SHIVNATH PRASAD

• Sivnath Prasad was born at Lucknow in 1922. After graduating in

architecture from the Edinburgh College of Art, UK in 1946, Prasad
obtained a Diploma in City Planning in 1947. He worked for a
number of years in England as an architect and town planner before
returning to India in 1955. He joined the Town and Country Planning
Organisation, Government of India, where he was the technical head
of the Indian team which prepared the First Master Plan for Delhi in
collaboration with a team of experts sponsored by the Ford
Foundation.
• Shivnath Prasad, a Le Corbusier acolyte, seemingly transliterated the
works of Le Corbusier in his architecture.
• On the contrary some sources say that he has assisted Le Corbusier
in Chandigarh before he started to work in Delhi. Prasad’s rigid and
uncompromising nature is transparently exhibited in the projects he
undertook after he left Government service, such as the Akbar Hotel
(1965-69) (now converted into the offices of the Ministry of External
Affairs, and renamed Akbar Bhavan) and Shri Ram Centre (1966-690)
and Tibet House Museum (1973-1978).These buildings are
exemplary for several reasons, but most particularly on account of
the reflexive manner in which he utilised Le Corbusier’s vocabulary
to serve his ends. The production of these buildings demonstrates
the intense commitment to architectural principles required of an
architect to produce compelling architecture.
 AKBAR HOTEL
• There are a number of buildings designed by Prasad
which owe a formal debt to the Corbusian school of
thought. Prasad's thirteen-storied Akbar Hotel
(1965-69), now an office building, is reminiscent of
Le Corbusier's Unite d'habitation. It is a reinforced-
concrete structure with a truthful expression of
form-work and natural concrete finish. All the
typical Corbusian architectural features like the
brise-soleil, the truthful expression of service floor
on the facade, the roof terrace elements, and an
exposed staircase at the far end, are visible in the
built-form.
 SHRI RAM CENTRE FOR PERFORMING
ARTS
• This is a unique illustration of Corbusier's influence
on modern Indian architecture. It is located on a
0.25-hectare site in the heart of the capital,
adjacent to other cultural institutions. The centre
was set up by a private trust to promote the
performing arts of India.
• The design of Shri Ram Centre satisfied function-
intensive requirements on a small site. The architect
conceived individual functions at different levels,
using distinct forms bound together by independent
structural supports. At the ground floor, space
enclosure has been kept to a minimum and spaces
flow out to natural greenery and sunshine. The
cylindrical shaped main auditorium, with a seating
capacity for 600 persons is on the first floor. It is
supported on circumferential and radial beams
cantilevering out from six columns.
 SHRI RAM CENTRE FOR PERFORMING
ARTS
• The top floor, rests on four cross-shaped columns
placed at a distance of 19 metres from each other
with six-metre cantilevers all around. The complete
building is in reinforced concrete and shows the use
of typical Corbusian vocabulary: sculptural forms,
sun breakers, exposed concrete and water spouts.
 CENTRAL LIBRARY SRINAGAR
• Shivnath Prasad's devotion to master's philosophy is
reflected even more vigorously in his design of the Central
Library (1969-73) in Srinagar. Located in the state of Jammu
and Kashmir, this library is built on a 1.5-hectare site on the
campus of Kashmir University. The site has a backdrop of
Majestic mountains and greenery all around. The building
has a square plan with 9,375 square metres of built-up
area. Pyramid-shaped skylights are provided in each
structural grid to light the interiors of the library floor
uniformly.
• Spouts are provided to drain out rainwater from the
terrace. The windows are protected from the sun and rain
by brise-soleil. To capture the scenic splendour of the
mountain ranges and to get the maximum light, the
architect intentionally enlarged the size of the glazed
openings.
• The staircase and the lift towers add verticality to this
temple of learning and stand in striking contrast to the
rugged profile of the mountains. The building is a
reinforced-concrete-frame structure with exposed
shuttering patterns.