In 1951 the Government of Pakistan
established the University of Karachi. The site was a flat plot of 1200 acres,
northeast of the city and eight miles from its center. A team of French
architects was commissioned to develop the layout of the University and to
design its individual buildings. The services of Michel Écochard were secured
through the courtesy of the United Nations, those of Messrs. Riboulet and
Thurnauer through the French Technical Assistance Board. The building program is designed to accommodate some seven thousand students in Faculties of Arts,
Islamic Learning, Sciences, Business and Public Administration, Education and
Law. Housing is planned to be available on campus for one thousand students, in addition
to staff and servant housing and an international hostel. Other services
include an administration building, auditorium, library, museum, mosque,
teachers' club and guest house, student union, infirmary and a number of
athletic facilities. A north-south road forms the principal axis and divides
the campus in two, with general buildings to the east and student housing and
sports facilities to the west.
The classrooms and major University
buildings were designed to be centrally located, and thereby in easy contact with all
campus residents. Staff and service personnel, who have family lives
independent of the University, could thus be able to maintain an autonomous
lifestyle within campus confines. Protection was required against the
sometimes harsh climate to ensure comfort and favorable working conditions.
This necessitated a certain orientation of buildings and shading mechanisms
(vertical and horizontal brisesoleif). Only the laboratories were to be be
air conditioned. Green spaces and footpaths aimed to make circulation and
integration of buildings and areas of campus easy and pleasant. A variety of
gardens, with lawns, shrubs and pools,
also serves to inhibit soil erosion and provide shade.
Unfortunately the original
plans have not been adhered to, but renowned architect and critic Arif Hasan
gives the credit for this 'brilliantly and carefully worked out' complex of
buildings, to Michel Écochard, the French architect who actually designed the
KU master plan and its buildings. The KU buildings, he feels, are the only
buildings in the whole of Pakistan that were designed according to the
principles laid down in the theory of proportions that was developed by Le
Corbusier.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
