2. Features of the
Confluence of Indian and
Persian styles
Mughal Design Terms :
The Indo-Persian style
flourished in the Mughal
period, and culminated
in the Taj Mahal
3. Shah Jahan was succeeded by his puritanical son,
Aurangzeb, who had no soft spot for art and architecture.
As a result, Mughal architecture suffered, with all artisans
migrating to work under the patronage of local rulers.
With no major architectural projects undertaken, the
Mughal style rapidly declined.
This decline was evident in buildings such as Bibi Ka
Maqbara, built by Azam Shah, son of Aurangzeb.
The last architectural marvel produced during this
waning period of Mughal rule was Safdarjung's Tomb,
mausoleum to the second Nawab of Awadh.
4. Under colonial rule, architecture became an emblem of
power, designed to endorse the patron.
Numerous outsiders invaded India and created
architectural styles reflective of their ancestral and
adopted homes.
The European colonizers created architecture that
symbolized their mission of conquest, dedicated to the
state or religion.
The British, French, Dutch and the Portuguese were the
main powers that colonized India.
5. The British arrived in 1615 by overthrowing the
Mughal empire.
Britain reigned India for over three hundred years
and their legacy still remains through building and
infrastructure that populate their former colonies.
The major cities colonized during this period were
Madras, Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi, Agra, Bankipore,
Nagpur, Bhopal and Hyderabad.
6. Architecture during British India
Includes Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture (also
known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-
Mughal); and colonial era Neoclassical architecture
in India.
7. As traders- mundane and functional nature of early
architecture without much response to the Indian
context.
Shift in attitude as the crown takes over in 1858,
expressions of identity, power and superiority, building
for permanence- social and philosophical disparities
between the ruler and the masses- imposition of life style
and behavior of self on the others.
8. Introduction of new institutions (railway stations, law
courts, colleges, hospitals, post offices, etc.)
Emergence of a new urbanity, modernizing forces,
industrial and structural functionalism, urban inserts and
a new sense of urban design, overlaying of the new on the
old, attitude to planning,
Extension of cities and development of suburbs, hill
stations, cantonments
New urbanity in princely states
The cities of colonial origin: Bombay, Calcutta, Madras-
expression of culmination
New Delhi, the imperial city- impact of modernist urban
design ideology
9. Initial role of military engineers, followed by the
setting up of Public Works Department (1862)
Introduction of new building practices affecting rural
as well as urban scales
Superimposition, modification and replacement of
existing building practices, introduction of new
materials and building techniques with their impact
on architectural form.
10. Politico-cultural meaning through built environment
Purposeful stylistic changes in architecture-from
neoclassical to Indo-Sarcenic and Art Deco to
modern
Influence of arts and crafts movement
Important architects and their contributions
The emergence of architectural profession, debates
on arch.
11. Development of the bungalow typology, the most
remarkable departure with its visible impact to date
and the resultant suburban expression
Evolvement of the type from a simple dwelling to an
elaborate mansion
Reflection of sociocultural patterns, regional
expression all over the country.
12. In addition to major urban design schemes, it was the
civil lines and the cantonments which remain today a
major evidence of 19th century British presence, and
which in turn have influenced much middle-class housing
development in modern India.
This stems from their perception as the colonies of the
elite. The cantonments and civil lines both were generally
laid out as gridiron planned communities
They had central thoroughfares (the famous ‘Mall
Roads’), with tree-lined streets, regularly divided building
plots and bungalows as the main housing type.
Churches and cemeteries, clubs, race and golf courses,
and other trappings of an easy civil life followed.
13. The Cantonment was a British military settlement which was to
spread out all over India wherever the British were present in sizable
numbers.
Originally conceived as a military base for British troops, the
cantonment also began to house civilians who were associated with
servicing the military, and developed into a full-fledged mini-city of
its own.
The second half of the 19th century saw this transformation
complete.
Bangalore cantonment had, for example, a population of 100,000 by
the early 20th century and consisted of public offices, churches,
parks, shops and schools.
It was an entity distinct from the old city – traffic between the two
had to stop at a toll-gate and pay entry tax. The cantonment thus
developed into a European town in India, whose main house type
was the bungalow.
14. The bungalow’s design evolved as a type over a
hundred years.
While the actual model for a bungalow remains
controversial, it appears to have dual origins: the
detached rural Bengal house sitting in its compound
(from the word root bangla – from Bengal), and the
British suburban villa.
