Assam assembly house, Guwahati Assam

Abstract

Throughout history it has been a common intend of the powerful civilizations, dynasties and countries to showcase their cities as the centre of power .Architecture as the media of representation of thoughts, ideals and expressions has manifested these values into forms and shapes that we see today in many cities across the globe ranging from the Parthenon of the ancient Greece to the White house in the contemporary Washington D.C .The purpose of my dissertation is to implore such values in context of India for designing a building of national importance . Democracy may have different perception, undergo various contradictions and numerous controversies; but the core idea remains the same; which is, democracy is by the people, for the people and of the people. I being a student of architecture, my thesis will mainly aim towards creating architecture for the people, which will incorporate both symbolism and representation of ideas and aspirations of common people. And the parliamentary buildings are a marvel where architecture meets democracy. The parliamentary buildings manifest an image of commanding presence of state and conjure the quintessence of national identity, pride and oration of power. But it also represents authority, tradition and stability at the same time. The main objective is to develop a state of architecture that meets the common people and delves into the democratic language of parliamentary buildings and public realms with spatial qualities and balancing act between openness of public spaces.