Gandhi Bhawan, Pierre Jeanneret, 1961, Chandigarh, India.
The Gandhi Bhawan of Panjab University in Chandigarh is an architectural centerpiece of the campus and a stunning example of modernist architecture in India. This distinctive concrete building was the result of a 1960 proposal that a Gandhi Bhawan (Gandhi Center) be established at each university in India “with the object of promoting the study of Gandhian ideals and his way of life.” Swiss architect Pierre Jeanneret’s building—built as part of the planned city he collaborated on with his cousin, Le Corbusier, whose work overshadowed Jeanneret’s—used innovative cast concrete to evoke an abstracted floating lotus flower, marrying angular lines with swelling organic forms, all fittingly set into a large reflecting pool. A Getty grant will support an integrated and sustainable plan for the future management of the building, based on extensive background research, testing of materials, and technical analysis. The project will also build lasting capacity by supporting training workshops for experts of modernism in India, as well as for local professionals who care for the Gandhi Bhawan and other modern buildings in the region. Grant support: $130,000
Image courtesy of Vanicka Arora, Associate Architect, DRONAH.