Building a Modern Utopia in India: a moment of magic

building a modern utopia in India a moment of magic

Brown’s Fellowship Presentation

Maria Vollas

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contents

Acknowledgements Introduction Corbu Utopie Indian Reality Le Corbusier in India Millowner’s Building Villa Shodhan - Villa Sarabhai - Sanskar Kendra Chandigarh - Capitol Complex Post Le Corbusier: Indian Modernity

acknowledgements

It has truly been an honor to receive a fellowship to study one of the most important architects of the 20th century, Le Corbusier, in one of the most architecturally sophisticated sites, that of India.

I am very grateful for the opportunity and I would like to initially thank the Brown family, who has made my traveling and research possible with its very kind generosity and consideration.

I would like to thank the Dean Douglis and the School of Architecture of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for electing me and granting me the fellowship, which has been such an educative and truly valuable experience in my academic career. I am much grateful for the help and support of the faculty members prof.

David Bell and prof. Ted Krueger, who very kindly advised me on my traveling to India and on my research initiatives there. Their insight has been eye-opening in the development of my fellowship.

From the part of the Millowner’s Association, I would like to thank mr. Abhinava Shukla, who has offered me so much support in my accommodation to Ahmedabad, my traveling within India, introduction to other figures who I had the delighted opportunity to meet and the very informative conversations regarding the indian society and norms.

I feel very lucky to be able to see and learn Ahmedabad through the help of mr. Salim Chhipa. He showed me all the important architectural artifacts and the cultural heritage of the city, as well as exposed me to everyday moments of the residents of Ahmedabad. I will never forget our tours around the metropolitan area.

I am also very grateful for the people that I was introduced to by mr. Shukla in Chandigarh. I am delighted to have met and communicated with ms. Seema Gera, deputy curator of the Government Museum (designed by Le Corbusier). She was very

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open to respond to my questions regarding the past and current status of the museum and also of the city of Chandigarh at large, both from the perspective of her as a resident and as an experienced professional. I had the chance to meet and communicate with ms.

Sangeeta Bagga, Dean of the College of Architecture of Chandigarh, who offered me her very valuable feedback on my paper and research, advised me on my studies and was very hospitable, allowing me to explore the College of Architecture and use its very resourceful library.

Ultimately, I am very grateful to all the Indian residents of the places I’ve visited, known and unknown, who have such a kind soul. Everyone was very supportive and friendly, always greeting me with a smile, eager to help me with any difficulty and becoming very excited to show me and inform me about their culture, their heritage, their identity. The Architecture of India has undoubtedly had a very significant impact in my architectural personality and thesis, but my interactions with the locals has changed me deeply, influencing my inner self, ethos and stance in this world. That I will never forget.

Chandigarh

Delhi

Agra Jaipur Varanasi Khajuraho

Ahmedabad

Top view of the territory of India illustrating the places visited during the travel fellowship. Captured with Google Earth [digitally edited by author]

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Ahmedabad

Chandigarh

Varanasi

Khajuraho

Agra

Jaipur

Old Delhi

New Delhi

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introduction

In 1516 Sir Thomas Moore coined the term “utopia” for the title of his book, describing a fictional island society located in the South Atlantic Ocean next to the South American continent.

Derived from the initial Greek terms ου (“not”) and τόπος (“place”), the word’s original meaning of no-place was transformed as a “good place” referring to a positive utopia or rather “eutopia”. Thinking in utopian terms can also very well be correlated to having a dream, a vision, an aspiration for the existent world, extending it in positive imaginary territories, beyond its pragmatic realistic essence.

Much of the Architecture of Modernity can indeed be seen as an attempt to achieve a world of Utopia. Many proposals promise to solve all the contemporary problems of the era and transform the current standards and allow for a total amelioration to the achievement of the perfect and most facilitated life for the individual and the collective. From the design of the home to the design of the city, there is a rational examination of all the human needs and necessities as well as the possible architectural configurations that would be able to provide their satisfaction, through the rise of the so-called functionalism.

Le Corbusier arguably becomes one of the most significant figures in the representation and attempt of a realization of utopian ideals within the existing world in a global scale. Through his work and more vividly through his writing, he articulates with much precision the particular characteristics that can render a home or a city as a perfect place of habitation for a human. He expresses such ideas in the Towards a New Architecture (1923), where he begins from the examination and analysis of his contemporary technological and mechanical advancements of the car or the ship, to the development of a most efficiently functional Architecture that has the ability to also respond to considerations of geometry and harmony.1 He continues such explorations through his writing of the Modulor (1948), rediscovering and reinterpreting the Vitruvian Man, supporting that Architecture should be an expansion and further utilization of the human body measurements

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and proportions, where everything is related through connections of harmony and resonance.

From the considerations of the human occupant, the utopian vision is applied also in mathematical and geometrical terms, where Modernity is incarnated through the selection of pure geometry, of the platonic solids and the Euclidean study of space.

His initial works showcase another purity of whiteness, of plainness and simplicity. Villa Savoye becomes an icon of the 5 points of Architecture, while the initial dream for the utopia of form and function is also reflected in the city planning ideas, Proposals such as the Ville Radieuse begin to approximate his notions of the ideal perfect world. He’s responding to his contemporary juxtaposition between technology and nature, by proposing the creation of steeland-glass skyscrapers, where domestic life is placed, with pilotis on the ground level allowing for nature and public programs to exist.2 This utopian ideology can very well be traced through his own narratives and sketches to his initial inspirations, as he is looking back to the more ancient western architectural masterpieces. At a young age, he travels to Balkans, Athens and Istanbul, where he is highly influenced by the masculinity of the Parthenon and the ancient Greek rationalism, and the feminine vernacular settlements of the Eastern Europe. He begins to frame his work within the ideological fields of classicism, continuing within modernity the spirit and expression of the more ancient monuments.3 Although his work soon reaches global dimensions, spreading from Europe to Latin America and Algiers, he is much faithful to these earlier experiences reflecting the primary western philosophical ideologies.

What happens when Le Corbusier, who highly represents this western modernity, is commissioned to build within the historically and culturally rich site and context of India? I would argue this meeting of cultures and ideologies is translated to a Moment of Magic.

