“Projects such as the Central Vista underscore the agency of architecture for ‘those that govern us’—and how, misleading or not, design itself can construe the image of the nation.”

The juxtaposition of New Delhi’s Central Vista project over the ongoing public health crisis in India has raised several questions regarding the relationship between political power and architecture. In this episode, Architecture Off-Centre host Vaissnavi Shukl reads an excerpt from her graduate thesis titled Lotus Blooms and Fighter Jets: New Delhi’s Central Vista Project and the Architecture of National Identity.

Check out Vaissnavi’s presentation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF-JGIaBZLw if you want to learn more about her thesis or write to her at archoffcentre@gmail.com.