Jawahar Kala Kendra

Description

The design of Jawahar Kala Kendra is an expression of the parallel attitudes of two political leaders - Jai Singh II , who built the city of Jaipur and Jawaharlal Nehru , the first Prime Minister of India. The Jawahar Kala Kendra is a contemporary reading of the notion of the cosmos. It employs the concept of Navagrahas, 9 planets fundamental to Hindu astrology and invokes the original plan of Jaipur by displacing one of the squares.

Designed, 1986

Constructed, 1992

#Architecture

#Galleries & Art Spaces

#Cultural Landmark

#india

#jaipur

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The JKK building is clad in Rajasthani sandstone

The architecture of JKK is based on the concept of Indian astrology and resembles the square-grid plan of Jaipur city

The main building contains administrative block, an ethnographic museum, temporary exhibition galleries, open air theatre, air conditioned theatre, an arena, library, dormitories, and coffee house

The construction of JKK building on the theme of nine planets adds unique attributes to the institution

There are walls which have been given depth & life through realistic perspectives of arcaded streets, of projecting balconies, of staircases, of windows, of doorways

One moves through a very interesting series of spaces, a deliberate internal street derived undoubtedly from the nostalgic past of Goa.

The grid allows Correa the flexibility to manipulate spaces to create a very rich sensory experience,

The entire complex is built in red sandstone and white marble with vastu symbols on the façade of each square structure.

The Kund

The permanent ethnographical art gallery called The Alankar Museum potentially depicts the tangible and intangible heritage of Rajasthan, through a vast range of artifacts exhibited

The Mural

Adjoining the main building of the JKK is Shilpgram- a rural complex with six huts symbolizing the rural ambience of various regions of Rajasthan

The plan is inspired by the original city plan of Jaipur, consisting of nine squares with central square left open, applying concepts from ancient architectural principles called the Vastu Vidya

Small, intimate courtyards with bright red sandstone walls bring in light to the building

The six regions depicted in Shilpgram are Marwar, Braj, Shekhawati, Tribal, Desert land and Hadoti

This Shilpgram complex hosts the annual folk art festival called ‘Lokrang’

Imagined as a metaphysical echo of the city of Jaipur itself, the building represents Correa’s interest in the abstract, mythical dimensions of architecture and the power of their manifestation in a civic building

The architect, Charles Correa, claimed that "The primordial has become a fecund source of the mythic. This is why Picasso and Matisse in their paintings, Stravinsky in his music, and Le Corbusier in his architecture intuitively searched out the primitive", and this became the basis for the architectural design of the Kendra

Heritage, as the design conveys, is a matter of accidental encounter and discovery – a process that relies on the instincts and inclinations of a person moving through space, between the stage set of walls, past recreated incidents, and rituals of art and craft

Like Jaipur, enclosed by high sandstone walls and approached through framing portals, the buildings also open into high-walled courtyards

The tall walls and masses of fragmented built spaces generate voids of green open and semi open spaces

The building allows the users to experience a non-linear, almost arbitrary movement throughout the discovery of the premises ; much like how one traverses within the Old City of Jaipur

Fragmented spaces of built, unbuilt and the in-between are configured to create numerous journeys within the building

The Murals from Jain mythology, the charts and paintings on the ceiling of the central dome play a considerable role to attract the tourists and artists, thus formulates the exceptional nature of the institution

Correa's modernist take on traditional elements like the lattice screen epitomizes the ideals of critical regionalism

current Drawings and documents

9 Documents,Show less

Site Plan

The Nine Planets

The Section

A View from Delhi

Charles Correa Architect in India

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