Akbar Bhawan, formerly known as Akbar Hotel, was inaugurated on 27 January 1972 by Dr. Karan Singh, who was then the Union Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation. It was developed by the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) as part of the Fourth Five-Year Plan and designed by architect Shiv Nath Prasad (Shiv Nath Prasad Pradhan Ghosh & Associates), with structural engineering by Mahendra Raj, who had undertaken many iconic buildings in Delhi. Construction was carried out by Tirath Ram Ahuja P. Ltd, possibly in collaboration with the New Delhi Municipal Committee.
The hotel was built on a two-hectare rocky site as part of a larger commercial complex that included a cinema (now demolished), a shopping arcade, and office buildings. Akbar Hotel’s design draws heavily from Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseilles. It is a reinforced concrete structure with a truthful expression of form-work, resulting in a raw, natural concrete finish. In certain areas, the concrete reads as a solid, continuous mass, with large rectangular shuttering patterns covering entire walls. In other areas, regularly spaced horizontal beams interrupt this rectangular pattern. On curved elements such as columns and staircases, closely spaced vertical shuttering lines are clearly visible.
The building features several classic Corbusian elements, such as brise-soleil (sun breakers), a protruding service floor on the facade, rooftop terrace structures, and an exposed staircase at one end, distinctive features that define its architectural character. It has a thirteen-storey concrete slab structure with a narrow, linear rectangular form measuring 208 by 60 feet. It is supported by two rows of columns, two end shear walls, and interior service cores.
The top ten floors, which housed the hotel rooms, rest on columns that transfer their load to post-tensioned transfer girders on a dedicated service floor. These girders direct the load to the building’s edges, creating open interior spaces. Two additional service floors are suspended from the girders below, effectively separating the structural and service functions of the hotel rooms from the lower levels. This was likely the first use of transfer girders in an Indian hotel tower, a technique that later became common in hotel design.
The interiors of Akbar Hotel blended modern and traditional design, created by designer Laila Tyabji and Dale Keller, a Hong Kong-based American known for integrating Indian elements into contemporary interiors. The hotel’s logo, inspired by a lattice screen from Sikandra in Agra, symbolised this fusion. This design approach had a lasting influence on interior decor in Indian hotels.
After operating as a hotel, the organisation faced financial losses and low occupancy. In 1980, a competition for its extension was launched, as Shivnath Prasad was not in favour of adding any additional mass, and it was awarded to Pradhan Ghosh and Associates. However, soon after, the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) handed it over to the Ministry of External Affairs for office use in April 1986. Ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the government planned to redevelop it into a five-star hotel through a public-private partnership, but the plan was never implemented.
Since 2010, the South Asian University has been functioning from the building, pending relocation to its permanent campus. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs was also located here before it merged with the Ministry of External Affairs. The building remains a landmark and bears evidence of its multiple uses and occupants, reflecting its layered past. Although it is currently inaccessible to the public, visible signs of deterioration in certain areas highlight the need for maintenance and conservation.
Sources:
- Interviews: Prof. Ujan Ghosh
- Mehta, Vandini, and Rohit Raj Mehendiratta. The Structure: Works of Mahendra Raj. Zürich: Park Books, 2016, 118. (Akbar Hotel)
- Architecture in India. Milan: Electa Moniteur, Association Française d’Action Artistique, Contemporary Architecture Commissioner Ram Sharma, p. 133.
Credits:
Prashansa Sachdeva, Research Associate
Keywords:
brise-soleil, natural formwork, post-tension girder, ribs, shear walls
