The WAPDA House (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

: ) is a nine-story

office building An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific ...

located in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

, Pakistan, that serves as the headquarters of the

Water and Power Development Authority The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA; ur, ) is a government-owned public utility maintaining power and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power. WAPDA includes Tarbela and Mangla dams among its resources. ...

(WAPDA). It is one of several prominent government buildings located at

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City ...

on Lahore's Mall Road. The building shares views of the Punjab Provincial Assembly,

Islamic Summit Minar The Summit Minar is an obelisk-shaped structure built in the centre of Charing Cross, Mall Road in the city of Lahore, Punjab the province of Pakistan. It was built to commemorate the second Islamic Summit Conference held in Lahore from 22 to 24 ...

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

, and other key landmarks. It was designed by the American architect

Edward Durell Stone Edward Durell Stone (March 9, 1902 – August 6, 1978) was an American architect known for the formal, highly decorative buildings he designed in the 1950s and 1960s. His works include the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City, the Museo de A ...

, and completed in 1967.

History

The Water and Power Development Authority was established in 1958 to develop Pakistan's

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

and power infrastructure. As the scope of WAPDA's operations increased, so did the number of its offices which were scattered throughout Lahore. The WAPDA House was accordingly conceived as a headquarters that would accommodate all WAPDA offices. The design was prepared by the American architect

in 1962. Around 33 kanals and 6 marlas of land were purchased and the existing Mela Ram and Jodha Mal buildings were demolished to make way for the site on Mall Road, where the building now stands. The total construction cost was estimated at . Former Prime Minister

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...

described the project as a symbol of

neocolonialism Neocolonialism is the continuation or reimposition of imperialist rule by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony). Neocolonialism takes the form of economic imperialism, ...

, and called it a "white elephant" due to its enormous cost at the time. Construction was initiated in October 1963 and completed in 1967. The civil works and electrification were performed by local engineering firms. Around 17,000 tonnes of cement and 5,650 tonnes of steel were used for the construction, along with a large quantity of wood,

plate glass Plate glass, flat glass or sheet glass is a type of glass, initially produced in plane form, commonly used for windows, glass doors, transparent walls, and windscreens. For modern architectural and automotive applications, the flat glass is ...

and other masonry materials. Being the headquarters, the executive offices of WAPDA,

Pakistan Electric Power Company Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) ( ur, ) is a holding company and operates as a division of the Ministry of Water and Power (Pakistan) The Ministry of Water and Power ur, , ''wazarat-e- aabb o barq-e'' (abbreviated as MoPW) was a fe ...

and various other

power companies An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major pr ...

are located here. Initially, the lower floors were rented out to private offices before the entire building came under WAPDA's control.

Structure

The WAPDA House has two underground

basement A basement or cellar is one or more Storey, floors of a building that are completely or partly below the storey, ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, ...

levels in addition to seven floors comprising the tower, containing around 1,000 rooms. It has a gross area of and a height of above ground level, excluding the roof. The rooftop features a perforated canopy with a high

plexiglas Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite ...

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

, covering a central rotunda that is in diameter. This interior circular hall extends to the full height of the building. On the ground floor, corridors of width each connect the three entrance halls to the circular hall. The architecture of the building combines old and

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

elements, and is distinct from that of surrounding structures. The whole exterior is made of

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or ...

s, and square patterns are found on both the exterior and interior. The base

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...

s are slender and rectangular. The top edges of the building consist of perforated

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

Features

WAPDA House is oriented into three wings, each with its own entrance: The Mall wing, which provides the main entrance; the tower section, which faces the

and Shahdin Manzil; and the Egerton Road wing which faces the Punjab Assembly chambers. The sub-basement contains parking spaces, and a 400-seat WAPDA

Auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, communit ...

that is used as a venue for conferences, seminars and public events. The auditorium is equipped with a stage and wide screen projectors. A sunken garden is located in front of the building which is influenced by Mughal themes. The first floor includes a prayer space for employees. All floors are serviced by a set of lifts, and contain centralised

washroom A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower (or both). The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically ...

s. The building is centrally air-conditioned. Several years ago, the basement lobby housed the now closed Saloo's Restaurant which was open to the general public.

References

{{The Mall, Lahore 1967 establishments in Pakistan Auditoriums in Pakistan Edward Durell Stone buildings Government buildings completed in 1967 Government buildings in Pakistan Office buildings completed in 1967 Office buildings in Lahore The Mall, Lahore Tourist attractions in Lahore

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

History

Structure

Features

See also

References