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India reflects a local genius loci of an old civilization and culture. There exists an Architecture that spans from the very ancient Indian to the recent British colonial Architecture, creating a highly powerful historical site. It quite diverges from the dominant European standards, where climatic conditions of the dryness of the summer and the wetness of the monsoons. It also doesn’t quite respond to Le Corbusier’s “Modulor” who is based on European rather than Indian standards, with further implications and reflections on the different personality of the individual and the collective. Therefore, all the general principles that have been written and analyzed by Le Corbusier may be put into question, as they reach the Indian Territory.

In attempts to understand possible intersections of cultures, it is quite interesting to consider the delineation of the vastupurusha in relation to Le Corbusier’s Modulor drawing. Indians have also largely been attracted to the proportioning and ordering systems particularly, which are largely expressed in their ancient Architecture. The particular arrangement and dimensioning of spaces is related to ideas of harmony and balance reaching spiritual dimensions related to Hinduism and other religious traditions.

The Mandala is also important as a geometric patterning order for the Earth or the Cosmos. In these frameworks, the Architecture is connected to the human, to the surrounding natural environment and the spiritual world, a perspective of interest for Le Corbusier.

Le Corbusier’s work in India is to be examined with consideration to the context and framework of the Western culture and approaches as well as the Hindi genius loci and architectural framework. In such exploration, there is movement and transition between the general western and Hindi ideologies to the very particular analysis of one of Le Corbusier’s masterpieces in India from the Mill Owner’s Association Building in Ahmedabad to the utopia of the collective and the establishment of Chandigarh. notes 1

Sargent Leman Tower, “The Necessity of Utopian Thinking: A Cross-National Perspective,” in A Cross-National Perspective. Thinking Utopia: Steps Into Other Worlds, ed. Jörn Rüsen, Michael Fehr, and Thomas Reiger (New York, NY: Berghahn Books, 2005), 11.

2 Alan Colquhoun, Modern Architecture (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 152 3 Colquhoun, 137-138.

What is the definition of the “ideal” for Le Corbusier?

What are his primary references?

How is his “utopia” realized in his design work?

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Corbu Utopie

The tendency to aspire for a utopian or ideal reality is well in accordance to the general spirit of Modernity. Such a movement rises, according to Diderot, with Boethius in Literature, with Copernicus in Astronomy, with Descartes in Philosophy and with Newton in Physics. The emergence of rationality of science gains its importance in the socio-political and economic reality, bringing the Enlightenment from the previous darkness and chaos of the ignorance and mysticism.1 It is the period where Reason emerges as the dominant means of thought and judgment and the acquisition of knowledge allows for the evolution of the man and the development of scientific and technological advances. There is an attention and preference towards progress, development and critical examination of the tradition, which now may not need to be conserved. Such ideology originates from the earlier Renaissance, where knowledge and education is to be traced from the more ancient Greek and Roman classical civilization, rather than the more recent medieval artifacts.

This creates a context and framework can very well suit Le Corbusier’s individual position within the Modern Architecture.

In the study of his vision and the utopian ideals, it is essential to retrieve the origins and foundation of such from his early education and personal growth.

He is born on the 6th of October 1887 in La Chaux-deFonds, a small French-speaking city in Switzerland, where he also receives his training in the school of arts and crafts. He gains an appreciation for rhythm, precision and color harmony early in his life, growing up in a childhood environment with a father-dial painter, mother-pianist and older brother-violinist. He works briefly in Germany for Peter Behrens and is introduced in the ideology of rationalism, where Architecture and design becomes closely connected to the contemporary technological advances. Traveling becomes very important in his development, and arguably his most significant was his trip to the Balkans, Istanbul and Athens. There he falls in love with the “feminine” vernacular Architecture of the

Eastern Europe and the “masculine” classicism demonstrated by the Parthenon, identifying it with the modern rationalism.2 Such early and diverse influences become values and principles in the development of his personality, where all are to be balanced and respected. The notions of rationalism of the evolution of science and technology of the day is blended with the tradition of classicism appreciated in Acropolis, perceived from his artistic persona as a painter and sculptor.3 Such diversity of thinking can be observed in his writing and work, where he strives for a utopian unification of these factors, using Architecture as a critical connection between Art and Science.

The development of his visions and aspirations for the Modern Architecture begin when he moves to Paris and sets up his office in collaboration with Max Dubois. There, he collaborates with the artist Amédée Ozenfant establishing Purism and expressing their ideology in the book Après le Cubisme (1918). In another collaboration with the poet Paul Dermée, he found the L’ Esprit Nouveau, a magazine of 28 issues that analyzes in great detail the principles that he holds regarding architecture, literature, painting, sculpture, pure and applied science, music etc. He is focused on the dissonance that exists between art and technology, as well as their relation to the classical tradition that he greatly supports. He studies industrial constructs through detailed photographs and drawings, admiring the rationalism of the design of the engine and the mechanism, where each of the parts are having a particular function and are placed in such a manner as to have an efficient and effective performance. Ideas related to functionalism are also raised, where the form of the part becomes closely related to its particular role, designed by the efficiency of the technology and engineering.

In “L’ Esprit Nouveau”, but even more particularly in his book “Vers une Architecture”, he promotes the creation of an architectural form based on the primitive geometrical solids. He draws correlations between his contemporary machines -such as the

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[top] Drawing of the Modulor by Le Corbusier. Illustrates the proportions of the different elements of the human body as they are related to each other. [bottom] Drawing of the Modulor by Le Corbusier. Illustrates the different positions of the human body and the ways the proportions of them are altered each time.

car or the airplane- and the design of the ancient architectures of the Parthenon and the Pyramids. He rejects the complex forms of the Gothic, demonstrating a preference for the purer forms of the cube, the sphere, the prism and the cylinder, which are present in both the industrial products and the ancient architectural masterpieces. He argues that “primary forms are beautiful forms because they can be clearly appreciated”. Criticizing the architectural production of his era, he appreciates more the engineers who “employ geometrical forms, satisfying our eyes by their geometry and our understanding by mathematics; their work is on the direct line of good art”.

