In an era of smash-and-grab real estate capitalism and ideological extremism, buildings such as Sanskar Kendra City Museum, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Cricket Stadium and others need to be restored in a way that preserves their authenticity, allows for new uses

by William J R Curtis

Once upon a time, the city leaders in Ahmedabad constructed institutions for the public good. Today, they knock down great buildings to suit short-term interests such as land speculation and private profit. Ahmedabad is home to architecture of universal value, both ancient and modern. Not just timeless creations of the past such as the Adalaj Stepwell (Vaghela Dynasty, 1498) and the exquisite Sidi Saiyyed Mosque (1573), but also a string of modern masterpieces, such as the Millowners’ Association Building, Shodan and Sarabhai Houses, and the Sanskar Kendra City Museum (1954), all designed by Le Corbusier in the early 1950s; the Indian Institute of Management by Louis Kahn (1963); the Gandhi Ashram Museum (1962) and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Cricket Pavilion by Charles Correa (1963); or the School of Architecture (1966), and Sangath studio (1980) by Balkrishna Doshi.

SP Stadium To Go; ₹1,250cr Push For Riverfront

by TNN

Ahmedabad: After ruminating for almost a year, the civic boddy has decided to demolish the iconic Sardar Patel Stadium at Navrangpura, which was recently put on the 2020 World Monument Fund (WMF) watch list.

The stadium, designed by Charles Correa, will now be replaced by a Rs 200-crore sports facility. A Rs 26-crore building to house the city museum or Sanskar Kendra has also found place in the civic body’s latest Rs 1,900-crore city revival plan.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has hired a private consultant to raise funds to restore the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium.

by Ritu Sharma

At the centre of the busy Navrangpura, a dense residential and business district in Ahmedabad stands the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Stadium spread over 67,000 sq metres.

Designed by the famous architect Charles Correa, the SVP Stadium was built for the Cricket Club of Ahmedabad (CCA) and hosted the first international match in the country in 1981. Gujarat had already made history as it had hosted the first cricket match in India in 1721 played by the Mariners of East India Company at Cambay.

by Tom Ravenscroft

Conservation groups including the Twentieth Century Society and World Monuments Fund have called for the 1960s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, to be saved from demolition.

The groups made statements following news that the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, which was designed by Indian architect Charles Correa, is set to be demolished as part of Ahmedabad’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics.

“The SVP Stadium is a modernist Indian coliseum: a remarkable example of innovative and expressive post-Independence design, and one of architect Charles Correa’s most distinctive buildings,” said a Twentieth Century Society spokesperson.

Retrofitting or repairing modern architectural landmarks could be challenging. Concrete structures, as in the Ahmedabad Stadium, are challenging to preserve. Among others, glazing used in modern buildings is only sometimes energy efficient. But these challenges can be met.

by A. Srivathsan

Mirza Ghalib’s verse – ‘My heart boils in the clamour of discontent/ This voiceless bubble augurs a storm’ – best captures the current mood of Indian architects horrified by the quick loss of significant modern buildings. The iconic Hall of Nations in Delhi was pulled down six years ago. Last year, IIM Ahmedabad decided to demolish about 14 buildings, mostly dormitories, on their internationally renowned campus.

by Bhawna Dandona

Bhawna Dandona, the conservation architect who was involved in preparing the CCMP for the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, discusses the ways to preserve the iconic building.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad stands as the result of a remarkable collaboration between architect Charles Correa and structural designer Mahendra Raj. Constructed in the 1960s, it ranks among the most impressive public structures of its era, showcasing cutting-edge engineering and the skills of Indian professionals in the years following independence.

by World Monuments Fund

The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, a modernist structure designed in the 1960s by renowned architect Charles Correa and eminent engineer Mahendra Raj, represents the progressive ideals and experimental spirit that characterized India’s post-independence period. Located in the city of Ahmedabad, the stadium is particularly notable for its visionary use of concrete and cantilevering. World Monuments Fund (WMF) named the site to the World Monuments Watch in 2020 to spotlight both the architectural inventiveness of the design and the severe weathering undergone by the exposed concrete structure over the decades. 

by Annabel Lopez

A people’s place in the city of Ahmedabad

The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, located in the heart of Ahmedabad was designed in the 1960s, by world-renowned architect Charles Correa along with the award-winning structural designer, Mahendra Raj.  The Stadium is a part of the narrative of Ahmedabad’s modernity, a phase that extended from the mid-’50s to the early ‘90s. The buildings of this period represent the progressive ideals and experimental spirit that characterized India’s post-independence period. It is also a part of a larger constellation of structures built in Ahmedabad by architects who were responsible for creating a new architectural vocabulary for the independent nation. The city of Ahmedabad offered patronage that modern architecture had not experienced before. The cotton mill owners who were the patrons, were representative of a new India. These families saw the necessity of combining modernity and tradition to compete in the world market, which was truly global thinking at the time.

By Dan Roche

The Charles Correa Foundation, a nonprofit committed to preserving the legacy of the late Indian modernist who died in 2015, announced recently that Correa’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Stadium in Ahmedabad, a city 200 miles north of Mumbai, may face demolition unless action is taken.

By ArchitectureLIVE

As per the news published in Ahmedabad Mirror, the stadium displays evident signs of wear and tear, including cracked seating areas and gates, as well as exposed and rusting iron elements that pose safety risks. A senior official from the AMC remarked, ‘It is unsuitable even for hosting cultural events. So, It worth noting that the stadium lacks heritage status, making its replacement a more viable option.’

But it is unclear, if any expert advice was sought to conserve the iconic building.

The World Monuments Fund says the stadium “represents the progressive ideals and experimental spirit that characterised India’s post-independence period”. In 2020, it was listed as one of 13 significant twentieth-century buildings in the world.

By The Wire Staff

New Delhi: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is planning to demolish the city’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Stadium, the Ahmedabad Mirror has reported, quoting an unnamed senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The SVP stadium is not to be confused with Ahmedabad’s more popular Narendra Modi Stadium, which was formerly known as the Sardar Patel Stadium and colloquially as the Motera Stadium.