Latest news with #Neo-classical
The Hindu
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Celebrating 100 years of the Art Deco style in Madras
It was on April 29, 1925, that the Paris Exposition formally introduced the Art Deco style to the world. It took 10 years for the form to come to Madras. In between, Bombay took to it, the Syndicate Bank building in that city being the country's first, completed in 1932. And it was a man from the Bombay Presidency who brought Art Deco to this city. Laxman Mahadeo Chitale (1892-1960) was noticed for his skills in drawing by Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III of Baroda and took up a draughtsman course and then apprenticed under H.V. Lanchester, who was, in the early 1900s, one of the architects consulted for the city of New Delhi. In the event he did not get that contract but went on to design Umaid Bhavan Palace in Jodhpur, one of India's largest residences in the Art Deco style. Corner entrance Returning after a few years in England working with Lanchester, Chitale moved to Madras, joined the PWD, and then quit in 1932 to set up practice as an independent architect. And thus began Madras' journey in Art Deco. His first major structure in that style in the city was the Oriental Insurance Building, on Armenian Street. Making full use of a corner plot, Chitale, in the style popularised by Sir Edwin Lutyens in Delhi, designed a building with a corner entrance, thereby maximising the sides along two streets. Oriental Insurance Building, still standing, was also the city's first multi-storey, for it had six floors, counting two in the basement. Bombay had already set the trend for banks and insurance companies floated by Indians building their headquarters in the Art Deco style. It was almost as though they wanted to defy British business interests by breaking free of Neo-classical, Indo-Saracenic, and Bombay Gothic. And so Madras followed suit. Chitale built many such as the National Insurance Building (1938) on China Bazaar Road and almost certainly the Andhra Insurance Building (1939). Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar took a great liking to Chitale and got him to design the Annamalai University building. He therefore designed the Annamalai Manram on the Esplanade in 1952 as well. It is a happy amalgam of Chettinad and Art Deco. Theatres followed suit The rest of the city was not idle. Cinema theatres, which had till then adhered to the strictly classical, and mostly with a street front box office, took to Art Deco, probably with Casino (1941). Cinema studios — Gemini, AVM, and Vijaya-Vauhini — all had even their preview theatres in Art Deco! Businesshouses found the style attractive, with Parry demolishing its old buildings and constructing a new one in 1938, the present Dare House. Even P Orr & Sons, archives reveal, toyed with an Art Deco structure to replace its Chisholm-designed building, but never got around to it. All along NSC Bose Road, the old Madras Christian College campus was sold in lots, and Art Deco edifices came up, most still standing. Even Connemara underwent a facelift in the new style. Hotels such as Oceanic and Dasaprakash were jewels of Art Deco. In housing too, Art Deco became a trend for residences in T. Nagar, Mylapore, Alwarpet, and Adyar. Silverware and furniture took to Art Deco and print used its fonts. It was all the rage. By the 1950s though, the style was giving way to the Modernist/Brutalist made fashionable by Socialist thought. Today, Mumbai has managed to get UNESCO protection for its Art Deco, at least for Marine Drive. We, on the other hand, have watched most of our buildings vanish. We need to protect what is left. (V. Sriram is a writer and historian.)
