The Project Of Independence Architectures Of Decolonization In South Asia 1947 1985

South Asia holds a unique place among the many regions of the world where modern architecture was understood as both a tool for social progress and a global lingua franca in the second half of the 20th century. Following the end of British rule in 1947-48, architects in the newly formed nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh (East Pakistan until 1971) and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) proposed a novel understanding of modernity, disrupting the colonial hierarchy of center and periphery by challenging modernism's universalist claims. Architecture offered multiple ways to break with the colonial past. Through the establishment of institutions that embodied the societal aspirations of the period, and the creation of new cities and spaces for political representation, South Asian architects produced a body of work in dialogue with global developments while advancing the theory and practice of low-cost, climatically and socially responsive design. Anchored by a newly commissioned portfolio of images from architectural photographer Randhir Singh, this catalog features essays by the curators and scholars in the field on subjects such as the politics of concrete, institution-building, higher education, housing, infrastructure and industry, landscape and design, as well as presentations of 17 projects from around the subcontinent. While several of the architects appearing in these pages have in recent years received monographic exhibitions, The Project of Independence marks the first attempt to consider their work within the ideological frameworks of its creation and the political context of the region as a whole.

Golconde is an astonishing architectural accomplishment. With technical finesse and extraordinary craft, it offers a living testament to the original modernist credo - architecture as the manifest union of technology, aesthetics, and social reform. Here exists an undiluted view of a wholly triumphant tropical Modernism, built during the tumultuous years of the second world war. If ever there was a time when the notion of sanctuary, of a place in the world at a safe remove from its tribulations needed to be manifest, then this certainly is that year. Enforced isolations, mediated encounters, and filtered interfaces have become the norm. An unseen adversary has unmasked our frailty, weaponizing our own breath, making an enemy even of that essential human construct – shared space. The seeking of spatial solace has been a human preoccupation for much of our existence. Golconde is one such exemplar of calm. Created during another tumultuous time of human suffering – at the onset of the second World War - this building continues to offer succor to its residents, even from this latest upheaval. Mira Nakashima, George Nakashima’s daughter, contributes with a new 800 word introduction essay for this new edition.

A wide-ranging survey of the Indian sub-continent, Modern South Asia gives an enthralling account of South Asian history. After sketching the pre-modern history of the subcontinent, the book concentrates on the last three centuries from c.1700 to the present. Jointly written by two leading Indian and Pakistani historians, Modern South Asia offers a rare depth of understanding of the social, economic and political realities of this region. This comprehensive study includes detailed discussions of: the structure and ideology of the British raj; the meaning of subaltern resistance; the refashioning of social relations along lines of caste class, community and gender; and the state and economy, society and politics of post-colonial South Asia The new edition includes a rewritten, accessible introduction and a chapter by chapter revision to take into account recent research. The second edition will also bring the book completely up to date with a chapter on the period from 1991 to 2002 and adiscussion of the last millennium in sub-continental history.

The Structure explores the work of Mahendra Raj, India's most significant structural engineer. Examining Raj's sixty prolific years of practice, this volume looks at his unusually inventive and intuitive work and how he has offered pioneering engineering solutions for buildings in exposed concrete. As this book shows, many of his structures can be seen as monuments narrating the history of architecture in post-independence India. The Structure features twenty-eight of Mahendra Raj's buildings in detail through rich photographs and color reproductions of archival plans. Essays are contributed by Raj himself and by the architects Neelkanth Chhaya and Jaimini Mehta. Also included are interviews with Raj by the architect Sanjay Prakash and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, a conversation with the architect BV Doshi, as well as an illustrated complete list of Raj's works.

This book connects the Black freedom struggle in the United States to liberation movements across the globe.

Two stars of contemporary architecture explore the unique handling of light and heat in the architecture of Burkina Faso Across the African continent, but especially in the sub-Saharan regions, the light has a particularly stark quality, which becomes most apparent in relation to older buildings. Before electricity, architecture was required to make use of the sun as a light source within a building, while also protecting its inhabitants from the heat. This resulted in vernacular architecture that features very few or small openings, which consequently render the inside of a building near pitch black, while the outside is illuminated by sunshine that bears down mercilessly. On the initiative of the lighting technology company Zumtobel Group, photographer Iwan Baan (born 1975) and architect Francis Kéré (born 1965) set out to capture how the sun's natural light cycle shapes vernacular architecture in Burkina Faso with little to no artificial light sources. They traveled to three exemplary locations: communal compounds in Gando; the main mosque of Bobo Dioulasso; and the terraced houses in Dano. Baan's pictures are accompanied by architectural sketches by Francis Kéré, who himself grew up in this light environment and whose architecture is inspired by it. The stunning photographs are printed using a special technique, to give a sense of being immersed in the very light conditions documented here.

Presents works of art selected from the South and Southeast Asian and Islamic collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, lessons plans, and classroom activities.

America's greatest photographer on his greatest subject--featuring the Yosemite Special Edition Prints, a collectible collection of photographs selected by Ansel Adams during his lifetime, yet never before published in book form. The photographs of Ansel Adams are among America's finest artistic treasures, and form the basis of his tremendous legacy of environmental activism. In the late 1950s, Adams selected eight photographs of Yosemite National Park to offer exclusively to park visitors as affordable souvenirs. He hoped that these images might inspire tourists to become activists by transmitting to them the same awe and respect for nature that Yosemite had instilled in him. Over the following decades, Adams added to this collection to create a stunning view of Yosemite in all its majesty. These photographs, the Yosemite Special Edition Prints, form the core of this essential volume. Adams' luminous images of Yosemite's unique rock formations, waterfalls, meadows, trees, and nature details are among the most distinctive of his career. Today, with America's public lands increasingly under threat, his creative vision remains as relevant and convincing as ever. Introduced by bestselling photographer Pete Souza, with an essay by Adams' darkroom assistant Alan Ross, Ansel Adams' Yosemite is a powerful continuation of Adams' artistic and environmental legacies, and a compelling statement during a precarious time for the American earth.