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Habib Rahman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1915 (1915) |
| Died | 19 December 1995(1995-12-19) (aged 79–80) |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse | Indrani Rahman |
| Children | Ram Rahman Sukanya Rahman |
Habib Rahman (1915 – 19 December 1995[1]) was an Indian architect. Regarded as a pioneer of the Bahaus style of architecture in India, Rahman was known for combining Indian architectural elements into modernist designs.
Born in Calcutta, Rahman was educated at theUniversity of Calcutta and later at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology. After a brief stint in the United States, he returned to India in 1946, and was appointed senior architect for the government ofWest Bengal. Rahman's work in West Bengal includes the Gandhi Ghat,Bengal Engineering College,[2] and New Secretariat building.
In 1953, Rahman moved to Delhi to work for the central government, and designed various public buildings, including theNational Zoological Park, and the Rabindra Bhavan. He also designed the tombs ofMaulana Azad,Zakir Husain, andFakhruddin Ali Ahmed.
He was awarded thePadma Shri in 1955, and thePadma Bhushan in 1974.
He was born in 1915 in Calcutta. His father was a judge. Habib Rahman obtained his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1939 from theUniversity of Calcutta. He studied at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology and obtained hisMasters in Architecture in 1944 (the first Indian to complete this program[3]). From 1944 to 1946, he worked at the architecture firms ofLawrence B. Anderson,William Wurster,Walter Gropius, andEly Jacques Kahn in Boston.[4]
He returned toCalcutta in 1946 and worked as senior architect of the government ofWest Bengal from 1947 to 1953.
His first major project was the Gandhi Ghat, a memorial toMahatma Gandhi built in 1948.[5] The design impressed Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru and he invited Rahman to Delhi to design government buildings.[5]
Rahman's other work in Calcutta includes the fourteen-storied new Secretariat building, completed in 1954. The building was India's firststeel framehigh rise and remained the tallest building in Calcutta until 1963.[6]
In 1953, Habib Rahman was appointed senior architect of theCentral Public Works Department in New Delhi.[4]
His early designs in Delhi include theUniversity Grants Commission building (1954), Dak Bhavan (1954), and Comptroller and Auditor General building (1958).[3]
In 1959, he designed the tomb ofMaulana Azad.[7] Azad was buried in the area between theRed Fort andJama Masjid. As per Nehru's requirements, the design of the tomb was not to conflict with the heritage sites, and to reflect the "humble personality" of Azad. The tomb is a modernist interpretation of thechhatri, made up of white marble and cement, set in acharbagh garden.
In the early 1960s, he was commissioned to design the Rabindra Bhavan, which would house theLalit Kala,Sangeet Natak andSahitya academies.[8] Initial designs were overruled by Nehru.
He designed the Rabindra Bhavan in 1961 (or 1963),[4] theWorld Health Organization in Delhi in 1962 (demolished in July 2019), the Sardar Patel Bhawan in 1973 (opposite to the Dak Bhawan).[3] He also designed the National Zoological Park that opened in 1959 (which included historical ruins, and housed over a thousand animal species).[3]
He designed the tomb of Zakir Husain, with its sloping walls inspired byTughlaq tombs.[9]
In 1970, he was appointed chief of theCentral Public Works Department. From 1974 to 1977, he was Secretary of the Delhi Urban Arts.[4] Habib's final major project was the tomb ofFakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1976).[3]
In 1977, his contract was discontinued after he opposed several projects conceived by the government. These including building a secondConnaught Place in New Delhi,[3] placing of Gandhi's statue under King George's canopy atIndia Gate, and the building of public urinals blocking the southern entrance toJama Masjid.[2]
After retiring, he remained active as a consultant despite poor health. He had one leg amputated below the knee in 1985.[1] He died in 1995.
In 1945 he marriedIndrani Rahman, Miss India 1952 and anOdissi dancer. The couple had two children,Ram Rahman andSukanya Rahman.[4]
Habib was an atheist, described as "greatly suspicious of all organized religions" by his son Ram Rahman.[2]
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