Architect who designed Dilli Haat, Garden of Five Senses, dead

Pradeep Sachdeva, the architect of Dilli Haat at INA market, the Garden of Five Senses near Saket and several iconic buildings and inclusive public spaces, passed

Pradeep Sachdeva, the architect of Dilli Haat at INA market, the Garden of Five Senses near Saket and several iconic buildings and inclusive public spaces, passed away on Sunday morning. He was 62.

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He was involved in several projects related to riverfront development, public spaces, buildings across India.

Remembering his contribution to Delhi’s landscape, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia tweeted, “The spaces he created have become architectural landmarks for our city brought alive by his imaginative design. RIP.”

According to Sachdeva’s friends, he wasn’t keeping well for the past few months and was admitted to a hospital recently for treatment. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.

AGK Menon, his friend and noted urban designer, remembered him as an innovative, humanistic designer who focused on “indigenous quality of design” in his work.

“He tried to use the local construction techniques, indigenous designs in his work to create something extraordinary. This you will find in most of his work,” Menon said.

Dilli Haat, Menon said, is one of his most important works. “It is an inclusive public space, which has been designed over a Nullah. The place is contemporary yet traditional,” said Menon.

For the past few years, he was working on the Delhi government’s ambitious Chandni Chowk redevelopment project, work on which started in December 2018 after much delay.

The project was close to him as it involved pedestrianisation of one of Delhi’s most congested markets without disturbing its heritage. The biggest challenge in the project was to get all the stakeholders to agree to the design.

Nitin Panigrahi, deputy general manager of Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), tweeted, “PradeepSachdeva ji shall be remembered for his passion for inclusive urbanism & architectural heritage revitalisation Redevelopment Project of #ChandniChowk may inspire policy makers to recognise his impetus to make public streets inclusive for all #pedestrian or #cyclist alike and urban designer renowned.”

He was also the main consultant for the Jama Masjid Precinct redevelopment project, work on which is yet to start.