He promotes purism and clarity of form not only with regards to the single architectural piece, but also to the larger complex or landscape condition. In his writings, he recalls memories of his travels to the Greek islands, admiring the appearance of the surrounding frame formed by the azure sky and the sea as they connect to the continuum of the white buildings of the islands. As he states, such frame is so large that any irregularities of openings, church towers and roofs all fall within a coherent whole, where everything seems to fit right in place and within all the necessary situations. Admiring the harmonious image of the complexity of the detail that is balanced by the simplicity of the surrounding frame of nature, he argues that this condition can transferred from the islands to a different place with different climatic conditions, judging his contemporary infrastructure and stating that “what this Architecture requires is organization”.

These visions have been largely implemented in his work developed in the 20s and 30s, where he begins to form particular principles and rules for architectural creation. Through the design of the Villa Savoye and his book Vers Une Architecture, he defines the five points of architecture as the pilotis, the free designing of the plan and of the façade, the ribbon windows and the roof garden. The articulated architectural elements are connected in his work by what he calls the “promenade architecturale”, where the vision and perspective of the user plays an important role in

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the creation of space. Transitions from small enclosures to large spaces, creation of pathways in and out of the building and the play of light and shadow are features widely present in his work, further elevating the experience of the geometrical arrangements and orders. Through the definition of these parts of architecture, Le Corbusier delineates a formula for the creation of an ideal or utopian architecture.

Later on in his career, one of his most important inventions is arguably the Modulor, a system of measurement of the human proportions, for which the drawing was published in 1947 and its respective book in 1948. Through the measurement of the human body and its proportions, Le Corbusier argued that Architecture should be proportional and relative to the man. He is inspired by the order and proportional systems employed in the design of ancient classical architecture as well as Da Vinci’s studies on the Vitruvian man that fits within the primary shapes of the circle and square. His approach though is quite differentiated from the precursory work, as he’s not studying the proportions of man only in a standing position, but also in a multitude of instances. He’s thinking of the different positions his body can have within a space, taking into account the person’s movement as a point of reference for the design of the architectural space.

The Modulor isn’t significant only as for the invention of a new ordering system for Le Corbusier’s architecture, but also for his later turn to the study and appreciation of Nature in a general sense. In this second part of his work, he is not occupied as much with the industrial aesthetic and the technological advancement, but rather the study of the genius of nature. The initial more absolute delineations of his drawings of architectural space are becoming smoother, irregularity and asymmetry is rising from the more “pure” geometrical forms and grids, leading to a new balance between the ordered and the unordered. He more characteristically describes this new condition in his book Towards a New Architecture, where he states that the Architecture can

be within an field of an ordering system, but to its extends and boundaries be left partly unfinished, creating a condition that can be more comfortable to the occupants, while also allowing them to make their own contribution to the space.

In his writing and work, his rational side of the efficiency of functionalism and the reason of the sciences and technology is synthesized with his artistic background and sensitivity. All of the different aspects of him are presented in a condition of balance, where geometry and rhythms becomes one with the blending of colors, the sculptural forms and the integration of nature.

Such an image can surely be perceived as his own vision and aspiration towards a utopian unity that equates of all the particular oppositional elements. It is important to recognize that his vision of a utopian condition within the Modern Architecture is to be perceived through the lenses of western culture and philosophy.

What is it that occurs though when he is commissioned to build in India, in a location of a long history of culture and tradition and of a canvas quite different from the Mediterranean landscapes and climate?

notes 1

Hermansen, Christian, and Mari Hvattum. 2004.Tracing modernity: manifestations

of the modern in architecture and the city. (London: Routledge).

2 Colquhoun, Alan. 2006. Modern architecture. (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

3 Sarbjit Bahga and Surinder Bahga, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret: The Indian Architecture (Sarbjit Bahga & Surinder Bahga, 2014).

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Excerpt from Le Corbusier’s book “Towards a New Architecture”.The classical Architecture of the Parthenon is compared to his contemporary automobile design, promoting a pure geometry based on primitive solids, which is seen in both cases.

How is the “utopian” defined in the Indian Territory?

How do the cultural traditions or beliefs reflect on the perceptions of the “ideal” condition?

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Indian Reality

The notion of utopia and the desire to aspire, to dream, to envision an ideal reality hasn’t only been a topic of interest in the western civilization and Architecture, but also in the Indian territory. From the ancient times and the religious architecture of the temples, to the later marvelous and extravagant palaces of Jaipur and the ultimate modern and contemporary architectural and planning works, the Indian population has demonstrated through ambitions and dreams their perception of the ideal and the utopian. Such perspectives are interesting to examine, where often times there are similarities and connections to the western culture, whereas there are oppositions and differentiations of thought processes. Beginning from the more ancient architectural and philosophical work, we can establish an initial foundation on which any later work is flourished upon.

The presence of utopia can be traced primarily in the territory of the religions comprised of the most prevalent of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and lslam. In each one of these different faiths, the individuals-believes are following particular paths towards the realization of a dream, an arrival to an ideal state of paradise or to the complete peace of mind and soul.

From the abstract world of ideologies to the physical world, such ideas have been translated and reflected on the architecture of each religion, where the temples and mosques as central holy sites are embodying the perspectives and aspirations of each dogma.

The most prevalent religious beliefs, expanded throughout the majority of the Indian Territory are those of Hinduism.

There are four foundational concepts called Purusārthas, which are the Dharma as ethics or duty, Artha as work and prosperity, Kama as passions and desires and ultimately Moksha as the final liberation from the cycles of birth and death.1 We could say that the primary dream in this belief is the achievement in each one of these concepts, in order to reach Moksha and become freed from the continuous suffering of the myriad cycles of life, indicating a lifestyle of principles and rules oriented towards the ultimate purpose of liberation. It is also worth mentioning that in Hinduism all living organisms have an eternal soul or spirit called ātman, which leads to a different conception of nature and the surrounding environment, compared to a western perspective. This is also highly related to vegetarianism in the Hindu tradition, expressed in the intentions for promotion of non-violence and elimination of suffering amongst living beings. All these concepts can be highly

expressive of the particular perspective held by a large portion of the Indian population, regarding values and dreams, as well as the influence on the everyday life and formation of architectural and urban space.

