Bold Contributions
A recent exhibition of Charles Correa's works at the RIBA headquarters in London, with a provocative title, displays how his work follows the trajectory of the Indian nation state and addresses its quest for roots, identity and relevance; it brings once again into discussion the programme for an 'Indian' architecture.
First published in DOMUS India vol 2, issue 11 in October 2013
“Charles Correa India’s Greatest Architect”- is what the banners proclaim in the lobby of the RIBA head quarters in London. The same lobby also sports a wall of fame inscribing the names of the luminaries from across the world who are winners of the RIBA Gold Medal- the only name from India being that of Charles Correa. The grand staircase with gleaming details also sports these banners and guides the visitors from several countries to this iconic Art Deco building to a delightful exhibition of his works.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) recently paid tribute to Charles Correa in a retrospective of his lifetime’s work to coincide with, and to celebrate, the creation of the Correa archives to which this acclaimed Indian architect has bequeathed approximately 6000 items consisting of drawings, models, photographs and films. This forms the largest single gift to RIBA by a non-British architect. The archive will provide invaluable aid to students and researchers into Correa’s professional career which began in 1958 when he set up his practice in Bombay upon returning from America where he was educated. This period parallels India’s socio-political changes of the late fifties and early sixties, a period of internal churning in the new nation state. In his interview with Angela Brady, the President of RIBA, Correa describes the period as one of hope imbued with a feeling that everything was going to change in a new future.
The exhibition at RIBA, curated from the Correa archive by Irena Murray and designed by David Adjaye, appears lavishly mounted as audaciously named. The exhibition design takes cues from the architectural designs and seeks to reflect them in arrangements of plinths and pedestals using vibrant primary colours lending to a celebratory feel. Spread over two gallery spaces, it consists of large sized drawings, photographs, texts, recorded interviews on LCD screens, sketches and models- some of which are on display for the first time. The projects are organised thematically around the principal concerns in Correa’s work- the ‘ritualistic pathway’, the ‘empty centre’, open to sky spaces or ‘non-building’ and an overarching principle of ‘architecture as metaphor’- “...and that Man, since the beginning of time, has always used the most inert materials like stone and brick and wood to express the invisibilia that move him”.
The exhibition takes the viewers through a journey of Correa’s work from the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya- one of his earliest public projects to the most recent one- the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon, and in between landmarks such as National Craft Museum in Delhi, Vidhan Bhavan and Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, IUCAA at Pune, British Council at Delhi and MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex among others are prominently displayed. This journey gives a glimpse into the evolution of this influential architect and his synthesis of the principles of modernism with the traditions and spirit of India to formalise a contemporary Indian modern which is rooted in its environment and patterns of living. This same cultural sensibility inspires built forms in locations outside India.
Charles Correa sees in his Lisbon project a culmination of his principal concerns in architecture. He says in an essay written for book accompanying the exhibition:
There are quite a few surprises on display among so many otherwise familiar objects for an Indian observer. For example, a wooden model of the Hindustan Lever Pavilion put up for the 1961 industrial fair in Delhi- a little known work of Correa in which he experimented with shortcrete concrete shells to create forms that resembled crumpled paper. Similar impulse for structural experimentation with concrete shells was seen later in his Portuguese Church at Dadar, Mumbai built in the mid-seventies where he combined unconventional and daring forms with light to create sublime space. One does not hesitate to consider this church a major omission in the exhibition. Similarly, there is a large wooden block model of the Kanchanjunga Apartments which had a section of it carved in exquisite detail to reveal the intricate layering of spaces. The other interesting exhibit is a large model of the facade of the British Council in New Delhi which bears the famous tree mural by Howard Hodgkin, a British artist and forms a part of artist’s own archive.
The Hindustan Lever Pavilion, besides articulating a faceted space, shows Correa innovating funnel like openings for convective heat loss that, in modified forms, appeared in other experimental projects such as the Tube House and later housing projects such as the Ramakrishna House in Ahmedabad. Sensitivity to the patterns of living and an abiding concern with climate mitigation informs his housing projects ranging in scale from private houses to group housing. This becomes an ever-present credo in his designs which he terms as “form follows climate”- forming yet another theme in the exhibition.
Correa’s social concerns and belief in the cities of India are articulated in his report for National Commission on Urbanisation and an ‘Urban Manifesto’ which reflects his attitude towards the city and in them his hope for the future. They form a key component of the last section in the exhibition- ‘The City as a Synergy’ which is dedicated to his proposals, plans and study reports on urban issues and planning. The vision plan for Navi Mumbai- a counter magnet across the harbour of Mumbai; Hawkers and pavement proposal for D.N. Road and Flora Fountain in the heart of the historic Fort area; and Parel Mill Land proposal- regeneration of defunct industrial tract for affordable housing and public open spaces for recreation- they all have an underlying theme of utilising city’s own resources ingeniously, particularly that of space for its regeneration and continual viability.
