21-510: The National Rail Museum in Chanakyapuri , New Delhi , displays exhibits on the history of rail transport in India . The museum was inaugurated on 1 February 1977. The museum spans over an area of over 4.4 hectares (11 acres) and the indoor gallery comprises an octagonal building which houses six display galleries and a large open area is laid out to simulate the atmosphere of a railway yard. It
42-532: A service floor separates the common rooms from the accommodation and amenities such as its restaurant, a garden and a theatre were on the roof and the building's floor plan closely resembles the Unité d'habitation in Marseille. The interior design for the building was done by Laila Tyabji and Dale Keller . The Akbar's interior design and decor were noted for their blend of western and Indian elements. The hotel's logo
63-521: A state of the art auditorium with seating capacity of 200 persons. VIP Lounge: The museum has a state of the art air-conditioned conference hall with seating capacity of 20-25 persons. The Rails: The Rails is a restaurant situated in the museum. It is housed in a replica the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus main building dome. The restaurant depicts the formation of Indian Railways through unification of 42 independent railway companies held by
84-630: Is a building in the Chanakyapuri locality of New Delhi , India which houses the South Asian University and offices of the Government of India's Ministry of External Affairs . Designed by Shiv Nath Prasad in collaboration with Mahendra Raj , it is one of Delhi's best known examples of brutalist architecture and bears semblance to the Unité d'habitation in Marseille , France. Inaugurated in 1972, it
105-531: Is a neighbourhood and diplomatic enclave established in the 1950s in New Delhi , India. It is also a sub-division of the New Delhi district and plays host to the majority of foreign embassies in New Delhi. Chanakyapuri, meaning "city of Chanakya", is named after Chanakya , an ancient Indian diplomat, philosopher, politician, military strategist and advisor to Maurya Emperor Chandragupta Maurya . Chanakyapuri
126-403: Is open every day except Mondays and national holidays. A Transport Museum was first proposed in 1962, under the advice of rail enthusiast Michael Graham Satow . The proposal took a concrete shape in 1970 and on 7 October 1971 the foundation stone was laid at the museum's present site in Chanakyapuri , New Delhi , by the then-President of India, V. V. Giri . The museum was inaugurated as
147-659: The Rail Transport Museum in 1977 by Kamalapati Tripathi , the minister for public transportation. The museum was originally intended to be a part of a larger museum that covered the history of railways, roadways, airways, and waterways in India; however, this never happened and it was officially renamed the National Rail Museum in 1995. Ticket price of National Rail Museum, New Delhi. (12 Years & Above) (03-12 years) (in Rs.) (in Rs.) Auditorium: The museum has
168-401: The architectural style of Le Corbusier and is one of India's best known examples of brutalist architecture. Built with prestressed concrete , the building has few decorative motifs keeping in line with the brutalist aesthetic. It has a raw concrete finish, uses brise soleils and features an exposed staircase at its far end. The use of a transfer girder in the transitional floors of
189-504: The suites . The trends set in interior decor at the Akbar became widespread in India's hotel and hospitality industry in later years. Its coffee shop, Madhuban , was noted for the Mithila murals decorating its walls which was a pioneering attempt to commercialize and give the artform a modern identity. The structure has however been criticized as being squalid and visually unappealing whereas
210-542: The India Tourism Development Corporation, the hotel remained profitable throughout the 1970s. However, by the early 1980s it began to incur losses and ITDC suffered low occupancy in its hotels following the construction boom in the run up to the 1982 Asian Games . In the changed business environment and the government's decision to exit the business of running luxury hotels, the ITDC decided to hand over
231-577: The border with neighbouring Dhaula Kuan . Sardar Patel Marg marks the Western periphery, while the Chanakya Cinema complex, which lies beyond Nehru Park, forms the south-western perimeter. The Delhi Ring Railway stops at Chanakyapuri, while Lok Kalyan Marg metro station and Jor Bagh metro station are the nearest stations of Delhi Metro . Akbar Bhawan Akbar Bhawan , formerly the Akbar Hotel ,