In the Hindu tradition, there is also though a very direct correlation between the beliefs and the architectural manifestation, where conceptions of the cosmos and life are represented in the design of space. In particular, buildings and land plots are subjects to the laws of Gods, just as much as the people. The design of a building or of a city is highly ordered and dependent upon the diagram of the “Vastu Purusha Mandala” that determines the ordering systems and arrangement of spaces. Based on the geometrical basis of the square and its subdivisions, the central square is dedicated to the main god Brahma surrounded by the most important gods in the inner ring and the less significant in the outer ring, each dedicated to one square.2 This arrangement of spiritual entities is projected on the ground and is manifested through the hierarchies and dimensioning of spaces. This is highly related to the human body and proportions, as Purusha is standing on the square in a yoga pose, which illustrates a connection between the space and land and the architecture of the body.

Jainism is also oriented towards the liberation from the life cycles through the conformance to particular moral and spiritual paths. It is derived from the Sanskrit word jina, which means victor and is describing the journey towards achieving freedom.3 The main principles followed by the believers are the ahimsā as non-violence, anekāntavāda as many-sidedness, aparigraha as non-attachment and asceticism.4 Quite similarly to Hindus, Jains are also following a very particular lifestyle based on moral principles, creating a particular societal dynamic of peace and spirituality. Through these practices one can reach the ultimate salvation, where the liberation of lives is synonymous to the ideal reality.

Perspectives of Buddhism also hold similar views regarding the ideal, seen in this case as a liberation from the sufferings of the everyday life as well as its continues cycles.5 In this tradition, the person can reach the state of nirvana and ultimate freedom from samsara, by following the principles of the Noble Eightfold Path.6 These are in particular the right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right Samadhi which means meditative union or absorption.7 These examples of attitudes are connected to the idea of dukkha, in which

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The Vastu Purusha Mandala drawing.

life appears to be mundane and full of cravings for temporary states or things. These are incapable of truly satisfying the individual, who by following the moral principles of Buddhism, can begin to resist them and become liberated from the state of the life.8 Parallel to the India-originated beliefs of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, a significant part of Indians particularly in the northern regions is represented by Islamic perspectives.

In opposition to the religions such as Hinduism or Buddhism (where there are multiple or no gods respectively), Islam is monotheistic composed of the one God (Allah) and the messenger of God (Muhammad).9 Similar to other Abrahamic religions, Islam teaches that only the moral and righteous can go to paradise, whereas the rest are punished in hell.10 The “Five Pillars of Islam” and the “Islamic law” (sharia) are highly important in the Islamic regimen and should be strictly followed by the believers, forming a particular type of life for the individuals and their communities.11 The purpose of all Muslims is to achieve an entrance to Jannah or paradise, which is described in Quran as a garden with flowing water, delicious food and precious stones, filled with happiness and blessing without any hurt or sorrow.12 Sikhism is a religion originated from the Indian state of Punjab and adopts characteristics similar to both Hindu and Islamic traditions. It is a monotheistic belief system, including the actions of faith and meditation devoted to the creator. Main practices in this belief system includes the promotion of equality across humanity, the effort for selfless service to the community, support of justice and promotion of the benefit of all and honesty in the environment of the household.13 In achieving to comply to these moral examples of attitudes, the believer is promised to reach not heaven, but similarly to Hinduism, a state of liberation.14 India is presented by a large diversity of religious beliefs, which are very faithfully followed by the populations. From the everyday moral rules and practices forming the individual personalities and the nature of the communities to the metaphysical perspectives of existence and reality, such ideologies are closely related to the architectural and urban spaces existing in the Indian territories.

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notes 1 Jeffrey Brodd, World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery (Winona, MN: Saint Marys Press, 2015), 52-53.

2 Andreas Volwahsen, Living Architecture Indian (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1969), 44.

3 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Tirthankara,” Encyclopædia Britannica, September 02, 2014, , accessed January 17, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/ topic/Tirthankara.

4 Robert E. Van Voorst, Select Relg: World - Robert Van Voorst, 2nd ed., New, Engaging Titles from 4LTR Press Series (Cengage Learning), 107.

5 John Powers, Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publ, 2007), 392-393, 415.

6 Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 81-83.

7 Tilmann Vetter, The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1988), 11-14.

8 Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1980), 65.

9 John L. Esposito, “Islam. Overview,” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World., by John L. Esposito (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

10 “Paradise (Jannat),” Al-Islam.org, April 26, 2016, , accessed January 17, 2019, https://www.al-islam.org/last-journey-translation-manazil-al-akhirah-shaykh-abbasqummi/paradise-jannat.

11 John L. Esposito, What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 17.

12 Annemarie Schimmel, Islam and the Wonders of Creation: The Animal Kingdom (London: Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 2003), 46.

13 Sewa Singh Kalsi, Sikhism (Philadelphia: Chelsea House), 41-50.

14 Opinderjit Kaur. Takhar, Sikh Identity: An Exploration of Groups among Sikhs (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005), 143.

Ahmedabad Gujurat

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Varanasi Uttar Pradesh

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Khajuraho Madhya Pradesh

Delhi Indian Union Territory

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Jaipur Rajasthan

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Taj Mahal Agra, Uttar Pradesh

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Fatehpur Sikri Agra, Uttar Pradesh

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Red Fort Agra, Uttar Pradesh

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Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah Agra, Uttar Pradesh

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Chini Ka Rauza Agra, Uttar Pradesh

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The moment of magic: Le Corbusier’s arrival in India comes with an interesting combination of his western modern perspective and the local Indian genius loci.

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Le Corbusier in India

After the liberation from the British rule in 1947, India becomes a place where aspirations and dreams for the new future begin to flourish. Mahatma Gandhi has been admired and risen to a hero for the Indian population, building the foundation of the new state on principles and values based on compassion and morality. Jawarhalal Nehru becomes the first Prime Minister of the newly found Indian State and, as the successor to Gandhi, continues to cultivate the dreams and aspirations for the liberated and independent state. These visions constitute a new utopia, which is to be designed and realized in two very important cities of India, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, which are closely connected to the figures of Gandhi and Nehru respectively and have largely been the main points of modernization of India.

