northern India

Swiss Air operates the morning flight from Brussels Zaventem to New Delhi, there is a short stopover in Zurich. Our flight lands in the early hours at Indira Gandhi International Airport, after arrival we will be transferred to the hotel by bus to start the next day fresh.

The first two days of Delhi we spend in the oldest parts of the city. We combine a visit to the Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb with a very recent museum by Vir Muëller Architects. This is followed by Raj Rewal’s Asian Games Village, highlighting the urban planning part of the trip.
This time of year is chosen not only because of the moderate temperature, but also because of the India Art Fair, where the top Indian modern and contemporary art is represented. Before travelling on to the next destination, we visit the modernist India Habitat Centre and India International Centre of expatriate American Joseph Allen Stein.

The historic capital of the Amber kingdom is better known as the pink city. The city’s design in nine planes is inspired by geomancy and cosmology. Besides the historical complex ‘Jantar Mantar’, Charles Correa’s contemporary ‘Jawahar Kala Kendra’ also finds inspiration in these ideas.
Indian traditional crafts are Jaipur’s biggest attraction, showcasing a wealth of heritage. Here we see the archetypal Indian palaces; the Amber Fort, the water palace Jal Mahal, the Palace Museum Chandra Mahal and the wind palace Hawa Mahal. As the old parts of the city are not accessible to large vehicles, we will explore partly by jeep, partly on foot.
We won’t leave the palace surroundings too far behind at night either, as we stay at Narain Niwas Palace Hotel (4-star) in the midst of serene gardens and historic architecture.

The route between Jaipur and Agra brings us to the town of Fatehpur Sikri. The palace of the Mogul emperor Akbar is inextricably linked to the 16th-century city. The remarkable constellation of private residences, built entirely in red stone, illustrates the way Akbar brought together the religions of his various wives into a coherent whole. Because the palace was abandoned shortly after its completion, it has been preserved as a time capsule. Besides all the secular splendour, we also explore the adjacent Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, built at the same time as the palace.
Our bus also stops at the Chand Baori Stepwell. The stepwell is a form of civil architecture, a water reservoir that ensured the supply of drinking water during the dry seasons in Rajastan. The geometric abstraction takes this project to a new level.
On arrival in Agra, we visit the tomb ofI’timad-ud-Daulah, better known as the Baby Taj. A great introduction to the magnificent inlay art of the Mogul emperors.

With a magical sunrise ahead, we leave the 4-star hotel Howard Plaza The Fern in the early hours and walk to the Taj Mahal. The concept of atmospheric perspective becomes a reality once the view of the Taj appears through the entrance gates.

We then take time to explore the Agra Fort, this huge compound evolved along with its inhabitants, the Mogul emperors, from a military fort built by conquerors, to a palace complex made of white marble and refined rooms. After noon, we depart back towards New Delhi to catch a local flight to Ahmedabad.

Textile city Ahmedabad is home to Pritzker Prize winner Balkrishna Doshi and the city overflows with brilliant post-war architecture. We start our exploration with a guided visit to Doshi’s studio, Sangath Studio and some of his earliest projects like Institute of Indology and the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology.
Moreover, Ahmedabad was also the base of Mahathma Gandhi, his own residence is still preserved there and was expanded in the 1960s with a museum by Charles Correa. The afternoon concludes with the Mill Owner’s Corporation Building, Le Corbusier’s masterpiece .
After a well-deserved night’s sleep at the Hyatt Regency (4-star), some contemporary projects are on the agenda. Namely, a visit to the studio of Matharoo Associates, this family firm specialises in kinetic architecture with a pinch of Brutalism. We visit the Prathama Blood Centre where the lab and office programme come together in a serene atmosphere.
In the evening, we visit Darpana Academy, the diverse and eccentric nature of the dance school is evident from their building complex. We seize the opportunity to join a performance there and sample Gujarati cuisine.
A sophisticated primary school for blind and visually impaired children by Sea Lab further completes the contemporary part of the programme, to end at the source, namely three realisations under the patronage of the Sarabhai family: the Calico Museum of Textiles, the Indigo Museum and their own residence, the villa Sarabhaidesigned by Le Corbusier. After this visit, we leave Ahmedabad behind and fly back towards Delhi to embark on the rest of the journey.

In New Delhi, we focus on the witnesses of the colonial past, as the city’s ‘New Delhi’ district was designed by British architect Edwin Lutyens, who also designed the Presidential Palace. The Rashtrapati Bhavan is an impressive achievement that displays a fusion of Western and Indian architectural styles. We are given a tour by the designers who watch over the future of the political centre of the world’s largest democracy.
Later, we move into international political circles with a visit to the Finnish Embassy and are welcomed by the Belgian Ambassador, at his residence by Indian artist Satish Gujral.
Striking detached volumes will catch your attention as we drive through the city, we selected some of the most unique to visit inside: the Brutalist Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts, Charles Correa’ s British Council and the sacred Lotus Temple. The afternoon is free to fill; browsing the Chandni Chowk market, strolling through Lodhi Park or admiring the National Museum’s collection are among some of the possibilities.

The morning train takes us from Delhi to Chandigarh, where we are shown around the ‘City Beautiful’ by local architect Siddharta Wiig. Le Corbusier designed the city as a body headed by ‘the Capitol Complex’. He left the interpretation of his city to Pierre Jeanneret, Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew and Indian architects including MN Sharma, Eulie Chowdhury, Mahendra Raj and Balkrishna Doshi.
Seeing how the different sectors have evolved since their conception, we visit the heart of the city, called Sector 17 but also Punjab University, the Guru-dwara of the Sikh community and the Chandigarh College of Architecture.
After an overnight stay at the Taj Chandigarh (4-star) in Sector 17, we venture to the highlight of this trip: the Capitol Complex by Le Corbusier. The sculptures of three main buildings, Palace of Assembly, Secretariat Building, the High Court and the Open Hand Monument are a fixture in the curriculum for any architect, but who knows the Tower of Shadows, and the Geometric Hill? Thanks to an extensive interior tour that takes us up to the roof of the Secretariat Building, you can experience for yourself the architectural experience as intended by Le Corbusier.
We further learn about the story behind the development of Chandigarh, an operation that has been supported by countless hands, at the Chandigarh Architecture Museum.As the evening wears on, we set off on our return journey towards Delhi. An overnight Swiss Air flight will take us back to Brussels, where we will arrive the next morning.