Legislative Assembly Chandigarh, India - Architect: Le Corbusier
The Parliament or Legislative Assembly (1955) was designed as a large box with the entrance portico on one side, concrete piers on the other, and a repetitive pattern on the façade. Sculptural forms on the roof, a dramatic ‘funnel’ top light over the Assembly, and a tilted pyramid over the Senate chambers completed the composition. The Assembly Hall has a square plan. The Assembly chamber, in the form of a hyperbolic shell, is surrounded by ceremonial space. This circulation space is planned as a dimly lit, triple height, columned hall for informal meetings and discussions. The side of the hall facing the high court has a great portico and has eight thin piers. These piers frame a view of glimpses of the Shivalik Hills. A ceremonial pivoting door is placed in an off-centre bay of the portico. Le Corbusier was inspired by the form of the cooling towers of a power station near Ahmedabad. The architect designed the hyperbolic shell of the Assembly chamber with a base diameter of 39.6 m. This shell is 38 m and terminates in an oblique section with a metallic framework at the top. This framework directs the interplay of natural and artificial lighting, ventilation, and acoustics. The hyperbolic shell is only 15 cm thick, which helped in reducing the cost and the weight of structure. The Assembly chamber has a seating capacity for 252 persons. Additional galleries are provided for ladies, journalists, and officials. Acoustical treatment has been given to the Assembly Chamber to modulate and control the sound levels by providing sound absorbing panels in bright colours and random curvilinear shapes. The Council chamber, with a capacity of 70 seats is crowned by a pyramid, which admits light from the north into its interior. A ladies gallery with 90 seats, a men’s gallery with 104 seats, and a press gallery with 24 seats are also provided in this chamber. Staircases, lifts and ramps provide various means of circulation and access to different levels of the building. The construction of the entire structure is in exposed reinforced concrete.
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