The architectural geometry of empire: how a colonial capital was carved out

Wars & Conflicts · Published 17 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In the early 20th century, the British Empire decided to move its Indian capital from Calcutta to Delhi. To do so, they didn't just build offices; they engineered an entire landscape of power. From sprawling boulevards to manicured green belts, Lutyens' Delhi was designed to project permanence.

The development of New Delhi began in the late 1910s and continued through the 1930s under the British Raj. The primary architect, Edwin Lutyens, led a massive team—including Herbert Baker, Robert Tor Russell, and others—to create a central administrative precinct. A key mandate for this layout was to retain one-third of the area as green space. This resulted in a city defined by its 'glacis' of trees and lawns, designed to cushion the prestigious core from the surrounding crowded urban areas.

At the heart of this design lies Raisina Hill, home to the Viceroy’s House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan). The layout is anchored by major axes: Kingsway (now Rajpath), which connects the India Gate to the President's residence, and Queensway (now Janpath), which intersects it orthogonally. While Lutyens focused on the core, Herbert Baker designed the Secretariat Buildings and the Council House (now Parliament House). Other notable structures include two cathedrals by Henry Medd and various high-ranking official bungalows.

Today, this heritage remains a site of immense economic and political significance. The Lutyens Bungalow Zone (LBZ) covers about 26 km2, where less than ten percent of the roughly 1,000 bungalows are privately owned. The land value in these private hands is extraordinary; between 2003 and 2013, the market value of the 254.5 acres of private LBZ land reportedly increased eightfold, rising from approximately ₹6,100 crore to ₹49,000 crore.

While it serves as the seat of Indian democracy today, the precinct is also recognized for its vulnerability. In 2002, it was placed on the World Monuments Watch list as one of the world's 100 most endangered sites. This highlights a tension between preserving the architectural legacy of the British Raj and managing the modern needs of a growing global capital.

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