Roberto Conte (b. 1980) took up photography in 2006, exploring industrial ruins around Milan and gradually expanding his field of activity to other types of abandoned sites and structures throughout Europe and beyond. His particular interest is in the architecture of the 20th century: from rationalism and constructivism of the avant-garde era to brutalism and Soviet modernism. Conte's photographs have been published in various magazines and books. In 2019, together with his colleague Stefano Perego, he published the book "Soviet Asia" at the FUEL publishing house (Archi.ru wrote about it).
With the division of the Punjab region in 1947, ancient Lahore ended up on the territory of Pakistan, and the Indian part was left without any major city and administrative center. Therefore, a new city was needed - to serve as the capital of the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and to show the possibilities, dynamism and modernity of a new India with Jawaharlal Nehru at its head. This city became Chandigarh, one of the most iconic places in the history of modernist architecture.
Indian authorities first invited American planner Albert Mayer and Polish architect Maciej Nowicki to collaborate, resulting in a garden-city-influenced project that was canceled due to Novicki's premature death. Then the team took over, led by Le Corbusier, which included his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, as well as Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, a married couple of British architects who participated in the work for three years. Pierre Jeanneret was particularly involved in the project, devoting almost entirely the remaining years of his life to it - so involved that he bequeathed to scatter his ashes over Lake Sukna, a reservoir in Chandigarh.
An important fact is not always remembered: many of their Indian colleagues have joined Western architects. The local authorities specifically stipulated in the agreement with the Europeans that they should settle in the place of the future Chandigarh for the entire period of work: only Le Corbusier was exempted from this obligation. Indian clients rightly saw the creation of a new city as an extraordinary opportunity to educate a younger generation of local architects who could then continue to work on their own.
Chandigarh characterizes a hierarchical division of functions based on a grid of expressways: they delimit different sectors of the same size. Specific architectural components reflect, as a “sector landmark,” the distinctive features of each area - residential, recreational, commercial, public administration or educational. Therefore, along with the famous Capitol complex created by Le Corbusier, Chandigarh's research reveals a very large number of modernist structures by European or Indian architects, often almost forgotten, but arousing interest and surprise.
Along with the details that are repeated throughout the city, for example, reinforced concrete balustrades, the openings of which were later bricked up or covered with metal parts - obviously, for safety reasons, you can find completely unique structures. These are the tower of the Punjab University Student Center, the stadium ramp on the outskirts of Chandigarh, various types of residential development, the Mahatma Gandhi Heritage Study Center "Gandhi Bhavan" designed by Pierre Jeanneret, and much more.
Decades after the construction of Chandigarh, the controversy over the town-planning model used there does not subside, and the various architectural projects that have been implemented still cause a lot of interest, both architectural and "visual", and allow you to feel the special, unique charm of this city, which was familiar and to Pierre Jeanneret himself.
Literature:
Anupam Bansal, Malini Kochupillai. Architectural Guide Delhi. DOM publishers, 2013.
Vikramaditya Prakash. CHD Chandigarh. Altrim Publishers, 2014.
Fondation Le Corbusier -
www.fondationlecorbusier.fr
