Shiv M.

| UA6617

Discuss how colonial infrastructural developments was an instrument of establishing control over
the subcontinent.

Fabric Of Ahmedabad - A Colonial Metropolitan Future

Understanding the control of colonial power through the colonial architecture of
the city of Ahmedabad.

Preface

When the trade routes connecting Europe to Asia were

compromised, a race began. Race of establishing a sea
route to the Asiatic lands mainly for trade. Sooner or later,
the colonizing power reached the shores of what we today
call India. The colonizers who knew the potential of the good
produced here against the good produced in their colder
climates hence wanted these goods and wanted them cheap. Figure 1. Photo of Bhadra Fort, Center of The
Even today what would be the cheapest way to get cotton City of Ahmedabad
The Bhadra fort plaza that existed before the
for the matter? Owning a textile mill and cutting the chain market that we see today
between the producer and the consumer. The colonizers
did the same and started taking over these lands which were
foreign to them. Hindustan as it was known back in the day,
was one such vast land. But how would they conquer these
foreign lands of so many princely states? Divide and Rule as
we know, but the main question is, how would they prevail
the colonial influence on this country? And to understand
the same, a study through the lens of the Ahmedabad city
is done below.

During the colonial era, Ahmedabad, as we know today,

used to be the biggest textile hub of the country, for domestic Figure 2. Photo of Pols of Ahmedabad during
a curfew in the city.
use as well as export. Making, Ahmedabad, one of the Three soldiers sitting on an otla during a curfew in
focused cities for Colonial Rule to establish control over. By the old city.

developing a map of the country, the trade routes throughout

the city were easily established and standardized by making
roadways. Giving them bigger and faster opportunities to
export the Textiles from Manchester of India; Ahmedabad.
During the colonial period, Ahmedabad was the city-bound
in the twelve gates and fort walls as seen in Figures 1 and 2.
And the only connection to the other side of the Sabarmati
was the Lakkadiya Pull (Ellis Bridge, today) i.e. a wooden
bridge. Which the British redeveloped using cast iron. With
the control of the roadways and the bridges, The Brits
controlled the transport and the trade route throughout the
country, meaning they were earning from every trade cart
profit that goes through these roadways in terms of taxes.
Reinforcing the colonial power by the development of pakka
roads which connected cities and dock in a network which
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was in their control.

The Ellis Bridge - The connection between two cities

The Lakkadiya Pull was renovated by the British using cast

iron (Ahmedabad Mirror. 2010), which can be seen still
today, which has now become the Ellis Bridge, shown in the
image below. By the development of this cast-iron bridge,
new possibilities opened up for the city to grow outside the
bounds of the fort walls and the twelve gates. This bridge Figure 3. Photo of Lakkadiya Pul (Ellis Bridge)
was significantly important as the finest Indigo production that British built.
used to happen in Sarkhej, which was then later transported The cast iron Ellis Bridge built over the Lakkadiya
Pul which connected both the sides of city
to the city of Ahmedabad through this very bridge. So by
taking over the control over the bridge, which ensures for
the British government to be able to get the finest indigo in
terms of taxation and being able to export the same back
to England.

Town Hall, MJ Library & Gujarat College - The

Governing Bodies of the New City

On the western end of the Ellis Bridge, where the new city
was emerging, a Town Hall was built by Sir Claude Batley Figure 4. Photo of Town Hall.
The Town Hall of New City of Ahmedabad on the
(Michael M. Grynbaum, 2012). So, by constructing the town west of Sabarmati.
hall, the official governing of the newly emerging city was
directly under the British. With the only connection to the
existing developed city and the town hall under the British
command, the emerging city was under complete control of
the British.

Before the construction of the town hall, the British had already
started the Gujarat College near the Ellis Bridge, which was
by then the first science and arts college in Ahmedabad.
Which laid the foundation of the new city of the western
side of the Sabarmati river. This was then reinforced by the
construction of the Town hall. And later, M J Library was also
built alongside the town hall (Williamson Daniel,2016). To Figure 5. Photo of MJ Library
maintain the Law and Order in this new city, a police check The MJ Library built near the Town Hall of the new
city of Ahmedabad
post was established right at the end of the Ellis Bridge,
which still today is used by the Gujarat Police. The British
Colony developed not only the Gujarat College, but also the
I P Mission School, Mahalaxmi Female Training College, and
the R C High School (wellcometoahmedabad.com, 2020),
to increase the education in the city. By controlling the nature
of education, the British could control their influence on the
younger generation. They could also train the laborers to be
accustomed to their advanced machinery.

