Engineering a New Nation: Mahendra Raj and His Collaborations Across Disciplines

Mahendra Raj is an engineer that enjoys a challenge. Consequently, no two projects of his are the same. With a portfolio of over 250 projects and a career spanning nearly six decades, from Indian Independence to the time of this paper’s writing, there is no simple explanation for who Raj works with or how he works with them. In an attempt to understand the range and extent of Raj’s ability and influence on projects, this paper will examine three seminal projects from his early career. Each project will display a different facet of how Raj works with architects. The first will be Raj’s close collaboration with Pritzker laureate, Balkrishna Doshi: Tagore Memorial Hall in Ahmedabad, completed in 1965. Second, the Hall of Nations and Halls of Industries, designed with Raj Rewal and Kuldip Singh, and completed in 1972 in New Delhi. Last, the Hindon River Mills, designed with Kanvinde and Rai, and built in 1973 in Ghaziabad. Each project shows a visionary engineering solution where the structure makes a bold statement and becomes integral to the architecture. Yet between them, differences emerge in how Mahendra Raj works with the architects. This paperexplores those differences.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.107.111

Volume Editors
Amy Kulper, Grace La & Jeremy Ficca

ISBN
978-1-944214-21-0