilCentral Building Research InstituteCentre for Development Studies & Activities (CDSA)Centre for Science & EnvironmentCentre for Science & Technology of the Non-Aligned & Other Developing CountriesConfederation of Indian IndustryConsultancy Development CentreCouncil for Advancement of People's Action & Rural TechnologyCouncil of ArchitectureDelhi Management AssociationDelhi Policy GroupDelhi Urban Art CommissionFoundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Housing & Urban Development Corporation Ltd.Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd.Indian Council for Research on International Economic RelationsIndian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd.Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced ResearchInfrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd.Institute of Social Studies TrustInternational Labour OrganisationMacArthur FoundationMCD Slum & JJ DepartmentNational Foundation for IndiaNational Capital Region - Planning BoardNational Housing BankNational Institute of DesignUniversity of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of IndiaVikram Sarabhai Foundation
American International School
•The American International School in Chanayakyapuri, India, is an independent, co-educational day school which offers an educational program from prekindergarten through Grade 12. The school was founded in 1962.•The school is governed by a nine-member Board of Governors, seven of whom are elected for two-year terms by the American EmbassySchool Association of New Delhi
The Folded Shell Of The Steel Lattice Vaulting At The Classroom
•American International School (1962-68) comes more out of the American Empiricist tradition than the European Rationalist and its concern for orthogonal geometry particularly in the sitting of buildings.
Conical Steel Lattices At Classroom
Triveni kala Sangam
•Design Concept-•Factors affecting Building layout- Large number of functions to be
handled on a small site.A high degree of flexibility provided for various functions. Perfectly synchronized interior & outdoor spaces having provision with the clarity in the functioning of each and every space
Galleries•4 DifferentGalleries- Triveni Kala
Sangam House The Shridharni
Gallery Triveni Gallery Sculpture Court
& Art Heritage
Clad reinforced concrete frame structure with several infill materials –
Jaali panels along the classroom block, corridor and stairs,Concrete block with a plastered finish andRough-cut stone facing presented to the street.
Ford Foundation Center
The Ford Foundation Established An Office In India In 1952 At The Invitation Of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
It Was The Foundation's First Office Outside The United States And Remains One Of The Largest Of The International Field Operations
Originally built for to house the Ford Foundation Headquarters in India, the building is currently used by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It is part of a complex of buildings designed by American Architect .
Australian High Commission
Using local materials and with an understanding of the harsh Delhi climate, this house relates to the lush green landscape in which it sits.
Open stone jalis or perforated screens, combine with large expanses of glass in a way that respected both traditional knowledge and modernist principles.
Akshara Theatre
• Human Scale Of The Buildings, Makes It Best For Bringing Human Environment
• Designed By Poet, Director Gopal Sharman Built By Stein.
Industrial Building For Escorts Limited
• Barrel vault lattice shell, Escorts plant I (1962)
• Hyperbolic parabolic lattice shell, for Escorts II plant (1964)
• Concrete domes for storage facilities (1965)
• Octagonal steel lattice domes, For plant at Surajpur (1988)
Two things have essentially guided my work. One is what you might call an interest in and search for an appropriate modern
regionalism. I would put equal emphasis on both words, 'regional' and 'modern', because regional without modern is
reactionary, and modern without regional is insensitive, inappropriate. The second one is to seek the character of the
solution in the nature of the problem, as much as one possibly can.
- J A Stein
Stein’s Popular Work In INDIA•1968: Indian Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai.
•Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode campus, Kerala, India.
•Kashmir Conference Center, India. •1962 - Cultural Education Centre Kennedy House Complex of Aligarh Muslim University, India.
•Gandhi Labor Institute
Express Tower
• The Express Towers is a 25-storey building located on Marine Drive in Nariman Point, Mumbai. Upon its completion in 1972, the 105 metres (344 ft) building was the tallest building in South Asia for about two years. The building serves as the corporate headquarters of Indian Express Limited, which also owns the building.
• The Express Towers is valuable for this was the only high-rise Stein ever designed. The building is unique for the way it connects to the ground. The tower block rises from a terrace garden above a three floor high podium.
• The Express Towers at the time it was completed was the tallest building in South Asia, a position it held for about two years. It surpassed the 101 metres (331 ft) Habib Bank Plaza in Karachi. In turn, it was surpassed by the Oberoi Trident Towers which measured 117 metres (384 ft).
Kashmir Conference Center
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Front Facade
54Use of stone across the building
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Sections
Gandhi Labor Institute
• Gandhi Labor Institute was established by Gujarat Government in 1984 to provide for education, training, study and research in labor and related subjects. The institution has been designed by architect B V Doshi and it reuses many elements from Sangath, his office
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Gandhi Labor Institute was established by Gujarat Government in 1984 to provide for education, training, study and research in labor and related subjects. The institution has been designed by architect B V Doshi and it reuses many elements from Sangath, his office
The concrete vaults covered in white china mosaic, the faceted terraces, earth mounds, greet plaster on external walls and an Amphitheatre; all these elements form a language which was also explored in Sangath
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The building is approached at the first floor with a forecourt and wide steps flanked by a pool. One enters under a transversal vault which then feeds laterally into the various departments as well as the hostel block. This transversal vault, to me, is the most powerful space in the entire institution and gives this place, a unique identity.
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10 Things About Joseph Allen Stein• Stein's talented wife, Margaret, furnished the
interiors in several of his buildings• As an undergraduate, Stein won a Whitney
Warren Scholarship for sum mer study at the Ecoledes Beaux-Arts de Fontainebleau, narrowly besting Eero Saarinen in the competition.
• In 1947, Stein and landscape architect Robert Royston built small houses next door to each other in Mill Valley, California. Stein simply reversed his own plan for Royston, who in turn designed both gardens.
• Stein, Funk, Eckbo, and Royston planned a post war cooperative hous ing community called Ladera near Palo Alto, California. The project died as the financiers balked at the commu nity being racially integrated.
• He found it thrilling to be in India after independence, when Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister. Stein found it akin to "coming to the United States when Thomas Jefferson was alive.“
• Stein loved classical music and turned to Mozart's opera Don Giovanni or a l ate Beethoven string quartet when absorbed in a particu larly mighty design problem.
• One project of which he was proudest was an Indian motor-scooter factory. Construction was so affordable that some visiting engineers playfully accused him of cooking the books.
• Stein had a sly sense of humor and was fond of quipping, "The possibilities are tremendous. The probabilities are terrible.
• In a 1989 lecture, Stein called the International Style "flawed without the depth of traditional forms and without their endearing charms. And what was worse, it was boring.“
• Stein adored his time in India, and though his wife and sons learned Hindi, he never fully adopted the culture. "His religion, his profession, his nation ality." his son David explains, "were all architecture."
Thank You
• Group II
• Bharat Wadhwa• Bhanu Choudhary• Vishal Vishwakarma
• MD. Aftab• Manish Prajapati