Even the architectural expression of this building can be

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related to that period with the use of art deco and European Figure 6. Photo of Gujarat College
construction technologies. As shown below, by the use of The Facade of Gujarat College showcasing the
use of arches and English bond.
the English bond used in Town Hall or the use of brackets in
the MJ Library or the method of using wood to support the
second-floor wall in the Gujarat College, one can relate this
building to the colonial era.

Textile Mills - The Industrialization of the Fabric Market

The British brought industrialization along with them which

hugely benefited them when the first Textile Mill was
constructed in Ahmedabad, by Late, Ranchhodlal Chhotalal
(John Irwin, P. R. Schwartz, 1966). Later on, followed by Figure 7. Photo of Calico Mills
Calico Mills and more and more later on (John Irwin, P. The use of imported British machinery in the
Calico Textile Mills.
R. Schwartz, 1966). Because of the imported machinery,
as shown in the image, and skilled laborers, these mills
flourished during the British Raj. And that’s how Ahmedabad
became the Textile Hub of India.

The production increased drastically, and as the domino

effect, more export goods were produced from which the
British also profited. With the advanced machinery used
for making textiles from the good quality raw products, a
lot of new employment opportunities rose under the British
Raj. Labor Unions also formed due to the vast number of
laborers working in the same field.
Figure 8. Photo of Tourist Car, Indian Railway
The First Class Tourist Car that was used in the
Railway - The fastest, and the easiest transportation Indian Railway.

With the development of the Railway lines, transportation

was much easier and faster. And so was, traveling from
one end of the country to the other. But due to the sole
control of the rail-line being under British Businesses, a lot
of discrimination was faced by the working class Indians
(Tharoor, 2017), while the British enjoyed their luxuries in
the upper-class compartments, Indians were deprived
of even the basic commodities. This discrimination was
not only observed in the commodities offered but also
in the railway fares. Which widened the gap between
The British and Indians and further reinforced the order Figure 9. Photo of Dining Car, Indian Railway
by colonial rule. The luxury of the dining for the first class user of
Indian Railway.

While the colonial rule was established in the public

transport, a similar control was seen in the commercial
transport as the rail-lines was the easiest way of
transporting goods to different parts of the country and
to the docks to export it out of the country. Due to the
increase in production by the newly established textile
mills, transportation was increasing day by day and so
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Time Standardization - The coordination of the

country

With the easier transportation opportunities throughout the

vast country, The need for standardization one time arose
as transportation from one place to the other was eased
and faster (Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1828). To run the
railway lines from multiple stations with coordination to each
other, one standardized time was required to reduce the
Figure 10. Photo of Clock on the Bhadra
longitudinal delays of time. Even though the standardization Fort The tower clock that was installed by the
of one single time in such a vast country doesn’t make British Government after the Time Standardization.

sense, they needed it as they could no longer rely on the

sunrise and sunsets. And a consequence of the same was
seen in the construction of the Watch Tower in the Bhadra
Fort, as shown in the image. Which meant that the city was
now working in coordination with one specific time.

Municipality, Gandhi Road, Relief Road & Electricity

House - The Public services & Markets

While this was all happening one after the other the first
domino to fall was the establishment of the Ahmedabad Figure 11. Photo of Teen Darwaza
Municipality, near the Astodia gate, which was the first effort The Teen Darwaza city gate from where the
Gandhi Road starts.
to establish control over the city. Which was later changed
to City Municipality during the emergence of the new city.
The City Municipality established the Gandhi Road that we
know today, The Electricity Company and The Relief Road
(Desai, M., 1991).

While Gandhi Road was the first road of the city, from Teen
Darwaza, it soon became a market, as shown in the image
below(L). But Gandhi Road did not have a direct connection
to the Railway station. So, a new road was cut through the
pol houses which directly linked the Railway Station to the Figure 12. Photo of Relief Road
Bhadra through one of its small gates. This road is as we The Relief Road that connects the Bhadra directly
to Kalupur Station.
know today, Relief Road, which was a network of pol houses
before being torn down by the City Municipality, shown in
the image below(M). The construction of the Relief Road
was a big power move (Desai, M., 1991), as a lot of the pols
were torn down to create the wide Relief road market. Now,
on the one end of the Relief Road is the Railway station,
while on the other end was the Sidi Sayed Mosque, where
The Electricity House was constructed, shown on the below
image(R). When the Electricity Company was established by
the City Municipality (Desai, M., 1991), The Electricity House
was constructed as the head office for the company. With
the municipality, roadways, railway lines, and the electricity
company in control of the British, Ahmedabad was tightly
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clutched in the fists of the British Raj. Figure 13. Photo of The Electricity House
The electricity house that was build near the Sidi
Conclusion Sayed Mosque.

