A photo essay exploring Correa’s collaborative projects with artists, highlighting how murals integrate with his architecture.

As a contemporary architect, Correa’s architecture is infused with various forms of art. One such relationship is between his architecture and mural paintings. “It started first when we moved into CCA office. We didn’t know what to do with a protruding column. The usual thing is to hide it in a cupboard or perhaps make a false ceiling, but then we thought it seemed like a tree so why not celebrate it and paint it like a tree? That is what we did and this experience we carried over to other projects.” Correa always believed that architecture must address issues beyond the purely empirical and functional, and instead tackle meaning and symbolism in new and profound ways. 

KALA ACADEMY, GOA

One of the prominent features of Kala Academy is its murals. Charles Correa was inspired by the surrealist Italian artist Giorgio de Chiricco, known for his metaphysical images. Correa was inspired by Chiricco’s earthy colors that he tweaked to match the hues of green and tambdi matti of Goa. Another unique aspect of Kala Academy’s programme was the Guru – Shishya tradition in education. Correa paid homage to his Gurus in one of the foyer murals. ‘At the corner of the mural, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe come around the corner, to make the world — and Goa, alas! — never the same again.’ The auditorium acoustic balconies are adorned with black and white art by Mario Miranda commonly known as Mario’s people.

JAWAHAR KALA KENDRA, JAIPUR

In its design, Jawahar Kala Kendra mirrors the parallel attitudes of Jai Singh II and Jawaharlal Nehru. Jawahar Kala Kendra is a contemporary reading of the notion of the cosmos. Inspired by the original plan of Jaipur, the plan utilizes the concept of Navgrahas, or nine planets. This is also translated into the murals. The large mural of Krishna in Ketu, painted by local Rajasthani artists is an ode to its region. One of the walls inside has a painting of the detailed Hastkaar Yantra based on medieval Rajasthani paintings. The ceiling of the entrance foyer of Mangal Mahal showcases the Jain Cosmograph depicting the manifested world on the inside of the dome. These are some of what contribute to the astronomical exploration Correa was inspired by. 

BRITISH COUNCIL, NEW DELHI

The British Council headquarters in New Delhi interlace art and architecture to the point of a definitive union. ‘This building is about relationships, which have had their twists and turns, and taken in every fathomable direction over time.’ The building uses a surface art form in the form of a gigantic mural introduced to the innards of the front façade. Howard Hodgkin, the English painter, collaborated closely with Correa to produce the mural. In answer to the narrow circumstances of the building’s location, the mural forms a large black tree to make a plain and more universal statement that embraces life and knowledge. The branches of the tree sweep around the inner faces of the façade, and spread upwards, in stark black and white, inlaying of Makrana marble and Cuddapah stone.

NATIONAL CRAFTS MUSEUM, NEW DELHI

The collection of the National Crafts Museum was curated to serve as a reference resource for craftsmen who, as a result of modern industrialization, were increasingly losing touch with their own traditions regarding materials, techniques, designs and aesthetics of their arts and crafts. Thus, it was primarily addressed to craftsmen who have been brought into a close and integral relationship with the museum. Among many other examples are Rajasthani wall paintings depicting Krishna and the gopis, Pithora mural art from Gujarat, craftsperson at work, etc. Exhibits include fragments of buildings. The village complex with detailed figurative roof tiles is from Bastar M.P. The design of the Museum was primarily addressed to craftsmen who have been brought into a close and integral relationship with the museum.

CIDADE DE GOA

The walls of Cidade de Goa hold a theatricality to city life. Correa plays with shadows and paints illusions of everyday objects. At the bottom of the hill, two formidable sentries guard the main entrance, but they become less menacing when you discover they are images. We used murals and sculptures, but it was conventional; the architect designed a building, leaving a place for a mural in the lobby, a sculpture in the garden, and so forth. In Cidade de Goa, the process was different. In the bathroom, a palm tree becomes a tile mural; in a court, a window might be real when it is needed for light. As a counterpoint to each other, Cidade creates a space between what is real and what is imagined, what is built and what is only an illusion.

VIDHAN BHAVAN, BHOPAL

The Vidhan Bhavan design repurposes the domed Buddhist stupa found at the nearby historic site of Sanchi. Correa reinterprets Indian tradition by reusing the timeless form of a stupa. It is enhanced with mosaics and sculptures by local craftspeople and forms an impressive addition to the cityscape. In the legislator’s foyer is artist Yogesh Raval’s portal called ‘Gate of Democracy’ symbolizing the gate of the Stupa at Sanchi. Another gate shows the ‘Tree of Life’ painted by Gulammohammed Sheikh. Along with this, there are many Gond artworks by Jangarh Singh Shyam, covering the walls around the Kund, as vivid examples of the great artistic traditions of the State.

IUCAA, PUNE

According to Correa, the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics could be seen as a companion piece to Jawahar Kala Kendra because both reflect ideas about the cosmos and reflect India’s technological, craft, and artistic abilities. Whereas Jawahar Kala Kendra has a visual representation or a symbol of the idea of the cosmos in IUCAA, the idea was to invent a visual symbol for the idea of the expanding universe. The spiral stairs in the Faculty Offices conceptualized after Foucault’s pendulum are an excellent blend of structure and sculpture. The tread and risers are cast-in-situ white marble mosaic with black and grey polished granite as the flooring for Foucault’s pendulum i.e. in constant motion, and accurately calibrated. 

PMI, NEW YORK

Located on 43rd Street in Manhattan, the Permanent Mission of India was designed by Correa with Bond Ryder and Associates. ‘The redwood color, like the colors of earth and sandstone of India and the deep blue frames of the windows, make this a New York structure, but still look like a stranger.’ For this project, M.F. Husain was commissioned to create a work of art. A large mural of Mahatma Gandhi covers the surrounding walls of the main lobby. 

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-Written by Ashmita Gupta, Research Fellow

PHOTO CREDITS:

1. Kala Academy: Sharad Apte (01-05)
2. Jawahar Kala Kendra: Mahendra Sinh (01) and CCA (02-04)
3. British Council: Ram Rahman (01), Rahul Mehrotra (02-05)
4. National Crafts Museum: Jyotindra Jain (01, 05) and CCA (02-04)
5. Cidade de Goa: Joseph St. Anne (01), CCA (02-04), and Sandra Lousada (05)
6. Vidhan Bhavan: CCA (01-04)
7. IUCAA: Rahul Mehrotra (01) and CCA (02)
8. PMI: Ram Rahman (01) and CCA (02)

All Photos: copyright, Charles Correa Associates, courtesy Charles Correa Foundation

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

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4. Correa , Charles . “Pradakshina: The Works of Charles Correa.” 1994.
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6. Jain, Jyotindra. Crafts Museum – National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum New Delhi. Crafts Museum.
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