Chandigarh Architectural Travel Guide_browse the book

Indian Architectural Travel Guides

CHD VIKRAMADITYA PRAKASH

CHANDIGARH

CONTENTS Introduction

8

About the guide

15

ITINERARY I CAPITOL COMPLEX & SUKHNA LAKE

19

ITINERARY II CITY CENTER

46

ITINERARY III MUSEUM COMPLEX

58

ITINERARY IV GOVERNMENT HOUSING I

68

ITINERARY V GOVERNMENT HOUSING II

90

ITINERARY VI PANJAB UNIVERSITY

106

ITINERARY VII PGIMER (PGI) & UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

124

ITINERARY VIII V4 GERI ROUTE

136

ITINERARY IX EAST TO WEST

164

ITINERARY X LEISURE VALLEY

190

ITINERARY XI NORTH TO SOUTH

202

Facts for the visitor

216

Buildings & Places Index Architects & Projects Index Bibliography About the Author Acknowledgements

229 234 240 241 243

CHANDIGARH DELHI

INDIA

INTRODUCTION An architectural guide to Chandigarh has been long overdue. Chandigarh is not only the site of Le Corbusier’s largest assembly of work in one place, the theatre of Pierre Jeanneret’s flourishing as an architect, and an important venue of Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew’s ‘tropical architecture’, it is also the place where the first generation of Indian modernists – Aditya Prakash, Anant Prabhawalkar, Bhanu Prakash Mathur, Harbinder Chopra, Jeet Malhotra, Manmohan Sharma, Shivdatt Sharma, and many others – cut their teeth and produced a superb body of work that is dispersed throughout the city.

What enabled such a historic assemblage of work to be produced in one place? The 1950s was truly an exceptional time in modern Indian history. “There comes a time, which comes but rarely,” as Jawaharlal Nehru put it, “when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.” It was not just that India had then just emerged from two centuries of foreign rule. Rather, it was that colonization had held India in abeyance all that time, denying it the opportunity to access the benefits of industrialization which were accruing to the West, while passing down the human and environmental costs. And so, it made sense that with independence India chose a path of aggressive modernization to catch up on the lost time, and in fact to try and leap frog into the future.

Under Nehru this took the ambitious stance of self-driven large scale infrastructural development – within the frameworks of democracy, secularization and higher education – the non-aligned developmentalist framework for which he is well known for.

Any old city could of course have furnished as Punjab’s new capital (Lahore having been given to Pakistan in the Partition), but building a new one fit this 8

framing of Nehruvian India. The whole world was keenly watching the progress of Nehru’s India at that time, and so the new capital, designated by Nehru to be “a symbol of the nation’s faith in the future”, quickly gathered the attention of the global architectural fraternity.

The draft agenda to create the city as a “Garden City” – christened ‘Chandigarh’ because of a temple that was close to the site – was prepared by A.L. Fletcher, a Kerela cadre Indian Civil Services Officer on special duty to the Government of Punjab. Based on his readings of the post-War English New Towns around London and the writings of Ebenezer Howard and Lewis Mumford, Fletcher propsed that the new capital should be a small administrative town nestled in a green landscape. P.N. Thapar (also ICS) as the Chief Administrator, and P.L. Verma, as the Chief Engineer, were entrusted with the task of realizing this vision in 1949. Difference between these three men forced Fletcher out of the project in the early 1950s. But Verma, and to a lesser degree Thapar, remained devoted to the cause of Chandigarh to the very end of their lives.

In the late 40s, an American planner named Albert Mayer happened to be working for Nehru in Uttar Pradesh on the task of creating ‘model villages’. His background in the United States however was as a Garden City influenced town planner which was of course also the profile that had been developed for Chandigarh by A. L. Fletcher. And so naturally Nehru asked Mayer to prepare the master plan of Chandigarh.

Although Mayer was essentially obsessed with his rural development schemes at this time, he accepted the Chandigarh commission. He may not really have had a choice, and certainly the projects prestige would have been an

Original Tagore Theatre by a A. Prakash (1961)

attraction, in particulary for the New York based colleagues that he brought in with him to work on the plan – Lewis Mumford and Clarence Stein amongst them – who were in competition with the European modernists led by Le Corbusier. Since the team was largely made of planners with little building design experience, Matthew Nowicki, a stylish and talented young Polish architect, was brought in by them as the junior partner to design the signature buildings of state and to help outline the housing and other public buildings (these latter were intended to be designed and detailed by an Indian team of architects who were yet to be assembled for the task).

Unfortunately, Nowicki died on August 1950 when his flight back to the United States from India crashed over Egypt.

To keep the project momentum going, Thapar and Verma immediately set off for Europe to look for a replacement for Nowicki, and found that in the London based husband and wife team of Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew. Fry and Drew had been

working in Africa at that time in climates similar to those of north India and had in fact developed a specialization in what they called 'Tropical Architecture'. Fry and Drew were excited by the prospect of designing the housing and other civic buildings of Chandigarh, but baulked at the idea of putting down massive signature buildings of state. For these Drew suggested to Thapar and Verma that they should try and persuade Le Corbusier.

