Episode 64: Urmila Eulie Chowdhury
Urmila Eulie Chowdhury was born on October 4, 1923 in Shahjahanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Her father was a diplomat, so she traveled around the world as she grew up. She graduated from Windsor House School in Kobe, Japan. Then she got a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Sydney in 1947. She also studied singing and piano at the Julian Ashborn School of Art Conservatory of Music in Sydney. Next she traveled to the US and got a diploma in ceramics in New Jersey. In 1951, Eulie returned to India to work on the new planned city of Chandigarh. She worked on the drawings for some of the main buildings at Chandigarh such as the High Court and the Martyrs Memorial. Eulie was fluent in French and became the coordinator/translator between the Indian architects and Le Corbusier. She also corresponded with Prime Minister Nehru for Le Corbusier after he returned to France. Eulie also worked with Pierre Jeanneret on the design of educational buildings and the design of wood chairs for the government buildings. She adjusted the proportions of the chairs to fit Indian men and women. From 1963-1965 Eulie served as the Director of the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi. Eulie also translated Le Corbusier’s book ‘The Three Human Establishments’ into English during this time. She wrote her own book about her time working with Corbusier on Chandigarh called ‘Those Were the Days’. Eulie would serve as the first woman Chief Architect for the state of Haryana from 1970-1971. From 1971-1976 she was the first woman Chief Architect of Chandigarh and oversaw the second phase of city planning. In 1976 she became the Chief Architect of the state of Punjab. She retired in 1981 from public service, but kept working on other projects and endeavors in her retirement. Eulie was a fellow in the Indian Institute of Architects and the first woman elected to the Royal Institute of British Architects. On September 20, 1995 Eulie passed away at 71 years old.
Caryatid: Dr. Victoria Heilman
Dr. Victoria Heilman is a Tanzanian architect who has a Bachelors of Architecture from the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, a Masters degree in Architecture from the Catholic University of America in DC and a Doctorate in sustainable building practice with a focus on Tanzania from University of Stuttgart in Germany. Victoria is focused on making sustainable design and construction more mainstream within Ardhi University where she teaches. She also founded Tanzania Women Architects for Humanity which rebuilds houses after natural disasters with low-cost and easily available materials. She also founded her own firm Alama which has sustainability at the center of its design principles and also tries to use basic technologies and passive design to save energy.
References
africanfemalearchitects. “African Female Architects.” Tumblr, 9 Aug. 2021, www.africanfemalearchitects.work/post/659041410156281856/dr-victoria-marwa-heilman-is-passionate-about. Accessed 2 Nov. 2022.
Bahga, Sarbjit. “Urmila Eulie Chowdhury: India’s First Woman Architect, as I Know Her.” World Architecture Community, 4 Jan. 2018, worldarchitecture.org/articles/cvnnz/urmila_eulie_chowdhury_indiais_first_woman_architect_as_i_know_her.html. Accessed 30 Aug. 2022.
Ghandi, Deepika. “Eulie Chowdhury’s Architecture Reflected Her Multicultural Outlook.” The Times of India, 20 Sept. 2019, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/eulie-chowdhurys-architecture-reflected-her-multicultural-outlook/articleshow/71216009.cms. Accessed 30 Aug. 2022.
Gutierrez Poizat, Sandra. “Urmila Eulie Chowdhury 1923-1995.” Un Día | Una Arquitecta, 8 June 2015, undiaunaarquitecta.wordpress.com/2015/06/08/urmila-eulie-chowdhury-1923-1995. Accessed 30 Aug. 2022.
Rathi, Kiran. “Eulie Chowdhury- First Known Woman in Indian Architecture.” RTF | Rethinking the Future, May 2022, www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/know-your-architects/a1083-eulie-chowdhury-first-known-woman-in-indian-architecture. Accessed 30 Aug. 2022.
Wangchuk, Rinchen Norbu. “How India’s First Woman Architect Blazed a Trail With Her Work on Chandigarh!” The Better India, 6 June 2019, www.thebetterindia.com/185332/urmila-eulie-chowdhury-india-first-woman-architect-chandigarh. Accessed 30 Aug. 2022.
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