CHARLES CORREA

POST INDEPENENCE
ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE IN
INDIA
“The sky, all said and done, is the source of light - which is the most
primordial of stimuli acting on our senses. And across its face,
every day, passes the sun – the origin of Life itself ! . . . Small
wonder then that man has always perceived the sky above to be the
abode of the gods, and that down all these many millennia, it has
exerted such extraordinary power on us and on the architecture we
build.”
-Charles Correa
 INTRODUCTION
• Born into a middle-class Catholic
family in Bombay

• Became fascinated with the

principles of design as a child

• At Michigan two professors who

influenced him the most -Walter
Salders and Buckminister Fuller.

• Kevin lynch , then in the process of

developing his themes for image of
the city triggered Correa’s interest
in urban issues
CHARLES CORREA
 EDUCATION AND CAREER
YEAR DESCRIPTION
1946-1948 Inter-science. St. Xavier's college, university of Bombay.
EDUCATION 1949-1953 B.Arch., University of Michigan.
1953-1955 M.Arch., Massachusetts institute of technology
1955-1958 Partner with G.M. BHUTA associates
1958 To date In private practice

1964-1965 Prepared master plan proposing twin city across the

CAREER harbor from Bombay.

1969-1971 invited by the govt. of Peru
1971-1975 Chief architect to CIDCO
1975-1976 Consultant to UN secretory-general for HABITAT
1975-1983 Chairman Housing Urban Renewal & Ecology Board
1985 Chairman Dharavi planning commission
 CORREA & CORBUSIER
 Like most architects of his generation he has been influenced by Le Corbusier ,
but by his response to the Mediterranean sun with his grand sculptural decisions
he believes that Corbusier’s influence in the colder climates has not been
beneficial because these heroic gestures had to withdraw into defensible space,
into mechanically heated (and cooled) interiors of the building.

 On way back to Bombay in 1955 - saw the Jaoul House (le Corbusier) in Paris
under construction. He said:

 ‘I was absolutely knocked out . It was a whole new world way beyond anything
being taught in America at that time ,then I saw Chandigarh and his buildings in
Ahmedabad . They seemed the only way to build.”
 CORREA & GANDHI
 Gandhi's goal for an
independent India had
been a village model,
non-industrial, its
architecture simple and GANDHI SAMADHI, RAJGHAT
(1956)
traditional

 In these early works GANDHI DARSHAN, RAJGHAT

(1969)
Correa demonstrates
uncompromising
execution of an idea as
a powerful statement of
form. GANDHI SMARAK,
AHMEDABAD
KASTURBA GANDHI
(1963)
SAMADHI, POONA (1962-1965)
 Correa's work in India shows a careful development, understanding and
adaptation of Modernism to a non-western culture. Correa's early works attempt
to explore a local vernacular within a modern environment. Correa's land -use
planning and community projects continually try to go beyond typical solutions
to third world problems.
 His emphasis on the use of local materials can be seen to reflect Indian
vernacular architecture, which focuses on the needs of local people with regards
to social needs and weather conditions, and the use of locally-sourced produce
and craftsmanship. This is beneficial especially when building in low-income
areas, as eradicating the need to import goods lowers overall building costs .
 He combines vernacular and modern concepts to create designs that support the
cultural identity of a place and community and eventually lead to sustainable
architecture.
 He forever stresses the importance of social issues and the need for quality low-
income housing, his builds range from institutional to public, urban planning to
memorials and housing projects.
 CONCEPT: OPEN TO SKY
In India, the sky has profoundly affected our relationship to built form, and to open
space. For in a warm climate, the best place to be in the late evenings and in the
early mornings, is outdoors, under the open sky. Such spaces have an infinite number
of variations: one steps out of a room. . . into a verandah. . . And thence on to a
terrace from which one proceeds to an open courtyard, perhaps shaded by a tree . . .
or by a large pergola overhead. At each moment, subtle changes in the quality of
light and ambient air generate feelings within us feelings which are central to our
beings.