Thapar and Verma were skeptical; Le Corbusier was the renowned modernist of the world at that time and had already turned them down. But Drew persuaded them to let her accompany them down to Paris to ask him again.

Le Corbusier was always interested in the opportunity to design buildings of world import, but he could not imagine moving to Chandigarh, and working as a salaried employee of the Government of Punjab, as was required by the contract he was offered. Instead, he offered that his cousin and former partner, Pierre Jeanneret, could move to Chandigarh on the same terms, 9

The Union Territory of Chandigarh: State Capital of Punjab & Haryana Area: 114 km² (44 sq km) 55 Sectors Density (2011)*: 9,252 persons per sq km Population (2011)*: 1,054,686 (* from Draft Chandigarh Master Plan - 2031, Chandigarh Administration) 16

Chandigarh City Map

from 8 km to Sector 17

from 12 km to Sector 17

11 Itineraries / 185 buildings & places to visit I Capitol Complex & Sukhna Lake

V Government Housing II

IX East to West

II City Center

VI Panjab University

X Leisure Valley

III Museum Complex

VII PGIMER & University of Tecnology

XI North to South

IV Government Housing I

VIII V4 Geri Route 17

ITINERARY I CAPITOL COMPLEX & SUKHNA LAKE Starting Point Roundabout no 1. Sector 1 1. High Court Sector 1 Le Corbusier 2. Open Hand Sector 1 Le Corbusier 3. Secretariat Sector 1 Le Corbusier 4. Assembly Sector 1 Le Corbusier 5. Capitol Complex Plaza Sector 1 Le Corbusier 6. Geometric Hill Sector 1 Le Corbusier 7. MLA Flats Sector 3B & 4A Pierre Jeanneret 8. MLA Hostels Sector 3B & 4A Pierre Jeanneret 9. Rock Garden Sector 1 Nek Chand 10. House Type 3F Sector 4B E. Maxwell Fry

11. House Type 4J Sector 5B Pierre Jeanneret 12. Lake Club Sector 1 Le Corbusier 13. Sukhna Lake Sector 1 P.L. Verma, Le Corbusier 14. Sukhna Waterfront Activities Center Sector 1 Le Corbusier 15. Sukhna Lake Gateway Sector 1 Chandigarh Administration 16. Concrete Block with the old Peepul Tree Sector 6. Le Corbusier 17. Bandstand Sector 6 Le Corbusier 18. Sukhna Boating Tower Sector 6 Pierre Jeanneret 19. Garden of Silence, Bhagwanpura Sumit Kaur 20. Sukhna Lake Nature Interpretation Center & Damm Spillway Bhagwanpura Sumit Kaur, P.L. Verma

Additional Buildings A. Khuda Ali Sher Village B. Rajendra Park Le Corbusier. Sector 1 C. House Type 2J Pierre Jeanneret (1956) House No 42-45, 46-50 / Sector 2A, 2B D. House Type 4DM Pierre Jeanneret (1956, 1966) House No 6-10 / Sector 2A E. Kaur House Pierre Jeanneret (1961) House No 33 / Sector 4A

F. Oberoi House Pierre Jeanneret (1963) House No 22 / Sector 5A G. Verma House Pierre Jeanneret (1955) House No 28 / Sector 5A H. Sahgal House Pierre Jeanneret (1964) House No 32 / Sector 5A I. House Type 4D Jane B. Drew (1956) House No 50-58 / Sector 5B

19

ITINERARY I CAPITOL COMPLEX & SUKHNA LAKE

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Starting Point Roundabout No 1

Sector 1, 3, 4

ITINERARY I CAPITOL COMPLEX & SUKHNA LAKE ITINERARY LEVEL: Long (by bicycle / car) PRACTICAL INFORMATION: DURATION: one day / 6-8 hours For Permission To Visit Capitol Complex: DISTANCE: 2 to 3.5 km (1.2 to 2.2 ml) www.chandigarhtourism.gov.in NO OF SECTORS: five (1, 3, 4, 5, 6) - Dept. of Tourism (adjoining to Police HOW TO ARRIVE (Starting Point): Bus No 18, Headquarters, Sector 9).

202, 207, 239, 242 (207, 239 & 242 also - Principal, Chandigarh College of for go to Rock Garden & Sukhna Lake) from Architecture, Sector 12.

Bus Stand-ISBT at Sector 17 / Rickshaw Museum of the High Court (Capitol Complex) http://highcourtchd.gov.in/?trs=museum - Open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, except on National (15 August , 26 January & 2n October) and Public holidays. Free Entry.

This is the ‘must-do’ itinerary of a Chandigarh architectural pilgrimage. Besides the Capitol Complex and the Lake, it takes you to two typologies of Chandigarh Housing, blocks of flats and hostels, and free standing officers bungalows. It introduces you the integral relationship that Sector 1 has with its northern agro-rural and mountainous landscape, and it also takes you into the inhabited sectors, albeit only the most exclusive ones with the lowest density. It 24 ITINERARY I CAPITOL COMPLEX & SUKHNA LAKE

takes you the iconic megastructures like the Secreteriat, but also leads to small hidden gems, such as the concrete block on the Lake Promenade.

