Charles Correa

Charles Mark Correa

Introduction 

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increasing number of architects from South Asia migrate to Europe and the United States for advanced studies combining Western rationalism and architectural theory with vernacular tradition and an appreciation of the need to preserve and reinvent South Asia’s built heritage for a postcolonial age.

Introduction 

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increasing number of architects from South Asia migrate to Europe and the United States for advanced studies combining Western rationalism and architectural theory with vernacular tradition and an appreciation of the need to preserve and reinvent South Asia’s built heritage for a postcolonial age.

Biography  

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Born in 1930 of Goan origin University of Michigan, and then the Massachusetts Institute of Technology practice in Bombay - starting in the early 1950s

Ideas  

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Does not imitate the past Forms – indoor & outdoor spaces – response to climate Overhangs, double heights, chatris – most of his buildings – Le corb influence Platforms and steps to generate movement – temples whereas cathedrals are closed models

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Chatri – e.g. Gandhi Memorial museum, Ahmedabad, handloom pavilion for the International exhibition at Delhi Terraces – projected out at Tara apartments, Delhi ( hot dry) but covered at Kanchenjunga – climatic variation Apartments (humid) – Topographical form – kovalam beach resort

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Sloped roof with vent – Tube housing, Ahmedabad Cable nagar township – section section stepped to reduce the roof area-to prevent exposure to sun ECIL – climatic controls without air conditioning

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Correa had to adjust his approach to the socio economic conditions of the Indian society greatly influenced by the open to sky concepts used in temples and mogul structures, appropriate to both the Indian climate and the native way of life eg kanchenjunga apartments. Correa is known for the wide range of his architectural work in India and on urbanisation and low-cost shelter

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1985 publication, "The New Landscape"

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profoundly influenced by Le Corbusier’s achievements in India

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Tube House developed for the Gujarat Housing Board in 1962; the Mahatma Gandhi Archive and Memorial complex completed in Ahmedabad in 1963 Parekh and Ramkrishna Houses built in Ahmedabad between 1964 and 1968.

National Crafts Museum, Delhi of 1975 – 90;  Bharat Bhavan Cultural Centre, Bhopal, 1975 – 81,  Jawahar Kala Kendra Art Centre, Jaipur, 1986 – 92.  Kovalam Beach Resort, Kerala, 1969 – 74;  the Kanchanjunga apartment tower, Bombay, 1970 – 83,  and the Bay Island Resort Hotel, completed at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands in 1982. 

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Permanent Indian Mission to the United Nations, New York, 1985; British Council building in Delhi, 1992 Vidhan Bhavan, 1980 – 97. Jawahar Kala Kendra Cultural Centre, Jaipur 1992

Tube housing,Ahmedabad 

Prize winner for low cost housing

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More density – larger space for individuals

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Section – hot air rises and escapes from the top

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Privacy – by various levels

Kanchenjunga Apartments, Bombay (1974) 

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The building is a 32-storeyed reinforced concrete structure with 6.3 m cantilevered open terraces. The central core of 7.8 m x 6.9 m houses lifts and other services and also provides the main structural element for resisting lateral loads. The central core was constructed ahead of the main structure by slipform method of construction.

Kanchenjunga Apartments, Bombay (1974) 

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This technique was used for the first time in India for a multi- storeyed building. Correa’s design for the Kanchanjunga apartments is a very interesting approach to a problem architects face in India

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With the Kanchanjunga apartments Correa got inspiration from the design of the bungalow, where the main living areas were protected by verandas and the bed rooms which wrapped around the living rooms. The apartments therefore are maisonettes with a double – height garden terrace cut out of the face of the building.

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Firstly the garden provided a cooling effect with water evaporating from the surface of the leaves, and secondly, the fact that the living areas were recessed means that they are protected from direct sunlight.

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Repeating the basic interlock of 3 and 4 bedroom looked monotonous 5 and 6 bedroom enriched the pattern and gave rhythm and energy

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28-story tower, with its concrete construction and large areas of white panels, bears a strong resemblance to modern apartment buildings in the West.

Kala Academy Goa

Kala Academy Goa

Kala academy

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Centre for performing arts

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1000 seat audi, OAT, BLACK BOX

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Schools of dance

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Located near mandovi river

Illusions 

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Walls and ceilings – illusions and caricatures painted by Goan artist Mario miranda Le corb and Mies around the corner Auditoriums – figures on balconies

Navi Mumbai

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Navi Mumbai (Marathi: नवी म  ुबई ) (erstwhile: New Bombay) is a satellite twin of the city of Mumbai, India.

It is the largest planned new city in the world, with an area of 344 km². Navi Mumbai lies on the mainland on the eastern seaboard of the Thane Creek .

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The first post-independence development plan for Bombay, formulated by the Mayer-Modak Committee in 1948, suggested satellite towns to Mumbai ( then Bombay ). One of its major recommendations was that a rail-cum-road bridge be built across the Thane Creek to connect peninsular Bombay with the mainland.

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By the end of the 1990s, the planning authority of Navi Mumbai initiated private participation in the developmental activity of Navi Mumbai

Jawahar Kal Kendra Museum Jaipur, India



Vidhan Bhavan, Bhopal, India


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It sits on a hill in the middle of the city three main entrances – citizens: south-west; legislators :north-west; and VIPs : south-east. clearly organised on two axes nine-square mandala in its circle -receive the different visitors -lead to a central court, the ceremonial heart of the place, from which the functional parts of the complex can be approached


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blending traditional and modern architecture. 'Navgraha Mandala,' -instead of setting within a square, a circle is used

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open-to-the-sky matrix

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the Vidhan Sabha -Buddhist stupa at Sanchi

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the public courts -lock together the main functional spaces -are covered & each is open to the sky in different ways

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the importance of the ancient notion of 'ritualistic pathway' in which the pilgrim searches for the centre of existence through a maze-like plan in which the centre, the kund, is a revelation, yet at the same time a no-thing - a sacred space open to the sky.




