Charles Correa

CHARLES CORREA Architect and urban planner par excellence (1930-2015) Charles Correa, in full Charles Mark Correa, (born September 1, 1930, Secunderabad, Hyderabad,— Hyderabad,— died June 16, 2015, Mumbai, India), Indian architect and urban planner known for his adaptation of Modernist tenets to local climates and building styles. In the realm of urban planning, he is particularly noted for his sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor and for his use of traditional methods and materials. EDUCATION: •Correa attended (1946 –48) St. Xavier’s College at the University of Bombay Bombay before studying at the University University of Michigan at Ann Arbor Arbor (B.Arch., 1953) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (M.Arch., 1955). •In 1958 he established his own Bombay-based professional practice. WORK PRINCIPLES: Correa’s early work combined traditional architectural values—as values—as embodied in the bungalow with its veranda and the open-air courtyard— courtyard—with the Modernist use of materials exemplified by figures such as Le Corbusier, Louis I. Kahn, and Buckminster Fuller. In particular, Correa was influenced by Le Corbusier’s use of striking concrete forms. The importance of t he site was a constant in Correa’s approach. Complementing the Indian landscape, he worked on an organic and topographic scale. In early commissions such as his Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya (1958 –63) –63) in Ahmedabad and the Handloom Pavilion (1958) in Delhi. Considerations of the Indian climate also drove many of Correa’s decisions. For residential commissions, he developed the “tube house,” a narrow house form designed to conserve energy. This form was realized in the Ramkrishna Ramkrishna House (1962 –64) –64) and the Parekh House (1966 –68), –68), both in Ahmedabad, which has a hot and arid climate. Also, in response to climate, Correa often employed a large oversailing shade roof or parasol, an element first seen in the Engineering Consultant India Limited complex (1965 –68) –68) in Hyderabad. In the late 1960s Correa began his career as an urban planner, creating New Bombay (now Navi Mumbai), an urban area that provi ded housing and job opportunities for many who lived across the harbour from the original city. His later works, which continued his long-standing interests, include Surya Kund (1986) in Delhi; the Inter-University Centre for Astrology and Astrophysics (1988 –92) –92) in Pune, Maharashtra; and the Jawahar Kala Kendra arts complex (1986 –92) –92) in Jaipur, Rajasthan. From 1985 to 1988 he he served as chairman of India’s National Commission on Urbanisation, and from 1999 he served as a consulting architect to the government of Goa.

Titles you can't find anywhere else

Try Scribd FREE for 30 days to access over 125 million titles without ads or interruptions! Start Free Trial Cancel Anytime.



PROJECTS: 1. Ismaili Centre, Toronto, 2014 2014 - Charles Correa's last work is an architectural interpretation of Islam, taking the Polar North route, its shortest path, to face Mecca. 2. Our Lady of Salvation Church (popularly known as Portuguese Church), Mumbai 1974-77 1974-77 - With a flamboyant mural by MF Husain, Correa used concrete shells to flood the space with a sacred light. 3. Champalimaud Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon, 2013 2013 - Conceived by Correa as a "museum of science" it is an edifice as Correa put it, to architecture as sculpture, architecture as beauty and beauty as therapy. 4. Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, 1993 -Merging -Merging the mystic power of the navagrahas and the modernity of science, and built to mirror the structure of the city itself, an example of how Correa's buildings have always moved to context. IUCAA, Pune, 1992 - The - The Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Physics is pretty much a model of the cosmos, an undertaking 5. 5. IUCAA, only a Correa could undertake. Two swerving lines of basalt stone, topped by cuddapah and glossy granite that reflects the sky - the black on black template is reflective of outer space. 6. National Craft Museum in Delhi, 1990 - Correa - Correa conceived it as a village street, cohesive and co-dependent and building to the scale of an average Indian village. 7. The MIT Neuroscience Centre, 2005 - Using - Using beige Portuguese stone and a glass front, Correa crafted a building that established a connectivity between three separate identities and streams. 8. Incremental Housing, New Bombay, 1986 - One of Correa's pet projects were to show that high density populations could be accommodated better in low rise with shared spaces. This project is a model of what he believed Bombay could and should be. 9. Kanchenjunga Apartments, Apartments, Mumbai, 1983 1983 - Today one of top luxury apartment blocks in India, the minimalist Kanchenjunga was used by Correa to open up to the sea breezes. Kanchenjunga uses balconies to model the old-style verandas of sea facing bungalows as a mode of protection from sun and rain lashings.



Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur Key concepts: Museum was inspired from city planning of Jaipur. Also symbolises the NINE Planets as “Nav Graha” Museum was inspired from city planning of Jaipur. Indian+ Modernism was the key: By making the southeast block to shift for Entrance. Located in the pink city of Jaipur, Jawahar Kala Kendra is a hub for cultural activities of the city. Completed in the y ear 1992, and initiated by state government, Jawahar Kala Kendra was built exclusively with the view to retain and revive Rajasthan’s rich folk culture. The plan plan of the institution, which is inspired by the original city plan of Jaipur, comprises of nine squares with central square left open. The original plan of the Jaipur city drawn up by Maharaja Jai Singh, himself a scholar, is also divided in nine parts, out of which one square gets displaced to accommodate nearby hill and the two central squares get united to form the city palace. At Jawahar Kala Kendra the city plan is recalled by rotating and displacing one of the squares which also creates an entrance space.

Charles Correa’s plan for the ‘Jawahar Kala Kendra’ invokes directly the original Navagraha’ Navagraha’ or nine house mandalas. His ideology was to invoke the underlying construct of the cosmos they are meant to represent, rather than just mere representation. Correa’s interest in the mandala was insomuch as it can be used to “structure the environment”. Hence the primary function of the of the nine square mandala is “structuring”. By using the nine squares mandala, Correa is also imitating the geometry of Jaipur city. In the museum, Correa’s direct imitation of the Jaipur city is evident in the displacing of one of its squares from the nine square constructs to create a main entrance. Hence on a closer examination one could suggest that Correa used the nine square Mandala not only as a structuring device but also to consciously invoke the symbolism of traditional city.



MATERIALS USED: The materials used have been carefully picked which can related and reflect to the nature of the space. The use of local yellow sandstone, red sandstone, lime, red-rubble, marble, terracotta and other materials, narrow passage ways and wide courtyards, frequent openings with connecting vistas, the imitation of step wells in the courtyard and through many other small details Correa has carved out this place making it more culturally belonged to the place and its locals. Correa, with the help of traditional artists of Rajasthan, re-created the images from the history on the walls of the museum, breathing life into it.

Hand painted ceiling by local artists, representing different ancient Hindu mathematical and scientific elements .



THE PLAN The geometry of the layout plan is derived from traditional Hindu architecture based on self-similar squares (Mandalas) derived from ancient Hindu texts (Vedic Shastras) dating back to 1500-500 BC. These squares are the abstraction of cosmos in geometrical form where architecture is perceived as a bridge between cosmos and man - the model of "cosmic man" (Vast purusha Mandala). The Hindu culture hence devised the cosmic man model for i nfinite applications in architecture whether it is at the level of urban design, public buildi ngs or private dwellings. The specific model used in the museum is made up of 9 squares representing nine planets (Navagraha Mandala). Mandala). This idea of using multiple self-similar squares is justified by Correa as follows, "The multiple squares make explicit a platonic ideal of built form which in turn reinforces and stabilizes society. In the museum, Correa's direct imitation of the Jaipur city is evident in the displacing of one of its squares from the nine square constructs to create a main entrance. Hence on a closer examination one could suggest that Correa used the nine square Mandala not only as a structuring device but also to consciously invoke the symbolism of traditional city. Insofar the museum uses it as a structuring principle, "structuring" becomes the primary function and insofar as the museum imitates the plan of Jaipur city - the symbolism of the "traditional city model" becomes its secondary function.

Charles Correa

Recommend Documents