contemporary architecture of india
TRANSCRIPT
About le Corbusier:
Charles Edouard Jeanerette now popularly known as le Corbusier
Born on 6th of October’ 1887 at la Chaux de fonds in Swissjura
mountains 4 kms from French border
He started working under contractor Perret, le Corbusier’s so called
master
He as a child prepared himself for a manual occupation
He left his school at the age of 13½ yrs
Joined an art school later
An introduction to Chandigarh:
Since Punjab was divided into two parts, the capital was left in Pakistan
therefore Punjab in India required new capital
Le Corbusier was approached by Punjab government and the prime
minister of India
Chandigarh is a bold experiment in modern civic design
Chandigarh has provoked fresh thinking and in fact shown new way of life
Maxwell fry, Jane drew and Pierre Jeanerette were also involved in the
team of architects
When le Corbusier assumed control of the Chandigarh project in 1951,
however the design of the city had already been devised by the New York
firm of Mayer, whittles, and glass who received a contract for the master
plan of Chandigarh in 1950
Master plan:
In 1951 it was given to le Corbusier
In Chandigarh le Corbusier system of self supporting neighbourhood unit known as a sector has worked very well
Sector which is introverted in character communicates only at 4 junctions with the adjoining neighbourhood units
All the houses open up inside
Grid planning is done
Chandigarh planning was done in an manner that everything was easily clear about the routes and sectors
7 v’s road system is used
The roads are classified as v1 ,v2 ,v3………V7
V1 connects Chandigarh to other cities
Plan of the city
V2 are the major avenues of the city e.g. Madhya Marg etc.
V3 are the corridors streets for vehicular traffic only
V4…..v7 are the roads within the sectors
Chandigarh has been planned on the scientific principles and to apprise the coming generation of these principles
The main feature of this edict are its-
Human scale
Self sufficient sectors
Roads system
Areas of special interest
Architectural control
The sector
Taking Chandigarh as an example, we may see at once the democratic idea
which allows us to devote an equal care to housing all classes of society to
seek new social groupings, new patterns of education and public welfare, and
made more possible by practical application of the scientific idea which
through industrialism, gives us such benefits as piped water, electricity and
cheap transport.
Each sector is designated by number, the capital complex being number
1,with the remaining sectors numbered consecutively beginning at the north
corner of the city.
At present there are 30 sectors in Chandigarh, of which 24 are residential.
The sectors at the upper edge of the city are of abbreviated size.
In all type of housing ,partly because of the glazing expense, partly to keep out
sun.
The sector
As the most economical and readily available material for building at
Chandigarh was locally made brick.
This became the material of construction.
The flat roof was employed throughout in Chandigarh housing because of
its usefulness as a sleeping area
70% of the building would be private in all the sectors.
Residential lots ranging in dimensions from 75 sq. Yards to 5000 sq. yards.
This is because the capitol complex is contained within the boundaries of
sector 3 extended to its full dimensions.
Government housing
Le-Corbusier was responsible for the general outlines of the master plan and the creation of the monumental buildings, while Pierre Jeanerette, Maxwell fry and Jane drew were charged with the task of developing the neighborhood sectors with their schools, shopping bazaars, and the tracts of government housing.
In the program presented to the architects,13 categories of houses were specified, each corresponding to a level of government employment.
Small windows openings have been consistently employed
Chandigarh but is spread over an area of 114sq km including Manimajraand Burail
The birth of Chandigarh has not influenced only the north west region but the whole country in the matters of architecture and urban planning
Projects he handled were capitol complex, housing, museum, city plaza etc
The capitol complex
The area of the greatest symbolic significance in Chandigarh was the
capitol complex , which in its final form was based on the design of
a grate cross axis
The most important group of the buildings constituting the capitol- right, the
parliament, left, in the background, the secretariat
In the foreground, the pool of the palace of justice
The artificial hills in the front of the secretariat have not been created and
laid out in accordance with Corbusier’s conceptions
Although the scene is harmonious in effect, there are still missing the
buildings that belong here ,such as , for instance, the towers of shadows
Site plan Secretariat:
Here the secretariat building is treated as a horizontal platform like the plain
of Chandigarh itself, carrying on its roof the provincial assembly hall rising in
a parabolic arch, a form echoing the distant hills
As a response to the sun, the capitol complex can be interpreted as an
interlaced array of sun breakers
Inspiration from unite
It lies in the foot of shivalik hills just next to artificial lake
Governor’s palace was supposed to be in the site but the idea was
abandoned
The capitol area was designed as the great pedestrian plaza with motor
traffic separated into sunken trenches leading to parking areas
Although the site is very big, it is not designed with allowance for expansion
The secretariat:
The first design for the secretariat presents the building as a tall thin slab carrying
a surface braise solei divided by a central horizontal band
The design which was accepted established the building form as a long
,horizontal concrete
slab
The secretariat, the longest building in Chandigarh, 254m long, and 42m high
forms the administrative center, with ministerial offices grouped in the center
and offices for employees arranged on either side
The building was completed in 1958
The building is composed of six eight storey blocks separated by expansion
joints
The central pavilion, block 4, contains the offices of the ministers
The rough concrete again interposes in the fenestration of the two main
facades ; more than 2000 units of unique design
Approach to the building is through roadways below ground level to a large
parking area in front of the central block, and a floor is left open at this level to
form an entrance hall
The secretariat:
Block 1 and 2 rises directly from the ground Block 3,4 and part of 5 face on the excavated area of the parking lot
and have the lower storey open between pilotis For the rest part of block 5 and whole of 6 the level goes till plaza height,
and lower portion of these blocks are left open to a height of two storyes
The top of the building is developed as a roof garden containing the service blocks and cafeteria for employees
The plastic emphasis is given to the building by free standing exterior ramps enclosed in rough concrete walls