It was a fusion of these two types that led to a
building form which would later become an enduring
symbol of the Raj.
15. The first bungalows inhabited by the East India
Company agents were initially the same as the kutcha
local ones, but gradually outstripped their origins to
become an accurate reflection of hierarchy amongst the
English community.
The typical residential bungalow for the wealthy, for
example, was set back from the road by a walled
compound. The amount of land enclosed was a symbol
of status.
For a senior officer a ratio
of 15:1, garden to built
form, was appropriate,
while for a beginning rank
it could even be 1:1.
In this sense the British
showed a hierarchical
system no less developed
than the complex caste
system which they
ascribed to India.
16. The early bungalows had long, low classical lines and
detailing.
The Gothic revival in England brought about a
corresponding change in bungalow design – spawning
buildings with pitched roofs and richly carpentered
details including such features as the ‘monkey tops’ of
Bangalore.
The Classical bungalow with its Doric, and later, in New
Delhi for instance, Tuscan orders became a symbol not
only of an European heritage but also of the military and
political might of Britain.
That the bungalow continues to evoke associations of
wealth and power is evident from its continued relevance
as a building type in India today.
17. The British followed various architectural styles – Gothic,
Imperial, Christian, English Renaissance and Victorian
being the essentials.
Mumbai-
A forgotten port because of its weather, was renovated after
the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857.
The town hall, built from 1820 to 1835 by Colonel Thomas
Cowper and St Thomas’ Cathedral were already there, but
Governor Sir Bartle Frere’s aim was to build a city out of
fragments.
The old town walls were broken down, and the Gateway of
India (through which the last British troops left) was built.
22. Calcutta –bordered by water and division of Indian
in the north.
The Victoria Memorial in Calcutta, is the most
effective symbolism of British Empire, built as a
monument in tribute to Queen Victoria’s reign
23.
24.
25. Division of British in the
south
An Englishwoman noted in
1750 -the banks of the river
are as one may say
absolutely studded with
elegant mansions called here
as at Madras, garden
houses.” Esplanade-row is
fronts the fort with lined
palaces.
St Andrews Kirk
26. Walled squared building adjacent to the beach.
Surrounding the fort was White Town settlement of
British and Indian area Black Town later called
Georgetown.
Black Town comprises of streets that are numerous,
irregular and of various dimensions. The rooms
opening into a courtyard in the centre.
Garden houses were originally used as weekend
houses for recreational use by the upper class British.
It became a full-time dwelling, deserting the fort in
the 19th Century.
27.
28. More evident in later half of 19th century
Lasted for around 30 years.
29. By the early 19th century, the British had made
themselves the virtual masters of the Indian
Subcontinent.
In 1803, their control was further strengthened with the
defeat of the Marathas under Mahadaji Scindia.
They legitimized their rule by taking the then weak
Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II under their protection,
and ruling through him.
However, their power was yet again challenged when in
1857, the Indian soldiers in their employ, together with
rebellious princes lashed out in open revolt (which came
to be known as the Revolt of 1857).
However, this uprising was doomed from the start, and
was crushed by the British with ferocity, marking the end
of the Mughal Empire.
30. Soon after, they embarked on deliberate vandalism,
by demolishing significant amount of buildings in
the Red Fort (the residence of the recently extinct
Mughal Empire) and replacing them with towering
and unimpressive barracks.
It was the first attempt towards erasing the
architectural legacy of the Mughals.
31. However, to usher in a new era, the British 'Raj', a new
architectural tradition had to be founded.
Hence they contemplated a marriage between the existing
styles of India with imported styles from the West such as
Gothic (with its sub styles of French Gothic, Venetian-Moorish
etc.), Neoclassical and Art-Deco, Gothic even more so because
their design philosophy was inclined towards grand scale (as is
evidenced by buildings such as the Taj hotel). By doing this
they kept elements of British and European architecture, while
adding Indian characteristics; this, coupled with the British
allowing some regional Indian princes to stay in power, made
their presence more 'palatable' for the Indians.
The British tried to encapsulate South Asia's past within their
own buildings and so represent Britain’s Raj as legitimate,
while at the same time constructing a modern network of
railways, colleges, and law courts.
32. Indo-Saracenic designs were introduced by British imperialist
colonizers, promoting their own sense of “rightful self-glorification”,
which came to appeal to the aesthetic sensibilities of continental
Europeans and Americans, whose architects came to astutely
incorporate telling indigenous "Asian Exoticism" elements, whilst
implementing their own engineering innovations supporting such
elaborate construction, both in India and abroad, evidence for which
can be found to this day in public, private and government owned
buildings.
