Palace of assembly

case study of le Corbusier

1. Palace of Assembly Chandigarh , India

2. I n t r o d u c t i o n The  Palace of Assembly  is a legislative assembly building in Chandigarh, India. It was designed by modernist architect Le Corbusier .  It is part of the Capital Complex, which includes the Legislative Assembly, Secretarial and High Court. The Palace of Assembly features a circular assembly chamber, a forum for conversation and transactions, and stair-free circulation. After the Partition of Punjab in 1947 following the independence of India , the divided Punjab required a new capital to replace  L ahore, which was now in Pakistan.   Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru commissioned Le Corbusier to build a new city for the capital of Punjab. This city would become Chandigarh. Nehru desired that the city's design be "unfettered by the traditions of the past, a symbol of the nation's faith in the future". Subsequently, Corbusier and his team designed not just a large assembly and high court building, but all major buildings in the city, down to the door handles in public offices. Construction of the Palace of Assembly began in 1951 and ended 11 years later in 1962. The building was inaugurated on 15 April, 1964

3. L o c a t i o n Chandigarh Capital complex located in sector-1of Chandigarh city in India .

4. D e s i g n c o n c e p t It can be a place where, state functions were not merely housed but celebrated and where, architectural statement could be created strong enough to embody a sense of power and permanence of seriousness and exaltation. Conceptionally the building was designed as a horizontal rectilinear structure, square in plan with a monumental portico. On an urban level, the portico sets up a dialogue with the corresponding entrance to the justice palace on axis with the assembly across the main plaza Le Corbusier has provided the principal users of the building the legislators, the office workers, the press and the visitors each with their own entrances, lobbies and stairs, thus ensuring their separation from one another. Modular based on famed Golden ratio in human measurements much like Vinci for the true vien man.

5. Le Corbusier’s five points of architecture can be found within the design from its open plan to the view of the Himalayan landscape. The program features a circular assembly chamber, a forum for conversation and transactions, and stair free circulation.

6. Plan Section Sectional elevation PALACE OF ASSEMBLY Conceived as a horizontal rectilinear structure square in plan with a monumental portico facing the main plaza.

7. A r c h i t e c t u r a l s t y l e The two legislative buildings were conceived as free standing, curvilinear forms enclosed within a rectilinear shell, carrying on one side the entrance portico and on the opposite side of band of offices. The most impressive part of the assembly is the assembly chamber (Punjab assembly), which is crowned by a massive hyperbolic tower, extending above the roofline and providing a sculptural and dramatic look against the backdrop of distant hills 128 ft. in diameter at the base the assembly chamber rises to 124 ft. at its highest point. Punjab assembly Hyperbolic tower

8. versatility and plasticity of concrete as a building material. Similarly the smaller council chamber ( Haryana assembly) conceived in a rectilinear frame is crowned by a pyramidal roof, provided with a north light. Sun protection louvers ‘brise soleil’ have been provided on lateral walls for protecting glazing against sun. The two legislative chambers are surrounded by a space ‘forum’ which serves for circulation as well as informal meetings . Haryana assembly Pyramidal roof

9. The adoption of a circular form for the hall is for the development of good acoustics. The assembly hall is made in a hyperbolic shell with an average thickness of 15 cm, constant throughout its surface, resulting in a very low cost and a minimum of weight. The shell does not terminate in a horizontal but in an oblique section which shall receive a metallic framework (aluminum). Interplay of natural lighting, artificial lighting, ventilation and acoustic is seen.

10. The use of pilots (piers - columns, pillars, or stilts - that lift a building above ground or water) to lift the structure off the ground. Pilotis allow the form to express the grandiose release of space precisely as Corbusier intended. Reinforced concrete columns are utilized in a grid throughout the palace of the assembly and are slightly altered to raise a large swooping concrete form high above the entrance. This form represents the second point of le Corbusier's list – a free façade . The other various facades of the building also bestow the free façade via brise – soleil formed from the golden ratio.

11. Corbusier’s desire for views is then apparent from all facades. The sun shading along the offices provides a frame for inhabitants into the surrounding site while the portico opens to the adjacent landscape and the distant Himalayas. The open plan structural grid of reinforced concrete columns manipulates the program freely and place offices and other private programming along the outside of the plan and leave the Centre open for public use. On top of the building lies an accessible roof supported by the pilotis. Providing usable space on the roof of a structure complies with le Corbusier's fifth ideal of architecture by giving occupants vertical means of connecting to nature and compensating for the habitat removed by the building.

12. Vertical concrete fins are used to shades the interior of the three offices buildings. In contrast, the assembly chambers are lit with the skylight. The roof of the hyperboloid is penetrated by three openings which are meant to let direct light in on particular days (equinox, solstice).

13. The forum is meant to be a dark, artificially lit hall leading to the bright and colorful assembly chamber.

14. There is no central heating or air conditioning in any of the building. Cross ventilation is created by the portico with its inverted shell “the parasol”: an overhanging protective roof held up on the slender supports, providing shades and protection from sun and rain. The pools of water and landscaping help to cool the interior . V e n t i l a t i o n