Image of the city delhi

In order to understand the imagability of Lutyens
Delhi, it is imperative to know its history and why
the site was chosen.

The capital shifted from Calcutta to delhi
(in 1911)
Reasons for the shifting of the capital:
 Contoversial partitioning of Bengal in 1905 – right to vote between Bengali
Hindus and Muslims.
 Delhi’s geographical position at the centre of north India (roughly equidistant
from Bombay and Calcutta)
 Delhi’s historic importance (important seat of the Mughal empire; for Hindus-
Mahabharata-era city of Indraprastha)
 Perceived political need to rearticulate british power.

1911-foundation stone for new delhi at
delhi darbar
On December 15, 1911, King George V and Queen Mary laid the foundation
stone for New Delhi, at a Darbar under a purposely built Shah Jahani dome.
The message was clear : the British were legitimate successors of the Mughals
and their new capital was intended to express the power of the Raj, just as
Shah Jahan’s capital had expressed the authority of the Mughals.

The initial design
for new design
Lutyens had initially designed
New Delhi with
all the street crossings
at right angles,
much like in New York.
However,LorD Hardinge, the
Viceroy of
India warned 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.

PATTERN IN SETTLEMENT
THE PLANS OF LUTYEN’S DELHI IS PURELY
GEOMETRICAL
THREE LINED STREETS RADIATE FROM
THE CENTRAL VISTA & CONVERGE INTO
HEXAGONAL NODES
PLAN & SECTION SHOWING A TYPICAL HEXAGONAL
NODE WITH ROADS CONVERGING INTO THE ROUND
ABOUTS

Intentions of the layout
 Lutynes’ Delhi was planned on the most spacious garden city lines with
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
 Sajdarjung Tomb

features
 The plan reflects Lutyens’ “transcendent fervor for geometric symmetry”, which is
expressed through amazing sequences of triangles and hexagons, through
sightlines and axes.
Lutyens’ plan is also remarkable
for the generous green spaces,
lawns, watercourses, flower and
fruit-bearing trees, and their
integration with parks developed
around monuments.
The attempt was to include all
natural and historical wonders in
the new city.

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
carriageway- the 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.

LUTYEN’S DELHI - ZONING GOVERNMENT C
BUNGLOW
ZONE
COMMERCIAL DI

Imageability of a city
Elements forming the ‘City Image’
• The “public” image of a city is the overlap of many individual images.
Such group images must exist within the city if it is to be successful in
communicating its own identity and possessing its own imageability.
• It is defined by broadly:
• Paths
• Nodes
• Districts
• Landmarks
• Edges
• Element inter relationships

Paths:
 Paths are channels along which an observer
customarily, occasionally or potentially moves.
Eg: streets, avenues, walkways, canals etc.
People observe the city while moving through
them; the other elements are arranged and
related along these paths
Nodes :
 They are strategic spots in a city into which an
observer can enter, and which are the
intensive foci to and from which he is traveling.
Conceptually, they occur as small points in a
city image, but in reality they are large
squares, traffic rotaries, extended linear
shapes or even entire central districts at the
city level .
Landmarks:
 They are another type of point reference
(as nodes), however in this case the
observer can’t enter within them. Usually
they are simply defined physical objects
like statues, buildings, signs, stores or
even a mountain. They are identified by
singling them out from a host of
possibilities.

Districts:
• They are sections of the city, conceived of having
two dimensional extents, which the observer can
mentally enter and which are recognizable as
having some common, identifying character.
Edges:
• They are linear elements not used or considered
as paths. They maybe the boundary between two
phases, linear breaks in continuity, an area or an
element. E.g. shores, railroad cuts, edges of
developed areas, walls.
Element inter relationships:
• No element exists in isolation; elements are
simply the raw material of the city image. They
must be patterned together to provide a
satisfying city form.

