Chandigarh citizens launch forum to preserve city's visual heritage

A think tank was launched on the 125th birth anniversary of Pierre Jeanneret, Chandigarh's first chief architect

2 min read Last Updated : Mar 24 2021 | 2:13 PM IST

A group of residents of Chandigarh have come together to launch a forum and think tank called "The Le Corbusier & Pierre Jeanneret Forum (LC&PJ)" at the Chandigarh College of Architecture to preserve and archive the visual heritage of the city's old buildings.

The think tank was launched on the 125th birth anniversary of Pierre Jeanneret, Chandigarh’s first chief architect. Jeanneret was the younger cousin of Le Corbusier and worked as his deputy in the development of Chandigarh from 1951 to 1965, a statement from the members of the think tank said.

Le Corbusier, a global star architect in his time, was hired to design Chandigarh in 1950 as Punjab's new state capital. He designed the new metropolis using a grid street pattern, European-style boulevards and raw concrete buildings—an architectural style that was considered avant garde at the time. Over the course of the following seven decades many of those buildings have taken a lot of wear and tear, and alterations by occupants.

The forum's founder Sandeep Goyal said, “Before they (the buildings) get totally changed or altered or demolished, the visual heritage of these buildings needs to be fully preserved and archived. LC&PJ’s first task is to get that started.”

LC&PJ plans to work with the students and faculty of Chandigarh College of Architecture to catalogue and compile the features of buildings designed by Le Corbusier and Jeanneret.

The buildings that will be preserved or archived include 14 types of dwelling units in Sectors 11, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24 and 27 besides those in the Capitol Complex, Panjab University, including the Gandhi Bhawan, Fine Arts Museum, University Library and the famous cylindrical Student Centre.

Avanindra Chopra, an honorary secretary of the forum said, "In the next stage all government schools designed in the 1950s and 1960s, and unique SCO/SCFs in Sector 22, 17, 16, 11, 21, 20, 27, 19 and others will be brought into the ambit”.