If you have the time, it is well worth supplemting this itinerary with a visit to the villages just north of the Capitol, especially Khuda-Ali-Sher and Kansal. From here, you will not only be able to photograph the Capitol from a non-canonical viewpoint, but will also be able to grasp the vitality of the

inhabitated rural landscape that infatuated Le Corbusier and that he opened up his Capitol to (unlike the city itself that he screened from the Capitol with artificial hills).

Security screening and bureucratic procedures make visiting the Capitol less than ideal, so a whole day is worth reserving for this itinerary. Make special note of the outlines and locations of the artificial hills, which are overgrown with vegetation (as intended) and difficult to spot. Special tip: try and talk

your way into climbing onto the second roof of the High Court, to see how the arches are hung from the ceiling with steel cables, and for a spectacular view. While visiting the Secreteriat, take note of the location of the flag pole – it marks the corner of one the inplied 400 m sq (1,312.3 ft sq) in the Capitol Plan.

Also note the pedestrians only bridge over the road to the High Court. This is intended to link Sector 17 to the Capitol, but is today closed and unused – a sign of the times!

25

1. High Court Le Corbusier - 1957

Capitol Complex / Sector 1

ground floor plan

section

Inaugurated in 1955, this was the first Capitol building to be built. It is dominated by an external frame, that forms an umbrella (a symbol of royalty and shelter of the law) that shades the roof below. Arches hung from the from the frame compress and release the prevailing winds. Not visible in elevation, in section the upper roof forms a ‘V’, that harvests rainwater, dropping it into sculpted collecting pools through giant gargoyles.

A majestic portal divides the Chief Justice’s Court from the eight others.

Horizontal symmetry: since the elevation is both repeated in the plan, and mirrored in the reflecting pools, the High Court can be ‘spun’ around the axis at the base of its front facade.

Extensions in the back, begun by Le Corbusier, are hidden from the plaza. But phalaxes of the white judge’s cars, long resisted

by Le Corbusier, now mar the profile.

26 ITINERARY I CAPITOL COMPLEX & SUKHNA LAKE

2. Open Hand Le Corbusier - 1950-60 (built 1982)

Capitol Complex / Sector 1 Emerging out of a sunken ‘Trench of Consideration’, the Open Hand is 14 m (46 ft) tall bronze sculpture, finally completed only in 1985. ‘Gifted’ by Le Corbusier to Chandigarh as its symbol, the Hand is on ball bearings and turns in response to the wind. The prevailing winds – SE to NW – ensure that its front normally faces the Plaza and is profiled against the mountains. Symbolic of the potential of industrializaton to openly share its products – ‘open to receive, open to give’ - Le Corbusier also offered the Hand to Nehru as a symbol of the Non Aligned Movement. The ‘Trench’, accessed by ramp, has two terraces for audiences – indicating the inevitability of differing points of view – and a centrally positioned speakers platform that thrusts forward suggestive of assertive speech.

A shell shaped audio reflector, behind the speaker’s platform, remains to be built.

The Trench is intended to be connected directly to the site of the Museum of Knowledge, currently unbuilt, located at the ‘head’ of the Capitol to the North.

27

3. Secretariat Le Corbusier - 1959

Capitol Complex / Sector 1

Typical floor plan

A vertical tower laid flat on the ground, the Secreteriat is 240 m long (787.4 ft), 24 m deep (78.7 ft) and almost 50 m tall (164 ft). It is designed to allow prevailing winds to pass through (through ‘aerator-screens’ located every 2.26 m, 7.4 ft), while the brise-soleil façade screens out the summer sun and lets in the winter sun. Expansion joints, divide the long façade into six sections, while the visual focus is the Ministerial block - marked by a ‘giant order’ of 28 ITINERARY I CAPITOL COMPLEX & SUKHNA LAKE

brise-soleil elements along with a special protruding balcony with its own concrete umbrella for the Chief Minister’s office.

The entire façade is glazed behind the brise-soleil. An acutely angled ramp attaches at the second expansion joint, dividing the façade into thirds. A gently sloping ramp that leads to a lifted cafeteria, a viewers platform, two elevator cores and a set of other small elements jut beyond the cornice creating a dramatic roofline.

The Capitol Bridge, linking the Secretariat with the Assembly and the Capitol Complex Plaza

The Secreteriat’s ‘back’ façade, facing away from the the Capitol, is unarticulated, except for a ramp. Internally, the Secretriat is a double loaded corridor, with a special double height section for the Ministerial block. Its roof garden is the most popular lunch spot for its 5,000 inhabitants, especially during the winter. In terms of urban design, the long façade of the Secretariat screens one end of the Capitol, and functions as a backdrop for the Assembly.

A pedestrian bridge, raised above the sunken car park, is intended to provide easy connectivity between the Secreteriat and Assembly, but is rarely used. From the T-junction of this bridge, look towards the Geometric Hill and observe how the trees appear to create a lush ‘roof-garden’ above the oval cuts of the guards’ quarters! Seen from Leisure Valley, the Secretariat appears like a giant ocean-liner wading its way through a sea of green.

