Module-3

Colonial Architecture 1:
Introduction to Colonialism and its impact on built form in different
regions
Emergence of New Typologies
Colonial style in India under Portuguese - Goa - Goan Houses, The
Basilica of Bom Jesus.
Dutch - Malabar Coast Kochi - Mattancherry Palace/Dutch Palace

Colonial Architecture 2:
French - Pondicherry – characteristics of buildings in French Colony
English - Calcutta (The Victoria Memorial), Mumbai (Chattrapathi
Shivaji Terminus/Victoria terminus) and Delhi (Rashtrapathi Bhavan/
Old Viceroy’s House)
• Every age conceived the architecture according to its needs. At
every stage it responded to the prevailing attitudes. Whatever they
were, as each age presented architecture that was the
characteristic of its people, their faiths and ideals, their stage of
civilization projecting their beliefs and at the same time
accommodating various external influences, the stupas, temples,
palaces, forts, mosques, minars and the mausoleums which were
built in great numbers in different epochs of ancient and medieval
history of India served the purpose of those times. Yet period of
emperors like Shahjahan and Akbar etc. witnessed magnificence in
art and architecture made contributions to Indian architecture.
• As the Mughal Empire disintegrated in the early 18th century, and
then as the Maratha Empire became weakened after the third battle
of Panipat, many relatively weak and unstable Indian states which
emerged were increasingly open to manipulation by the Europeans,
through dependent Indian rulers.
• After the glorious Mughal Architecture, India saw the development of
the Indo-European Architectural heritage, which was the
amalgamation of the styles of the European countries, like Portugal
(Portuguese), Holland (Dutch), France (French) and finally
culminating in the colonial occupation by the British.
• The European constructed, forts, churches, town hall, clock towers,
market complexes, and gateway etc.
• The Architecture of the Imperial Portuguese marked by Churches
and Cathedral reflecting the post-Renaissance European
architecture. There are examples of old mansions, remains of
fortifications and defences, dating mainly from 18th century A.D.
• The Portuguese architecture was very much influenced by
contemporary developments in Europe at that time. The Churches of
Goa are also the fusion of Renaissance Principles and aesthetics to
suit local colonial tastes, monetary resources and raw materials.
• The advent of the British and the French and eventually the
supremacy of the British over the French led to the establishment of
many cantonment cities and barrack architecture by the British to
enable them to keep a control over princely states. Unlike its
predecessors, the British architecture was need oriented. It was no
longer ornamental and its place was taken by simplicity but in shear
size and height it inspired awe. Thus, the political stability of the British
period encouraged a building boom.
• The buildings built by the British were not as elegant and grand as
that of the Mughals, but were civic and utilitarian buildings and
commemorative (memorial of an event or a person) structures.
• Indo-European Architecture in India during British period closely
followed the developments in their home country but also sought
inspiration from existing architecture in India for great legitimacy.
• Though, the evolution and development of British Indo-European
Architecture in India can be studied from the cities of Calcutta,
Madras, Bombay, New Delhi etc.
• The contributions made by the British led to the creation of a
composite architectural style imbibing European, Indian and Mughal
elements and was also called the colonial architecture.
• One of the most significant legacies of British rule in India is the
colonial Architecture from the two centuries anteceding the struggle
for independence. These imposing buildings including Palaces,
mansions, clubhouses, and government official buildings,
represented a hybrid of western and eastern sensibilities as their
architect sought to plant the flag of British dominance in a foreign
culture.
• If we see the new princely cities like Jaipur, Bikaner and Mysore, they
are also influenced by Indo-European architecture. The towns were
patterned along British example has Clock towers, railway stations,
public official buildings, assembly halls and public hospitals etc.
• Near the end of the 15th century, Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama
became the first European to re-establish direct trade links with India
since Roman times by being the first to arrive by circumnavigating
Africa (c. 1497–1499). Having arrived in Calicut, which by then was
one of the major trading ports of the eastern world.
• The Dutch Republic, England, France, and Denmark-Norway all
established trading posts in India in the early 17th century.
 COLONIALISM - WHAT IT MEANS ?

