History Architecture

Story of Chandigarh
Story of Chandigarh
• After the independence in 1947, India was divided into two countries along
religious lines, resulting in the creation of the new Islamic nation of Pakistan.
• Indian state of Punjab lost its capital, Lahore to Pakistan, so Jawahar Lal Nehru, the
first Prime Minister of Independent India, decided to construct a new state capital at
Chandigarh.
• Nehru modelled his development plans on Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s NEW DEAL
and initiated a series of state sponsored industrialization projects.
• His sentiments were extremely anti nostalgic. He wanted the city to be unfettered
by the traditions of the past, and a symbol of the nation’s faith in the future.
• “Let this be a new town, symbolic of freedom of India unfettered by the

traditions of the past….. an expressions of the nation’s faith in the future.”
Story of Chandigarh
• An American planner and architect Albert Mayer was tasked to design a new
city called "Chandigarh" in 1949.
Story of Chandigarh
• The master plan which Albert Mayer produced for Chandigarh assumes a fan-
shaped outline, spreading gently to fill the site between the two river beds.
• At the head of the plan was the Capitol, the seat of the state government, and the
City Centre was located in the heart of the city.
• A curving network of main roads surrounded the neighbourhood units called Super
blocks. First phase of the city was to be developed on the north-eastern side to
accommodate 1,50,000 residents and the second phase on the south-western side
for another 3,50,000 people.
• Mayer discontinued his work on Chandigarh after developing a master plan from
the city when his architect-partner Matthew Nowicki died in a plane crash in 1950.
• Government officials recruited Le Corbusier to succeed Mayer and Nowicki, who

enlisted many elements of Mayer's original plan without attributing them to him.
Story of Chandigarh
What should be my
concept??? Umbrella!!?
Dolphin!!? What should I say
in front of the jury?
Story of Chandigarh
Sir…my concept is…
Where is your
Model?
Story of Chandigarh
Chandigarh Capital Complex Master Plan

Why Chandigarh
• The Govt of Punjab appointed a committee in 1948 under the Chairmanship of
P.L.Verma, Chief Engineer to select the city.
• None was selected due to various reasons: Military Vulnerability, Shortage of

Drinking Water, inaccessibility, inability to cope with large number of refugees
etc.
• The present site was selected because of its central location of the state,
proximity to the national capital, availability of sufficient water supply, fertility of
soil, gradient of land for slope, beautiful site with panorama of blue hills as
background and also moderate climate.
Story of Chandigarh
• When Le Corbusier joined the project, Meyer already prepared the urban plan.
• Le Corbusier shrunk the superblocks into 800 by 1200 metres rectangular

neighbourhood units or sectors serviced by a diminishing hierarchy of roads and
bicycle paths, according to (Congrès internationaux d'architecture modern)
CIAM principles.
• Within these sectors Le Corbusier wanted to design multi-storeyed residential

units, but that was dismissed by the officials who were responsible with the
project. They were committed to low rise suburban image, inspired by the
sprawling cantonments the British had built for their officials in Colonial India.
• The state housing was therefore designed by Pierre Jeanneret (Le Corbusier's
cousin) and the English husband and wife team of Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew,
assisted by a team of nine Indian Architects and Planners.
• Most of the construction was made of load bearing exposed brick walls,
accented by random rubble-stone porticoes and concrete window protectors,
plastered and painted white.
Story of Chandigarh
Story of Chandigarh
• Le Corbusier conceived the master plan of Chandigarh as analogous to human
body, with a clearly defined:
HEAD (The Capital Complex)

HEART (The City Centre Sector 17)
LUNGS (The leisure valley, innumerable open spaces and sector greens)
INTELLECT (the cultural and educational institutions)
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM (the network of roads, the 7 Vs) &
VISCERA (the industrial area)
Story of Chandigarh
• Master plan was realised in two phases. Phase I consisting of 30 low density
sector spread over an area of 9000 acres (Sector 1 to 30) for 1,50,000 people.
Phase II consists of 17 considerably high density sectors (Sectors 31 to 47) spread
over an area of 6000 acres for the population of 3,50,000.
• Each sector is self sufficient with shops, schools, health centres and places of
worship. Population varies from 3,000 to 20,000.
• Le’s traffic system was more elaborate. He called them 7Vs.

