New delhi

DELHI VIDYAMANDIR COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE SUB – Urban Research and Planning

history
• Reasons for the shifting of the capital:
• Controversial partitioning of Bengal In 1905 - right
to vote between Bengali Hindus n Muslims.
• Delhi’s geographical position at the centre of
northern India (roughly equidistant from Bombay
and Calcutta)
• Delhi’s historic importance (Important seat of the
Mughal empire) (For Hindus – maharbharata-era
city of Indraprastah)
• Perceived political need to rearticulate british
power.

DELHI VIDYAMANDIR COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE SUB – Urban Research and Planning

 evolution
• British government shifts capital to New delhi
from Calcutta.
• Construction of New Delhi starts after 1911.
• Architect Edwin Lutyen plans New Delhi along a
rectangular mall surrounded by offices and
crowned by Viceroy’s house at one end and the 1911-1914 1916 1933-1947
war memorial at the other.

• New delhi was turned to be the symbol of British

imperial power and dominance.
• Thus monumentals were grand,larger than life city
space.

• Becomes the central business district.

• India gains independence with delhi as its capital.
• A new meaning is given to all the buildings in New
Delhi.

DELHI VIDYAMANDIR COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE SUB – Urban Research and Planning

 Intentions of the Layout:
• Lutyens’ Delhi was planned on the most
spacious garden city lines with the great
avenues decorated with classical buildings with
lush landscape.
• The layout of Lutyens Delhi was governed by
three major visual corridors, linking the
government complex with :
• Jama Masjid
• Indraprastha
• Safdarjungs Tomb
• Lutyens had initially designed Delhi with all
the streets crossing at right angles, much
like in New York.
• However, Lord Hardinge told him of the
dust storms that sweep the landscape in
these parts, insisting on roundabouts,
hedges and trees to break their force,
giving him the plans of Rome, Paris and
Washington to study and apply to Delhi.
DELHI VIDYAMANDIR COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE SUB – Urban Research and Planning
Pattern in Settlement
• The plan of Lutyen’s Delhi is purely geometrical.
• Tree lined streets radiate from the central vista and
converge into hexagonal nodes.
• 1. The plan reflects Lutyens’ “transcendent fervour
for geometric symmetry,” which is expressed
through amazing sequences of triangles and
hexagons, through sightlines and axes.
• 2. Lutyens’ plan is also remarkable for the
generous green spaces, lawns, watercourses,
flower and fruit-bearing trees, and their integration
with the parks developed around monuments.
• 3. The attempt was to include all natural and
historical wonders in the new city

DELHI VIDYAMANDIR COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE SUB – Urban Research and Planning

 The Road Network
• Besides the major Pathway, there were extremely
wide avenues. The original design of the road network
was capable of accommodating 6000 vehicles,
however these avenues, had the potential of increasing
their carriagewaythe reason why the road layout has
survived till today.
• In general the road network consisted of diagonals and
radials, at 30 degree/ 60 degree angles to the main
axis, forming triangles and hexagons.

DELHI VIDYAMANDIR COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE SUB – Urban Research and Planning

 LUTYEN’S BUNGLOW ZONE
• REFER TO BUNGLOW THAT LIE SOUTH TO
THE CENTRAL VISTA.
• NO BUILDING HEIGHT DOMINATES TREE
HEIGHT.
BUILT UP - LANDSCAPE PROPOTION
• IN LUTYEN’S BUNGLOW ZONE ONLY
GROUND AND G+1 BUILDINGS WERE THERE.

TYPICAL SECTION OF STREET

GROUND STRUCTURE

G +1 STRUCTURE

PEDIMENT IN FENESTRATION SPRWALING LAWNS

GOVERNMENT COMPLEX
2

1 3

1 BUNGLOW ZONE
2 GOVERNMENT ZONE
3 COMMERCIAL ZONE

INDO SACRENIC ARCHITECTURE

• THE GOVERNMENT COMPLEX CONSIST OF BUILDING

BASED AROUND THE CENTRAL AVENUE.
• THE GOVERNMENT COMPLEX INCLUDES ALL FOCAL
POINTS ON THE VISUAL AXIS.

VISUAL FOCAL POINTS

The Government Complex
• Lutyens laid out the central administrative area of the
city.
• At the heart of the city was the impressive Rashtrapati
Bhawan, located on the topof Raisina Hill. The Rajpath
connects India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhawan,
whileJanpath, which crosses it at a right angle,
connects South end with ConnaughtPlace.
• The Secretariat Building, which houses various
ministries of the Government ofIndia including Prime
Minister's Office are beside the Rashtrapati Bhawan and
weredesigned by Herbert Baker.
• Also designed by Baker was the Parliament House,
located on the Sansad Marg,running parallel with the
Rajpath.
THE RASTRAPATI BHAVAN
• located on Raisina Hill, and one of New
Delhi's major thoroughfares, Rajpath,
connects it to the Purana Qila
• It was a well drained.
THE RASTRAPATI BHAVAN WITH
• Constituted of slopes and plains between
SURROUNDING CONTEX the ridge and the river. Its eastern and
southern margins were studded with
monuments of vanished empires. A broad
crescent from Shahjahanabad and Kotla
Firoz Shah, south to Tughlaqabad and the
Qutub with tombs of Safdarjung and
Lodhis as well as Jantar Mantar in the
could be viewed from the site.
The Secretariat
• The Secretariat Building was
designed byarchitect Herbert
Baker in Indo-Saracenic Revival
architecture.
• Much of the building is in classical
architectural style, yet it
incorporated Mughal and
Rajasthani architecture style and
motifs in its architecture.
• These are visible in the use of Jali.
• Another feature of the building is
a dome-like
• structure known as the Chatri.
 LANDMARK

LOTUS TEMPLE

RASTRAPATI BHAVAN

RED FORT
INDIA GATE

TAJ MAHAL
JAMA MASJID HUMAYU’S TOMB
 COMMON FEATURES

PARLIAMENT OF DELHI RASTRAPATI BHAVAN RASTRAPATI BHAVAN

• THICK BAND
• JALIS
• BUDHHIS DOME
DRAWBACKS
• In this whole process almost no attention was paid to
the problems of Old Delhi. Due to the creation of New
Delhi, Old Delhi experienced a 28% surge in population
from 1916-1926 resulting in the spilling over of the
population from inside the walled city to the Paharganj
area, whose restructuring was later abandoned by
Lutyens due to resource constraints.
• Also, no provision of housing was premeditated for the
large no. of skilled and unskilled workers which
immigrated in for the construction work of New Delhi.
• This negligence of the planners towards Old Delhi
resulted in its transformation to a large slum area
through deterioration and dilapidation.