Between Worlds Exhibition: The Life and Work of Joseph Allen Stein in the U.S. and India

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Drawing of India International Centre building with trees in front. Drawings are in black with blue embellishments.
India International Centre perspective drawing. illustration / Joseph Allen Stein
Black and white drawing of multiple buildings in India with gardens in the background.
Ford Foundation Headquarters and India International Centre with Lodi Gardens in the background. Joseph Allen Stein, architect. illustration / Joseph Allen Stein
Man with jacket, colorful scarf and glasses along side a woman wearing a red dress and silver necklace looking at drawings in enclosed glass casing in an art gallery
J. David Stein (Joseph Allen Stein's son) and his wife Achva Benzinberg Stein viewing the Stein family contributions in Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall. Anson Wigner / AAP
A group of four inside an art gallery with wall hangings and peinces in enclosed cases. Man in sut and glasses pointing at piece on the wall next to a woman in black pants and floral top. In the back two mean are in conversation.
CRP Associate Professor Jeff Chusid, exhibition presenter, engaging with CRP Professor Sara Bronin, who attended the reception in Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall. Anson Wigner / AAP
Pieces displayed on windows with in daylights and pieces displayed in glass cases with a blurry image of a person with a black dress on.
Exhibition window view in Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall. Melanie Chu (M.Arch. '24) / AAP
Stein contribution piece with mirrored effect and a person with a brown coat and grey pants looking inside a glass case.
Window Pattern based on a screen designed by Stein, created by Ritika Jhari and Jeffrey Chusid for the exhibition. Melanie Chu (M.Arch. '24) / AAP
Three people in conversation inside an art gallery. Wall hangings, window hangings and enclosed glass cases are present.
J. David Stein (Joseph Allen Stein's son) and his wife Achva Benzinberg Stein in conversation with CRP Associate Professor George Frantz, who attended the reception in Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall. Anson Wigner / AAP
Art gallery with pieces displayed on walls, windows and in glass cases. A blurry person is looking at the wall hangings.
View of Stein family contributions in Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall. Melanie Chu (M.Arch. '24) / AAP
India International Centre perspective drawing. illustration / Joseph Allen Stein Ford Foundation Headquarters and India International Centre with Lodi Gardens in the background. Joseph Allen Stein, architect. illustration / Joseph Allen Stein J. David Stein (Joseph Allen Stein's son) and his wife Achva Benzinberg Stein viewing the Stein family contributions in Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall. Anson Wigner / AAP CRP Associate Professor Jeff Chusid, exhibition presenter, engaging with CRP Professor Sara Bronin, who attended the reception in Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall. Anson Wigner / AAP Exhibition window view in Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall. Melanie Chu (M.Arch. '24) / AAP Window Pattern based on a screen designed by Stein, created by Ritika Jhari and Jeffrey Chusid for the exhibition. Melanie Chu (M.Arch. '24) / AAP J. David Stein (Joseph Allen Stein's son) and his wife Achva Benzinberg Stein in conversation with CRP Associate Professor George Frantz, who attended the reception in Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall. Anson Wigner / AAP View of Stein family contributions in Bibliowicz Family Gallery, Milstein Hall. Melanie Chu (M.Arch. '24) / AAP

Joseph Allen Stein (1912–2001) was a rising young architect in the San Francisco Bay Area when the political storms of the time drove him and his family to India. Arriving to head the new architecture program at the Bengal Engineering College in Calcutta in 1952, just five years after the country's independence, he soon began working on an increasingly important series of projects, on his own and with various partners, and his firm would become the largest in India. Clients included the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, various non-profit organizations, governmental entities, and private businesses and individuals. Despite his expatriate status, he became one of the leading figures in the architecture of independence, and today his buildings, such as the India International Centre, the India Habitat Centre, the Triveni Kala Sangam, ICRISAT, the Indian Express Tower, and the Australian High Commission's Chancery, are monuments of the era. Stein's interests included long-span lightweight structures, regional modernism, the environment of the Himalayas, and sustainability more broadly.

This year, Stein's family has given a significant tranche of materials from his personal archive to the Cornell University Library. The gift includes some 5,000 drawings, firm brochures, publications, and other documents from over 70 years of Stein's professional life. From October 17 -28, Jeffrey Chusid will present the exhibition based on the gift in the Bibliowicz Family Gallery in Milstein Hall. 

Attend the related Between Worlds Lecture: The Life and Work of Joseph Allen Stein in the U.S. and India, October 21, 2022, Abby and Howard Milstein Auditorium, Milstein Hall.

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