The board of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad has decided to demolish the dormitories built by legendary American architect Louis Kahn on its campus triggering a controversy. The restoration of the dorms was part of an ongoing project by a well-known Mumbai-based consultant.

Why are the dorms being demolished?

The IIM-A plans to bring down at least 14 of 18 dorms which were built between 1968 and 1978 have problems of leakages from the roof, dampness in walls, leakages in toilet walls, slabs etc. Besides this, the earthquake of 2001 caused major structural damages to these buildings.

In a letter to alumni, IIM-A Director Prof Errol D’Souza has justified the demolition and construction of new dorms which will increase housing capacity on campus from 500 to 800, as per the tender. In the letter, he also questioned Kahn’s signature exposed brick structure, calling the bricks substandard. As concrete encasing was not used to protect the embedded reinforcement bars in the brickwork, the bars have rusted and the brickwork cracked, he has written...

The Indian Expres:  Why IIM-Ahmedabad wants to raze the legacy of Louis Kahn