Public and Government buildings were often rendered on an
intentionally grand scale, reflecting and promoting a notion of an
unassailable and invincible British Empire.
Again, structures of this design sort, particularly those built in India
and England, were built in conformance to advanced British structural
engineering standards of the 1800s, which came to include
infrastructures composed of iron, steel and poured concrete (the
innovation of reinforced cement and pre-cast cement elements, set with
iron and/or steel rods, developed much later); the same can be said for
like structures built elsewhere, making use of the same design
33. Indo-Saracenic designs were introduced by British
imperialist colonizers, promoting their own sense of
“rightful self-glorification”, which came to appeal to the
aesthetic sensibilities of continental Europeans and
Americans, whose architects came to astutely incorporate
telling indigenous "Asian Exoticism" elements, whilst
implementing their own engineering innovations
supporting such elaborate construction, both in India and
abroad, evidence for which can be found to this day in
public, private and government owned buildings.
Public and Government buildings were often rendered on
an intentionally grand scale, reflecting and promoting a
notion of an unassailable and invincible British Empire.
34. Typically, in India, villages, towns and cites of some means
would lavish significant sums on construction of such
"indigenous ethnic architecture" when plans were drawn up
for construction of the local railway stations, museums and art
galleries.
The cost involved in the construction of buildings of this style
was high, including all their inherent customization, ornament
and minutia decoration, the artisans' ingenuous skills (stone
and wood carving, as well as the exquisite lapidary/inlaid
work) and usual accessibility to requisite raw materials, hence
the style was executed only on buildings of a grand scale.
However the occasional residential structure of this sort, (its
being built in part or whole with Indo-Saracenic design
elements/motifs) did appear quite often..
35. Structures built in Indo-Saracenic style in were
predominately grand public edifices, such as clock
towers and courthouses.
Likewise, civic as well as municipal and
governmental colleges along with town halls counted
this style among its top-ranked and most-prized
structures to this day.
36. city made by the British.
In 1911 the King Emperor George V passed an order declaring
that the capital would be moved from Calcutta to Delhi.
The city was planned systematically, combining 20th century
architecture with that of two centuries before.
Sir Edward Lutyens was responsible for the overall plan of
Delhi, and his tour de forte is Rajpath, approached by a 3.2km
long road flanked by the imposing buildings of the two
Secretariats, built by Herbert Baker.
The Rashtrapati Bhawan, built of brown stone, is truly a
befitting home for the President of the second largest
democracy in the world.
Rest of Delhi was designed by an unknown Englishman called
Robert Tor Tussell, who built Connaught Place, Eastern and
Western Courts, Flagstaff House (where Jawaharlal Nehru
lived later) and the thousands of public buildings, post offices,
officer’s bungalows and public buildings.
37. Before the new imperial capital New Delhi was
established in 1911, the Old Delhi Railway Station
served the Agra-Delhi railways, the line cut through
what is today called Lutyens' Delhi.
The line was eventually shifted to make way for the
new capital and the New Delhi Railway Station was
built near Ajmeri Gate in 1926
38. Lutyens laid out the central administrative area of the city. At the
heart of the city was the impressive Rashtrapati Bhawan, formerly
known as Viceroy's House, located on the top of Raisina Hill.
The Rajpath, also known as King's Way, connects India Gate to
Rashtrapati Bhawan, while Janpath, which crosses it at a right
angle, connects South end road (renamed as Rajesh Pilot marg)
with Connaught Place.
The Secretariat Building, which house various ministries of the
Government of India including Prime Minister's Office are beside
the Rashtrapati Bhawan and were designed by Herbert Baker.
Also designed by Baker was the Parliament House, located on the
Sansad Marg, running parallel with the Rajpath. Other architects
designed other buildings such as the Anglican and Catholic
cathedrals.
39. New Delhi, named after the leading
British architect Edwin Lutyens
(1869–1944), who was responsible
for much of the architectural design
and building when India was part of
the British Empire in the 1920s and
1930s.
This also includes the Lutyens
Bungalow Zone (LBZ). View of Rashtrapati Bhavan
with the Jaipur Column in
the foreground, in Lutyens'
Delhi.
40.
41.
42.
43. St Martin’s Garrison Church is the final British piece of
architecture, one of the most important ones because it
represents the end of a search for an definitive style over
200 years.
