THE CAPITOL COMPLEX

THE AREA OF THE GREATEST SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE IN CHANDIGARH WAS THE CAPITOL COMPLEX , WHICH IN ITS FINAL FORM WAS BASED ON THE DESIGN OF A GRAET CROSS AXIS THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUP OF THE BUILDINGS CONSTITUTING THE CAPITOL- RIGHT, THE PARLIAMENT, LEFT,IN THE BACKGROUND, THE SECRETARIAT IN THE FOREGROUND, THE POOL OF THE PALACE OF JUSTICE THE ARTIFICIAL HILLS IN THE FRONT OF THE SECRETARIAT HAVE NOT BEEN CREATED AND LAID OUT IN ACCORDANCE WITH COEBUSIER;S CONCEPTIONS ALTHOUGH THE SCENE IS HARMONIUS IN EFFECT, THERE ARE STILL MISSING THE BUILDINGS THAT BELONG HERE ,SUCH AS , FOR INSTANCE, THE TOWERS OF SHADOWS

Site plan: Here the secretariat building is treated as a horizontal platform like the plain of Chandigarh itself, carrying on its roof the provincial assembly hall rising in a parabolic arch, a form echoing the distant hills As a response to the sun, the capitol complex can be interpreted as an interlaced array of sun breakers Inspiration from unite It lies in the foot of shivalik hills just next to artificial lake Governors palace was supposed to be in the site but the idea was abandoned The capitol area was designed as the great pedestrian plaza with motor traffic separated into sunken trenches leading to parking areas Although the site is very big, it is not designed with allowance for expansion

The secretariat: The first design for the secretariat presents the building as a tall thin slab carrying a surface brise soleil divided by a central horizontal band The design which was accepted established the building form as a long ,horizontal concrete slab The secretariat, the longest building in Chandigarh, 254m long, and 42m high forms the administrative center, with ministerial offices grouped in the center and offices for employees arranged on either side The building was completed in 1958 The building is composed of six eight storey blocks separated by expansion joints The central pavilion, block 4, contains the offices of the ministers The rough concrete again interposes in the fenestration of the two main facades ; more than 2000 units of unique design

Approach to the building is through roadways below ground level to a large parking area in front of the central block, and a floor is left open at this level to form an entrance hall Block 1 and 2 rises directly from the ground Block 3,4 and part of 5 face on the excavated area of the parking lot and have the lower storey open between pilotis For the rest part of block 5 and whole of 6 the level goes till plaza height, and lower portion of these blocks are left open to a height of two storyes The top of the building is developed as a roof garden containing the service blocks and cafeteria for employees The plastic emphasis is given to the building by free standing exterior ramps enclosed in rough concrete walls For supplementary communication within the building , each of six blocks is equipped with interior stairways and limited elevator service Horizontal circulation is by means of a central corridors For ministers block the bay size is increased and the column is thickened

The high court The high court formed a part as a great architectural venture using very poor materials and a lab unused to modern building techniques An entire structure has resulted in the use of double roof The upper roof cantilevered out of the office block in the manner of parasol shading the lower roo The space between the two roofs is left open to enable currents of air to move between the flat ro office block and the underside of the parasol roof which slopes towards center in the form of rows In the plan the building took the form of abbreviated l shaped with long faade facing the capito contain court rooms The building is a rectilinear frame within which the interior functions are defined The eight court rooms are identically expressed on the main faade and separated from the larger a monumental columned entrance rising the height of the building Building rises directly from the earth The main faade is defined by a full height concrete brise soleil The arch form is restricted to the underside of the parasol roof It is the visual drama of the piers rising sixty feet from the ground to meet the heavy outward thru which creates the focal emphasis of the present plan On the main faade the deep fixed concrete brise soleil gives a strong and scale less pattern to the It is the concrete screen which gives the main faade its overall unity Behind the brise soleil , the windows of the court rooms are of fixed glass, but between are narrow spaces containing shutters which open and close on hinges It is noted that the orientation of the high court is such that the main faade faces north west , and not receive direct sunlight The rough concrete of the building is treated in variety of manners for much of the surface includin underside of the parasol roof and the exterior side walls , the mass of sheet metal characterize the

It is noted that the orientation of the high court is such that the main faade faces north west , and this does not receive direct sunlight The rough concrete of the building is treated in variety of manners for much of the surface including the underside of the parasol roof and the exterior side walls , the mass of sheet metal characterize the surface In portions of the interior and on the ramps , wooden boards have been inserted within the metal forms to give the concrete surface the impress of their jointed pattern, while other surfaces, including those of massive entrance piers are finished with gunnite cement Building rises directly from the earth The main faade is defined by a full height concrete brise soleil The arch form is restricted to the underside of the parasol roof It is the visual drama of the piers rising sixty feet from the ground to meet the heavy outward thrust of the roof which creates the focal emphasis of the present plan On the main faade the deep fixed concrete brise soleil gives a strong and scale less pattern to the building It is the concrete screen which gives the main faade its overall unity Behind the brise soleil , the windows of the court rooms are of fixed glass, but between are narrow vertical spaces containing shutters which open and close on hinges It is noted that the orientation of the high court is such that the main faade faces north west , and this does not receive direct sunlight The rough concrete of the building is treated in variety of manners for much of the surface including the underside of the parasol roof and the exterior side walls , the mass of sheet metal characterize the surface In portions of the interior and on the ramps , wooden boards have been inserted within the

Architectural features: Parasol roof Forming arches Double roof Gap left between Two roofs Colored massive pillars Full height entrance Double roof Approached through roads Rough concrete finished ramp The entrance lobby is paved with whitish flag stone set in the rows of varying widths New scheme for painting the columns and portico walls in bright contrasting colors The inside wall to the left of the piers was to be black The adjacent pillar painted green The center pier would be yellow The right hand pillar is red And the remaining portico wall is primary blue The graet entrance hall of the high court is also been found in lacking protection during the monsoon season The narrow curving ramp at the end of the entrance hall, which forms the main vertical circulation is exposed The horizontal circulation, consisting of open corridors on the rear facade ,is also ineffectively sheltered

The assembly hall: The assembly was conceived as a rectilinear structure It is square in plan with a monumental portico facing the main plaza On the lateral facades both the portico and the office block would be defined by solid end walls The large chamber is in hyperbolic form of the cooling tower with an average thickness of 15 cms The small council chamber are in rectilinear frame The upper portion of the tower is extending above the roof line An assembly chamber is 128 ft in diameter at its base and rises to 124 ft at its highest point This tower was designed to insure the natural light, ventilation and proper acoustics Of all buildings of the capitol complex , the assembly is the most intricate in plan Separate circulation accommodation of all groups is provided Employing a system of individual entrances, stairways, lifts and ramp a complete segregation of members is provided There are two separate galleries for men and women in council chamber