Le Corbusier Rediscovered: Chandigarh and Beyond

With the recent recognition of Chandigarh’s Capitol Complex as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the spotlight on its creator, Le Corbusier, considered the 20th century’s greatest architect-planner, attains a more illustrious glow. Against this backdrop, Le Corbusier Rediscovered: Chandigarh and beyond weaves together an anthology of inspired essays by eminent, global experts on Corbusier’s life, ideas and work, both in Chandigarh and at other places. The diverse yet interlinked themes forming a composite compendium, rediscover the timelessness of Le Corbusier’s architecture and revisit his impact in India and the world over. Current issues like conservation of Chandigarh’s architectural heritage, future strategies for its growth and the Smart City model for Indian urbanisation are also addressed. The book is imbued with a patina of historicity imparted by the inclusion of some rare archival images and texts. With focussed essays by international experts like B.V. Doshi, William J.R. Curtis, Raj Rewal, Rahul Mehrotra, Jacques Sbriglio, Michel Richard, Alfredo Brillembourg, S.D. Sharma, Jagan Shah, Rajnish Wattas and Sumit Kaur on thematically linked topics—this richly illustrated book (with nearly 250 images) constitutes a seminal new publication on this subject. It rediscovers Le Corbusier and his crowning glory Chandigarh, viewed afresh in a new light.

About the Author

Rajnish Wattas, former principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture, is currently visiting faculty at various institutions. Widely travelled, he has lectured at numerous prestigious institutions internationally, including Harvard University and the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. A noted architectural critic and modern heritage expert, he has researched intensively on Chandigarh’s architecture and landscaping. He has published a huge compendium of professional writings in reputed journals as well as hundreds of essays, travelogues and features in leading magazines and newspapers. He is co-author of two books, Trees of Chandigarh and Sukhna—Sublime Lake of Chandigarh and is actively engaged in advising Chandigarh Administration on various urban planning issues.

Deepika Gandhi, a faculty member of the Chandigarh College of Architecture since 2002, is presently the Director, Le Corbusier Centre and Chandigarh Architecture Museum. She worked on the preparation of the Dossier for the ‘World Heritage’ nomination of the Capitol Complex, Chandigarh and is actively engaged in promoting its heritage. She supervised the restoration of the erstwhile house of Pierre Jeanneret, to establish a Jeanneret Museum there and also undertook restoration of the Le Corbusier Centre for further expansion. She has co-authored the book Sukhna—Sublime Lake of Chandigarh besides authoring and designing booklets to sensitise City students about its heritage. She has published numerous papers in national and international conferences.