INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE,NEW DELHI Page |1

INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE,NEW DELHI Page |2

INTRODUCTION

The India International Centre (IIC) provides facilities for a variety of artistic and scholarly activities,
conferences and symposia organized by national and international groups. The Centre was originally conceived
in the late 1950’s by Dr. S Radhakrishnan of India and John D. Rockefeller III of United States along the lines
of other ‘International House’ facilities built contemporaneously in Tokyo and New York which, like the IIC
were founded with support from the Rockefeller Foundation.

The various functional requirements and special relationships present in this combined cultural and residential
institution have resulted in a design rich in variation, governed by the integration of modern techniques with
local skills and materials.

ARCHITECT : Joseph Allen Stein

BUILT IN : 1968

LOCATION : Lodhi Estate, New Delhi.

APPROACH

The complex has the two entrances/exits:

 One is on east side i.e. Max Muller Marg/ Lodhi Estate Road which leads to the portico for entrance to
the programme wing and hostel wing.

 Second entrance is from the south which leads to the programme wing.
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OBJECTIVE

The main objectives of the Centre will be to promote understanding and amity amongst human communities by
facilitating the exchange of knowledge and mutual appreciation of each other’s cultures. The emphasis will
neither be on the study of any single culture nor on the promotion of any particular ideology. Rather the Centre
will be a forum for the exposition of the cultural patterns prevailing in the different parts of the world by the
men and the women most competent to speak on the subjects- nay, embodying themselves in each such pattern.

THE SCHEME

 Stein responded to cultural heritage or ambience of this particular place. The need for an appropriate
form and choice of materials for the IIC was made even more apparent by its location immediately
adjoining a famous historical site- THE LODHI PARK wherein are the rugged, handsome tombs of
several emperors of the Lodhi Dynasty that ruled in North India during the 15th and 16th centuries.

 The architectural scheme is characterized by the careful relation of indoor and outdoor spaces, and
finely detailed, expressive construction.

 The Center’s 18,600sq.m. (4.6 acres) site at Lodhi Estate was designed so that the grounds of IIC and
the adjacent Lodhi Gardens could function as one entity.

 The main complex of the Centre is laid out with three wings on the north, south and west, each
designed to serve as separate function.

 While cultural programs are open to the interested public in the south wing, the Centre offers
residential and catering facilities to members and their guests in the north wing. The lounge, dining hall
and the services are located on the west side, overlooking the Lodhi Gardens.

 The blocks are grouped around two great courts, and connected by porticoes and ground-level and
rooftop verandahs.

 Another component in the design of IIC was the use of courts and openings through the buildings to
create a lively sequences of visual experiences from approach to the entry to the exit, so that in
circulating through the complex, one partakes of a sequence as in a play: with the opening, the middle
or the body, and the climax.

 The residential block is well linked with coffee room at ground floor by means of patio. The residential
block is connected to dining at first floor.

THE THREE BLOCKS CONSISTS OF FOLOWING FACILITIES:

NORTH BLOCK (RESIDENTIAL BLOCK)

It consist of lounge, reception and accommodation facilities of 42 guest rooms (single room, double room and
presidential suite) at all floors giving spectacular views of Lodhi Garden. The main entrance to the wing is
from southern side by vaulted corridor connecting programme block and parking on eastern side.
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SOUTH BLOCK (PROGRAMME BLOCK)

The programme block consists of the following areas:

 Basement : Toilet, Drinking water.

 Ground floor : Library, Auditorium.

 First floor : Kitchen, Administration office, Conference room (80 per), Engg’s room, Director’s

Room, President’s room, Projector room and Board room.

 Second floor : Account section, Publications, Computer wing, record room and Programme office.

WEST BLOCK

The west block consists of following areas:

 Ground floor : Lounge, Toilets, Bakery shop, Pantry.

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 First floor : Dining hall having capacity of 120 persons, Private dining hall.

 Second floor : Conference hall with seating capacity of 60 persons, Open terrace for organizing

Parties, Toilets.

AUDITORIUM

 240 seating capacity.

 About 260sq.m.area including stage and backstage area.

 Regular hexagonal unit with each side 11m long.

