Abstract
Right after the construction of Islamabad, National Capital of Pakistan, different foreign architectswere hired by the State to undertake landmark projects in the city. Most notable among them were Doxiadis, Kenzo Tange, Edward Durell Stone. The preference given to these foreign architects over the local architect was tied to the inherited ideas of Modernist Supermacy, ‘glorified western cultures’ and their understanding of the traditional architecture specifically the so called, Islamic architecture. It was assumed that the architecture, foreign architects will produce would be technologically advanced, help in the International recognition of national architecture and become a symbol of Nation’s progression. The paper focusses on a comparative critique of the two landmark projects namely Presidential Estate and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission building (PAEC) named as Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), both situated in Islamabad and designed by Edward Durell Stone. These two buildings have been analysedwith reference to the background forces, in line to Foucault’s term,narrated as political power, subjectivity and resistance. The research has anchored on the idea that in line with the official brief, the former project was not only inspired byInternationalstyle,but also adapted to the Mughal gardens in terms of grandeur and spatial construction. On the other hand, PINSTECH building can be read as an effort of the forceful marriage of states religious subjectivities and Modernity. The paper concludes with ‘folk architecture’ a term coined by Doxiadis and reading it in conjunction with the architectural anomalies.
Highlights
The paper focusses on a comparative critique of the two landmark projects namely Presidential Estate and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission building (PAEC) named as Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), both situated in Islamabad and designed by Edward Durell Stone
In her seminal book“Esra Akcan” defines translation as “any act of changing from one place, position, condition, medium or language” [1].Keeping this definition as a broader framework for operation, this paper has developed a criticism of the “two” seminal projectsdesigned by Edward Durrell Stone (EDS), after Independence of Pakistan in 1947
The analysis of this discourse has highlighted that how background forces like power, representation and national identityhelped in shaping the architecture in a newly formed country
Summary
In her seminal book“Esra Akcan” defines translation as “any act of changing from one place, position, condition, medium or language” [1].Keeping this definition as a broader framework for operation, this paper has developed a criticism of the “two” seminal projectsdesigned by Edward Durrell Stone (EDS), after Independence of Pakistan in 1947 These projects present a critical discourse on the post-independence modernistarchitecture in Pakistan. Creative Space,Vol 4, No., Jan. 2017 pp.180 provided a culminating point for progressive modernity and local tradition This hybridity helped in successful incorporation of the State’s agenda in architecture and provided a guideline forthefuturearchitectural development. The ‘PresidentialEstate’ was the center of the political power in the newly developed capital Islamabad, while ‘Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology’ was founded to bring the country in line with thesuperpowers,(beholding atomic power), and to make Pakistan invincible In both the projects,power was operative with full force, as defined by Foucault,as “an instrument of coercion”
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