Chandigarh’s first chief architect MN Sharma passes away

Tribune News Service  

Chandigarh, October 30    

MN Sharma, first chief architect of Chandigarh, who worked with legendry architect Le Corbusier, died of heart attack in the wee hours of Sunday. He was 93.

Sharma was ailing for long. He is survived by two sons and two daughters.   

Yojana Rawat, general secretary of the MN Sharma Architectural Society, said Sharma complained of pain in the heart early in the morning.  

Read: An interview of first Chief Architect of Chandigarh appeared in The Tribune on February 28, 2012

SUCCESS MANTRA: An architect's dream journey 

Read: Sharma wrote an article that was published in The Tribune on August 22, 1998

A legacy of great stalwarts By M. N. Sharma

Doctors were called at home and it was decided to take him to the General Hospital, Sector 16, but Sharma died before reaching the hospital. His cremation will take place on Monday.    

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Sharma, a former chief architect of Chandigarh, closely worked with Le Corbusier. 

Born on August 4, 1923, Sharma joined the capitol project in June 1950 and worked with the American team for the first master plan and in 1951 joined the team of the architects led by Le Corbusier. Sharma was chosen to be the first chief architect in 1965 after the retirement of Pierre Jeanneret.

Sharma recently wrote a book ‘Making of Chandigarh: Le Corbusier and After’ which brought the chronology of the events of the making of the city in his book.

Sharma was the recipient of many national and international awards for his contribution to the profession, including the award of the Institute of Life (France) for creating the best environment for the common man, in 1973. For his devotion to the profession the administration conferred the lifetime achievement award on him in October 2015.   

Parimal Rai, adviser to the administrator, termed his death as a great loss to the city He said people would always remember him for his contribution to the making of the city.

Kapil Setia, Chief Architect, and Sumit Kaur, former chief architect, said Sharma was always concerned about preserving the character of the city. He contributed a lot for completing the projects of Le Corbusier.