All About Joseph Allen Stein

1. Joseph Allen Stein
An American Architect in Delhi

3. About The Architect
• Joseph Stein, (April 10, 1912 – October 6, 2001) was an
American architect and a major figure in the
establishment of a regional modern architecture in the
San Francisco Bay area in the 1940s and 1950s during the
early days of the environmental design movement. In 1952
he moved to India. He is noted for designing several
important buildings in India, most notably in Lodhi Estate
in Central Delhi, nicknamed "Steinabad" after him, and
where today the 'Joseph Stein Lane', is the only road in
Delhi named after an architect. The Government of India
awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of Padma
Shri in 1992.

5. Biography
Beginnings, 1912
• Joseph Allen Stein was born in Omaha, Nebraska, into a
Jewish family.
• His father was a photographer. Stein's father purchased
his business from a photographer who recorded the
massacre of Native Americans by US troops These images
periodically still come to his mind.
• Attends the University of Illinois, and wins a scholarship
to Fountainebleau, France in 1933-34. Stein tied for the
scholarship with a Finnish-American student, Eero
Saarinen.
• Studies at Cranbrook in 1935-36 with Eliel Saarinen, and
Swedish sculptor Carl Milles.
• Models for Milles' fountain at St. Louis, "The Meeting of
the Waters", serving as the figure engraved with the
inscription ". . .and he saw the people.. . "

6. Stein In Los Angeles
' Moves to Los Angeles in the late 1930's. Works for Richard
Neutra, Hamilton Harwell Harris and the Los Angeles Housing
Authority. Witnesses the environmental degradation and
migration out of the Dust Bowl of the central United States to
California. Completes housing studies for migrant workers with
architect Gregory Ain, becoming acutely aware of addressing
issues of social justice in architectural design. Stein's Low Cost
House Prototype for the Southwest is published in
Architectural Forum in 1940, an attempt to bring the cost of
housing down to that of the automobile. He is invited to
Taliesin West to meet Frank Lloyd Wright.

7. San Francisco
• Relocates to San Francisco in the mid- 1940's,
sharing an office with architect John Funk and
landscape architect Garrett Eckbo . Funk's work is
featured on the cover of the Museum of Modern
Art's first book on American modern architecture,
Built in the USA. Stein meets architects Edward
Larrabee Barnes and Mary Barnes, Eric Mendelsohn,
Hannes Meyer, artist Diego Rivera, photographer
Imogen Cunningham; and planner Fran Viollich, Jack
Kent, and others who go onto form Telesis, a group
dedicated to "progress intelligently planned". With
Viollich and Barnes, Stein teaches at the California
Labour School. founded by labour unions whose
emphasis includes working to prepare students to
design and build their own homes and gardens once
the War is over. Guest lecturers included Neutra,
Wright, Meyer, Rivera.

8. • The front yard entrance of this home by Joseph Stein, architect, design this Mill Valley
home. The 400 sq ft addition on the right was added in 1989 to mimic the original. Stein
builds his home and garden in Mill Valley, to similar dimensions as his earlier low cost
housing studies. He hires a young Charles Moore to his first architectural job.

9. • Mexico. Israel. France, Switzerland. 1950-1952. Stein and
his family visit Mexico and Israel, and stay for a period in
France and in Switzerland with Stanlev White and then
Hannes Mever . J.Stein draws plans for ideal communities
of small dwellings in the tropics and in the mountains, to be
built through self-help and cooperation among neighbours.
In France, he meets a young Indian architect named B.V.
Doshi who is working for Le Corbusier.

10. 1952: THE INDIA OF NEHRU AND RADHAKRISHNAN
• Calcutta, 1952- 1955. Neutra recommends Stein
to lead the Department of Architecture at Bengal
Engineering College. Stein founds a firm that
becomes Stein, Chatterjee and Polk, Architects,
Engineers Planners. Polk had worked on Gandhi's
rural reconstruction program. Stein completes
urban and rural demonstration housing projects,
visited by Nehru. Stein's rural design is similar to
Gandhi's settlement at Wardha, conceived as a
example of attainable simplicity to support
Indian democracy . Nehru commissions two
capital cities and four Industrial townships to
establish a new India.