29

4. Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) Le Corbusier - 1965

Capitol Complex / Sector 1

ground floor plan

The conceptual center of the Capitol, the Assembly has two chambers, originally built for the ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ houses, now housing the legislatures of Punjab and Haryana respectively. Initially designed as a box-framed building like the High Court, the insertion of the hyperbolic parabaloid as the main chamber in 1955 transformed the Assembly into its present assertive form. The parabaloid is chamfered at the top, to face true south, like 30 ITINERARY I CAPITOL COMPLEX & SUKHNA LAKE

the sundials of Jantar Mantar in Delhi. A bent pyramid, open to the North, sits over the second chamber. An elevator tower and bridge provide access to the main chamber’s roof.

Inside, the two legislative chambers stand apart as independent volumes surrounded by a forest of tall spindly colums that seem to mysteriously dissapear darkness. A set of corridors and elevators also snake through the hall, meant to ensure

The Enamel Door

independent circulations for the speaker, legislators, press and visitors. Dominotype office blocks with brise-soleil facades edge three sides of the building.

Clearstory windows admit a thin sliver of light into the interior.

A massive tapestery, designed by Le Corbusier, graces the entrance hall. Acoustic clouds ring the interior of the paraboloid.

An enamel door, hand painted by Le Corbusier, marks the symbolic entrance

of the Assembly, meant to be used only on the first day of the legislative session.

The interior painting of the enamel door talks of the creative process. The external painting, facing the main plaza, describes an Edenic landscape in the lower half (along with an animistic ‘self-portrait’ of the lead design team), with the ‘essential’ conditions of solar movements in the upper half.

31

5. Capitol Complex Plaza Le Corbusier - 1955-60

Capitol Complex / Sector 1

F

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A- Secretariat B- Assembly C- Plaza & Monuments D- High Court E- Open Hand F- Museum of Knowledge G- Geometric Hill

Capitol Complex plan

The Capitol Complex Plaza is not a traditional ‘gathering place’ like a city square. Rather it is a civic field meant for walking conversations, a promenade linking the Assembly and the High Court, with occasional ‘sights’ –five ‘monuments’ by Le Corbusier symbolic of his ‘preoccupations’– marking the way.

Starting from the Enamel Door, on the right is the site of the unbuilt ‘Course of the Sun Between the Two Solstices’, a pair of free standing nested parabolic arches.

32 ITINERARY I CAPITOL COMPLEX & SUKHNA LAKE

Next on the left is the ‘Martyrs’ Monument' –dedicated to those who died during the Partition of 1947– in the form of a ramp that rises freely but then descends rapidly within the nook of a wall, creating a sheltered space. In this space sculptures of broken historic architectural elements and an abstracted body are yet to be placed.

Opposite the Martyrs’ Memorial is the ‘Tower of Shadows’, a folie created as an abstraction of the brise-soleil. From the

Tower of Shadows, Le Corbusier

Martyr’s Monument, Le Corbusier

Tower of Shadows, a switch-back ramp descends into the excavation pit of the geometric hill, on the surface of which the arches of the monument to the ‘24 Solar Hours’ are yet to be inscribed.

Next the Plaza becomes a narrow bridge over the road excavated to give access to the unbuilt Museum of Knowledge. The beginning of the bridge also marks the edge between the two 800 m squares, 2624.7 ft squares (with inscribed 400 m

squares, 1312.3 ft squares) that outline the conceptual boundary of the Capitol.

After the bridge comes the plaza area of the High Court, with a spur that leads to the ‘Open Hand’.

The entire plaza is intended for pedestrian use exclusively, accessible from the city by a specially constructed bridge.

Currently, however, it is cordoned off by barbed wires, and a parking lot of the judges’ cars.

33

ITINERARY II CITY CENTER (SECTOR 17) Starting Point Tourist Information Center. Sector 17E 1. Main Block Sector 17E B.P. Mathur 2. Neelam Theatre Sector 17E Aditya Prakash 3. Neelam Plaza & Bird Fountain Sector 17 Le Corbusier, M.N. Sharma (fountain) 4. Typical Block Sector 17C Le Corbusier

Additional Buildings A. KC Theatre (destroyed) Sector 17A. Aditya Prakash (1970) B. Jagat Theatre (altered) Sector 17A. Aditya Prakash (1959) C. Police Station & Housing Sector 17E. Chandigarh Administration D. Hotel Shivalickview Sector 17H E. Parade Ground Sector 17H. Chandigarh Administration F. Football Pavillion Sector 17F. Jeet Malhotra G. Fire Station Sector 17F. Chandigarh Administration Places to eat Indian Coffee House SCO 12, Sector 17E Sagar Ratna Restaurant SCO 47, Sector 17E Seven Eleven Restaurant SCO 62-63, Sector 17A Sindhi Pastry Shop SCO 99-100, Sector 17B Sindhi Sweets SCO 110, Sector 17C 46

5. Estate Office (Town Hall) Sector 17C Pierre Jeanneret 6. Central State Library Sector 17C Pierre Jeanneret 7. District Courts and Treasury building (Arbitrarion Center) Aditya Prakash.

