Charles Correa, arguably one of India’s greatest architects, passed away at 11.45 pm on Tuesday in Mumbai. The 84-year-old veteran’s death came after a brief illness.
Correa was known for his innovative urban planning schemes, adapting Modernist techniques to local building styles. He disliked what was happening to Mumbai’s landscape and vehemently propagated ‘open to skies’ spaces.
In a career spanning over four decades, Charles Correa was particularly well known for his ‘activist’ style of architecture – he utilised his urban planning schemes to better the lives of the poorer inhabitants of India. Forever stressing the need for social equality, Correa’s buildings ranged from institutional to public, memorials to low-income housing projects.
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 works 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.
An Interesting Coincidence...
Interestingly, the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon, Portugal – currently in the news for all the wrong reasons – was designed by the deceased architect’s company, Charles Correa Associates.
This is the same centre where former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi’s wife Minal Modi is being treated for advanced stage breast cancer. Read The Quint’s report here.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)