CHARLES CORREA

CONTENTS• INTRODUCTION

• MAIN CONCEPT

• HIS DESIGN PRINCIPAL WITH EXAMPLE(MACRO LEVEL)

• HIS DESIGN PRINCIPALS (MICRO LEVEL)

• OTHER PRINCIPALS

• CONCLUSION

• REFERENCES

LIST OF FEW FAMOUS TOWN PLANNERS• Ebenezer Howard (Garden city)

• Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker (Letchworth city)

• Clarence Perry, Clarence Stein (The Neighborhood Unit, Rad burn)

• Patrick Geddes (Survey before plan)

• Patrick Abercrombie (Town and Country Planning)

• Frank Lloyd Wright (Broadacre City)

• Le Corbusier (Sector planning, Chandigarh)

• Soria-y-Mata (Linear city)

• CHARLES COREA (COMMUNITY HOUSING) • Charles Mulford Robinson (Modern Civic Art)

• H.K. Mewada and P.M. Apte (Sector planning, Gandhinagar)

INTRODUCTION:BACKGROUND

• Charles Correa, in full Charles Mark Correa

• Born in secundrabad, India in 1930.

• He is an Architect, planner, activist and theoretician, an international lecturer and

traveler,particularly noted for his sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor and for his

use of traditional methods and materials

• Kevin lynch , then in the process of developing his themes for image of the city triggered Correa’s interest in urban issues

• Correa's work in India shows a careful development, understanding and adaptation of

Modernism to a non-western culture. Correa's early works attempt to explore a local

vernacular within a modern environment. Correa's land-use planning and community

projects continually try to go beyond typical solutions to third world problems.

INTRODUCTION: EDUCATION AND CAREERYEAR DESCRIPTION

EDUCATION

1946-1948 Inter-science. St. Xavier's college, university of Bombay.

1949-1953 B.Arch., University of Michigan.

1953-1955 M.Arch., Massachusetts institute of technology

CAREER

1955-1958 Partner with G.M. BHUTA associates

1958 To date In private practice1964-1965 Prepared master plan proposing twin city across the harbor from

Bombay. 1969-1971 invited by the govt. of Peru

1971-1975 Chief architect to CIDCO

1975-1976 Consultant to UN secretory-general for HABITAT

1975-1983 Chairman Housing Urban Renewal & Ecology Board

1985 Chairman Dharavi planning commission

INTRODUCTION: PROJECTS OF CHARLES CORREA• The first important order of Correa is the memorial place for Mahatma Gandhi in Sangrahalaya with Ahmadabad (1958-63), an

accumulation of buildings, grouped loosely around a central water yard, which integrate Gandhi’s house

• Meeting buildings (1951-58) in Chandigarh .

• Administration building (1958-60) and the philosophical faculty (1959-60)

• The Vallabh Vidyanagar university in Anand.

• Twin houses in Bhavnagar (1959)

• The Hindustan Lever Pavillion (1961) on the exhibition sites of Delhi reveals all constructional possibilities of the concrete building method

• Tube house in Ahmadabad (1962)

• Cablenger township in Kota(1967)

• Patwardhan houses in Pune (1967)

• Kanchanjunga apartments in Bombay(1970)

• Navi Mumbai(1971)

• Suatter housing in Bombay (1973)

• Malbar cement in Kerala (1973)

• Tapa house in Delhi (19775)

• JNIDB in Hyderabad(1986)

• CCMB in Hyderabad (1986)

• JNC at IISC in Bangalore(1990)

INTRODUCTION:AWARDS1961 - Prize for low-income housing early1972 - Correa was awarded the PadmaShri by the President of India1980 - Correa was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Michigan1984 -He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects1985 - Prize for the Improvement in the Quality of Human Settlements from the International Union of Architects.1986 - Chicago Architecture Award.1987 -the Gold Medal of the Indian Institute of Architects1990 - the Gold Medal of the UIA (International Union of Architects)1994 - the Premium Imperial from Japan society of art.1999 -Aga khan award for vidhan sabha, bhopal

INTRODUCTION:HIS BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS• Modernity and Community: Architecture in by Kenneth Frampton, Charles

Correa, David Robson, and Aga Khan Award for Architecture .