•Establishment, exploitation, acquisition,

maintenance & expansion of a colony in one
territory by a political power from another territory.

•Unequal relationships between political power

and colony.

•Practice of domination.
 The Historical Context

From 1870 (Second industrial revolution ) - Brought a

wave of new technologies that radically transformed
the economy of the most advanced countries
First globalization - Cheaper transportation and
communication allowed people to travel throughout
the world - Led to territorial expansion of the
European industrial powers.
Colonialism or Imperialism - Are used
interchangeably to refer to the territorial expansion
of the European industrial powers, especially after
1870.
BUILDINGS OF COLONIAL INDIA

1. PORTUGESE ERA
2. DUTCH ERA
3. FRENCH ERA
4. INDO - SARCENIC
 Architetcure of the
Colonialism in India Colonizer
• Portuguese Pre 1857
(1502–1961) – Functional
– Trade French – Pondicherry
• Dutch requirements
Dutch – Coromandel,
(1605 to 1825)
Post 1857 Malabar

– Identity – Power Portuguese – Goa

• British
& Superiority British – Calcutta, Bombay,
(1612-1947)
– Social disparity New Delhi
– Building for
• French
performance
(1759–1954)
 New logic to Urban design, building New style

• New behavioural
Urban Inserts - New logic to building :
pattern
Nai Sadak • Military engineers
— MES • Colonial life style of
Town Halls and
the rich
clock tower
• PWD 1862
Hill Stations - • New typologies
• Building laws 1855
Masoorie – Clubs
Shimla • ASI
Cantonments (Archaeological – Gymkhana
Survey of India) – Hotels
Urban Extensions -
1861 — by Sir
Civil Lines – Parks and
Alexander
Cunningham Gardens
– Bungalows
The first successful voyage to India was by Vasco da Gama in 1498, when
after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope he arrived in Calicut, Kerala
• The colonial era in India began in 1502, when the Portuguese Empire
established the first European trading centre at Kollam, Kerala.
• In 1510 the city of Goa was conquered, which had been controlled
by Muslims. The policy of marrying Portuguese soldiers and sailors
with local Indian girls, the consequence of which was a great
miscegenation in Goa, so their descendants came to be called
“Eurasians” who now come under name of Anglo- Indians.
• Goa was their prized possession and the seat of Portugal's viceroy.
• Portugal's northern province included settlements at Daman, Diu,
Chaul, Baçaim(vasai), Salsette, and Mumbai. The rest of the northern
province, with the exception of Daman and Diu, was lost to the
Maratha Empire in the early 18th century.
• In 1661 Portugal was at war with Spain and needed assistance from
England, leading to the marriage of Princess Catherine of Portugal to
Charles II of England, who imposed a dowry that included the insular
and less inhabited areas of southern Bombay while the Portuguese
managed to retain all the mainland territory north of Bandra up to
Thana and Bassein. This was the beginning of the English presence in
India.
UNDER PORTUGESE ERA
︎ Goa - prized possession
︎ Miscegenation
︎ Promote Catholicism - motive
PORTUGESE – GOAN HOUSES
Portuguese – catholic houses faced the street with unique large ornamental
windows opening onto verandahs.
interior of Goan Portuguese houses: elaborate patterns created with tiles
imported from Europe & false ceiling - installed of wood.
walls - painted with bright colours contrasting to the earthy coloured
furniture.
- mud or laterite stone and coloured with vegetable & natural dyes.
Gateposts and compound walls – craved with great detail.
Covered porches and verandas – designed for socializing.
Therefore buildings of Goa – constructed with local laterite stones set in lime
mortar, walls plastered with same mortar & tile roof made to rest on wooden
trusses.
 PORTUGESE – GOAN HOUSES
unique large ornamental windows
opening onto verandahs.

Gateposts and compound walls – craved

with great detail.
Covered porches and verandas – designed
for socializing.
The Basilica of Bom Jesus (Good Jesus),Old
Goa 1605 - BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE

• Oldest church in India.