It is here that the irony of the present hits you with a heavy hand as these proposals have either remained on paper as in the case of the hawkers proposal, or got totally subverted by vested interests as in the case of Parel Mill Lands. The exhibition does not tell you the story of the city’s loss in ignoring these pragmatic solutions.
The development of Navi Mumbai after more than three decades of the original proposal has almost no residual vision left in it- not unlike the Belapur Housing project situated within the new city itself and which forms a part of this exhibition. Today, this project on ground remains totally unrecognisable from its original design- not due to need based increments but greed and speculation. The drawings and photographs have preserved the pristine but are utterly oblivious of the realities of the present and have just become museum pieces.
Correa acknowledges his frustration over the mess in our cities in his interview with the RIBA president, just the same he holds out a hope for the future. He advises young students to be passionate about architecture and stresses the role of architecture school is in teaching principles and how to ask right questions and not the tricks of the trade.
This exhibition at RIBA perhaps for the first time presents Correa’s ouvre in a comprehensive manner. His work follows the trajectory of the Indian nation state and addresses its quest for roots, identity and relevance. At a time when developments in India has aroused interest outside, particularly for international practices to gain a foothold in the architectural scene, this exhibition has firmly put down the conceptual program for an ‘Indian’ architecture to which they can aspire or contribute with a new vision. For architectural community in India who is well aware of his landmark works, it gives an opportunity to view his thought process from the very beginning of his career to the present time all in one place for them to grasp the enormity of his contribution towards shaping of the Indian modern and to take a stock for themselves as to what kind of future vision they would endow upon it.
The title of the exhibition in its bold pronouncement is provocative. That Charles Correa is India’s greatest architect is arguable but the range of his work and the principles that are articulated across them are unarguably most influential among post-independence architects.
A recent exhibition of Charles Correa's works at the RIBA headquarters in London, with a provocative title, displays how his work follows the trajectory of the Indian nation state and addresses its quest for roots, identity and relevance; it brings once again into discussion the programme for an 'Indian' architecture.
First published in DOMUS India vol 2, issue 11 in October 2013
“Charles Correa India’s Greatest Architect”- is what the banners proclaim in the lobby of the RIBA head quarters in London. The same lobby also sports a wall of fame inscribing the names of the luminaries from across the world who are winners of the RIBA Gold Medal- the only name from India being that of Charles Correa. The grand staircase with gleaming details also sports these banners and guides the visitors from several countries to this iconic Art Deco building to a delightful exhibition of his works.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) recently paid tribute to Charles Correa in a retrospective of his lifetime’s work to coincide with, and to celebrate, the creation of the Correa archives to which this acclaimed Indian architect has bequeathed approximately 6000 items consisting of drawings, models, photographs and films. This forms the largest single gift to RIBA by a non-British architect. The archive will provide invaluable aid to students and researchers into Correa’s professional career which began in 1958 when he set up his practice in Bombay upon returning from America where he was educated. This period parallels India’s socio-political changes of the late fifties and early sixties, a period of internal churning in the new nation state. In his interview with Angela Brady, the President of RIBA, Correa describes the period as one of hope imbued with a feeling that everything was going to change in a new future.
The exhibition at RIBA, curated from the Correa archive by Irena Murray and designed by David Adjaye, appears lavishly mounted as audaciously named. The exhibition design takes cues from the architectural designs and seeks to reflect them in arrangements of plinths and pedestals using vibrant primary colours lending to a celebratory feel. Spread over two gallery spaces, it consists of large sized drawings, photographs, texts, recorded interviews on LCD screens, sketches and models- some of which are on display for the first time. The projects are organised thematically around the principal concerns in Correa’s work- the ‘ritualistic pathway’, the ‘empty centre’, open to sky spaces or ‘non-building’ and an overarching principle of ‘architecture as metaphor’- “...and that Man, since the beginning of time, has always used the most inert materials like stone and brick and wood to express the invisibilia that move him”.
The exhibition takes the viewers through a journey of Correa’s work from the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya- one of his earliest public projects to the most recent one- the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon, and in between landmarks such as National Craft Museum in Delhi, Vidhan Bhavan and Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, IUCAA at Pune, British Council at Delhi and MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex among others are prominently displayed. This journey gives a glimpse into the evolution of this influential architect and his synthesis of the principles of modernism with the traditions and spirit of India to formalise a contemporary Indian modern which is rooted in its environment and patterns of living. This same cultural sensibility inspires built forms in locations outside India.
