PLANNED AND BUILT
CITY:CHANDIGARH
(Le Corbusier)
ARCHANA JOSHI
ARCHANA.M
CHANDIGARH
• Chandigarh, the dream city of India's first
Prime Minister, Sh. Jawahar Lal Nehru, was
planned by the famous French architect Le
Corbusier.
• Picturesquely located at the foothills of
Shivaliks, it is known as one of the best
experiments in urban planning and modern
architecture in the twentieth century in India.
• Chandigarh derives its name from the temple
of "Chandi Mandir" located in the vicinity of
the site selected for the city.
• The deity 'Chandi', the goddess of power and
a fort of 'garh' laying beyond the temple gave
the city its name "Chandigarh-The City
Beautiful"
Source- http://chandigarh.gov.in/
SITE SELECTION
• The present site was selected in 1948 taking
into account various attributes such as
• Central location in the state
• proximity to the national capital
• availability of sufficient water supply
• fertile of soil
• gradient of land for natural drainage
• beautiful site with the panorama of blue hills
as backdrop
• moderate climate.
• The site was the sub mountainous area of the
Ambala district about 150 miles north of New
Delhi.
• The area was a flat, gentle sloping plain of
agriculture land consisting of 59 villages.
MAYER’S PLAN
• Neighbourhood Unit Concept
• Located between two boundary rivers
• fan shaped plan
• Future expansion in the southwest across the
plan
• Spreads gently to fill the site between the
two river beds
• A curving network of main roads surrounds
the residential blocks
• 2 axial routes bordered by linear parks
connected the zones.
• The overall pattern avoids the geometric
grid in favor of a loosely curving system
BASIC PLANNING CONCEPTS
• The Master plan prepared by Le Corbusier was
broadly similar to the one prepared by the
team of planners led by Albert Mayer and
Mathew Nowicki except that the shape of the
city plan was modified from one with a
curving road network to rectangular shape
with a grid iron pattern for the fast traffic
roads, besides reducing its area for reason of
economy.
LE CORBUSIERS PLAN-BASIC CONCEPTS
• The city plan was conceived as post
war ‘garden city’ wherein vertical
and high rise buildings were ruled
out, keeping in view the living
habits of the people.
• Le modular system
• Analogous to human body
HEAD : capital (place of power)
HEART : the city centre
STOMACH:the commercial area
ARMS:university and industrial
zone
LUNGS : leisure valley, open spaces
ARTERIES : network of roads
LE CORBUSIER PLANNING STRATEGIES
• Planned with focus on urban design , architectural aesthetics ,
preservation of natural environment , conservation of buildings and
open spaces , hierarchical road network
• Divided the human functions into circulation , living , working ,
care body and spirit with strict zoning
• City planning was against the traditional indian cities
• Replaced the native indian town plan into superblocks
LE CORBUSIER PLANNING STRATEGIES
LE CORBUSIER PLANNING STRATEGIES
• Kept orientation of grids as it was
• One dominant off centred doglegged axis
• The grid of superblock increased in size to 1200 x
800mts (3900 x 2700 feet)
• Accommodating up to 25000 inhabitants
• Within superblock centralized market was replaced
by continuous bazar street across the block.
• Capital Complex and high court combined in one
govt. complex
• CBD Area Remained the same
• Shifted Capital complex to higher ground
• Two linear parks were replaced by total of 6 later by
8.
• Each Sector with its own green space around which
houses are designed
• V7 Road Concept
CRITICISM
• Self contained sectors – All essential services
within walking distance.
• Sectors provide safe space for children.
• Safe, Yet boring
• Confusing Streets.
• Discouraging Place to go for walk.
• Un-Indian and yet inspiration of architects.
Lack in Characteristics
• Street Culture.
• Excitement of Indian cities.
• Noise of Lahore.
• Intimacy of Delhi.
CIRCULATION
• An integrated system of seven road types
V1 : fast roads connecting chandigarh to other
towns
V2 : arterial roads
V3 :fast vehicular roads
V4 : Meandering shopping streets
V5 :Sector circulation roads
V6 : Access roads to houses
V7 : Footpaths and cycle tracks
• Buses will ply only on v1, v2, v3 and v4 roads
• Pathways for cyclists
• Roads intersected at right angles forming a
grid
• Hierarchy of movement
• Residential areas segregated from the traffic
V7 ROAD CONCEPT
THE SECTOR
• The primary module of the city ‘s design is a
sector , neighborhood unit of size
800mtrs×1200mtrs
• Each sector is a self sufficient unit having
shops ,school , health centers and places of
recreations and worship
• The population of a sector varies between
3000and 2000 depending upon the sizes of
plots and the topography of the area
• Convenient walking distance for social
services like schools and shopping centers
THE SECTOR
• The basic planning of the city is a sector
• to accommodate 3,000 to 25,000 persons
• 30 sectors in chandigarh
• 24 are residential
• The sectors surrounded by high speed
roads
• Bus stops every 400m
• The main principle of the sector is that
never a door will open on the surrounding
of fast vehicular road
• The size of the sector is based on the
concept of no pedestrian need to walk for
more than 10min.
PRINCIPLES OF URBAN DESIGN
• Convenient walking distance for special
services like schools and shopping centers.
