India Untold: How Chandigarh Chairs, A Swiss Architect's Idea, Became Global Status Symbol

When Chandigarh was envisioned as the capital of Punjab after Independence, its identity was not merely defined by its grid-patterned streets or monumental buildings. Among the understated yet timeless creations that emerged from this city's design legacy were the iconic Chandigarh chairs, conceived by the master architects Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. Today, these humble furnishings command pride of place in some of the most exquisite homes across the world.

Birth of Chandigarh

It was February 1951 when Swiss-born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret Gris, globally celebrated as Le Corbusier, arrived in India. Tasked by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru with shaping Punjab's new capital, he was entrusted with more than just architectural blueprints. He was asked to breathe order and imagination into a landscape scarred by Partition.

Le Corbusier embraced the assignment with zeal. His diary records,“It is the hour that I have been waiting for - India, that human and profound civilisation - to construct a capital. Urbanism is the activity of society. Capital is the spirit of a nation.”

With that spirit, Chandigarh was born.

Le Corbusier's design rewrote India's architectural script. Concrete structures stood in bold defiance of colonial gothic traditions, and minimalistic rectilinear buildings reflected a functional, almost poetic austerity. Practicality blended seamlessly with aesthetics: sunshades and overhanging roofs shielded citizens from the blistering sun, while domes, lofty ceilings, and airy spaces redefined comfort.

The grand Capitol Complex - housing the Legislative Assembly, Secretariat, and High Court - became the crown jewel of his vision. Corbusier's cousin Pierre Jeanneret, along with architects Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew, Aditya Prakash, Urmila Eulie Chowdhury, and a young Balkrishna Doshi, contributed their brilliance to a city.

And it was in this atmosphere of experimentation and innovation that the Chandigarh chair took shape.

With government offices mushrooming across the city, a demand for functional furniture arose. Jeanneret stepped in with a design that would become immortal: a teak-and-cane chair with clean lines, V-shaped legs, and a natural polish. Simple yet striking, it embodied modernist ideals while being deeply utilitarian.

These chairs soon filled offices, schools, and even middle-class homes. For residents of Chandigarh, they were everyday objects - ordinary, even mundane. Few could have imagined that these very chairs, once mass-produced in local workshops, would one day become collector's treasures.

From Dustbins to Designer Homes

By the 1990s, as flashier furniture flooded the market, Chandigarh chairs fell out of favor. Many were left to rot outdoors, battered by rain and sun. Their fate seemed sealed until international dealers stumbled upon them and recognized their hidden worth.

Parisian gallerists like Eric Touchaleaume, François Laffanour, Philippe Jousse, and Patrick Seguin began salvaging these discarded relics.“We said, let's take the risk of buying these, and we'll see what happens,” Laffanour recalled in Architectural Digest. That risk would soon pay off handsomely.

Today, these once-overlooked chairs adorn elite spaces across the globe. Reality star Kim Kardashian, for instance, proudly displays twelve Jeanneret teak conference chairs in her dining room and a few more in her home office.“Some of my favourite furniture is these Jeanneret chairs and couches,” she gushed, with each piece valued at between $6,000 and $10,000.

MENAFN07092025007385015968ID1110027362