Chandigarh, the dream city of India's first Prime Minister, Sh. Jawahar Lal Nehru, was planned by the famous French architect Le Corbusier. Picturesquely located at the foothills of Shivaliks, it is known as one of the best experiments in urban planning and modern architecture in the twentieth century in India. Chandigarh derives its name from the temple of "Chandi Mandir" located in the vicinity of the site selected for the city. The deity 'Chandi', the goddess of power and a fort of 'garh' laying beyond the temple gave the city its name "Chandigarh-The City Beautiful".The city has a pre-historic past. The gently sloping plains on which modern Chandigarh exists, was in the ancient past, a wide lake ringed by a marsh. The fossil remains found at the site indicate a large variety of aquatic and amphibian life, which was supported by that environment. About 8000 years ago the area was also known to be a home to the Harappans. Since the medieval through modern era, the area was part of the large and prosperous Punjab Province which was divided into East & West Punjab during partition of the country in 1947. The city was conceived not only to serve as the capital of East Punjab, but also to resettle thousands of refugees who had been uprooted from West Punjab. In March, 1948, the Government of Punjab, in consultation with the Government of India, approved the area of the foothills of the Shivaliks as the site for the new capital. The location of the city site was a part of the erstwhile Ambala district as per the 1892-93 gazetteer of District Ambala. The foundation stone of the city was laid in 1952. Subsequently, at the time of reorganization of the state on 01.11.1966 into Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pardesh, the city assumed the unique distinction of being the capital city of both, Punjab and Haryana while it itself was declared as a Union Territory and under the direct control of the Central Government.The Union Territory of Chandigarh is located in the foothills of the Shivalik hill ranges in the north, which form a part of the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. It is occupied by Kandi (Bhabhar) in the north east and Sirowal (Tarai) and alluvial plains in the remaining part. The subsurface formation comprises of beds of boulders, pebbles, gravel, sand, silt, clays and some kankar. The area is drained by two seasonal rivulets viz. Sukhna Choe in the east and Patiala-Ki-Rao Choe in the west. The central part forms a surface water divide and has two minor streams. The stream passing through the central part is called N-Choe and the other is Choe Nala which initiates at Sector 29.
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'SOMETHING GOOD COMETH OUT OF EVIL'; thus goes the Biblical saying. This legendry proverb aptly describes the birth of the city of Chandigarh, which was conceived immediately after India's Independence in 1947. With the partition in the subcontinent, Lahore, the capital of undivided Punjab fell within Pakistan, leaving East Punjab without a Capital. It was decided to built a new Capital city called Chandigarh about 240 kms. north of New Delhi on a gently sloping terrain with foothills of the Himalayas the Shivalik range of the North and two Seasonal rivulets flowing on its two sides approximately 7-8 kms apart. The geographical location of the city is 30 degree 50' N latitude and 76 degree 48' longitude and it lies at an altitude varying from 304.8 to 365.76 meters above sea level. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Independent India's first Prime Minister, laid down the founding principles of the new city when he said "Let this be a new town, symbolic of freedom of India unfettered by the traditions of the past.. an expressions of the nation's faith in the future". The city is a product of Nehru's vision. To select a suitable site, the Govt. of Punjab appointed a Committee in 1948 under the Chairmanship of P.L Verma, Chief Engineer to assess and evaluate the existing towns in the State for setting up the proposed capital of Punjab. However, none was found suitable on the basis of several reasons, such as military vulnerability, shortage of drinking water, inaccessibility, inability to cope in flux of large number of refugees etc. The present site was selected in 1948 taking into account various attributes such as its Central location in the state, proximity to the national capital & availability of sufficient water supply, fertile of soil, gradient of land for natural drainage, beautiful site with the panorama of blue hills as backdrop & moderate climate. He was assisted by three senior architects, Maxwell Fry, his wife Jane B Drew and Corbusier's cousin, Pierre Jeanneret. These senior architects were supported by a team of young Indian architect and planner consisting of M.N. Sharma, A. R. Prabhawalkar, U.E. Chowdhary, J.S. Dethe, B.P. Mathur, Aditya Prakash, N.S. Lanbha and others.
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The Capitol Complex is the focal point if the city, both visually and symbolically whose architectural whose architecture is considering to be the most representative of Le Corbusier's work. This complex of Govt. buildings representing all three essential components of a complete democracy the Legislature, the executive and the judiciary stands against the blue silhouette of lower Shivalik ranges, on the foothills of Himalayas. The Capitol Complex is the embodiment of the spirit of exaltation, power & permanence experienced by Indians on acquiring self government after long, bitter struggle for freedom. The Capitol area was designed as a great pedestrian plaza with motorized traffic confined to sunken trenches. The complex is planned on a cross axis wherein rigid symmetry has been avoided in placement of various buildings. The three major components of the Capitol are the Assembly (Legislation), the Secretariat (Administration) and the High Court (Judiciary). Esplanade where a number of monuments symbolizing Le Corbusier's theories of City planning have been placed. These include the Open Hand monument, often called the B 'Monument of Chandigarh' conveying 'open to give, open to receive'. These symbolic forms were designed by Corbusier as a means to punctuate the axis of the Complex. Other monuments included the Martyrs Memorial- a tribute to the martyrs of the Punjab partition and the Tower of Shadows - a demonstration of Corbusiers's theories of sun control.The High Court building is L-shaped in plan with the long facade facing the capitol plaza. The building has a rectilinear frame with eight nos. courtrooms located on the main facade, separated from the larger 'Chief Justice' Court by a monumental, pillared entrance, extending to the full height of the entrance. This massive entrance bears a close resemblance to the Buland Darwaza of Fatehpur Sikri.
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The reorganization of the State pf Punjab in 1966 resulted in Chandigarh being declared a Union Territory besides serving as Capital of Punjab and the newly created State of Haryana. In the process, Chandigarh became the seat of three governments & gained in size and stature since it already had a central location in the region and a sublime environment complementing its growth. Dr. M. S. Randhawa took over as the first Chief Commissioner of the new Union Territory and was chiefly instrumental in realization of the IInd phase in 1968 when M. N. Sharma was the chief architect. This phase of development comprised of 17 Nos. sectors extending from 31 to 47. The feedback which was gained from the development of Phase-I was wisely invested into the planning of this phase and certain fundamental improvements were envisaged in the Sector layout, housing and commercial environment. This phase was planned for a population of 3.5 lacs with an average density of 60 persons per acre as compared to 17 persons per acres in Phase-I and comprised of an area of 27 sq. km. The first phase was developed in 43 sq. km. of area. The development and the character of the IInd phase of Chandigarh that emerged gradually in the three decades of its materialization was largely influenced by the following attributes:

