Paper is an attempt to look at the synergy between art and architecture and showcase how ar has been lveraged to make architecture objective and functional

1. Art as Definer and Promoter of Architecture
Jit Kumar Gupta Chitrangda
Founder Director, College of Architecture Assistant Professor
I.E.T Bhaddal CCA, Chandigarh
+91-9041026414 +919878500209
jit.kumar1944@gmail.com ar6chitra@gmail.com
Abstract
Promoting various built forms, creating quality built
environment and iconic urban spaces have its genesis in
the synthesis of art and architecture. Art and
Architecture are known to have high degree of
convergence with a thin line defining and differentiating
them. If architecture is known to be the body, art has
been compared to be soul of the built environment. If art
has been labeled as,’ expression of human creative skill
and imagination in the visual form, producing works to
be appreciated for their beauty and emotional power;
Architecture ,as applied science, has its genesis in
creating buildings known for their form, usefulness
,strength and beauty. If a great piece of art is an object of
joy and pleasure, a well designed and constructed
building is not only useful but also brings joy and
happiness for the community and people who use it. Art
and architecture are distinguished by the fact that
Architecture is known to have a practical aspect which
art does not have. Architecture is primarily and
essentially driven by the context, economy, site, climate,
material, form, technology, light and structural language
whereas art has only visual and emotional connotations.
Despite these barriers, art has been prime mover of
architecture. All great master works created in
architecture, owe their genesis and creation to great
artists. All master architects had great understanding
and appreciation of art, which is clearly reflected in the
buildings designed by them. Good artists are known to be
good architects. Art as a creative science has leveraged
architecture in numerous ways giving architecture a new
theme, context, meaning and vocabulary. Chandigarh, a
role model in the field of architecture and urban
planning, designed by Mon Le-Corbusier and his team of
dedicated architects, have made extensive use of art as
integral part of the designing various buildings
comprising part of world heritage Capitol Complex i.e.
High Court, Assembly etc, to promote their aesthetics
and beauty. Paper tries to look through, define and detail
out the elements of art used to make these buildings as
state of art and universal buildings, locally and globally.
Paper will also try to explore the various forms of art
used, their context and impact on the quality of the
architecture of the building where they are placed.
1. Introduction
Architecture, mother of all arts, has been making use
of different forms of art to create quality spaces for the
use of human habitation and working. While every form
of art may not be architecture but every form of
architecture ought to be an art. Art in architecture
besides visual, have spatial and notional connotations
involving scale, proportions and massing. Art has been
used in promoting architecture using three basic
approaches; conceiving building itself as form of art;
using art as the modulator of space and making art
integral part of architecture. From time immemorial
architecture has instinctively been overlaid with art.
Right from the cave dwellings it has been human
endeavor to integrate art in architecture. Art and
architecture remain inseparable because using all kinds of
arts; available at the human command to create state of
art buildings has always been part of the human instinct
to give a distinct meaning to the built spaces created.
Architecture has its genesis in creating buildings known
for their form, usefulness, strength and beauty. Art finds
its place in architecture through structure, spaces or
surfaces inspired from nature, material, engineering or
even the philosophy. Although art remains subservient to
the space created in the architecture but it provides great
opportunity to humanize and make value addition to the
space besides involving, interacting and engaging the end
user into spatial narratives. Looking at the entire context
of art and architecture, one can clearly observe, if
architecture is driven by context, form, function and
climate, art has its genesis in visual and emotional
connotations. Despite these barriers, art and Architecture
continue to share common canvas. They have been
admirably integrated through different periods of
history. Indian temples in the south are the great
examples of showcasing how art can be leveraged to
promote architecture and convey the essence of a culture

2. and theme of the building. However, current approach to
built environment involving structural necessity and
material functionalism has led to separation of art and
architecture where shape of buildings and relationship
between solids and voids created in the building are
considered as an art, necessitating the elimination of any
artistic expression applied to the buildings. Infact
aligning architecture with the fields of
Science and technology and discarding functionality,
rationalism and humanizing qualities has played crucial
role in separating art from architecture. With
commoditization, commercialization, standardization and
multiplication guiding the designing and construction of
buildings, little room is left for making art integral part of
the buildings. Large scale visual poverty experienced in
majority of the 20th century cities around the world has
its genesis in the divorce between art and architecture.