• Street system
• Major roads should not pass through
residential neighborhood.
• Internal road pattern should encourage
quite , safe, low volume traffic movement.
• Facilities
• Orderly arrangement of facilities which
would be shared common by the residents
• A unit having shops , school , health centers
and places of recreations and worships.
• These sectors varies depending upon the
size and the topography of the area.
• Chandigarh has four Main work
centers
– The capitol complex in the north- east
– The educational institutes in the north-
west
– The city centre in the heart
– The industrial area in the south- east
HEIRARCHY OF GREEN SPACES
• A Hierarchy of Green Spaces can be
observed in both the layout ranging from
Public Greens at City Level to Semi-
Private to Private Green Areas.
1. City Level Public Green Space with
Artificial Water Body
2. Free- Flowing Green Space, connecting
the entire site
3. Semi-Private Green Areas for
neighborhood pockets
4. Private Green Areas for Residential
Units
THE CAPITOL COMPLEX
• Based on the design of a grate cross axis.
• The artificial hills in the front of the
secretariat have not been created and laid
out in accordance with le corbusier’s
conceptions.
• Designed as the great pedestrain plaza
with motor traffic seperated into suken
trenches leading to parking areas.
• Consists of
– Parliament
– Secretariat
– Governor’s palace
– High court
– Truncated pyramid
– Monument for the victims
– Open hand
CONCEPT OF CAPITOL
COMPLEX
• In the city layout ,the capitol has the prime
location on the north – western tip , somewhat
aloof and detached from the remaining grid –
iron , mesh of self sufficient neighbourhood
units called sectors.
• The layout of the capitol was based on the
Corbusiers predilection with the Golden Section
and the Modular Dimensions he evolved from
it.
• The golden ratio is the ratio between the
elements of a form such that the sum of two
elements are in the same ratio to the larger
one .
CONCEPT : “ GOLDEN SECTION /RATIO “
SITE PLAN
SKETCH OF CAPITOL : LE CORBUSIER
1.LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
• The assembly was conceived as a
rectilinear structure.
• It is square in plan with a monumental
portico facing the main plaza.
• On the lateral facades both the portico
and the office block would be defined by
solid end walls .
• The larger chamber is in hyperbolic form
of the cooling tower with an average
thickness of 15cm.
• The small council chamber are in
rectilinear frame .
• The upper portion of the tower is
extending above the roof line .
• An assembly chamber is 128 ft in
diameter at its base and rises to 124 ft at
its heighest point.
• This tower was designed to ensure the
natural light , ventilation and proper
acoustics.
2.THE SECRETARIAT
• It stands as a protective wall to the Complex,a
tall structure so wide that it is difficult to
capture it in a glance.
• The building is composed of six eight storey
blocks seperated by expansion joints.
• The central pavilion ,block 4 , contains the
offices of the ministers.
• The rough concrete again interposes in the
fenestration of the two main facades : more
than 2000 units of unique design.
• The top of the block is developed as a roof
garden containing the service blocks and
cafeteria for employees.
• Block 1 and 2 rises directly from the ground.
• Block 3,4 and part of 5 face on the excavated
area of the parking lot and have the lower
storey open between pilotis.
3.HIGH
• Parasol roof
COURT
• Forming arches
• Double roof
• Gap left between
• Two roofs
• Colored massive pillars
• Full height entrances
• Double roof
• Approached through roads
• Rough concrete finished ramp
• The entrance lobby is paved
with whitish flag stone set in
the rows of varying widths.
4.THE GOVERNORS PALACE / MUSEUM OF KNOWLEDGE
• It is smallest of the four buildings
of the capitol complex .
• It consist of five floors of cuboidal
forms over pillared halls , recessed
floors in between and then a
floating mass to be culminated by
a curving canopy akin to an Indian
‘barsati ‘ at the rooftop , to
connect to the stars , heaven and
the distant ethereal Kasauli lights ,
is a mesmerizing concept.
5.MONUMENTS
1.THE OPEN HAND
• The hand rises 85 ft from an excavated
plaza termed the fosse de la
consideration , the pit of contemplation
, which is provided for debate on public
affairs(Trench of Consideration ).
• The open hand , the most prominent
monument measure 12.5mt by 9.0mt
apart from being an architecture
cynosure, it defines the northern fringe
of the Capitol Complex and shows a
man – made sculptural form against the
backdrop presented by the rugged
profile of the ageless splendid Shivalik
Hills..
2.MARTYRS MEMORIAL 3.TOWER OF SHADOWS
• It is sited on the side of the • Designed to study the solar movement ,
esplanade between the Assembly this building served to Le Corbusier to
Hall and the High court , defining an support his thesis that “it is possible to
axial entrance to the Museum of control the sunlight in the corners of a
Knowledge and the monument to building , play with it even in a hot
the twenty Four Solar Hours on the country and finally obtain low
opposite side. temperatures “.
4.GEOMETRIC HILL
• Situated adjacent to the memorial , this was to be a huge earth tilled hill , which will have its
lower half in concrete relief work , and the top covered with grass turf.
• The relief will be in the form of Corbusiers diagram of daily balance of light and darkness ,
which in his words “ rules mans activity “.