Ahmedabad or the so-called ‘Manchester of India’ is the textile capital of India. As a main commercial center of trade and manufacturing of textiles, it is gaining its self-generating prosperity and economic independence throughout the centuries.

From the advancement of the economy, political and educational institutions are established, rendering the city to not only a textile and commercial but also an intellectual locus. The residents are of a traditional ethos, maintaining the local heritage, but also are of a progressive outlook and are aspiring for an innovative and modern future.1 In fact the roots for the war of independence of India were placed in Ahmedabad, with Gandhi’s establishment of two ashrams that would later hold nationalistic activities.2 It was there where Mahatma Gandhi, a native of the state of Gujarat, emerges building the foundations of India’s later independence. Ahmedabad becomes the place that hosts the famous Salt march in 1930, which leads to the second phase of national nonviolence resistance.3 This intense political framework introduces Le Corbusier and modernism in India. He is initially commissioned by the Indian government to design the masterplan of Chandigarh, the new capital for the state of Punjab, visiting the site in February 18th, 1951.4 Apart from Chandigarh, he will later be commissioned to design Millowner’s Association Building, the Shodhan and Sarabhai villas and the Sanskar Kendra (city museum) in Ahmedabad.

“The situation of the building in a garden dominating the river furnishes a picturesque spectacle of the cloth dyers washing and drying their cotton materials on the sand in the company of herons, cocas, buffalo, and donkeys half immersed in the water to keep cool. Such a panorama was an invitation to attempt, by means of the architecture, to frame views from each floor of the building-for the benefit of the staff in their daily work, for festive evenings, for night views from the stage of the assembly hall, and also from the roof”.

(- Le Corbusier, “Palais de l’Association des Filateurs d’Ahmedabad, 1954.” in Boesiger, Le Corbusier et son atelier rue de Sèvres 35: Oeuvre complète, 1952-1957, 125.)

[left] The view of the Millowner’s building from the Sabarmati river during its construction. Image retrieved from Fondation Le Corbusier. [right] Le Corbusier and B.V. Doshi in the Auditorium space of the Millowner’s building.

Image retrieved from Fondation Le Corbusier.

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Ahmedabad Millowner’s Association building

While designing Chandigarh, Le Corbusier is invited by Ahmedabad’s mayor Chinumhai Chimanbhai and commissioned by president of the Mill Owners’ Association Surottam Hutheesing in March 1951 to design the new headquarters for the association.5 Located in a central area but away from the Old City, between the Sabarmati River and the busy Ashram road, the building became a new modern reality in the center of the city of Ahmedabad. It has introduced a new perspective in the very traditional and vernacular context of the city and the state of Gujarat, marking the beginning of the construction of numerous modern architectural interventions, from Louis Kahn’s Indian Institute of Management campus to B.V. Doshi’s extensive work in the city.

The Millowner’s building addressed architecturally an association that largely had control over the economy of Ahmedabad, composed mainly of the city’s largest Jain mill owners. Peter Serenyi observes that the architecture reflects the organization’s public and private character, which is demonstrated from the personal relationships from family or caste ties. The design of the Millowner’s building is highly expressive of this reality, by using Le Corbusier’s earlier concept of “Une Maison-Un Palais” introduced in 1928.6 According to this earlier approach, the palace can be enriched with the informality of the house, whereas the house can be treated with honor translated in a palace. The design showcases this principle through the façade that could be compared to the deportment and monumental frontality of a palace.7 Indeed, the different programmatic areas have been clearly defined as separate hierarchical entities through their own distinct geometrical expression within the building, such as the relationship of the ellipsoid auditorium to the rest of the open space of the floor. Simultaneously, it presents dignity through the employing “pure forms composed according to a harmonious law” in both the exterior and interior spaces.8 As you are approaching from the Ashram road, you are introduced to the building from a large ramp that extends from the

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interior to the garden space, forming an architectural promenade and elevating you to the higher ground level of the second floor.

There are located the main offices of the administration of the association. Le Corbusier expressed his intentions for the creation of a palace and in this particular case this is represented through the positioning of the administration at a higher level from the city and the service spaces of the ground floor. As soon as you enter the interior space of the building, you can immediately see the other side and the view to Sabarmati River, where the front and back sides of the building become transparent surfaces connecting the two sides of the urban and the natural landscape.

You can further ascend to the third level of the building through the staircase that extends to the exterior of the front façade, returning to the view of the city. Through the red revolving door you are introduced to this new quite taller open space, where the Association would usually hold large gatherings and meetings of people. In the back, you can enter the ellipsoid wooden auditorium, whose interior exposes a radically different materiality and atmosphere of light and shadow through its openings at the ceiling. Returning to the open area of the third level, you can follow the stair steps and ascend to an intermediate level of a balcony, with panoramic views to the third level and the exterior garden space of the front and back sides. If you follow the next steps, you are located at the roof plane of the building, looking at the Ashram road and the initial ramp, from where a series of promenades were introduced. From one side to the other, the open space allows for views of the city from every angle, where you are truly ascended in a position that a palace can only offer.

The Millowner’s building has been carefully positioned on site to respond to not only the principles of the organization it represents, but also to the peculiar local climatic conditions.

Within the dry and hot seasons to the wet and humid monsoons of India, there is necessity for sun shading, ventilation and sheltering strategies for the creation of comfortable conditions of inhabitation.

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Le Corbusier employs here the principle of the “brise-soleil” or sun shading at the front and back facades of the building. The exterior walls have been rotated at particular angles, which oppose the entry of direct light rays in the interior space. As the walls are rotated, the exterior surfaces remain open to the exterior atmosphere, allowing the circulation of air from one side to the other achieving cross ventilation. It is worth noting that even though the building remains open to the exterior, the sun-shades of the façade obstruct the entrance of rain during the monsoon, creating a shell of shelter for the users. Le Corbusier’s sun-shading and ventilation strategies can be quite related to the parasol-type of construction of the earlier Indian precedent of Akbar’s Fatehpur Sikri, constructed during the end of the 16th century.9 In fact, such architectural moves can imply a connection of the introduced modern architecture to the older vernacular designs and the local building knowledge.