The British government took control over interlinked public

services which became the backbone of their control
over the country. The railway lines, mapping of the vast
country, implementation of the IST, control of the roadways,
building Municipalities, Town Halls, Police Check-posts,
Cantonment, Colleges, and Schools, as shown in the map
of the city above. They took over the governing bodies of the
city to reinforce their control over the city. They emphasized
the colonial influence by building bridges, by exporting
good textiles, by governing the city, by creating new roads Figure 14. Map of the Colonial Building in
through existing habitations, by controlling the education, Ahmedabad
The collective map of the case studies that were
and by establishing railways. The colonial influence over the talked about in the essay.
city of Ahmedabad was established and reinforced to make
a good fortune by governing the city and exporting goods
to domestic and foreign regions. This is how the British Raj
prevailed in the city of Ahmedabad.
Shiv M. | UA6617
was the depth of the British pockets.
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Shiv M. | UA6617

How did key developments in technologies of construction materials, fire safety, vertical movements
create conditions for the rise and popularity of high rise building?

Skyscrapers - The rise of High Rise Building

Understanding the use of construction technologies and technological advance-
ment that led to the rise of High Rise Buildings.

Preface

Today we can see the high rise buildings almost everywhere.

The roots of which can be traced back to the late 19th
century when the term skyscraper was first coined. This
was done when the Home Insurance Building was built
after the The Great Chicago Fires. It was back then, when
the world had started exploring in terms of construction
technologies and other technological advancements like the Figure 1. The sketch of The Great Chicago
Lift and Escalators. With the growing cities in the early 20th Fires
Century and the Industrial Revolution the need of land in The fires that engulfed the city of Chicago in 1871
and burnt one third of it to ashes
these growing cities was increasing by the day. The Home
Insurance Building in a way showed building higher than
5-7 floors was possible. This possibility became a necessity
when the cities Chicago and New York grew bigger in terms
of land, population and economy. The start of the high rise
building can be traced back to the major event of The Great
Chicago Fires which in a way led to the building of the Home
Insurance Building.

The Great Chicago Fire

The Great Chicago fire that took place in 1871, burned

down one third of the city’s structures as shown in Figure 2.
The fire that started from a small barn in the city, engulfed Figure 2. The Plan of City of Chicago in
the city because of the fast-growing city’s need to build fast Aftermath of Fires
The one third part of the city that was affected by
and cheap (R. Jo Ann, 1997). To build fast and cheap, the the Fires.
city built using wood as the main structural material which
caused the downfall of the city in fire due to its inflammability.
The fire that continues for more than 30 hours, burnt down
markets, residences, banks, shops, etc which can be seen
in the Figure 1. In the aftermath of which nearly 100,000
people were left homeless. This caused the world to look at
building construction and architecture in a different way and
new and stricter bylaws were passed.

The use of non-inflammable materials became compulsory

as a part of the same. While building back the city up, this
limited the architects to use materials like brick, stone, and
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masonry blocks but also allowed exploring newer materials

and ways of achieving the same (R. Jo Ann, 1997). The city
was building back up faster than ever before (M. Donald,
1996). The city started building upwards as the fast-growing
city needed more land in the city which was achievable only
through building vertically upwards.

The use of masonry construction was limiting the idea of

building upwards as to build higher using masonry, thick
load-bearing walls were needed at the base that could
take the load of the floors above. This limitation forced the
developers to adapt to newer methods of building and
rethinking the construction methods altogether.

The city of Chicago in the aftermath of the fires also became

a clean slate for architects to explore new possibilities.
William LeBaron Jenney was one such architect, who built
the Home Insurance Building, Chicago in 1885, which was
said to be the first skyscraper as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Two Point Perspective of Home
The Home Insurance Building Insurance Building
The 10 story building that is remarked as the first
skyscraper.
The Home Insurance Building in Chicago was a 10 story
building that was considered to be the first skyscraper,
because of the use of steel frame structure as the main
structural system of the building (A. Randy, 2009). The
structural system consisted of columns and beams that
support the slab rather than the conventional load-bearing
walls which can be seen in Figure 4. The walls were present
in the building but the nature of which was different from the
traditional load-bearing wall, which now was a curtain wall or
a partition wall. The conventional load-bearing masonry wall
had a limitation of dimension. The wall on the ground floor
would need to be thicker as the building would go up while
using steel frame structure, the building can go much higher
without the need for columns on the lower level to be thicker.
This freedom of going upward without occupying much area
at the lower levels in the structure itself made the structural
system a better choice for going upwards and vice versa
made building upwards easier.

