Charles Correa

Charles Mark Correa (1 September 1930 – 16 June 2015) was an Indian architect and urban planner based in Mumbai, India. Credited with the creation of modern architecture in post-Independent India, he was celebrated for his sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor and for his use of traditional methods and materials.<ref>An Architecture of Independence: The Making of Modern South Asia Template:Webarchive University of Pennsylvania.</ref>

Biography

Early life

Charles Correa, a Roman Catholic of Goan descent, was born on 1 September 1930 in Secunderabad.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> He began his higher studies at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. He went on to study at the University of Michigan (1949–53) where Buckminster Fuller was a teacher, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1953–55) where he obtained his master's degree.<ref name="Britannica">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto">Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

In 1958, Charles Correa established his own professional practice in Mumbai. His first significant project was the Mahatma Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Mahatma Gandhi Memorial) at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad (1958–1963), followed by the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Bhopal (1967). In 1961-1966, he designed his first high-rise building, the Sonmarg apartments in Mumbai. On the National Crafts Museum in New Delhi (1975–1990), he introduced "the rooms open to the sky", his systematic use of courtyards. In the Jawahar Kala Kendra (Jawahar Arts Centre) in Jaipur (1986–1992), he makes a structural hommage to Jai Singh II. Later, he invited the British artist Howard Hodgkin for the outside design of the British Council in Delhi (1987–1992).<ref name="auto"/>

From 1970–75, Charles Correa was Chief Architect for New Bombay (Navi Mumbai), where he was strongly involved in extensive urban planning of the new city.<ref name="mirror13"/><ref name="auto"/> In 1984, Charles Correa founded the Urban Design Research Institute in Bombay,<ref name="auto"/> dedicated to the protection of the built environment and improvement of urban communities. During the final four decades of his life, Correa has done pioneering work in urban issues and low-cost shelter in the Third World. In 1985, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi appointed him Chairman of the National Commission on Urbanization.

From 2005 until his 2008 resignation Correa was the Chairman of the Delhi Urban Arts Commission.

Later, Charles Correa designed the new Ismaili Centre in Toronto, Canada,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which shared the site with the Aga Khan Museum designed by Fumihiko Maki,<ref name="ArchRecord">Template:Cite news</ref> and the Champalimaud Foundation Centre in Lisbon, inaugurated by the Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva on 5 October 2010.<ref>David MacManus, The Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, E-architect.co.uk 5 October 2010</ref>

Final years

He died on 16 June 2015 in Mumbai following a brief illness.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Work

Style

Charles Correa designed almost 100 buildings in India, from low-income housing to luxury condos. He rejected the glass-and-steel approach of some post-modernist buildings, and focused on designs deeply rooted in local cultures, all the while providing modern structural solutions under his creative designs. His style was also focused on reintroducing outdoor spaces and terraces.<ref name="theculturetrip greatest">Charlotte Luxford, 'India’s Greatest Architect' Charles Correa, Theculturetrip.com, 17 August 2018</ref><ref name=bbc>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2013, the Royal Institute of British Architects held a retrospective exhibition, "Charles Correa – India's Greatest Architect", about the influences of his work on modern urban Indian architecture.<ref name="mirror13">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="architecture.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

Projects

Photo	Date	Name	Location	Notes
	1958–63	Mahatma Gandhi Sangrahalaya Mahatma Gandhi Memorial	Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad
	1958–59	Cama Hotel	Ahmedabad	substantially altered later by owners<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1961–62	Tube House	Ahmedabad	demolished<ref name="auto"/>
	1961–66	Sonmarg apartments	Mumbai
	1967	Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly	Bhopal
	1969–74	The Leela Kovalam- A Raviz Hotel	Kovalam	sloping architecture that blends into the landscape<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1970	Kala Academy	Panaji	<ref>Eric Baldwin, New Petition Aims to Save Charles Correa's Kala Academy from Demolition, Archdaily.com, 7 August 2019</ref>
	1975–90	National Crafts Museum	New Delhi
		R&D facility of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd	Mahindra Research Valley, Chennai
	1980–97	Vidhan Bhavan
	1982	Bharat Bhavan	Bhopal
	1986	Artist Village	CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai
	1986–92	Jawahar Kala Kendra Jawahar Arts Centre	Jaipur
	1986	Jeevan Bharati Life Insurance Corporation of India		On the 2018 World Monuments Watch list of "50 Cultural Sites at Risk from Human and Natural Threats"<ref>Patrick Lynch, 2018 World Monuments Watch Lists 50 Cultural Sites at Risk from Human and Natural Threats, Archdaily.com, 23 October 2017</ref>
	1987–92	British Council	Delhi
	1989	Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research	Bangalore
	2000	St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala	Parumala, Thiruvalla
	2000–05	McGovern Institute for Brain Research	MIT, Boston, US
	2004	City centre	Salt Lake City, Kolkata
	2007–10	Champalimaud Centre for The Unknown	Lisbon, Portugal
		Ismaili Centre	Toronto, Canada
		Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Banking and Finance	Hyderabad
	2023-25	Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics	Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune	Architect Charles Correa's last project before he died in 2015 was the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA - 2) in Pune, India. The IUCAA is a premier research institution in India, established in 1988 with the aim of promoting excellence in research and education in astronomy and astrophysics. The IUCAA building is a unique example of Correa's architectural style, which combines modernism with traditional Indian design elements. The building is spread over an area of 16 acres and is designed to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The design incorporates features like courtyards, terraces, and verandas, which provide ample natural light and ventilation while also creating spaces for people to interact and collaborate. Construction of the IUCAA 2 building started in 2023, eight years after Correa's death, and will completed in 2025.

Awards

• 1972: Padma Shri<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1984: Royal Gold Medal for architecture by the Royal Institute of British Architects.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1994: Praemium Imperiale
• 1998: 7th Aga Khan Award for Architecture for Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly<ref name=agha>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2005: Austrian Decoration for Science and Art<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

  

  Charles Correa receiving Padma Vibhushan from President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2006

• 2006: Padma Vibhushan given by Government of India<ref name="TimesofIndia">Template:Cite news</ref>
• 2011: Gomant Vibhushan conferred by Government of Goa<ref name="TimesofIndia" />

Publications

• Charles Correa, The New Landscape, RIBA Enterprises, December 1985, (Template:ISBN)<ref name="theculturetrip greatest"/>

Personal life

Charles Correa married Monika (née Sequeira), an artist, in 1961. Together they lived in one of the flats of the Sonmarg apartments in Mumbai. They had two children.<ref name="auto"/>

See also

• Geoffrey Bawa
• Muzharul Islam
• B.V. Doshi
• Raj Rewal
• Bashirul Haq
• Bevis Bawa
• Minnette de Silva

Further reading

• Post Colonial India and its Architecture – I: Charles Correa – The Traditional in the Modern

External links

• Charles Correa – Photo Gallery at BBC Radio 3
• Charles Mark Correa Biography
• Charles Correa Associates
• Charles Correa Foundation