- Author is known as an international authority on the subject. - Based on original archival research, the book provides a fresh perspective by situating the city in both historical and cultural context. - Will appeal to a range of disciplines, from urban planning to architecture and landscape architecture, to cultural and postcolonial studies.

What is the relevance of the Chandigarh experiment today? Written by an esteemed scholar and former resident of the city, this fascinating book reevaluates Le Corbusier’s work in Chandigarh in terms of the pressing challenges of the present, in particular climate change, globalization, neo-nationalism, and information technology. Through a lively poststructuralist and postcolonial framework, this book explores issues of preservation, identity, meaning, and change, comparing how the Chandigarh we see today compares to the original plans and drawings. But this book also asks whether Chandigarh’s aesthetics, as well as the ethical tenets on which it was based, are still relevant to urban planning and architecture today. What lessons, if any, does the utopian ethos within modernism offer in the face of the climate crisis, rising authoritarianism, and the digital explosion? Via chapters focused on the hydrologics of the master plan, the symbolism of the Capitol buildings, and the archeology of the unbuilt Museum of Knowledge, this book makes the future-preservation case for Chandigarh as an ‘open’ work, a project that was set up by design to be ‘completed’ by others in times yet to come. Engaging and erudite throughout, this book will appeal to any student, scholar, or professional with an interest in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning.

- A commemoration of the legendary architect Le Corbusier and his masterpiece the city of Chandigarh - Features essays by world-famous architects and urban planners on Le Corbusier and his vision - Includes almost 250 images, maps and rare sketches by Le Corbusier himself, on the city of Chandigarh With the recent recognition of Chandigarh's Capitol Complex as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the spotlight on its creator, Le Corbusier considered the 20th century's greatest architect-planner attains a more illustrious glow. Against this backdrop, Le Corbusier Rediscovered: Chandigarh and Beyond weaves together an anthology of inspired essays by eminent, global experts on Corbusier's life, ideas and work, both in Chandigarh and at other places. The diverse yet interlinked themes forming a composite compendium, rediscover the timelessness of Corbusier's architecture and revisit his impact in India and the world over. Current issues like conservation of Chandigarh's architectural heritage, future strategies for its growth and the Smart City model for Indian urbanization are also addressed. The book is imbued with a patina of historicity imparted by the inclusion of some rare archival images and texts. With focussed essays by international experts like B.V. Doshi, William J.R. Curtis, Raj Rewal, Rahul Mehrotra, Jacques Sbriglio, Michel Richard, Alfredo Brillembourg, S.D. Sharma, Jagan Shah, Rajnish Wattas and Sumit Kaur on thematically linked topics this richly illustrated book - with nearly 250 images - constitutes a seminal new publication. It rediscovers Le Corbusier and his crowning glory Chandigarh, viewed afresh in a new light.

The unlikely story of Le Corbusier and Chandigarh has proven itself to be one of modernisms boldest experiments. Born of a vision of a modern India, Chandigarhdesigned by Le Corbusierwas created as a statement for an emerging modern nationstate. Its Capitol Complex, considered by many as Le Corbusiers masterpiece, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. Like all visionaries, Le Corbusier was adept at taking the iconic and symbolic and using them to fashion his own unique vocabulary. This volume explores the way in which his ideas created fertile grounds for architecture and urban planning in Chandigarh, and in India, that encapsulated the visions of the post-war and post-colonial era. With insightful analyses of buildings across Chandigarh, the author illuminates the compositional poetry evident in Le Corbusiers structures and the ways in which the patina of time has changed the city. A visceral journey through a remarkable modernist landscape using the photographic medium, Chandigarh Revealed pays homage to the works of a master with reflective observations of a living city.

When India emerged from colonial rule in 1947, the division of Punjab left its historic capital, Lahore, in newly created Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru insisted that Punjab's new capital, Chandigarh, should be a symbol of the nation’s faith in the future, unfettered by the traditions of the past. Its design and construction galvanized national attention, and Le Corbusier, the icon of European architectural modernism, was invited to help remake India’s national ideal. Le Corbusier arrived in 1950, in the twilight of his career. He set to work alternately wooing and clashing with Nehru and with the Indian planners and builders, prevailing ultimately only in the design of the Capitol Complex and a few buildings in the Museum Complex, as well as in his enduring symbol of peace and nonalignment, the Open Hand. Vikramaditya Prakash tells the fascinating story that lies behind the planning and architecture of Chandigarh. Drawing on his intimate knowledge of the city, where he grew up as the son of one of the nine Indian architects who assisted in designing Chandigarh, Prakash brings to light stories of town planners, bureaucrats, and architects vying over the colonial past and the symbolic future of India. Different conceptions of the modern and the role of Indian civilization clashed and coalesced in a process that highlights the mutual interdependence of "East" and "West," and the fact that architecture and aesthetics cannot be separated from ideological claims and political implications. Prakash skillfully unfolds the intricate layers of the Capitol’s symbolism, tracing the cultural preconceptions and influences that produced Le Corbusier's understanding of India and animated his obsessions, desires, and aspirations. Chandigarh's Le Corbusier is the story of the making of an Indian modern architecture as both an aspect and an engine of post-colonial culture.

The book examines lessons offered by Le Corbusier s architecture and planning of India s model city, Chandigarh, from today s perspective.