indian architecture
TRANSCRIPT
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?