Correa : An Elusive Image

The complex and ambiguous relationship between man and nature is central to Indian
Architecture.
Charles Correa (1930 2015)
Bold openings introducing you into the mind of a Master whose simplistic approach to
finding contextual answers for urban issues, challenges our very own understanding of
spaces. The way one Hall leads you to a stepped-central courtyard impacts the way you
perceive things his work moves you; pushes you and at the same time defines the program
with a form, flawlessly. Sensitivity gives character to an Architects work. Capturing this
feeling in built form is one the many talents Correa possessed.
Intangibility the entire idea of it consumes the mind as it finds a way to trap it within the
physical realm so it can be revealed to another. This trapping is an art-form wielded by the
Master to bring life into his buildings. One such element is Light.
Light in its myriad of playful forms the harbinger of sight- is one the most intangible
elements in Architecture. If scanty it blinds us and on the other extreme, it glares. To keep it
from scorching us in its entirety- channelling its beauty into a spatial form- activating its
ability to make someone feel is a ruse that Correa applies in many of his creations.
Close your eyes, expecting nothing, stand underneath the pergola and let time pass you by.
As the sun makes its journey across the cone, the way light falls upon you in a pattern
heating a portion of your skin while the next is a shaded strip, brings your senses alive. The
alternative bands of sensation make you see even though you have closed your eyes to light.
That is the magic of arresting the intangible.
To evoke emotions similar to the ones ebbing within you is a talent of its own. This sets
apart the Actor, the Artist, the Performer and the Architect the Director of space- from a
common observer. Beams of sunlight that filter through the gaps between the thatches and
the morning sunlight entering the kitchen window inciting the tendrils of smoke rising from
the boiling-milk into a smooth waltz, have a natural splendour of their own. Sun light has
always been a focus in traditional architecture -be it purifying water tanks in Agraharas;
bringing life to membranes by turning them translucent or as a means to portray symbolism.
Charles Correa brought dynamism in the Static by bringing light into play- in all of the
elements forms translating traditional motives into contemporary milieu.
Exposure- the very word launches in your mind images of doors opening as two districts
conjoin via the Threshold the element of transition. Exposure creates form, creates
movement just like your pupil dilates as you recede away from light and contracts as you
bask in it.

Correas spaces are characterized by the experience they provide you as he varies the level f
exposure from open-to-sky spaces to shaded porches and pergola-covered terraces. The
shadier, more intimate corners ease you as you feel protected by the scale of them- the
walls backing you up. A mezzanine platform that youre perched upon- turns into a realm of
your own as you personalize it because of its exclusivity in spatial terms. But as soon as you
walk into vast, open courts- where the lightest breeze can rouse a tingle in your spine- the
space affects you according to your persona. Youre either intimidated by its agoraphobic
scale or stimulated so that your mind breaks through the shell and a barrage of thoughts
rush past you- consume you. Or you recede into a pocket of your own- customizing a haunt
of your own to reflect deeply.
When you look around the Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, a playful Lord Krishna playing his
basuri- painted in hues of black and white- on a boldly coloured wall is a sight you see after
climbing a railing-less staircase edged to a wall. The vitality in such art- the Vastu Purusha
stretching over the concave curvature of a dome or the stripes adorning the British Council
building at various levels and staggered faces of the facade- have a language of their own.
They speak to every viewer in a tone suited to their liking, under the broad umbrella of
Correas objective of their creation.
Art in Architecture is a phrase that comes into play not only in two dimensional
manifestations but are also ingrained multi-dimensionally like the way the spiral staircase is
articulated in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Centre in Pune. Materials bring unity while
the colours he chooses mirror the intended vibrancy of the spaces. Colours activate a
stimulus in our system that we respond in insentience. Our mind has pre-associated generic
colours attached to nostalgia. And when they show up, our environment transforms within
our mind frame.
Correa provides spaces that mean different things to different people through his artistry.
And that is how he complements the multi-faceted yet unique nature of the humankind.
Visual connections transcend physical barriers. You can lunge forward into a space just by
looking at it. Your conscience can be hauled from where you stand to where you want to be
if you can simply see it.Correas Levels do that to their users. Being present but at the same
time, detached from the activity around you just because youre at a different pedestal is a
bequest Correa offers to you.
The ethereal elements that he believed connect humans to their surroundings as life
progresses the Light, the Exposure, Colours, Visual Play and the plethora of emotions that
they stir up in us evolving our capacity to experience spaces as they are subtly intended toare elements that Correas Architecture is conducive to.
His will to defy norms where he believed they needed tweaking; inspire change, to respond
to multi-layered contexts both climatologically and culturally, keeping in mind the larger

scope of things led him into being the phenomenon that he will forever be remembered as.
He is the personality Our Architectural Era will be remembered by.
The gems he has left with us will be sewed in the tapestry we, as his successors, create and
pass on as our collective legacy.

Name : Shreya Sudesh

Year : IVth Year
College Name: Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur, Karnataka
Code: Z513
Category : A - Champalimaud
Type: Dedication Article