Charles Correa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2009) |
Charles Correa (September 1, 1930, Hyderabad, India) is an Indian architect, planner and activist [1]. He studied architecture at the University of Michigan and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology after which he established a private practice in Bombay in 1958. His work in India is an adaptation of Modernism to a non-western culture. His early works attempt to explore a local vernacular within a modern environment. His land-use planning and community projects continually try to go beyond typical solutions to third world problems.
Contents |
[edit] Career
All of his work - from the planning of Navi Mumbai to the carefully detailed memorial to Mahatma Gandhi at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad has placed special emphasis on prevailing resources, energy and climate as major determinants in the ordering of space.
Over the last four decades, Correa has done pioneering work in urban issues and low cost shelter in the Third World. From 1970-75, he was Chief Architect for New Bombay an urban growth center of 2 million people, across the harbor from the existing city. In 1985, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi appointed him Chairman of the National Commission on Urbanization.
In 1984, he founded the prestigious Urban Design Research Institute in Bombay which to this day is dedicated to the protection of the built environment and improvement of urban communities. He also designed the distinctive buildings of National Crafts Museum, New Delhi (1975-1990), British Council, Delhi. (1987-92).
He was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for the year 1984. His acclaimed design for McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT was dedicated recently. He is a recipient of the civilian awards in India, Padma Vibhushan (2006) and Padma Shri (1972). In 2008 he resigned his commission as the head of Delhi Urban Arts Commission.
[edit] Current Projects
Charles Correa is currently working on several projects worthy of note. Of particular significance is the new Ismaili Centre in Toronto, Canada that is to be located in the midst of formal gardens and surrounded by a large park designed by landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic. It will share the site with the Fumihiko Maki designed Aga Khan Museum.[2]
[edit] Further reading
[edit] References
- ^ An Architecture of Independence: The Making of Modern South Asia University of Pennsylvania.
- ^ "Correa, Maki Tapped to Design Aga Khan Center". Architectural Record, The McGraw-Hill Companies. 2008-10-06. http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/081006AghaKhan.asp. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Charles Correa |
- Charles Correa Associates – Official web site of the Mumbai based architect. Extensive project descriptions with photographs, biography and bibliography.
- Charles Correa - Photo Gallery at BBC Radio 3
