Why was Anant Raje called Louis Kahn of India? Louis Kahn personally invited him to work in his office in Philadelphia. From 1964 to 1969, Raje collaborated with Kahn on notable projects such as the Indian Institute of Management, the Indian Institute of Forest Management, the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology University, and the National Dairy Development Board. Beyond the collaboration, the design works of Anant Raje speak more than his words.
On 17th September 2024, we celebrate the 95th birthday anniversary of a well-known architect and teacher in post-independence India who attended the Sir J.J. School of Art and graduated in 1954. Drawn to Ahmedabad by his colleague Balkrishna V. Doshi, who influenced his career in a variety of ways. Collaborated with Doshi on a variety of projects, including rural housing studies and bids for the Toronto City Hall competition. Further, His legacy on the subcontinent focuses on improving institutions.
An interpreter and introvert partly, Anant Raje’s growing detachment from public recognition made him a happy misfit, distancing his work from mundane vocabulary. Over fifty years, he became comfortable with his methods and explorations.
This staff housing development emphasizes a layout that maximizes tree preservation, with a concrete frame structure for terraces. Rooms are individually distinct, featuring open corners. Detached stairs and building setbacks create courtyards that integrate existing trees seamlessly.
A 450-square-meter single-family, three-bedroom house, built on a square lot, features deep verandahs for sun protection and cool breezes. Built after the Indian Institute of Forest Management in Bhopal, MP, it is the beginning of architectural thoughts based on plinths, superstructures, and roofs. The house’s horizontal thrust creates shadow pockets for interior window openings.
In a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony, her family receives the bridegroom in a compound. Wedding Wall, Anant’s temporary installation at Le Corbusier’s Villa Shodhan, Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad. In the folk culture, singing and storytelling accomplish everything. For this event, local women built the walls instead of ordinary contractors and laborers. They arrived with sun-dried bricks and mud plaster and began singing at the same moment.
The building features two dining halls with separate kitchens for non-vegetarian and vegetarian meals. The dormitory is positioned away from the promenade, while the classroom porch connects the dining areas and auditoriums, opening to the porch, lower gardens, and a space for future activities across the street. Pilasters and hollow beams support the roof, and the faculty dining spaces are situated above the porch.
A school within a school that trains managerial personnel in public and private enterprises. The building is an enlarged house, similar to a mahal, with a central court, rooms, corridors, classrooms, dining halls, and a lounge. An open-to-sky court indicates the centrality, surrounded by rooms, lounges, and concourses. The architecture follows Kahn’s previous order, with exposed brick masonry-bearing walls and reinforced concrete ties. Concrete aprons with clerestory light bring light to the basement, while strict geometry regulates elements and creates a tighter composition of spaces.
The Ravi Mathai Centre is a ‘C ‘-shaped structure with administrative offices forming a linear building connected to the auditorium via a circular corridor. The complete composition includes a court facing the Kahn-designed portion of the building, leaving a narrow linear area of approximately 10 meters wide. The courts connecting the Mathai Center Plaza to the Louis Kahn Plaza are formed by broken margins of faculty offices.
The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has established an institute in Palanpur, Gujarat, aimed at providing basic training in cooperative dairy farming to rural farmers. The institute, located in wheatfields, features courtyards enclosed by stone walls, two classrooms with residential rooms for 24 students, dining facilities, and a dairy plant. The builders use load-bearing stone for the buildings, install concrete lintels, and create deeply recessed openings for shade.
Raje’s Mafco dairy in Bombay reflects the productive cycle and emphasizes the importance of tradition in his work. However, Raje’s approach to tradition is not nostalgic or stylistic, but rather meaningful and meaningful use of each material. He seizes the expressivity of each material and discovers new potentialities, making it a great edifice in the history of construction. Raje’s focus on tradition is not about using futuristic materials or referencing “poor” technologies, but rather about meaningfully using each material and discovering new potentialities.
The hot and dry climate of Nagpur forces him to dig museum spaces into the ground to protect exhibits from extreme temperatures. The museum offers a unique experience by showcasing underground mine conditions. Raje conceived various scales and sizes, with each floor being a horizontal section. The building is linear, with one entrance for the museum and another for the auditorium. Stairs and an elevator connect the auditorium to the lower part of the museum. A nine-story office building is under construction, with two additional entrances.
