Recontextualizing the publicness by humanizing the form-space disconnect in chandigarh city: addressing urban design role in central city sectors

Abstract

Cities do not have a birth, they simply grow. - Ravi Kalia First signs of systematic city planning appeared with the orthogonal grid of Indus cities in 2400BC, followed by which there are many planned cities that show affinity to axial, gridded and symmetrical designs. New towns gave modernist planners a black canvas on which to create their vision of ideal urban society. But since they have a birth, they have a definite life; unable to cope up with the changing dynamics of urban form and subsequent transformations. Chandigarh was the first planned city in India, after independence intended as city structure on principles of rationality, orderliness, and social improvement planned by Le Corbusier. The fact that explosive population growth that was intended and what has reached now, along with “Indianized” modifications adapted by the city calls for re-envisioning. Public places designed on western concept of universal places with vast plazas and greens are waning-off its public intend. The question of the future of this “future city” still fuels the debate for many. The aim of this academic thesis is outlined to relook into Corbusier Chandigarh plan and ramification of its urban form, talking of waning public places with advent of changed urban dimensions from a ‘structural formation’ to ‘the living entity’. This will be done by understanding the changing dynamics of city form developed in last 60 years based on certain Corbusier principles; probing the modifications required in urban dimensions with advent of modifications induced in the city; and to overlay the ‘another dimension of humans’ over the rationalist city plan and contextualize it as a socio-cultural entity. The outcome will be focusing on contemplating the life beyond grid, enhancing the experience with new found density, diversity and design.