THE GOVERNMENT COMPLEX
CONSIST OF BUILDINGS BASED
AROUND THE CENTRAL AVENUE
THE GOVERNMENT COMPLEX
INDO - SARCENIC ARCHITECTURE
THE GOVERNMENT COMPLEX INCLUDES ALL
FOCUS POINTS ON THE VISUAL AXIS
USE OF PINK & RED
SANDSTONE
CHHATRIS
BUDHIST DOMES
G + 3 TYPOLOGY

LUTYEN’S BUNGLOW ZONE
 REFERS TO BUNGLOW THAT LIE SOUTH TO THE CENTRAL VISTA
 NO BUILDING HEIGHT DOMINATES TREE HEIGHT
BUILDING COMPONENT IS ONLY 7%
OF THE GROUND AREA
A TYPICAL STREET SECTION OF LBZ
PEDIMENT IN
FENESTRATION
G + 1 TYPOLOGY
COLONNADED VERANDAH
SPRAWLING
LAWNS
COLONNADED
VERANDAH

COMMERCIAL DISTRICT
CONSIST OF CONNAUGHT PLACE
“INNER CIRCLE & OUTER CIRCLE” AND
ADJOINING AREAS LIKE KASTURBA
GANDHI MARG, BARAKHAMBA ROAD,ETC
RADIAL PATTERNS OF RAODS
VEHICULAR TRAFFIC NODES
G + 1 TYPOLOGY
MULTISTORY
TYPOLOGY
PREDESTRIAN & VEHICULAR JUNCTIONS
TRAFFIC & RAILROAD JUNCTIONS

The government complex/administrative area
 Lutyens laid out the central administration area of the city.
 At the heart of the city was the impressive Rashtrapati Bhawan, located on top of Raisnia Hill.
The Rajpath connects India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhawan, while Janpath, which crosses it at a
right angle, connects South end with Connaught Place.
 The Secretariat building, which houses various ministries of the Government of India including
Prime Minister’s Office are beside the Rashtrapati Bhawan, were designed by Herbert Baker.
 Also designed by Baker was the Parliament House, located on Sansad Marg, running parallel
with Rajpath.
INITIAL DESIGN CONCEPT
RASHTRAPATI
BHAWAN
SECRETARIAT INDIA GATE

RAJPATH
• The city plan of New Delhi (the area
surrounding Rajpath) was made by
the British architect Edwin Lutyens.
• Rajpath (then called King's Way by the British)
was of central importance to the plan. its the
ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi, Republic
of India that runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan on
Raisina Hill through Vijay Chowk and India
Gate to National Stadium, Delhi.
• Lutyens wanted a panoramic view of the city
of Delhi from the Viceroy’s palace.
• Divides the vista into bilateral symmetry giving
a linear avenue with granduer and straight
characters.
• The avenue is lined on both sides by huge
lawns, canals and rows of trees. Considered
to be one of the most
• important roads in India.
• Janpath crosses the road.
• Rajpath runs in east-west
direction.

The rashtrapati bhawan
 Lutyens’ grandiose Government House (Rashtrapati Bhawan) – located on Raisina Hill, and one
of New Delhi’s major thoroughfares, Rajpath, connects it to the Purana Qila.
 Lord Hardinge chose the Raisina Hill site for locating the viceroy’s palace because:
It was a well drained site.
Constituted of slopes and plains
between the ridge and river.
Its eastern and southern margins were
studded with monuments of vanished
empires. A broad crescent from
Shahajanabad and Kotla Firoz Shah,
south to Tughlaqabad and the Qutub
with tombs of Safdarjung and Lodhis as
well as Jantar Mantar in the foreground
could be viewed from the site.
MUGHAL GARDERN
EAST FAÇADE OF
RASHTRAPATI
BHAWAN

The secretariat
 The Secretariat building was designed by architect Herbert
Baker in Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture.
 Much of the building is in classical architectural style, yet it
incorporated Mughal and Rajasthani architecture style with
motifs in its architecture.
 These are visible in the use of Jaali.
 Another feature of the building is a dome-like structure
known as the Chattri.
 The style of architecture used in Secretariat building is
unique to Raisina Hill. In front of the main gates on
buildings are the four “dominion columns”, given by
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

INDIA GATE
• The India Gate is the national
monument of India, situated in
the heart of New Delhi, it was
designed by Sir Edwin
Lutyens.
• The foundation stone of India
Gate was laid by His Royal
Highness, the Duke of
Connaught in 1921. The
monument was dedicated to
the nation 10 years later by the
then Viceroy, Lord Irwin.
• Following India's
independence, the India Gate
became the site of the Indian
Armed Forces's Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier, known
as Amar Jawan Jyoti ("the
flame of the immortal soldier").

