Achyut Kanvinde Biography 
Achyut Kanvinde was an Indian architect who lived during the period, 1916–28 December 2002. He worked in functionalist approaches with elements of Brutalist architecture and also believed in Vasthu Shastra. PK Kelkar Library in IIT Kanpur and The University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore campus are his famous architectural works. He played with space and forms and believed that a grid of columns forming a matrix would turn a design more sophisticated and faceted. One of the legends of Indian architecture, he formerly served as President of IIA (1974-1975). He was one of the first Indian architects to study abroad.
He was born in Achare, a rural village in Konkan region of Maharashtra in the year 1916. He was born into a big family. His father worked as an art teacher in Mumbai. He lost his mother at the age of two. His father was a portrait and landscape painter, and influenced by his artistic skills, Achyut Kanvinde decided to pursue a career in the same field. He enrolled in architecture at Sir J. J. School of Arts, Mumbai and got graduated in 1942. He was sent by Government of India to study at Harvard.
He got influenced by Walter Gropius, a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School, under whom he worked at Harvard and a few European architects too created a great impact in his mind. Once he returned to India, he joined Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Later he started an architecture firm, Kanvinde, Rai and Chowdhury in New Delhi, along with his partner Shaukat Rai. They constructed many buildings in Delhi in the 1980s and later, and IIT Kanpur, National Science Centre, Delhi is one of his major works. ISKCON Temple at New Delhi is yet another magnificent work, where he played with space and forms.
Published: October 16, 2018
Updated: October 16, 2018
