Report on jAWAHAR KALA KENDRA

A SUBMISSION REPORT ON JAWAHAR KALA KENDRA JAIPUR
AN EXTRA ORDINARY WORK OF CHARLES CORREA.

1. SUBMITTED BY: ASIF ANWAR | B.ARCH II ND YR. [SFS] | April 5, 2018
A MODERN INTERPRETATION OF TRADITIONAL FORMS

REPORT

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FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE & EKISTICS
JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA
NEW DELHI-110025
2017-2018




SUBMITTED BY: ASIF ANWAR
B.ARCH IIND YR. [SFS]
SUBMITTED ON
APRIL 05, THURSDAY

SUBJECT: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
SUBJECT TEACHER: AR. ARSHIYA AHMED

SIGNATURE: MARKS:

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INTRODUCTION

Project Jawahar Kala Kendra (further
referred as JKK)
Location Old city of Jaipur, Rajasthan-
India
Period of Construction 1986-1991
Architect Charles Correa
Client Rajasthan Government, India
Purpose Cultural center to preserve the
Rajasthani arts & crafts

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Figure 1: NAV GRAHA MANDALA

Figure 2: ENTRANCE
Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) is one the best examples of Indian
contemporary architecture built in a planned historic city of
Jaipur, where the modernity fuses with the past through different
space organization and materials used.
As Charles Correa during his interview with RIBA president
Angela Brady told that “The design of JKK comes from city
itself, which was based on the nine squares each representing
nine planets. And the ruler who built the city was obsessed with
the sky, so on one side he used the oldest myths of the sky which
is the ‘Navgrah’ (the nine planets) and then he also is the one
who built the newest myths which is science, through
astronomical instruments. For example, the Jantar Mantra
(masonry tools designed to study the sky), which where way
ahead of their time. People measured very precisely the
movement of the sun and the stars because the instruments were
made from masonry and fixed, so otherwise metal instruments
could move with the tremor of the earth or something else. So,
he had these two different takes on the sky, and he brought them
together in this city and since it’s a memorial to India’s first
prime minister ‘Jawahar Lal Nehru’, nothing better than to bring
back the city its past. Nehru wrote a book called ‘The discovery
of India’ which was looking backwards deep into the roots of
Indian culture, but he (Jawahar Lal Nehru) also commissioned
Corbusier to invent a new future through a modern city
Chandigarh. Now how do you bring those two visions together?
“To know and understand this (JKK) built space, we must
understand the context and background it’s built in and also took
inspiration from. We must look back into the past and briefly
understand the principals of Indian science of architecture called
‘Vastu Shastra’ and how it was used in the planning of the old
city of Jaipur

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CONTEXT & BACKGROUND
‘Vastu Shastra’ an ancient science of architecture in India that identified relations between forces
of nature and living in an architectural space. It is about designing a space and eventually
buildings, temples and cities in a way to enable living in harmony with the forces of nature. The
basis of Vastu Shastra when simplified, seems to rest on the following:
Cosmic influence: The heavily bodies in the celestial space influences the activity on the surface
of the earth. Solar energy: Energy levels and radiations from sunrays is not the same all over the
surface of the earth. Geo-magnetic fields: The magnetic field between the North and the South
poles of the earth affects the bio-organisms. Geology of the crust: Materials used for the
construction and otherwise which can be extracted from nearby. Hydrology and Eco-systems:
Habitable regions depend on perennial sources of water and the types of supportive vegetation.
Socio- cultural beliefs: Emergence of the human society from primitive to tribal to organized
levels of a structured society.
Vastupurusha Mandala: Vastu means surrounding environment or nature (Prakriti in Sanskrit).
Purush means energy or soul (Shakti in Sanskrit). Mandala means the astrological chart- which
relates the layout to the orientation, right direction (both in space and in time), right proportion
and right placement. These three collectively, called Vastupurusha Mandala (form-being-
diagram), used as a guide for which activities are best suited for each area of the building. As
explained in Mansara*, there are 32 such versions of the Mandala that can be used in various
circumstances with the simplest being a single square with no subdivisions; the largest has 1024
subdivisions; and the most sacred are the eight divisions giving 64 subdivisions or the nine
divisions giving 81 subdivisions. The Mandala can be applied when interpreting the scale of a
whole city down to understanding that of a house. In simple words, these squares are the
abstraction of cosmos in geometrical form where architecture is perceived as a bridge between
cosmos and the man – the model of “cosmic man” (Vastupurusha Mandala). The Hindu culture
hence devised the cosmic man model for infinite applications in architecture whether it is at the
level of urban design, public buildings or private dwellings.

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OLD CITY OF JAIPUR

Taking this thought ahead and with the help of a Bengal priest ‘Vidyadhar Bhattacharya’, the city
plan of Jaipur was the idea thought and drawn by the Maharaja, a scholar, mathematician and
astronomer, Jai Singh the Second, in the mid-18th century. His city plan was based on the ancient
Vedic Mandala of nine squares which represents the nine planets. The city of Jaipur stands in a
crescent-shaped valley embosomed among hills on three sides of it, which are strongly fortified
by nature, while the fourth or southern side has no defence except the high city wall. Also, due to
the presence of a hill one of the squares was transposed to the east and two of the central squares
were amalgamated to house the palace, several of the departmental offices of the state, the
astronomical observatory, and the temples of Brajnandji and Anand Krishnaji. Jaipur was built
with perfect symmetry; its artery nodes are wide; absolutely straight avenues cross broad straight
streets at right angle, and the house-facades along the roads are so designed as to produce a
uniform artistic effect.



