Of the many reasons for choosing a profession, a love of model trains is not the obvious one. Yet Charles Correa, who has died aged 84, confessed that his introduction to architecture came through the patterns that could be created by changing the layout of rails and the environments around them. The distinctiveness and excellence of his work made him India’s premier architect, and his vast range of interests and eloquence marked him out as a leading figure in the field internationally.
The first building to bring him attention from outside India was the Gandhi Ashram (1958-63) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a brick and concrete, stone-floored grouping of square, pitched-roof pavilions that enshrines the values of its hero, Mahatma Gandhi, whose values of civil action and community service Correa wholeheartedly shared. It demonstrated an authentic Indian modernity that superseded the condescending orientalism and stale imports of colonialism.
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