COMPONENTS:
i. Courtyards and terraces
ii. Urbanization
iii. The machine for living
iv. Workspaces
v. Leisure
vi. The ritualistic pathway
vii. Metaphors
 COURTYARDS AND TERRACES
 Can make a decisive difference
between livable habitat and
claustrophobia LIVING
BED BED
 Particularly for the lowest income
group even in dense housing,
individual terraces can be given
 Such spaces not only improve
living conditions but also has LOW INCOME HOUSING:
GUJARAT HOUSING
economic value in developing
BOARD
countries like India
 These principles are viable also in
high rises where the issue is COLONIAL
compounded by hot and humid BUNGALOW
climate eg. Kanchenjunga (PLAN AND SECTION)
apartments
KANCHENJUNGA
 URBANIZATION
• Such open-to-sky spaces are of course of crucial importance to the poorest
inhabitants: the squatters. Obviously there is an appalling mismatch between the
way our cities have been built and the way we use them today

SQUATTER HOUSING
 THE MACHINE FOR LIVING
• Another equally critical parameter: Energy. architects have depended more and
more on the mechanical engineer to provide light and air within the building.

RAMKRISHNA HOUSE

WINDSCOOP HOUSES,
SIND

PAREKH
HOUSE
 METAPHORS
The relationship of architecture to the other arts is a crucial one.
Murals and sculpture are used not just to provide references to
local traditions and events, but really to bring back into balance
the spatial tensions generated by the built form. Use of abstract
color and realistic images, setting up a dialectic between built
form and visual imagery – a complex interaction which can adds
layers of metaphorical and metaphysical dimensions to
architecture. These buildings possess not only an extraordinary
beauty of proportion, materials, etc., but they also project, with
astonishing force, polemic ideas about ourselves and our
relationship with the Non-manifest World.
 WORK SPACES
to deal with solar protection involved various
forms of brise-soleil. this kind of concrete Louvre,
while providing powerful visual imagery for the
built form, can be counter-productive. The
concrete heats up during the long hot day and then
acts as an enormous radiator in the evening,
rendering the rooms unbearable.
THE RITUAUSTIC PATHWAY
A METAPHOR
FOR THE
INDIAN
STREET,
TAKING THE
VISITOR FROM
VILLAGE TO
TEMPLE TO
PALACE.
 PRINCIPLES
Few principles in his
work:

 Incrementality

 Identity

 Pluralism

 Income generation

 Equity

 Open-to-sky space

 Disaggregation.
Belapur housing project is BELAPUR HOUSING PROJECT
an example of the use
of these principles
LIST OF FEW FAMOUS TOWN PLANNERS
• Ebenezer Howard (Garden city)
• Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker (Letchworth city)
• Clarence Perry, Clarence Stein (The Neighborhood Unit, Rad burn)
• Patrick Geddes (Survey before plan)
• Patrick Abercrombie (Town and Country Planning)
• Frank Lloyd Wright (Broadacre City)
• Le Corbusier (Sector planning, Chandigarh)
• Soria-y-Mata (Linear city)

• CHARLES COREA (COMMUNITY HOUSING)

• Charles Mulford Robinson (Modern Civic Art)
• H.K. Mewada and P.M. Apte (Sector planning, Gandhinagar)
INTRODUCTION:BACKGROUND
• Charles Correa, in full Charles Mark Correa
• Born in secundrabad, India in 1930.

