Corbusier and his plan of the planned city Chandigarh.

2. HISTORY
AFTER INDEPENDENCE PUNJAB SPLITED INTO TWO PARTS
AND IT NEEDED A NEW CAPITAL.
THEN THE PROJECT WAS ASSIGNED TO AMERICAN
PLANNER AND ENGINEER ALBERT MAYER WITH MATHEW
NOWICKI AS HIS ASSISTANT.
AFTER NOWICKI’S DEATH IN A PLANE CRASH MAYER
RESIGNED IN 1950.
IN 1951 INDIAN GOVERNMENT APPROACHED LE
CORBUSIER FOR THE PROJECT.
MAXWELL FRY, JANE DREW AND PIERRE JEANNERET WERE
ALSO INVOLVED IN THE TEAM OF ARCHITECTS.

3. LOCATION
• THE CITY IS LOCATED AT THE JUNCTION OF FOOTHILLS OF
THE HIMALAYAS MOUNTAIN RANGE AND THE GANGES
PLAINS.
• IT WAS BOUND BY TWO SEASONAL RIVULETS, THE PATIALI
RAO AND THE SUKHNA IN THE NORTHWEST AND THE
SOUTH EAST RESPECTIVELY. IT EXTENDS IN THE NORTHEAST
RIGHT UP TO THE FOOTHILLS OF THE SHIVALIKS.
• THE REGION EXPERIENCES EXTREMES IN THE CLIMATE. THE
TEMPERATURE COULD RISE TO 45 DEGREES IN SUMMER
AND DROP TO FREEZING POINT IN WINTER.
• THE DIRECTION OF THE PREVALENT WINDS IS SOUTHEAST
TO THE NORTHWEST IN SUMMER AND NORTHWEST TO
THE SOUTHEAST IN WINTER.

5. ALBERT MAYER’S PLAN
• ALBERT MAYER’S PLAN WAS FAN SHAPED AND SPREAD
GENTLY BETWEEN THE TWO RIVERS SUKHNA AND PATIALI
RAO.
• IT CONSISTED OF SUPERBLOCKS WHICH WERE MARKED BY
THE CURVED ROADS.
• TWO LINEAR PARK LANDS CAN ALSO BE SEEN RUNNING FROM
ONE END TO OTHER IN THE PLAN.
• AT THE HEAD OF THE PLAN WAS THE CAPITOL (SEAT OF STATE
GOVERNMENT ) AND THE CITY CENTRE WAS AT THE MIDDLE.

6. ALBERT MAYER’S PLAN
CAPITOL
CITY CENTRE
SUPERBLOCK
PARKLANDS

7. LE CORBUSIER
• THERE WERE FOUR PEOPLE INCLUDING CORBUSIER
WORKING IN THE PROJECT: PIERRE JEANNERET,
MAXWELL FRY AND JANE DREW. ALONG WITH 20
YOUNG ARCHITECTS FROM INDIA.
• THE INDIAN ARCHITECTS WERE ASSIGNED TO DETAILED
PLAN WHILE CORBUSIER HAD TO CONCENTRATE ON
MAJOR BUILDINGS AND PIERRE JEANNERET,MAXWELL
FRY AND JANE DREW WERE CHARGED WITH THE TASK
OF DEVELOPING THE NEIGHBOURHOOD SECTORS
WITH THEIR SCHOOLS,SHOPPING BAZAARS,AND THE
TRACTS OF GOVERNMENT HOUSING.

8. THREE DISCIPLINES
• CORBUSIER NOTICED THREE QUALITIES IN INDIA
• THE DISCIPLINE OF MONEY- AS IT WAS THE PERIOD OF POST
INDEPENDENCE THE PROJECT COUDNT BE MADE TO A GRAND
LEVEL AND HAD TO BE MADE IN A IDEAL BUDGET.
• THE DISCIPLINE OF TECHNOLOGY-EVEN WITH VAST AMOUNTS
OF CLAY STONE , SAND CORBUSIER WENT FOR USAGE OF
ROUGH CONCRETE IN CAPITOL AND CENTRAL BUSINESS
DISTRICT.
• THE DISCIPLINE OF CLIMATE- BESIDES THE ADMINISTRATIVE
AND FINANCIAL REGULATONS THERE WAS A LAW OF THE SUN
IN INDIA. THE ARCHITECTURAL PROBLEM CONSISTS;FIRST TO
MAKE SHADE,SECOND TO MAKE A CURRENT OF AIR[TO
VENTILATE], THIRD TO CONTROL HYDRAULICS.

