Let's beam back and experience the year 1947 tomorrow. The year in which the then British India gained its independence and was divided based on ethnic and religious views. East Pakistan (today's Bangladesh) emerged in the northeast and West Pakistan (today's Pakistan) emerged in the west. As a result, the northern state of Punjab lost its capital Lahore to West Pakistan and had to move to a village called Chandigarh.
The new capital was born: CHANDIGARH.
In order to symbolize the end of economic and cultural subjugation, a city of the future, a city free of traditions, should be created. Who could have implemented this idea better than the team around Le Corbusier, Maxwell Frey, Jane Drew and Pierre Jeanneret, who began building the city in 1951.
A quote from Le Corbusier makes it clear that this was not just about human geographical approaches and thoughts about the future, but that the relationship to people and nature played an equally important role:
“The city of Chandigarh is planned on a human scale. It puts us in touch with the infinite cosmos and nature. It provides us with places and buildings for all human activities through which the citizens can live a full and harmonious life. “Here the radiance of nature and heart are within our reach.”
(Le Corbusier)
Another special feature that should not be ignored when planning is that it is the first planned city in India. During the planning, great emphasis was placed on generosity in order to avoid bottlenecks due to the high population density. The traffic chaos that occurs in most cities in India could be completely avoided in Chandigarh.
The Capitol, which is also the most famous building in Chandigarh, was chosen as a UNESCO cultural heritage site in 2016 and was designed by Le Corbusier. It impresses with its modern and simple design.
Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier's younger cousin, who was often overshadowed by his older cousin during his lifetime, was dedicated to the entire collection of furniture designed for the public buildings. He stayed in the gigantic planned city for a full 15 years to devote himself intensively to this task. Just like the planning of the city, nothing was left to chance when it came to the furniture collection. On the one hand, it was the perfectionism that Jeanneret and his team took to the extreme. The furniture is seen as part of the bigger picture. On the other hand, another reason that forced Jeanneret to produce the furniture in India was India's poor infrastructure. Importing foreign furniture would have been far too expensive.
Jeanneret accepted the challenge and adapted to the local craft situation. The result was a furniture collection that combined the European idea of modernity with Indian improvisation. The strong connection to nature is particularly visible in the furniture collection, as they experimented with cords, bamboo canes and traditional cane weave. The result was poetic pieces of furniture that still impress with their uniqueness today.
The horror for all design lovers took place in the 1990s. A sad chapter for the furniture collection from Chandigarh. Since the furniture was no longer considered contemporary, it was sold off and only a few pieces could be saved.
In 2021, the furniture from back then can and should celebrate its biggest comeback. Taken from Le Corbusier's perfectionist ideas, the chairs and armchairs decorate old apartments, chalets and holiday homes all over the world.
What's really special is that the furniture has remained unique and timeless at the same time, even without its individual staging, but rather thanks to its design language. Icons like Khloe Kardashian love the furniture, even though they are chairs made from uncompromising interior design ideals. Despite all the circumstances, these limited possibilities gave rise to multifunctional and stylistically freely interpretable pieces of furniture, which have since become irrevocably part of Riga's design classics.
We are very proud and are pleased to be able to present the Pierre Jeanneret collection, which is still manufactured in the production facilities from back then, in our showroom and in our online store.
Sonja Pitterling