Colonial Architecture

in India
The colonial architecture spanning about 150 to 200 years, representing an important
phase in the modernization of the country, modification of a stark medieval life style got
to ultimately become a democratic one at the dawn of Independence in 1947.

The modern Indian life style, the physical environments and the very urbanity
experienced today cannot be understood without recognizing the happenings of this
historical period. Imposed, emulative and resisted changes as manifested in the physicality
of living environments have far reaching implications, as can be seen from the study of the
Indian case.

The penetration of colonial ideas/policies and their impact on local institutions, ways of
life and building processes created situations of confrontation between the foreign and
indigenous values and ultimately between tradition and modernity.
Colonialism:

the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country,
occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Colonization (or colonisation) is a process by which a central system of power dominates

the surrounding land and its components. The term is derived from the Latin word colere,
which means "to inhabit".

Colonialism in India: Pre 1857

Portuguese (1505–1961)
Dutch (1605 to 1825)
British (1612-1947)
French (1759–1954)
Functional
Trade requirements
Post 1857
Identity – Power & Superiority
Social disparity
Building for performance
Portuguese Colonial Architecture:
Dutch Colonial Architecture:
New Rule New Institutions New logic to urban Design New Logic to Building

Railway stations Urban Inserts Military engineers

Engines of growth Nai Sadak MES
Town Halls and clock
Courts tower PWD
A civilized world 1862
Hill Stations
Colleges Masoorie Building laws
Modern education as a Shimla 1855 plague
base for the society
Cantonments ASI
Hospitals 1861 by Sir
Quality of life Urban Extensions Alexander
Civil Lines Cunningham
Post Offices
Bureaucracy
New Life Style: • Build Infrastructure
New behavioural pattern
• Railways
Colonial life style of the rich • Roads
New typologies
• Social
Clubs
Gymkhana
Hotels
Parks and Gardens
Bungalows
Modes of trades:

• Type 1: French
– Basic Trade Portuguese
– Civilizing the natives Dutch

• Type 2
– Basic trade
– Civilizing the natives
British
– PRODUCTION
• Capital Crops
• Semi Processed Goods
British Colonial Architecture:

Pre 1857:
Introverted trading enclaves called “factories”

Factories Fort Towns/colonies

Post 1857:
Magnificence of Raj:

Architecture
Introverted Spectacle of
of the
Colonies Power
Supreme
The Raj Bhavan (Governor's house), Kolkata, India.
Architect: Charles Wyatt (1758-1819)

• The design of Government House, Calcutta, is an adaptation of the plan of Kedleston

Hall in Derbyshire which was built for Lord Scarsdale, the great-great-grandfather of Lord
Curzon of Kedleston, in the years1759-1770 by the renowned architect Robert Adam.

• The scheme of a great central pile with curving corridors radiating from its four angles to
detached wings, each constituting a house in itself, was admirably adapted to a climate
where every breath of air from whatever quarter must be seized.

• Government House resembles Kedleston Hall in the broad external Features of shape,
design and orientation, in the extreme dimensions from East to West, in the
concentration of the main State rooms in the middle pile, in the placing there of a great
marble hall supported by columns and in the superimposition of a dome above the
Southern façade, but the two houses differ radically both in material and arrangement
Kedleston is built mainly of a grey or yellowish sandstone and only partly of brick while
Government House is built entirely of brick covered over with white plaster which is
color-washed every year.
RAJ BHAVAN

KEDLESTON HALL
• . They differ also in completeness of construction, only two of the projecting wings
having been finished at Kedleston, whereas Government House has a semi-circular
projecting portico and colonnade on the South front which Kedleston lacks.

• Another point of dissimilarity is that the curved corridors at Government House are two
story’s high and so their roof line is level with that of the wings and of the main
building, whereas at Kedleston the corridors are only one storey high so that the wings
stand up higher than the curving corridors which join them to the central pile.
Government House in addition has spacious verandahs on the Southern face which are
absent and unnecessary at Kedleston.

• In the interior, Government House differs from Kedleston in that above the Marble Hall
at Government House is a Ball Room, whereas at Kedleston the Marble Hall is carried
right up to the roof and is lit by skylights. Also there is a grand central internal staircase
at Kedleston whereas at Government House there are four comparatively small
staircases at the four angles of the central pile which are very much better suited for
the arrangements which have to be made for the coming and going of public entrée
and private entrée guests at large functions.
RAJ BHAVAN

KEDLESTON HALL
BROAD
CORNICE Front Gable
Roof

Front Façade wi
columns and cor
pilasters
Symmetrically
placed windows
IONIC
COLUMN
Elliptical
fanlight

Greek Rev

Classical
 Domes
Curved Lines

Curved
Arches
Victoria terminus, Mumbai

Part of Britain’s legacy in Mumbai, Victoria Terminus was a ten-year construction project
completed in 1888 that gave the British Empire’s second-largest city a grand station on an
expanding network of railways that reached out to distant corners of the Raj.
The crowning point of the whole
building is the central dome,
carrying at its apex, a colossal 16'
6“ high figure of a lady pointing a
flaming torch upwards in her right
hand a spoked wheel low in the
left hand symbolizing "Progress".

This dome is the first octagonal

ribbed masonry dome that was
adapted to an Italian Gothic
Revival style building and is the first
on any public building in Mumbai. It is
the only stone dome of its kind on any
station in the world.
Architecturally it is Italian Gothic in style. This building, which has received worldwide
appreciation because of its series of well-proportioned and ornamental arches, its spires and
domes and, above all, its fabulous richness of figurative and animal sculpture, has the dignity
of a cathedral.

The ornamentation of the west facing main facade has numerous bas-reliefs and series of
well-proportioned and delicately ornamented runs of arches and friezes.