9. CORBUSIER’S PLAN OF CHANDIGARH

10. CORBUSIER’S PLAN
• HIS PLAN WAS IN GRID-IRON PATTERN SURROUNDED
BY THE TWO RIVERS IN BOTH THE SIDES.
• THE UNIT WAS A SECTOR INSTEAD OF A
SUPERBLOCK.(NEARLY 3 SECTORS MADE A
SUPERBLOCK)
• THE BASIC FRAMEWORK OF ALBERT MAYER’S PLAN
WERE RETAINED- CAPITOL, CITY CENTRE,INDUSTRIAL
AREA, PARKLAND
• THE CITY CENTRE AND RAILWAY STATIONS REMAINED
IN THE SAME LOCATIONS THE CAPITOL WAS SHIFTED
FROM THE NORTH-EASTERN TIP THE TO NORTH-WESTERN
TIP

11. HUMAN ANALOGY
• LE CORBUSIER CONCEIVED THE MASTER PLAN OF
CHANDIGARH AS ANALOGOUS TO HUMAN BODY, WITH A
CLEARLY DEFINED
• HEAD (THE CAPITOL COMPLEX, SECTOR 1),
• HEART (THE CITY CENTRE SECTOR-17),
• LUNGS (THE LEISURE VALLEY, INNUMERABLE OPEN SPACES
AND SECTOR GREENS),
• INTELLECT (THE CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS),
• CIRCULATORY SYSTEM (THE NETWORK OF ROADS, THE
7VS)
• VISCERA (THE INDUSTRIAL AREA).

12. CAPITOL (HEAD)
• THE AREA OF THE GREATEST SYMBOLIC
SIGNIFICANCE IN CHANDIGARH WAS THE
CAPITOL COMPLEX.
• THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUP OF THE
BUILDINGS CONSTITUTING THE CAPITOL- THE
PARLIAMENT, THE SECRETARIAT THE POOL OF
THE PALACE OF JUSTICE.
• THE ARTIFICIAL HILLS IN THE FRONT OF THE
SECRETARIAT HAVE NOT BEEN CREATED AND LAID
OUT IN ACCORDANCE WITH CORBUSIERS
CONCEPTIONS

13. CAPITOL COMPLEX PLAN
Open hand
Governor's place
Assembly
secretariat
High court

14. THE CITY CENTRE(HEART)
• The Central Sector of
the city, Sector 17, is
the main Public
Congregation area of
the city. It houses all
major Shopping
Complexes, Sports
Facilities and
Congregation Spaces.

15. LANDSCAPES(LUNGS)
• A HIERARCHY OF GREEN SPACES CAN BE
OBSERVED RANGING FROM PUBLIC GREENS AT
CITY LEVEL TO SEMI-PRIVATE TO PRIVATE GREEN
AREAS.
• CITY LEVEL PUBLIC GREEN SPACE WITH
ARTIFICIAL WATER BODY
• FREE- FLOWING GREEN SPACE, CONNECTING THE
ENTIRE SITE
• SEMI-PRIVATE GREEN AREAS FOR
NEIGHBORHOOD POCKETS
• PRIVATE GREEN AREAS FOR RESIDENTIAL UNITS

16. OPEN SPACES
• SOME 800 HECTARES OF GREEN OPEN SPACE
ARE SPREAD OVER THE APPROXIMATELY 114
SQUARE KILOMETERS OF THE CAPITAL
PROJECT AREA. MAJOR OPEN AREAS INCLUDE
THE LEISURE VALLEY, SUKHNA LAKE, ROCK
GARDEN AND MANY OTHER SPECIAL
GARDENS.

17. THE LIESURE VALLEY
• THE LEISURE VALLEY IS A GREEN SPRAWLING
SPACE EXTENDING NORTH-EAST TO SOUTH-WEST
ALONG A SEASONAL RIVERLET
GRADIENT AND WAS CONCEIVED BY LE
CORBUSIER AS THE LUNGS OF THE CITY.
• APART FROM LARGE PUBLIC PARKS AND
SPECIAL BOTANICAL GARDENS, IT HOUSES
SERIES OF FITNESS TRAILS, AMPHITHEATRES
AND SPACES FOR OPEN-AIR EXHIBITIONS.

