“Certainly architecture is concerned with much more than just its physical attributes. It is a many-layered thing. Beneath and beyond the strata of function and structure, materials and texture, lie the deepest and most compulsive layers of all.”
~ Charles Correa.
Courtesy of www.taubmancollege.umich.edu
Charles Correa played a vital role in shaping architecture for post-war India. He was entrenched in the rich traditions, culture and climate the site had to offer. The user experiences a symphony of emotions when they enter the space he’s designed. He breathes life into the building with a strong command over light & shadow; color and local materials implemented.
Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad – Courtesy of Divisare
He was born on 1st September 1930 in Hyderabad. He pursued his B.Arch at the University of Michigan where Buckminster Fuller was his professor. He went on to do his masters at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 1958 he established his practice ‘Charles Correa Associates’ in Mumbai. His early works explore vernacular architecture within a modern setting. He was celebrated for his sensitivity to the needs of the poor.
Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur – Courtesy of Jaipur Tourism
In the late 1960s Correa began his career as an urban planner, creating Navi Mumbai. His urban planning went beyond typical solutions to third world problems. He avoided high-rise housing and adopted low rise solutions as it created a sense on community.
He believed in functional art, and was keen on meeting the spiritual with the physical. The open to sky concept used by him, floods the building with light and ventilation.
Kanchanjunga Apartments, Mumbai – Courtesy of Charles Correa
Charles Correa Foundation
It’s a non-profit public trust to initiate and encourage education and research in human settlements. The foundation identifies an issue that has the potential to use a design intervention and then engage the public in implementing viable solutions for the same.
Correa's Philosophy
- Responsive to Climate
- Disaggregation
- Centre has to be empty since it gives a sense of orientation.
- Open to sky space
- Identity
- Income Generation, Equity
- Pluralism
Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal – Courtesy of Travelogue
Awards
- Padma Shri 1972
- Royal Gold Medal by RIBA 1984
- Praemium Imperiale 1994
- 7th Aga Khan Award 1998
- Austrian Decoration for Science and Art 2005
- Padma Vibhushan 2006
- Gomant Vibhushan 2011
Books Authored by Charles Correa
- Form Follows Climate – 1980
- The New Landscape: Urbanisation in the Third World – 1985
- The Ritualistic Pathway: 5 Projects : a Portfolio of Architecture – 1993
- Housing and Urbanization – 1999
- Modernity and Community: Architecture in the Islamic World – 2001
- A Place in the Shade: The New Landscape & Other Essays – 2010
- The Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown: And Other Works – 2013
Kala Academy, Goa – Courtesy of Charles Correa Foundation
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