Architecture is the manifestation of principles and theories sculpted in brick and experienced by light. Architecture involves ‘elephant time’, and in the past, churches, cathedrals, temples and victory monuments have easily engaged generations of master builders and sculptors. The result: monuments unmatched in their level of rigour, craftsmanship, superior detailing and the collective vision of their creators. A piece on unfinished buildings and the architects who leave them behind.

A building could be left incomplete for a variety of reasons, chief among them being the untimely demise of the architect or a lack of funding.

 The Sagrada Família in Barcelona, the TWA Terminal building in New York City, the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh, the National Assembly Building in Dhaka and the Pavilion for Japanese Art in Los Angeles are some of the incomplete legacies left behind by architects, whose works were completed years after their passing away. These building have often elicited a stark array of feelings ranging from awe and excitement to incredulity and even contempt. Except for the Sagrada Família, all were commissions received by the original architects after years of practice, and one can observe in these works the concentration of their design prowess accumulated over the years. Monumental and iconic, they were revolutionary architectural statements in their periods and also for periods to come. Their unfinished visions could only be completed by their close aides; architects who, having had their tutelage under the masters themselves, had imbibed and internalised the process of design propagated by them.

Another common trait among all these architects was, as opposed to genius based purely on intellect or inspiration, theirs was rooted in their steadfast drive and willingness to work and rework a problem. Indeed, it was not uncommon for them to significantly change a project as it neared completion. And this, precisely, was why it was sometimes difficult to deduce the final form and layout of the design.