• Old Goa - former capital during the Portuguese rule.
• Layout-simple renaissance form, decorations & detailings - Baroque
• built of plaster and laterite.
• Ionic, Doric, Corinthian orders
• it holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier.
• interior is built in a Mosaic-Corinthian style and adorned with wood
and gold leaf.
• walls embrace old painting of saints as the floor is laid with pure white
marble.
• flying buttresses -recent additions
• World heritage monument.
flying buttresses -recent
additions

Ionic, Doric,
Corinthian
orders

The richly gilded main

altar has the figure of
infant Jesus
• The main alter- The richly gilded main altar has the figure of infant
Jesus and above it is a large statue of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of
the Society of Jesuits, gazing with fervour at a medallion on which is
inscribed ―IHS‖ which are the first three letter of Jesus in Greek.
• Chapel of St. Francis Xavier- On the southern side in the transept is a
chapel with gilded twisted columns and floral decorations of wood,
where the sacred relics of the body of St. Francis Xavier are kept
• Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament on the northern side
• Sacristy- Adjoining the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier is a corridor that
leads to
the sacristy, entered through an exquisitely carved wooden door. It
is an oblong vaulted structure with an apse at the end.
• Pulpit
• Alter of St. Anthony
• Alter of Our Lady of Hope
• Alter of St. Michael
• By the end of the 16th century the Portuguese power on land in
Malabar had declined.

• The Dutch challenged their supremacy on the sea.

• The Zamorin and many small Princes in the region looked to them for
driving away the cruel Portuguese and in a pitched battle in
January 1663 the combined forces of the Dutch and the Zamorin
defeated the Portuguese at Cochin.

• Thus ended the hundred and sixty five years of Portuguese relation
with Kerala.
• Administrative reforms were introduced as the ‘Mixed colony system’,
prohibition of Sati practice, introduction of European methods in
administration and the introduction of a fresh coinage and the efficient
judicial system.

• In religious affairs the Portuguese were extremely fanatical and narrow

minded. The Portuguese also turned against the Syrian Christians, they
forcefully compelled the Christians of Kerala to follow the Roman church
practices.

• Their contributions to Indian languages included such words as ‘Firingi’ for

‘Foreigner’, ‘Lelam’ for ‘Auction’, ‘Kurishu’ for ‘Cross’, and ‘Varantha’ for
‘Verandas’. A Portuguese dialect is still spoken in some parts of Cochin.

• The Portuguese also introduced tobacco raising and smoking.

• Thus during the sixteenth century the Portuguese dominated the sea- borne
trade and on the western sea-board there were not merely trading stations
but also fortified naval bases, in which they exercised sovereign powers. The
Mughals had no sea power; even Akbar had to get authorization from the
Portuguese to send his ships to the Red Sea.
 The Dutch

• The arrival of the Dutch in India in 1602 turned the tide against the
Portuguese. It was pepper that drew the Dutch East India Company
to Kerala.

• In March of that year the Netherlands formed the Dutch East India
Company with the aim of establishing commercial relations with
India. It was very clear that “the policy of the Dutch was more strictly
commercial than that of the Portuguese. Like the latter they realized
that factories, i.e. trade depots, had to be defended by forts, but
their objective was to gain a command of trade and not territorial
dominion, political power or religious conversion.
DUTCH ERA

• Established Dutch East India Company in Dutch Coromandel, Pulicat.

• Looking for textiles to exchange with the spices they traded in the
East Indies.
• Then Dutch Surat and Dutch Bengal (established).
• Dutch conquered Ceylon from the Portuguese.
•1656, Dutch took the Portuguese forts on the Malabar coast for five
years later as well, to secure Ceylon from Portuguese invasion.
• Traded items – Textiles, Precious stones, Indigo, silk, saltpeter
(Potassium Nitrate), opium and pepper.
• Establishment of Factories : The Dutch set up factories at
Masulipatam, Pulicat ,Surat, Bimilipatam, K.Arikal, Chinura ,
Kasimbazar, Barangore, Patna, Balasore, Negapatam and Cochin.
Buildings under Dutch Era

Surat - Dutch factory,1630.

