The Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) in Jaipur, Rajasthan, is a cultural and arts center designed by renowned Indian architect Charles Correa in 1986. Commissioned by the Government of Rajasthan, it is a hub for Rajasthani arts, crafts, and cultural events. Inspired by Jaipur’s original navagraha city plan, the Jawahar Kala Kendra complex consists of nine interlocking squares, creating a spatial experience deeply rooted in Indian cosmology.
Jawahar Kala Kendra Technical Information
- Architects: Charles Correa Associates
- Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
- Client: Government of Rajasthan
- Built-up Area: 9.5 acres
- Construction: 5 Years (1986 – 1991)
- Typology: Cultural Architecture / Museum
- Project Year: 1991
- Photographs: © Ashish Bhonde, © Addison Godel, © Mehendra Sinh
- Drawing Credits: Courtesy of Charles Correa Associates
The primordial has become a fecund source of the mythic. This is why Picasso and Matisse in their paintings, Stravinsky in his music, and Le Corbusier in his architecture intuitively searched out the primitive.
– Charles Correa
Jawahar Kala Kendra Arts Centre Photographs
The Connection to Jaipur’s City Plan
The center is an analog of Jaipur’s original city plan drawn up by the Maharaja, a scholar, mathematician, and astronomer, Jai Singh the Second, in the mid-17th century. His city plan, guided by the Shipla Shastras, was based on the ancient Vedic mandala of nine squares or houses representing the nine planets, including two imaginary ones: Ketu and Rahu. Due to the hill’s presence, one of the squares was transposed to the east, and two were amalgamated to house the palace.
The design of Jawahar Kala Kendra comes from the city of Jaipur itself, which was based on the nine squares each representing nine planets.
– Charles Correa
Correa’s plan for the Kendra directly invokes the original navagraha or nine-house mandala. One of the squares is pivoted to recall the original city plan and create the entrance. As in the plan of Jaipur city based on the nine-square Yantra, in which one square is displaced and two central squares combined, in Kendra, 8-meter-high walls define the squares and symbolize the fortification walls of the Jaipur old city. The squares correspond to real and imaginary planets, such that each becomes the symbolic representation of the setting.
Externally, the planets appear on the red sandstone facades as symbols inlaid in white marble and granite. At the same time, the plan configuration of nine squares corresponds internally to the mythical qualities associated with each planet. Mars signifies power, so the place of Mars, or Mangal Mahal, houses the offices of administration; Guru represents knowledge, and so forms the museum library; Venus, as the artistic sign, encloses the theater complex. At the center of the universe, and imparting to the planets its creative energy, the sun manifests in the stepped tank, a reservoir of knowledge and confluence, of meeting and reflection.
Spatial Experience at Jawahar Kala Kendra
The journey through the building, the movement through its celestial divisions, is marked by a diversity of spatial densities. Individual buildings inside merge into cellular reordering – random accretions of requirements that lean against the surrounding high walls like architectural parasites or groups and regroup in independent formations. Such accumulations create peculiar court definitions, suggesting the qualities and scales intrinsic to the functions housed within.
The museum experience begins redefining the very act of cultural display. As the design conveys, heritage is a matter of accidental encounter and discovery. This process relies on the instincts and inclinations of a person moving through space, between the stage set of walls, past recreated incidents, and rituals of art and craft. Such a design conception – suggesting perhaps many internal variations – questions the very conventions of museum design and presents a physical rethink of the idea.
It is easy to accept the inherent arbitrariness of this internal occupation because such a reductive, severe delineation forms the external confinement. Within the nine squares setting is an architecture of wit and whimsy, as singularly playful in its creation as it is specific to the functions demanded of it. Enclosed by high parapets, life goes on inside in the numerous demolitions, insertions, or reorganizations. But the exterior, irresolute in its material joining – like the old city’s wall – remains undisturbed.
Today, the Jawahar Kala Kendra remains a pillar of Rajasthan’s cultural heritage, drawing artists, scholars, and visitors worldwide. Correa’s visionary design, blending mythical symbolism and contemporary functionality, cements JKK’s place as one of India’s most significant architectural landmarks.
Jawahar Kala Kendra Plans
Jawahar Kala Kendra Image Gallery
About Charles Correa
Charles Mark Correa (1930 – 2015) was an Indian architect and urban planner. He is credited with creating modern architecture in post-Independence India and is celebrated for his sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor and his use of traditional methods and materials.
In 1958, Charles Correa established his professional practice in Mumbai. His first significant project was the Mahatma Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Mahatma Gandhi Memorial) at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad (1958–1963), followed by the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Bhopal (1967). In 1961-1966, he designed his first high-rise building, the Sonmarg apartments in Mumbai. At the National Crafts Museum in New Delhi (1975–1990), he introduced “the rooms open to the sky,” his systematic use of courtyards. In the Jawahar Kala Kendra (Jawahar Arts Centre) in Jaipur (1986–1992), he makes a structural hommage to Jai Singh II. Later, he invited the British artist Howard Hodgkin for the exterior design of the British Council in Delhi (1987–1992).
Additional Credits
- Correa, Charles. A Place in the Shade: The New Landscape & Other Essays. Hatje Cantz, 2012.
- Charles Correa by Kenneth Frampton by Kenneth Frampton
- Charles Correa: India’s Greatest Architect by Irena Murray
Great work by Charles Correa in designing the masterpiece in context with the Jaipur Architecture and heritage
But we must also give credit to the persons like Ratan Das Gupta who dedicated their utmost in bringing his dream to a reality against all odds and without any selfish motive.The labour and effort he put in to create this masterpiece is unparalleled and never spoken of
Absolutely, Charles Correa’s design for the Jawahar Kala Kendra Arts Centre in Jaipur is a remarkable achievement that successfully reflects the city’s vibrant architectural legacy. Nevertheless, we cannot overlook the invaluable contribution of individuals who demonstrated extraordinary dedication and selflessness in bringing this vision to life against all odds. The collaborative effort of architects, builders, and community members is what makes this cultural landmark a true embodiment of the power of teamwork and passion, showcasing the potential for people to come together and create something truly remarkable.
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