The building in fact played an important role in the later development of the city, expanding its territories from the Old City to land areas across from the other side of the Sabarmati River.

This was expressing a larger vision of the Ahmedabad Mill Owner’s Association for the new liberated and modernized city. In particular, the selection of the site was significant, as the organization decided to move its older headquarters from the Lal Darwaja neighborhood, where most of the mills and industrial processes were located, to the more peaceful and isolated parts of the west.10 The expansion of the organization to these new territories expressed a larger tendency for the creation of a new modern part of the city, leading to today’s areas of the old and the new Ahmedabad, divided by the Sabarmati river.

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Villa Shodhan + Villa Sarabhai

Surottan Hutheesing commissioned Le Corbusier to design not only the headquarters for the Millowner’s Building, but also his house in 1951. The architecture reflected the character and lifestyle of the individual as a wealthy bachelor with the inclusion of large spaces that could accommodate entertaining for social gatherings.

Surottan Hutheesing though decided to ultimately sell the house to Shyamubhai Shodhan, another fellow mill-owner. The new client desired the same design from Le Corbusier, independently of the fact that the owner and the site were now very different than the previous conditions. The Under these new circumstances, Villa Shodhan was complete in 1954.11 This particular work is exemplary of Le Corbusier’s later architectural aesthetic of the raw and unadorned concrete that was adequately placed in an era of proto-industrial Indian and post-war European conditions.12 This was also the beginning of a different era for Le Corbusier, who departs from his earlier ideas of purism and functionalism to the sincere expression of the material and the design with nature. A structural simplicity characterizes the building, while the rooms show plasticity through their dimensioning and arrangement in space. The building adopts the technique of the roof parasol and the brise-soleil on the surfaces of the façade for sun-shading and of the hanging gardens that allow cooling from the air currents through them.13 The second house built in Ahmedabad by Le Corbusier was Villa Sarabhai. In March 1951, he was commissioned by Mrs. Manorama Sarabhai, who desired a peaceful and quite place for her and her young sons after her husband’s passing away.14 The house is designed to be open and flexible to the site, which would be adequate for providing comfort for both the adults and the children.15 Villa Sarabhai reflected on similar qualities as Villa Shodhan, engaging in a more substantial connection between the building materials of brick and concrete and the natural setting.

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The building on site is situated at angles that favor particular air currents to traverse through according to the local wind directions, while maintaining sun protection through the application of brise soleil furnished on the façades. According to Le Corbusier, the brick, the rough concrete and the white coatings become a friend for man, while the use of intense color can provoke joy.

One of the most characteristic features is the use of the Catalonian vaults as part of the structural strategy. The peculiar ceilings and their connections to the vertical walls as well as the interior openings create an intense architectural play of void and solid. The roof, once waterproofed, is also covered by earth to form greenery areas on top of the Villa, blending the materials with the surrounding landscape.16

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Sanskar Kendra

Le Corbusier’s first work in Ahmedabad is the Sanskar Kendra city museum, located in the newer part of the city. It was built between 1951 and 1957 and is largely based on Le Corbusier’s principle of croissance illimitée or unlimited growth, which was developed in 1931. According to that vision, the museum is formed as a flattened ziggurat that spirals towards the outside in geometries of squares, considering their infinite extension. The last three museums that Le Corbusier built in Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Tokyo all follow this precise principle. There is a central courtyard space that is surrounded by exhibition corridors and parallel gallery areas around the center, passages determined by a swastika pattern and skylights for the illumination of the interior space.17 The exhibition spaces particularly of Sanskar Kendra are spiraling around the central courtyard and are providing a continuous presentation of the archived material of knowledge.18 The building purposefully is without a façade, so as to allow for the museum to always expand infinitely outwards from the interior spiraling condition.19 Le Corbusier’s vision for the creation of an ideal educational environment is that which is manifested through the criteria of the interdisciplinary and the unlimited.20 Just like the rest of his buildings in India, Sanskar Kendra has been designed to also respond to the particular local climatic conditions. The Indian parasol related to the native construction techniques has also been employed in this case. The courtyard is open and exposed to the exterior atmosphere, which becomes an element suitable for a tropical climate. The galleries are illuminated through openings to the courtyard and baffles located underneath the parasol roof, allowing the terrace to be free and possibly an occupiable space. Le Corbusier envisioned for the terrace a Mogultype garden, placing in his initial design forty-five tanks of water for cooling purposes and galleries holding flowering plants, where the vines would grow on the blank exterior brick walls.21 Such addition though was never in fact realized and the terrace remained unoccupiable and inaccessible to museum visitors.

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Top view of the city of Chandigarh, captured with Google Earth.

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Chandigarh: Utopia of the Collective

In 1947, soon after India gains its independence, many of the northern states became partitioned and were separated.

Punjab got divided into two territories, one belonging in India and the other in Pakistan. India lost its state capital Lahore, which remained in the Pakistani side. During this partition from 1947 to 1951, about 6.2 million Muslims migrated to Pakistan, whereas around 7.5 million Hindus and Sikhs found refuge in India.22 The Indian portion of Punjab was left without a capital and with urgent needs to accommodate many of the Hindu population that was migrating from the Muslim-dominated Pakistan territories. The necessity for a new political and administrative capital as well as housing needs for the currents of refugees led to the decision for the planning and construction of a new city-capital for the state of Punjab.