Bharunch - Trading post Dutch East India company- had a cemetery.
Venrula - Warehouse & Castle for protection of Dutch.
Ahmedabad: Dutch cemetery - 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: most prized possessions.
DUTCH ERA BUILDING CHARACTERISTICS

• Dutch building - structure features massive teak beams.

• Gables were widely seen.
• Upper floor located in the front wing and reached with a wooded
staircase.
• Upper storey has a wooden floor.
• Long open veranda runs along the length of each wing of the
building.
Mattancherry Palace/Dutch Palace
European (Portuguese and Dutch) &
Indigenous Style - Kerala
• First in hands of Portuguese - went major repairs at the hands of
Dutch [1663].
• Two-storied quadrangular (naalukettu)building.
• Central courtyard - deity of the royal family placed.
• Rare examples of traditional Kerala flooring - looks like polished
black marble but a mixture of burned coconut shells, charcoal, lime,
plant juices and egg whites.
• Palace decorated with royal possessions like ceremonial robes,
headgear, weapons, palanquins and royal furnitures.
• Mural paintings covering an area of nearly 300 sq.m.
• Present function - museum.
Mattancherry Palace
Bastion Bungalow
Indo-European style (followed by Dutch style)
French Era

• French establishments - Pondicherry, Karaikal and Yanaon on the

Coromandel coast, Mahe on the Malabar coast, and Chandernagor
in Bengal.

• The total area of establishments amounted to 510 km2 (200 sq mi),

of which 293 km2 (113 sq mi) belonged to the territory of
Pondichery. In 1936, the population of the colony totaled 298,851
inhabitants, of which 63% (187,870) lived in the territory of
Pondichéry.
• The French colonized a fishing village (Pondicherry) in Tamil Nadu
and transformed it into a flourishing port-town.
• French expanded their empire by colonizing coastal towns, Yanaon
in Andhra Pradesh, Karaikal in Tamil Nadu and Mahe in Kerala with
a French atmosphere of quiet towns around beaches.
• French writings on signage and traffic signs still remains.
Buildings of Colonial India under French Era

• Many streets retain French names.

• Cobbled streets, lined with mustard-yellow colonial townhouses
numbered in an almost logical manner.
• French-style villas are a common sight, 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.
PUDUCHERRY - the FRENCH COLONY
• Puducherry(Pondicherry) was under French rule until 1954
• Puducherry is split from north to south by a partially covered canal.
• The more ̳French‘ part of town is on the east side (towards the sea).
• The boulevard town has significant architectural heritage that can
be seen in its well planned, grid-patterned layout comprising the two
distinct settlements - French and Tamil.
• Government Square is the only major green space in Pondicherry
within the boulevards, surrounded by public buildings .
• French streets were characterized by mansion-type houses with
garden and courtyards behind ornate gateways.
• Tamil streets were recognized by their tiled lean-to verandas
(thalvarams) and thinnais.
• A synthesis of these two styles has resulted in a town with a unique
"Franco- Tamil" architectural identity.
French Quarters

• Developed along the beach and around - present Bharathi Park,

which is surrounded by stately government buildings.
• Residential villas extend on either side interspersed by institutional
structures.
• Buildings - two main categories.
• Residential buildings - simple and varied and form the majority,
• Public buildings - set amidst large plots with fenced enclosures.
• French building models were adapted to suit local climatic conditions.
• Residential street façades are usually characterised by continuous
wall-to- wall construction with high garden walls and elaborate
gateways.
• Façades are divided into smaller panels by the use of vertical pilasters
and horizontal cornices, and feature flat or segmental arched windows
with bands and louvered wooden shutters.
French Quarters architectural features

