Architectural Travel Guide – Ahmedabad – Riyaz Tayyibji

This guide is structured around ve itineraries which have been compiled geographically. Buildings in a particular area, or distinct parts of the city, have been grouped together so that a visitor may conveniently visit them in a limited period of time. It is dif cult to estimate the amount of time that a visitor may spend at a particular place, I have assumed, based on my own experience, that one may be able to visit a maximum of 7-8 buildings / places in a day, on a rapid visit.

For the more studious visitor, 3-4 places in a day in the likely pace, allowing for the circumstantial deviations from a planned itinerary, which are so common with en- counters in the Indian city. Stopping for tea at a ‘chai’ stall on the street, chatting with building caretakers / users can often give a visitor an unusual insight into the relevance of the place. Each itinerary can therefore be considered a plan ranging from three days to a week.

As much as the itineraries are geo- graphical, they are also historical. The ear- liest developments of the city took place to the east of the river. Itinerary 1 and 2 cover these. Itinerary 3, 4, and 5 largely cover buildings from the post independent and modern periods, with itinerary 4 and 5 also covering examples of contemporary architecture.

The text for the book has been envisioned such that it not only provides the reader with the relevant information about the particular building but, put together gives one an outline of the historical narrative of the architecture of the city.

The five itineraries chosen are the most obvious ones. Note, that they largely lead you to traverse the city in the north-south direction. An itinerary running east-west would effectively give the visitor an experience of a ‘cross section’ of the city’s architectural history. You could, for example, start at Bhadra Square -visit the key monuments around it, walk through the Dhalgharwad cloth market, visit the modern buildings- Premabhai Hall and the Central Bank, cross the Nehru Bridge and walk down the Sabarmati Riverfront to the Ahmedabad Textile Mill Owners Association (ATMA) building by Le Corbusier. You could then pick a set of modern and contemporary buildings that would allow you to traverse west through the city.

On the way, it is possible to experience phenomena like ‘the urban villages’. It is worth walking through one of these as you traverse the city creating your own itinerary.

If you’re in the city for a day or two, we recommend you visit the old city (itinerary 1) and some examples of the modern architecture (itineraries 3 and 4).