Formal system of education, which never put art and
architecture on the same pedestal and supportive of
each other, have also largely contributed to the ever
widening gap between art and architecture. Encouraging
understanding the relevance of art in architecture and
vice-versa in all institutions imparting education in art
and architecture right from the beginning of their
academic pursuit, by making them integral part of course
curricula ,would go a long way in creating synergies in
the professions of art and architecture. Running courses
in art and architecture within the same institution under
the same roof will help in high degree of shared learning
and teaching. Adopting this approach would go a long
way in not only promoting synergy between two
professions but would also help in training professionals
which would improve the quality and context of built
space.
2. Chandigarh
Chandigarh, famous for its Architecture, planning and
beauty, amply justifies its hard earned title of ‘The City
Beautiful’. City aptly justifies Michelangelo’s quote,
“Trifles make perfection and perfection is no trifle”.
Conceived, conceptualized and brought into reality by
Le-Corbusier and his team of dedicated and committed
architects, Chandigarh, after old capital city Lahore was
lost to Pakistan during partition of India in 1947, tries to
defines, details and scripts the destination of the capital
city of Chandigarh, unfettered by the traditions of the
past. Le Corbusier, multifaceted personality of twentieth
century comprising of an artist, painter, architect, city
planner, sculptor, furniture designer, writer, thinker,
publisher, amateur photographer and filmmaker, with
almost forty books and hundreds of published essays ;
backed by four-decade of turbulent professional career in
reshaping cities; designing seventy five iconic buildings
in a dozen countries; and working on over four hundred
architectural projects, gave a new theme and
architectural vocabulary to the city built environment
with the support and use of art, colour, tapestries
enamels, bas-reliefs, painted walls and images embedded
in the structures.
Corbusier used colors
and visual imagery to
represent a movement
to integrate art and
architecture. He said:
“You employ stone,
wood, and concrete,
and with these
materials you build houses and palaces: that is
construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you
touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say:
‘This is beautiful.’- That is Architecture. In search for
appropriate solutions to make buildings iconic, Corbusier
used various forms of art in the interior and exterior of
buildings, considering the context, ambience and quality
of spaces to be created. Capitol remains the area of focus
where Corbusier used and showcased his understanding,
skill, experience, expertise, knowledge and mastery of
use of various forms of art to create and support a new
and distinct architectural vocabulary.
3. Capitol
Capitol is the centre stage where Corbusier
demonstrated its skill as an architect and an artist.
Figuring among 17 World Heritage Listed buildings of
the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, Capitol
Complex Chandigarh is an architectural wonder. In the
words of Jane Pauline Hamilton, ‘Conceptualized and
built in the 1950s by Le Corbusier, it is a sprawling area
that houses three buildings – the Legislative Assembly
(or the Palace of Assembly), the Secretariat and the High
Court. Seeming to spring from the pages of a popular
Ayn Rand novel, the buildings are just the right
amalgamation of eclectic and old-world grandeur that
simply take one’s breath away. Considering Capitol the
crowning glory, most valuable and adorable part of the
city, with huge park and large distances separating the
Assembly and the High Court, Corbu felt that the need
to connect these buildings, both visually and physically,
playing with forms, using bright colors, having a
enameled door, creating water bodies for reflecting the
glory of buildings. In the words of Watts, ’At the Capitol,
art and architecture come together as one unified
conception, each complementing the other. This is not
surprising, for Corbusier was like a later-day 20th
century's Leonardo da Vinci and not only merely an

3. architect-urbanist. He was a painter, sculptor, writer,
philosopher and a poet too’. Designing Legislative
Assembly and the High Court buildings, Corbusier used
his basic instinct and expertise as a sculptor giving
unique shape to the making of these architecture marvels.
Palace of Justice
Secretariat
Palace of Assembly
Museum of Knowledge
Open Hand
Artist in Corbusier propelled him to plan, design and
place the great sculpture of Open Hand, as the
crowning glory of the Capital Complex to create a
mascot and message of ,’Open to receive and Open to
give’. Commanding texture, strength, colour, aesthetics,
appeal and utility with value addition made through
specifically designed shuttering patterns, bas-reliefs and
motifs, rugged concrete, left unfinished was the material
chosen for the construction of buildings in the complex,
for connecting the buildings with Shivalik hills and to
give them robust character. Corbusier used the motif
ranging from seals, animals including bulls, cows, birds,
fishes drawn from ancient Indian civilization and nearby
rural settlements as integral part of the building interiors
and exteriors. Use of bold and primary colours in the
buildings is seen as another special feature of Capitol,
through which Corbusier tried to integrate art with
architecture.
