On the following pages we present schematic sketches prepared in Le Corbusier's atelier which deal with the landscaping of Chandigarh. These sketches contain detailed information for the landscaping of the traffic routes, the Capitol, etc.
Urban elements affected by landscaping : 1. Traffic routes; 2. Urban spaces with architectural elements: Capitol, University, Commercial Centre, etc.; 3. Free spaces: parks.
Architectural conception of the elements of landscaping : 1. Trees in single rows; 2. Trees in double rows; 3. Trees in multiple rows; 4. Isolated trees; 5. In homogeneous clusters; 6. In heterogeneous clusters; 7. Forest.
Differentiation of trees : The 6 shapes and their specific properties: form, height, growth (rapid or slow), blossoms, character of foliage (deciduous or permanent, dense or sparse).
The routes of circulation. The V3 receives only high speed traffic. The landscaping must be studied in order to provide the best conditions, particularly in relation to the sun (resplendence). The V3 routes have two directions. The "V3 Horizontals" are those parallel to the Avenue de la Gare, and the "V3 Verticals" are those parallel to the Avenue du Capitol.
A and B designate two positions unfavorable with regard to sunshine. The situation in A for the V3 Horizontals is not serious since the summer sun is near the zenith at that hour. On the other hand, the situation at B for the V3 Verticals would be more delicate, not in summer where the situation is equivalent to that of the V3 Horizontals, but in winter when the setting sun is low on the horizon and beams its rays along the same axis as the V3 Verticals. That is why the landscaping provides another choice and another planting: trees with permanent foliage must be cut in the form of a tunnel, very low. For the V3 Horizontals the trees will have to have sparse foliage. It is necessary to adjust the differentiation of the landscaping of the V3 Horizontals and V3 Verticals to let the users of these streets know automatically in which direction they are travelling.
The V4 is the gathering place for the intense sector of activity of city life. The V4 is the route which will provide each sector with its own character. Consequently, each V4 will be different from the others and will furnish specific characteristics which are indispensable for the creation of a great variety through the city and the furnishing of elements of classification for the inhabitants. All the possibilities of nature are available to provide each V4 with a personality which it will maintain throughout the breadth of the city, thus connecting the five or six sectors crossed by a V4.
V2, Avenue of the Capitol. The Avenue of the Capitol consists of heavily travelled automotive route, a parallel parking strip and a wide sidewalk bordering on the arcaded stores and high buildings. Also running parallel is an erosion ditch (with only a few connections). It would appear desirable, on one hand, to mark the automotive route by a border of high trees, and on the other hand, to unite in one sweep of the eye the entire breadth of the avenue in question (stores, pedestrians, parking, autos, localized connections to the erosion ditch, leisure areas). It is equally necessary to shape the pedestrian promenade along the storefronts. For the automotive routes a single or double row of trees with high foliage (permitting a view) and low density of permanent foliage (to eliminate the necessity of sweeping leaves away).
Landscaping of the Capitol, Chandigarh. Several types of trees have been envisaged for the Capitol: 1. Elements already existing on the site. 2. The private gardens of the Governor. A rectangular pattern of paths form a garden which will be planted with trees of all sorts of colors, forms, heights and picturesque arrangements. 3. Artificial hills have been created with fill from the excavations made for streets and parking strips. 4. In certain parts of the Capitol the horizon will be enclosed by walls of green.
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- Chandigarh, the new capital of East Punjab. India, 1965.