When you think of the beauty of Art Deco architecture, there are likely a few cities that spring to mind. Miami, of course, with its historic Deco district, and the stunning historic apartment buildings of Paris’ 16th arrondissement.
But what you might not know is that the Indian megacity Kolkata is home to some of the most interesting examples of vernacular Art Deco architectural style, blending influences of both traditional Indian and European style.
Bluebeam spoke to writer and Art Deco architectural enthusiast Parni Ray about her attachment to her hometown’s Deco style—and why this often-overlooked example of Deco excellence is garnering attention both at home and abroad.
An emotional connection
Ray said she’s always felt drawn to the built environment of the city she grew up in.
“My connection to architecture began young,” she said. “Kolkata, many would tell you, is a walking city. As a young person I walked around the city a lot and got lost a bunch, and buildings I admired were my markers to find my way back. In that sense you can say my introduction to my city, my individual claim on it, was through the built environment.”
But it was only when she left her hometown to study that she began to develop a deeper understanding of Kolkata’s built world.
“Since I was studying “Arts and Aesthetics,” an interdisciplinary liberal arts course rooted in the social sciences, I got interested in their history,” she said. “Then I worked in contemporary art for about a decade and later moved to London to do a research degree, where I was introduced to design history and design research. All of this added to my interest and understanding of architecture.”
Returning to her hometown to live and work as a writer, Parni found herself discovering more inspiring examples of Deco design.
“As a resident of South Kolkata, I am most familiar with Art Deco buildings in my neighborhood,” she said. “Despite the houses not being designed by the same people, and the recent intrusion by very ugly apartment buildings, the design language feels very cohesive. It feels like people were looking at what was being built around them and responding in accordance, and that creates a sense of style and community.”
Modern style for the modern era
So when did Deco come to Kolkata?
“Art Deco buildings in India started being built during the 30s and well into the 60s,” Ray explained. “Perhaps the most famous among them, the most regal ones, were film theaters—Roxy, Elite, Metro. With the slow demise of the single standing cinema halls in the country, these have become almost redundant today. Elite was demolished, the latter two are somehow holding on. There are several other buildings, and the Instagram account Art Deco Calcutta, which I love, is a great place to see and know about them.”
Ray said, in her opinion, the most influential of the cinemas was the Metro, which she said “clearly made an impression on cinema goers of the time and appears to have inspired so many residential buildings here in South Kolkata. So taken were people with everything it represented—the magic of cinema, the decadence of the moviegoing experience and a luxurious ‘modernity’—that they built homes inspired by its design and the term ‘Metro bari,’ or metro house, became a common code for builders.”
One thing that makes these buildings so unique is their deeply personal roots. “In my conversations with the owners of some of these houses, I have found that several of them were built by the homeowners who were structural or civil engineers,” Ray said. “India had about three architectural schools at the time of its independence, and the modern architect figure emerges as important much later here. In fact, even today most residences in India are ‘designed’ by mistris, or builders.”
While architecture is a more recent arrival, engineering has had a long history in the nation after its introduction by the British. “Perhaps it is this long history, which earned engineers considerable reverence—a status they still enjoy in communities, especially in Kolkata,” Ray said. “The reverence, I think, translated to considerable confidence, which can be both good and bad. I think this is what allowed some of them to just design a whole house for their families, alongside their day jobs. Engineers today aren’t doing the same, I assure you.”
Preserving history
Unfortunately, Ray said shifting demographics make the future of Kolkata’s Art Deco homes uncertain.
“The city is changing and shrinking in size as the number of people increase, and space, like in most big cities in the world, is getting sparse,” she said. “The Art Deco houses with their balconies, their gardens and two-story structures have, to many, started feeling like a waste of space. The area they cover can often accommodate multiple tall, narrow, claustrophobic buildings, so many of the old buildings are being pulled down to make space for these.”
As the owners of these houses age, buildings are often sold by the younger generations, who arrange for their relatives to have a floor of their own in the new construction that will replace them, while maintenance challenges mean that even owners who want to keep these structures in use often struggle to keep them functional. Ray also said movements to preserve these buildings, which aren’t recognized as “heritage” by the government, find themselves limited by the power of the real estate industry and red tape.
Ray said the fact that so many of these structures were built by the people who inhabited them means that documentation about their history and construction can be hard to come by.
“It is one thing to learn from merely seeing existing structures, walking past them, taking their pictures, but a culture of informed appreciation, criticism and further development of thought about a subject is possible only when creative endeavors are discussed in the community,” she said. “And in this I think the home designers of the past have failed the city; they didn’t share their knowledge with the coming generations like they should have, only left us examples of their work to admire and enjoy. Perhaps if they saw how the city is changing now they would reconsider and be more forthcoming about sharing their design choices and experiences. We would have all benefited.”