Sector 17H 8. Inter State Bus Terminal

(Bus Stand) Sector 17G A.R. Prabhawalkar & Aditya Prakash

Shopping Capital Book Depot - Bookshop (www.capitalbookdepot.com) SCO 2, Sector 17E Empire Stores - Departamental Store SCO 10, Sector 17E Fabindia - Clothing & Accessories (www.fabindia.com) SCO 50-51, Sector 17A Khadi India - Emporium (www.kvic.org.in) SCO 28, Sector 17E Phulkari - Punjab Govt Emporium SCO 27, Sector 17E The English Book Shop SCO 31, Sector 17E Universal Book Store SCO 68, 1st Floor, Sector 17D 1469 Preserving the Heritage - Clothing & Accessories (www.1469workshop.com) SCO 80-81, Sector 17D

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47

ITINERARY X LEISURE VALLEY Starting Point

Bouganvilea Garden Entry. Sector 3 1. Bougainvilea Garden Sector 3B Chandigarh Administration 2. Fitness Trails Sector 10B Chandigarh Administration 3. Sculpture Park Sector 10C Chandigarh Administration 4. Rose Garden Sector 16B Le Corbusier, M.S. Randhawa, S. Sharma 5. Shanthi Kunj Sector 16C Chandigarh Administration

6. Bamboo Valley & Children's Traffic Park Sector 23A. Chandigarh Administration 7. Dahlia Garden & Garden of Fragance Sectors 36A, 36B

Chandigarh Administration

8. New Lake. Sector 42D

Chandigarh Administration

Additional Buildings A. Rajendra Park Sector 1 .Le Corbusier.

B. Topiary Park Sector 35B Chandigarh Administration C. Terraced Garden Sector 33B Chandigarh Administration 190

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FACTS FOR THE VISITOR Chandigarh ( ) literally means the Fort of Chandi. It comes from the ancient temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Chandi, that existed close to the nearest railway station to the Chandigarh site (today this temple, much grown, can be found on the road to Pinjore). ‘Garh’ literally means fort.

Chandigarh is not a fort, but most of the Punjabi towns in this area were in fact forts because they stood along the oft invaded highway connecting the Indian sub-continent to the rest of Asia.

Although built as the capital of the state of Punjab, Chandigarh today is the joint capital of both the states of Punjab and Haryana, and at the same time one of the seven centrally administered, independent Union Territories (UT) of India. Three government bodies thus reside in Chandigarh, which makes this primarily an administrative town. It is also one of the richest cities of India based on per capita income, with the highest rates of literacy and car ownership in the country.

Chandigarh is an easy city to navigate thanks to its simple geometric layout organized into sectors (each measuring 1,200 m x 800 m / 0.75 ml x 0.50 ml).

Each sector is a neighbourhood with its own central commercial area and public amenities (schools, temples and administrative buildings). All sectors are inward looking i.e. none of the residences open directly onto the main roads.

One of the best ways of identifying a sector and a street is by its trees, its lush green urban landscape. All the northsouth major arterials (the V3s) have thick evergreen trees that are now, 60 years 216

after they were planted, beginning to form beautiful tunnels protecting the street from the sun. The main cross axis of each sector (the V4) has a different type of flowering tree giving each sector a recognizable identity. Although the increase in traffic in recent years has changed the concept of ‘city for the people’, an idea thought up by Le Corbusier, it remains one of the nicest Indian cities to walk around and enjoy the streets and avenues. The city is billed by the administration as ‘The City Beautiful’.

Everything in Chandigarh revolves around the concept of the sector. The commercial heart of the city is located in Sector 17, which remains the traditional area for shopping and entertainment, and the main bus stand is located there.

Western and popular Indian trends have reached Chandigarh, and with the opening of a lots of international retail in all the commercial markets. Some big malls have also recently opened in the industrial sector and the IT Park. Still, Sector 17 remains the epicentre of the city, the primary commercial and retail destination of Chandigarh.

After Sector 17, Sector 22 is one of the busiest parts of the city because there you'll find a variety of shops, a popular flea market, the second cinema in the city, hotels and a large number of photo and mobile shops. A sub-city centre has been developed in Sector 35, which is now beginning to fill out very nicely.

The vast majority of hotels in Chandigarh are in Sectors 22 and 35, where many restaurants are also located. A great high-end restaurant hub is on the Madhya Marg showrooms of Sector 26.

WHEN TO GO Chandigarh is located at the foot of the Shiwalik Mountains (in the Himalayan range). It has a typical subtropical climate, that is essentially divided into three seasons – a short winter (mid-November to mid-March), a long summer (April to July) with the monsoon season (July to September) in the middle. The winters are generally quite cold, although it never snows in Chandigarh. The summers are extremely hot and dry. And the monsoon season, after the initial rains subside, can be very humid and uncomfortable.

Architectural tourists are recommended to visit the city in winter and if possible, either between October and midDecember or between mid-February to April. These are good times to enjoy architectural walks, ride cycle-rickshaws and make use of a full day of tourism.

