Iwan Baan

Brasilia – Chandigarh

Living with Modernity

In 1960, Brasilia was celebrated as the realization of an urban planning vision based on designs by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer. At the same time, the sectoral city of Chandigarh was rising according to plans by Le Corbusier. The “test tube city” arose as an export of modernity from a Western planning euphoria that displayed utopian traits. In both cities, foreign architecture entered into a harmonious relationship with indigenous culture, forming new and independent identities.

This publication addresses the question of how modernism has been appropriated in both cities, and how the people who live in them deal with it. Commonalities and differences are identified and images of everyday urban life showcased. On the initiative of the publisher, the young photographer Iwan Baan has taken stock of contemporary life in both cities.

In 1960, Brasilia was celebrated as the realization of an urban planning vision based on designs by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer. At the same time, the sectoral city of Chandigarh was rising according to plans by Le Corbusier. The “test tube city” arose as an export of modernity from a Western planning euphoria that displayed utopian traits. In both cities, foreign architecture entered into a harmonious relationship with indigenous culture, forming new and independent identities.

This publication addresses the question of how modernism has been appropriated in both cities, and how the people who live in them deal with it. Commonalities and differences are identified and images of everyday urban life showcased. On the initiative of the publisher, the young photographer Iwan Baan has taken stock of contemporary life in both cities.

Author(s): Iwan Baan

Edited by Lars Müller

With contributions by Cees Nooteboom and Martino Stierli

24 x 30 cm, 9.5 x 11.75 in

240 pages, 200 illustrations

paperback

2010, 978-3-03778-228-6, English
CHF 100.00
Out of print

Iwan Baan

Photo Iwan Baan

Iwan Baan (*1975 in Amsterdam) is an architecture and documentary photographer. He has worked for major architectural studios like SANAA, Rem Koolhaas/OMA, Herzog & de Meuron, Toyo Ito, and architects like Steven Holl and Zaha Hadid. His works are published regularly in architectural magazines and newspapers, among them Domus, a+u, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. In his photography, Baan focuses on the connection between architecture and the surrounding environment. Instead of isolating the built structure he embeds it in history and context.