Architecture is a visual art and the visual impact created by architecture on the being of man for whom it is built should be as beautiful as can be made Chandigarh is a grand success story in the annals of modern architecture its a revolutionary experiment which came up as reality.
Today Chandigarh city is 114 sq. kilometers of inigorating asthetics. It combines architectural elegance with wide treelined avenues, green belts and gardens and offers a pleasant living experience to its residents and visitors. It lies on the longitude of 76.48 minutes and latitude of 30.50 minutes. The altitude of towns varies between 304.8 meters to 365.78 meters above mean sea level. Chandigarh provides a contrast to annalic cities of India like Agra, Jaipur, Delhi, and Varanasi etc. This city of 20th century has not only surpassed the colorful architecture of these cities but has supplemented them in significant interests. Besides these cities of past and a wonderful token of history, India has got Chandigarh as a city of future.
The first master plan of Chandigarh city was prepared in 1949 by the American firm of Mayom Whittlesley and glass in association with Mathew Nowicki. Accidentally, Nowicki died in an air crash while returning to USA. Therefore, the selection of a new team for planning the city was a necessity/ necessary. Then, in 1951 the world renowned Architect Le Corbousier was selected, assisted by three senior architects Mr. Maxwellfry, Miss Jane B.Drew and M.Pierre Jeannerat and supported by an Indian team of architects and planners including M.N.Sharma, Prabha Walkar, Chaudhary, Dethes Mathur and Aditya Prakash, for developing the master plan and designing the capital complex and establishing architectural control. The living habits of this area requires outdoor accommodation as necessitated by the climate. So, the idea of vertical planning was ruled out and it was decided to design a horizontal city with enough of open space here and there.
The master plan divides the city into rectangular modules called sectors, each measuring 800 X 1200 meters with a population varying from 5000 to 20,000 provided with a shopping complex, school, health centre, places of recreation i.e. parks & gardens and also holy places to worship. There are no sky, scrapers in Chandigarh rather the buildings have been built with meticulously developed and standardized architectural features. As the industrial area has been built outside the town the city becomes pollution, which adds one more positive point to the beauty of Chandigarh to be praised. Chandigarh is the dream city of India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, who once marked in 1952 about Chandigarh.- “Let this be a new town symbolic of freedom of India, unfettered by the tradition of the past expressions of the nation’s faith in future.”