Chandigarh: Le Corbusier's Modernism & Punjabi Identity

Modern​ ​Arch​ ​|​ ​Paper​ ​Proposal
Michelle​ ​Badr
Amongst​ ​the​ ​list​ ​of​ ​methods​ ​used​ ​by​ ​political​ ​powers​ ​and​ ​leaders​ ​to​ ​define​ ​themselves​ ​as​ ​a
global​ ​center,​ ​architecture​ ​sits​ ​at​ ​the​ ​top.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​the​ ​tool​ ​that​ ​the​ ​Punjab​ ​region​ ​of​ ​India​ ​looked
to​ ​after​ ​the​ ​nation’s​ ​independence​ ​from​ ​Great​ ​Britain​ ​in​ ​1947.​ ​Due​ ​to​ ​ignorant​ ​boundaries​ ​drawn
by​ ​the​ ​colonial​ ​government,​ ​Punjab​ ​was​ ​split​ ​in​ ​two​ ​and​ ​lost​ ​its​ ​great​ ​capital​ ​of​ ​Lahore​ ​to​ ​the
new​ ​nation​ ​of​ ​Pakistan.​ ​Indian​ ​Punjab​ ​found​ ​itself​ ​in​ ​need​ ​of​ ​a​ ​new​ ​capital,​ ​identity,​ ​and​ ​place​ ​in
the​ ​modern​ ​world.
Insert​ ​French​ ​modernist​ ​architect,​ ​Le​ ​Corbusier.​ ​Corbusier’s​ ​dreams​ ​and​ ​former​ ​experiments​ ​on
utopian​ ​cities​ ​made​ ​him​ ​an​ ​ideal​ ​candidate​ ​to​ ​take​ ​on​ ​plans​ ​for​ ​the​ ​new​ ​Punjabi​ ​city​ ​of
Chandigarh,​ ​India.​ ​The​ ​site​ ​is​ ​comprised​ ​of​ ​7​ ​dominant​ ​features-​ ​an​ ​assembly​ ​hall,​ ​high​ ​court,
secretariat,​ ​museum,​ ​park,​ ​lake,​ ​and​ ​sculpture-​ ​all​ ​made​ ​of​ ​concrete​ ​and​ ​accented​ ​with​ ​primary
colors.
While​ ​some​ ​may​ ​revere​ ​the​ ​city​ ​as​ ​an​ ​architectural​ ​jewel,​ ​Corbusier’s​ ​implanted​ ​modernist
design​ ​fails​ ​in​ ​many​ ​ways.​ ​This​ ​written​ ​work​ ​will​ ​assess​ ​the​ ​site’s​ ​success​ ​in​ ​terms​ ​of
functionality,​ ​accessibility,​ ​connection​ ​to​ ​local​ ​culture,​ ​and​ ​overall​ ​attempt​ ​at​ ​setting​ ​a​ ​new
identity​ ​for​ ​the​ ​region.