In the wake of World War I, German visionary Walter Gropius imagined a
bold new world, one where design would unify form and function, strip away
ornament, and serve a socially driven modernity. At the Bauhaus school he
founded in 1919, architecture, art, and craft merged into a single, radical
pursuit of simplicity, purpose, and progress.
This ethos resonated far beyond Europe. As India stood at the cusp of
self-rule, Bauhaus arrived as both an aesthetic language and an architectural
solution, with Achyut Kanvinde and Habib Rahman bringing home a new design
philosophy. They pioneered a distinct Indian modernism, marked by exposed
concrete, open plans, and efficient use of space and material. This panel
discussion aims to critically examine the emergence and trajectory of modernist
architecture in Bombay and other Indian cities during the post-independence
nation-building period, roughly from the late 1940s to the early 1980s, a
transformative era shaped by industrialisation, institutional expansion, and socialist-democratic
planning. From iconic public
institutions like the Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai and Rabindra Bhawan in
Delhi to experimental housing blocks across the country, the Bauhaus spirit was
etched into the texture of a newly sovereign India. Bringing together
architects, educators, historians, and creative practitioners, this is the
second episode in the Motifs, Materials,
and Makers series.
Join us as we explore how Bauhaus found new life in the hopes of a young nation
and its impact on India’s modern architectural imagination.
Executive Director, Godrej Enterprises Group Nyrika Holkar
Architect and
Urban Designer Sanjay
Kanvinde
Interior Architect,
Curator, and Design Entrepreneur Divya
Thakur
Assistant Professor, Architectural
and Urban Conservation Programme, KRVIA Sanaeya Vandrewala (Moderator)
Nyrika Holkar is Executive Director of Godrej Enterprises Group (‘GEG’). She leads Brand Marketing and Strategic Insights for GEG and its subsidiaries. In this capacity, she drives a company-wide strategy on enhancing customer experience and insight driven interventions by building ecosystems and partnerships to help improve collaborative innovation within the organization and externally. She works closely with the Sustainability, Marketing and Product Development teams across GEG with a focus on building a future forward brand. Currently she is working with the furniture and furnishings team on the turnaround of the Godrej Interio retail business focusing on product development, retail experience and omnichannel strategy. A qualified solicitor, she also oversees the protection and enhancement of intellectual property and commercial contracts across its 14 businesses. Nyrika began her career at legal firm AZB & Partners where she worked on M&A transactions and advised foreign companies seeking to invest in India. She graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Philosophy and Economics from Colorado College, USA and obtained LL.B and LL.M degrees from University College London, UK. She is a member of the Bar Association of India and is a qualified Solicitor in the United Kingdom. Nyrika is an ardent supporter of the environment. As Chairperson of the GEG CSR Committee, she is actively involved in GEG’s community development efforts including education, skilling and the protection of wetlands in India.
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Sanjay Kanvinde, an Architect and Urban Designer by training, is presently a senior partner with Kanvinde Rai & Chowdhury. He has an experience of over 50 years in the field of Architecture, with a degree in Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi and a Masters in Urban Design from Rice University, Houston. With a rich and varied experience in the field of architecture and urban design, he has been associated in the design and execution of various educational institutions all over thecountry and has participated successfully in several architectural competitions with his work published in several architectural journals. Some of the recent major projects handled by him include several award winning competitions namely inStem - Stem Cell Research Centre at Bengaluru (2019), Research Park at IIT Gandhinagar (2021), Master Plan and Academic Complex for IIT Bhilai (2023) and the ongoing Research Lab Complex at IIT Kanpur. Other projects include the 1200cap Girls Hostel & extension of the existing Aiyar hostel at Banaras Hindu University, Housing at IIT Gandhinagar and Hall of Residence 15 at IIT Kanpur. He was actively involved in teaching as a visiting professor in the Dept. of Urban Design, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi since 1980 as well as visiting critic and thesis/dissertation guide at several Schools of Architecture besides being on their advisory boards. He is a member of various professional societies including being a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Architects, and the former President, Institute of Urban Designers India. He has been the former Chairman, Institute of Indian Interior Designers, Delhi Regional Chapter and sometime advisor to the Delhi Urban Art Commission. He has also served on the Council of Architecture inspection committees at several Schools of Architecture. He recently co-authored a monograph ‘Achyut Kanvinde – Akar’ on the legendary Indian Architect A.P. Kanvinde, whose extensive body of work is presently being researched and archived by him.
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Divya Thakur is a multidisciplinary designer and cultural visionary whose practice spans over 20 years and multiple mediums. As founder of Design Temple, a pioneering luxury home-accessories brand rooted in Indian aesthetics, and MoDE a digital design museum created in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, Divya has shaped new narratives around Indian design heritage. Her work is characterized by a seamless fusion of traditional Indian intelligence with contemporary global sensibilities, translating complex ideas with simplicity. Celebrated for her innovative thinking and refined aesthetic, her projects have been featured in Vogue, Architectural Digest, Wallpaper, Elle Décor, and The New York Times. With an eye for detail and a commitment to storytelling through design, Divya Thakur continues to redefine modern Indian design on the world stage.
