cassina's 'hommage à pierre jeanneret' explores le corbusier's capitol complex

the cassina research and development centre presents the ‘hommage à pierre jeanneret’ collection, exploring le corbusier‘s renowned capitol complex. four pieces have been developed by the italian furniture manufacturing company as part of research into the chandigarh project – the indian city conceived by the swiss-french architect between 1951 and 1956. with the support of the fondation le corbusier, who gave access to their archives to analyse available material and drawings, cassina has studied chairs and tables from the capitol complex and produced these models inspired by jeanneret.

image © depasquale+maffini (main images © depasquale+maffini)

the chandigarh project was conceived by le corbusier to celebrate the independence of india and the nation’s opening up to modernity. proposed by the then prime minister nehru, the concept represented a fundamental opportunity for the architect to test his architectural and urbanistic theories together with a group of his peers. following the architectural work being listed in the UNESCO cultural heritage list in 2016, cassina has decided to support an in-depth research into the masterplan and the capitol complex that was placed at its core.

image © depasquale+maffini

when designing the chandigarh project, the capitol complex was imagined as the the political and administrative nucleus of the new city. le corbusier worked alongside his cousin pierre jeanneret, who had a fundamental role in the design of the furniture for chandigarh, and his work serves as cassina’s inspiration for this new collection. comprising of a chair, a chair with armrests, an armchair and a table, the project directly refers to these existing designs as tribute to jeanneret.

image © stefano de monte

with the utmost respect for authenticity, cassina has undertaken in-depth research to form the collection. pierre jeanneret’s experience in india lasted until the end of his days in 1967 and his close and continuous contact with the local territory led his furniture embodying essential forms with simple materials. the differing influences resulted in a meeting point between modern european ideals and the traditional indian spirit, which can be seen in cassina’s new collection.