Art Deco in Kolkata

Last updated

The Art Deco in Kolkata , India is a prominent architectural style which can be found across the city, most notably in the southern parts of the metropolis. [1] The style can be traced back to the 1930s "with the use of Portland cement and with geometrical articulation in plan and cosmetic decorative treatment including perforated concrete grill-work on a simple elevation (façade)." [2] Although Kolkata is notable for its colonial-style (Victorian, neo-classical, gothic revival) and vernacular-style (mansions constructed by the Bengali elites) buildings, the emphasis on Art Deco buildings while discussing the architectural history of the city is often overlooked. This is in exception to the few prominent art deco buildings constructed during the colonial period in the first half of the twentieth century—about which enough has been written. [3] Despite art deco being so prominent in the latter half of the twentieth century insofar as entire neighbourhoods—architecturally speaking—appeared to be adaptations of one style, [4] it was not paid enough attention up until the twenty-first century when many such buildings (mostly residential homes) started to be either severely neglected or demolished because of lack of architectural and historical awareness and preservation efforts. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Some characteristic features of Art Deco buildings in Kolkata are a blend of traditional style with European provenances: "semi-circular balconies, a long vertical strip comprising glass panes for the stairwell, porthole-shaped windows, sunrise motifs on grilles and gates," cast iron railings, etc. [8] Prominent Kolkata neighbourhoods where one can witness Art Deco buildings are Gariahat Road, Tollygunge, Southern Avenue, Beliaghata, etc.

It is important to note that Art Deco architecture is not a direct successor of the Art Nouveau style in Kolkata.

Background

Historically, Art Deco emerged in Europe, and Chicago is credited to be the first city in the world wherein the architectural style flourished with its skyscrapers. [9] [10] The Home Insurance Building constructed in 1884 with structural metal in its frame is a notable example. New York City made the art deco style prominent by constructing various skyscrapers (Chrysler Building, American Radiator Building), Miami became the largest city in the world housing Art Deco architecture, and Mumbai in India has been ranked as the second largest city with art deco buildings. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] The architectural style credited to be a blend of many elements does not share the same history in Kolkata as the above-mentioned cities.

The nomenclature 'Art Deco' itself does not have any definitive origin and is often alluded to the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier who used the phrase while writing for his journal L'Esprit Nouveau regarding the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris 1925. [16] [17] Art Deco may have been named after this global exhibition. In the context of Kolkata, there are many reasons why the architectural style was never paid as much attention as it did in other cities in the world. Firstly, in the absence of the Indo-Saracenic style in Kolkata (as the British did not see its relevance in the city), the British promoted neo-classical architecture. [3] Whereas the wealthy Bengali landowners constructed buildings with huge courtyards and structures which may be seen as resistance to the imperial architectural styles. Secondly, there was "retaliation against the proliferation of art deco architecture in India during this time and the rise of modernism in Europe", [3] which can be seen through the lenses of the Modern Indian Architecture Movement and the work of Bengali architect Sris Chandra Chatterjee, one of the pioneers of the movement. [18] This movement aimed to find a more appropriate architecture catering to the Indian sentiment for buildings constructed by Indians.

The first few art deco buildings in Kolkata were mostly either office buildings, private houses, or movie theatres. The Metro Cinema, a private structure developed by "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to promote its movies opened to the public in 1934, designed by New York-based, Scottish-born architect Thomas W. Lamb." [3] This Art Deco building would later become one of the most significant examples of the style in the city. Other prominent buildings include the Reid House on Red Cross Place and the Laha Paint House in Bow Barracks. [19]