• Himalayan Vernacular by Carl Pruscha and Charles Correa .

• The New Landscape: Urbanization in the Third World by Charles Correa .

• Magellan's Voyage Around the World by Antonio Pigafetta, Maximilian of Transylvania, Gaspar Correa, and Charles E. Nowell .

• Matematica Uso Diario Para Dummies by Charles Seiter and Maria Mercedes Correa.

• Housing & urbanisation by Charles Correa .

• The value of place: Urban stategies for California's Central Valley towns by CharlesCorrea

HIS MAIN CONCEPT SEEN IN MANY DESIGNSOPEN TO SKY CONCPET

COURTYARDS AND

TERRACESHOUSING THE MACHINE

FOR LIVING WORK

SPACESTHE

PATHWAYS

Low-income housing;Gujarat Housing Board

Squatter housing

EXAMPLES

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY: MACRO LEVEL

EXAMPLE: NAVI MUMBAI• the conceptual design of navi mumbai was developed at

a height of a modernism

• THE DESIGN PRINCIPALS:

1. decentralization by the design of self sufficient townships(nodes)

2. Residential neighbourhood(sectors)

3. The total area of navi mumbai was divided into three townships.each township has several sectors. Many were residential in nature

4. Each node was planned to accommodate a range of some income group

5. Ponds were created to accumulate excess runoff

NAVI MUMBAI – NEED FOR A NEW CITY

• TO REDUCE THE GROWTH OF POPULATION IN MUMBAI CITY BY CREATING ATTRACTIVE URBAN CENTRE WHICH WILL ABSORB THE IMMIGRANTS WHO WILL OTHERWISE GO TO MUMBAI

• ATTRACT SOME OF THE MUMBAI’S PRESENT POPULATION SO THAT OVERALL POPULATION OF GREATER MUMBAI CAN BE CONTAINED IN MANAGEABLE LIMIT.

• UNHEALTHY AND INSANITARY CONDITIONS FOR 1 MILLION SLUM DWELLERS WAS THE RESULT OF INADEQUATE HOUSING STOCK.

• TO PROVIDE PHYSICAL & SOCIAL SERVICES, RAISING THE LIVING STANDARD & REDUCING THE DISPARITIES IN THE AMENITIES AVAILABLE TO THE POPULATION

NAVI MUMBAI - CREATION• THE PROMINENT AUTHOR OF “TWIN CITY

CONCEPT” ARE CHARLES CORREA(CHIEF ARCHITECT), SHIRISH PATEL AND PRAVINA MEHTA WHO PRESENTED THE GOVERNMENT A PROPOSAL FOR CONSTRUCTING NEW GROWTH CENTRE ACROSS MUMBAI HARBOUR ON THE MAINLAND

• THE IMPLEMENTATION OCCURRED THROUGH POLITICAL & BUREAUCRATIC CHANNEL IN 1969.

• THE SITE WAS FINALLY CHOOSEN ACROSS THE HARBOUR FROM MUMBAI ISLAND.

• CITY AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (CIDCO) WAS FORMED ON 17 MARCH 1971 TO PLAN & DEVELPO NAVI MUMBAI.

NAVI MUMBAI – THE BUILT FORM• THE CBD LIES AT THE CENTRE WITH ALL THE MAJOR COMMERCIAL, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL

ACTIVITIES

• THIS ZONE WAS SORROUNDED BY THE TRANSITION ZONE WHICH HAS FACTORIES AND WARE HOUSES

• OLDER RESIDENTIAL AREAS BEING TAKEN OVER BY EXPANDING CBD

• THE NEXT ZONE HAD LOWER INCOME LEVELS AND SUCCESSIVE ZONES HAD HIGHER INCOME LEVELS

CONCENTRIC ZONE THEORY- BURGES MODEL

FEATURES OF NAVI MUMBAI:

• 14 well-planned nodes, strung along mass transport corridors, effectively serving civic needs (Airoli, Ghansoli,Kopar Khairane, Vashi, Sanpada, Nerul, CBD Belapur, Kharghar, Kamothe, Kalamboli, New Panvel, Ulwe, Dronagiri and Pushpak.

