CHARLES

CORREA

PRESENTED BY:-
MANISH AGARWAL
 Education
1946-1948 Inter-science. St. Xavier's college, university of Bombay
1949-1953 B.Arch., University of Michigan.
1953-1955 M.Arch., Massachusetts institute of technology.

 Professional Experience
1955-1958 Partner with G.M. BHUTA associates
1964-1965 Prepared master plan proposing twin city across
the harbor from Bombay.
1971-1975 Chief architect to CIDCO
1975-1976 Consultant to UN secretory-general for HABITAT
1975-1983 Chairman Housing Urban Renewal & Ecology Board
1985 Chairman Dharavavi planning commission
 Born on 1 September 1930 into a middle-class Catholic family in

 Secunderabad.

 Became fascinated with the principles of design as a child.

At Michigan two professors who influenced him the most - Walter

Salders and Buckminister Fuller.

 Kevin lynch , then in the process of developing his themes for

image of the city triggered Correa’s interest in urban issues.

 ‘India of those days was a different place, it was a brand-new

country, there was so much hope; India stimulated me.’

 AWARDS

 1961 Prize for low-income housing

 1972 PadmaShri by the President of India
 1980 Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Michigan
 1984 Gold Medal- Royal Institute of British Architects
 1985 Prize for the Improvement in the Quality of Human
Settlements from the International Union of Architects.
 1986 Chicago Architecture Award.
 1987 Gold Medal- Indian Institute of Architects
 1990 Gold Medal (International Union of Architects)
 1994 The Premium Imperial from Japan society of art.
 1999 Aga khan award for vidhan sabha, bhopal
Diversity
 In Bombay - Salvacao Church at
Dadar ; Kanchenjunga Apartments
 In Goa for Kala Academy

 In Ahmedabad - Gandhi Smarak

Sangrahalaya ; Ramkrishna House
 Delhi - The LIC Centre; British
Council Building
 Kerala - Kovalam Beach Resort Hotel

 Andaman - Bay Island Hotel in Port

Blair
His Architectural utility and
grandeur was spread over the
subcontinent
Principles
Few cardinal principles in his vast body of work-
 Incrementality

 Identity

 Pluralism

 Income generation

 Equity

 Open-to-sky space

 Disaggregation.

Belapur housing being the one project where he has literally

used these principals
 Architect, planner, activist and theoretician, an international

lecturer and traveler

 Correa's work in India shows a careful development,

understanding and adaptation of Modernism to a non-western

culture. Correa's early works attempt to explore a local vernacular
within a modern environment. Correa's land-use planning and
community projects continually try to go beyond typical solutions
to third world problems.

 India's first man of architecture has a very simple philosophy:

"Unless you believe in what you do, it becomes … boring,"

              Correa and Corbusier
Like most architects of his generation he has been influenced by Le Corbusier , but by
his response to the Mediterranean sun with his grand sculptural decisions he believes
that Corbusier’s influence in the colder climates has not been beneficial because these
heroic gestures had to withdraw into defensible space, into mechanically heated (and
cooled) interiors of the building.

On way back to Bombay in 1955 - saw the Jaoul House (le Corbusier) in Paris under
construction. He said:

‘I was absolutely knocked out . It was a whole new world way beyond anything being
taught in America at that time ,then I saw Chandigarh and his buildings in Ahmedabad .
They seemed the only way to build.”
 
 Correa and Gandhi
Gandhi's goal for an independent India had been a village 
model, non-industrial, its architecture simple and traditional
In these early works Correa demonstrates uncompromising 
execution of an idea as a powerful statement of form.
 MP VIDHAN SABHA
‘Vidhan Bhavan is a public building which should say something very
powerful about democracy, It is a building which has got to down with the
idea of governing yourself. It has to express the role it has to play and tell
people that this is your city, this is your state and you must participate in
it, It must not be low-key. It should have a presence.’

-Charles Correa
Deep understanding of the Vedic principles

Won prestigious AGA KHAN award for this in 1999

The building is located in the centre of Bhopal. Since the main access road is
not axial , but swings towards the site in a rather casual manner , the plan of the
building developed is as a circle, so it could have an autonous unity and
presence, regardless of the direction from which it is approached. References of
this circular form are – parliament building in New Delhi, Buddhist stupa near
Sanchi.
 The plan is a pattern of gardens within gardens, divided into 9 squares .
The five central ones are halls and courtyards , while the 4 corner
positions are occupied by The Vidhan Sabha , The Vidhan Parishad,
Central library, and Combined hall.

