POST INDEPENDENCE

ARCHITECTURE- INDIA

STATUS OF ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA, POST

INDEPENDENCE

chaos and confusion

concern was how to portray Indias image as strong and confident, as an

independent nation to the rest of the world in terms of materials and style.
Conflict between:
i.
Nationalism- which sought to express through Revivalism in all forms of of
cultural expression, including architecture. Building styles born of the Modern
Movement and the colonial experience were perceived as foreign and hence
anti-national.
ii.

the other side were a handful of intellectuals and architects who argued that
monuments should be viewed in context of their times, that they were not to be
imitated, and that modern India required modern architectural symbols and
forms to express the dynamism of a free people on their march to
economic development.

The opponents of Revivalism sought and gained the support of Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru (1890-1964). Two new State Capitals were required at that
time as a result of partition and the process of boundary adjustments between
the States of the Union of India: one for Punjab and another for Orissa.

Nehru outflanked the revivalists & invited Le Corbusier and Koenigsberger to

India. Koenigsberger designed Bhubaneshwar and Corbusier gave us
Chandigarh

LE CORBUSIER
Born Charles Edouard Jeanneret
1887-1966
Considered as one of the founders
of modern architecture.
Architect, provocative writer, divisive urban planner, talented
painter, and unparalleled critic, Le Corbusier was able to
influence some of the worlds most powerful figures, leaving an
indelible mark on architecture that can be seen in almost any
city worldwide.

LE
CORBUSIE
October 6, 1887 - August 27, 1965
R

Regarded as most important architect of 20th century

Studied architecture in Vienna in 1908
Between 1910-1911, worked near Berlin for the renowned architect
Peter Behrens
Back to hometown for teaching in his college during First World War
1914-15- first built Dom-Ino house, a reinforced concrete frame which
he posited as a mass production system for free-plan housing. It
consisted of two slabs kept apart by columns and linked only by an
open stair.
Post war, returned to Paris and began practice with cousin Pierre
Jeanerette , with whom he collaborated for his entire career.

FIVE POINTS OF ARCHITECTURE

Raise the building on pilotis, freeing the walls of their
structural function
Free faade- non supporting walls that could be designed
as the architect wished
Open floor plan- meaning the floor space was free to be
configured into rooms without concern for supporting walls
The horizontal ribbon window, enabled by the free
facade, should be used to light rooms evenly
The roof should be flat and host a roof garden, replacing
the ground space that is occupied by the building

Le
Corbusier
developed
the
Modulor
as a
continuation of the
long
tradition
of
Vitruvius, Leonardo
Da
Vincis
The
Vitruvian Man.
THE
FIBONACCI
NUMBERS
are a sequence of
numbers where the
first number of the
sequence is 0, the
second number is 1,
and each subsequent
number is equal to
the
sum
of
the
previous
two
THE GOLDEN RATIO
numbers
of
the
(1.618)
sequence
itself. are in the
Two quantities
golden ratio if the ratio
between the sum of
those quantities and the
larger one is the same as
the ratio between the
larger
one
and
the

This system is
based on three
aspects:
human
measurement
s
the Fibonacci
numbers
the golden
ratio

The purpose of the Modulor was to "maintain the human

scaleeverywhere"
Basic plot:
43

113, 70, 43 cm.

When these
quantities are
combined, they
provided other
measurements
related with the
modular.

70

113
For example:
43+70=113,
113+70=183 and
113+70+43=223,
these three results
define the space
human
The ratio
of body
the height of the man (183 cm; 6) to the height of his navel
occupies.
(at the
mid-point of 113 cm; 38.5) was taken precisely in a Golden

DOM-INO HOUSE (19141915)

VILLA SAVOYE (19281931)

VILLA ROCHE (1925)

VILLA STEIN (1927)

