New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS): Marking the 80th anniversary of the commissioning of Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Pratibha Patil Friday released a commemorative stamp on the historical building.

"The postage stamp marks the 80th anniversary of the commissioning of the building when the then Governor General of India, Lord Irwin became its first occupant," a statement said.

The Viceroy's House was re-christened Rashtrapati Bhavan Jan 26, 1950, and was conceptualised in 1911 after the Delhi Durbar under Lord Hardinge, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India.

Construction began in 1913 on 130 hectares of land to build the 340-room building spread over 200,000 square feet.

The use of pink sandstone and Dholpur buff or cream stone establishes the kinship of Rashtrapati Bhavan with Mughal and Rajpur edifices. Made with some 700 million bricks, three million cubic feet of stone and very little steel, Rashtrapati Bhavan is an H-shaped structure with four floors.