From Trash to Design Icon: The Rescued Chandigarh Chairs

The Chandigarh Chair/Le Corbusier/1950

The Chandigarh Chair was designed in the 1950s for the interiors of India's newly planned city, Chandigarh. However, what began as a utilitarian piece of furniture would, decades later, transform into an iconic collector's item revered across the globe.

After gaining independence in 1947, India embarked on a bold modernist experiment by commissioning the renowned Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier to design the capital of the Punjab state, Chandigarh. To bring this vision to life, Corbusier collaborated with his cousin, architect and designer Pierre Jeanneret, who played a leading role in the design of the city’s furniture.

The Chandigarh Chair, one of the most recognizable pieces from this era, was created using solid teak wood and woven cane. Its simple and elegant form expressed modernist principles while adapting to the Indian climate and local craftsmanship. Designed to be functional, durable, and harmonious with its architectural environment, the chair was widely used in government buildings, libraries, and public institutions throughout the city.

Over the decades, however, these pieces were discarded as styles changed. Many ended up abandoned in basements, storerooms, or scrapyards—forgotten remnants of a bygone era.

In the early 2000s, design collectors in the West began to recognize the historical and aesthetic value of Chandigarh's furniture. Hundreds of original chairs were salvaged, restored, and exhibited in international design fairs and galleries. What was once considered obsolete was reborn as a highly desirable design object, commanding thousands of dollars at auctions and featured in elite interior spaces around the world.

Among the young Indian architects who contributed to Chandigarh’s creation, Eulie Chowdhury (1923–1995) stands out. She joined the team in 1951 and worked closely with both Le Corbusier and Jeanneret. As one of the earliest women in the Indian architectural profession, her role not only shaped the built environment of Chandigarh but also quietly resisted the male-dominated landscape of her time. Though often overshadowed in mainstream narratives, her legacy adds a vital human dimension to the Chandigarh furniture story.

Today, the Chandigarh Chair is celebrated not just for its form and function, but for the rich historical layers it embodies—merging design, politics, gender, and cultural heritage.