• 45% land reserved for green zones and open-to-sky activities.• World-class infrastructure with excellent healthcare facilities in every node.• Quality housing for every stratum of society.• World-class education institutes in every node.• Reasonably priced commercial and residential real estate.• Direct access to any part of the country through road and rail.• Quick access to Central Business District located in the head of the city.• In close proximity to the most modern seaport - Jawaharlal Nehru Port.• International airport and Special Economic Zone in the offing.• Only Indian city to have commercial complex above railway stations.• Asia's biggest wholesale market, APMC, is located here.

ARRANGING OF SPACES IN LOW HOUSING COMMUNITY• IIT GENERALLY HIERARCHIAL CONSISTING OF FOUR MAJOR ELEMENTS:

• SPACES NEEDED BY THE FAMILY FOR EXCLUSIVELY PRIVATE USE SUCH AS COOKING AND SLEEPING

• AREAS OF INTIMATE CONTACT i.e. THE FRONT DOOR STEP WHERE CHILDREN PLAY, THEY MEETTHEIR NEIGHBOUR, ETC..

• NEIGHBOURHOOD PLACES e.g. THE CITY WATER TAP WHERE THEY BECOME PART OF THEIR COMMUNITY

• THE PRINCIPAL URBAN AREA e.g. THE MAIDAN(OPEN SPACE) USED BY THE WHOLE CITY

HIERARCHY OF SPACES

PAVEMENTS• IN THE CROWDED CENTRES OF INDIAN

CITIES,PAVEMENTS ARE USED INTENSIVELY; DURING THE DAY THEY ARE CROWDED WITH HAWKERS SO THAT PEDESTRIANS ARE FORCED ONTO THE ROAD BLOCKING THE TRAFFIC LANES

• IN ORDER TO OVER COME FROM THESE PROBLEM, HE HAD PROPOSED A LINE OF PLATFORMS 2 METERS WIDE AND 0.6M HIGH, WITH WATER TAPS PLACED AT APPROXIMATELY INTERVALS OF 30M

• DURING THE DAY THESE PLATFORMS WOULD BE USED BY THE HAWKERS- THUS CLEARING THE PAVEMENTS AND NIGHT TIME THEY CAN USE IT TO SLEEP

OPEN TO SKY TERRACES TO MIDDLE INCOME GROUPS

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY: MICRO LEVEL• INDIA IS A LAND OF “ABUNDANT SUN” AND “PLENTIFUL LABOR”

• “OPEN-TO-SKY” AND “TUBE DWELLING”

• COMBINATORIAL GAME OF CELLULAR HOUSING PATTERNS

• STEPPED INTERLOCKING OF SPACES AND DETAILS

• HIGHLY CLIMATIC RESPONSIVE BUILDINGS

• CATERS TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC NEEDS

• CORREA'S WORK IN INDIA SHOWS A CAREFUL DEVELOPMENT, UNDERSTANDING AND

ADAPTATION OF MODERNISM TO A NON-WESTERN CULTURE. CORREA'S EARLY WORKS

ATTEMPT TO EXPLORE A LOCAL VERNACULAR WITHIN A MODERN ENVIRONMENT.

• CORREA'S LAND-USE PLANNING AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS CONTINUALLY TRY TO

GO BEYOND TYPICAL SOLUTIONS TO THIRD WORLD PROBLEMS.

