In India, this architectural style was introduced by Le Corbusier, a Swiss-French architect, who further inspired many Indian architects to adopt Brutalism in their works.
The Brutalist has won in several categories at the 2025 Oscars after having grabbed awards at major film festivals and showbiz awards. The 3.5-hour-long movie is a period drama that tells the story of a visionary architect and Holocaust survivor who escapes to America to rebuild his life and career. The film has brought into attention the Brutalist architectural style that emerged in the 1950s. Originating in England, Brutalist architecture is characterised by simplistic yet hulking concrete structures.
In India, this architectural style was introduced by Le Corbusier, a Swiss-French architect, who further inspired many Indian architects to adopt Brutalism in their works.
Le Corbusier was born in 1887 in Switzerland. A globally influential architect and city planner, he was the man behind the masterplan for Chandigarh and designed many key buildings of the city, which became the first expression of modern urban planning in independent India.
Le Corbusier was chosen by the first Indian government, led by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru – an admirer of modernist architecture – to plan and design the city which went on to become the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana.
Some of the most iconic monuments designed by Le Corbusier in Chandigarh are the Open Hand Monument, the Chandigarh City Center, and the Chandigarh Capitol Complex – the administrative heart of Chandigarh containing buildings such as the Assembly Building, the Secretariat, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Even though the design of Chandigarh remains Le Corbusier’s most prominent project in India, his association with the country extended to other cities and buildings.
The Ahmedabad Textile Mills Association (ATMA) in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, built in 1954, was one of Le Corbusier’s most significant works in the country. He also designed the Sanskar Kendra museum and residential villas like Villa Shodhan and Villa Sarabhai in Ahmedabad.
Besides the institutions designed by Le Corbusier, the architect’s work also had a deep influence on many other buildings constructed across India.
In fact, several prominent Indian architects, including Charles Correa, Balkrishna V Doshi, Raj Rewal, and Suhasini Ayer have drawn inspiration from the architect of Chandigarh.