• He is an Architect, planner, activist and theoretician, an international lecturer and

traveler,particularly noted for his sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor and for
his use of traditional methods and materials
• Kevin lynch , then in the process of developing his themes for image of the
city triggered Correa’s interest in urban issues

• Correa's work in India shows a careful development, understanding and adaptation

of Modernism to a non-western culture. Correa's early works attempt to explore a
local vernacular within a modern environment. Correa's land-use planning and
community projects continually try to go beyond typical solutions to third world
problems.
INTRODUCTION: EDUCATION AND CAREER
YEAR DESCRIPTION
1946-1948 Inter-science. St. Xavier's college, university of Bombay.
EDUCATION 1949-1953 B.Arch., University of Michigan.
1953-1955 M.Arch., Massachusetts institute of technology
1955-1958 Partner with G.M. BHUTA associates
1958 To date In private practice
1964-1965 Prepared master plan proposing twin city across the harbor from

CAREER Bombay.
1969-1971 invited by the govt. of Peru
1971-1975 Chief architect to CIDCO
1975-1976 Consultant to UN secretory-general for HABITAT
1975-1983 Chairman Housing Urban Renewal & Ecology Board
1985 Chairman Dharavi planning commission
INTRODUCTION: PROJECTS OF CHARLES CORREA
• The first important order of Correa is the memorial place for Mahatma Gandhi in Sangrahalaya with Ahmadabad (1958-63), an
accumulation of buildings, grouped loosely around a central water yard, which integrate Gandhi’s house
• Meeting buildings (1951-58) in Chandigarh .
• Administration building (1958-60) and the philosophical faculty (1959-60)
• The Vallabh Vidyanagar university in Anand.
• Twin houses in Bhavnagar (1959)
• The Hindustan Lever Pavillion (1961) on the exhibition sites of Delhi reveals all constructional possibilities of the concrete
building method
• Tube house in Ahmadabad (1962)
• Cablenger township in Kota(1967)
• Patwardhan houses in Pune (1967)
• Kanchanjunga apartments in Bombay(1970)
• Navi Mumbai(1971)
• Suatter housing in Bombay (1973)
• Malbar cement in Kerala (1973)
• Tapa house in Delhi (19775)
• JNIDB in Hyderabad(1986)
• CCMB in Hyderabad (1986)
• JNC at IISC in Bangalore(1990)
INTRODUCTION:AWARDS
1961 - Prize for low-income housing early
1972 - Correa was awarded the PadmaShri by the President of India
1980 - Correa was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of
Michigan
1984 -He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British
Architects
1985 - Prize for the Improvement in the Quality of Human Settlements
from the International Union of Architects.
1986 - Chicago Architecture Award.
1987 -the Gold Medal of the Indian Institute of Architects
1990 - the Gold Medal of the UIA (International Union of Architects)
1994 - the Premium Imperial from Japan society of art.
1999 -Aga khan award for vidhan sabha, bhopal
INTRODUCTION:HIS BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS
• Modernity and Community: Architecture in by Kenneth Frampton, Charles
Correa, David Robson, and Aga Khan Award for Architecture .
• Himalayan Vernacular by Carl Pruscha and Charles Correa .
• The New Landscape: Urbanization in the Third World by Charles Correa .
• Magellan's Voyage Around the World by Antonio Pigafetta, Maximilian of
Transylvania, Gaspar Correa, and Charles E. Nowell .
• Matematica Uso Diario Para Dummies by Charles Seiter and Maria Mercedes
Correa.
• Housing & urbanisation by Charles Correa .
• The value of place: Urban stategies for California's Central Valley towns by
CharlesCorrea
 HIS MAIN CONCEPT SEEN IN MANY DESIGNS