V1: The highway, crosses the provinces, the regions, does not enter the cities.
V2: The national road. Large collector and conductor of fast vehicles.
V3: Only used to fast vehicles. There are no sidewalks.
V4: Road for slow traffic. Provides access to the services of daily life: Shops,
markets etc.
V5: Originates from houses. Leads towards the houses.
V6: Reaches to the doorsteps of the houses.
V7: Feeds the green zones. Excellent pedestrian roads. Serves the school
playgrounds etc.
Story of Chandigarh
Story of Chandigarh
Housing in Chandigarh
• Le planned that every housing should have 3 elements of Sun, Space and
Greenery. Housing here can be divided into two parts- Govt housing and Private
housing.
• Govt housing is divided into 13 categories ranging from Chief Minister to the
lowest paid employee. Height restricted to 2 to 3 storey buildings. Plots of areas
ranging from 114 sqm to 4500 sqm were planned.
• Keeping in view of the climate of the city (hot summers and hot and humid
rainy) some strict zoning regulations/ frame regulations/architectural controls
were placed by Le. Open to sky courtyards were provided at the front and the
rear of the residences.
Story of Chandigarh
Capital Complex-High Court
• Le Corbusier’s Capital Complex for Chandigarh (1951-62) contains the High Court,
Assembly and Secretariat.
• The High Court, the first building to be constructed, is contained within a tight
frame and endowed with a second roof (with suspended arches) built above the
first one to provide shade.
• Three huge pylons create a monumental gateway fronted by two reflecting pools.
• The building’s elevation has a rhythm determined by the division of the nine
courts. The elevation is almost the same as the plan.
• Although made of cast in place rough concrete, the High Court, with the pylons
painted in soft pastels, appears lightweight and airy, particularly when reflected in
the pools.
• The imposing entrance for the judges through a four storey high portico resting
on the three bright coloured giant pylons is intended to manifest the “Majesty of
the Law” to all who enter, its magnificent outward sweep symbolically conveying
the law as an “umbrella of shelter” for the ordinary citizen. These pylons also
visually punctuate the otherwise rhythemic façade of the High Court.
• Completed by 1955 the building is significant as the first demonstration and a

major vehicle for acceptance of exposed reinforced concrete surfaces and modern
aesthetics even for the buildings of power and prestige in India.
Capital Complex-Assembly Building
• Le Corbusier’s Assembly building is a masterpiece in organisation and
monumentality.
• On a trip to western India, Le Corbusier saw the form of a hyperbolic paraboloid

arch under the construction for a thermal power station and, mesmerised,
immediately decided to use it as a motif in the Assembly Building.
• For the design of the assembly building, Le Corbusier seems to have literally
dropped the hyperbolic paraboloid arch into the box.
• Around the hall, a forest of columns, rising high into a black ceiling, created the
foyer. The three edges of the box were given to the offices. On the fourth edge of
the box (the side facing the plaza), Le Corbusier built a monumental portal, opposite
from and facing the portal of the High Court across the vast plaza.
Capital Complex- Hand Monument
• Le Corbusier also gifted to Chandigarh- the hand monument, which he devised as
the city’s symbol.
• It stands in the capital, a 23 metre high sculpture of burnished steel.
• While the aesthetic origins of the sculpture are diverse, Le Corbusier’s most
ambitious hope for the open hand was articulated by him in a 1955 letter to Nehru
in which he proposed it as a symbol of Non Alignment Movement (NAM). NAM was
an attempt to create an alternative to the diverse two world (Communist vs
Capitalist) dominance of the Cold War.
• Although not adopted for NAM, the open hand did become the symbol of
Chandigarh as a city embodying Nehru’s hope for a Modern India.
Capital Complex-Hand Monument
The detail here is …
Emi Ardham
Avvatledu
Other Works by Le Corbusier
• Balakrishna V Doshi apprenticed under Le Corbusier and was practising in

Ahmedabad.
• He invited Le Corbusier to Ahmedabad to design Shodhan and Sarabhai House,

along with Mill Owner’s Association Building.
• These projects are the skilful variations of Le Corbusier’s older projects and a
complete summary of Le Corbusier’s lifelong formal projects.
Sarabhai House
Sarabhai House
Sarabhai House
Sarabhai House
Shodhan House
Shodhan House
Shodhan House
Shodhan House
Shodhan House
Shodhan House

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Story of Chandigarh

• “Let this be a new town, symbolic of freedom of India unfettered by the

• Government officials recruited Le Corbusier to succeed Mayer and Nowicki, who

Chandigarh Capital Complex Master Plan

• None was selected due to various reasons: Military Vulnerability, Shortage of

• Le Corbusier shrunk the superblocks into 800 by 1200 metres rectangular

• Within these sectors Le Corbusier wanted to design multi-storeyed residential

HEAD (The Capital Complex)

• Le’s traffic system was more elaborate. He called them 7Vs.

• Completed by 1955 the building is significant as the first demonstration and a

• On a trip to western India, Le Corbusier saw the form of a hyperbolic paraboloid

• It stands in the capital, a 23 metre high sculpture of burnished steel.

• Balakrishna V Doshi apprenticed under Le Corbusier and was practising in

• He invited Le Corbusier to Ahmedabad to design Shodhan and Sarabhai House,

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