Chandigarh College of Architecture documents floor patterns of Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi, July 27
Striking floor patterns Edwin Lutyens designed for the residence of the Viceroy of India (now the Rashtrapati Bhavan) have been documented in a seminal work authored by a team of teachers and students from the Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA) and led by Principal Sangeeta Bagga.
The book, titled “Interpreting Geometries”, was released here on July 24, with former President Ram Nath Kovind receiving the first copy on his last day in office. The book is the first research on the intricate flooring patterns of the Rashtrapati Bhavan designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1929 for the Viceroy of India.
Besides Bagga, the other authors include three faculty members of the college, namely Saumya Sharma, Vipendra Singh and Shilpa Sood, and six students of MArch. Speaking to The Tribune today, Bagga said the Rashtrapati Bhavan was a national heritage and there were multiple books about its various aspects, but none on its flooring.
“We were commissioned by the President House to bring the building’s intricate geometry into focus,” says Bagga, who carried out a reconnaissance survey that led to the first volume of the book, produced in seven months.
The building is H-shaped with four wings – Guest Wing, Family Wing, Press Secretariat and Cabinet Secretariat – on its four sides.
“Seeing the scope of work, we decided to produce two volumes. The first volume describes the design philosophy and inception of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Raisina Hill, the inspiration behind the unique flooring, and decodes the flooring patterns. The chapters contain multiple architectural floor plan drawings, flooring pattern drawings and interpretation sketches to understand the flooring in various steps, she said, adding that the first volume examines 22 spaces and decodes 32 patterns.
