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

SUBBMITED TO: SUBBMITED BY: