A popular international art design movement between 1925 and 1940, art deco architecture in Pune stands out for its distinctive design -- a combination of opulence and geometric shapes
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, brought forth so 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 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 the decorative arts such as interior design, industrial design, fashion, painting, the graphic arts and film. Seen as functional, elegant, glamorous and modern, the movement was a mixture of Art Nouveau, Futurism, Constructivism, Cubism, Neoclassical and Modernism. Among the art deco public buildings still standing in Pune are the Victory Theatre, Hotel Sunderban and 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.
Although art deco experienced a resurgence in popularity with the increasing bent towards graphic design in the 1980s, it had already fallen out of favour during the late 30s and early 40s. “The reason why art deco went out of circulation was because, with time, load-bearing structures gave way to RCC (reinforced cement concrete) structures. RCC buildings were easy to build and less time-consuming, whereas load-bearing ones took a long time to construct and were naturally, more expensive,” 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. Art-inspired architecture has historically fulfilled two main purposes – encouraged art and generated employment and the main benefactors of art deco were either royalty or established businessmen. With changing times and altered requirements, the long drawn process of putting up an elaborate art deco structure naturally took a beating,” informs Guggari.
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 (US). Pune being in close proximity to the commercial hub of India logically absorbed the design influences of art deco. Across India, cities such as Bhopal, Lucknow, Hyderabad, plus several more, in the hinterland, boast of art deco buildings.
Farokh Chinoy, part of the management at the Victory Theatre says it opened for the public on August 6, 1936 and was quite the rage in town. “It was earlier called Capitol and was renamed as Victory only in 1987, after Mrs Dina Dara Sukhia won a protracted legal battle to gain it back. So it was a personal victory for her and hence the name. Everything here, from the gangway to the balustrades, from the staircase to the interiors, have a distinctive art deco bearing,” says Chinoy. “However, not many people realise the immense heritage value of the structure when they come over to watch movies here,” he adds.
The great art build-up
· Art Deco is based on mathematical geometric shapes
· Considered to be an eclectic form of elegant and stylish modernism
· Influenced by a variety of sources, including primitive arts of Africa, Ancient Egypt and Aztec Mexico
· Terracotta sunburst design in gold with a blue background is a typical art deco design
· Popular themes in art deco were trapezoidal, zigzag and jumbled shapes
· Art Deco was an opulent style, and its lavishness is attributed to a reaction to the forced austerity imposed by World War I