 It also contains a host of other facilities : offices, cabinet rooms,

cafeterias, common rooms for security staff etc..

 According to the requirements there are 3 main entrances-

for public, VP’s, MLA’s

 While moving along verandah and overlooking courtyards and

gardens – as in traditional architecture of India.
The whole building presents as extremely pleasing vision of powerful curves
and straight vertical and horizontal lines.
Correa has used open to sky courtyards and a labyrinthine pattern of
pathways to organise the complex requirements of adminstrative and
legislative functions.
The whole composition is enclosed by a wall that defines its exterior form
like a circular inner city- a model of the city of Baghdad. This approach has
generated an interesting roofs cape and skylines, too often missing in
contemporary architecture, the use of gateways and domes and a tower to
develop the imagery of this landmark complex is very much in the tradition
of the harmonic order found in the traditional architecture of islam
 KANCHENJUNGA
APARTMENTS

The building had to be oriented east – west to capture prevailing sea breeze and
views to the city.
 But also the orientation for hot sun and heavy rains

 This building has 32 different apartments with 4 types of flats varying from 3 to 6
bedrooms.

 Interlocking of these variations expressed externally by shear end walls that hold
up the cantilevers

 Minimalist surfaces cut away to open up double-height terrace gardens at the

corners
 Complex spatial organization of living spaces
Superficially, this 28-
story tower, with its
concrete construction
and large areas of white
panels, bears a strong
resemblance to modern
apartment buildings in
the West

Tower’s proportion 1:4

(21 sqm and 84 m high)

 Garden terraces actually a modern

interpretation of a feature of the traditional

Indian bungalow: the verandah

 Each apartment provided with a deep, two-

story-high garden terrace that is oriented away

from the sun so as to afford protection from
the elements
KOVALAM BEACH RESORT,
KERELA
 Accommodates 300 guests, Center for massages and yoga, Water sport etc.

 The master plan does not concentrate all the facilities in one area,
but generate a large number of potential growth points, thus
allowing a more flexible response to future demands .

 The Guest rooms come in 3 configurations-:

1.On the edge of the beach hidden under the palm trees . They are suites for
longer stay with cooking facilities etc.
2. Overlooking the beach there are 100 guests rooms. Here the facilities are
such that every room gets its own private sundeck..
3.Between these two are private detach housing units .

Construction is in traditional vernacular of

Kerala- Plaster walls with red tiled roofs

Other pavilion consists of little Bamboo

chhatries with coir matins on the floor and
local Kerala handicrafts.
Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya
Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya
Material used:

Tiled roof
Brick wall
Stone floor
Wooden floor
Light and ventilation by operable
wooden louvers

These elements combine to form a

pattern of tiled roofs which are
grouped in casual meandering
pattern, creating a pathway along
which the visitors progresses
towards the centrality of the water
court
Philosophy:
Successfully shows the life of Gandhiji
Minimalist architecture
Material honesty
Contemporary architecture
Glow of spaces

Gandhi ashram

Water court at center

Correa is always receptive to
feedback but he has never
compromised or changed his
designs he really believes in.

"I listen very carefully. But I

would rather lose the client than
make changes I don't believe in"
BELAPUR HOUSING
Project demonstrates how high density housing (500 people per hectare)
can be achieved in a low-rise typology, while including (open to sky spaces)
and services, like schools, that the community requires
Overriding principle - to give each unit its own site to allow for expansion
(Incrementality)
 Units are Malleable so that they can be colonized by occupants, and
modified to their social/cultural/religious needs (Identity)
Houses constructed simply and can be built by traditional masons and
craftsmen - generating employment for local workers (Income generation)
several plans exist that cover the social spectrum, from squatters to upper
income families (Pluralism)
Yet, the footprint of each plan varies little in size (from 45 sqm to 70 sqm),
maintaining equity (fairness) in the community
Small shared courtyard 8mx8m around
which seven houses are grouped.

The sites themselves vary in size only

marginally (from 45 to 70 sq m)

The houses are structurally simple , can be

built and altered by local mistries
THANK YOU … 