Curators spent five years organising the exhibition of Le Corbusier designs from the 1950s (above)
Exhibition: The Furniture of Chandigarh – Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, P3, London, until July 12 2009
A major exhibition of the groundbreaking furniture designed for the Indian city of Chandigarh by architect Le Corbusier opened in London this week. The unique private collection of 1950s pieces gives viewers the opportunity to marvel at the economy and scale symbolic of a new aesthetic in the designer's career.
The work represents a broad cross section of designs, responding directly to Le Corbusier's challenging mission to create one of the world’s most enthralling and innovative cities.
"This is the culmination of a five-year project by the owners of the collection," exhibition designer John O'Shea proudly explains, promising "a whole range of work, from the most simple and prosaic to the recreation of pieces from the Capitol Complex on a grand, monumental level."
Builders took a hands-on approach to construction of the plans. Picture © Mats Eriksson
Le Corbusier's creation of Chandigarh was a massive, all-encompassing undertaking. Following Indian independence in 1947 and the partition of India and Pakistan, there was the need for a new capital to be built for the Indian Punjab.
It offered Le Corbusier the opportunity he had craved since the 1920s – the realisation of a total environment which would combine the key attributes of modernism on an unprecedented scale.
Zealously breaking with all tradition, the Swiss-born architect insisted on working with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, who sketched many of the designs exhibited today. Together, the pair conceived an entirely new infrastructure, buildings and landscape, from the master plan to the most intricate details.
"Finally, at 67 years of age...I was able to erect an architecture which fulfils day-to-day functions but leads to jubilation," the artist observed, summing up their staggering achievement.
The artist's work amounted to modernism on an unprecedented scale
This furniture's functionality was key. "In response to the climate, Le Corbusier broke away from his earlier use of mass-produced tubular steel furniture. The pieces had to be able to withstand the harsh climate, in particular the risk of rotting from the monsoons," O'Shea explains.
The materials of choice were wood, natural cane, fabric and leather. Crucially, they were all used economically and production was outsourced to local teams of craftsmen.
This hands-on-approach to construction is evident in the solid teak desks and upright benches, the epitome of ergonomic subtlety. They mingle with white leather, low slung sofas and more formal rosewood chairs, basic but always dignified.
Wood and natural cane were among the materials of choice
The vast underground P3 with its soaring ceilings and robust, concrete shell is unerringly reminiscent of Chandigarh itself, and the space is divided into three main sections, each separated by tall, coloured screens with an oblong hole, mirroring the unfinished, bulky concrete surfaces characterising the city.
The designs become more ceremonial with each section, the starched domesticity of chairs giving way to the official rigour of a four-foot conference table. This culminates in a recreation of the austere courthouse.
The gallery evokes Chandigarh
"The reconstruction of a petite courtroom from the Palace of Justice forms the heart of our show," outlines O'Shea. "The juxtaposition of the intimate with the epic really contributes to our understanding of Le Corbusier's grand scheme."
Coming after the plainness of the first two sections' practical yet varied and deceptively detailed objects, the last room with its stark, leather benches really demonstrates how his task evolved.
John O'Shea says the show represents "the juxtaposition of the intimate with the epic". Picture © Mats Eriksson
The exhibition is framed by two films depicting Chandigarh when it was being built at the end of the Raj and how it is today. The contrast between the unpretentious landscape and the frenetic, decaying city it has since become is striking and rather sad.
"Many of the pieces you will see here had been discarded and lay crumbling away in the rubbish," says O'Shea. As their supreme simplicity dominates the P3, it speaks of both an inimitable design ethos and a less complicated, lost era.
Open Wednesday, Friday-Sunday 11am-6pm, Thursday 11am-8pm. Admission free. P3 Gallery, Marylebone Road, London.