• Wooden balconies over iron brackets and continuous parapets with

simple ornamental features are also common.
• Most French houses were built on similar ground plans with few variations
and with full or partial street frontage.
• Main façades have colonnaded porticoes to provide better protection
from sun and rain, and also act as a transition space to the garden court.
• A major change from the original French model is the use of flat terraced
roofs instead of the pitched roofs of the Parisian villas.
• The walled gardens form private interior courts onto which the rest of the
building spaces open.
• The interiors of the houses are usually more ornate than the exterior.
• High ceilings, tall arched doors and windows define the rooms, and in
the case of two-storey buildings, vaulted staircases wind upwards. Often
the inclined windows shades were made of light materials like wood or
metal.
Wooden balconies
over iron
brackets and
continuous
parapets with
simple
ornamental
features are also
common.
French colonial house elements
 Clash between the French and the British

• 1741 witnessed severe rivalry between the French and the British.

• The British had settlements in Madras, on the banks of the Hugli in

Calcutta and Fort William, on the west coast of Bombay and also
some minor factories at Surat and Pondicherry.

• Thus the presence of these two European trading communities in

these places evoked conflicts between the two.
• In 1833 Calcutta became the capital of British India, remaining so
until 1912, when New Delhi was made the capital because of its more
central location.
• Calcutta is the largest city and leading port in India,
• The political capital of India for more than one century and the seat
of the Bengal renaissance, Calcutta had a grandeur and character
which gave it the status for a time, of being the second city of the
British Empire after London.
• The buildings and precincts of the era were not only notable for their
thoughts, institutions and events but also for their architectural
heritage. In its heyday it was called the city of palaces, and it still
retains a fine heritage of 18th and 19th century buildings, often in a bad
state of repair.
• Some important historical buildings as the Town Hall, the Mint, and
the Writers Building set the mood for the imperial capital city.
Belvedere House (the present National Library) was also constructed
in 1912. The monument, Victoria Memorial was planned as a symbol
of British imperial power during the 1900s. Its foundation stone was
laid in 1906, and it was finally completed in 1921.
• In Calcutta, many fine Palladian style houses, with their columned
verandahs, flat balustrade roofs and large gardens are found.
• Bungalow housing design had also a number of specific elements,
such as the verandahs, the chajja, compound and one-storied
houses, all of which evolved in the Bengal climate.
• The bungalow design became a model for British colonial housing
not only in India, but other British colonial countries as well. Such
architectural design columned verandahs, flat balustrade roofs and
large gardens etc.
• It is the city of Bombay, which shows the greatest incorporation of a
multitude of divergent styles popular in the Victorian era.
• Perhaps the most fitting monuments both in name and splendor, the
very symbol of the British in Victorian Bombay is a building that was
opened in 1887, in time to celebrate Queen Victoria Terminus (VT).
Today it is better known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
• It is the finest Victorian Gothic building in India and a mixture of
polychromatic stone, decorative ironwork, marble and tile.
• In another building, Indo-Sarcenic styles are also shown on Gateway
of India. It is a symbolic national landmark, the Marble Arch of India,
was designed by George Wittet to commemorate the visit of George
V and Queen Mary in 1911, en route to the Delhi Durbar.
• When Sir Bartle Frere becomes the Governor (Bombay) under his
enlightened and energetic direction the city was transformed into
the Gateway of India.
• The old town walls are swept away.
• A new city began to take shape in the latest fashionable Gothic
style.
• Frere was determined to give the city a series of public buildings
worthy of its wealth, power and potential.
• He stipulated that the designs should be of the highest architectural
calibre, with conscious thought given to aesthetic impact.
• Madras was the first important settlement of the East India Company
(E.I.C.). It was founded in 1639 from the nearby factory at Armagaum
by Francis Day on territory ceded by the Raja of Chandragiri.
• In 1644 a small fort was erected from which the city grew steadily
and until the emergence of Calcutta, it remained the nerve-centre of
English influence in the East.
• Fort St. George, situated on the sea front north of island, was built in
1640 and contains a Church, barracks, arsenal, and government
offices.
• The principal educational institutions are Madras University, founded
in 1857, the Presidency College, Medical, Engineering, Law and
Veternity Colleges and a number of missionary institutions.
• Madras has a fine legacy of colonial architecture, ranging from the
elegant classical houses of the 18th century nabobs to the
spectacular Indo-Sarcenic buildings of the late 19th century.
Examples of Indo-Sarcenic building in Madras like the Madras Law
courts, built between 1888 and 1892 were one of the high points of
Indo-Sarcenic architecture in India – a Romantic confection of multi-
coloured Mughal domes, Buddhist shapes, canopied balconies and
arcaded verandahs crowned by a bulbous domed minaret which
forms a light house.
• However, the 18th century lacked impressive buildings by the British
architecture.
• The British contribution to architecture, commenced only after the
Revolt of 1857 in India.
• It was mostly limited to country houses, bungalows and churches
etc., which are even now spread all over the country presenting
mixture of a typical style evolved by British militancy engineers and
architects and Greeko-Roman and Scottish- baronil styles.
• Infact, when the British established their settlements at various places
like, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras etc. they had to build European
style houses for the convenience of their officers and staffs. As the
numbers of residents increased, they began the construction of more
durable structures such as strong fortresses and imposing churches.
• While, it was only after the rise of the British Empire that they‟re
developed a type of Victorian architecture.
• The Victorian style however was imitative rather than original.
• The chief characteristic of the Victorian style building was its
brickwork supported by iron angles and domed roofs.
• We can see the prominent Victorian style buildings e.g., the churches
at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras etc.
• It was in the last decade of the 19 century that Bombay witnessed a
th