1.GANDHI SMARAK SANGRAHALAYA, SABARMATI ASHRAM, AHMEDABAD – 1958-63• Memorial museum erected in

sabarmati ashram –Dandi march• Tiled roofs, brick walls, stone floor

and wooden doors, RCC Channels• No glass, Lighting and ventilation

through operable wooden louvers• Typology analogous to Gandhiji s ‟

thinking of villages• Water courts, Meandering design• Minimalist architecture• Glow of spaces

MAIN PRINCIPLE: LOCAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE & HIGHLY CLIMATIC RESPONSIVE BUILDINGS

2. KOVALAM BEACH RESORT, KERALA – 1969-74• Cluster of detached units –

“Kudils”• Stepped terrace that leads

visually to the beach• Subtle level changes having

a certain oriental character• Highly articulated living

zones• Views to beach even from

kitchenettes• Highly responsive resort

with regional character

MAIN PRINCIPLE: STEPPED INTERLOCKING OF SPACES AND OPEN TO SKY

• Construction is in traditional vernacular of Kerala- Plaster walls with red tiled roofs

• Other pavilion consists of little Bamboo chhatries with coir matins on the floor and local Kerala handicrafts.

SECTION (DETACHED UNIT)

SECTION( MAIN BLDG.)

3. KANCHANJUNGA APARTMENTS, BOMBAY - 1970-83• Tower 1:4 Proportion – 21m X 84m – hosts 32 three or four bedroom luxury apartments.

• Ingenious cellular planning – interlock of one and a half storey,split-level units.

• Smaller displacement of levels differentiates external earth

filled terrace to interior elevated living volumes

• Effectively shields the effects of both Sun and Rain

• Tower with deep garden verandahs (Unite d habitation)

MAIN PRINCIPLE: MODERNISM AND LANDSCAPE IN VERENDAS/BALCONIES

CROSS VENTILATION

MAIN PRINCIPLE:HERE CORREA SUBVERTS THE TRADITIONAL PRINCIPLES OF A BUNGALOW VERANDA AND APPLIES THEM TO A HIGH-RISE, CREATING GENEROUS TWO-STOREY TERRACES WITHIN GEOMETRICALLY-COMPLEX INTERLOCKING APARTMENTS.

3. KANCHANJUNGA APARTMENTS, BOMBAY - 1970-83

3. KANCHANJUNGA APARTMENTS, BOMBAY - 1970-83• Its minimal unbroken surfaces are cut away to open up the double height terrace

gardens at the corners, thus revealing some hint of the complex spatial organization of living spaces that lie within the tower.

4. JNIDB- HYDERABAD 1986-91Simple pure geometry – humidified micro-climate – numerous

courtyards – skillful play of color

1. Rooms laid out around the courtyard

2. Courtyard – Central Kund with stone steps

3. Creates focus in the center of complex

4. An ideal place for casual conversations and also for formal events like concerts

MAIN PRINCIPLE: SIMPLICITY IN DESIGN AND COURTYARDS(OPEN TO SKY)

The new building for the British council houses a number of diverse functions including a library, an auditorium an art gallery and the head quarters of their offices in India

6.BRITISH COUNCIL LIBRARY,NEW DELHI

The black stones design is representing the shadows cast by a giant banyan tree waving in the wind which is showing the image of indian tree

ENTRANCE

Correas idea for the building was to express the three basic cultural identities that have shaped contemporary India: Hindu, Muslim and European

At the farthest end is the axis mundi of hinduism, a spiral symbolizing bindu: the centre of the cosmos. The next nodal point is the main courtyard, centered around another mythical inage: the traditonal islam char bagh. The third nodal point along the axisis a european icon, inlaid in marble and granite

SITE PLAN

COX’S SCULPTURE SITS IN THE HINDU COURT, AT THE POINT OF BINDU.