OPEN TO SKY CONCPET

COURTYARDS AND THE MACHINE FOR

HOUSING WORK SPACES THE PATHWAYS
TERRACES LIVING

EXAMPLES

Low-income housing; Squatter housing

Gujarat Housing Board
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY: MICRO LEVEL
• INDIA IS A LAND OF “ABUNDANT SUN” AND “PLENTIFUL LABOR”
• “OPEN-TO-SKY” AND “TUBE DWELLING”
• COMBINATORIAL GAME OF CELLULAR HOUSING PATTERNS
• STEPPED INTERLOCKING OF SPACES AND DETAILS
• HIGHLY CLIMATIC RESPONSIVE BUILDINGS
• CATERS TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC NEEDS
• CORREA'S WORK IN INDIA SHOWS A CAREFUL DEVELOPMENT, UNDERSTANDING AND
ADAPTATION OF MODERNISM TO A NON-WESTERN CULTURE. CORREA'S EARLY WORKS
ATTEMPT TO EXPLORE A LOCAL VERNACULAR WITHIN A MODERN ENVIRONMENT.
• CORREA'S LAND-USE PLANNING AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS CONTINUALLY TRY TO
GO BEYOND TYPICAL SOLUTIONS TO THIRD WORLD PROBLEMS.
1.GANDHI SMARAK SANGRAHALAYA,
SABARMATI ASHRAM, AHMEDABAD – 1958-63
• Memorial museum erected in
sabarmati ashram –Dandi march
• Tiled roofs, brick walls, stone
floor and wooden doors, RCC
Channels
• No glass, Lighting and ventilation
through operable wooden louvers
• Typology analogous to Gandhiji‟s
thinking of villages
• Water courts, Meandering design
• Minimalist architecture
• Glow of spaces

MAIN PRINCIPLE: LOCAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE & HIGHLY CLIMATIC RESPONSIVE

BUILDINGS
GANDHI SMARAK SANGHRALAYA

PHILOSOPHY
 Successfully shows the life of Gandhiji
 Minimalist architecture
 Material honesty
 Contemporary architecture
 Glow of spaces
SITE PLAN
ROOF PLAN
 SECTION

SECTIONAL ELEVATION (MODULAR UNIT)

SECTION SHOWING OPERABLE LOUVRES
• Material used:
 Tiled roof
 Brick wall
 Stone floor
 Wooden floor
 Light and ventilation by operable
wooden louvers

• These elements combine to form

a pattern of tiled roofs which are
grouped in casual meandering
pattern, creating a pathway
along which the visitors
progresses towards the centrality
of the water court
2. KOVALAM BEACH RESORT, KERALA – 1969-74
• Cluster of detached units –
“Kudils”
• Stepped terrace that leads
visually to the beach
• Subtle level changes having
a certain oriental character
• Highly articulated living
zones
• Views to beach even from
kitchenettes
• Highly responsive resort
with regional character
MAIN PRINCIPLE: STEPPED INTERLOCKING OF SPACES AND OPEN TO SKY
 SECTION (DETACHED UNIT)

SECTION( MAIN BLDG.)

• Construction is in traditional vernacular of Kerala- Plaster walls with red tiled roofs

• Other pavilion consists of little Bamboo chhatries with coir matins on the floor and
local Kerala handicrafts.
KOVALAM BEACH RESORT,
KERALA
 Accommodates 300 guests, Center for massages
and yoga, Water sport etc.

 The master plan does not concentrate all the

facilities in one area,but generate a large number
of potential growth points, thus allowing a more
flexible response to future demands .

 The Guest rooms come in 3 configurations-:

1. On the edge of the beach hidden under the palm
trees . They are suites for longer stay with
cooking facilities etc.
2. Overlooking the beach there are 100 guests
rooms. Here the facilities are such that every
room gets its own private sundeck..
3. Between these two are private detach housing
units
ENTRANCE LEVEL PLAN
 SECTION (DETACHED UNIT)

SECTION( MAIN BLDG.)

• Construction is in traditional vernacular of Kerala- Plaster walls with red tiled roofs

• Other pavilion consists of little Bamboo chhatries with coir matins on the floor and
local Kerala handicrafts.
DETACHED UNIT VIEW

SUNDECKS
IN THE
MAIN
BUILDING
 SUN DECK

INTERIORS

VIEW OF THE SUN DECK FROM

INSIDE
3. KANCHANJUNGA APARTMENTS, BOMBAY - 1970-83
• Tower 1:4 Proportion – 21m X 84m – hosts 32 three or four bedroom luxury apartments.
• Ingenious cellular planning – interlock of one and a half storey,split-level units.
• Smaller displacement of levels differentiates external earth
filled terrace to interior elevated living volumes
• Effectively shields the effects of both Sun and Rain
• Tower with deep garden verandahs (Unite d habitation)