With the need for building upwards, and the newer building
material and technology, Home Insurance became the
Figure 4. Sketch of Structural Skeleton of
stepping stone towards the vertical movement that was to Home Insurance Building
come in the future. Even though the Home Insurance Building The structural frame that was made using steel to
support the curtains wall of the facade.
was the stepping stone in starting the vertical movement,
the first building to use the metal frame structure as its main
structural system was the Ditherington Flax Mill, Shropshire,
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England by Charles Bage in 1797 as seen in Figure 5. It was

the first iron frame building in the world.

Ditherington Flax Mill

After the Great Fire of London, in 1666, The construction

technologies used in England were using mainly non-
inflammable materials like stone or brick. As discussed
earlier the masonry construction technology had limitations
which made it difficult to build upwards.
Figure 5. Sketch of Ditherington Flax Mill
The five story building that first implemented the
structural use of cast iron in the structure of the
building.

During the latter half of the 18th Century, new exploration

using cast iron began for its structural properties (A. W.
Skempton and H. R. Johnson, 1962). Cast iron was used
in making bridges at the time, but as Charles Bage would
come to recognize the value of the material, he designed
the Ditherington Flax Mill, which stands even today as seen
in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Photo of Ditherington Flax Mill
Recent photo of the five story structure that still
The Ditherington Flax Mill became the first building to use stands today on the cast iron technology used in
cast iron for its structural properties (A. W. Skempton and H. 1797.
R. Johnson, 1962). Apart from it being structurally strong
and lightweight, the cast iron was also non-inflammable,
which made it the perfect replacement for stone or brick for
building the 5 story mill.

While the vertical movement was beginning, climbing stairs

for up to 10-12 floors frequently might not seem feasible for
a common man. Which gave the need for a machine that
could transport people to upper floors from lower or vice
versa, this need led to the discovery of Elevators. The first
use of the elevator was seen in 488 Broadway, New York
City by John P. Gaynor in 1857 (B. Mary). It was the first
safety passenger lift to be in a building which was invented
by Elisha Otis as shown in Figure 7 and 8.

The Invention of Lift & Escalators

What the invention of lift really meant for the vertical Figure 7. Photo of First Working Lift
The first working prototype that was made by
movement was the ease of going upwards and downwards Elisha Otis.
in a building with it being much of an inconvenience for the
common person (B. Mary). It was after the invention that
going upwards beyond the limit of 5-7 floors actually started
making sense. The invention of lift in such a way, did give a
helping hand in making high rise buildings popular. So, like
the implementation of metal structural systems, the invention
of lift has a symbiotic relationship with the popularization of
high rise buildings. The Home Insurance Building, being the
tallest building during its opening, which was 10 story,
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had incorporated the use of lift, because going beyond the Figure 8. Photo of Elisha Otis demonstrating
limit of 5 to 7 floors, the lift became a necessity more than the first working Lift
a luxury. The dramatic demonstration of the first working
Elevator by Elisha Otis.

While the lift did give the commodity of automation of going

vertically upwards but its usage was limited to a capacity of
which the lift can accommodate at a time. And if you would
miss one, you might have to wait for the lift to go all the way
up to the highest selected floor and come back down or
vice versa, which could be time-consuming. This limitation is
what gave birth to the idea of a moving staircase rather than
a moving cab (T. Michael, 1995). This led to the invention
of the Escalator drawing of which can be seen in Figure 9,
which meant the convenience of going upwards with ease
wasn’t limited to a certain number of people per ride as
shown in Figure 10.

The automation of the act of climbing by the invention of

lift and escalators made the idea of building upwards
possible to be executed. This automation gave architects
the opportunity to design beyond the limitation of 5-7 but
to explore even further than the 10 stories Home Insurance
Figure 9. Patent Drawings of First Escalator
Building, which was the tallest building at the time. Come, Design
1890 the title of the tallest building was taken over by the The drawings of the first escalator known as
New York World Building (Bennett Charles G., 1954), which ‘Revolving Staircase’ by Nathan Ames

installed a total of 18 Lifts which was a combination of

multiple passenger and freight lifts. The New York Building
was an 18 story skyscraper, specifically has 9 elevators
to transport stationery and goods (Bennett Charles G.,
1954). Thinking about transporting the same thing up to
the extent of 18 floors wouldn’t have been possible without
the invention of lift. It was thus how the invention of lift and
escalators helping in contributing to the rise and popularity
of high rise buildings.