Charles Correa sees in his Lisbon project a culmination of his principal concerns in architecture. He says in an essay written for book accompanying the exhibition:
“It is first of all about open-to-sky space and the metaphysical enlightenment it can evoke. Then it is about the ritualistic pathway leading diagonally across the site to where the Tagus River joins the Atlantic ocean- the point from which Vasco da Gama and others set out on their voyages of discovery. Then it is about the empty centre and its energy. And also the non-building- the three long curved walls that define the walkway are gestures towards landscaping than building. And lastly, this centre built for cutting edge research in science and medicine, is also architecture as metaphor, as a journey into the unknown, evoking those incredible voyages of more than 500 years ago”.In fact, this project forms the highlight of the exhibition with its evocative photographs, drawings and models which are available for viewing in this manner for the first time.
There are quite a few surprises on display among so many otherwise familiar objects for an Indian observer. For example, a wooden model of the Hindustan Lever Pavilion put up for the 1961 industrial fair in Delhi- a little known work of Correa in which he experimented with shortcrete concrete shells to create forms that resembled crumpled paper. Similar impulse for structural experimentation with concrete shells was seen later in his Portuguese Church at Dadar, Mumbai built in the mid-seventies where he combined unconventional and daring forms with light to create sublime space. One does not hesitate to consider this church a major omission in the exhibition. Similarly, there is a large wooden block model of the Kanchanjunga Apartments which had a section of it carved in exquisite detail to reveal the intricate layering of spaces. The other interesting exhibit is a large model of the facade of the British Council in New Delhi which bears the famous tree mural by Howard Hodgkin, a British artist and forms a part of artist’s own archive.
The Hindustan Lever Pavilion, besides articulating a faceted space, shows Correa innovating funnel like openings for convective heat loss that, in modified forms, appeared in other experimental projects such as the Tube House and later housing projects such as the Ramakrishna House in Ahmedabad. Sensitivity to the patterns of living and an abiding concern with climate mitigation informs his housing projects ranging in scale from private houses to group housing. This becomes an ever-present credo in his designs which he terms as “form follows climate”- forming yet another theme in the exhibition.
Correa’s social concerns and belief in the cities of India are articulated in his report for National Commission on Urbanisation and an ‘Urban Manifesto’ which reflects his attitude towards the city and in them his hope for the future. They form a key component of the last section in the exhibition- ‘The City as a Synergy’ which is dedicated to his proposals, plans and study reports on urban issues and planning. The vision plan for Navi Mumbai- a counter magnet across the harbour of Mumbai; Hawkers and pavement proposal for D.N. Road and Flora Fountain in the heart of the historic Fort area; and Parel Mill Land proposal- regeneration of defunct industrial tract for affordable housing and public open spaces for recreation- they all have an underlying theme of utilising city’s own resources ingeniously, particularly that of space for its regeneration and continual viability.
It is here that the irony of the present hits you with a heavy hand as these proposals have either remained on paper as in the case of the hawkers proposal, or got totally subverted by vested interests as in the case of Parel Mill Lands. The exhibition does not tell you the story of the city’s loss in ignoring these pragmatic solutions.
The development of Navi Mumbai after more than three decades of the original proposal has almost no residual vision left in it- not unlike the Belapur Housing project situated within the new city itself and which forms a part of this exhibition. Today, this project on ground remains totally unrecognisable from its original design- not due to need based increments but greed and speculation. The drawings and photographs have preserved the pristine but are utterly oblivious of the realities of the present and have just become museum pieces.
Correa acknowledges his frustration over the mess in our cities in his interview with the RIBA president, just the same he holds out a hope for the future. He advises young students to be passionate about architecture and stresses the role of architecture school is in teaching principles and how to ask right questions and not the tricks of the trade.
This exhibition at RIBA perhaps for the first time presents Correa’s ouvre in a comprehensive manner. His work follows the trajectory of the Indian nation state and addresses its quest for roots, identity and relevance. At a time when developments in India has aroused interest outside, particularly for international practices to gain a foothold in the architectural scene, this exhibition has firmly put down the conceptual program for an ‘Indian’ architecture to which they can aspire or contribute with a new vision. For architectural community in India who is well aware of his landmark works, it gives an opportunity to view his thought process from the very beginning of his career to the present time all in one place for them to grasp the enormity of his contribution towards shaping of the Indian modern and to take a stock for themselves as to what kind of future vision they would endow upon it.
The title of the exhibition in its bold pronouncement is provocative. That Charles Correa is India’s greatest architect is arguable but the range of his work and the principles that are articulated across them are unarguably most influential among post-independence architects.