MAIN PRINCIPLE: MODERNISM AND LANDSCAPE IN VERENDAS/BALCONIES

3. KANCHANJUNGA APARTMENTS, BOMBAY - 1970-83

CROSS VENTILATION

MAIN PRINCIPLE:HERE CORREA SUBVERTS THE TRADITIONAL PRINCIPLES OF A BUNGALOW

VERANDA AND APPLIES THEM TO A HIGH-RISE, CREATING GENEROUS TWO-STOREY
TERRACES WITHIN GEOMETRICALLY-COMPLEX INTERLOCKING APARTMENTS.
3. KANCHANJUNGA APARTMENTS, BOMBAY - 1970-83
• Its minimal unbroken surfaces are cut away to open up the double height terrace
gardens at the corners, thus revealing some hint of the complex spatial organization
of living spaces that lie within the tower.
KANCHENJUNGA APARTMENTS
This 28-story tower, with its concrete
construction and large areas of
white panels, bears a strong
resemblance to modern apartment
buildings in the WestThis building
has 32 different apartments with 4
types of flats varying from 3 to 6
bedrooms.Interlocking of these
variations expressed externally by
shear end walls that hold up the
cantilevers.Minimalist surfaces cut
away to open up double-height
terrace gardens at the
corners.Complex spatial
organization of living spaces
SITE PLAN
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE SITE
EVOLUTION
ELEVATIONS
SECTION SHOWING TRANSPARENCY
Garden terraces actually a modern
interpretation of a feature of the traditional
Indian bungalow: the verandah

Each apartment provided with a deep, two-

story-high garden terrace that is oriented
away from the sun so as to afford protection
from the elements
4. JNIDB- HYDERABAD 1986-91
Simple pure geometry – humidified micro-
climate – numerous
courtyards – skillful play of color
1. Rooms laid out around the courtyard
2. Courtyard – Central Kund with stone
steps
3. Creates focus in the center of complex
4. An ideal place for casual conversations
and also for formal events like concerts

MAIN PRINCIPLE: SIMPLICITY IN DESIGN AND COURTYARDS(OPEN TO SKY)

BRITISH COUNCIL LIBRARY,NEW DELHI
The new building for the British council houses a
number of diverse functions including a library, an
auditorium an art gallery and the head quarters of
their offices in India

The black stones design is representing

the shadows cast by a giant banyan
tree waving in the wind which is
showing the image of indian tree
 ENTRANCE

Correas idea for the building was to

express the three basic cultural
SITE PLAN
identities that have shaped
At the farthest end is the axis mundi of hinduism, a spiral
symbolizing bindu: the centre of the cosmos. The next nodal contemporary India: Hindu, Muslim
point is the main courtyard, centered around another mythical and European
inage: the traditonal islam char bagh. The third nodal point
along the axisis a european icon, inlaid in marble and granite

COX’S SCULPTURE SITS IN THE HINDU VIEW ACROSS THE INNER COURTYARDS, EUROPEAN ICON, USED TO REPRESENT
COURT, AT THE POINT OF BINDU. WITH IN THE FOREGROUND AN THE AGE OF REASON, NCLUDING THE
INTERPRETATION OF THE LAYOUT OF THE MYTHIC VALUES OF SCIENCE AND
ISLAMIC GARDEN OF PARADSE PROGRESS
HUDCO HOUSING,JODHPUR
1. Hudco (housing and development
corporation) commissioned correa to
add 176 houses to an existing
development
2. Using the basic principles for the units
at belapur, the architect grouped the
units around a hierarchy of open
spaces
3. The houses are to cater to four income
categories, from lower to mid-level
income categories
4. Each unit Is independent from its
neighbour which allows incrementality
and upgrading as families become
upwardly mobile

