Architect
"This project uses the highest levels of contemporary science and medicine to help people grappling with real problems. And to house these cutting-edge activities, we tried to create a piece of architecture. Architecture as Sculpture. Architecture as Beauty. Beauty as therapy.”
Charles Correa
These were the words spoken by the architect at the inauguration ceremony of the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, capturing the essence of both the man and the building. He is an architect who believes that buildings should seek to express the true essence and culture of their locations, all the while taking into account the ultimate use of the structure in order to create the perfect symbiosis between form and function. More than an architect, he is a thinker of urban space.
Originally from Goa, Charles Correa has been responsible for many important and iconic works of architecture such as the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, the Jawaher Kala Kendra in Jaipur, the Kanchanjunga apartment tower in Mumbai, and the new “Navi Mumbai” city.
His work has received wide international recognition. Apart from the many international awards he has received – including the Sir Robert Matthew Prize from International Union of Architects (IUA), the Chicago Architecture Award from the American Institute of Architecture and the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, presented by His Royal Highness, King D. Carlos of Spain – his work has been acclaimed across the world, especially in the Americas, where he has worked extensively on buildings designed for a scientific purpose, such as MIT’s Brain and Cognitive Sciences Centre in Boston.
On the construction of the Champalimaud Centre of the Unknown he has said: “When I relived the whole experience I was very surprised (and thankful)…”
Photos: Celso Gonçalves Roc2c
Text: http://www.fchampalimaud.org