However, it was not until the 1960s that art deco buildings gained a stronghold in the city. This is because after the Partition of Bengal in 1947 and with various refugee families settling in the southern parts of the city, [1] many individuals preferred to build houses styled after the Metro Cinema Hall. [4] These were middle-class individuals with access and aspirations such as doctors, lawyers, civil servants, etc. who lost their ancestral houses due to the Partition of India. With limited spaces as opposed to the huge mansions of wealthy individuals in northern Kolkata, these individuals would ask civil engineers (and not architects because they would charge 2-3% of construction cost, unlike in other cities) to file building plans and construct houses in a similar fashion as the Metro Cinema. [4] Therefore, many such residential houses came to be known as "metro-style houses." [4] These ordinary residential homes were compact and of a more contemporary architectural style as opposed to the older style of houses in north Kolkata. Many of its residents did not even know about the art deco style in Europe and their homes boasted a blend of many styles: from traditional features to European characteristics of the Art Deco. One may even claim that this was Kolkata's interpretation of art deco which may be referred to as 'indie-deco'. The second-generation residents of these houses, statistically in many instances, often moved out or migrated to other regions for better livelihood prospects. [20] Thus many such houses by the turn of the century started to disappear with failure of maintenance or the old inhabitants finding it easier to give their property to developers who would construct apartment buildings to house many more families, a demand which can be seen against the backdrop of increasing urbanisation and modernisation of cities in the global South. [21] [22]

While the social and historical conditions under which art deco residential houses in Kolkata emerged can be traced back to the mid-twentieth century, its decay and negligence as compared to other cities in the world can be attributed towards a lack of awareness regarding this more colloquial form of Art Deco housing structures prevalent in the region.

Preservation efforts

Of late, there have been various campaigns to preserve the art deco houses in Kolkata, most notably the author Amit Chaudhuri's 2015 movement called the "Calcutta Architectural Legacies." [8] [23] [24] There are other private citizen's projects as well launched on social media platforms to document and preserve Kolkata's dying heritage houses (including art deco buildings) such as the 'Calcutta Houses' and 'Art Deco Calcutta'. [25] The 'Calcutta Heritage Collective' is also a notable restoration initiative comprising prominent civil society individuals of Kolkata. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Deco</span> Early-20th-century architectural and art style

Art Deco, short for the French Arts Décoratifs, and sometimes referred to simply as Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s, and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s. Through styling and design of the exterior and interior of anything from large structures to small objects, including how people look, Art Deco has influenced bridges, buildings, ships, ocean liners, trains, cars, trucks, buses, furniture, and everyday objects like radios and vacuum cleaners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Le Corbusier</span> Swiss-French architect (1887–1965)

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930. His career spanned five decades, in which he designed buildings in Europe, Japan, India, as well as North and South America. He considered that "the roots of modern architecture are to be found in Viollet-le-Duc".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolkata</span> Capital of West Bengal, India

Kolkata is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, 80 km (50 mi) west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary financial and commercial center of eastern and northeastern India. Kolkata is the seventh most populous city of India with an estimated city proper population of 4.5 million (0.45 crore). It is the centre of the Kolkata Metropolitan Region, one of the most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 15 million residents. Kolkata is the de facto cultural capital of India and historically and culturally significant city in the historic region of Bengal. It is the second largest Bengali-speaking city in the world. It has the highest number of nobel laureates among all cities in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern architecture</span> Architectural movement and style

Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form should follow function (functionalism); an embrace of minimalism; and a rejection of ornament. It emerged in the first half of the 20th century and became dominant after World War II until the 1980s, when it was gradually replaced as the principal style for institutional and corporate buildings by postmodern architecture. According to Le Corbusier the roots of the movement were to be found in the works of Eugène Viollet le duc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mumbai culture</span>

A resident of Mumbai is called a Mumbaikar. People prefer to stay close to a railway station for easy access to the metropolis. Many city-dwellers lead a fast-paced life with very little time for other activities owing to a significant amount of time spent on daily commuting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Chennai</span> Architectural style

Chennai architecture is a confluence of many architectural styles. From ancient Tamil temples built by the Pallavas, to the Indo-Saracenic style of the colonial era, to 20th-century steel and chrome of skyscrapers. Chennai has a colonial core in the port area, surrounded by progressively newer areas as one travels away from the port, punctuated with old temples, churches and mosques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esplanade, Kolkata</span> Neighbourhood in Kolkata in West Bengal, India

Esplanade is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. This is not a conventional esplanade in the sense that the place is not exactly situated alongside a waterbody. However, the Ganga river (Ganges), also known as Hooghly river, flows nearby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tollygunge</span> Neighbourhood in Kolkata in West Bengal, India

