Situated between the High Court and Secretariat in the Capitol area, the Tower of Shadows was designed by Le Corbusier in 1960 “but remains shadowed by the popularity of Open Hand, the other monument by the architect,” says VN Singh, nodal officer, Le Corbusier Centre.

Singh feels the monument still fights for its due place, “at least where the common man is concerned”.

The monument is popular among architects across the world who see it as an interesting study of the movement of the sun. “Corbusier has used various shading devices in the structure and demonstrated that people can control the sun from four cardinal points of a structure and can play with it even in a torrid country and obtain lower temperatures,” says Singh. Also known as the ‘monument of shadows’, the Tower is a demonstration of Corbusier’s theories of sun control, comprising a series of platforms and containing sun breakers on three sides (except north).

“This concrete structure is a culmination of the in-depth studies of Corbusier on the path of the sun and ways to control its penetration into the built-up space,” architect Surinder Bagha says, pointing out that The Tower of Shadows occupies a square of 15.5m. Bagha feels the monument’s location is the prime reason it is not popular among the masses. “A relatively restricted area, this part of Sector 1 is not very tourist friendly,” says Bagha, who feels that the Tower makes a nice setting to the Legislative Assembly building at the Capitol complex.

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