2. INDIA GATE
INDIA GATE
ï§ Official name is delhi memorial.
ï§ Located in the center of new delhi, it was
built by edwin lutyens in 1921.
ï§ It commemorates the members of the
erstwhile british indian army.
ï§ After india got its independence, india
gate became the site of amar jawan jyoti -
indian army's tomb of the unknown soldier.
3. HISTORY
ï§ This stupendous structure was constructed by the imperial war
graves commission aka IWCG, which was established in 1917 to
build war memorials and graves for soldiers who lose their lives in
the first world war.
ï§ The memorial was designed by a famous english architect by the name
sir edwin lutyens and its foundation was laid by the duke of
connaught, third son of queen victoria, on 10 february 1921.
ï§ After 10 long years, on february 12, 1931, viceroy lord irwin
inaugurated and dedicated this structure to the nation and its future
generations.
ï§ The names of over 13,000 soldiers who lost their lives during the
war are also inscribed on the memorial.
ï§ In the honor of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the indo-
pakistan war of 1971, a new structure was added to the india gate in
1972. Known as amar jawan jyoti (which means the flame of the
immortal soldier), this was inaugurated by indira gandhi, who was the
then PM of india.
4. ARCHITECTURE
ï§ Sir edwin lutyens built it as a secular memorial free of any
religious association or cultural ornamentation.
ï§ Also, lutyens wanted the monument to be a classical one, so
refused to incorporate any asian motifs such as pointed arches.
The architectural style of india gate is that of a triumphal arch
and is often compared with the arc de triomphe in paris, the
gateway of india in mumbai, and the arch of constantine.
ï§ Situated in the middle of a hexagonal complex, the structure is
42 meters tall and 9.1 meters wide. The whole structure is
made using yellow and red sandstone which was brought in
directly from bharatpur.
ï§ India gate also houses a small structure called amar jawan
jyoti, which consists of a marble pedestal with a cenotaph on its
top. The structure is surrounded by permanently burning flames
fueled by CNG on all the four sides.
5. INTENTION OF THE LAYOUT
Lutyenâs delhi was planned on the most spacious
garden city lines with the great avenues, decorated
with classical buildings with lush landscapes.
The layout was governed by three major visual
corridors linking the government complex with :
âą Jama masjid
âą Indraprastha
âą Safdarjung tomb
Itâs a geometric symmetry consisting of hexagons
and triangles.
JAMA MASJID
INDRAPRASTHA
SAFDARJUNG TOMB
6. EVOLUTION OF THE DELHI LAYOUT
Tree lined streets radiates from the central
vista and converge into hexagonal nodes.
Plan and view showing a typical
hexagonal node with roads converging
into round abouts.