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A demolition plan has been prepared for the Hall of nations, Hall of industries and the Nehru pavilion for which the approval has been sought from the union government to make way for the facelift and redevelopment of the Pragati Maidan complex in Delhi.

In architecture, a building designed by an architect is the blueprint of a thought process advocating the temporal and spatial settings, scale of the building and the architectural vocabulary.

Demolition of any architectural marvel is seen as an attack on the architect’s generated form, which talks about the freedom in its design. Designed by noted architect Raj Rewal and a structural genius of renowned engineer Mahendra Raj, Hall of Nations complex is the first reinforced concrete space framed structure in the subcontinent awaiting for an unfortunate destiny.

This is now in Delhi’s DNA to pull down structures which are attached to the intricacy of urban fabric of the city. Demolition of Chanakya cinema was one such event which inevitably detached people from the city and its history making way for a utopian concept of glassed envelopes housing some high-end facilities.

Another shameful event happened when DUAC sanctioned the alterations in the name of installations of modern facilities in Rabindra Bhawan, a delicately designed structure in commemoration of one of the great visionaries of India, Rabindra Nath Tagore.

As evident from history, structures are related to the seat of power, the Hall of Nations complex along with Nehru pavilion were designed not just to commemorate and celebrate a developing nation in its 25th year of freedom, but also to symbolise the growing power of an independent nation within limited resources. Thus the criss-cross ribbed structure poured in concrete reflects the closely knit social fabric of the diversified Indian community highlighting the pyramidal growth of the nation.

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