Chandigarh, the capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana, doesn’t look like a city in India at all. This because in 1952 the French architect Le Corbusier redesigned the whole city according to the philosophy of rationalist architecture.
This is the French architect’s largest project, which the photographer Roberto Conte has now captured in a conceptual series of photographic shots.
For the master plan, Le Corbusier led a team that included his cousin, Pierre Jeannet, the British architects Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Drawn. They worked on the project for over three years.
Le Corbusier’s Palace of Assembly is one of the concrete building’s in the Capitol Complex. It is one of the most important works of the architect in the world, who inspired an entire generation of artists.
The Tower of shadow pavilion is a symbolic structure that reflects Le Corbusier’s interest in studying the penetration of sunlight inside a building. It traces the path of the sun through shadows, which are cast both inside and outside the tower.
Chandigarh was designed as a modern capital, urban and administrative center for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana.
Thinking about the future of the country, the development of Chandigarh was also an extraordinary training ground for a new generation of local architects who joined the western team.
The whole city is characterized by a hierarchical division of urban functions, established on a grid made up of fast traffic roads that separate several sectors of similar size.
Inside, the individual architectural components represent distinctive features that identify the function of that area (residential, recreational, commercial, institutional or academic).
Decades after its construction, Chandigarh continues to stimulate interest, both architecturally and visually, and still offers a unique charm, which Roberto Conte has appropriately captured in his project.
All images © roberto conte
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