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
City' first hostel for working women celebrates landmark 125th anniv
Mumbai: The year was 1900. It was before the first women's university in India (SNDT) was founded in 1916. Before Indian women won legal equality, or the right to franchise, abortion and inheritance. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Amid that milieu, the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) built the first hostel for working women in Mumbai, providing safe accommodation at a reasonable cost. This historic Lady Willingdon Hostel in Fort celebrated its 125th anniversary on Thursday April 24. Its foundation stone had been laid in 1900 by Lady Sandhurst, wife of the then Governor of Bombay. The beautiful four-storey edifice along Madame Cama Road, near St Anne's School, still stands like a beacon of support. Chairperson Anuradha Patil said, "The hostel is celebrating its 125th anniversary, as part of the ongoing 150-year anniversary of YWCA Bombay . We have 65 residents aged 18-59 years. Of these, 70% are working women. Nowadays we admit 30% girls who are interns or doing their Masters degree. There is a waiting list of 60-70 applicants." She added, "Since it is an old building, our rooms are large with high ceilings. Some rooms are for single occupancy, others are shared by two to four women. We also have a mess, meeting room, lounge and YWCA office." "Apart from being a home away from home, Willingdon Hostel also catered to the social, educational and spiritual well being of women by organising recreation programmes like its famous Carnival during the 1960s and 70s. The Commercial School provided some of the best secretaries, employed by prestigious corporate companies. Over the years our focus has shifted to conducting programmes for marginalised members of society. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Presently we have balwadis functioning here too." In 2007-08, conservation architect Vikas Dilawari carried out restoration work on this Grade III heritage structure built in Neo-classical style. "It is architecturally notable owing to its ornate limestone and teakwood features like timber louvered chhajjas, which are typical of that period. The balconies have splendid cast iron railing with 'YWC' inscribed on it. The highlight is the balustrade porch resting on six limestone columns with composite capitals," he said. The old block, as per the marble plaque at the entrance, dates back to Jan 8, 1900. Dilawari conducted internal and external repairs and refurbished its interiors with new electrification, respecting the heritage character has to be respected which earlier repairs had not done. His effort won Willingdon Hostel a UNESCO Asia Pacific Award (Honorable Mention) for Conservation. Thereafter preventive repair was undertaken in 2018-19. Kamal Jadhav, a member of St Thomas Cathedral, said, "LW Hostel in its 125 years, has remained relevant to the rapidly changing landscape of this megapolis. Besides catering to the holistic development of its residents, today, the needs of marginalised members of society too, are being looked after. May this wonderful Institution move from strength to strength." Pavana Anchees, president of Bombay YWCA, said, "The building follows a Neo classic tradition with renaissance revival elements. The heritage hall is a sought after space for conferences; even being one of the venues for the Kala Ghoda festival."
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Feds announce takeover of Penn Station redesign, slam MTA ‘inefficiency'
President Trump's Department of Transportation is taking over the MTA's plan to renovate Penn Station, the U.S. DOT announced Thursday, withdrawing from a longstanding agreement that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority would oversee the station's redesign while Amtrak and NJ Transit would oversee its expansion. '[The Federal Railroad Administration] has determined the necessary planning for reconstruction and expansion of Penn Station will be conducted under a single grant, led by Amtrak,' an attorney for the FRA, a subsidiary agency of U.S. DOT, said in a Thursday letter to MTA officials. In addition to withdrawing the MTA's $72 million redesign grant, DOT officials said in a press release Thursday that they had also 'slashed' Amtrak's grant to expand Penn Station. In all, the feds claimed to have cut $120 million from the $16.7 billion overhaul. 'President Trump has made it clear: The days of reckless spending and blank checks are over,' Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. 'New York City deserves a Penn Station that reflects America's greatness and is safe and clean.' 'The MTA's history of inefficiency, waste and mismanagement also meant that a new approach is needed,' he continued. 'By putting taxpayers first, we're ensuring every dollar is spent wisely to create a transit hub all Americans can take pride in.' The MTA had been charged with redesigning the aboveground portion of Penn, a process that had stalled in the post-pandemic commercial real estate lull. The resulting limbo birthed several competing plans, including one from design firm ASTM, and another pushed by major Trump donor Tom Klingenstein. Klingenstein — chairman of the right-wing think tank the Claremont Institute — is one of the driving forces behind a Neo-classical vision for the Midtown transit hub known as 'Grand Penn,' drawings of which were sent to Duffy last month. That plan, however, would require Madison Square Garden to be moved from its current location to a spot across the street — a possibility MSG's owner, James Dolan, has repeatedly called a nonstarter. The move to drop the MTA from the Penn plan comes as Duffy has threatened to cut funding to the the agency amid an ongoing battle about federal authority over state transit policy. New York's congestion pricing program — which tolls drivers in Midtown and lower Manhattan in order to reduce congestion and fund an array of public transit projects — is at the center of the fight. Duffy declared in February that he had revoked a key authorization for the tolling program, despite dubious authority to do so. Gov. Hochul has said the toll will stay on absent a court order to the contrary. With no such order, Duffy has repeatedly threatened to pull federal funding from the transit agency over the dispute, as well as threatening to unleash DOGE — Elon Musk's government agency chain-sawing squad — on the MTA, despite a presidential appointee like Musk having no authority over a New York state agency.