Looming out of the ground and made of three and a half
million red bricks, the Church is a huge monolith with a
high square tower and deeply sunken window ledges
reminiscent of Dutch and German architecture.
With India’s independence in 1947, British architecture
died a gradual death, especially after the new city of
Chandigarh was completed by Le Corbusier and his
English colleagues.
44. The French colonized a fishing village (Pondicherry) in Tamil
Nadu and transformed it into a flourishing port-town.
The town was built on the French grid pattern and features
neat sectors and perpendicular streets and divided into two
sectors, French Quarter (Ville Blanche) and the Indian quarter
(Ville Noire).
French styled villas were styled with long compounds and
stately walls, lined houses with verandas, large French doors
and grills.
Infrastructure such as banks, police station and Pondicherry
International Port still hold the French presence.
French expanded their empire by colonizing coastal towns,
Yanam in Andhra Pradesh, Karaikal in Tamil Nadu and Mahe
in Kerala with a French atmosphere of quiet towns around
beaches.
45. The Dutch entered India with the only interests of Trade in the early
17th Century.
During their 200 years in India, they colonized Surat, Bharuch,
Venrula, Ahmedabad, Malabar Coast, Kochi and Sadras.[44]
Surat – a Dutch factory in 1630’s & Bharuch: Trading Post of the
Dutch East India Company had a Dutch cemetery. Venrula: a
warehouse was built for 3000 Guilders by Leendart Janszoons and a
castle for the protection of the Dutch. Ahmedabad: The Dutch
cemetery lies on the bank of Kankaria lake.
It holds a mix of Indian and European styled graves, with domed
tombs, pyramids, walled and plain grave stones. Malabar Coast
Kochi: The Dutch Palace (Mattancherry Palace) –
The palace was originally built by the Portuguese, it fell into the
hands of the Dutch when the Portuguese lost control of Kochi. Dutch
cemetery – The cemetery runs parallel to the beach and is the oldest
European cemetery in India. It holds 104 tombs that visually narrate
the Dutch influence in Architecture during the era.
46. David Hall – which was the residence of the famous Dutch
Commander and Governor of Kochi, Adriaan van Reed lot
Drakestein was built in 1695. The hall has been restored as a cultural
centre and art café for young, visual and performing artists.
Bastion bungalow – This Dutch styled building near the Fort Kochi
beach was built to protect the harbor.
Thakur House – the Dutch built this bungalow overlooking the sea as
a club.
Sadras – 17 km (11 mi) from the rock cut temples of Mamallapuram
is another Dutch settlement.
Pullicat – Pullicat lake 55 km north of Madras is a million years old
and the second largest lagoon in India. It was the most important
trading post of the Dutch. They built two cemeteries. One was ruined
due to negligence and at the entrance is flanked by stone pillars,
having 76 tombs. Images of skeletons are carved onto the
gravestones, symbolizing life and death
47. The Portuguese arrived as merchants in the 1498 and were more driven by a
Catholic missionary zeal than gaining powers in India. The Portuguese
gained a foothold in Goa and ruled for 400 years.
Portuguese dominance in Goa still remains evident. Colonizers' missionary
spirit built many magnificent cathedrals, churches, basilicas and seminaries.
The Basilica of Bom Jesus (Good Jesus), Old Goa, former capital during the
Portuguese rule. The three storied Renaissance styled church was built of
plaster and laterite in 1605, and holds the mortal remains of St. Francis
Xavier. The interior is built in a Mosaic-Corinthian style and adorned with
wood and gold leaf. The walls embrace old painting of saints as the floor is
laid with pure white marble.
The Portuguese - Catholic houses faced the street with unique large
ornamental windows opening onto verendahs. Bold colours were painted on
houses constructing distinct identity, allowing the sailors to recognize their
houses from sea. The covered porches and verandas were designed for
socializing contrary to the Hindu styled housing. Front doors were lined with
columns, and railings were popular in embellishmen.
48. • The interior of Goan-Portuguese houses consisted of
elaborate patterns created with tiles imported from
Europe and a false ceiling installed of wood. The walls
are painted with bright colours contrasting to the earthy
coloured furniture.
• The walls were made out of mud or laterite stone and
coloured with vegetable and natural dyes. Gateposts and
compound walls were craved with great detail.
• Indian Architecture continued to flourish as they took
influence from the colonies. Indian Architecture further
shaped as they combined the colonial influences with
traditional Architecture.