Photography tends to be best in the early morning hours, though dusk has its own qualities. The best photography conditions are just after it rains (particularly if you want to capture the mountains which are otherwise invariably hidden behind a haze of pollution).

In summer, the heat is humid and stuffy, and makes it difficult to travel long distances. The average temperature is around 35 °C (95 °F) but can reach up to 45 °C (115 °F). Keep this in mind when visiting interesting buildings in the city, and exploring its parks. Distances are usually long and it is recommended to go by foot or bicycle if you really want to enjoy the ‘architectural promenade’ designed by Le Corbusier.

In any case, if you choose to travel in summer, do not fear – the monsoon rains last only a few hours and usually leave a pleasant after-feeling of freshness, in contrast to the stuffy air that precedes it. Also the monsoons are a good time to see all the Le Corbusian

gargoyles and scuppers at work making dramatic events out of the rainwater. Either way, you should plan carefully and pack a good raincoat (much more useful than an umbrella) in your suitcase if you are visiting Chandigarh between July and September – plus sunscreen, comfortable shoes, light cotton clothing, sunglasses and a hat or cap.

If traveling between December and midMarch, please keep in mind that although the temperature may not seem so cold on paper, it feels much colder because nothing is heated in Chandigarh. Inside or out, you have to be prepared to live all day continuously in the sweaters and jackets that you put on in the morning. At the same time, the diurnal temperature range can be quite high so that while it can be quite cold at night and early morning, it can become quite warm during the day. Therefore it is recommended to pack clothes for all types of weather.

GETTING THERE AND AWAY Air Chandigarh has an airport located in the industrial area, but it is for domestic transit only. The nearest international airport is the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) at New Delhi. Alternately you can also fly in Mumbai, which has also direct flights to Chandigarh.

217

AMRISTAR Punjab (230 km - 143 ml, 4 h / train) In addition to the essential visit to the Golden Temple, the city has other attractions, plus unique dining options and a good atmosphere – worth checking out.

MC LEOD GANJ, DHARAMSALA Himachal Pradesh (247 km – 153 ml, 5 h) (elevation 2,082 m - 6,831 ft) A must-see if you want to get in contact with exiled Tibetan culture from India (the Tibetan government is headquartered here, and the Dalai Lama home). Furthermore, Westerners can feel right at home here with an abundance of cafes, restaurants, and shops catering to foreigner visitors.

DELHI Haryana (258 km - 160 ml, 5 h / train) The nation's capital is a difficult city to get used to in a few days but you should savor every bit of it slowly – don’t be overwhelmed by the noise and fast pace of it all.

Well known tourist destinations like Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Jaipur, Rishikesh, Haridwar are also very accessible from Chandigarh, usually involving an overnight train, or a one-stop flight.

The Golden Temple (Harimandir Sahib), Amristar

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BUILDINGS AND PLACES INDEX (itinerari No-building No) A Administrative Office .......................................................

Advanced Eye Care Center ..............................................

Advanced Pediatric Center ..............................................

Advanced Cardiac Center ...............................................

Arts College (Panjab University).......................................

Arts College Hostel...........................................................

Arya Samaj Mandir .........................................................

Assembly ........................................................................

pag 118 (VI-8) pag 129, 187 (VII-3, IX-21) pag 128, 187 (VII-2, IX-20) pag 124 (VII-A) pag 112, 189 (VI-1, IX-25) pag 183 (IX-14) pag 136 (VIII-E) pag 30, 207 (I-4, XI-4)

B Balwant Gargi Open Air Theater ......................................

Bamboo Valley ................................................................

Band Stand.....................................................................

Bird Fountain..................................................................

Bouganvilea Garden .......................................................

Bouganvilea House..........................................................

pag 123 (VI-13) pag 103, 199 (V-9, X-6) pag 43 (I-17) pag 52 (II-3) pag 194 (X-1) pag 124 (VII-E)

C Capitol Complex Plaza .................................................... pag 32, 207 (I-5, XI-4) Carmel Convent School & Convent................................... pag 154 (VIII-16) Central State Library ....................................................... pag 55, 211 (II-6, XI-16) Central Polytechnic.......................................................... pag 136, 174 (VIII-K, IX-1) Chandigarh Architecture Museum ................................... pag 64, 150, 181, 209

(III-3, VIII-10, IX-9, XI-12) Chandigarh College of Archiecture .................................. pag 134 (VII-8) Childrens Traffic Park ...................................................... pag 103, 199 (V-9, X-6) Chopra House ................................................................ pag 157 (VIII-19) College of Art .................................................................. pag 67, 150, 181, 209

(III-6, VIII-8, IX-11, XI-10) Commercial Belt (sectors 8 & 9) ..................................... pag 178 (IX-4) Commercial Belt (sector 22) ........................................... pag 213, 215 (XI-22, XI-28) Commercial Belt (sector 26) ........................................... pag 175 (IX-2) Commercial Belt (sector 35) ........................................... pag 215 (XI-29) Concrete Block ............................................................... pag 43 (I-16) Corbu House .................................................................. pag 131 (VII-5) Corbu Mess .................................................................... pag 132 (VII-6) D Dahlia Garden ................................................................ pag 200 (X-7) District Courts (Arbitrarion Center) .................................. pag 56 (II-7) E Estate Office ................................................................... pag 54, 180, 210 (II-5, IX-6, XI-15) F Fire Station (Sector 11).................................................... pag 147 (VIII-4) 229

