- 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.
Rajnish Wattas is the former principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture and currently visiting professor at various institutions. Widely traveled, he has lectured at numerous prestigious forums in India and abroad, including Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago. An architectural critic and authority on Chandigarh's modern heritage, he has focused on the city's landscape design considerably. He has authored a huge compendium of professional writings and hundreds of general essays, travelogues and features in leading journals, newspapers and anthologies. He is co-author of two books, Trees of Chandigarh and Sukhna and Sublime Lake of Chandigarh. He has been a member on various expert groups including the one that evolved the 'Master Plan of Chandigarh - 2031' and is currently member 'Chandigarh Heritage Committee'. He is a founder member of the Chandigarh Tree Lovers (CTL), a group that promotes awareness about Chandigarh's landscape. Deepika Gandhi is an alumnus and faculty of the Chandigarh College of Architecture since 2002, and is presently holding the charge of Director Le Corbusier Centre & Chandigarh Architecture Museum. She was the Secretary Symposium for the International Symposium Celebrating Le Corbusier's Chandigarh on which this publication is based. Having worked on the preparation of the Dossier for the world heritage nomination of the Capitol Complex she has since been engaged in promoting the heritage of Chandigarh at all levels. She supervised the repair and restoration of the Pierre Jeanneret house and established the Jeanneret Museum there, while also restoring the Le Corbusier Centre. She has co-authored the book Sukhna Sublime Lake of Chandigarh and authored and designed booklets 'Chandigarh - My city beautiful' and 'Nek Chand's Rock Garden' to sensitise students about their heritage.
