Chandigarh Architecture Museum

While planning a trip to Chandigarh the Chandigarh Architecture Museum must be on your itinerary. As beautiful a place Chandigarh is it is even more exciting to see its architectural development since the inception. The Chandigarh Architecture Museum shows the birth of the city by showcasing the master plans, sketches and photographs from its archives.

About the Museum

Established in 1997, the Chandigarh Architecture Museum is a one-of-a-kind museum in the green city of Chandigarh and also a must-visit tourist spot. The museum was set up to document, preserve, and display the rare inscriptions, drawings, sketches, and archives, etc., related to the making of the beautiful city of Chandigarh and what impact did the famous French architect Le Corbusier’s architectural design had on the city. The museum complex represents the architectural advancements and planning that made the beautiful city of Chandigarh as we see it now and it also preserves the development process from the inception to the present.

Also known as the City Museum, the design of the building which houses the Architecture Museum was inspired by Le Corbusier’s design which he showcased as an exhibition pavilion in Zurich, Switzerland. The design of the museum had to be conceptualized in a way that it was congruous to the adjacent Art Museum and thus it gave rise to a contemporary building under the administration of S.D. Sharma, trained under Le Corbusier himself. The museum has on display several letters and correspondences held between the administrators and the architects who developed the city’s blueprint. Furthermore, original drawings and plans of the city are exhibited along with several photographs of the different phases of its development. A walk through this museum will also take you to the days of Partition and will let you explore the uncharted story of Chandigarh.

The display also has some furniture and a life-size replica of Pierre Jeanneret’s room who was also a known architect working alongside Le Corbusier. The museum complex also has a snack bar on the terrace with a stunning backdrop of the Shivalik Ranges. The museum perfectly encapsulates the essence of Chandigarh since its inception and narrates its story through displays that progress as you go higher up the levels. Hence, a walk through this museum is an attraction for architects and students studying architecture and also a wholesome experience to learn about the city’s history.