The new State Assembly, in the capital city of Bhopal, for the Government of Madhya Pradesh was commissioned in 1980 but did not begin construction until 1983. Many factors determined its form: its site on the crest of a hill; the historic Muslim monuments nearby; and the famous Stupa of the Buddha at Sanchi, some fifty kilometres from the city. But perhaps the greatest deter minant of form was the mandala - the cosmic organisation of functions, sequences and spaces within the ancient Hindu conception of the Universe.
The plan consists of a series of spaces within spaces, divided into a pattern of nine compartments (common in mandalas) which focus around a centre which represents nothingness. On two perpendicular axis, emanating from a central courtyard, are the administrative offices. The remaining four corners are occupied by the specialised functions: the Vidhan Parishad (Upper House), the Vidhan Sabha (Lower House).
Model
The roof is punctured withthe openings of the five interior courtyards and punctuated by the dome ofthe Vidhan Sabha (Lower House). The circular plan contains Charles Correa's concept of gardens within gardens, around which the legislative halls and offices are arranged © Charles Correa Associates
The administrative offices constitute the bulk of the floor area and form a decisive part of the architectural experience. The offices are placed between open spaces in the manner of buildings built in India during the nineteenth century which provided circulation along verandahs from which there is a view of surrounding gardens. Hence the path to the offices and their waiting areas becomes an important and pleasant experience.
The movement pattern within the building have been carefully studied, for the bureaucrat and the politician the circulation is always along the edge of the courtyards. .. on the way to the galleries and offices people walk along bridges and ramps winding around the subbhas. This path within the puzzle-box is common to many of the architect's projects ... explained as a series of energies connecting the inside to the outside and the outside to the inside, [this] use of an intellectual construct of space marks a new direction in Correa's work - a more conceptual architecture rather than one determined by site, materials, climate and economics...1
- 1. Text from Khan, Hasan-Uddin, ed. "Vidhan Bhavan." In Charles Correa, 134-139. Singapore: Concept Media Ltd., 1987, and The Architects' Record, in application for the Aga Khan Award.
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Aga Khan Award for Architecture, shortlisted nominations and winning projects 1980-2016. South Asia/SAARC, 2016.
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