MASTERS

A mentor for
Posterity Text: Ar. Apurva Bose Dutta
Photo Courtesy : S D Sharma and Associates

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 Institute of Microbial Technology,
Chandigarh

Age is only a matter of numbers - apparently there may be

physical decay but mental faculties rather blossom due to
rich and vast experience, for which there is no shortcut

National Institute of
Pharmaceutical Education and
Research (NIPER), Mohali

Ar. Shiv Datt Sharma

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 HSIDC Corporate office, Panchkula

“A
ge is only a matter of numbers - apparently
there may be physical decay but mental
faculties rather blossom due to rich and vast
experience, for which there is no shortcut”.
These words of wisdom recently came from
the iconic architect Shiv Datt Sharma, when
he added two national felicitations to his
most revered and flourishing career of five
decades. How very true and appropriate
is this quote exemplary of Sharma, a soft-
spoken and an exceptionally noble human
being with a career spanning over 51 years,
and some 150 spectacular buildings.

This master icon has never ceased to inspire,

encourage and motivate - whether through
his characteristic approach to ‘Modernism’,
his humility, his insightful thoughts, his
ever-smiling face and his unrelenting
dedication and passion for architecture.
Chandigarh, while having been created by Le
Corbusier, also owes its idea of identity and
its architectural spirit to a few more architects

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including Sharma, who not only worked with
Corbusier bestowing the city its architectural
character; but more significantly have carried
forward the essence and soul of the city with
which it had been envisioned, through their
own distinguishing design style that they
have championed over the decades.

Sharma, founder and head of his Chandigarh-

based firm, S D Sharma and Associates
(SDSA) commenced his professional
career in Chandigarh in 1963 as part of the
Chandigarh Project team, where he spent
10 years, working with Corbusier and Pierre
Jeanneret on the buildings of Chandigarh
and also had great interactions with Edwin
Maxwell Fry and Jane Beverly Drew. Not
only did the Corbusian philosophy influence
him profoundly in his design approach, but
his personal interactions with Corbusier, Advanced Eye Care Centre, PGI, Chandigarh

clubbed with his desire to understand

him profusely (that made him read every
available book on Corbusier) makes Sharma
Advanced Eye
Care Centre, PGI,
Chandigarh

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 a powerhouse of knowledge on the master
architect.

Little wonder then, following Corbusier’s demise,

Sharma was entrusted with the completion of the
famed Museum and Art Gallery at Chandigarh
that Corbusier was last working on. He was
equally inspired by the ‘subtle, poetic and highly
artistic work’ of Jeanneret and even today relates
his work more to Jeanneret’s philosophy and
to the spirit of Corbusier. Some other prolific
buildings that he designed during this time
included the Museum of Evolution of Life, the
City Museum and CSIO (Central Scientific
Instruments Organisation)Campus.

Subsequently, he moved to Bangalore where he

served as the Chief Architect in Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO), Government of
India (1973-83), an offer he accepted in order
to ‘discover his own design identity’ following
his Chandigarh stint. Here he was delegated
Gurudwara, Chandigarh
designs which corresponded to more of ‘technical
buildings’ and demanded highly-services oriented
spaces. He brought a welcome transformation in
the ISRO architecture through the articulate
spaces he created with his projects, like the
Vikram Sarabhai Hall in Ahmedabad, Rocket
Bamboo Musuem, Palampur Fabrication Facility, Thumba, Indian Satellite
Centre at the N.A.L Campus in Bangalore.