11. TURNING POINT, 1977: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF STEIN DOSHI AND
BHALLA
• Delhi, Ahmedabad, 1977- 1993. The establishment of the firm of
Stein Doshi and Bhalla. In addition to major works across the
country, the firm establishes a research component in each
office. In Delhi, Stein researches mountain environment, in
Ahmedabad, Doshi explores Indian conditions, and enriches the
education of a generation of Indian architects through
undertaking research into Indian traditions.

12. Their Known Work…
 INDIAN HABITAT CENTER
BHARAT DIAMOND BOURSE
KASHMIR CONFERENCE CENTER
UNICEF HEADQUARTERS DELHI
MASTER PLAN OF DAL LAKE

13. At Last..
• Among his notable buildings outside Delhi was the Express
Towers, the first high rise built in India, and at the time it was
completed, the tallest building in South East Asia.
• Several of his disciples went on to establish leading architectural
firms and real estate development businesses; J. K. Jain (architect
& real estate developer), Chairman at Dasnac Designarch; and
Anuraag Chawla and Meena Mani (architects), Principals at Mani
& Chawla, to name a few.
• In 1993, Building in the Garden, a study of his work, by Stephen
White, dean of the School of Architecture at Roger Williams
University in Rhode Island was published. He was awarded the
Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor, in 1992. He
married Margaret Suydam in 1938. He died on October 6, 2001,
at age 89 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is survived by their sons
David and Ethan.

14. Design Features
• Interrelationships of site with landscape,
structure and materials; sun and shade.
• Horizontal and vertical Garden.
• Use of local material.
• Use of jali
• Use of courtyard. Blend of built and garden that
makes the space extended.
• Use of modern construction techniques.
• Shell geometries –Dome, Vault and factory roof
system

15. His Beliefs..
Thus, the modern style of architecture designed by
Joseph Allen Stein adapted to varying geological and climatic
conditions.
• Stein believed in using building materials in their original
form—like he never covered stone with plaster.
• There is a strong relationship and harmony between the
immediate environment and the buildings.
• His works were based on American Empiricist tradition.

16. He Said…
• "It appears to me that we have firm basis for
developing richer and more varied communities. I
have come to think that in architecture and
planning, regionalism allows scope for all that is
positive and functional in modern architecture,
and also can provide stimulus for the enrichment
and particularization that gives architecture its
appeal to the multitudes, while also meeting the
highest standards of the profession .'"

17. His Major And Known Works In Delhi, INDIA

19. There was an attempt to create something which depended
upon simplicity and relationships rather than things. So this is
not a five-star appearance in marble and granite. But it is a
place where a certain kind of relationship exists—between
the garden and the building and the water and the earth and
the sky, and the learning and activities that take place and the
things that happen...’
- J.A. Stein

20. • IIC facilities for a variety of artistic and
scholarly activities, conference and symposia
organized by nation and international groups.
• The centre’s 18600 square meter(4.6acres) site
at Lodi estate was designed
• The grounds of the IIC and adjacent Lodi
gardens could function as one entity.

21. The Centre is composed of Stein’s
characteristically
individually Articulated blocks –
• 46 guest rooms,lounge and dinning
room in one,
• Programmed blocks of library and
offices,
• Domed Auditorium are all grouped
around two great courts,
• Connected by porticoes and ground
level and rooftopverandahs.

22. Construction
• The construction methods and procedures
employed in the building of the India
international center were typical of the
methods and skill levels available in India at the
time of construction(1958-62).
• The pre-casting of some of the elements on the
ground was undertaken in order to ensure high
–quality construction, both in terms of
structural integrity and finish.
• The IIC is virtually a hand-made building.

24. • The height of the building is around 30m high. The
entire facade is cladded with red bricks which give a
majestic look to the structure. Vertical and
Horizontal ribbon windows have been used with a
special glass that restricts the entry of sunlight.
• The concept of IHC is based
on environmental and
regional planning energy
and its judicious use,
relevance of technology,
transport and
communication, lifestyle
social and cultural linkage,
fiscal policies, legal and
management system and
information technology
• It is a complex of
institutional and office
spaces , conferences and
library facility for groups
involved with environment
and habitat issues.