The first Prime Minister of the newly independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, emerged as the “architect” of Modern India, seizing the opportunity to introduce an Indian modern reality through the construction of this new city, called Chandigarh. He initially came in contact with the American architect and planner Albert Mayer, inviting him to plan and design the new city of Chandigarh. The planning of the city, though, was soon interrupted when Mayer’s resignation, after his partner Matthew Nowicki lost his life in a plane crash in 1950. The local representatives of the project Chief Engineer Varma and Chief Administrator Thapar were sent to Europe in a quest for the acquisition of a new architect for the design of the new city. In Paris they communicated with Le Corbusier, who was later assigned as the Chief Advisor for the project, in collaboration with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret and the British architects Jane Drew and her husband Maxwell Fry. The contract was for the design and planning of the overall city of Chandigarh, including the governmental buildings of the Capitol Complex and particularly the High Court, the Legislative Assembly, the Secretariat and the Governor’s Palace.23 The Chandigarh master plan was executed in several

“Let this be a new town, symbolic of freedom of India unfettered by the traditions of the past . . . an expression of the nation’s faith in the future”.

(Pandid Jawaharlal Nehru, Independent India’s first Prime Minister, in official inauguration of Chandigarh, April 1953)

stages of construction. The first stage, after its construction, would be capable of accommodating the first 150,000 new inhabitants as well as the capital’s governmental buildings, followed by the second stage with provisions for a population of 500,000 inhabitants.24 For the successful undertaking of the project, Le Corbusier served as advisor for the government and architect of the Capitol Complex and the governmental buildings, Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew stayed in India for three years till 1954 working on the particular sectors of the city planning and Pierre Jeanneret was in charge of the local office working on the design of educational buildings, houses, dispensaries etc.

For the design of the larger urban plan for the city, Le Corbusier altered Mayer’s initial plan, leading to the ultimate form of Chandigarh. In particular, the main avenues were traversing the city from one side to the other in straight lines, which for Le Corbusier is the most efficient circulation through the city. The lands defined by the cartesian-planned streets were translated from Mayer’s term of the “Urban Villages” to the “Sectors”, where each included a strip of greenery running from south to north, interrupted by a commercial road from east to west. To achieve efficiency in circulation and traffic throughout the city, the streets were organized in different types of hierarchy, named as: V1: arterial roads (connecting the city to others) V2: urban roads V3: vehicular roads around the sector V4: shopping street within the sector V5: distribution street within the sector V6: residential road V7: path for pedestrians V8: cycling track25 The head of the city became the Capitol Complex, where the governmental buildings are located on top of the hill dominating the city. Le Corbusier purposefully altered the

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[Top] Front of the Palace of the Assembly, located in the Capitol Complex, designed by Le Corbusier [Bottom] View of the Palace of the Assembly, illustrating the facade’s curved elements and the pool of water that reflects the appearance of the front.

[Top] Front of the Court building, located in the Capitol Complex, designed by Le Corbusier [Bottom] Front of the Secretariat, located in the Capitol Complex, designed by Le Corbusier.

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“Chandigarh is a realization not only for Punjab or India but for the whole world. The attention of the people is focused on Chandigarh for many things, new techniques, new architecture, new art of life”.

(-Le Corbusier)

placement of the buildings, so as to ensure that the complex would be visible from every viewpoint within the city. He further emphasized their importance by eliminating any adjacent buildings and securing a plot size of about 220-acres, creating a modern version for his much beloved “acropolis”. His ideas regarding the superiority and monumentality of the government to the city is expressed through the control of views from the Capitol Complex.

Through the creation of artificial obstacles, the view towards the city from the south was blocked, whereas the Himalayas from the north were rising next to the complex.26 According to the editor of his sketchbook publication, Le Corbusier was seeing the Capitol Complex and Chandigarh as “the last outpost of civilization before the Himalayas”.27 Through the framing of views from the complex, he created a self-enclosed environment that would reach levels of idealism, away from the reality of the city. Within the complex, he also placed the Governor’s palace in the center rather than the Assembly Hall, referencing Lutyens’ decision to locate the Viceroy House at the center of the New Delhi plan. Such was against Nehru’s ideologies for the creation of a new democratic State of India, who cancelled the construction of the Governor’s Palace as the type of grand space would not be necessary for a governor. As Maha Yahya has noted, “the project in a way became a physical embodiment of Claude Lefort’s argument that democracy is constituted by an empty center of power”.28 The Capitol Complex gained monumentality not only through its location relative to the city of Chandigarh, but also through its sensibility and response to the unique local climatic conditions. Le Corbusier adopted the vernacular technique of the parasol in all of the buildings of the Capitol Complex, employing the concept in a variety of ways. In the Palace of the Assembly, it is implemented through the canopy at the entrance, in the High Court through its vaulted roof and in the proposed Governor’s Palace as a crowning parasol. In all these different types of implementation, there is a clear expression of the character and program of each building, where the crowning of the parasol relates to the building

Plans of Chandigarh, illustrating the division of the city to sectors and the network of avenues and transportation. Retrieved from Fondation Le Corbusier.

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[Top] Painting of the Open Hand Monument. Retrieved from Fondation Le Corbusier.

[Bottom] Plan of the Capitol Complex, which encompasses the Palace of the Assembly, the Court, the Secretariat and the Open Hand monument. Retrieved from Fondation Le Corbusier.

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as a palace. The shell forms and the profiles of the buildings were largely related to the surrounding natural landscape and livestock, freeing the Indian modernity from any colonial context.29 The first building that was erected in the Capitol Complex site was the High Court, located on the southeast part of the site.

Under the “umbrella” of the parasol roofing are the three-story Chief Justice courtroom as well as a row of smaller offices and eight smaller courts.30 The concrete façade is formed by rectangular frames that define the different functions from within, ranging from the left and the highest court to the right and the lowest. These frames function as brise-soleil protecting the offices from direct light and glare from the sun.31 According to Le Corbusier, through the colored monumental pillars and the roof, the building expresses “the majesty, the power and home of the law”.32 Across from the High Court stands the Palace of the Assembly building. From the front view, we can observe a square block, a portico and a superstructure, three elements whose meaning is essential for the understanding of the building. The portico with its characteristic upward curvature creates a canopy for the entrance. It rests on a series of eight parallel walls that define segments largely intensified by the backdrop of the wall, painted with images of the sun. Peter Serenyi observes the similarity between the frontality of the Palace of the Assembly in comparison to Red Fort’s Hall of Public Audiences in Delhi. The repetitiveness of the framing and the “sheltered openness” is resembling the Mogul front.33 From the monumentality of the exterior to the interior space, the Assembly Hall is constructed as a hyperbolic shell that is light-weight and low-cost, inspired by the efficiency of the industrial cooling towers. Similarly to the High Court and the Secretariat, the exterior concrete framing is enclosing the various office spaces in the interior, but is also extinguishing the “Forum” of the great Hall of Deputies at the Lower House and the Hall of Senators at the Upper House. The rooftop was also designed to be accessible, allowing for public gatherings and night-time

entertaining.34 The biggest and most dense building in the complex is the Secretariat, which includes all the ministerial chamber. The façade is constructed by the vertical brise-soleil that are dimensioned and sized according to the sun ray angles and the interior office rooms.

