Palace of Assembly | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Chandigarh |
Country | India |
Coordinates | 30°45′40″N76°48′11″E / 30.76111°N 76.80306°E |
Construction started | 1951 |
Completed | 1962 |
Inaugurated | 15 April 1964 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Le Corbusier |
Official name | The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement |
Designated | 17 July 2016 |
Reference no. | 1321rev |
The Palace of Assembly is a building in Chandigarh, India which houses the Punjab Legislative Assembly and the Haryana Legislative Assembly. It was designed by modernist architect Le Corbusier. [1] [2] It is part of the Capitol Complex, which includes the Legislative Assembly, Secretariat and High Court. [3] The Palace of Assembly features a circular assembly chamber, a forum for conversation and transactions, and stair-free circulation. [4]
The building was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. [5] [6]
After the partition of Punjab in 1947 following the independence of India, the divided Punjab required a new capital to replace Lahore, which was now in Pakistan. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru commissioned Le Corbusier to build a new city for the capital of Punjab. This city would become Chandigarh. Nehru desired that the city's design be "unfettered by the traditions of the past, a symbol of the nation's faith in the future". Subsequently, Corbusier and his team designed not just a large assembly and high court building, but all major buildings in the city, down to the door handles in public offices. [1] Construction of the Palace of Assembly began in 1951 and ended 11 years later in 1962. The building was inaugurated on 15 April 1964. [7] After the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 separated the new state of Haryana from the state of Punjab, Chandigarh remained capital of both states and both legislative assemblies share the same campus.
Today, many of the buildings in Chandigarh are considered modernist masterpieces, though most are in a state of neglect. In 2010, chairs from the assembly building were auctioned in London. A diplomatic attempt to stop the sale failed, as the items were "condemned" and deemed unfit for use. [1]
Le Corbusier wanted to include an assembly door. He consulted with Prime Minister Nehru for symbols that could be depicted on the door to represent the new India and its modern vision. Nehru, in turn, entrusted Le Corbusier to invent them himself. [8]
The door is adorned with vibrant colours and is divided into upper and lower halves. The upper half depicts man's relationship with the cosmos and includes imagery representing solstices, lunar eclipses and the Equinox. The lower half is populated with animals and natural forms. A desert depicts the original order of the Earth, while greenery represents the Garden Of Eden. The door also displays a river, trees, bulls and turtles, and the proverbial Tree of Knowledge in the centre of the door bears fruits of knowledge. [8] The nearly 25 square foot door, with its enamelled panels, was airlifted from Paris.[ citation needed ]
This entrance is opened on certain ceremonial occasions. [8]
Le Corbusier believed that "architecture is circulation", and the Palace of Assembly is designed to encourage the movement of people and ideas. High ceilings and narrow columns make the space feel expansive, and ramps replace stairs to provide fluid transitions between levels. The General Assembly itself is circular – a literal interpretation of Le Corbusier's belief – and is off-centre within the space, challenging neoclassical architecture's focus on organization. [9]
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and acquired French nationality by naturalization on 19 September 1930. His career spanned five decades, in which he designed buildings in Europe, Japan, India, as well as North and South America. He considered that "the roots of modern architecture are to be found in Viollet-le-Duc".
Chandigarh is a union territory and planned city in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the surrounding states, namely Punjab to the north, west and the south, and Haryana to the east. Chandigarh constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which also includes the adjacent satellite cities of Panchkula in Haryana and Mohali in Punjab. It is situated near the foothills of the Himalayas, 260 km north of New Delhi and 229 km southeast of Amritsar.
The Unité d'habitation is a modernist residential housing typology developed by Le Corbusier, with the collaboration of painter-architect Nadir Afonso. It formed the basis of several housing developments throughout Europe designed by Le Corbusier and sharing the same name.
Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 Permanent Judges and 21 Additional Judges including Chief Justice. As of 14 September 2023, there are 58 Judges working in the High Court, comprising 36 Permanent and 22 Additional Judges.
Sanskar Kendra is a museum at Ahmedabad, India, designed by the architect Le Corbusier. It is a city museum depicting history, art, culture and architecture of Ahmedabad. Another Patang Kite Museum is there which includes a collection of kites, photographs, and other artifacts. The campus is located at the west end of Sardar Bridge near Paldi.
The Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA) is a college imparting education and research in the field of architecture. It covers the north-western region of India including the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh as well as the Union Territories of Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir. The college has an enrolment of 200 undergraduates.
The Government of Punjab, also known as the State Government of Punjab or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Punjab and its 23 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Punjab, a judiciary and a legislative branch.
Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, is a premier museum of North India having collections of Gandharan sculptures, sculptures from ancient and medieval India, Pahari and Rajasthani miniature paintings. It owes its existence to the partition of India in August, 1947. Prior to the partition, much of the collections of art objects, paintings and sculptures present here were housed in the Central Museum, Lahore, the then capital of Punjab. The museum has one of the largest collection of Gandharan artefacts in the world.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Haryana.
The Open Hand Monument is a symbolic structure designed by the architect Le Corbusier and located in the Capitol Complex of the Indian city and union territory of Chandigarh. It is the emblem and symbol of the Government of Chandigarh and symbolizes "the hand to give and the hand to take; peace and prosperity, and the unity of mankind". The largest example of Le Corbusier's many Open Hand sculptures, it stands 26 metres (85 ft) high. The metal structure with vanes is 14 metres (46 ft) high, weighs 50 short tons (100,000 lb), and was designed to rotate in the wind.
Secretariat Building is a Le Corbusier-designed building in Chandigarh completed in 1953 to house the offices of the Chief Secretary of the Indian state of East Punjab. Since the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 split East Punjab into Haryana and Punjab, Chandigarh has been the capital of both states and the Secretariat Building is shared by their respective Chief Secretaries.
Aditya Prakash, was an architect, painter, academic and published author. He belonged to the first generation of Indian Modernists closely associated with Chandigarh and the developmentalist practices of postcolonial India under Jawaharlal Nehru. He designed over 60 buildings all in north India. His paintings are held in private collections worldwide. His architecture and art adhered strictly to modernist principles. As an academic, he was one of the earliest Indian champions of sustainable urbanism. He published two books and several papers on this topic. His archives are held at the Canadian Centre for Architecture at Montreal, Canada.
Chandigarh is a city and a union territory in the northern part of India that serves as the capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. As a union territory, the city is ruled directly by the Union Government of India and is not part of either state.
Urmila Eulie Chowdhury was an Indian architect who worked during the mid-to-late 20th century. She worked in the fields of general architecture, landscape architecture and design, and was also a teacher and writer. She was a pioneer woman architect working in India. Some sources state that she was also the first female architect in Asia. After her education she worked in close collaboration with Le Corbusier in the planning design and construction of the city of Chandigarh.
Chandigarh Capitol Complex, located in sector-1 of Chandigarh city in India, is a government compound designed by the architect Le Corbusier and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is spread over an area of around 100 acres and is a prime manifestation of Chandigarh's architecture. It comprises three buildings: the Palace of Assembly or Legislative Assembly, Secretariat Building and the High Court plus four monuments and a lake. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 2016 along with sixteen other works by Le Corbusier for its contribution to the development of modernist architecture.
Diwan Manna is an Indian conceptual artist and photographer. He completed his study in graphic art and printmaking from the Government College of Art, Chandigarh in 1982. He exhibited in India, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Poland, and Italy. From 2014 to 2015 he served as the director of Triennale India, organised by Lalit Kala Akademi, National Academy of Art, Ministry of Culture, Govt of India. He served as the chairman of Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, State Academy of Art, Department of Culture, Chandigarh Administration. Currently, he is serving as the president of Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, State Academy of Art, Ministry of Culture, Government of Punjab, India.
Parmeshwari Lal Varma, often shortened to P. L. Varma, is an Indian civil engineer and a former chief engineer of Punjab. He served as an associate of Le Corbusier, the Swiss-French architect, who designed the city of Chandigarh. There have been reports that Le Corbusier wanted Verma to assist him even past his retirement from service for which Jawaharlal Nehru, the then prime minister of India, unsuccessfully requested the Government of Punjab for the extension of Verma's service. His involvement in the making of Chandigarh has been documented in a book, Le Corbusier Rediscovered: Chandigarh and Beyond, in which he has written a special article. The Government of India awarded him Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award, in 1971. In June 2001, The Tribune noted that Verma was deceased.
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