'Consensus' building on razing IIMA's iconic Louis Kahn's buildings said to be unsafe for living

The town hall meeting organised on "Future of IIMA Infrastructure" by IIMA alumni, students, faculties and other stakeholders Sunday is said to have brought "larger consensus" that the iconic dorms, designed by renowned American architect Louis Kahn, will have to be demolished as any amount of restoration will not guarantee its safety.

The heritage buildings are said to have become unsafe for living due to continuous structural deterioration following the 2001 earthquake, water seepage through ageing, among other reasons. The Board of Governors had decided to demolish Louis Kahn's building citing studies which stated that any amount of restoration will not guarantee its safety. The decision had backfired with alumni and faculties raising objections over demolishing the heritage structure which was built in the 1960s.

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On Sunday, over 150 members of the alumni association, faculties and students attended the event which lasted for nearly three hours. The meeting was addressed by chairman, board of governors, Pankaj Patel, and two professors of Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, who made a presentation, detailing the technical aspect of problems that have crept in the buildings. The two professors reportedly said that no amount of restoration or continuous restoration will guarantee safety of the building.

Sources said that chairman Patel in his presentation suggested that the only way forward is to replace the old buildings with new ones and create replicas of the heritage buildings. "The exterior can be replicated like the old ones and interiors can have all the modern facilities. By and large, the presentations showed that new construction was the only way forward," said an IIMA's official who attended the meeting while requesting not to be quoted.

When contacted, IIMA alumni association, Ahmedabad chapter, Himal Parikh told DH that "it was a positive meeting. It was discussed that restoration was possible but not advisable as it would leave uncertainty (with regard to safety). There were lots of emotional outbursts due to its heritage values. The chairman (Pankaj Patel) suggested that the exterior of new construction can be built as a replica of old ones."

Overall, Parikh added, that there was larger consensus among the stakeholders for a whole new construction. Another source said that concerns were raised that new construction shouldn't look like the new ones, which is nothing but concrete unlike the red-brick buildings designed by the noted American architect.

In late 2020, IIMA had invited expression of interest (EoI) for inviting designers and architects for the new proposed buildings. This led to controversy with alumni, faculties and students protesting against the move, forcing the authorities to withdraw the EOI. Since then, the IIMA administration has been severely criticized for proposing to raze the "legacy of Kahn."

Under the plan, the institute wants to demolish 14 of 18 dormitories where 500 students can live. IIMA has planned to replace these dorms with the new hostel with an increased capacity of 800 students. It had invited international restoration consultants Peter Inskip and Stephen Gee for advice. After all attempts failed, it was decided to raze down the 14 hostel blocks. The four front dorms, which welcome the visitors, are said to be preserved.