A Steel building in Colonial India

This research examines the early 20th-century construction, particularly of Tata Iron and Steel Company's General Office building, understanding the complex interplay of various agencies involved during British colonial rule. American expertise, architects, and engineers were pivotal, challenging the perception of colonial projects as solely British-Indian PWD works. Using Tim Ingold's technology framework—viewing it with a different lens—the study analyses the building as an object, process, knowledge, and volition. It explores Tata's ideologies, interactions with the colonial government, Jamshedpur's infrastructural development, American steel technology, and the building's intentions. This holistic approach offers an alternative history, emphasising diverse influences in the construction's narrative.