25. • The external facade is in a language of exposed red brick, exposed
concrete and glass.
• Use of horizontal and vertical ribbon windows having slots in them
for plantation purposes.
• Carefully conceived brick patterns in the courtyards and variegated
brick coursing in the building’s vertical piers.

26. Shading Device
• The reflectors are
installed above the
building to provide
shade and prevent sun
from entering into the
building. The
reflectors are aligned
at an angle which
reflect back 70% of the
sunlight and change
their angle during
winter to allow
sunlight to fall on the
windows.

27. List of organizations
Association of Indian Automobile Manufacturers
All India Brick & Tile Manufacturers Federation
All India Housing Development Association
Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council
Central Building Research Institute
Centre for Development Studies & Activities (CDSA)
Centre for Science & Environment
Centre for Science & Technology of the Non-Aligned
& Other Developing Countries
Confederation of Indian Industry
Consultancy Development Centre
Council for Advancement of People's Action & Rural
Technology
Council of Architecture
Delhi Management Association
Delhi Policy Group
Delhi Urban Art Commission
Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His
Holiness The Dalai Lama
Housing & Urban Development Corporation Ltd.
Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd.
Indian Council for Research on International Economic
Relations
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd.
Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced
Research
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd.
Institute of Social Studies Trust
International Labour Organisation
MacArthur Foundation
MCD Slum & JJ Department
National Foundation for India
National Capital Region - Planning Board
National Housing Bank
National Institute of Design
University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced
Study of India
Vikram Sarabhai Foundation

29. • The American International School in Chanayakyapuri,
India, is an independent, co-educational day school which
offers an educational program from prekindergarten
through Grade 12. The school was founded in 1962.
• The school is governed
by a nine-member Board of
Governors, seven of whom
are elected for two-year
terms by the American Embassy
School Association of New Delhi The Folded Shell Of The Steel Lattice Vaulting
At The Classroom

30. •American International School (1962-68)
comes more out of the American
Empiricist tradition than the European
Rationalist and its concern for orthogonal
geometry particularly in the sitting of
buildings.
Conical Steel Lattices At Classroom

31. Triveni kala Sangam

32. • DesignConcept-
• Factors affecting Building layout-
 Large number of functions to be
handled on a small site.A high degree
of flexibility provided for various
functions. Perfectly synchronized
interior & outdoor spaces having
provision with the clarity in the
functioning of each and every space

33. Galleries
• 4 DifferentGalleries-
 Triveni Kala Sangam
House
 The Shridharni
Gallery
 Triveni Gallery
 Sculpture Court &
Art Heritage

34. Clad reinforced concrete frame structure with several infill materials –
Jaali panels along the classroom block, corridor and stairs,
Concrete block with a plastered finish and
Rough-cut stone facing presented to the street.

36.  The Ford Foundation Established An Office In India In 1952 At The
Invitation Of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
 It Was The Foundation's First Office Outside The United States And
Remains One Of The Largest Of The International Field Operations

37. Originally built for to house the Ford
Foundation Headquarters in India, the
building is currently used by the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP).
It is part of a complex of buildings
designed by American Architect .

38. Australian High Commission

39. Using local materials and with an
understanding of the harsh Delhi
climate, this house relates to the
lush green landscape in which it
sits.
Open stone jalis or perforated
screens, combine with large
expanses of glass in a way that
respected both traditional
knowledge and modernist principles.

40. Akshara Theatre
• Human Scale Of The Buildings, Makes It Best
For Bringing Human Environment
• Designed By Poet, Director Gopal Sharman
Built By Stein.

