Chandigarh

In 1947 after the partition of British controlled India into, India and Pakistan, the Punjab region was split between the two newly formed countries. Pakistan retained the traditional capital of Punjab, Lahore; however, the Indian state of Punjab required a new administrative center. Thus the stage was set for the creation of Chandigarh, Jawaharlal Nehru the first Prime Minister of India saw this as an opportunity to showcase a modern India.

Le Corbusier, the pseudonym of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret was a Swiss architect, urban designer, painter, writer, and one of the pioneers of modernist architecture in the early 20th century. Although Le Corbusier was not the first architect/urban designer, Albert Mayer and Matthew Nowicki had that honor; ultimately Le Cobusier’s name would become synonymous with that of Chandigarh.

Le Corbusier ultimately retained many seminal ideas of Mayer and Nowicki; however, Le Corbusier reorganized the plan, to include a series of rectangular sectors which were self-sufficient units within the larger framework of Chandigarh. This post will focus on the sector containing the High Court, Assembly, Secretariat, the Museum and Art Gallery, School of Art and the Lake Club with drawings and sketches by Le Corbusier.

A sketch from Le Corbusier's first meeting with Nehru in 1951

Plan of Chandigarh with High Court, Assembly, Secretariat, the Museum and
Art Gallery, School of Art and the Lake Club

Plan of Museum of Knowledge, Parliament Building, and Palace of Justice

Study sketch by Le Corbusier for the brise-soleil and facades of the Museum of Knowledge

Sketch of the Club House.

Drawing of the Monument of the Open Hand