VIEW ACROSS THE INNER COURTYARDS, WITH IN THE FOREGROUND AN INTERPRETATION OF THE LAYOUT OF THE ISLAMIC GARDEN OF PARADSE

EUROPEAN ICON, USED TO REPRESENT THE AGE OF REASON, NCLUDING THE MYTHIC VALUES OF SCIENCE AND PROGRESS

5. HUDCO HOUSING,JODHPUR1. Hudco (housing and development

corporation) commissioned correa to add 176 houses to an existing development

2. Using the basic principles for the units at belapur, the architect grouped the units around a hierarchy of open spaces

3. The houses are to cater to four income categories, from lower to mid-level income categories

4. Each unit Is independent from its neighbour which allows incrementality and upgrading as families become upwardly mobile

MAIN PRINCIPLE: COMMUNITY HOUSING HAVING OPEN SPACES AT CENTRE

HIS OTHER PRINCIPLES

FEW CARDINAL PRINCIPLES IN HIS VAST BODY OF WORK;

INCREMENTALITY

PLURALISM

PARTICIPATION

INCOME GENERATION

EQUITY

OPEN-TO-SKY SPACE

DISAGGREGATION. Belapur housing being the one project where he has literally used these principals

Project demonstrates how high density housing (500 people per hectare) can

be achieved in a low-rise typology, while including OPEN TO SKY SPACES

and services, like schools, that the community requires

Overriding principle - to give each unit its own site to allow for expansion

(INCREMENTALITY) Consequently, families do not share walls with their neighbors , allowing

each to expand his own house (PARTICIPATION)Houses constructed simply and can be built by traditional masons and

craftsmen - generating employment for local workers (INCOME

GENERATION)several plans exist that cover the social spectrum, from squatters to upper

income families (PLURALISM)Yet, the footprint of each plan varies little in size (from 45 sqm to 70 sqm),

maintaining EQUITY (FAIRNESS) in the community

BELAPUR HOUSING

• Scheme caters wide range from the lowest budgets of Rs 20000

• Middle income groups Rs 30000-50000• Upper income Rs 180000• Though ratio of costs is 1:5 the variation of plot

is much smaller , from 45 to 75 square metres. • Seven units are grouped of 8x8 meters• 3 cluster combine to form a larger module of 21

houses surrounding space of 12x12 metres• 3 such modules interlock to define the next scale

of community space approximately 20x20 metres• The houses are structurally simple , can be built

and altered by local mistries

CONCLUSION• THE IMPORTANT PART OF HIS WORK IS TO GET THE LOCALS INVOLVED, BY WORKING

WITH MATERIAL THEY ARE FAMILIAR WITH AND BENEFITTING FROM THEIR KNOWLEDGE ON HOW TO WORK WITH CERTAIN MATERIALS.

• HE COMBINES VERNACULAR AND MODERN CONCEPTS TO CREATE DESIGNS THAT SUPPORT THE CULTURAL IDENTITY OF A PLACE AND COMMUNITY AND EVENTUALLY LEAD TO SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE.

• IN HIS DESIGNS, WHICH RANGE FROM LOW-INCOME, HIGH DENSITY HOUSING TO ENTIRE TOWNSHIPS, HE PAYS SPECIAL ATTENTION TO AIR VENTILATION AND TO PROVIDE HUMANE LIVING ENVIRONMENTS. IN INDIA, THE URBAN POPULATION IS INCREASING TWICE AS FAST AS IN ITS RURAL AREAS. HE TAKES ON THIS CHALLENGE AND DESIGNS HOMES, BOTH FOR LOW AND HIGH INCOMES IN MUMBAI. BUT EVEN WHILE DESIGNING SMALL SPACES WITHIN THIS HIGH DENSITY ENVIRONMENT, HE INCORPORATES A HIGH LEVEL OF PRIVACY AND ALSO SHAPES AND CONTRIBUTES TO THE COMMUNITY LIFE WITHIN AN APARTMENT BUILDING.

REFERENCES• THE NEW LANDSCAPE AND URBANIZATION BOOK – BY CHARLES CORREA

• CHARLES CORREA BOOK- BY HASSAN UDDIN KHAN

• http://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/charles-correa-the-people-s-architect /

• https://thearchiblog.wordpress.com/tag/charles-correa/