41. Industrial Building For Escorts Limited

42. • Barrel vault lattice shell, Escorts plant I
(1962)
• Hyperbolic parabolic lattice shell, for
Escorts II plant (1964)
• Concrete domes for storage facilities
(1965)
• Octagonal steel lattice domes, For plant
at Surajpur (1988)

43. Two things have essentially guided my work. One is what you
might call an interest in and search for an appropriate modern
regionalism. I would put equal emphasis on both words,
'regional' and 'modern', because regional without modern is
reactionary, and modern without regional is insensitive,
inappropriate. The second one is to seek the character of the
solution in the nature of the problem, as much as one possibly
can.
- J A Stein

44. Stein’s Popular Work In INDIA
•1968: Indian Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai.
•Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode campus,
Kerala, India.
•Kashmir Conference Center, India.
•1962 - Cultural Education Centre Kennedy House Complex
of Aligarh Muslim University, India.
•Gandhi Labor Institute

46. • The Express Towers is a 25-storey building located on Marine
Drive in Nariman Point, Mumbai. Upon its completion in 1972, the
105 metres (344 ft) building was the tallest building in South Asia
for about two years. The building serves as the corporate
headquarters of Indian Express Limited, which also owns the
building.
• The Express Towers is valuable for this was the only high-rise Stein
ever designed. The building is unique for the way it connects to
the ground. The tower block rises from a terrace garden above a
three floor high podium.
• The Express Towers at the time it was completed was the tallest
building in South Asia, a position it held for about two years. It
surpassed the 101 metres (331 ft) Habib Bank Plaza in Karachi. In
turn, it was surpassed by the Oberoi Trident Towers which
measured 117 metres (384 ft).

53. Front Facade
53

54. Use of stone across the building 54

55. Sections
55

57. • Gandhi Labor Institute was established by Gujarat Government in 1984 to
provide for education, training, study and research in labor and related
subjects. The institution has been designed by architect B V Doshi and it
reuses many elements from Sangath, his office

58. Gandhi Labor Institute was established by Gujarat
Government in 1984 to provide for education, training,
study and research in labor and related subjects. The
institution has been designed by architect B V Doshi and
it reuses many elements from Sangath, his office
58
The concrete vaults covered in white china mosaic, the
faceted terraces, earth mounds, greet plaster on
external walls and an Amphitheatre; all these elements
form a language which was also explored in Sangath

59. 59

60. The building is approached at the first
floor with a forecourt and wide steps
flanked by a pool. One enters under a
transversal vault which then feeds
laterally into the various departments as
well as the hostel block. This transversal
vault, to me, is the most powerful space
in the entire institution and gives this
place, a unique identity.
60

61. 61

62. 10 Things About Joseph Allen Stein
• Stein's talented wife, Margaret, furnished the
interiors in several of his buildings
• As an undergraduate, Stein won a Whitney
Warren Scholarship for summer study at the
Ecoledes Beaux-Arts de Fontainebleau, narrowly
besting Eero Saarinen in the competition.
• In 1947, Stein and landscape architect Robert
Royston built small houses next door to each
other in Mill Valley, California. Stein simply
reversed his own plan for Royston, who in turn
designed both gardens.

63. • Stein, Funk, Eckbo, and Royston planned a post war
cooperative housing community called Ladera near Palo
Alto, California. The project died as the financiers balked at
the community being racially integrated.
• He found it thrilling to be in India after independence,
when Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister. Stein found it
akin to "coming to the United States when Thomas
Jefferson was alive.“
• Stein loved classical music and turned to Mozart's opera
Don Giovanni or a l ate Beethoven string quartet when
absorbed in a particularly mighty design problem.

64. • One project of which he was proudest was an
Indian motor-scooter factory. Construction was
so affordable that some visiting engineers
playfully accused him of cooking the books.
• Stein had a sly sense of humor and was fond of
quipping, "The possibilities are tremendous. The
probabilities are terrible.
• In a 1989 lecture, Stein called the International
Style "flawed without the depth of traditional
forms and without their endearing charms. And
what was worse, it was boring.“
• Stein adored his time in India, and though his
wife and sons learned Hindi, he never fully
adopted the culture. "His religion, his
profession, his nationality." his son David
explains, "were all architecture."

66. • Group II
• Bharat Wadhwa
• Bhanu Choudhary
• Vishal Vishwakarma
• MD. Aftab
• Manish Prajapati