19. ROAD NETWORK
(7V’S-CIRCULATORY SYSTEM)
• V1 CONNECTS CHANDIGARH TO OTHER CITIES
• V2 ARE THE MAJOR AVENUES OF THE CITY E.G
MADHYA MARG ETC
• V3 ARE THE CORRIDORS STREETS FOR
VEHICULAR TRAFFIC ONLY
• V4…..V7 ARE THE ROADS WITHIN THE
SECTORS

20. PRINCIPLES OF URBAN PLANNING
• CONVENIENT WALKING DISTANCE FOR SOCIAL SERVICES LIKE SCHOOLS
AND SHOPPING CENTRES.
• STREET SYSTEM MAJOR ROADS SHOULD NOT PASS THROUGH
RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBOURHOOD.
• INTERNAL ROAD PATTERN SHOULD ENCOURAGE QUITE , SAFE , LOW
VOLUME TRAFFIC MOVEMENT.
• FACILITIES
• ORDERLY ARRANGEMENT OF FACILITIES WHICH WOULD BE SHARED
COMMON BY THE RESIDENTS .
• A UNIT HAVING SHOPS, SCHOOL, HEALTH CENTRES AND PLACES OF
RECREATIONS AND WORSHIPS.
• BLOCKS ARE DIVIDED IN SECTORS.
• EACH SECTOR IS SELF SUFFICIENT UNIT HAVING ALL FACILITIES .
• THESE SECTORS VARIES DEPENDING UPON THE SIZE AND THE
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE AREA.

21. THE SECTOR

22. THE SECTOR
• LE CORBUSIER AND HIS TEAM REPLACED SUPERBLOCKS
WITNEIGHBOURHOOD UNITS, ”SECTORS”. IT IS THE
PRIMARY MODULE OF CITY’S DESIGN, A
NEIGHBOURHOOD UNIT OF SIZE 800 METERS X 1200
METERS.
• EACH SECTOR IS A SELF-SUFFICIENT UNIT HAVING
SHOPS, SCHOOL, HEALTH CENTRES AND PLACES OF
RECREATIONS AND WORSHIP.
• H A GEOMETRIC MATRIX OF GENERIC THE POPULATION
OF A SECTOR VARIES BETWEEN 3000 AND 20000
DEPENDING UPON THE SIZES OF PLOTS AND THE
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE AREA.

23. • HOWEVER, THE CITY WAS PLANNED TO HOUSE A NUMBER
OF
150 000 INHABITANTS IN ITS FIRST PHASE, REALIZED
BETWEEN 1951-66, AND 500 000 IN ITS” FINAL STAGE”.
• THE NEIGHBOURHOOD ITSELF IS SURROUNDED BY THE
FAST-TRAFFIC ROAD CALLED V3 INTERSECTING AT THE
JUNCTIONS OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD UNIT CALLED
SECTOR WITH A DIMENSION OF 800 METERS BY 1200
METERS.
• THE ENTRANCE OF CARS INTO THE SECTORS OF 800
METERS BY 1200M, WHICH ARE EXCLUSIVELY RESERVED TO
FAMILY LIFE, CAN TAKE PLACE ON FOUR POINTS ONLY; IN
THE MIDDLE OF THE 1200 M. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 800
METERS.
• ALL STOPPAGE OF CIRCULATION SHALL BE PROHIBITED AT
THE FOUR CIRCUSES, AT THE ANGLES OF THE SECTORS.

24. • THE BUS STOPS ARE PROVIDED EACH TIME AT
200 METERS FROM THE CORNER SO AS TO SERVE
THE FOUR PEDESTRIAN ENTRANCES INTO A
SECTOR.
• THUS, THE TRANSIT TRAFFIC TAKES PLACE OUT
OF THE SECTORS: THE SECTORS BEING
SURROUNDED BY FOUR WALL-BOUND CAR
ROADS WITHOUT OPENINGS (THE V3S).
• AND THIS (A NOVELTY IN TOWN-PLANNING AND
DECISIVE) WAS APPLIED AT CHANDIGARH: NO
HOUSE (OR BUILDING) DOOR OPENS ON THE
THOROUGHFARE OF RAPID TRAFFIC.
• THERE ARE 30 SECTORS IN CHANDIGARH,OF
WHICH 24 ARE RESIDENTIAL.

25. HOUSING
• LOWER CATEGORY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS ARE
GOVERNED BY A MECHANISM KNOWN AS “FRAME
CONTROL” TO CONTROL THEIR FACADES.
• THIS FIXES THE BUILDING LINE AND HEIGHT AND THE
USE OF BUILDING MATERIALS.
• CERTAIN STANDARD SIZES OF DOORS AND WINDOWS
ARE SPECIFIED AND ALL THE GATES AND BOUNDARY
WALLS MUST CONFORM TO STANDARD DESIGN.
• THIS PARTICULARLY APPLIES TO HOUSES BUILT ON
SMALL PLOTS OF 250 SQUARE METRES OR LESS.

26. BUILDING TYPOLOGY
• The basic typology is extremely rectilinear
with similar proportions.
• Residential units are arranged around central
common green spaces with different shapes.