phase of experimentation in architecture.

• Considering the eastern location of India, the British architects were
attempting to incorporate Indian ideals with European architecture.
This synthesis of forms such as the horse shoe-shaped arches from
Moorish Spain, Islamic domes and Victorian towers came to be
known as the Indo-Sarcenic style of architecture.
•
EUROPEAN PALETTE :
•Classical
•Romanesque
•Gothic
•Renaissance
•Baroque
“Stylistic hybrid” Indo Sarcenic architecture

Elements • many miniature domes,

• onion (bulbous) domes or domed chhatris
• overhanging eaves • pinnacles
• pointed arches, cusped • towers or minarets
arches, or scalloped • harem windows
arches
• open pavillions or
• Vaulted roofs pavillions with bangala
• domed kiosks roofs
• pierced open arcading
Buildings under British era

Britain ruled India for over three hundred years, 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(Patna)
• Karachi
• Nagpur
• Bhopal and
• Hyderabad
The Victoria Memorial, Calcutta
Indo-Sarsenic revival style
Architect William Emerson

• Effective symbolism of British empire

• Intended to serve as tribute to success of British empire in India
& dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria
• Building is 184 ft high up to the base of the figure of Victory,
which is another 16 ft high.
• Mixture of Mughal elements as well as Venetian, Egyptian,
Deccani and Islamic architectural influences.
• Colourful and extravagant building, combining forms from the
Islamic architecture of various regions with a European
structure.
• Plan of the building consist of 1 large central part covered with
a large ornamental dome.
• Constructed with white Makrana marble.
• The shift of capital of British India from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911
necessitated the building of the imperial city of New Delhi.
• The design of this city and its principal buildings was entrusted to
Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, both architects were well versed in
the neo-classical tradition flowing from the European Renaissance.
Their designs were expected to symbolize the grandeur and power of
the British Empire as evident at the beginning of this century.
• The entire new capital was designed on a complex geometric grid
with squares and circles radiating from the central axis of Kings way
(Rajpath). The chief architects were Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert
Baker. Their concept of an Imperial building for the Viceroys official
building-cum- residence (now President house) the processional
kings way and the stately colonnade and buildings of the north and
south blocks (Govt. Administrative buildings) were all conceived in a
composite style with features of Indian architecture mixed with
Imperial traditions from Greeko-Roman and European culture. Along
with these stately monuments came the laying of roads and
residential bungalows, public utility services, example commercial
centres – Connaught Place and Churches/Chapels etc
The Baker‟s plans for Delhi incorporated such features as spacious
colonnades, open verandahs, overhanging eaves or, cornices, and
small high windows openings. These structural devices increased the
circulation of air while reducing the amount of sunlight within buildings
and brought the outdoors close at hand. Apart from the classically –
inspired colonnade, all these features were standard elements of
indigenous architecture. The chajja or, wide projecting shade-giving
stone cornice, and jalis or pierced stone lattice screen to admit air but
not sunshine, are central features of Mughal architecture. In his Delhi
buildings are to the extreme climate and enhance their Indic
appearance. Perhaps the only Indian element adopted purely for its
effect was the chattri, or freestanding pavilion with a wide chajja,
which mounts the roofline of the secretariat buildings. These little
structures did have an aesthetic purpose to serve that of breaking the
long horizontal lines of the flat roofs – but they contribute a great deal
to “Indianizing” these imposing administrative blocks.
Gateway of India
Hindu-Muslim style + British import
Architect George Wittet

