BGS SAP feels sad to announce the demise of Charles Correa: India's greatest architect

BGS SAP feels sad to announce the demise of

Charles Correa: India's greatest architect

R.I.P

Charles Correa, arguably India's greatest contemporary architect, passed away at 11.45pm on Tuesday in Mumbai following a brief illness. He was 84. A proponent of 'open-to-skies' spaces, he liked using local techniques and aesthetics in his buildings. He didn't like what was happening to Mumbai's landscape and skyline, and was at the forefront of an intense debate over the shape and form the city should take.

Correa received numerous prestigious national and international awards. He was responsible for designing many landmark buildings, starting with the Gandhi Memorial at Sabarmati, when he was only 28. Other notable structures include Bharat Bhavan and Vidhan Bhavan in Bhopal, the Permanent Mission of India at the UN, New York, Kala Academy in Goa and the Kanchanjunga residential tower in Mumbai.

Recently, he completed three notable buildings abroad — the Ismaili Centre in Toronto, the Brain Science Center at MIT, Boston and the Champalimaud Centre in Lisbon.   

 Born in Secunderabad on September 1, 1930, Correa studied at St Xavier's College in Mumbai before going to the University of Michigan and the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Correa taught at several universities in India and abroad and was the awarded some of the highest honours in his field, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Praemium Imperiale of Japan and the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), which billed him as “India’s greatest architect” when it mounted an exhibition on him in 2013.

In 1984, he founded the Urban Design Research Institute in Mumbai that is dedicated to protecting the environment and improving urban communities.

 The winner of many national and international awards was known for his hold over issues pertaining to urban planning and affordable housing. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1972 and Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour, in 2006.

Source:

Charles Correa - Greatest Architect of Indian Architecture

Charles Correa - HT

Charles Correa - TOI