The ministries are separated by a vertical expansion joint that extends throughout the full height of the building. For the vertical circulation across all floors of the building, there are two ramps, one in the front and one in the back, connected to the frame of the building. The ramps are able to successfully serve the morning and evening circulation of about 3,000 employees. For the most efficient dimensioning and arrangement of spaces, the Modulor system has been employed, in which the areas and heights of the offices have been harmoniously determined to allow maximization of units within the building.35 One of the most significant aspects of the Capitol Complex is the Open Hand Monument. It rises at about 27 meters placed at a sunken pavilion and it is designed to rotate according to the prevailing winds at the particular time. The idea for the Open Hand was conceived by Le Corbusier much earlier, in Paris in 1948, when he was interpreting it as a symbol related to the spiritual struggles and pain from disharmony and anguish that separates humanity. In the city of Chandigarh, the Open Hand became significant, where Varma would state that the resident’s philosophy would be that of an open hand and where the city would become the “new center of thought”.36 It is intended to show not only the city’s openness towards the new and the modern, but also demonstrated India’s largest position in an international level, where in the environment of World Wars and violence, India proposes peace and openmindedness.

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notes 1

Peter Serenyi, “Timeless but of Its Time: Le Corbusier’s Architecture in India,” Perspecta 20 (1983), doi:10.2307/1567068, 92.

2 A. Srivathsan, “Manchester of India,” The Hindu, June 23, 2006, accessed January 17, 2018, https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-youngworld/ manchester-of-the-east/article3227988.ece.

3 Serenyi, 92.

4 Sarbjit Bahga and Surinder Bahga, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret: The Indian Architecture (Sarbjit Bahga & Surinder Bahga, 2014), 45.

5 Serenyi, 95.

6 Serenyi, 97.

7 Kenneth Frampton, “Le Corbusier and the Dialectical Imagination,” in Global Architecture, vol. 37 (1975), 2-5.

8 Serenyi, 97.

9 Frampton, 2-5.

10 Daniel Williamson, “Modern Architecture and Capitalist Patronage in Ahmedabad, India 1947-1969” (PhD diss., New York University, 2016), 138.

11 Le Corbusier, Œuvre Complète 1952-1957, ed. Willy Boesiger, vol. 6, 8 vols.

(Zurich: Les Editions D’Architecture, 1970), 134.

12 Peter Scriver and Amit Srivastava, India: Modern Architectures in History, Modern Architectures in History Ser. (London: Reaktion Books, Limited, 2015), 180.

13 Le Corbusier, Œuvre Complète 1952-1957, 134.

14 Le Corbusier and Françoise De Franclieu, Le Corbusier Sketchbooks 2, 19501954, trans. Agnes Serenyi, vol. 2, Architectural History Foundation, 4 (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1981), Sketchbook E18, no. 361 and E23, no. 689.

15 Serenyi, 106.

16 Scriver and Srivastava, 180.

17 Deborah Gans, The Le Corbusier Guide (Burlington, MA: Elsevier, 2014), 161.

18 Serenyi, 95.

19 Shoichiro Sendai, “Realization of the “Museum of Unlimited Growth” Without Façade in Ahmedabad by Le Corbusier,” Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, September 2015, 522.

20 Serenyi, 94.

21 Gans, 162.

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22

Ravi Kalia, Chandigarh: The Making of an Indian City (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), 1.

23

Milton B. Singer, Semiotics of Cities, Selves, and Cultures: Explorations in Semiotic Anthropology (Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter, 1991), 96.

24 Le Corbusier, Œuvre Complète 1952-1957, 51.

25 Vikramadityua Prakash, Chandigarh’s Le Corbusier: The Struggle for Modernity in Postcolonial India (Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing, 2002), 45.

26 Maha Yahya, “Building Cities and Nations Visual Practices in the Public Sphere in India and Lebanon,” in Visualizing Secularism and Religion, ed. Alev Cinar, Srirupa Roy, and Maha Yahya (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2012), 236237, accessed May 28, 2018, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.197789.13.

27 Le Corbusier and Françoise De Franclieu, Le Corbusier Sketchbooks 2, Sketchbook G28, no. 951.

28 Maha Yahya, 239.

29 Kenneth Frampton, “Le Corbusier and the Monumentalization of the Vernacular 1930-60,” in Modern Architecture: A Critical History (London, 1980), 229-230.

30 Jean-Louis Cohen, Le Corbusier, 1887-1965: The Lyricism of Architecture in the Machine Age (Taschen, 2004), 75.

31 Serenyi, 109.

32 Cohen, 75.

33 Serenyi, 113.

34 Le Corbusier, Œuvre Complète 1952-1957, 94.

35 Le Corbusier, Œuvre Complète 1952-1957, 78.

36 Bahga and Bahga, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret: The Indian Architecture, 123.

How is western modernity reflected in the architectural creation of India?

When and how is modernity converted in Indian Modernity?

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Post Le-Corbusier: Indian Modernity CEPT University B.V. Doshi Ahmedabad, Gujarat

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Institute of Indology B.V. Doshi Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Life Insurance Company Housing B.V. Doshi Ahmedabad, Gujarat

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Tagore Hall B.V. Doshi Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Amdavad ni Gufa B.V. Doshi Ahmedabad, Gujarat

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Sabarmati Ashram Charles Correa Ahmedabad, Gujarat

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