ARCHITECTS AND PROJECTS INDEX (itinerari No-building No) ADITYA PRAKASH Bouganvilea House ......................................................... pag 124 (VII-E) Chandigarh College of Archiecture .................................. pag 134 (VII-8) Corbu House .................................................................. pag 131 (VII-5) Corbu Mess .................................................................... pag 132 (VII-6) District Courts (Arbitrarion Center)................................... pag 56 (II-7) Inter State Bus Terminal (Bus Stand) .............................. pag 57, 112 (II-8, XI-21) Jagat Theatre .................................................................. pag 46 (II-B) Janj Ghar ........................................................................ pag 98 (V-5) KC Theatre ...................................................................... pag 46 (II-A) Neelam Theatre .............................................................. pag 51, 212 (II-2, XI-19) Open Air Theatre ............................................................ pag 105 (V-11) Prakash House (The AP Foundation) .............................. pag 156, 164 (VIII-18, IX-F) Tagore Theatre ............................................................... pag 164 (IX-E) ANANT R. PRABHAWALKAR Inter State Bus Terminal (Bus Stand) .............................. pag 57, 212 (II-8, XI-21) Sukhna Lake Dam Spillway ............................................. pag 45 (I-20) BHANU PRAKASH MATHUR Arts College (Panjab University) ....................................... pag 112, 189 (VI-1, IX-25) Balwant Gargi Open Air Theatre ...................................... pag 123 (VI-13) Health Centre (Panjab University) ................................... pag 120 (VI-10) Joshi Library ................................................................... pag 115, 189 (VI-5, IX-27) Main block ...................................................................... pag 50, 212 (II-1, XI-20) Mathur House ................................................................. pag 158 (VIII-21) Museum of Fine Arts ....................................................... pag 110, 188 (VI-1, IX-24) Panjab University Hostel for Girls .................................... pag 121 (VI-11) Students Center .............................................................. pag 114, 189 (VI-4, IX-26)

'The Chandigarh family' Le Corbusier (1962) Detail from The Enamel Door, Assembly building. Represents the Design Team, P. Jeanneret (the cock), M. Fry (the baby goat), J. Drew (the goat) and Le Corbusier (the crow).

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CHANDIGARH ADMINISTRATION Bamboo Valley ................................................................ pag 103, 199 (V-9, X-6) Bouganvilea Garden ....................................................... pag 194 (X-1) Childrens Traffic Park ...................................................... pag 103, 199 (V-9, X-6) Commercial Belt (Sectors 8 & 9) ..................................... pag 178 (IX-4) Commercial Belt (Sector 22) ........................................... pag 213, 215 (XI-22, XI-28) Commercial Belt (Sector 26) ........................................... pag 175 (IX-2) Commercial Belt (Sector 35) ........................................... pag 215 (XI-29) Dahlia Garden ................................................................ pag 200 (X-7) Fire Station (Sector 11) ................................................... pag 147 (VIII-4) Fire Station (Sector 17) ................................................... pag 46 (II-G) Fitness Trails ................................................................... pag 58, 195, 208 (III-G, X-2, XI-8) Garden of Fragance ........................................................ pag 200 (X-7) Garden of Silence ........................................................... pag 44 (I-19) Ground & Open Pavillion ................................................. pag 106 (VI-A) Guest House ................................................................... pag 106 (VI-D) Himalaya Hostels for Boys .............................................. pag 133 (VII-7) Kurukshetra Hostels for Boys .......................................... pag 133 (VII-7) Le Corbusier Cube .......................................................... pag 153 (VIII-15) New Lake ....................................................................... pag 201 (X-8) Parade Ground ............................................................... pag 46 (II-E) Police Station (Sector 11) ................................................ pag 147 (VIII-5) Police Station (Sector 17) ................................................ pag 46 (II-C) Rose Garden .................................................................. pag 182, 197, 210 (IX-12, X-4, XI-14) Sculpture Park ................................................................ pag 66, 151, 196 (III-5, VIII-12, X-3) Shanthi Kunj ................................................................... pag 198 (X-5) Shop Cum Flats (Sector 7) .............................................. pag 136 (VIII-D) Shop Cum Flats (Sector 8) .............................................. pag 157 (VIII-20) Shop Cum Flats (Sector 10)............................................. pag 58, 136 (III-D, VIII-D) Sukhna Lake Nature Interpretation Center ...................... pag 45 (I-20) Sukhna Waterfront Activities Center ................................ pag 42 (I-14) Suraj Bhan Hall .............................................................. pag 106 (VI-B) Table Tennis Hall ............................................................ pag 90 (V-A) Tagore Theater ............................................................... pag 164 (IX-E) Teacher's Houses ........................................................... pag 124 (VII-D) Terraced Garden ............................................................. pag 190 (X-C) Topiary Park ................................................................... pag 190, 215 (X-B, XI-35) Vindhya Hostel for Girls ................................................... pag 133 (VII-7) Warden Houses .............................................................. pag 124 (VII-C) E. MAXWELL FRY Government College for Girls (Sector 11) ......................... pag 185 (IX-17) Government College for Boys (Sector 11) ........................ pag 186 (IX-18) Government Press .......................................................... pag 179 (IX-5) House Type 3F ............................................................... pag 38 (I-10) House Type 7F ............................................................... pag 164 (IX-K) House Type 8F ............................................................... pag 102, 136, 164 (V-8, VIII-A, IX-L) 235

