Discover
Architecture.

Education · Modernism

Gandhi Bhawan

Pierre Jeanneret · Chandigarh, India · 1962

Key featuresA sculptural concrete hall with angled roof planes rising from a reflecting pool on the campus.

Architect
Pierre Jeanneret
Place
Chandigarh, India
Year
1962
Typology
Education
Movement
Modernism
Region
South Asia
See it on the wall

About Gandhi Bhawan

The Gandhi Bhawan is a major landmark of the city of Chandigarh, India, and a center dedicated to the study of the words and works of Mohandas K. Gandhi. It was designed by architects B.P Mathur in collaboration with Pierre Jeanneret.

It is an auditorium hall that sits in the middle of a pond of water. A mural by the architect greets visitors at the entry. The words "Truth is God" are written at the entrance. Today, it also houses a substantial collection of books on Mohandas Gandhi. The Gandhi Bhawan's three-part, pinwheel plan, abstract sculptural qualities, and fluid use of planes reflect the modern vision of the International Style. The merging of sharp, brusque angles with lyrical curves recalls the linear tensions of the ancient Sanskrit alphabet. The pools surrounding the building evoke Mughal tombs, some of which were similarly laid out on terraces surrounded by water, as well as the ritual bathing pools of Hindu Temples. Yet the abstract style does not convey any specific religious connotations.

Shortened from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Go deeper

Drift onward

Harold Holt Memorial Swimming CentreKevin Borland and Daryl Jackson · 1969Apollo PavilionVictor Pasmore · 1969University of ConstantineOscar Niemeyer · 1972Aula TU DelftVan den Broek en Bakema · 1966Institute of Hygiene and MicrobiologyHermann Fehling, Daniel Gogel (Fehling+Gogel) · 1974Inter-University Seminar HouseTakamasa Yoshizaka (Atelier U) · 1965