Tollygunge is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is known for being the center of Indian Bengali-language cinema, with filming locations used for other regional Indian films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Bengal</span> Overview of architecture in the Bengal region of South Asia

The Architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the Indian subcontinent, with influences from different parts of the world. Bengali architecture includes ancient urban architecture, religious architecture, rural vernacular architecture, colonial townhouses and country houses and modern urban styles. The bungalow style is a notable architectural export of Bengal. The corner towers of Bengali religious buildings were replicated in medieval Southeast Asia. Bengali curved roofs, suitable for the very heavy rains, were adopted into a distinct local style of Indo-Islamic architecture, and used decoratively elsewhere in north India in Mughal architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eros Cinema</span>

The Eros Cinema is an Art Deco style, now defunct, cinema theatre located in Cambata Building at Churchgate, Mumbai, India. It has a seating capacity of 1,204 people per show.

The architecture of Mumbai blends Gothic, Victorian, Art Deco, Indo-Saracenic & Contemporary architectural styles. Many buildings, structures and historical monuments remain from the colonial era. Mumbai, after Miami, has the second largest number of Art Deco buildings in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro Cinema (Kolkata)</span> Cinema hall, Heritage building in Kolkata, India

Metro Cinema or Metro Cinemas is a uniplex cinema hall and a heritage building located in Jawahar Lal Nehru Road (Esplanade), Kolkata, West Bengal, India. This theatre was opened by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1935. It is currently owned by a Mumbai-based firm and is undergoing a renovation to be converted into a multiplex theatre. The building is located in the posh Esplanade area of Kolkata, right at the heart of the city. It is a heritage structure and a very famous landmark of the city of Kolkata. And one of the many famous cinema halls in the Esplanade area of Central Kolkata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai</span> Art Deco & Victorian Architecture in Mumbai, India

The Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Bombay is a collection of 19th-century Victorian Revival public and 20th-century Mumbai Art Deco private buildings in the Fort precinct of Mumbai. This ensemble was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.

Art Deco Mumbai (ADMT) is a public charitable trust that is actively involved in spreading awareness about Mumbai's Art Deco heritage since May 2016. It is a digital initiative that uses social media and a website to showcase the built heritage. The website is the only repository of information on Art Deco in Mumbai in the public domain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Deco in Mumbai</span> Indian architecture style

The Art Deco in Mumbai, India style is a notable feature of the architecture of the city. It was used primarily for office buildings, residences and movie theaters, during a period when India was part of the British Empire. On 30 June 2018, an ensemble of such buildings were officially recognized as a World Heritage site by the UNESCO World Heritage committee held in Bahrain as the Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Hyderabad</span>

A distinct Indo-Islamic architecture style with local contribution is reflected in the historical buildings of Hyderabad, making it the first and "Best Heritage City of India" as of March 2012. The city houses many famous historical sites constructed during Qutb Shahi and Asaf Jahi period, including various mosques and palaces.

Abha Narain Lambah is an Indian conservation architect whose eponymous architectural practice has restored several of India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the Ajanta Caves, Golconda Fort and Mahabodhi Temple, and Mumbai's Victorian buildings like the Crawford Market, Royal Opera House, Asiatic Society of Mumbai Town Hall and Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Currency Building</span> 19th-century building in Kolkata, India

The Currency Building is an early 19th-century building in the B. B. D. Bagh central business district of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. The building was originally built in 1833 to house the Calcutta branch of the Agra Bank. In 1868, it was converted for use by the Office of the Issue and Exchange of Government Currency, an office of the Controller of the Currency under the British Raj. From 1935 until 1937, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) used the building as its first central office. The building remained in use, and was used at one time by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) as a storehouse. Authorities decided to demolish it in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madras High Court</span> High court in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu

