MUMBAI (AFP).- World-renowned Indian architect Charles Correa has died at the age of 84 after a short illness, an industry group said Wednesday.

Correa, who designed a number of landmark buildings in India including a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, died in hospital in the western Indian city of Mumbai late on Tuesday.

"Charles Correa was the inspiration behind the infusion of modernity into Indian architecture after 1947. We have lost a trend setter and a very beloved fatherly figure," Prakash Deshmukh, the president of the Indian Institute of Architects, told AFP.

Correa was awarded one of India's highest civilian honours, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2006 and received the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1984.

He designed the modern city of Navi Mumbai as a cleaner, more attractive alternative to the sprawling behemoth of neighbouring Mumbai, as well as the Gandhi monument in Gujarat state.

Correa also left his mark abroad, building the Neuroscience Centre for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and designing the Ismaili Centre in Toronto.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes to Correa, tweeting that his architecture was "widely cherished, reflecting his brilliance, innovative zeal & wonderful aesthetic sense".

Author Amitav Ghosh tweeted that he was "deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Charles Correa, modern India's greatest architect and a dear friend."



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