Joseph Allen Stein
Encyclopedia
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. An 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, he is noted for designing several important buildings in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, most notably in Lodhi Estate in Central Delhi
Central Delhi
Central Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India.It is bounded by the Yamuna River on the east, and by the districts of North Delhi to the north, West Delhi and South West Delhi to the west, New Delhi to the south, and East Delhi to the east across the...
, nicknamed “Steinabad” after him, and where today the 'Joseph Stein Lane', is the only road in Delhi named after an architect.
Biography
Joseph Allen Stein was born on April 10, 1912, in OmahaOmaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
, Nebraska. He studied architecture at the University of Illinois, the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
in Paris and the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He worked for Eli Jacques Kahn in New York and with Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, before establishing his own practice in San Francisco.
In 1952 he moved to India, and became head of the department of architecture at the Bengal Engineering College in Calcutta. He worked in New Delhi from 1955 onwards, starting with another American architect, Benjamin Polk and even after retirement in 1995, continued to design for the architecture firm he founded. Over the year, he brought in ‘California modernism’ to several buildings he designed in Delhi, including, the Ford Foundation headquarters and the India International Centre
India International Centre
The India International Centre is a well known non-official organization situated in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1958, and inaugurated in 1968...
(IIC) (1962), United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), the World Wide Fund for Nature, a conservatory within Lodhi Gardens
Lodhi Gardens
Lodi Gardens is a park in Delhi, India. Spread over , it contains, Mohammed Shah's Tomb, Sikander Lodi's Tomb, Sheesh Gumbad and Bara Gumbad, architectural works of the 15th century Sayyid and Lodis, a Pashtun dynasty which ruled much of Northern India during the 16th century, and the site is now...
, Gandhi-King Plaza, an open-air memorial in IIC, Triveni Kala Sangam at Mandi House, the American International School and the Australian high commission in Chanakyapuri
Chanakyapuri
Chanakyapuri ,is an affluent neighborhood and Diplomatic Enclave in New Delhi, established in 1950s, and located about 14 km. from Delhi Airport. Chanakyapuri, literally meaning "City of Chanakya", is named for Chanakya, a third century BC Maurya advisor and prime minister.Chanakyapuri plays...
. 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 Chowfla and Meena Mani (architects), Principals at Mani & Chowfla, 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
Roger Williams University
Roger Williams University, commonly abbreviated as RWU, is a private, coeducational American liberal arts university located on in Bristol, Rhode Island, above Mt. Hope Bay. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams...
in Rhode Island was published. He was awarded the Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
, India's fourth highest civilian honor, in 1992. He married the late Margaret Suydam in 1938. He died on October 14, 2001, at age 89 in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
. He is survived by their sons David and Ethan.
Selected projects
- 1940: "One Family Defense House" (with Gregory AinGregory AinGregory Ain was an American architect active in the mid-20th century. Working primarily in the Los Angeles area, Ain is best known for bringing elements of modern architecture to lower- and medium-cost housing.- Biography :...
), unbuilt - 1940: "Low-Cost House", unbuilt
- 1947: Ladera Cooperative (with John Funk; landscape architect: Garrett EckboGarrett EckboGarrett Eckbo was an American landscape architect notable for his seminal 1950 book Landscape for Living.-Youth:...
), Palo Alto, CA - 1968: Indian Express Tower, Nariman PointNariman PointNariman Point is Mumbai's premier business district and country's first central business district. It was named after Khursheed Framji Nariman, a Parsi visionary. The area is situated on land reclaimed from the sea. It had the distinction of having the highest commercial real estate rental space...
, MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, relandscaping of Lodhi GardensLodhi GardensLodi Gardens is a park in Delhi, India. Spread over , it contains, Mohammed Shah's Tomb, Sikander Lodi's Tomb, Sheesh Gumbad and Bara Gumbad, architectural works of the 15th century Sayyid and Lodis, a Pashtun dynasty which ruled much of Northern India during the 16th century, and the site is now...
, along with Garrett EckboGarrett EckboGarrett Eckbo was an American landscape architect notable for his seminal 1950 book Landscape for Living.-Youth:...
. - Several buildings in Lodi Estate, New DelhiNew DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, including the headquarters of the Ford FoundationFord FoundationThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
, Unicef and the World Wide Fund for NatureWorld Wide Fund for NatureThe World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
, a conference center called the India International Center (1959–62), and the India Habitat Center for housing and environmental studies. - Indian Institute of Management KozhikodeIndian Institute of Management KozhikodeThe Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode is one of the 13 Indian Institutes of Management set up by the Government of India. The Institute founded in 1996 in collaboration with the State Government of Kerala was the 5th IIM to be established....
campus, KeralaKeralaor Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. - Triveni Kala Sangam Arts center, New Delhi
- Several factories with roofs inspired by the domes used in traditional Indian architecture
- Kashmir Conference Center
Other sources
- The architecture of Joseph Allen Stein in India and California, by Stephen White, Oxford University Press, 1993.
- The responsibility for environment: First address, 9 October 1962, by Joseph Allen Stein. University of California, College of Environmental Design, 1962.
External links
- Stein’s gone but his works live on at Times of India.