The public entrance 

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the formal portico leads to a court luminated by a huge central octagon open to the sky The walls -covered with enchanting paintings by local artist Jangan Singhtigers, crocodiles, fowl, birds-becomingaeroplanes

The central hall. 

formal -The roof, supported by four columns, has a central opening over a figure in the polished marble floor which is intended to evoke a spiral nebula.

Vidhan Bhavan, Bhopal, India 

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crossing of the two major axes Straight. -steps down to the cabinet court, Light washes down the walls from Soane-like slits between ceiling and perimeter. light is modulated by a Iouvered brise-soleil To the left of the central hall -open court surrounded by offices for the ministers and officials.




Vidhan Sabha 

portal made by Yogesh Raval with layers of kitepaper, pasted one over another, giving a feeling of transparency and depth to an essentially two-dimensional structure.

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Raval's portal is a metaphor for the building








Ramkrishna House Ahmedabad, India



British Council, New Delhi, India

British Council Library, New Delhi

British Council Library, New Delhi 

The five-storey building, with interior and exterior spaces flowing into one another through the use of courtyards, pillars and fountains, was designed to reflect a conceptual progression of the history of India



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The mural is constructed of small, rectangular, hand-cut tiles of white Makrana marble, and black, locally quarried Cuddappah stone - a technique often employed on Mughal buildings. The moving shadow cast by a large tree seemed an appropriate image for a library and meeting place.







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Council headquarters also including a library, an auditorium, and an art gallery. The building is set in a series of landscaped gardens and loggias, each symbolic of India's Hindu, Muslim and European past.

The new Brain and Cognitive Science Complex (BCS)

BCS

BCS 

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right smack in the middle of it are train tracks, running lengthwise from northeast to southwest. These are surface train tracks and still in active use. This means the building had to accommodate freight trains rumbling through its middle twice daily without upsetting the delicate research performed inside with sensitive equipment.

BCS 

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handled the train problem by designing the building to lift its skirt two stories high and 50 feet (15 meters) wide through its center, its legs straddling the tracks To mitigate the trains' low-frequency vibrations, the building's foundation system is composed of hundreds of steel piles, driven an average depth of 110 feet (34 meters) into bedrock.

Inside the Brain Three different entities inhabit the BCS  architects needed to give each its own sense of identity  two public entrances: entries lead to elevator lobbies, which in turn deliver you to a central atrium on the third floor. 

BCS At the heart of the building is a 90-foot- (27-meter-) high, sun-drenched courtyard topped with a cable-trusssupported skylight.  The atrium helps to break down the barriers between disciplines and allows for chance sightings and meetings of researchers throughout the BCS.  This space also allows sunlight to penetrate deep into the building, balancing the illumination obtained from the exterior walls.  Color in the courtyard is used sparingly but to vibrant effect, as bright yellows intensify and then fade along the walls, lending a visual "pulse" to the courtyard. 

BCS

BCS

Kovalam beach resort , Kerala 1969-74

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Government to promote beach as a resort area

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Yoga, ayurvedic massage centre

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Accommodation for 300

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Water sports

Kovalam beach resort

Guest rooms 

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Edge of the beach – under the palm trees – kudils-suites with cooking facilities Main hotel for 100 guests – overlooking the beach with individual sun decks Between these two, are the individual units



Cidade de Goa 1978 -82

Cidade de Goa 

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Cidade de Goa – original name of Panaji Sited on a hill side near a beach Cultural theme of city Extroverted environment to be enjoyed Mix of portugese, hindu, muslim and contemporary western imagery

House of Kadamba  

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Plaintain tree and garlands On left – house of Adhil khan – low diwans and silks Statues of 3 Spanish warriors ( conquistadore)in conversation Beyond the lounge, an arcaded pedestrian street

With its shops starting with Taverna ,the courtyards and bedroom spaces

Cidade de Goa 

The Alfama – restaurant – in many levels – grouped around a plaza

Cidade de Goa

Cidade de Goa

Cidade de Goa

Cidade de Goa

Cidade de Goa

Cidade de Goa

Cidade de Goa

Cidade de Goa Scatters the facilities over the site  Buildings follow the hill slope  Each room – private terrace for sun bath  Beach centre pavilions – bamboo chatris – verncular- white walls, red tiles and sundecks 

Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations ,NY 

the red granite base topped by a canyon red aluminum curtain wall is suggestive of the red sandstone architecture of northern India.


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Twenty-eight stories high, the lower four floors are administrative offices for the Chancery of the Indian Government. Above this sit residential quarters for mission employees.


Correa has designed a double-height penthouse porch that echoes the Indian barsati , used for open-air sleeping.


readily apparent is the grand, monolithic bronze entryway, reinforcing Correa's reputation as an architect interested not only in the significance of the ancient, but also in the power of authority.'

Jeevan Bharti (L.I.C.), Connaught Place, New Delhi 

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its glass curtain walls reflecting the colonial-era buildings. Challenging and cocky, almost, in its aggressive use of sandstone cladding and the massive metal truss uniting its components,

Charles Correa

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