Art deco, an architecture movement
Indian Express: While watching a movie at the Victory Theatre on East Street, Camp, have you noticed the sharp curves and arches which embellish its façade and the sturdy woodwork that makes up its interior? All these design elements are brought forth beautifully in this 73 -year-old building, constructed in the art deco style. Set apart by straight, white-rendered house frontages leading to flat crowns, stridently geometric door surrounds and elevated windows, convex curved metal corner windows – art deco had a huge influence on both design of public buildings and house design from 1925 to the 1940s.
Not restricted to just architecture, art deco was a popular international art design movement, which held sway over interior design, industrial design, fashion, painting, the graphic arts and film. Among the art deco public buildings still standing in Pune are the Victory Theatre, Hotel Sunderban and the recently-opened O Hotel in Koregaon Park. Among residences, the bungalow next to the Don Bosco Centre on Koregaon Road and the now unoccupied bungalow on the traffic junction opposite Rani Lakshmi Bai Park on East Street, are among the many which dot the old city area.
Although art deco experienced a resurgence in popularity with an increasing bent towards graphic design in the 1980s, it had already fallen out of favour during the late 30s and early 40s. “Art deco went out of circulation because, with time, load-bearing structures gave way to RCC (reinforced cement concrete) structures, which were easy to build and less time-consuming, unlike load-bearing ones,” says architect Deepak Guggari. While other art design movements had social and political undertones, art deco was a purely decorative form; it was to have a deep influence on many later artistic movements, such as Memphis and Pop Art.
“While it may have been a profound art, it was definitely not an affordable one; the main benefactors of art deco were either royalty or established businessmen. With changing times and altered requirements, the process of building an elaborate art deco structure took a beating,” informs Guggari.
Farokh Chinoy, of Victory Theatre says everything there, from the gangway, balustrades, staircase to the interiors, have a distinctive art deco bearing. “Not many people realise its heritage value when they watch movies here,” he laments.
Surviving examples of art deco architecture in India can be seen in the Metro, Gaiety and Eros theatres in Mumbai, along with many residential buildings dotting South Mumbai. In fact, Mumbai has the second largest number of art deco edifices in the world after Miami, Florida and Pune being in close proximity to Mumbai, naturally absorbed the design influences of art deco. Across India, several cities such as Bhopal, Lucknow, Hyderabad, plus many more, still boast of these works of art.
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