# Eulie Chowdhury > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Eulie_Chowdhury > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Eulie_Chowdhury.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eulie_Chowdhury > Source revision: 1332758485 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Indian architect (1923–1995)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}} {{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}} {{Infobox person |name = Eulie Chowdhury |image = Urmila Eulie Chowdhury (architect).jpg |image_size = 175 |caption = |birth_name = Urmila Eulie Chowdhury |birth_date = {{birth date|1923|10|4|df=y}}[https://nbtindia.gov.in/writereaddata/freebooks/pdf/Women%20Scientists%20in%20India.pdf Women Scientists in India] |birth_place = [Shahjehanpur](/source/Shahjehanpur), [Uttar Pradesh](/source/Uttar_Pradesh), [India](/source/India) |death_date = {{death date and age|1995|9|20|1923|10|4|df=y}} |death_place = [Chandigarh](/source/Chandigarh), India |occupation = Architect, landscape architect, designer, teacher, and writer }} '''Urmila Eulie Chowdhury''' (4 October 1923 – 20 September 1995) was an [Indian architect](/source/List_of_Indian_architects) who worked during the mid-to-late 20th century. She worked in the fields of general architecture, landscape architecture and design, and was also a teacher and writer. She was a pioneer woman architect working in India. Some sources state that she was also the first female architect in Asia.{{cite book|title=International Archive of Women in Architecture Newsletter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3NpOAAAAYAAJ|year=1989|publisher=International Archive of Women in Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University}}{{Cite web|url=https://undiaunaarquitecta.wordpress.com/2015/06/08/urmila-eulie-chowdhury-1923/|title=Urmila Eulie Chowdhury 1923–1995|access-date=15 October 2015|date=8 June 2015|language=Spanish|publisher= Un Día / Una Arquitecta}} After her education she worked in close collaboration with [Le Corbusier](/source/Le_Corbusier) in the planning design and construction of the city of [Chandigarh](/source/Chandigarh). Chowdhury, along with [Pierre Jeanneret](/source/Pierre_Jeanneret), is also credited for the creation of the now-iconic [Chandigarh chair](/source/Chandigarh_chair), for which the [Victoria & Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_%26_Albert_Museum) wrote: "its fascinating origin story is often untold, and its designer, Eulie Chowdury, usually remains uncredited".https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-chandigarh-chai ==Early life and family== Chowdhury was born in [Shahjehanpur](/source/Shahjehanpur) in [Uttar Pradesh](/source/Uttar_Pradesh) in 1923. She earned a Cambridge School Certificate from [Kobe, Japan](/source/Kobe%2C_Japan), studied architecture at the [University of Sydney](/source/University_of_Sydney), and at the Conservatory of Music of the Julian Ashborn School of Art, [Sydney](/source/Sydney), and earned a degree in Ceramics in [Englewood, New Jersey](/source/Englewood%2C_New_Jersey).{{Cite web|title = The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Opinions|url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090901/edit.htm#5|website = www.tribuneindia.com|access-date = 15 October 2015}} Her father was a diplomat, so she grew up traveling around the world. She was married to Jugal Kishore Chowdhary, who worked as a consulting architect with the Government of [Punjab](/source/Punjab%2C_India). ==Career== She is among a small group of women architects who were working in Asia during her career. While some sources credit her as the first woman architect in Asia, others like [Aida-Cruz Del Rosario](/source/Aida_Cruz) were working at similar dates,[http://www.philstar.com/fashion-and-beauty/2012-07-18/828789/full-life-90 Full of life at 90] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311203134/http://www.philstar.com/fashion-and-beauty/2012-07-18/828789/full-life-90 |date=11 March 2016 }}, PhilStar, 18 July 2012, Retrieved 19 November 2015 and women like [Perin Jamsetjee Mistri](/source/Perin_Jamsetjee_Mistri) and [Dora Gad](/source/Dora_Gad) preceded her by a decade or more. After working for a short time in United States, she returned to India in 1951 and became a member of a team headed by [Le Corbusier](/source/Le_Corbusier) for planning the design and construction of Chandigarh during 1951–63 and 1968–70. She was the only connection between Le Corbusier, [Pierre Jeanneret](/source/Pierre_Jeanneret), and the Indian architects and administrators.