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Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow
His next and evidently most successful stage
of his career came in 1980 when he established
SDSA in Chandigarh and commenced his
career as a practicing architect. 35 years
hence, having designed a vast spectrum of
projects (university campuses, industrial
complexes, stadiums, township development,
health care facilities, convention centres,
research institutes, corporate offices, exhibition
complexes, recreation & tourism facilities, high
tech-laboratories), the legend has come to be
famously known as ‘The Father of Natural
Sustainability’ - with a style that has been
anchored in the core principles of modernism
with sustainability as an inherent part; a style
that never ceases to experiment with the age
old idioms of modernism and give it newer and
advanced implications.
The transformation in the three phases of his
career validate the yearning and the courage
of this architectural icon to venture into
unknown and new territories to unravel the
mysticism of architecture and attach himself
to give it newer meanings, in the course of
time reinventing himself. Experimenting with
basic and geometric forms with a firm faith
in modular dimensions, Sharma’s designs
make poetic use of the functional aspects
of architecture vis-a-vis openings, ramps,
stairways, skylights to bestow unparalleled
aesthetics whilst rendering the building
sustainable. The synthesis of solid masses
and volumes and voids, the interspersing
of openings to manipulate natural light, the
rawness that brick and concrete bring about,
the mono textures that emanate sculptural
Architecture is at a juncture where
it now has to encounter several new
fronts, for which it needs to reshape
itself with advanced knowledge
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 Advanced Pediatric Centre, PGI, Chandigarh
expressions, the dramatic manoeuvring of
spaces and the detailing feasibility that he
obtains in his brickwork have given genesis
to some extremely robust buildings, that
make strong and pragmatic statements and
are symbolic of the many variations and
advancements in ‘concrete modernism’.
Although Chandigarh is stamped with his
‘symbolic’ concrete representations (CSIO
cafeteria, the Gurudwara, the Institute of
Microbial Technology, Projects for Post
Graduate Institute of Medical Education
and Research (PGIMER); Entrepreneur
Development Centre, IT Park), Sharma’s
major projects in India also include the Biotech
Park for Industrial Toxicology Research Centre,
DLF Arcade, Gurgaon Lucknow; Japanese Hotel-cum-Restaurant at
Gurgaon; JNU Campus, New Delhi and DLF
Arcade, Gurgaon.
Awards, recognitions and honours can’t
rightly validate the contribution of this genius;
however, greater and far more significant is the
reverence that has been shown to this master
icon. Recently, his published monograph on his
works titled ‘Architecture of Shiv Datt Sharma’,
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that outlines his continuity of the philosophy
of modernism, garnered much acclaim. His
distinguished authority on the subject has
also seen him adorning the headship of many
important architectural organisations in India
and overseas, which include his appointment
as a member of the International Panel by
Government of Nigeria for designing two
independent sectors for the new Capital Abuja
of Nigeria, and the appointment as an architect
at Greater London County Council.
Following a National Diploma in architecture in
1959, Sharma pursued his Post Graduation from
Milan, Italy in 1966 on an Italian scholarship.
A witness to hardships during the partition of
the country, he was blessed with a ‘strong sense
of culture and values’ that he inherited from
his family; his brilliant academic background
has been validated with the job opportunity he
received for the Chandigarh Capital Project
Team. The village life that Architect Sharma grew
up in, bestowed upon him an awareness of the
value of life. Maybe it has been these close ties with
his roots which make him want to build less in the
urban context in order to save time which he can
devote to work for slums and villages.
Having observed the changing statistics of
architecture over the decades, Sharma has held
on to his innate principles of design and has
intrinsically believed in adapting and adjusting
to the newer environments and developments.
This pious relation between the subject and
him have made him hold on to what is right,
even in a critical architectural culture where a
little ‘cheating’ has come about to be accepted
for survival.

This very purity in the heart and the nobility

reflects precisely in his built forms; and there
is always something to carry back after a tour
through his buildings, or an interaction with Community Centre for Central Scientific Instrumental Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh
him. This sacredness that he captures in his
architecture, truly validates his acknowledgment
- that ‘Spiritualism and Architecture talk of same
values’. Globalisation has wounded the field of
Indian architecture in many ways, however, the
country needs to thank its own master icons
like Sharma who have tried to hold on to the
spirit of architecture, that stems and sticks to its
basic concerns like context and climate and basic
materials like brick and concrete.

Sharma credits the architecture profession for

having answered most of the social questions till
now; however, he wholeheartedly acknowledges
the fact that ‘Architecture is at a juncture where
it now has to encounter several new fronts, for
which it needs to reshape itself with advanced
knowledge’. A conversation with him reveals
his association with architecture, which
transcends beyond just professional concerns,
but one that is connected to ones soul and
conscience. His upcoming projects include a
3000 capacity auditorium complex for Punjab
University, Chandigarh which is going to be the
first Gold rated LEED auditorium in this region;
Bellary Housing in Karnatka; PSG 750 bedded
Hospital, Coimbatore; Clergy House at Amloh,
Punjab; Guest House of NIPGR (National
Institute of Plant Genome Research), New
Delhi; Protein Centre, Institute of Microbial
Technology (IMT), Chandigarh and Block for
MTCC (Microbial Type Culture Collection),
IMT, Chandigarh.
A lifetime dedicated to architecture, and not
showing any signs of slowing down even at the
wonderful age of 83, Sharma, at a recent award
Vikram Sarabhai Hall, Ahmedabad
ceremony mentioned that Modernism could be
understood in three words - ‘Purity, Simplicity
and Geometric Order’. He went on to further
state, “Purity of head and heart is necessary to
create devout architecture which can only be
created by lifelong dedication like the monks in
monastery, those who have spiritual fixation and
hunger for perfection; while simplicity speaks of
silence and peace which are its basics; at times
simplicity and purity overlap each other.” This
meaning of purity and simplicity in its entirety
actually defines Sharma himself who with his
poise and wisdom continues to be one of the
most respected architects in the fraternity - an
inspiration, a mentor and a motivator to Indian
Architecture and Indian Architects.

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