 Proscenium stage 5.4m.deep, wooden flooring 0.9m.high.

 Two public entrances from the foyer and one VIP entrance from backstage.

 Designed to function as multipurpose halls.

 Two Aisles in between (1.6m wide).

 Exposed black stones on the walls and exposed concrete Y shaped elements on the roof ceiling 6-
7m.high.

 Wooden paneling on wall facing the stage.

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LIBRARY

 For use of delegates and members only, it houses about 32,000 volumes of books and periodicals
mostly on social sciences, history, biography, literature and arts.

 Oblong 12m.wide and 25m.long.

 Reception cum Issue and Deposit Counter on the entrance.

 Magazines section opposite to reception counter having seating capacity of 15 people.

 Books stacks on the left of the circulation passage which divides library into reading zone and stacks
zone.

 Reading zone has windows overlooking the central lawn.

 Special booths for internet/photocopy/type writing etc.

 It has 6 cubicles for quiet reading.

CONFERENCE FACILITIES

 Two conference hall with seating capacity of 80 and 60 persons respectively.

 One in the Programme Block.

 Second one is the Residential Block on second floor.

 Overlooking the Lodhi Gardens and has been appropriately glazed.

 No acoustical treatments.
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 In addition there are two available venues- Rock Garden and the Central Lawn for parties.

DESIGN FEATURES

 The Centre retains its own distinctive character of a green oasis amidst the newer buildings in Lodhi
Estate.

 By articulating the functions of the programme, it is possible to enter any section of the Centre
through outdoor spaces without disturbing the ongoing activities in others.

 All the main rooms (offices, library, and guest rooms) face approximately north-south, the preferred
orientation in Delhi latitude, except for the dining rooms and lounge which overlook an exceptional
view of the Lodhi Gardens.

 The height of the buildings has been kept below the base of the domes of the nearby tombs. The
materials used in construction have been allowed to assume their natural colors and textures as a
result of climate and ageing.

 The surrounding north wing of services and the west wing of guest rooms have been raised on piers,
bringing the Lodhi toms into framed view and creating a large verandah beneath.

 The guest room wing has also been given a curved from which approaches and then recedes away
from the Lodhi Gardens site boundary. This avoids an expression of a long rigid façade along the
park, and gives both a sense of focus towards the centre court as well as an expansive view out from
the guest rooms over the lawns and water of north gardens.

 The buildings respond with sensitivity to their specific location in Delhi.

 The curving façade of Residential Wing corresponds to the curving paths and walkways in the
adjacent Lodhi Gardens.
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COURTYARDS AND GARDENS

 The India International Centre is conceived as a design of interrelated interior and shaded spaces,
courtyards and gardens. Relatively compact interiors expand out to and offer a haven from the larger
outdoor spaces in ways which depend on the schedule of activities of the Centre, the time of the day
and the season.

 Each courtyard and garden at the IIC has a different function and aspect. The first or the entrance
court provides access on the north side to the guest rooms, and on the south to the auditorium and the
programme block of library and offices.

 After a processional entry drive past a fountain composed of a line of water jets one is met by the
Center’s sentinel-like stair tower and a welcoming portico of extended pre-cast vaults which bound
the western edge of the court.

 Passing through the portico the visitors enters into the main courtyard and then into the gardens of the
Centre, which bound the rear and the north sides of the site.

 The court is part lawn, part paved, with blue-green kota stone laid with its natural split texture
evident. It was conceived of as a place for large informal gatherings and as setting for sculpture.

 The rear hold gardens for dining and informal meetings under the shade of trees, near the fountain and
pool.

 The rear gardens were transformed in 1990 into a gentle sloping amphitheatre for outdoor
performances.

STRUCTURE AND MATERIALS

 The consistent expression of structure provides a modular discipline within which the infill materials
are freely placed to perform their various functions.
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 Massive materials anchor the buildings to the ground, while lighter materials and more delicate
constructions meet the sky.

 It consists the use of concrete as the basic structural material: in the poured concrete frame supporting
carefully worked out pre-cast concrete roof and floor elements which vary with each space and
function auditorium, lounge, dining, hostel block, programme block each having its distinctive and
appropriate pre-cast coffered roof and elements; with bearing walls of local stone where feasible, and
the use of numerous sun protection elements in the form of jails (perforated screens).

