Art Center of Jaipur - Jawahar Kala Kendra

Hey fellow creatives..

I've lived in the pink city of Jaipur through my four years of college and had multiple opportunities to visit the art center of the city - Jawahar Kala Kendra. The place has a very interesting architectural design story to it. It was designed by Charles Correa, the great architect and urban planner of the 1950's India. The place is closely associated with the city itself.

Here's an interesting fact about the city : Jaipur is the first well-planned city of India. And not only that, the city is planned based on the ancient Hindu system of planning based on "mandala". In layman's term, the city plan was divided into nine grids and major poles and gates to the city have been placed accordingly. Given the city contains Aravali range, the ninth grid was therefore shifted aside. (Reference 2nd and 3rd picture.0

The art center is planned based on the city plan of Jaipur. JKK has nine grids, space dedicated to different things like an auditorium, gallery, library, cafeteria, etc. Place is constructed with local materials like red sandstone. This place is full of logical and conscious design examples. Have looked this place up closely for I had taken this as the topic for my case study for one of my projects. And will share details in the next post.

For now these pictures: This place has a lot of open and green spaces for people to find their corners if they will.

The central grid is dedicated as an open theater space which is inspired by "Chand Baori", a step-well located near the city; another architectural wonder. It leads to four different spaces. Many performance events take place here.

The place has numerous architectural elements which are all very interesting and surprising being there.

The place has two cafe's, one of them serves vegan food as well. The place attracts many art and craft admirers. It usually has events and activities happening all the time. I've spent quite long hours at this place as it never fails to inspire me. It is definitely a must-visit place for its art shows, theater events, library, and architectural history.

Thank you for reading.
See you in the next post :)