UNITED NATION HEADQUARTERS, NEW

YORK. 1952

UNITE DE HABITATION ,
MARSEILLE, 1945-52

CHAPPELE NOTRE DAME DU HAUT,

RONCHAMP. 1950-54

WORKS IN INDIA
PLANNING OF CHANDIGARH CITY
MILL OWNERS ASSOCIATION BUILDING,
AHEMEDABAD, 1951
VILLA SARABHAI, AHEMADABAD, 1951
VILLA SHODHAN, AHEMADABAD, 1951 -56
SANSKAR KENDRA MUSEUM, AHEMADABAD, 1951-56
PALACE OF JUSTICE, CHANDIGARH, 1952
MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY, CHANDIGARH, 1952-68
SECRETARIAT BUILDING, CHANDIGARH, 1953
ASSEMBLY PALACE, CHANDIGARH, 1955

MILL OWNERS ASSOCIATION BUILDING,

AHEMEDABAD, 1951-54

VILLA SHODHAN, AHEMADABAD, 1951 -56

VILLA SARABHAI, AHEMADABAD,

1951

SANSKAR KENDRA MUSEUM, AHEMADABAD,

PALACE OF JUSTICE, CHANDIGARH, 1952

SECRETARIAT BUILDING, CHANDIGARH,

MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY, CHANDIGARH,

1952-68

ASSEMBLY PALACE, CHANDIGARH, 1955

MILL OWNERS ASSOCIATION BUILDING, AHEMEDABAD, 1951-54

HISTORICAL
FACTS
Le Corbusier came to India to designChandigarhin 1951.
Surottam Hutheesingh, then president of Ahmadabad Mill
Owners' Association, commissioned Corbusier to build the new
headquarters of the association.
Constructed in 1954, the Mill Owners Association Building is
considered the first of four completed commissions in
Ahmadabad.
The textile industry in Ahmedabad was the one that brought
Ahmedabad economic prosperity and political prominence. The
new building was to be an ode to this. The building is located on
the Ashram Road, overlooking the river Sabarmati.
The building is classified as one under brutalist architecture
with its bare and minimalist design.

 The site is a trapezoidal plot of land.

It was to be an exclusive club suitable for business meetings,
receptions, and lectures. It therefore had to contain an auditorium, a
dining room, offices, seminar rooms, and a lot of generalized space for
parties or exhibition displays
The building is strongly categorized by form and planes.
There are two lateral planes on the sides which are opaque and the two
frontal planes which essentially orient the building towards the river
The front facade has diagonal brises-soleil to avoid the afternoon sun,
due to this the building keeps cool relatively.
The entry to the building becomes ceremonial and directly ahead on
axis, a ramp extends this theme by providing a gradual ascent. The
insertion of staircase and ramp in front facade gives depth to the
overall building.

 Arrival is on first floor, where the executives offices and boardroom are
located.
The ground floor houses the work spaces of clerks and a separate single
storey canteen at the rear
On the second floor, the lobby is treated as an open space defined by
harsh angular forms. The auditorium is delineated by soft curvilinear
forms.

Front view of the

building

Rear view of the

building

KEY FEATURES RAMP

One enters the building through the long ramp in front, which creates a
linear axis as a connection into the building facade.
The ramp also provides a grand entrance, especially with the triple
height entrance lobby. Corbusier describes the lobby and auditorium as
an open space defined by harsh, angular forms and the auditorium
asan enclosed space delineatedby soft, curvilinear forms two
contradictory elements that both need the otherin order to exist.

 North and south facades are constructed of

un-plastered brick
East and west facades are of raw unfinished
concrete
Flooring is of stone- morak (also known as
Delhi stone)
It is also placed on the left and right walls up
to the ceiling
Staircases are made of raw concrete and left
bare
Auditorium walls are cladded with wood
veneer

KEY FEATURES BRISES SOLEIL OR SUN

BREAKERS

The building is very much climate conscious, incorporating his much

famous principles. The brise-soleils on the west faade cuts the harsh
summer sun and protects from the driving rain. Terrace gardens help keep
the interior cool. The outer skin and the open plan result in maximum
cross-ventilation, much needed in the warm humid climate of the region.

 Diagonal positioning of sun breakers on the west faade blocks

the street views
Lets in sunlight indirectly
Frames vistas to look through
Rear- view of sabarmati river

 The
building
is
strongly
disciplined
and
oriented
according to the prevailing winds
The sun breakers are calculated
precisely
according
to
Ahmadabad's latitude and the
course of sun

KEY FEATURES CANOPY ROOF