MAIN PRINCIPLE: COMMUNITY HOUSING HAVING OPEN SPACES AT CENTRE

HIS OTHER PRINCIPLES

FEW CARDINAL PRINCIPLES IN HIS VAST BODY OF

WORK;

INCREMENTALITY

PLURALISM

PARTICIPATION

INCOME GENERATION
EQUITY

OPEN-TO-SKY SPACE
DISAGGREGATION.
Belapur housing being the one project where he has literally used these
principals
BELAPUR HOUSING
Project demonstrates how high density housing (500 people per hectare) can
be achieved in a low-rise typology, while including OPEN TO SKY SPACES
and services, like schools, that the community requires
Overriding principle - to give each unit its own site to allow for expansion
(INCREMENTALITY)
 Consequently, families do not share walls with their neighbors , allowing each
to expand his own house (PARTICIPATION)
Houses constructed simply and can be built by traditional masons and
craftsmen - generating employment for local workers (INCOME
GENERATION)
several plans exist that cover the social spectrum, from squatters to upper
income families (PLURALISM)
Yet, the footprint of each plan varies little in size (from 45 sqm to 70 sqm),
maintaining EQUITY (FAIRNESS) in the community
• Scheme caters wide range from the lowest
budgets of Rs 20000
• Middle income groups Rs 30000-50000
• Upper income Rs 180000
• Though ratio of costs is 1:5 the variation of plot
is much smaller , from 45 to 75 square metres.
• Seven units are grouped of 8x8 meters
• 3 cluster combine to form a larger module of 21
houses surrounding space of 12x12 metres
• 3 such modules interlock to define the next scale
of community space approximately 20x20 metres
• The houses are structurally simple , can be built
and altered by local mistries
 BELAPUR HOUSING
Project demonstrates how
high density housing (500
people per hectare) can be
achieved in a low-rise
typology, while including
(open to sky spaces) and
services, like schools, that the
community requires
Overriding principle - to give
each unit its own site to allow
for expansion (Incrementality)
Units are Malleable so that they
can be colonized by occupants,
and modified to their
social/cultural/religious needs
(Identity)
Houses constructed simply and
can be built by traditional
masons and craftsmen -
generating employment for local
workers (Income generation)

several plans exist that cover the social spectrum, from squatters to upper income
families (Pluralism)
the footprint of each plan varies little in size (from 45 sqm to 70 sqm), maintaining
equity (fairness) in the community
SITE PLAN PHASE 1
SITE PLAN PHASE 2
Small shared courtyard 8mx8m around which
seven houses are grouped.

The sites themselves vary in size only

marginally (from 45 to 70 sq m)

The houses are structurally simple , can be

built and altered by local mistries
JEEVAN BHARTI , DELHI (1975-86)
 When the building came up in the 1980s, architect Charles Correa was criticized
for making it too futurist.
 This office complex of LIC is situated on the outer road of Connaught circle and
acts as a pivot between the colonnades of CP and new generation of high rise
towers that now surround it . Thus the building is both a proscenium and a
backdrop: a 12 storey stage set whose faceted glass surface reflects the
buildings and trees around CP.
• Offices are located in two separate wings creating a built up of 6300 sq.
m. A 98 meters long pergola connects the two buildings .
BHARAT BHAWAN(1975-1981)

• Bharat Bhavan is an
autonomous multi-arts
complex and museum in the
state of capital bhopal,
established and funded by
the government of mp facing
the upper lake , bhopal, it
houses an art gallery, a fine
art workshops, an open-air
amphitheatre, a studio theatre,
an auditorium, a museum
tribal and folk art, libraries of
Indian poetry, classical music
as well as folk music.
 The natural contours of the site have been used to create series of terraced
gardens and sunken courtyards.
 The profound hierarchy in the organization of spaces, is what allows for the
transition courtyards to develop an informality and openness which gives this
space its character, as a platform for sharing and building up cultural ideas.
 Lighting and ventilation within the building are provided with top lights (slots
along the parapets).
 deep understanding of the Vedic principles

Won prestigious AGA KHAN award for this in 1999

MP VIDHAN SABHA
The new Vidhan Sabha houses the many diverse functions crucial to a functioning
democracy

The plan is a pattern of gardens within gardens , divided into 9 squares .

