Hall of Nations. ITPO doesn't want it, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry thinks it holds no currency, and the Delhi Government's Heritage Conservation Ccommittee see no heritage in it. So are there other ways to save it? With this in view, Architexturez sent out a call over social media, we asked anyone, everyone, to 'save' the buildings by placing them everywhere in our imaginary, to see, if the universal values embodied in here can allow it to find new sites in our imagining - if they will endure. 

View towards Mound F. with the “Great Hall IVC” in the background.
View towards Mound F. with the “Great Hall IVC” in the background. © Amit Srivastava

Remarkable works of Architecture, we know, tend to live in an architect's imagination which becomes, given time, an architectural imagination. Amit Srivastava experimented with archival images of the excavations at Mohen-jo-Daro, the result by virtue of the buildings' archetypal structural form is a building comme il faut.

While the actual function of the building has not been determined, as the only monumental structure the “Great Hall IVC” was probably a public or state building used for grain storage, religious meetings or other important administrative purposes.
While the actual function of the building has not been determined, as the only monumental structure the “Great Hall IVC” was probably a public or state building used for grain storage, religious meetings or other important administrative purposes. © Amit Srivastava

The massive brick foundation is covered with an 82m wide reinforced concrete1 truncated pyramid which is 27m high and supported on eight points. An elevated passageway allows entry from the South West, rising above the smaller domestic units of the citadel mound, and the triangular openings act as air ducts to control internal moisture.

  • 1. The use of concrete members does not coincide with local traditions in South Asia, but shows similarity to contemporary Roman and Egyptian building techniques, having possibly evolved from timber detailing, a sort of “petrified carpentry”.

The “Great Hall IVC” continues to express its Outstanding Universal Value through its planning, design, and materials and should be considered for proper preservation and protection. 

See also …