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Sanaeya Vandrewala is a conservation architect, academician, and researcher specializing in architectural conservation, urban design, and heritage management. She holds an MA in Conservation Studies from the University of York, UK, and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Mumbai. With over 19 years of experience in India and the UK, she has worked on prestigious projects, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Ajanta Caves, Mahabodhi Temple, and the Victorian & Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai, and most recently the CSMT (Victoria Terminus). Currently an Assistant Professor and Programme Coordinator at KRVIA for the master's programme in Urban Design and Urban Conservation, India, she plays a key role in curriculum development, research integration, and conservation studies. Her research focuses on urban heritage conservation, sustainability, and energy efficiency in historic buildings, with publications on topics like policy-practice gaps, the role of historic buildings in the circular economy, and heritage resilience. She actively presents at international conferences and contributes to academic discourse through journals and editorial roles. Through active engagement in both fields, she bridges academia and practice, advocating the preservation of cultural heritage through policy, education, and architectural interventions.
Read moreAn in-depth look at how Bauhaus modernism shaped Indian architecture post-independence—melding design, politics, and identity into a new visual language for a young nation.
Bauhaus – From European Ideal to Global Influence
In 1919, Walter Gropius launched a design revolution in Germany with the Bauhaus school—blending form with function, rejecting ornamental excess, and advocating for socially responsive design. Rooted in modernist ideals, Bauhaus championed unity between architecture, craft, and industrial production, aimed at rebuilding a post-war society through simplicity, clarity, and purpose.
Though initially grounded in the European context, Bauhaus ideas quickly transcended borders. As fascism forced many of its key figures into exile, the movement’s aesthetic and pedagogical methods found fertile ground worldwide—from Tel Aviv’s White City to American campuses and eventually, newly independent nations like India that were looking to redefine themselves.
Bauhaus Meets India – Modernism for a New Nation
By the late 1940s, India was a country poised on the edge of reinvention. Independence had just been won, but the work of building a modern nation—quite literally—was just beginning. Cities needed to be reimagined, institutions designed from the ground up, and a new visual language created that could express the values of a free, secular, and democratic republic.
Into this vacuum arrived the principles of Bauhaus modernism, not as a foreign imposition but as a timely and flexible design ideology. Indian architects who had studied abroad—especially in the US and Europe—returned with exposure to Bauhaus ideals: simplicity, functionality, structural honesty, and the integration of design with social purpose. Among the most prominent were Achyut Kanvinde, who trained at Harvard under Walter Gropius himself, and Habib Rahman, whose education at MIT and work with the US Army Corps of Engineers shaped his belief in rational, progressive design.
These architects saw modernism not just as a style, but as a tool for nation-building. In a country recovering from colonial control, religious division, and economic disparity, modernist architecture offered clarity, egalitarianism, and a break from the ornamental excesses of both colonial revivalist and princely styles. Concrete, glass, and steel became instruments of a new architectural language—raw, efficient, and forward-looking.
Kanvinde’s Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and Dairy Development Board headquarters in Anand, and Rahman’s Rabindra Bhawan in Delhi and Gandhi Ghat in Patna, are case studies in this translation of Bauhaus ideals into Indian soil. These buildings used locally available materials, adapted to climatic conditions, and expressed a deep commitment to public utility. They embodied the democratic spirit: accessible, purposeful, and anti-monumental.
Meanwhile, public commissions and institutional projects—often tied to Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of a “temple of modern India”—provided fertile ground for these experiments. Nehru himself believed architecture could communicate values of secularism, progress, and scientific temper to a young citizenry.
It’s this complex, context-sensitive adaptation of Bauhaus that makes Indian modernist architecture so compelling. It wasn’t just about buildings—it was about creating an aesthetic of independence, rooted in function, honesty, and optimism.
Legacies and Lessons – Rethinking Indian Modernism
As cities grow and skylines shift, there’s renewed interest in the legacy of India’s modernist architecture. Beyond nostalgia, the Bauhaus-influenced era offers rich lessons in climate-sensitive design, ethical architecture, and the fusion of global ideas with local contexts.
The discussion now turns to documentation, restoration, and critical engagement. How do we preserve these buildings, many of which face neglect or demolition? How do we situate them in India’s broader design history—not as colonial successors, but as expressions of autonomy and intent?
From classrooms to contemporary design studios, the Bauhaus-in-India story continues to inspire. It urges us to see architecture not as static form, but as evolving narrative—one that bridges craft and industry, identity and ideology.