Figure 3: TOPOGRAPHY MAP OF JAIPUR CITY PLANNING IN 18 CENTURY

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OLD JAIPUR.. ..

Figure 4: OLD VIEW OF HAWA MAHAL

Figure 5: OLD JAIPUR ENTRANCE

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‘JKK’ DESIGN & it’s relation with the context

Charles Correa’s plan for the ‘Jawahar Kala Kendra’ invokes directly the original navagraha’ or nine
house mandala. His ideology was to invoke the underlying construct of the cosmos they are meant
to represent, rather than just mere representation. Correa’s interest in the mandala was insomuch
as it can be used to “structure the environment”. Hence the primary function of the nine square
mandala is “structuring”. However, the question remains why Correa chose to use only the nine
square mandala and not any other. An immediate response would be that the museum had to
accommodate nine spaces type laid out in the program of the museum. However, this was not the
only reason. By using the nine squares mandala, Correa is also imitating the geometry of Jaipur city.
Charles Correa’s plan for the ‘Jawahar Kala Kendra’ invokes directly the original navagraha’ or nine
house mandala. His ideology was to invoke the underlying construct of the cosmos they are meant
to represent, rather than just mere representation. Correa’s interest in the mandala was insomuch
as it can be used to “structure the environment”. Hence the primary function of the nine square
mandala is “structuring”. However, the question remains why Correa chose to use only the nine
square mandala and not any other. An immediate response would be that the museum had to
accommodate nine spaces type laid out in the program of the museum. However, this was not the
only reason. By using the nine squares mandala, Correa is also imitating the geometry of Jaipur city.

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Figure 6: JKK PLAN LAYOUT



Figure 7: JKK ENTRY

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Each of the squares is defined by 8-metre-high walls. The building programme has been
“disaggregated” into eight separate groupings corresponding to the myths represented by that
particular planet: for instance, the library is located in the square of the planet Mercury which
traditionally represents knowledge, and the theatres are in the house of Venus, representing the
arts. The astrological symbol of each planet is directly expressed in a cut-out opening along its
external wall. The central square, as specified in the ‘Vastu Shastra’ is a void: representing the
Nothing which is everything. The flooring pattern in this square is a diagram of the lotus
representing the sun in Hindu mythology. Following list gives a brief functional programme of the
‘JKK’:

Planet COLOUR QUALITY FUNCTION
VENUS WHITE ART DRAMA THEATER
JUPITER LEMON YELLOW KNOWLEDGE LIBRARY
RAHU IRIDESCENT DESTROYER DOCUMENTATION
SATURN RED EARTH KNOWLEDGE MUSEUM II
KETU BROWN/BLACK ANGER MUSEUM I
MERCURY GOLDEN YELLOW EDUCATION LOK KALA KENDRA
MOON MILKY WHITE HEART CAFETERIA
MARS RED POWER ADMINISTRATION

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Figure 8 ALL IMAGES SHOWING MODERN MATERIALS
MATERIALS USED


The materials used have been
carefully picked which can
related and reflect to the nature
of the space. The use of local
yellow sandstone, red sandstone,
lime, red-rubble, marble,
terracotta and other materials,
narrow passage ways and wide
courtyards, frequent openings
with connecting vistas, the
imitation of step wells in the
courtyard and through many
other small details Correa has
carved out this place making it
more culturally belonged to the
place and its locals. Correa, with
the help of traditional artists of
Rajasthan, re-created the images
from the history on the walls of
the museum, breathing life into it

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GALLERY


Figure 9 IMAGE EXPLANING CONCEPT OF NINE SQUARES


Figure 10: SYMBOLS ON EACH BUILDING

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Figure 11: A VIEW OF CAFETERIA



Figure 12: CYLINDRICAL DOME

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CONCLUSION

This work of Charles Correa is important not just because it demonstrates the way ancient science
is balanced with the modern in an architectural example that is applied. It is significant because of
the way it creates an experience of living the ancient science in navigating and interacting
through the spaces. It uses symbolism & extends it into a livable experience quite effectively by
crafting spaces based on the elements of nature and their symbols. The reason his buildings look
more human, is that, according to him architecture is a sculpture, but it is a sculpture used by
human beings. So it needs door and windows, it needs place for light and air, and those openings
don’t spoil the sculpture, they make it complete. Now, just by expressing how people use those
gestures, give scale to that abstraction and hence a meaningful architecture.

BIBLOGRAPHY

- Contemporary Architecture in Asia, KIRA, Seoul, pp.28 – 31
- Contemporary Vernacular, by William Lim & Tan Hock Beng, pp- 66-75
- India Modern, by Herbert J.M. Yuma, pp- 218-229
- World Architecture, A critical Mosaic 1900-2000, vol. 8, South Asia, Ed. Rahul Malhotra
- A History of Jaipur: C. 1503-1938 by Jadunath Sarkar, Ed. Raghubir Sinha
- Wikipedia
- www.pinterest.com
- www. Google.com/images/jkk

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