For supplementary communication within the building , each of six blocks is equipped with interior stairways and limited elevator service
Horizontal circulation is by means of a central corridors For minister’s block the bay size is increased and the column is
thickened
The high court
The high court formed a part as “ a great architectural venture using very poor materials and a labor force quite unused to modern building techniques
An entire structure has resulted in the use of double roof The upper roof cantilevered out of the office block in the manner of
parasol shading the lower roof The space between the two roofs is left open to enable currents of air to
move between the flat roof of the office block and the underside of the parasol roof which slopes towards center in the form of rows of arches
In the plan the building took the form of abbreviated l – shaped with long façade facing the capitol plaza to contain court rooms
The building is a rectilinear frame within which the interior functions are defined
The high court
The eight court rooms are identically expressed on the main façade and separated
from the larger high court by a monumental columned entrance rising the height of
the building
Building rises directly from the earth
The main façade is defined by a full height concrete brise soleil
The arch form is restricted to the underside of the parasol roof
It is the visual drama of the piers rising sixty feet from the ground to meet the
heavy outward thrust of the roof which creates the focal emphasis of the present
plan
On the main façade the deep fixed concrete brise soleil gives a strong and scale
less pattern to the building
It is the concrete screen which gives the main façade its overall unity
The high court
Behind the brise soleil , the windows of the court rooms are of fixed glass, but
between are narrow vertical spaces containing shutters which open and close on
hinges
It is noted that the orientation of the high court is such that the main façade faces
north west , and this does not receive direct sunlight
The rough concrete of the building is treated in variety of manners for much of the
surface including the underside of the parasol roof and the exterior side walls , the
mass of sheet metal characterize the surface
In portions of the interior and on the ramps , wooden boards have been inserted
within the metal forms to give the concrete surface the impress of their jointed
pattern, while other surfaces, including those of massive entrance piers are
finished with gunnite cement
Architectural features:
Parasol roof
Forming arches
Double roof
Gap left between
Two roofs
Colored massive pillars
Full height entrance
Double roof
Approached through roads
Rough concrete finished ramp
The entrance lobby is paved with whitish flag stone set in the rows of
varying widths
New scheme for painting the columns and portico walls in bright
contrasting colors
Architectural features:
The inside wall to the left of the piers was to be black
The adjacent pillar painted green
The center pier would be yellow
The right hand pillar is red
And the remaining portico wall is primary blue
The great entrance hall of the high court is also been found in lacking
protection during the monsoon season
The narrow curving ramp at the end of the entrance hall, which forms the
main vertical circulation is exposed
The horizontal circulation, consisting of open corridors on the rear facade ,is
also ineffectively sheltered
The assembly hall:
The assembly was conceived as a rectilinear structure
It is square in plan with a monumental portico facing the main plaza
On the lateral facades both the portico and the office block would be defined by solid end walls
The large chamber is in hyperbolic form of the cooling tower with an average thickness of 15 cm
The small council chamber are in rectilinear frame
The upper portion of the tower is extending above the roof line
An assembly chamber is 128 ft in diameter at its base and rises to 124 ft at its highest point
This tower was designed to insure the natural light, ventilation and proper acoustics
Of all buildings of the capitol complex , the assembly is the most intricate in plan
Separate circulation accommodation of all groups is provided
Employing a system of individual entrances, stairways, lifts and ramp a complete segregation of members is provided
There are two separate galleries for men and women in council chamber
Sector-17, Chandigarh:
The city center consists of different squares tied together by broad avenues.
At the present time, when this center is still devoid of any sort of vegetation, the unshaded open areas can be quite unpleasant.
This sector-17 is virtually uninhabited, but it is enlivened during the daytime by the many shops, bazaars, restaurant, cafes, banks and department stores.
There is doubt that at present the city center still looks like an experiment.
The urban circulation here is in sharp contrast to the ‘oriental’ bazaar streets, the narrow alleys full of noise and plunged in shadow.
Of all the cities of India , only Chandigarh can claim to be an absolutely modern town , ”untouched by the tradition of the past,” as Jawaharlal Nehru so aptly remarked .
The execution of the buildings for the city centre was assigned to different architects. Pierre jeanneret conscientiously supervised and organized the schemes determined by le Corbusier.
The plans can vary as required, but must respect a sufficiently large open surface along the facades as anti-glare protection.
Sukhna lake, Chandigarh
The club house- north of the capitol no additional structures were to be
erected, in order not to impede the view of the Himalaya.
This was an express condition laid down by le Corbusier.
The club house was however necessity.
Le Corbusier designed a complex lying 3 meters beneath road level, so that
the house is scarcely visible from the promenade.
The causeway- Chandigarh is surrounded by the rivers Patiali and Manimajra,
which carry water only during the monsoon season.
The reinforced concrete construction is simple and plain, and its severe lines
harmonize entirely with the natural setting.
At all other times of the year they are dry.
During the hot months of may and June, enormous amounts of dust used to
blow into the city.
Sukhna lake, Chandigarh
Trees and shrubs were planted as a protective zone along these rivers, so
that the city is now free of the inconvenience of this flying sand.
One of these rivers has been dammed.
In 1955 the water boulevard was extended in the shape of a causeway, or
dam, the retaining wall being more than
20 meters high and 4 kilometers long.
This dam, with its width on top of 24meters, thus yielded a promenade.
The artificial lake created behind the dam has modified the climate of the
city.
Bibliography
https://thearchiblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/contemporary-
architecture-of-india-chandigarh-city-planning-le-corbusier/
GOVIND M SUTHAR
B.ARCH VI SEMESTER
ASAP AUR
Ar. GARIMA SINGH
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