Enormous Population And Development Pressure

The city recorded the highest growth rate (140%) during the decade 1961-71. The ensuring increase in the administrative workforce that brought more families created a market for supporting jobs initiating a population boom. In order to tae advantage of the development potential, the State of Punjab and Haryana set up new capital city. Migration trends also showed a preference for settlement in the peripheries of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali, who in turn depended on Chandigarh for infrastructural facilities.
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Chandigarh is unique, because it is the capital of two state governments, Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh is a planned city, with a high standard of civic amenities. Chandigarh's infrastructure was originally planned for a population of 5 lakh, but the city has expanded rapidly over the last three decades and faces problems common to other growing cities in India, including the proliferation of slums and squatter settlements. Despite these problems, Chandigarh ranks first in India in the Human Development Index, quality of life and e-readiness. Keeping in view the need for the investment of investible surplus, we have taken a number of major initiatives to upgrade the infrastructure in Chandigarh, to boost economic growth in the region. Chandigarh is emerging as a regional hub in the areas of service industry, education, health, information technology, food and vegetable processing etc. Chandigarh's plan priorities clearly focus on the targets and objectives contained in the National Common Minimum Programme. Chandigarh's economy is changing in character as the knowledge revolution sweeps the country. In the last decade, the traditional industrial activity has not seen that rapid an increase as was seen in the activities relating to the services sector. Right from the day the foundation of the city was laid in 1952, the Administration has been successful in transforming this city into a world class city, which can be depicted by the following Fact File:

• Number 1 in the country in terms of Human Development Index.
• Chandigarh has been rated as the "Wealthiest Town" of India. In terms of family wealth, it was rated as the sixth most prosperous city.
• Good Governance- A compact, efficient Administration having Quick Decision making system.
• Bank Deposits- USD 4 billion with 227 branches
• Education: Seat of the prestigious Panjab University from where 145 Ph.D pass out in various disciplines, with Two prestigious Engineering Colleges with 400 Engineers passing out every year. PGI ME&R- Prestigious Medical Research Institute of the country is situated in this city. Apart from various Colleges in the Science, Commerce and Humanities fields, One Architecture College and one College of Fine Arts add to the high value education institutes in the city.

