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Architect Charles Correa passes away, PM condoles death

by IBNS 17 Jun 2015, 11:38 am

Mumbai, June 17 (IBNS) Charles Correa, one of India's most celebrated architects of contemporary times whose works were defined by the sensitivity for the lower income housing and urban planning, died here Tuesday night. He was 84.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has condoled the passing away of  Correa. 
 
"My deepest condolences on the passing away of the noted architect, Mr. Charles Correa. May his soul rest in peace. Mr. Charles Correa's architectural marvels are widely cherished, reflecting his brilliance, innovative zeal & wonderful aesthetic sense," the Prime Minister said. 
 
Born on Sept 1, 1930, he was one post-Independence India's most famous contemporary architects and urban planner and has been seen as the man behind the modern architecture in India. 
 
A man who always thought for the urban poor he used traditional methods and materials.
 
He had been awarded the Padma Shri in 1972, and second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan in 2006, given by Government of India. He was also awarded the 1984 Royal Gold Medal for architecture, by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
 
Correa after his education at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai under the University of Bombay, went to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (1949–53) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1953–55). In 1958 he established his own Mumbai-based professional practice. 
 
He is the architect of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Museum at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Kanchanjunga Apartment tower in Mumbai, the Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur. He was the force behind the planning of Navi Mumbai, MIT'S Brain and Cognitive Sciences Centre in Boston, and most recently, the Champalimad Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon. 
 
He taught in various universities in India and abroad. He also had got featured in Time magazine.