Namakkal Kavignar Maligai is an 11-storied building at the
Fort St. George
Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...
campus in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
. It is the only skyscraper built within the Fort campus. As of 2014, there were about 6,000 staff at the secretariat.
History
The fort was built by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
rulers in 1640. After Independence, the entire complex was taken over by the Department of Defense. The state secretariat started functioning in the fort complex. The fort building is a three-storied one housing the offices of the chief minister and other ministers, the chief secretary, home ministry, treasury, etc. To accommodate the remaining offices, the then ruling DMK government planned to build a 10-storied building adjacent to the fort building. The building was built in 1975 and was named Namakkal Kavignar Maligai in the memory of
In 2011, it was decided to renovate the building by augmenting the built-up area in the front and the rear. Renovation of the multi-storied building began on 3 March 2012 with the then Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa
Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
laying the foundation stone for the work. The renovation work cost 280 million. The renovation features have been designed by CNR Architects, after getting the approval of Archeological Department and the Heritage Committee of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority for the renovation works.
Renovation of the external facade of the building comprised traditional and modern architectural features. Main features of the renovation include power-saving lighting arrangements within the building, centralised air conditioning, measures to ensure dust-free environment, installation of glass panels to prevent penetration of heat for up to 3,540 sq.ft. a lawn measuring 1,700 sq.ft. in front of the building, and a fountain.
While the renovation of the facade cost 145 million, the electrical infrastructure, including revamped centralised air-conditioning system, was completed at 135 million.
A modern gym with about 29 equipments, built at a cost of 5 million, was also part of the renovation.
See also
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List of tallest buildings in Chennai
This list of tallest buildings in Chennai ranks high-rise and skyscraper buildings in Chennai, India based on official height. LIC Building in the city was the tallest highrise in India when it was inaugurated in 1959. Chennai is witnessing ...
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Architecture of Chennai
Chennai architecture is a confluence of many architectural styles. From ancient Tamil temples built by the Pallavas, to the Indo-Saracenic style (pioneered in Madras) of the colonial era, to 20th-century steel and chrome of skyscrapers. Ch ...