There are a large number of other embellishments in statuary, which the architect has
introduced in decorating the large frontage. These include gargoyles, allegorical grotesques
carrying standards and battle-axes etc, figures of Indian flora and fauna and relief busts
representing the different castes and communities of India.

On the facade, are also in prominent position, bas-reliefs of the ten directors of the old Great
Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) company. The entrance gates to CST carry two columns,
which are crowned, one with a lion (representing the United Kingdom) and the other with a
tiger (representing India) and there are tympana portraying peacocks. All of these are
sculpted in Porbandar limestone.
Government Museum, Bangalore

Designed by Colonel Richard Heiram Sankey, the Government Museum in Bangalore is

one of the oldest museums in India. It is divided into 18 galleries, which has sections
displaying various archaeological and geological objects. The museum stores things like
old jewellery, terracotta, paintings and coins from the time periods of the kingdoms and
their supremacy.

Built in 1876, The Archaeological Museum, is located within the Cubbon park premises
today. However, the museum was first established at the Cantonment’s jail building and
functioned there until 1878. The museum houses antiquities of Mohenjo-Daro period
and even ancient coins and stone inscriptions which are said to be 5,000 years old.

It was majorly designed by Colonel Richard Heiram Sankey an engineer of Ireland of East
India Company. Earlier only a single wing was designed for the museum but in later years
another wings were attached to the existing building block and were open for public in
the year 1886. The architecture of building is quite magnificent and represents the English
style of Architecture. The exteriors designed with beautiful stone columns and grand in its
size, this museum has fairly impressive features for the spectators. The grand Corinthian
columns in the interiors supporting this double storied structure with Neo-classical design
of architecture. The two floor museum is further divided into 18 different galleries for
display.
Mayo hall, Bangalore
The Mayo Hall is situated on M.G. Road and its backyard touches Field Marshall Cariappa
Road. The Mayo Hall in Bangalore is a remarkable brick and mortar structure, built in
memory of the then fourth Viceroy of India(1872), Lord Mayo. When he was on an official
visit to Andaman Islands in 1872, a convict there assassinated him.

Although the construction began in the year 1875, it could be completed only in 1883. The
Bangalore Municipal Authority started functioning from here in 1883. The Mayo Hall
according to a contemporary gazetteer, ‘has produced a profound impression all over the
country” and this led to the construction of a number of memorial institutions like the Mayo
Hospital and the Mayo School of Arts at Lahore.
The Mayo Hall is a two-storeyed building made of brick and mortar, painted red with white
highlights. It features ornamentation that draws from a vocabulary of decorative and
constructive elements which emphasise both the horizontality and verticality of the structure.
The building displays a remarkable symmetry. The main façade, facing west, is divided into three
bays. Behind the façade are two additional layers which form two half-bays on either side; when
viewed from the elevation these become the two end bays of the Mayo Hall.

The central bay takes prominence and provides the building its most distinguishing features: a
Classical entablature supported by Corinthian columns on the upper level, built onto the façade,
and a one-storey portico below it.

The columns which support the entablature are arranged in what seem to be blocks of four on
each side, although only the front columns are complete with flutes— the other two are
projections from the façade.

All of the openings on the upper level feature pediments; they alternate between curved and
pointed, marking the transitions between the bays along the surface of the building. each
opening is heavily ornamented, featuring a combination of geometric and floral motifs.
In contrast, the openings on the ground floor are noticeably simpler: the window tops are flat,
and the frames feature minimal ornamentation.

The North and South faces of Mayo Hall, with one window on each level, also reflect this
contrast; they are differentiated from the East and West faces, however, with the doubled length
of the openings.
Gordon house, Mysore:
This was once the place where the Mysore
Representative Assembly held some of its
sittings in 1881. Foundation for the DC
office complex was laid on June 20, 1887,
and was formally opened in 1895.

It has an octagonal dome, with an unusual

double-bulb final resting on an elaborately
composed square drum, arches of different
shapes, with Corinthian pilasters open
verandas leading into high ceilings,
represents a typically European style.

The whole area was called Gordon Park

named after Sir James Gordon, the British
administrator who was the guardian of
Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar.
Mysore palace:
The Wodeyar kingdom of Mysore, which was originally in tribute to Vijayanagara and gained
in strength over the next few decades, subsequently emerging as the dominant power in the
southern part of South India. The Asaf Jahis of Hyderabad controlled the territory north and
east of Mysore, while the Marathas controlled portions of what is today Karnataka. By the
close of the "medieval" period, most of South India was either ruled directly from, or under
tribute to Nayak dynasty or Wodeyars.

The original palace in Mysore was of wooden construction and was burnt down by a
disastrous fire in February 1897. Designed by the English Architect, Henry Irwin in 1897.
A three storied structure in the Indo-Saracenic style built between 1897-1912, the palace has
beautifully designed square towers at cardinal points, covered with domes. The Durbar Hall
has ornate ceiling and sculpted pillars and the Kalyanamantapa (Marriage Pavilion) with its
glazed tiled flooring and stained glass, domed ceiling.
 The architectural style of the palace is commonly described as Indo-Saracenic, and
blends together Hindu, Muslim, Rajput, and Gothic styles of architecture. It is a three-storied
stone structure, with marble domes and a 145 ft five-storied tower. The palace is surrounded by
a large garden. The three storied stone building of fine gray granite with deep pink marble
domes was designed by Henry Irwin. The facade has seven expansive arches and two smaller
ones flanking the central arch, which is supported by tall pillars. Above the central arch is an
impressive sculpture of Gajalakshmi, the goddess of wealth, prosperity, good luck, and
abundance with her elephants.
Colonial Bungalow:

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.
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.

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 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.
Reference Notes: (Introduction Part)