4. Architecture and Tapestries
Tapestry remains the most pre-dominant form of art
used intelligently and innovatively by Le-Corbusier
within the buildings of the capital complex to give a new
theme to interior spaces.Tapestry is known as the art of
weaving pictures and images into textiles used for
covering walls and floors. Based on the choice of bright
colours with images revolving around man and its
relation with cosmos, Corbusier wanted to create
harmony between interior and exterior of the buildings.
Through Tapestries, Corbusier showcased his basic
philosophy of creating human settlements based on the
radiant city where the entire context was to meet the
basic human requirements of living, working, culture of
body and mind and circulation using the three great
elements of nature involving sun, space and greenery.
Accordingly, this trinity encompassed the entire solar
system, bio-sphere and the numerous eco-systems which
regulate this world. Thus symbols, motifs including
clouds, water, rivers, stars, reptiles, animals, birds, flora
and fauna found prominent place in the Corbusier art and
paintings which adored the buildings of Capitol. ,"
Corbusier created Tapestries using Modular as a scale
with common theme involving rectangular patches of
colors in the background, adopted from Polycromie
Architecturale, adorned with manmade and natural
symbols and forces guiding mankind and eco-system
(Watts).Sharing the common medium and wool mix as
the fabric, these tapestries followed the pattern used in
making traditional ‘durries’ in the villages of Punjab.
These tapestries gave a new aura and theme to the
interiors, making them more bright and colorful against
the dull color and rugged texture of the concrete used for
construction. In addition, these tapestries made interior
acoustically perfect by regulating the sound. In all 12
Tapestries were used by Corbusier out of which three
are placed in the Assembly buildings whereas rest nine
form part of court rooms of High Court.
4.1 Palace Of Justice
With exposed concrete surfaces inside the large
volume courtrooms producing a visually dull feeling and
creating acoustic problem, providing an appropriate
solution to make courtroom acoustically sound and bright
became a necessity for proper functioning of the courts.
In search for appropriate cost-
effective and innovative
solutions, Corbusier suggested
the use of large tapestries to
make court room acoustically
excellent besides creating a
distinct colourful aura in the
otherwise monotonous
atmosphere of the courtrooms.
Large tapestries were accordingly proposed to cover the
interior walls behind the judges' seat. A set of nine large
pieces of tapestries were designed for the courtrooms of
the High Court building with largest one for the court of
the Chief Justice (144 sq. m.) and smaller ones, one each
for eight of smaller courts (64 sq. m. each). In all 650
meters of tapestry was designed and completed in five
months by Indian craftsmen in Kashmir. All tapestries
were designed and composed based on the design
prepared by Le- Corbusier. With underlying principles
remaining common, each tapestry had a different design.
Called by Corbusier as the "nomadic murals , colours
primarily used in majority were Red followed by
Yellow, White and Blue which represented action, light,
serenity and sky. In addition, large number of motifs and

4. symbols were also embedded in the basic design and
made part of tapestry designs. Tapestry designs included
cosmos, natural and manmade objects including sun, sky,
stars, clouds, lightening, meandering river, balance in
justice, wheels, human footprints in terms of hands and
feet, reptiles, flora and fauna etc as the elements and
themes of design. These tapestries provoked the
delighted acquiescence of Mr. Nehru and the Governor of
Punjab as well as the Chief Judge but these tapestries
aroused doubts in the minds of some judges who declared
that they were an outrage to the dignity of justice and
caused two or three of them to be removed
4.2 Palace Of Assembly
Propelled by the success of the tapestries in High
Court, three tapestries were designed and installed in the
Assembly building.
Tapestries in Assembly
Buildings were larger than
those installed in the High
Court because of the larger
space to be covered except
the one installed in the
courtroom of Chief justice.
These Tapestries adorned the
interiors of both the houses in the assembly besides the
entrance. Tapestries installed in the two chambers
measured 155 Sq.m each, whereas tapestry behind the
ramp in the entrance in the basement measured 135 sq.m.
Installed in the year 1962, these tapestries differed in
colour and manufacturing from the one installed in the
High court. With design principles remained the same,
choice and use of bright colours by Corbusier in
tapestries in Assembly building was based on the analogy
to create a harmony between interior and exterior of the
building based on colour pattern used for the ceremonial
enamel door.