BIBLIOGRAPHY BAHGA, SARBJIT & BAHGA, SURINDER. Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret Footprints on the Sands of Indian Architecture. Galgotia Publishing Company (2000) CHANDIGARH COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE. Chandigarh Aesthetic Legislation: Documentation of Urban Controls in Chandigarh (1951-2001). CCA (2002) HASAN-UDDIN KHAN; BEINART, JULIAN; CORREA, CHARLES (editors).

Le Corbusier: Chandigarh and the Modern City. Mapin Publishing (2010) JOSHI, KIRAN. Documenting Chandigarh The Indian Architecture of Pierre Jeanneret, Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Beverly Drew (Vol.1) Mapin Publishing (1999) KALIA, RAVI. Chandigarh, the Making of an Indian City. Oxford University Press (1999) LE CORBUSIER. Oeuvre Complete. Basel - Birkhaeuser (2006) LEDERER, ARNO & KROLL, CLEMENS. Chandigarh: Living with Le Corbusier. Jovis (2011) MOREAU, GERALD & TOUCHALEAUME, ERIC (editors). Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret: The Indian Story. Gourcuff Gradenigo (2011) PANJAB UNIVERSITY. Panjab University Planning of the campus.

Primeart Printers & Publishers PRAKASH, ADITYA. Chandigarh a presentation in free verse. Marg Publications (c.1977) PRAKASH, ADITYA. Reflections on Chandigarh. Navaytug Traders (1983) PRAKĀSH, VIKRAMĀDITYA. Chandigarh’s Le Corbusier The Struggle for Modernity in Postcolonial India. Mapin Publishing & The University of Washington Press (2002) PRAKĀSH, VIKRAMĀDITYA (editor). Globalization and the Modern City.The Chandigarh Experience. The University of Washington Chandigarh Urban Lab (2011) PRAKĀSH, VIKRAMĀDITYA. The Architecture of Shivdatt Sharma Mapin Publishing (2012) VON MOOS, STANISLAUS (editor) Chandigarh 1956. Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Jane B. Drew, E. Maxwell Fry. Scheidegger & Spices (2010)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Vikramãditya “Vikram” Prakãsh grew up in Chandigarh, India. He received his B. Arch. from the Chandigarh College of Architecture, Panjab University (1986), and an M.A. and Ph.D. in History and Theory of Architecture and Urbanism from Cornell University, New York (1989, 1994). He taught at the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad, India (1991 - 1993) and Arizona State University, Tempe (1994-1996) before joining University of Washington in 1996.

Dr. Prakãsh is an architect/urbanist and a historian. Professor of Architecture. Adjunct Professor of Landscape Architecture and of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington in Seattle.

He teaches studios, lecture courses and seminars on issues in global architecture and urbanism and postcolonial history and theory. His published books include Chandigarh’s Le Corbusier: The Struggle for Modernity in Postcolonial India (University of Washington Press, 2002), A Global History of Architecture (with Francis DK Ching & Mark Jarzombek, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006) and Colonial Modernities: Building, Dwelling and Architecture in British India and Ceylon (co-edited with Peter Scriver, Routledge, 2007).

Dr. Prakãsh has served as the Associate Dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and as Chair of the Department of Architecture.Currently, he is the Director of the Chandigarh Urban Lab, a multi-year project that studies Chandigarh, historically and today, as a case study in contemporary mid-sized urbanization in India. Conducted in collaboration with the faculty and students of Chandigarh College of Architecture, the Lab actively engages local academics, architects, landscape architects, urbanists, planners, activists and the local administration in its work.

Dr. Prakãsh is also partner in the design firm Verge Architecture with Leah C. Martin.

Verge Architecture is dedicated to sustainable and relevant design solutions in a changing world. It is co-located in Seattle and Chandigarh.

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Chandigarh is a unique city, besides being one of the newest cities of the XX century that is characterized by the seal of Le Corbusier, who planned the city and was also the architect of its most emblematic buildings along with Pierre Jeanneret. Visiting the city you will also find the work of a large team of modernist Indian architects.

With this useful guide, you will discover the city and its architecture through three types of routes, designed to cater to a range of architectural interests and time available; as well as suggestions for other places you can visit on the outskirts of the city.

Each itinerary offers practical information to enjoy the architecture, and visitors will be introduced to the culture and lifestyle of the city along with the ‘Facts for the visitor’ chapter.

Altrim Publishers - Barcelona P: +34 93 204 08 08 M: +34 646 954 743 E: altrim@altrim.cat www.altrim.cat