Masterpiece of monumental and sculptural architecture celebrating the independence of a nation open to liberty and modernity.

Component of the serial property inscribed on the world heritage list, 2016


It was a historic decision when the Government of Punjab decided to build a capital of its own after losing Lahore, the old capital city of Punjab to the neighbouring State of Pakistan. No doubt it happened rather late, in 1950, three years after the partition of the country. The main stream of refugees had already crossed over to other more stable states. Old family ties had broken. The Punjab was torn. People were confused and unsure of their future and it was Chandigarh which gave them solace, boosted their morale and opened a new window with a promising future.

Chandigarh is a bold experiment in modern civic design. It has recognized moral values as lying at the basis of life. Le Cor¬busier who successfully struggled in his entire life to interpret the aspirations of the people of this industrialized civilization had a rare opportunity to design this new town and to give practical application to all his theories and philosophy. Thus a new organism of universal validity was born, which would not only create comfortable and invigorating urban living conditions but also introduce man to the importance of the elements of nature. It also made people love, appreciate and respect their environments without prejudicing their living habits.

Chandigarh has provoked fresh thinking and in fact has shown a new way of life. It is economically and beautifully built in relation to the needs of man. The spirit of Chandigarh has remained unaffected and the city has thrived in spite of various hurdles and set-backs, a fact which amply reflects the unsurpassed concept of Chandigarh.

When Chandigarh was created people at home and from abroad predicted that as the concept of Chandigarh was not born of the soil, it would decay with time. Some said it was too alien to be assimilated by the Eastern mind. They forgot that human adaptability has no limitations and ail good acts, beneficial to man immediately appeal to his inner senses and the same happened in Chandigarh. Its. inhabitants who were uncertain of its planners' designs in the beginning and perhaps a little afraid too, soon realized that it was for their good.

They not only accepted the change but also became active partners in this unique experiment in urban living.
In Chandigarh, Le Corbusier's system of the self-supporting neighbourhood unit known as a sector has worked very well. A sector which is introverted in character communicates only at four junctions with the adjoining neighbourhood units. All the houses open up inside. The rear courtyard walls facing V3 (grid road) are without apertures, to ensure safety to the life inside - free from the hazards of fast traffic.

The planning of shopping centers where all shops face towards the north is very much in line with Indian climatic conditions. There is no sun in the eyes of shoppers and goods displayed are also protected from intense summer sun. Recently it has been felt that the parking areas attached to shopping centers
need extension to cape with the ever increasing flow of vehicular traffic.

The city centre which Le Corbusier compared to the heart of an organism, though still full of voids, is humming with activity. Here his system of segregating the pedestrian traffic from the vehicular flow has paid good dividends. The pedestrian is not at the mercy of the automobile. Advertisement control has saved the façades from vulgarity. The atmosphere is pleasant and joyful. The system of seven V's, based on the classification of traffic is working very satisfactorily and the City is free from the battle-necks of vehicular traffic from which most modern cities suffer. Here it would be gratifying to record that this system of traffic classification is now being followed in several new and existing cities with great success and Chandigarh has again shown a new way to solve the tricky problem of transportation which is a by-product of twentieth-century automation.

Now that the planning of the first phase of Chandigarh is practically over and the emphasis has shifted to the second phase, we are consolidating our experience of the past seventeen years and exploring ways and means to utilize the gains achieved during this unique experiment in city designing for making this town more congenial to our way of living.

No description of Chandigarh would be complete without mentioning its Capital complex. This dream of Le Corbusier is still far from completion owing to paucity of funds and changed administrative conditions owing to re-organization of the State. The main edifices of the Capital yet to be realized are the Governor's Palace, the Open Hand, the Geometric Hill, the Tower of Shadows and Martyrs' Memorial. In the absence of these structures the greatness of the complex can never be fully appreciated. When it is completed, this will probably be the most powerful and attractive complex in the world.

Le Corbusier's initial design of the Governor's Palace was shelved on the plea that the Circuit House with some modifi¬cations was good enough for the Head of State in a democratic set-up. Le Corbusier thought that the absence of such a building at the apex of the Capital would ruin the whole composition. He proposed a Museum of Knowledge in its place. But the function and utility of such a museum was not clear, the funds were also short and the scheme remained on paper. Recently the work has been started on the Museum of Evolution of Life which has been planned in the cultural belt of Leisure Valley.

Now that the scheme for the Museum of Knowledge has been dropped, it is felt that the original Governor s Palace, which is much more significant and powerful than the Museum of Knowledge should be built and used as a Museum of Architecture. This can be dedicated to the memory of Le Corbusier, the man who created Chandigarh and opened a new chapter in the field of modern urban design to house ail his sketches, drawings and ideas on paper to be exhibited in this building.

Similarly the project of the Open Hand which Le Corbusier termed as a symbol of "Give and Take" has not materialized but we are hopeful of accomplishing the mission of the Great Master in the near future.

M. N. Sharma, Chief Architect, Chandigarh

Extract from Le Corbusier, Oeuvre complète, volume 8, 1965-1969