The five central ones are halls and courtyards , while the 4 corner positions are
occupied by specialized functions.

The Vidhan Sabha , the Vidhan Parishad, central library, and combined hall .It also
contains a host of other facilities : offices, cabinet rooms, cafeterias , common rooms for
security staff etc.

According to the requirements there are 3 main entrances- for public,VP’s, MLA’s .
These 3 main streams separated from each other experience the complex internal space
of the building while moving along verandah and overlooking courtyards and gardens–
as in traditional architecture of India.
DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF VEDIC
PRINCIPLES
FLOOR PLAN

PARTIAL MODEL VIEW OF THE

PUBLIC ENTRANCE , CENTRAL
ROOF PLAN COURT AND VIDHAN SABHA
 SECTION

• The building is located in the centre of bhopal. Since the main access road is not
axial , but swings towards the site in a rather casual manner , the plan of the
building developed as a circle, so it could have an autonous unity and presence,
regardless of the direction from which it is approached. References of this
circular form are–parliament building in New Delhi, Buddhist stupa near
Sanchi.
ELEVATION
The whole building presents as extremely pleasing vision of powerful curves and straight
vertical and horizontal lines. Whereas the building could have fallen into the trap of
being merely monumental, its pristinely simple lines raise it to an altogether different
plane. This is the genius of Charles Correa

The whole composition is enclosed by a wall that defines its exterior form like a
circular inner city- a model of the city of Baghdad. This approach has generated an
interesting roofs cape and skylines, too often missing in contemporary architecture, the
use of gateways and domes and a tower to develop the imagery of this landmark
complex is very much in the tradition of the harmonic order found in the traditional
architecture of Islam
Correa has used open to sky
courtyards and a labyrinthine
pattern of pathways to organise
the complex requirements of
adminstrative and legislative
functions.
BRITISH COUNCIL LIBRARY
The new building for the British council
houses a number of diverse functions
including a library, an auditorium an art
gallery and the head quarters of their
offices in India
 Correas idea for the building
was to express the three basic
cultural identities that have
shaped contemporary India:
Hindu, Muslim and European
ENTRANCE

SITE PLAN

At the farthest end is the axis

mundi of hinduism, a spiral
symbolizing bindu: the centre
of the cosmos. The next nodal
point is the main courtyard,
centered around another
mythical inage: the traditonal
islam char bagh. The third
nodal point along the axisis a
european icon, inlaid in marble
and granite
SITE SECTION
VIEW
COX’S SCULPTURE SITS IN THE
HINDU COURT, AT THE POINT OF
BINDU.

VIEW ACROSS THE INNER

COURTYARDS, WITH IN THE
FOREGROUND AN INTERPRETATION
OF THE LAYOUT OF THE ISLAMIC
GARDEN OF PARADSE

EUROPEAN ICON, USED TO

REPRESENT THE AGE OF
REASON, NCLUDING THE MYTHIC
VALUES OF SCIENCE AND
PROGRESS
AWARDS
 1961 Prize for low-income housing
 1972 PadmaShri by the President of India
 1980 Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Michigan
 1984 Gold Medal- Royal Institute of British Architects
 1985 Prize for the Improvement in the Quality of Human Settlements from the
International Union of Architects.
 1986 Chicago Architecture Award.
 1987 Gold Medal- Indian Institute of Architects
 1990 Gold Medal (International Union of Architects)
 1994 The Premium Imperial from Japan society of art.
 1999 Aga khan award for vidhan sabha, bhopal