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'The Master plan prepared by Le Corbusier was broadly similar to the one prepared by the team of planners led by Albert Mayer and Mathew Novicki except that the shape of the city plan was modified from one with a curving road network to rectangular shape with a grid iron pattern for the fast traffic roads, besides reducing its area for reason of economy. The city plan was conceived as post war 'Garden City' wherein vertical and high rise buildings were ruled out, keeping in view the socio economic-conditions and living habits of the people. Due to economic constraints, the master plan was to be realized in two phases, catering to a total population of half a million. Phase-I consisting of 30 low density sector spread over an area of 9000 acres (Sector 1 to 30) for 1,50,000 people whereas Phase-II consisting of 17 considerably high density Sectors ( Sectors 31 to 47) spread over an area of 6000 acres for a population of 3,50,000. The primary module of city's design is a Sector, a neighborhood unit of size 800 meters x 1200 meters. It is a self-sufficient unit having shops, school, health centers and places of recreations and worship. The population of a sector varies between 3000 and 20000 depending upon the sizes of plots and the topography of the area. The shops are located along the V4 street (shopping street), which runs North-West to South-East across the sector. Every sector is introvert in character and permits only 4 vehicular entries into its interior. The shopping street of each sector is linked to the shopping street of the adjoining sectors thus forming one long, continuous ribbon like shopping street. The central green of each Sector also stretches to the green of the next sector.
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'The functions of living occupies primary place. Keeping in view the habits of he peoples, Le Corbusier planned that every dwelling should have three elements of Sun, Space and greenery. The housing in the city can be sub-divided into two parts- Government housing and Private Housing. The Govt. housing in the city was divided into 13 categories, ranging from the house for the Chief Minister to the two-room house completer with sanitary facilities, a kitchen, a verandah and a courtyard for the lowest paid employee. The socio economic conditions of the city restricted the height of most of the residential buildings to two to three storeyed structures.
In view of the needs of various economic classes, plots of areas ranging from 114sq. mtrs. To 4500 sq. mtrs. were planned. The living habits of the people are of outdoo type because of hot summers and hot and humid rainy seasons comprising most part of the year. Keeping this factor in view, Corbusier conceived a series of Architectural Controls / frame controls/ zoning regulations for each and every category of houses in which it was mandatory to provide open to sky courtyard both at he front and rear side of every house.
These courts provided light and ventilation to houses besides serving as private open-to-sky spaces. A series of such houses were planned around community level open space which served the purpose of holding social and religious functions and outdoor activities and games by children.
The hierarchy of open space is prominently visible in the city. At the city level, the open space consist of the Leisure Valley and special gardens. At sector level, the open space constitute the central green in each sector whereas open space at community level consist of parks around which clusters of houses re arranged. The smallest category of open space is the courtyards provided in each dwelling on the front and rear side.
In important civic areas, aesthetical harmony between all buildings is a must because architectural is a visual art and the visual impact forms should be as beautiful and organized as can be. Accordingly, to curb undue individualism in the built environment, Le Corbusier conceived a number of mechanisms to regulate the development of private buildings in the city. These included architectural controls, frame controls and zoning controls in the city. The basic aim was to maintain uniformity in skyline, heights and the architectural character.
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A suitable conglomeration of natural and built environment is essential for every sustainable habitation. Chandigarh's sustainability stems from its modern urbanism planned in harmony with the elements. Unlike old towns and cities of India, it was planned as a new city unfettered by the traditions of the past, a symbol of India's new found freedom and a step into the future.
The location of the site of the city has contributed immensely to its sustainability. It had a number of natural advantages such as stability (bearing capacity of soil), favourable water supply conditions, natural ground slope, inexhaustible supply of building materials in the vicinity etc. The city has an extreme climate-cold winters warm dry summers and the humid monsoon season. Accordingly, the architectural vocabulary for the city's physical environment includes vernacular shading devices and features such as sunshades (chajjas), fenestrations, parasols, louvers, verandahs, brick jails & courtyards all aimed at natural climate control at micro level.
The city is mostly built in brick, stone and shutter finish concrete, which is not only available in abundance locally but also translates into provocative aesthetic forms. Besides, the less maintenance cost of material furthers the cause of sustainability.
The skyline of the city is predominantly four storeyed achieved through cheap & plentiful manpower. This was also in consonance with the low economy and stringent budget for the new capital. Infact, the low cost materials and techniques employed in building construction served as a model in other parts of the nation also.
Standardisation of building components such as the roof spans, lintel size, door and window opening size and shape ensured quality and cost control.
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This edict of Chandigarh was prescribed by Mon Le Corbusier, the planner of Chandigarh for its citizens to follow in future The object of this edict is to enlighten the present and future citizens of Chandigarh about the basic concepts of planning of the city so that they become its guardians and save it from whims of individuals. This edict sets out the following basic ideas underlying the planning of the city. The city of Chandigarh is planned to human scale. It puts in touch with the infinite cosmos and nature. It provides us with places and buildings for all human activities in which the citizens can live a full and harmonious life. Here the radiance of nature and heart are within our reach.
The city is composed of sectors. Each sector is ( 1/2 mile x 3/4 mile) 800 meters x 1200 meters enclosed by roads allocated to fast mechanized transport and sealed to direct access from the houses.
Each sector caters for the daily needs of its inhabitants which vary from 5000 to 25000 and has a green strip oriented longitudinally stretching centrally along the sector in the direction of the mountains. The green strip should stay un-interrupted of the mountains. The green strip should stay un-interrupted and accommodate schools, sports, walks and recreational facilities for the sector.
Vehicular traffic is completely forbidden in the green strips where tranquility shall reign and the curse of noises shall not penetrate.
The roads of the city are classified into seven categories known as systems of 7 Vs as below :

• V-1 Fast roads connecting Chandigarh to other towns.
• V-2 Arterial roads.
• V-3 Fast vehicular sector dividing roads.
• V-4 Meandering shopping streets.

Certain areas of Chandigarh are of special architectural interest where harmonized and unified composition of building is aimed at. Absolute architectural and zoning control should remain operative.Along V-2 central (Dual carriage-ways, Madhya Marg and Uttar Marg where sky-line heights, character and architecture of buildings as planned shall not be altered. Along V-2 beyond dual carriage way, areas are reserved for cultural institutions only and shall never have any residential buildings.Certain areas of Chandigarh are of special architectural interest where harmonized and unified composition of building is aimed at.Absolute architectural and zoning control should remain operative.
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