- IIT Delhi plans a decade-long infrastructure overhaul by 2035 while preserving Brutalist design
- The Wind Tunnel corridor is a key student hangout and a practical example of Bernoulli's principle
- Bernoulli's principle states that increased fluid speed causes a drop in pressure in narrow gaps
In a major move to modernise one of India's premier technical institutions, IIT Delhi, earlier this year, unveiled a decade-long redevelopment roadmap aimed at a total infrastructure overhaul by 2035. Despite the high-tech shift, the redesign is expected to respect the brutalist architectural charm, especially the 'Wind Tunnel' corridor, which defines student life at the most sought-after institution in the country.
In a recent episode of The Prakhar Gupta Xperience, alumna Dhairya Sandhyana, who secured AIR 29 in JEE Advanced 2014, revealed how the students at the campus prefer to sit in a corridor called Wind T, short for 'Wind Tunnel', where physics meets civil engineering.
"So Wind Tunnel is basically a passageway where, due to Bernoulli's principle, the wind blows constantly," said Sandhyana, adding: "So, it's called Wind Tunnel. It is the first thing you hear when you arrive at IIT Delhi. This is a very common space for hangout, at least my friends and I used to sit there a lot and chill."
For rookies, experiencing the Wind Tunnel is almost like a rite of passage, especially during the summer months when Delhi turns into a furnace. Essentially, the Wind Tunnel is a corridor between buildings where wind flows strongly, creating a sudden rush of cool air.
When preparing for engineering entrance exams, students often come across Bernoulli's principle, which appears merely as a theory with a formula. However, the IIT building is a living and breathing example of how the theory is implemented in real life.
What Is Bernoulli's Principle?
Named after Swiss scientist Daniel Bernoulli, this fundamental principle states that as a fluid's speed increases, its pressure drops. Simply put, when air or liquid speeds up, like when flowing through a narrow gap, the internal pressure decreases.
This principle explains numerous everyday phenomena, such as how aircraft wings generate lift and how carburetors draw fuel into an airstream.
IIT Delhi Infrastructure
Led by architect JK Chowdhury and structural engineer Gulzar Singh, the IIT Delhi building was built between 1961 and 1968 on a 311-acre site in Hauz Khas. The campus follows the Brutalist style of architecture that is prominent in various other popular structures in Delhi, including the Shri Ram Centre, Akbar Hotel and the NCDC building, among others.
Chowdhury's architectural ideas were influenced by his association with renowned modernist architects Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret.
