Mumbai: One of the greatest contemporary architects in India Charles Correa, who designed several prominent structures in India and world, died on Tuesday in Mumbai after a brief illness. He was 84.
Correa was the winner of many national and international awards and was known worldwide for his hold over issues pertaining to urban planning and affordable housing.
The government of India awarded him with a Padma Shri in 1972 and Padma Vibhushan in 2006.
He was also awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Praemium Imperiale of Japan and the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) among hundreds of national and international honours.
Correa was the chief architect of Navi Mumbai in 1970s when it was being established across the harbour from Mumbai. He was later appointed the first chairman of the National Commission on Urbanisation.
His works include the Gandhi Memorial at Sabarmati (at the age of 28), Bharat Bhavan and Vidhan Bhavan in Bhopal, Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, the Permanent Mission of India at the UN, New York, Kala Academy in Goa and the Kanchanjunga residential tower in Mumbai.
Recently, he completed three notable buildings abroad — the Ismaili Centre in Toronto, the Brain Science Centre at MIT, Boston and the Champalimaud Centre in Lisbon.
Besides working on world famous architectural structures, Correa also focussed on low-income housing and urban planning.
Born in Secunderabad on September 1, 1930, Correa studied at St Xavier's College in Mumbai before going to the University of Michigan and the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in US.
Correa taught at several universities in India and abroad and founded the Urban Design Research Institute in Mumbai, dedicated to protecting the environment and improving urban communities, in 1984.
