Cinemas that fuse Modernist and traditional Indian architecture are a beautiful reminder of the country's past.
Anna Mallai Theater in Madurai, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
Cinemas that fuse Modernist and traditional Indian architecture are a beautiful reminder of the country's past.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
Photographers Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz, captured some of South India's most stunning cinemas between 2011 and 2014.
Sapthagiri in Hyderabad, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
Photographers Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz, captured some of South India's most stunning cinemas between 2011 and 2014.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
The cinemas Zoche and Haubitz photographed were built between 1947 -- after Indian independence -- and the early 1980s.
Tharangam in Karunagappally, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
The cinemas Zoche and Haubitz photographed were built between 1947 -- after Indian independence -- and the early 1980s.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
These theaters combine Modernist design elements and traditional Indian aesthetics.
Alankar Theatre in Madurai, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
These theaters combine Modernist design elements and traditional Indian aesthetics.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
Modernism first came to India when Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, commissioned French architect and city planner Le Corbusier to lay the master plan for the city of Chandigarh.
SR Theaters in Varkala, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
Modernism first came to India when Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, commissioned French architect and city planner Le Corbusier to lay the master plan for the city of Chandigarh.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
One of independent India's earliest planned cities, it was meant to establish a new type of city to bring India into the future.
Pankaj Theater in Alleppey, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
One of independent India's earliest planned cities, it was meant to establish a new type of city to bring India into the future.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
Chandigarh is home to Brutalist buildings and European-style piazzas.
Jairam Theater in Salem, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
Chandigarh is home to Brutalist buildings and European-style piazzas.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
These types of urban elements were uncommon in the rest of India.
Shanti in Hyderabad, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
These types of urban elements were uncommon in the rest of India.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
Le Corbusier's distinctive spread throughout India as local architects sought to emulate and reinterpret the foreign architectural language.
New Theatres in Trivandrum, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
Le Corbusier's distinctive spread throughout India as local architects sought to emulate and reinterpret the foreign architectural language.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
While the buildings do contain elements of Modernism, they are not designed on the principle of form following function.
Natraj in Chennai, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
While the buildings do contain elements of Modernism, they are not designed on the principle of form following function.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
"It is a kind of architecture influenced by modernism, but it is very hybrid because there's not the sense of form following function that modernism supplied. It's rather like a pastiche of signifiers that they use as symbols," says Zohe.
Pilot in Chennai, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
"It is a kind of architecture influenced by modernism, but it is very hybrid because there's not the sense of form following function that modernism supplied. It's rather like a pastiche of signifiers that they use as symbols," says Zohe.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche
"Modernism is reduced to a kind of iconography to convey a certain feeling -- something special is happening here, we are modern," she says.
Meenakchi in Thirumangalam, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) —
"Modernism is reduced to a kind of iconography to convey a certain feeling -- something special is happening here, we are modern," she says.
Courtesy Stefanie Zoche