Gandhi Bhawan (Paperback)  | Released: 30 Sep 2019

- This volume brings together several images, maps and plans to present the conservation plan for Chandigarh- Forms an invaluable resource for other similar structures of the Modern eraOne of the most ambitious developmental schemes planned on India's independence was the city planning of Chandigarh - a symbolic gesture towards the country's future. Designed by Pierre Jeanneret in 1962 to evoke a lotus flower afloat in a pond, Gandhi Bhawan - dedicated to the work of Mahatma Gandhi - is a testament to the culmination of modernism as an aesthetic, historic and inter-cultural movement in India. Situated within the Panjab University campus, Gandhi Bhawan was conceived by Jeanneret as a platform to present his principles of Indian modernism, its design influenced by Gandhian ideals and the pinwheel toys of local children. This volume, supported by a grant from the Getty Foundation's Keeping it Modern initiative, documents the thorough research and conservation planning effort for Gandhi Bhawan, including comprehensive testing of its innovative building materials. Its impact stretches beyond the university, as the conservation plan outlined here forms an invaluable resource for other buildings of the modern era. With several images, maps and plans, this publication hopes to make accessible the work of many architects, engineers, conservators and scholars, ensuring the preservation of this architectural gem and the hopeful vision it embodies. Published in association with Panjab University, Chandigarh.About the Author: Dr. Shikha Jain is a founding member and Director of Preservation and Community Design at Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts and Heritage. She has extensive experience in heritage conservation and serves as a senior consultant to the Ministry of Culture, India. Vanicka Arora is a conservation architect and academic based in Gurgaon, India. She has coordinated several urban-level regeneration projects and museum planning proposals, along with building conservation and reuse schemes. Jain and Arora are also the co-authors of Living Heritage of Mewar (Mapin, 2017).