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#1732869887971252-411: The building allowed for the creation of a column free lobby , a feature that came to be adopted widely in hotel design . The use of pure geometric forms in the building has been attributed to the influence of rationalist architecture whereas the exposed nature of the building material is thought to have been due to financial austerity rather than the brutalist aesthetics. Comprising 13 storeys ,
273-520: The building to the Ministry of External Affairs to house its offices. The hotel was shut down in April 1986, and the building was turned into a government office building and renamed Akbar Bhawan. The Foreign Service Institute under the Ministry of External Affairs used to function from the building. The Government of India planned to redevelop the building into a five-star hotel with private partnership in
294-707: The princely states of India and British East Indian Company. The Maharaja of Gwalior had a silver model train that ran along the banquet table and served food to the royal guests. The restaurant replicates this by making a steam locomotive chug around the restaurant and serve food at tables named after historic stations in the country. Souvenir shop: There is a souvenir shop where small scale models of rolling stock, books, apparels, frame and prints, etc. are available for sale. 28°35′05″N 77°10′53″E / 28.58472°N 77.18139°E / 28.58472; 77.18139 Chanakyapuri Chanakyapuri ( Sanskrit : चाणक्यपुरी , romanized : Cāṅakyapurī )
315-456: The run up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games , but it was never implemented. The South Asian University has been housed in the building since 2010 pending relocation to its permanent campus at Maidan Garhi, Delhi . The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs was located in the building before its merger with the Ministry of External Affairs. Following the death of the former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj , demands were made to rename
336-572: The use of concrete and glass causes high indoor temperatures during power outages . The Akbar Hotel was built as part of the Fourth Five Year Plan . The building is owned by the New Delhi Municipal Council . Construction of the building began in 1966 and was completed by 1969–70. It was inaugurated by Dr. Karan Singh , the then Union Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation on 27 January 1972. Leased and operated by
357-529: Was a hotel of the India Tourism Development Corporation before its conversion into an office complex in 1986. The Akbar Hotel was noted for its use of innovative decor that blended contemporary designs with traditional Indian art and handicrafts. The building is located on Satya Marg in the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri , New Delhi. Akbar Bhawan was designed by architect Shiv Nath Prasad and built by Mahendra Raj. It mirrors
378-573: Was added in 1969, built in the Brutalist architecture style. The cinema was later torn down and the plot redeveloped into a shopping mall with a new cinema in 2017. Major roads in Chanakyapuri include Shanti Path , Nyaya Marg, Niti Marg, Chandragupta Marg and Panchsheel Marg. In addition to these, the Ring Road traverses the southern expanse of the neighbourhood and intersects National Highway 8 on
399-528: Was developed in 1969 for the families of the diplomatic personnel. In time, two markets, two colleges and schools run by diplomatic missions (including The British School and the American Embassy School ) were established in the neighbourhood. The Akbar Hotel was constructed 1965-69 for the India Tourism Development Corporation by Shiv Nath Prasad . Around it Yashwant Place was constructed for shopping and eating. A movie theatre Chanakya Cinema
420-405: Was taken from the design in a lattice screen at Sikandra, Agra . The windows in the lobby were decorated with wooden beads from Channapatna , Karnataka and its walls featured swords and scimitars from Rajasthan . The interior decoration also featured kalamkari prints in its conference room, Birbal , and used Rajput , Mughal and Kangra miniature paintings and Tibetan thangkas in
441-490: Was the first major extension of New Delhi beyond Lutyens' Delhi . The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) developed a large area of land to create this diplomatic enclave in the 1950s. Subsequently, this land was allotted to embassies, chanceries, high commissions and ambassador residences. The enclave is built around a wide central vista, known as Shanti Path (Peace Road), with wide green areas. A large landscaped park spread over an area of 80 acres, known as Nehru Park ,
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