Ahmedabad has a rich history in textile trade from years back. Shortly after independence to escalate the textile industry, Swiss architect Le Corbusier was commissioned by the president of the Mill Owners’ Association to design the organization’s headquarters in Ahmedabad. With the vision of Modern India, Le Corbusier delivered a modern architectural masterpiece that now sits in the city’s heart.
Mill Owners’ Association Building, also known as ATMA House, was the first of four buildings Le Corbusier commissioned in Ahmedabad. With his sensitive and creative approach to the city’s context and climate, he developed a new set of architectural elements to address the requirements. Let’s delve into this legacy building in detail through the blog.
Le Corbusier was a legendary Swiss architect and city planner, whose designs revolved around functionality and bold expressions. He was one of the pioneers of modern architectural style. The first president invited him to India to design the city planning of Chandigarh, and the mayor of Ahmedabad commissioned him to design four buildings. Reflecting the futuristic vision for the city, Corbusier was set to fulfill it.
In 1951, when the Mill Owners’ Association proposed setting up its headquarters in Ahmedabad, Le Corbusier aimed to build a masterpiece that resonated with the city’s climate and surrounding context.
While designing the building, Corbusier considered the user group’s cohesive, collaborative nature. Therefore, the building was required to cater to private and public activities. Following this ideology while constructing in a warm climate, Corbusier introduced certain design elements in the building.
The ATMA House is located between Ashram Road on the west and Sabarmati River on the east side. With ample open space around it, the Mill Owners’ Association Building embraced a distinctly modern aesthetic, free from urban constraints.
Corbusier introduced Brises-Soleil, also known as perforated screens or louvers, while designing Mill Owners’ Association Building. He incorporated these louvers on the west facade of the building to prevent harsh sunlight from entering. This innovation was inspired by Indian vernacular architecture.
Corbusier designed the louvers in the west to be diagonally oriented and combined with thick concrete walls. This is to obstruct street views while letting indirect light and air enter the building. Here, the facade incorporates planters, allowing the splash of green to enter through the louvers. While on the eastern side of the building, the louvers are perpendicular letting in the cool river breeze in and unhindered views of the river.
Contradictory to its stark exterior facade and rigid grids in the form, the interior is more inclined towards curvilinear shapes. As, it features slender circular pilotis, convex, and concave volumes. Therefore, as one moves inside the building, one experiences the intersection of curvilinear and orthogonal planes. A conference room enclosed by curved walls and ceiling that holds a reflecting pool above, which Le Corbusier had hoped to utilize as a roof reservoir.
The entrance is led by a ramp extending from the parking to the building opening the indoor views as one approaches. The projected staircase between the main facade and the central atrium conducts the primary circulation. By taking the circulation core in the outer facade, the indoor space is open floorplates.
Le Corbusier blended reinforced concrete and brick in the construction of the Mill Owners’ Association Building, integrating modern engineering methods with elements of traditional construction. Therefore, this thoughtful selection of materials not only emphasized structural innovation but also paid homage to regional building practices, reflecting the architect’s holistic and context-sensitive approach to design.
Mill Owners’ Association Building—now an iconic landmark—was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2016. Thus, ATMA House is a symbol of the post-independence modernist movement of Indian architecture. The building stands testament to Corbusier’s design philosophy and timeless elegance now, which one can consider a Building Legacy—a legacy that keeps on inspiring generations to come.
Content Writing And Research By: Ar. Rajvi Dedakiya
Our urban landscapes are undergoing a rapid transformation, pressured by burgeoning populations and increasing demands on city infrastructure. To address these escalating challenges, urban planners continually revise zoning regulations. In Delhi, for instance, a significant regulatory change introduced mandatory stilt parking on small urban lots with four habitable floors above. Gurugram, a satellite city, subsequently adopted […]
K’s Veranda, the latest pizzeria in the story of K’s Charcoal in Ahmedabad, embodies the spirit of Hiren Patel Architects + Design (HPAD) — crafting spaces that breathe, balance, and belong. What once was a lively, open lawn beside the restaurant has blossomed into a soulful retreat. Here, walls seem to melt into the landscape, and the indoors […]
Set on a 1 acre plot, this North Goan Home inspired by Portuguese Architecture was built a century ago by the erudite Dr. Aquilino Almeida. He was a famous surgeon and doctor of Western India, having been well educated in Edinburgh. He had travelled the world on deputations across Africa, Middle East, Afghanistan. Being Royal Medical […]
Amidst the quiet rhythm of nature, this farmhouse emerges as an architectural retreat – a seamless balance of leisure, comfort, and understated luxury. Designed as a contemporary sanctuary away from the bustle of the city, the residence is imagined as a space where modernity meets serenity, and architecture becomes a bridge between people and the […]
As industrial landscapes evolve, so do the spatial and cultural demands of the workplaces within them. In response to the growing operational and experiential needs of an existing agro-industrial unit in India, this office extension is conceived not as a mere addition of square footage, but as a spatial and philosophical intervention—anchored in ideas of […]
Tucked within the leafy lanes of Sagar Society, Hyderabad, this 7,450 sq. ft. villa rises as a contemporary residence deeply anchored in tradition and nature. Three towering trees frame the structure at its entry, their organic silhouettes tempering the scale of the built form and setting the stage for a home that balances architectural gravitas […]
“Even within the smallest green lies all the purity and freshness of Eden.” This idea became the seed for Eden Moss, a home nestled in an ecological environment and imagined as a breath of freshness, evoking the scent of mud after rain, and seamlessly intertwined with nature while still embracing comfort and contextual charm. Nestled […]
Timeless architectural features, such as courtyards, are always associated with bringing the naturally public forms to the world’s heart, building the most peaceful, secluded outdoor areas. These outdoor spaces maximize the living experience with their private space feature, which gives one the option for leisurely relaxation, recreation, or gardening. Furthermore, it has also been a […]
The Indian farmhouse accommodation goes on to capitalize on a mature evolutionary synthesis of ancestral aesthetics and contemporary features. With this, the outside and the inside of farmhouses became places of comfort with nature. In this blog, we delve into 15 incredible farmhouse designs that entail a harmonious blending. While they exhibit different spaces in […]
Aangan is a modern residence that seamlessly integrates with the lush environment of Kerala, showcasing a tropical home design. Designed to embrace the region’s warm climate, the house features a striking sloped terracotta roof at varying levels, enhancing both its aesthetic appeal and functional efficiency. The structure is enveloped in a vibrant tropical landscape, adorned […]