Chicago & New York

The city of Chicago sits in the center of the US, exactly where
all the water lines meet. On top of which the rail line overlap in
the city itself which connected the city to the rest of America
(M. Donald, 1996). The city witnessed a rapid growth led to
the rapid growth of the city from a small village in the 1840s
to the economic hub that it becomes by the 1870s seen in
Figure 11. The entitlement of being the economic hub lead
to the opportunities for inventors and engineers to grow
along with it and explore the city of Chicago which became Figure 10. Sketch of a working Escalator
a hub for technological advancements. Where more and The use of working elevator in buildings to
automate the act of climbing stairs.
more designers and architects started experimenting with
Shiv M. | UA6617

the idea of high rise buildings, like Louis Sullivan, who is

more famously known as the father of skyscrapers.

The City of New York is situated on the eastern coast of the

country (G. Christopher, 1988) which gives the city direct
access to the rest of the world. The other technological
advantage that New York City had over the city of
Chicago was the city itself was far more developed and Figure 11. Photo of the new city of Chicago
technologically advanced than the latter as seen in Figure The growing city of Chicago with rise of high rise
buildings
12. Also, the context of the city was connected to the rest
of the world through the sea route (G. Christopher, 1988).
New York City due to this advantageous context became
the land of exploration which grew even bigger with the
invention of the lift. Which saw the rise of high rise buildings
in the city due to the scarcity of land in the city itself. With
the flourishing economy of New York City (G. Christopher,
1988), the newer buildings started implementing the use
of metal structural frames for load transfer which allowed
them to build upwards, and the installation of lift gave easy
accessibility to the higher floors.
Figure 12. Photo of New York City in the east
20th Century
Conclusion The rise of high rise building in the city of New
York.

The rise and popularity of high rise buildings can be seen in

the late 1800s and the early 1900s, due to the technological
advancements that were happening throughout the world.
The city of Chicago which was at the center of America had
grown from a small village to a city in just three decades but
in doing so the city built fast to home the large population
that was pouring to seeking growth opportunities. The Great
Chicago Fires of 1871, shredded one-third of the city down
to ashes. The aftermath of which gave an opportunity to
the people and the city of Chicago to grow, which the city
did. The likes of which can be seen in the Home Insurance
Building, which implements the first use of steel frame
structure in the US. The technological advancement can
also be observed in the field of automation through the
invention of lift and escalator. The implementation of steel
structure and the invention of lift and escalator made the
idea of building upwards possible with ease. The growing
cities of Chicago and New York, which faced the scarcities
of land in the city need the land in the city, which fueled
the idea of building upwards. These series of events step
by step contributed to the rise and popularity of high-rise
buildings that we see today which brought in architects and
designers to experiment in terms of its structure as well as
design the way of living. The change can be seen in the
differences of lifestyle of people living in mansions or villas
Shiv M. | UA6617

versus the lifestyle of people living in high rise apartment.

The change that was made possible by the technological
innovations by our forefathers in the 19th and 20th century,
which gave rise to the popularity of high rise buildings that
we see today.
Shiv M. | UA6617

12. "Montauk Block, c. 1880". Encyclopedia of
Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. 2004.
13. Bellis, Mary. "Learn Who Invented the
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16. Mishra, Lalatendu (17 August 2014). "We
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Hindu.
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17. Wheeler, Schuyler (27 February 1883).

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United States Patent Office.

18. Ralph Turvey, London Lifts and Hydraulic

Power, Transactions of the Newcomen
Society, Vol. 65, 1993–94, pp. 147–164

19. Topel, Michael.(April 3, 1995) "Ancient

Escalator Was a Link to History," The
Patriot-Ledger,.

20. King, John (September 2003). "A Matter of

Perception: Escalators, Moving Walks, and
the Motion of Society"

21. Goetz, Alisa (ed.). Up, down, across:

elevators, escalators and moving sidewalks.
Merrell. pp. 79–89.

22. Lancaster, William (1995). The department

store: a social history. Leicester University
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23. "The First Moving Staircase in England,"

The Drapers' Record

24. Miller, Donald (1996). City of the Century:

The Epic of Chicago and the Making of
America. New York: Simon & Schuster.

25. Rayfield, Jo Ann (1997). "Tragedy in the

Shiv M. | UA6617
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