The parliament house
 The Parliament House was designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.
 It was built with indigenous materials and by Indian labour and the architecture of the building
bears a close imprint of the Indian tradition.
 The layout of fountains both inside and outside the building, the use of Indian symbols, the
“Chajjas” and the varied forms of “Jaali” in the marble are reminders of the story of the
craftsmanship displayed in ancient monuments and memorials.

The princely states
 Starting from India Gate at the lowest
and eastern end of Rajpath, nearby
land was allocated to numerous
princely states, each of which built
small palaces, such as the Bikaner
House (now the Rajasthan tourism
office) and Jaipur House (now the
National Gallery of Modern Art).
 It might be said that this placement
mirrored the British settlements
toward the Princes, who lost much of
their former power and status during
the British Raj. Here , too are the
state Bhawans (houses), where you
can taste the cuisine of each state.

The Hyderabad house
 The largest of all palaces in New Delhi-a building that suited the status of the Nizam of
Hyderabad. Designed by Edwin Lutyens. The majestic mansion has 36 rooms.
 Lutyens designed Hyderabad house in the shape of a butterfly – a plan that he had first used for
Papillon Hall in Leicestershire in 1903.
 The main architectural feature of Hyderabad House is a dome with an entrance hall beneath
which symmetrical wings radiate at an angle of fifty five degrees. Its round arches flanked by
rectangular openings to the height of the impost was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, a city
where Lutyens chose a combination of rectangular and round arches that were inspired by the
Uffizi to the Amo in Florence.
 The majestic building that boasts of courtyards, archways, obelisks, large flower containers,
grand stairways, marble fireplaces, fountains, had a pre-dominantly European character with
some Mughal motifs.

The baroda house
 Situated next to Hyderabad House, is another magnificent building designed b Edwin
Lutyens. He designed the Baroda House on a train from Bombay in 1921, and it took 15
years to build it. The Prince of Baroda, who was educated in England, wanted his palace
in New Delhi to be Anglo-Saxon in style.
 The grand Baroda House is known for its terraces, grand corridors, cooling arcades,
beautiful gardens and well-ventilated salons and richly done up living rooms.
 The Gaekwads led a very westernised lifestyle.

The patiala house
 Patiala House was foremerly the palacial residence of the Maharaja of Patiala, part of th
central vista, this building built in the 1930s, has a central dome with a butterfly layout, similar
to other buildings of the Lutyens zone. Today it houses the district Courts complex for New
Delhi District. A double storeyed building, the cental portion is emphasized with a domed
pavilion on the terrace and projection porch over the upper storey, there is a projecting chajja
running the entire length of the building. It has seen interesting occupants ever since the
Maharaja vacated it.

The jaipur house
 Jaipur House (now National Gallery of Modern Art) is located diametrically opposite Hyderabad
House. Like other princes’ residences, the building was also designed in the shape of a butterfly
with a cental dome. But very few people know that it was British architect Charles Blomfield, who
designed the building. It was designed in a mix of Neo-Classical and Art Deco style. The butterfly
shaped building has two symmetrical “wings” radiating from the cental court.
 Two similar wings radiate towards the back facing gardens. The façade of this comparatively
austere palace is marked by two levels of small, vertical, slit-like windows. A continuous
sunshade or ‘chajja’ in redstone caps the entire façade. The building has arched openings
framed by Rajput columns.

drawbacks
 In this whole process alast no attention
was paid to the problems of Old Delhi.
Due to the creation of New Delhi, the old
city 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
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.

conclusion
• Liinear plan
• Bilateral symmetrical
• Central visual axis
• Cross road cuts at 90 degres
Lutyens’ Plan for New Delhi
L’enfant’s Plan for Washington

• Union Buildings, in Pretoria, built from 1910 to 1913,
though designed in 1908. It is the official seat of
the South African government, house the offices of
the President of South Africa, and most interestingly
like the Secretariat Building, it also sits atop a hill,
known as the Meintjieskop.
• But the similarities between the two building show a
clear influence of the former, especially in the basic
structure of two wings and colonnaded balconies at the
end with almost identical symmetrical bell towers.
• Both buildings have a similar symmetrical design in
case of the Union Building the two wings are joined by
a semi-circular colonnade, while with Secretariat
building, the North and South Blocks are separated
and face each other. The colour scheme is reversed
while the roof of Union Building is covered with red
tiles, in secretariat red sandstone is used in the ground
floor walls only, the rest is the same pale sandstone.
Bell tower and colonnaded balcony,
Union Buildings
Bell tower and colonnaded
balcony, Secretariat buildings

