The Permanent Exhibition Complex is designed to form the focus of 130 acres of Exhibition ground designed by Raj Rewal in New Delhi. The design was evolved to meet the constraints of time, availability of materials and labour, but above all, to reflect symbolically and technologically, India's intermediate technology in the 25th year of its independence.
The depth of the structural system was utilized as a Sun breaker and conceived of in terms of the traditional 'jali', a geometrical pattern of perforation that serves to obstruct direct rays of the harsh Sun while permitting air circulation.
The main pavilion of the Hall of Nations has a clear span of 78 metres and a height varying from three metres to 21 metres, thereby providing a vast capacity for items to be exhibited, from books to bulldozers.
The plan of these pavilions is square with chamfered corners, providing eight anchoring points. The corners were inspired by the tomb of Moghul Emperor Humayun1, and the Taj Mahal. In the Hall of Nations, an uninterrupted volume is achieved where the height varies from 3 m to 30 m. This permits the display of such diverse objects like aircraft, earthmoving equipment, tractors, and cranes. In the Hall of Industries, the height varies from 2.5 m to 15 m. The square plan adopted permits additional units to be added as needed.2
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"Modernity – Inventing the future." In Vistāra - The Architecture of India, Catalogue of the Exhibition, edited by Carmen Kagal and MN Ashish Ganju. The Festival of India, 1986.
"II: 1960 – 1974: The Journey Back from Chandigarh, the Evolution of Contemporary Indian Architecture." In Architecture In India, 132-153. Paris and Milan: Electa Moniteur, 1985.
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