Completed in 1952, the buildings which currently house the two museums were part of a\u00a0Master Plan\u00a0and a larger urban development\u00a0Le Corbusier\u00a0designed for the city of Chandigarh which, in 1947, had become the capital of the Indian states of\u00a0Haryana\u00a0and\u00a0Punjab\u00a0after the partition of the British Indian Empire into India and Pakistan, and the passage of Lahore, the old capital of the British Province of Punjab, to Pakistan.
In the same period, Le Corbusier designed a similar museum in another Indian city, Ahmedabad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with the museums, Le Corbusier\u2019s buildings in the Chandigarh include the Palace of Assembly, the High Court of Justice, and the Secretariat building \u2013 which together form the Capitol Complex \u2013 various administrative buildings, the colleges of art and architecture, and some private houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The design of the Government Museum in Chandigarh is very similar to that of the museum in Ahmedabad; both have a square plan based on a 23 by 23 feet grid system, a structure composed of reinforced concrete beams and thin round columns, and brick facades.
The building has three floors, connected by a pedestrian ramp, a service staircase, and a freight elevator.
The ground floor accommodates the entrance lobby, the collection storage, a conservation laboratory, a temporary exhibition space, and an auditorium. The first floor houses the permanent exhibition galleries. The second floor accommodates staff offices, meeting spaces, and a library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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