Indian ArchitectureA History

HARI Vidya Bhavan

May 9th 2010

Architecture is…

“Shilpa-ShaStra”

“The art and science of designing buildings and

other physical structures”

Think of Architecture as…

Works of Engineering

Objects of Art

Symbols of Politics & Culture

4000

Before Common Era (BCE) Common Era (CE)

Indus Valley

Buddhist & Rock Cut

MIDDLE AGES: Dravidian & Vijayanagar

HinduIndo-Islamic & Mughal

Colonial

ModernIndia

Rest of the World

Timeline : India & The World

3000

2000

2000

1000

0

1000

Europe / Africa

USA

✪✪

Rome Est. (753 BCE)

Greeks invaded India

(326 BCE)

Great Wall of China (15 CE)

Great Pyramids of Egypt (2556

BCE)

✪✪ ✪

Manchu Pichu (1450 CE)

✪

Colosseum (80 CE)

✪

✪

Mesa Verde (600-1300)

✪St Augustine (1531) Jamestown (1600)

✪Washington DC (1800)

Tudor (1600s

✪Mohenjo-daro & Harappa

✪Kailashnath

✪

✪TAJ

Hampi

✪Qutub

✪

✪Mayan

Civilization (1000 BCE)

Sanchi

Indus Valley Civilization

7,000 BCE – 1,500 BCE

• Houses were made of bricks & timber

• Houses had rooms around and open patio

• Towns were on a grid pattern with drainage & sewage systems

• Public buildings - Citadel, Great Bath, Granaries

Main cities were Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Kalibangan

First urban city around 2000 BCE

Buddhist &Rock-Cut

Architecture 1,500 BCE – 200 CE

• Cave Architecture, Rock-cut Architecture, Stupas & Pagodas

• Building as a massive sculpture

• Interior are inferior compared to majestic exteriors

• Post and Beam construction

Elevation

Plan

Karle Caves

Buddhist Architecture: Sanchi Complex

• Commissioned by Ashoka the Great

• Religious significance to the Buddhist

• Circular shapes for “Pradakshana”

• Built with Stone Masonry

Sanchi complex was built in 3 BCE:

• Stupas “Domes of HEAVEN”• Monastaries • Temples

Rock-Cut Architecture

Carved out of a Cliff: Kailashnath Temple, Ellora – 6 CE

Middle Ages:Dravidian

200 CE-1526CE

• Principle style reflected in pyramid shaped temples, intricate stone carving

• Layout based on Vastu Shastra, the Hindu system of design, based on directional alignment

• Carvings from religious text- Vedas, Ramayana and Mahabharata

Brahadeshwara Temple, Tanjore1000 CE

Vimanam over the Inner Sanctum

Mantapam

Pillared Halls

Outer Wall

Gopuram, Entrance

Spire

Dravidian Temples

Water tank

Virupakha Temple, Hampi

Hampi, Karnataka

Three Types of Architecture:• Military• Religious• Civic Architecture

Elephant Stables Temple

Lotus Mahal

Middle Ages: Vijayanagar, 1000 CE

Indo-Islamic &Mughal Architecture

1,100-1,800 CE

• Influences: Persian & Hindu

• Symmetry: Perfect radial & bilateral

•Arches: Extensive use of pointed arches

•Decoration: Geometric, use of Calligraphy

•Materials: Red sandstone with marble inlays or precious stones

•Gardens: Pools, canals, flower beds were geometric & symmetrical

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh

Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Delhi

Lahore, Dhaka

Humayun’s Tomb

Indo-Islamic: Qutub Minar

First major Islamic structure in India

Ascent of the Crescent!

INDO-ISLAMIC: Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur

Built in 1659 CE by Sultan Mohammed, it is one of the

largest dome structure in the world

Designers invented a construction method of “intersecting arches” to

create vast interior space

Has a Whispering Gallery

Fatehpur Sikri – “Victory City”, 1571-1585

Mughal Architecture

Calligraphy

“Pietra Durra” – Inlay Work

Latticework

Mughal Architecture: Key Features

“Teardrop on the cheek of eternity” -Tagore

Taj Mahal

Garden

Taj Mahal: Ode to Love

Colonial

From 1,800 – 1947 CE

• Indo-Saracenic – British Architectural style combining Indo-Islamic, Italian neo-classic, Gothic Architecture

•Use of sandstone, concrete, plaster, glass

•Many, many architectural details – Arches, overhangs, pavilions, vaulted roofs, cupolas, spires, chattris, jalis

• “GRAND SCALE”

Municipal buildings, Winter Capitals, Courthouses, Railway Stations, Colleges, Museums,

Town halls, Townships

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh

Colonial Architecture: Lutyen’s New Delhi

India Gate

Supreme Court

Rashtrapati Bhavan

Cannaught Place

Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai (1887 CE)

Colonial Architecture: Gothic Influences

Places to see great architecture in India

North & Middle

• Agra & Fatehpur Sikri (Mughal)• Chandigarh (Modern)• Khajuraho (Middle Age)• New Delhi (Mughal, Colonial, Modern)• Simla (Colonial)• Srinagar (Mughal)

West

• Ahmadabad (Modern)• Ajanta & Ellora (Rock – Cut)• Goa (Portugese)• Jaipur (Indo-Islamic, Hindu)• Mumbai (Art Deco, Colonial)• Udaipur & Jaiselmer (Indo-Islamic,

Hindu)

East & Northeast

• Nalanda (Buddhist)• Sanchi (Buddhist)• Calcutta (Mughal, Colonial)

South

• Bangalore (Colonial)• Hampi (Vijayanagar) • Hyderabad (Indo-Islamic)• Kanchipuram (Dravidian)• Madurai (Dravidian)• Pondicherry (French)• Sun Temples, Konarak (Dravidian)• Tanjore (Dravidian)• Trivandrum (Dravidian)

What have we learned?