This publication focusses on the major Chandigarh project, whose architecture and furniture have now secured their place in the history of 20th-century architecture and design. Published by GALERIE PATRICK SEGUIN in 2014, the book retraces the history of the project from 1951 to 1966.
In 1947, just as India gained its independence, Prime Minister Nehru initiated a vast plan to modernize the country. Chandigarh was made the administrative capital of the Punjab province. Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret visited the city for the first time in 1951; Nehru’s only instructions for the building project were to be “expressive, experimental, and not to be hindered by tradition.” The result of a unique, holistic approach to urban planning, the city of Chandigarh was to be a symbol of modernity.
Illustrated by numerous archival and contemporary photographs, the book documents both the architectural project and its extensive furniture production. One chapter is dedicated to the photographs of Lucien Hervé, master of architectural photography, who completed several reportages during his visits to Chandigarh.
