These five places are all historically and architecturally significant buildings unique to Delhi. They offer a physical manifestation of the city’s cultural development through time.

　　Earlier versions of the descriptions of some of these buildings first appeared in 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die, edited by Mark Irving (2016). Writers’ names appear in parentheses.

　　One of the first structures of the Islamic architectural legacy, the Quṭb Mīnār stands tall in the midst of the sprawling Qutb complex. The best-preserved building of the complex, it may have been inspired by the minaret of Jām in Afghanistan.

　　The tower was probably commissioned by the first Muslim ruler of Delhi, Quṭb al-Dīn Aibak, although only the first tier was completed during his rule. (He died in 1210.) His successor, Iltumish, and thereafter Fīrūz Shah Tughluq commissioned the subsequent tiers, raising its height to an astounding 238 feet (72.5 meters) and making it the tallest brick masonry tower in the world. The diameter of the tower is 47 feet (14.3 meters) at the base, gradually tapering to less than 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) at the top. The tiers are multifaceted cylindrical shafts with intricate carvings and verses, illustrative of the refinement and evolving craftsmanship of Islamic styles over the different ruling dynasties. Each of the five tiers is marked by a balcony supported by corbels.

　　There continues to be speculation about the purpose of the tower. Traditionally, all mosques had minarets to call people to prayer. Though the Quṭb Mīnār seems modeled on a similar style and it flanks the Qūwat-ul-Islām mosque, its scale supports the idea that it was envisaged as a victory tower, marking the overthrow of the Chauhan rulers of Delhi by Muḥammad of Ghūr.

　　The name Quṭb means “axis” and is believed to denote a new axis for Islamic dominion. Whatever the historical pedigree of the tower, it has stood the test of time and continues to be synonymous with the south Delhi skyline. (Bidisha Sinha)

　　Considered to be one of the last of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahān’s vast architectural legacies, the Masjid-i-Jahan Numa—meaning “mosque commanding a view of the world” and popularly known as the Jama Masjid—is one of India’s largest and most revered mosques.

　　It was constructed in 1650–56 in the Mughal capital of Shahjahanaba (now known as Old Delhi) opposite the emperor’s home, the Lal Quila (Red Fort). The royal residence had no private place of prayer, and the construction of the mosque beyond its walls was a symbol that the city outside the fort was not deprived of royal patronage. The emperor came to the mosque for his Friday prayers, entering through the East Gate that frames a stunning vista of the old city.

　　As one ascends the red sandstone steps to one of the three imposing entrances to the complex, the frenzy of the city is left behind, and one steps into the peaceful grand courtyard.

　　Capable of accommodating more than 20,000 devotees, this house of worship is designed in alternating strips of red sandstone and white marble in the well-established Mughal tradition. Its main prayer hall, arches, pillars, and three grand domes all evoke awe. The marble entrances are inlaid with inscriptions from the Qurʾān. (Bidisha Sinha)

　　Asian Games VillageIn the postcolonial milieu, it became a challenge for architects in the Indian subcontinent to delve into their past and eclectically reconstruct the fractured social fabric through the built environment. The Asian Games Village in Delhi, completed in 1982, is an example of one such intervention realized through the contemporary design of the traditional courtyard typology of residences. The scheme does not use the pastiche symbolism of architectural elements but finds its reference in the way private and public spaces function with respect to each other.

　　Spread over a 35-acre (14-hectare) site, the Asian Games Village accommodates 700 housing units. Whereas 200 of these are of the individual town-house type, the remaining 500 are apartment units organized over multiple floors. The individual units are based on very simple plans with living areas on the lower level and sleeping areas on the upper level. Each unit then forms a composite, which can be linked to other units on at least two other sides to create clusters or row houses. This allows for a range of open communal spaces both at higher and lower levels.

　　The complex, by architect Raj Rewal, has received some criticism for being essentially an adult space—not fluid enough to encourage informal play. However, it still stands as one of the more successful contemporary experiments at creating a sustainable community. (Bidisha Sinha)

　　A symbol of purity metaphorically rising out of the muddy water of life and blossoming in liberation—that is how the lotus flower has been perceived though eons of cultural and religious evolution in India. The understanding of this is what drove architect Fariborz Sabha to conceive the house of worship for the Baha’i faith in Delhi as an iconographic abstraction of this symbol of faith.

　　It seems paradoxically apt that the Lotus Temple, or Baha’i Mashriq al-Adhkār, sits in the middle of one of the densest urban mixed-use settlements in southern Delhi. With a backdrop of random land usage and the chaos of coexisting medieval and modern transportation networks, this temple is almost a sigh of relief, evocative of less worldly concerns in its grandeur and elegant simplicity. Conceived as a nine-sided lotus with 27 petals, it sits in a sprawling landscape of 26 acres (11 hectares), with a nine-sided pool forming a base, which gives the illusion of the hall floating independent of any foundation. Each of the petals is constructed in concrete with white Greek marble cladding. Because of the varying curvatures of the petals, each piece of marble was individually dressed in accordance with its intended location and orientation and then assembled on-site.

　　Another remarkable feature of this 111-foot- (34-meter-) high hall of worship, which was completed in 1986, is that the superstructure is designed to act as a light well. The core petals form a bud, which allows light to filter through, and every subsequent layer of petals reinforces the bud.

　　The Lotus Temple, a retreat for followers of all religions to meditate in, sits peacefully within its urban bedlam, exuding an aura of divinity. It is indeed a successful icon of the translation of an ancient motif into a construct of contemporary belief. “I cannot believe it: it is God’s work,” exclaimed jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie on seeing it. (Bidisha Sinha)

　　Humāyūn’s TombA landmark in the development of Mughal architecture, Humāyūn’s Tomb was commissioned in 1569, after the death of the Mughal emperor Humāyūn in 1556, by his Persian queen Ḥamīdah Bānū Begam. It was designed by Persian architect Mīrak Mīrzā Ghiyās̄. The structure inspired several other significant architectural achievements, including the Taj Mahal.

　　The 25-acre (10-hectare) plot on which the building stands is one of the first to have been laid out in a manner based on the description of an Islamic char bagh (“paradise garden”). The garden is divided into four large squares by means of causeways and water channels. Each of the squares is further divided in like manner so that the whole is subdivided into 36 smaller squares. The tomb occupies the four central squares. Within the premises are a baradari (pillared pavilion) and a hammam (bath chamber).

　　During the Indian Mutiny (1857–58) Humāyūn’s Tomb served as a garrison and a final refuge for the last Mughal emperor, Bahādur Shāh II. The tomb houses the remains of several additional eminent personalities of the Mughal era, including those of its founder, the emperor Bābur. Humāyūn’s Tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.