Vikramaditya Prakash

Chandigarh is not only the site of Le Corbusier s largest assembly of work in one place, the theatre of Pierre Jeannerest s flourishing as an architect, and an important venue of Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew s tropical architecture, it is also the place where the first generation of Indian modernists cut their teeth and produced a superb body of work that is dispersed throughout the city.

Este libro ofrece un excepcional recorrido cronológico por más de 500 obras paradigmáticas de la historia universal de la arquitectura. Lejos de centrarse en países y regiones específicos, el manual se organiza en estricto orden cronologico para que todas las culturas y civilizaciones converjan a traves de sus legados arquitectonicos. Gracias a este enfoque innovador, el lector dispondra de una lectura transversal comparada que permite comprender las conexiones, contrastes e influencias mutuas de las diferentes culturas arquitectonicas. Cada obra cuenta con una descripcion completa del contexto en que se edifico y de sus caracteristicas mas relevantes, y viene acompañada de un rico material grafico, que puede incluir mapas, fotografias y, por supuesto, las ilustraciones elaboradas por el celebre maestro del dibujo arquitectonico Francis D. K. Ching.Este segundo volumen abarca desde el siglo xv hasta nuestros dias, y presenta coincidencias temporales reveladoras, como las del periodo del Renacimiento europeo, cuyo desarrollo coincide en el tiempo con la construccion del Machu Picchu en Peru y la Ciudad Prohibida de Pekin, o como el esplendor de la arquitectura mogol en la ciudad de Fatehpur Sikri, coincide con la construccion de las primeras haciendas españolas en America y las villas de Andrea Palladio. A su vez, el libro muestra como la colonizacion europea supuso la expansion mundial de la arquitectura del Viejo Continente, un recorrido que llega hasta la era actual de la arquitectura mglobalizada.

Chandigarh is a unique city, besides being one of the newest city of the twentieth century that is characterized by the seal of Le Corbusier, who planned the city and was also the architect of its most emblematic buildings. In Chandigarh, you will also find the work of a large team of architects led by the partner of Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret who along with the British Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew conducted the master plan and built public housing and facilities much needed in the city. As a result, Chandigarh is one of the reference cities of the Modern Movement. Also worthy of noting are Indian architects (such as MN Sharma, A. Prakash, BP Mathur and JK Choudhury) who collaborated with Le Corbusier and Jeanneret to turn Chandigarh into a reality. Although unknown to most, they have played an important part of modern and contemporary Indian architecture. With this useful guide, you will discover the city and its architecture through three types of routes, depending on how the traveller plans their trip, as well as suggestions for other places you can visit on the outskirts of the city. Each itinerary offers practical information to enjoy the architecture, and visitors will be introduced to the culture and lifestyle of the city.