5. Architecture and Colours
Colours are known to be providers of great contrast,
distinct character and value addition to the buildings,
architectural character and spaces. The idea of using bold
colours in buildings of Chandigarh has its roots in the
theory Polycromie Architecturale developed by
Corbusier. Theory draws inspiration from musical
harmonies. As per Giuseppina Scavuzzo, "These colours
bear a strong relation to Nature; and introduce a new
kind of link between inside and outside, using colour as a
space-defining element.” While designing buildings,
Corbusier has made strategic use of colours to provide
distinct character and visibility to the buildings. In case
of Court of Justice, these bold colours adore the three
great pylons with pastel shades of green, yellow and
pink salmon facing the assembly building, whereas in the
case of Assembly, colours mark the great entrance to the
building, specially created for the head of the state to
enter the building on the special occasions.
5.1 Colour and Palace of Assembly
Palace of Assembly remains the iconic building due
to its peculiar form, unique shape and out of box design,
largely propelled by the artistic instinct of the Le-
Corbusier. The glory of the assembly is defined by the
colors, furniture, tapestries and images which Corbusier
used with great precision, to define the interiors and
entrance to the building. Each work of art comprises of
Corbusier signature-like arrangement of colors with
symbols and motifs in contrasting shades. This includes
an enameled door painted by Corbusier himself, which
appears at the entrance of the Assembly. The rugged
shade of the exposed reinforced concrete used for
construction coupled with bright primary colors, shapes
and forms punctuated with skylight and window cut-outs
of different shapes makes the Assembly building unique
and colorful besides promoting ventilation and the
illusion of height.
5.2 Colour and the Door
Nearly 25 feet square door, meant for providing
entry from the core is pivoted in the middle of the
Assembly portico, facing the High Court The outer face,
a strong visual counterpoint to the vibrant colours of the
High Court pylons, is divided into two equal parts. The
upper part has landscape with the red and yellow sky
above depicting the solar and the lunar cycles, the
solstices, and the equinoxes manifesting Corbusier's pre-
occupation with man's relationship with the cosmos. The
lower half is populated with animals,
natural formations, and other cryptic
symbols distributed evenly over the
entire surface. The background of the
desert depicts the original order on
earth and the green, symbolizes the
"Garden of Eden" landscape. Amidst
the greenery stands Corbusier’s
abstracted human figure, the upright
Modular Man. A river meanders on the left and as an
abstracted ecosystem, there is a turtle, a bull, a fish, and,
of course, the serpent. In the centre is the proverbial

5. "Tree of Knowledge" flowering into the fruits of
knowledge. Use of colours on the façade of door makes
the entire space vibrant, lively and meaningful.
Assembly door is a living tribute to Corbusier skill in the
art and science of synthesizing art with architecture.
5.3 Colour and Assembly Chamber
The assembly chamber, with a seating capacity of
252 persons, is a study in colour, form and space with the
hyperbolic parabolic dome set within the three layers of
pastel shades of green, yellow
and pink, punctuated by
sound-absorbing acoustic tiles
and cloud-like shapes. The art
in the interior of the large
chamber has been structured
in three distinct layers, each
defining a specified theme, meaning and objective. First
layer, dedicated to provide perfect acoustics required for
the rational functioning of the house, is occupied by the
sound-absorbing acoustic tiles laid over a red painted
wall. The second layer, painted in pastel yellow,
superimposed by numerous patches in different shapes to
give an impression of floating clouds over the sky
spanning the narrowing diameter of the dome and finally
merging into the skylight, forming the third layer. The
richness and brightness of colours continues with yellow
carpets defining the floor and green upholstered chairs,
specially designed by Corbusier team for seating the
legislators.
5.4 Colour and Palace Of Justice
Marked with three massive flattened piers leading
inward and rising sixty feet from the ground to meet the
heavy outward thrust of the roof, personified as a grand
entrance with its awesome
scale to manifest the majesty
of the law to all who entered
the building, High Court
emerges as most powerful
statement adoring the capitol
with Corbusier used his
instinct of gelling art with architecture using colours as
the medium. With columns and portico walls painted in
bright contrasting colours, the colour scheme envisioned
an order involving inside wall painted black, with
adjacent pillar made green, central pier painted yellow,
whereas right-hand pillar painted red, and remaining
portico wall made primary blue. Completed in 1962,
colour scheme provided a distinct aura, character,
culture, image and appearance to the High Court.
6. Embedded Art
In addition to using colour, form and textures as form
of art, Corbusier also
used extensively the
mechanism of
embedded art. In this
form of art, Corbusier
made all the
participants, living creatures and local flora and fauna as
integral part of the building by casting them on walls,
columns and beams within the concrete by creating
reliefs. This he has done in the assembly and institutional
buildings. For small bas – reliefs of animals, abstract
designs and the modular figure found in the concrete
column of the portico and other wall surfaces. Through
this Corbusier has tried to recognize those who were
having their habitat locally and made contribution to
make city a distinct reality. In addition, he also tried to
relate the cosmos with the built environment through
these reliefs.