{{Cite web |last=Gandhi |first=Deepika |last2= |last3= |first3= |date=20 September 2019 |title=Eulie Chowdhury's architecture reflected her multicultural outlook {{!}} Chandigarh News – Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/eulie-chowdhurys-architecture-reflected-her-multicultural-outlook/articleshow/71216009.cms |access-date=18 March 2022 |website=The Times of India |language=en}} Her assignments included the Home Science College, the Women's Polytechnic and many residential complexes of the ministers. Her third assignment, from 1971 to 1976, was as the Chief Architect, who she worked for the second stage of Chandigarh city planning."Chowdhury, Eulie (1923–)." ''Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages'', edited by Anne Commire and Deborah Klezmer, vol. 1, Yorkin Publications, 2007, pp. 381–382. thumb|Government Home Science College, Sector 10, Chandigarh thumb|Government Home Science College, Sector 10, Chandigarh thumb|Urmila Eulie Chowdhury with Pierre Jeanneret and other colleagues of Chandigarh Capital Project. (1960 photo) Chowdhury's assignment during the period 1963–65 was as the Director of the School of Architecture of Delhi. During this period she also authored a book of memories of Le Corbusier titled ''Those Were The Days''. In 1970, she was Chief State Architect of [Haryana](/source/Haryana) and from 1976 to 1981 the Chief State Architect of the State of Punjab.{{cite web |date=2014 |title=Chowdhury, Eulie (born 1923), architect, teacher, designer |url=http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T017422 |access-date=20 November 2015 |publisher=Oxford Index}} Chowdhury's work, like that of the architects she worked with, was deeply impacted by the climate and the limited footprint. Chowdhury also designed furniture and adapted Jeanneret's furniture to a smaller scale. This was possibly inspired by her own petite stature. ==Later life== She retired from public service in 1981 and then worked on her own in private practice in Chandigarh. She was involved with many publications, which included the translation of [Le Corbusier](/source/Le_Corbusier)'s book, ''Three Human Establishments'', from [French](/source/French_language) to [English](/source/English_language), which became an official publication of the Punjab government.{{sfn|Saran|2013|p=64}}{{sfn|Corbusier|Cohen|2007|p=332}} She also wrote articles for magazines, including ''Progressive Architecture'', ''Architectural Design'' and ''[Casabella](/source/Casabella)''. In 1983, she established the Alliance Française de Chandigarh. She wrote articles in the Saturday Plus supplement of ''[The Tribune](/source/The_Tribune_(Chandigarh))'' and wrote a column titled ''Sinners and Winners''. She advocated for [euthanasia](/source/euthanasia).{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} ==Death and legacy== She died on 20 September 1995 in [Chandigarh](/source/Chandigarh), India.{{Cite web|url=http://www.roopinder.com/house-that-was-eulies-home/|title=House that was Eulie's home|date=1 September 2009|access-date=15 October 2015|publisher=Roopinder Singh journalist, author & photographer}} Chowdhury was a pioneer woman in Indian architecture. thumb|Eulie Chowdhury. ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==Bibliography== *{{cite book|last1=Corbusier|first1=Le|last2=Cohen|first2=Jean-Louis|title=Toward an Architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4tHX_xHEfC0C&pg=PA332|year=2007|publisher=Getty Publications|location=Los Angeles, California|isbn=978-0-89236-822-8}} *{{cite book|last=Saran|first=Gursaran Singh|title=The Wheel Eternal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qMhwx6BTwQcC&pg=PA64|year=2013|publisher=Dorrance Publishing|location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-1-4349-6900-2}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Eulie}} Category:1923 births Category:1995 deaths Category:Indian women architects Category:20th-century Indian architects Category:University of Sydney alumni Category:People from Shahjahanpur Category:20th-century Indian women artists Category:Women artists from Uttar Pradesh Category:Businesspeople from Uttar Pradesh Category:Businesswomen from Uttar Pradesh Category:20th-century Indian businesswomen Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople Category:Furniture designers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eulie Chowdhury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eulie_Chowdhury) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eulie_Chowdhury?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.