The institute’s plan aims to create a homogenous, cohesive structure for various activities. It avoids isolationist tendencies and promotes academic and social interaction. It aims to create a sense of community without contradicting the need for students to feel independent, ensuring a successful and flexible institute that promotes academic and social interaction. The academic area consists of faculty and research offices, student dormitories, a kitchen, dining areas, and group meeting spaces. The living zone includes student dormitories, kitchens, dining areas, and other spaces for group meetings. Each unit has a terrace-level living room, a terrace-level terrace view, and a bedroom/study room for individual students.
Ahmedabad is predominant, correct? Yes, Anant Raje designed several private dwellings in and around Ahmedabad that highlight his interest in the link between shape and void, as well as the permeable boundary between interiors and exterior areas. In the last essay, Anant Raje wrote, “Kahn would often talk about light, how light defines and characterizes space. Light itself would say ‘This is the domed room and not a flat-roofed room’, or an arch, or a vault. Light could enhance the character of a particular space or structure that encloses this space. These preoccupations of Louis Kahn were the lessons learned.”
This sums up Raje’s commitment to light and shadow!!
Content Writing And Research By: Ar. Baarat Krishna
This bungalow style house influences the site context and can be visualised in multiple facades of sharp edges & cuboidal form. Her,e salient features like U-Projection are an expression of the bench on a level one. The house divides itself into three bays. On the ground floor, where first bay acquire all public activities like […]
Imagine yourself on the terrace of your hidden mountain retreat, drinking a fresh cup of coffee as you admire the sunrise emerging from behind the rolling hills across the valley. This serene atmosphere is exactly what Hello Wood’s latest project, the Console House, is designed to offer. The Console House showcases modern architecture design while […]
As cities continue to grow and evolve, there is a growing desire to incorporate elements of rural living into urban design. By embracing rural living principles, cities can create more eco-friendly and sustainable spaces. Rural living is not just about wide-open spaces and rolling hills. It’s also about community, sustainability, and a connection to nature. […]
Located in the thriving city of Ichalkaranji, this is an example of luxury residences is a seamless blend of timeless elegance and modern sophistication. The striking exterior, adorned with brick and natural stone cladding, exudes warmth, character, and permanence. These rich textures create a visually captivating façade, harmonizing tradition with contemporary design while making a […]
Throughout history, stone has embodied permanence, artistry, and raw beauty in architecture. From the grandeur of Roman amphitheaters to the earthy elegance of modern villas, stone remains a beloved material for its strength, sustainability, and aesthetic richness. As design trends evolve toward natural materials, eco-conscious decisions, and biophilic design, stone has found new expressions — […]
The space adopts a biophilic office design and climate-responsive approach, creating a workspace that reimagines urban interiors by deeply embedding them with nature. The style is earthy, minimal, and modern with a strong contextual sensitivity to its location. Also, a lush canopy surrounds the bare-shell site on the first floor, allowing for abundant daylight and […]
The design started from an old house where a family of seven stood, one yet to be born. Hari & Sreelakshmi, Usha-Hari’s mother, Malathi, teacher, Hari’s grandmother, kids, Sankari, Paru, and yet to be born Sreebala. Four generations living in a 60-year-old house that had begun to show its age with dimly lit rooms, leaking […]
The clients’ requirement was to create a wellbeing centre at Oleander Farms, Karjat, Maharashtra, that would be a tranquil sanctuary for their visitors. Walking through a dense canopy of trees, hearing the soft chirping of birds, we slowly embarked on an expanse of a 2-acre of land that was both open yet heavily tree-laden. This […]
The thought was to create a space which would act as a formal real estate workspace in the daytime and a family retreat in the evening. By its name, as it is, ‘Leveled. This office with a garden is defined using levels, in terms of volumes, surfaces as well as edges. These levels are rationalized […]
Nirmay (निर्मय) reflects purity and holistic well-being. Envisioned as a quiet sanctuary amidst the noise of urban life, these courtyard villas offer a way of living that is calm, conscious, and deeply connected to the land. Rooted in sustainability and ecological harmony, the design responds to both nature and the everyday rhythms of its inhabitants. […]