7. Public Art
Public art is a powerful tool in reflecting the
experience of the urban, provoking an engagement of
urbanites with their environment, and in re-socializing
public spaces. It involves creativity, anonymity, il-
legality, longevity and ephemerality, but also elements of
performance, gentrification, social activism and place-
making. It is a multifaceted practice of art that engages
the spectator, weaving itself into the everyday.
Chandigarh is known to be dull and drab city with brick,
mortar and glass largely defining its architectural
character. In order to improve the visibility of buildings
and to make them distinct, unique and giving them a
theme.
7.1 Wall at Govt. Hospital, Sector 16
Recently Chandigarh administration has started the
concept of painting the outer
walls of the buildings.
First initiative in this regard has
been taken for the outer wall of
the General Hospital facing
Madhya Marg which has been
painted with great messages.
Being a hospital wall, theme and message displayed on
this wall is ‘getting healthy’ depicting yoga and cycling

6. as the ways to a healthy life. In addition, public places
are being provided with sculptures and murals and other
works of art to improve the visibility and quality of urban
spaces, Rock Garden constructed by Mr. Nek Chand out
of the city waste is a great example of how art can be
leveraged to make cities more attractive and livable.
7.2 Wall at City Centre, Sector 17
The Mural in sector -17 piazza reflecting Chandigarh
in itself. Made of handmade color
tiles, it is a three dimensional
representing the elements of
Chandigarh e.g. Its emblem,
Sukhna Lake, Lush Green valleys,
Capitol Complex, Round abouts, Rock Garden, Grid
roads and sector 17 Fountain.
8. Conclusion
India is passing through an era of rapid urbanization
with large addition of population making cities as their
preferred place of living. With the addition in population,
large built up space is being added to the cities. As per
estimates made by the McKenzie Global Institute, India
will need 700-900 million Sq. m of built space annually
to meet the demand for living, working, industry, trade
and commerce etc of the people coming to cities. Thus
large footprints of buildings are going to dot the urban
settlements. Most of the built up structures are being
taken up as commercial ventures where focus is to make
buildings only cost-effective. Quality of buildings and
spaces being created in the process has the least priority.
Most of the cities are passing through an era of crisis
with bare buildings creating concrete jungles. In the
process, quality of public spaces being created are of
very poor quality. With the dominance of the vehicles,
cities are fast losing its vital public spaces for creating
parking and road widening. It is time to look at the issue
objectively and critically, It is time for re-looking at the
art and science of architecture to make it more
meaningful and to create spaces which promotes better
living, learning, healthcare etc. Architecture needs to be
effectively integrated with art to make urban areas and
built spaces more meaningful. Art and architecture needs
to be synthesized at the institutional, professional and
practice level to make all architects and artists co-operate
and collaborate in creating quality buildings. Course
curricula need to be reviewed, revised and re-defined to
make the education more meaningful. All schools of art
should get involved in understanding the role and
importance of art in architecture. All schools of
architecture must have schools of art as part of the
institution and the vice- versa so as to synthesize and
integrate their role in making the art and science of
designing buildings and spaces more rational and
community oriented. Building bye-laws would also need
a critical review so as to ensure that art is made integral
part of planning, designing, construction and operation of
buildings constructed for human habitation.
9. References
[1] http://www.theartstory.org/artist Corbusier-
artworks.htm#pnt_1- The Art Story- Le-
Corbusier-- Modern Architecture, The
International Style, Purism, Brutalism
[2] http://www.cindrebay.com/blog/palace-assembly-
Chandigarh-beautiful-collision-art-architecture-
The Palace of Assembly, Chandigarh: Beautiful
Collision of Art and Architecture
[3] Colorful enigmas of Corbusier’s Capitol--Rajnish
Watts- published article- The Tribune
[4] Le- Corbusier Tapestries for Chandigarh- High
Court and Legislative Assembly- Chandigarh
Perspective, Chandigarh
[5] Anand Raj Mulk, by Chandigarh – pp 17-18.
[6] Gupta Jit Kumar; Sharma Chitrangda, 2018
Defining Role of Art in Promoting Chandigarh
Architecture, Journal of Indian Institute of
Architects, India.
[7] https://www.archdaily.com/806115/ad-classics-
Master-plan-for-chandigarh-le-corbusier