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ARCHITECTURE OF CHANDIGARH
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Chandigarh is a grand success story in the annals of
modern architecture A reuolu tionary experiment which
came to fruition with the juxtaposition of a great vision
that the India's first Prime Minister Pandit jawaharlal
Nehru nurtured, and the profound genius of a French arcititect
Le Corbusier and his team.
Today Chandigarh is 114 square kilometer Of invigorating
aesthetics. It combines elegant architectural forms with
wide tree-lined avenues, green belts and gardens and offers
a pleasant living experience to its residents and visitors.
The Concept
Chandigarh was conceived amidst the postpartition crisis.
Work began on this project in the year 1950.
Pandit Nehra on his first visit to the city remarked :
"Let it be the first large expression of our creative
genius flowering on our newly earned freedom."
Undoubtedly the city has grown to symbolise Modern India
and has earned for itself, and deservedly so, the acronym
of the 'City Beautiful'.
The city, with its chequered mesh of the grid-iron plan,
nestles in the foothills of the majestic Shipalik hill range
in the north. Two rivulets - the Patiali-ki-Rao and the
Sukhna |
Choe-bound its north-west and south-west limits, respectively.
The master plan divides the city into rectangular modules
called sectors, each measuring 800 to 1,200 meters with
selfsufficient shopping complexes and other facilities.
Le Corbusier planned the city as a living organism, with
the Capitol Complex in the north representing the head,
the city centre the heart, the open spaces
the lungs, the network of roads as the circulatory
system, the industrial area the viscera,
and tile cultural and educational belts, the intellect.
The conception of the city has been formulated on the
basis of four major functions : Living, Working, Care
of the Body and Spirit and Circulation.
The architectural style of the City, which has rightly
come to be called the 'Chandigarh architecture', is represented
by the unfinished concrete far the buildings in the Capitol
Complex and other major buildings, exposed brickwork and
use of brise-soleil, a louvered screen that
replaces conventional verandah to keep sunlight from walls
and windows, The buildings have been built with meticulously
developed , and standardised architectural features like
flat iron railings, rainwater- spouts, ramps, aerators,
undulatory glass panels and the use of bright primary
colours (red, blue, yellow) for painting doors and windows.
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The Capitol Complex
The Capitol Cwnplex is Le Corbusier's most spectacular
work. The magnificent edifices, set against the Shivalik
peaks, stand as massive concrete sculptures, representing
the monumental character and authority that the complex
represents. it is the seat of the
government of the States of Punjab and Haryana. It comprises
three epoch-making master-pieces ; the Secretariat, the
High Court and the Legislative Assembly. Separated by
large piazzas, the subtle and most evocative grouping
of these buildings is of breath-taking beauty.
| And in the centre stands the
giant metallic sculpture of The open Hand, the official
emblem of Chandigarh, signifying the city's credo
of 'open to give; open to receive'. |
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The High Court
The law-interpreting monument was the first building
to be built in the Capitol Complex during 1951-57. This
structure has a double roof, Projecting over the office
block like a parasol or an inverted umbrella. The magnificent
outward sweep of the upper roof is symbolic of protection
and justice to the people. The three vertical piers, rising
60 feet from the floor and painted in bright
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colours, form the grand entrance to building.A gigantic
egg-crate screen covers the building facade. on the rear
walls of the court rooms, hang the giant woollen tapestries
designed by Le Corbusier.
The Secretariat
The law executing monument is the largest and tallest
of the three edifices in the Capitol Complex. Built during
1953-59, it is shaped like an eight storey concrete slab,
with its distinctive brise-soleil (louvered screen) of
deeply sculptured two-storey porticos in the centre, housing
the offices of ministers. The cafeteria rests atop the
terrace like an art object, giving a Spectacular view
of the city .
The Legislative Assembly
The profile of this law-forming monument epitomises stately
grandeur. Square in plan, with a monumental portico standing
free from the main building, it faces the High Court. The
shape of the cupola is an obliquely truncated hyperbolic
paraboloid, extending well above the roof line. A pyramid
covers the upper chamber' of the erstwhile bicameral system
and offers an exciting counterpoint to the cupola, lending
artistic grace to the entire complex . |
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Other 'Monuments'
The Capitol Piazza extend, to about 1,200 feet, displaying
a number of attractive structures. These include the Martyrs'
Memorial, raised in commemoration of the martyrs' of India's
freedom struggle, a Geometric Hill, the Tower of Shadows
and the Open Hand Monument.
The Heart
The city centre is the heart of Chandigarh's activities.
It comprises a District Centre, Inter-State bus terminus,
Parade Ground, District courts etc.on one hand, and vast
business and shopping centres on the other. The 4 storey
concrete buildings house banks and offices above, while
at the ground level are the shops and showrooms, with
wide pedestrian concourses. A piazza at the centre, has
fountains where light and water play hide and seek in
the evenings.
The Living
A major part of the visual expression of the city's architecture
includes trend-setting government houses, designed by
Pierre Jeanneret, Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew. The open
brick work, a regulated skyline, orderly
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streets, simple geometric unadorned surfaces and sculptural
facades are some of the representative features visible
in the residential buildings Each living area has provision
for
greenery and each sector has a green belt of its own with
play grounds and gardens. All sectors leave been planned
as self-sufficiet units with shopping and community facilities.
The Circulation
Traffic segmentation is another novel feature of the
city's architecture. Le Corbusier developed a 7Vs system
which establishes a hierarchy of traffic from fast maving
to slow moving ranging from the arterial roads. The Vs
define maojor boulevards, sectors, shopping streets, neighbourhood
streets, access lanes to houses, pedestrian paths and
cycle tracks meandering through green spaces.
The Viscera
The Master Plan has kept the Industrial Area away from the
residential complexes, separated by a green belt to contain
pollution. No industrial activity is allowed inside the
residential areas. To any visitor, whether Indian or
foreign, it is a relief to be saved of noise and air pollution.
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The lungs
Tree plantation and landscaping has been
an integral part of the city's Master Plan. Different
types of flowering trees have been grown along the roads,
around the parking areas. around the shopping complexes,
in residential areas and open parks, to mollify the harsh
climate of the region.
An 8 km long linear park, known as the Leisure Valley,
runs through the city from its north-eastern tip to its
southwestern end. The Rose Garden, the Fitness Trail,
the Topiary Park. the Terraced Garden, the Champa Park,
the Botanical Garden, all form a part of the green belt
in the city.
Chandigarh lives. It breathes. It exudes freshness. With
its unique architectural beauty. which is a source of
inspiration to many budding architects and connoisseurs
it gracefully combines modernity with ecology and sustains
urban growth while preserving nature's bounties.
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CITCO
SCO 121-122, Sector 17B
Chandigarh
Phones : 704761, 704031
Fax : 91-172-705288
Hotel Mountview
Sector 10, Chandigarh
Phones : 544544, 547862, 547882
Fax : 91-172-547120
Hotel shivalikview
Sector 17, Chandigarh
Phones : 704651, 704670, 704012, 700001
Fax : 91-172-701094
Chandigarh Tourism,
The Tourist Office, ISBT,
Sector 17, Chandigarh
Phone : 703839 |
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