The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High Court in Kolkata and Bombay High Court in Mumbai. The Madras High Court is one of four charter high courts of colonial India established in the four Presidency Towns of Madras, Bombay, Allahabad and Calcutta by letters patent granted by Queen Victoria, dated 26 June 1862. It exercises original jurisdiction over the city of Chennai, as well as extraordinary original jurisdiction, civil and criminal, under the letters patent and special original jurisdiction for the issue of writs under the Constitution of India. Covering 107 acres, the court complex is one of the largest in the world, second only to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The four-storey administrative building attracts hundreds of litigants every day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esplanade Mansions, Kolkata</span> Jewish mansion in Kolkata, India

The Esplanade Mansions is a heritage building located in the Indian city of Kolkata, on the Esplanade Row and Marx Engels Beethi Road crossing, opposite to the Raj Bhavan. It was one of the buildings owned by Jewish businessman David Elias Ezra. The residential building was built in the Art Nouveau architecture style. Today it is owned by Life Insurance Corporation and houses commercial, railways and other government offices.

References

  1. 1 2 "Art Deco in South Kolkata". Paper Planes. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Bose, Shivashish (2 September 2015). "State and management of architectural heritage in Kolkata". Journal of Architectural Conservation. 21 (3): 178–194. doi:10.1080/13556207.2016.1142754. ISSN   1355-6207.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Sen, Siddhartha (2015). Colonizing, Decolonizing, and Globalizing Kolkata: From a Colonial to a Post-Marxist City. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN   9789048530687.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ghosh, Deepanjan (12 December 2017). "City secrets: Art Deco architecture spread across Kolkata, thanks to a state law – and jugaad". Scroll.in. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  5. ↑ Dasgupta, Reshmi (7 May 2013). "It is time India celebrates its Art Deco heritage". The Economic Times. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "The old Calcutta chromosomes". The Hindu. 27 June 2015. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Banka, Neha. "The battle to save Kolkata's crumbling heritage buildings". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Chaudhuri, Amit (2 July 2015). "Calcutta's architecture is unique. Its destruction is a disaster for the city". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  9. ↑ artincontext (17 December 2021). "Art Deco - A Summary of the Art Deco Era". artincontext.org. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Chicago to Calcutta: The romance of art deco". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "The Architecture and Development of New York City with Andrew S. Dolkart". 5 January 2019. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "Miami Beach: an icon of Art Deco and bling". 6 October 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  13. ↑ Thomas, Maria (27 June 2017). "Mumbai has the world's second-largest collection of Art Deco buildings but no one notices them". Quartz. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  14. ↑ "The battle to save Mumbai's art deco buildings". BBC News. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  15. ↑ "Art Dekho – a history of Mumbai's iconic Art Deco architecture". The Indian Express. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  16. ↑ Billauer, Barbara Pfeffer (2012). "Le Corbusier, the Occult and How Art Deco Began". Art Deco Society of Washington. 28 (3) – via SSRN.
  17. ↑ valenting (24 June 2020). "Pure architecture legacy: Le Corbusier and his influence on Art Deco". MOUVEX 1911. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  18. ↑ Gupta, Samita (1991). "Sris Chandra Chatterjee: 'The quest for a national architecture". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 28 (2): 187–201. doi:10.1177/001946469102800204. ISSN   0019-4646.
  19. ↑ "Art Deco makes a comeback to Kolkata after five decades". The Times of India. 1 April 2018. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  20. ↑ "There goes the neighbourhood: Author Amit Chaudhuri talks about Kolkata and its decaying heritage". Firstpost. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  21. ↑ "The crumbling mansions of India's 'City of Joy'". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  22. ↑ "The role of small promoters in Kolkata's housing transformation". India Housing Report. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  23. ↑ "Realty check to preserve traditional neighbourhoods". The Times of India. 28 March 2017. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  24. ↑ "Saving charm of old Kolkata". The Hindu. 1 April 2017. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  25. ↑ Sikhwal, Abhishek (10 August 2017). "An Instagram project is preserving Kolkata's gorgeous buildings, before they vanish for good". Scroll.in. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  26. ↑ "From the Press | Calcutta Heritage Collective". www.calcuttaheritagecollective.com. Retrieved 4 July 2023.

    Further reading

    1. Chaudhuri, Sukanta. (1990). Calcutta: The Living City. Calcutta: Oxford University Press.
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.