The Structure: Works of Mahendra Raj explores the oeuvre of Mahendra Raj’s sixty prolific years of practice as a structural engineer. His unusually inventive and intuitive work reveals bold and pioneering engineering solutions for building in exposed concrete over the years. Most of his structures are now artefacts that narrate the energetic period of nation building in post Independence India. Some of Raj’s buildings are unique, one of their kind, in India and the world, for instance, the Hall of Nations and Industries with their large-span cast-in-situ space frame and the Hindon River Mills with a series of bowstring arches in concrete. His practice also boasts of heroic structures built in the 60s and 70s such as the large folded-plate cantilevered structure in concrete for the Municipal Stadium in Ahmedabad, the folded-plate frame for Tagore Hall, the transfer girders that realised the architects’ needs for the New Great Insurance Co building and Akbar Hotel – all pioneering constructions in India.
| Author: | Vandini Mehta, Rohit Raj Mehndiratta and Ariel Huber |
| Reviewed by: | Prof Mahesh Tandon |
| Publisher: | Park Books |
| Pages: | 428 |