Unbuilt Cinema Hall
Unbuilt Cinema Hall - The profile of an unbuilt Cinema Hall designed by Prasad, further demonstrates the influence of Corbusier on his style. The design attempts to solve parking and traffic problems. The auditorium with a seating capacity for 1000 persons is located on the second floor. It has a shell roof 34-metre wide and 44-metre long. If the building had been completed, it would have been an exquisite example of Corbusian architecture.

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In context of his alliance with the master's design concepts, Prasad proudly admitted, "When I was introduced to architecture at the age of 16, it was a major switch from the high school. I was lost. One day glancing through the library books, I came across some works of Le Corbusier. But still not understanding anything, I was fascinated by his works, compared to others. And when I look back - it must be the purity of his decisions, simplicity of his spaces, the clarity of everything else. I carried those images for many years through college, and when I opened my small studio that influence had still lingered on" (As stated in a note for an Exhibition of his works at University of Illinois in 1987).

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Sivnath Prasad
Sivnath Prasad - Sivnath Prasad was born at Lucknow in 1922. After graduating in architecture from the Edinburgh College of Art, UK in 1946, Prasad obtained a Diploma in City Planning in 1947. He worked for a number of years in England as an architect and town planner before returning to India in 1955. He joined the Town and Country Planning Organisation, Government of India, where he was the technical head of the Indian team which prepared the First Master Plan for Delhi in collaboration with a team of experts sponsored by the Ford Foundation. In 1962, Prasad resigned from the government service to get back to architecture. For the next about one decade, he ran a one-man practice based in Delhi. His works of this period have been widely published in India and abroad. They are largely built of exposed reinforced concrete with rich patterns and textures to reflect Indian craftsmanship. From 1973 onward, Prasad taught at several American universities. He has been a Thomas Jefferson Professor at the University of Virginia, and Professor of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. With the demise of Shivnath Prasad in early 2000s India lost its indigenous Le Corbusier thus creating a void which is hard to fill. © Avtar Singh