Modern Elements Of Urban
Design
In Context With
LUTYEN’S DELHI

Human scale can be defined as the proportional
relationship of the physical environment (buildings,
trees, parking lots, streets, etc.) to human
dimensions.
INDIA HABITAT CENTRE, NEW DELHI
HUMAN SCALE

Massing describes the relationship of the building’s various parts to each other. Architectural
elements such as windows, doors and roofs as well as interior floor plans can affect building
mass. Massing is important because it is one of several details that determine the visual
interest of a building and how it blends with its surroundings.
MASSING
the relentless repetition of the
same building type produces monotony.
A view of navy nagar, Navi Mumbai

A streetscape refers to the natural and man-made elements in or near the street right of way,
including buildings, building setbacks, lawns, sidewalks, street furniture, street trees, signs,
street lights, transportation amenities, and public art.
STREETSCAPE

Articulation refers to the division of a building into meaningful parts. Elements of articulation include treatment to
porches, balconies, doors, windows, roofs, materials and other architectural details.
ARTICULATION

Coherence refers to a sense of visual order. The degree of coherence is influenced by consistency and
complementarity in the scale, character, and arrangement of buildings, landscaping, street furniture, paving
materials, and other physical elements.
Allan Jacobs (1993, p. 287) describes coherence in architecture as follows: “Buildings on the
best streets will get along with each other. They are not the same, but they express respect
for one another, most particularly in respect to height and the way they look.”
COHERENCE

A prominent structure, feature or area of interest or activity.
INDIA GATE, NEW DELHI
FOCAL POINT

The use of buildings to create a sense of defined space.
ST. PETER’S SQUARE, VATICAN CITY CANNUGHT PLACE, NEW DELHI
ENCLOSURE

A place that has a clear image and is
easy to understand.
SOURCE-
The City Image and its
Elements by Kevin Lynch
LEGIBILITY

Rehabilitation of impoverished urban neighborhoods by large-scale renovation or reconstruction of housing and
public works.
BILBAO, SPAIN
Urban renewal

A type of development occurring in established areas of the city. Infill can occur on long-time vacant lots or on pieces of
land with disuse buildings, or can involve changing the land use of a property from a less to a more intensive one.
BEFORE
NOW
THE HIGHLINE, NEW YORK
INFILL DEVELOPMENT

The elements of urban form and design which make transit more accessible and efficient, these ranging from
land use elements (i.e. locating higher density housing and commercial uses along transit routes) to design (i.e.
street layout which allows efficient bus routing) and encompassing pedestrian-oriented features as most transit
riders begin and end their rides as pedestrians.
THE CITY OF BOGOTA, COLUMBIA
Transit-oriented or Transit-supportive
development

Linkage
Linkage refers to physical and visual connections—from building to street, building to building, space to
space, or one side of the street to the other—that tend to unify distinct elements. Tree lines, building
projections, and marked crossings all create linkage. Linkage can occur longitudinally along a street or
laterally across a street.
Queensway skyway

Pedestrian-oriented
An environment designed to make movement by
pedestrians fast, attractive and comfortable for various
ages and abilities; considerations include separation of
pedestrian and auto circulation, street furniture, clear
directional and informational signage, safety, visibility,
shade, lighting, surface materials, trees, sidewalk width,
intersection treatment, curb cuts, ramps and landscaping.
Beacon Hill, Boston,
Massachusetts.
Example of Large pedestrian-oriented space-
SELECT CITY WALK MALL, SAKET, NEW DELHI

Leapfrog Development
It is a discontinuous pattern of urbanization, with patches of developed lands that are widely separated from
each other and from the boundaries , although blurred in cases , of recognized urban areas. This form of
development is costly in respect to providing urban services such as water services such as water and
sewerage. LEAPFROG DEVELOPMENT IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Urban Decay
Urban decay (also known as urban rot and urban blight) is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or
part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude.
CANDEN, NEW JERSEY

Image of the city delhi

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