 The concrete frame is filled in with several types of cladding (local stone, pre-cast concrete panels),
windows and shading devices of various sizes, materials and degrees of operability, in an attempt to
maximize an appreciation of the indoor/outdoor relationships and the particular qualities of the site.

 The use of local materials such as rugged quartzite stone and blue Kotah flooring is softened by
screened jails in ceramic blue tiles which resonate with the intricate patterns found in Islamic
Architecture.

 The final construction was highly economical, largely as a result of efficient construction and use of
simple exposed materials which required no additional finishes. The combination of simple materials
and careful detailing has allowed the buildings to age gracefully.
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DETAIL: ACCORDION WINDOW WALL

Each guest room has a steel framed accordion window wall which when folded away transforms the whole
space and its balcony extensions into a deep verandah with unrestricted access to any breeze and the views of
the IIC grounds and the Lodhi Gardens beyond.

DETAIL: AUDITORIUM ROOF DOME

The roof of the auditorium at the IIC is composed of pre-cast Y shaped elements, combined to form a six-sided
domical structure based on hexagons and quadrilaterals. The lateral forces from the dome are contained by a
tension ring. The roof structure is exposed to the auditorium below, providing a constellation pattern above the
stone walls which visually anchor the dome to the ground. Short spacers projecting above the Y shaped prices
carrying the outer roofing layer, and provide space for the distribution of lighting and air conditioning.

SHADING DEVICES

The range of shading devices for the project trellises, ground level and roof top pergolas, jalis, vertical sliding
louvers and the ‘summerhouse’ are particularly good examples of Stein’s problem solving approach and his
refined attention to detail. Depending on the task at hand, the shading devices at the IIC range from relatively
monolithic sunshields, like the pre-cast vaulting for the entry portico and rooftop pergolas, to an operable light
weight device the vertical sliding window louvers in the dining room. The most precisely detailed and
coordinated of the devices are the designs for the jalis and the vertical sliding louvers.

DETAIL: JALI

For the auditorium windows and between the guest room balconies, jalls of a traditional Delhi blue glazed tile
were used, echoing the color of the tiles on the Lodhi tombs. Jalis of a fire clay tile and steel piping shade the
exterior south walls and also screen the service area. While entirely shading the windows in the summer, the
jalis allow in welcome sun in winter, and present no horizontal surfaces for dust and bird debris to settle on
owing to the rounded profile and small dimension of the horizontal steel pipe supporting the vertical tiles.
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DETAIL: VERTCAL SLIDING LOUVERS

On the exterior walls of dining room, operable aluminium vertical louver assemble can be slid away still
vertical as well, allowing for breezes and views and a completely open relationship with the outside. The
dining room is thus transformed into a large verandah, shaded by the floor above, similar in concept to the
guest rooms, where the window walls are folded away.

INFERENCES

 Good layout, minimal continuity. Layout according to the shape of the site.

 Hierarchy of the open spaces is maintained to Lodhi Gardens.

 The scale and color scheme to merge with the surroundings.

 Exposed concrete columns, pre-cast concrete blocks, and blue, green state roofing merges well with
the surroundings.
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 Provision for handicapped is made all over the complex.

 Landscapes merge with the surroundings.

 Lights come mainly from north and south.

 Single staircase in utility block is insufficient.

 Efficient by means of verandahs and less corridors.

 Unsatisfactory in terms of fire escape, only hydrants and alarm system are present.

 The jali’s have been used at different places for different purposes and use. It has been used for
mainly for four different purposes.

I. As shading devices for climate modification.

II. As decorative element.

III. To hide services like air conditioner’s pipes and other services.

IV. To prevent direct view of the interiors of the rooms from the roads and the gardens.

V. There is no provision of the sufficient parking within the complex. All the cars are parked outside
the complex which is also shared by the other buildings in the vicinity.

 The building is centrally air conditioned and the AC plant provided in the south block.

 Spaces are created with the proper blocking of forms which are used for different purposes.