• Built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to

Bombay in 1911
• The structural design - a large arch, with a height of 26m
• Elements of the Roman triumphal arch
• Arch is of Muslim style while the decorations are of Hindu style
• Intricate latticework, the 4 turrets are the prominent features of the entire
structure of the Gateway of India
• Consist a central dome-48 feet in diameter
• Built in yellow basalt & indissoluble concrete.
• Steps constructed behind the arch of the Gateway that leads to the
Arabian Sea
• The whole harbour front was realigned in order to come in line with a
planned walkway, sweeping down to the centre of the town.
Chattrapathi Shivaji Terminus/Victoria terminus
Victorian - Gothic style
Architect Frederick William Stevens

• Fusion of influences from Victorian Italianate Gothic Revival

architecture & traditional Indian architecture.
• Skyline, turrets, pointed arches, and eccentric ground plan
are close to traditional Indian palace architecture
• Main structure constructed from blend of Indian sandstone
and limestone.
• Key decorative elements-marble was used.
• The centrally domed office structure has a 330 feet long
platform connected to a 1,200 feet long train shed, and its
outline provides the skeleton plan for building.
• VT's dome of dove tailed ribs, built without centring, was
considered as a novel achievement of the era.
The plan of Stevens‘s
station is C-shaped
with the dome at the
centre and two
wings around a
garden.
Beneath the principal dome, the original station‘s main feature, surmounted by a
statue representing progress, are pointed arches, turrets, rose windows and
columns with lavish displays of Neo-Gothic ornamentation and surfaces decorated
with sculptures, coloured glass, glazed tiles and ironwork.
Delhi (Rashtrapati Bhavan/
Old Viceroy’sHouse)
Rashtrapati Bhavan (literally, ‘President’s House’, the official residence of the Indian President)
was designed as the residence of the Viceroy. It was envisaged as the crowning glory of the
central vista of Imperial Delhi: the monument towards which would naturally be drawn the eyes of
any visitor to King’s Way or its surrounding area. Edwin Lutyens took on the task of designing
this building, then known as Government House or the Viceroy’s House and 29,000 workers were
employed on the project. Construction began in 1914 and continued till 1927; but the end product, the
largest residential complex ever built for a head of the state anywhere in the world, is impressive
enough to justify the time, effort, and money spent on it.
Initial discussions for the plans of the central vista had envisioned the Government House
(designed by Lutyens) alone atop Raisina Hill, looking down on the city below. It was however
decided at some point that the Secretariat buildings (designed by Lutyens’ associate and friend
Herbert Baker) would also be placed on the hill. While it appears that Lutyens agreed to this proposal,
it soon became clear that the Government House located 400 yards beyond the Secretariat, would be
hidden from view as one approached the complex. Lutyens suggested modifying the slope up to the
Government House, but this was not acceptable because it would divide the square between the two
block of the Secretariat. Lutyens lost the battle, and one can see that if one approaches Raisina Hill
along Rajpath, from a distance Rashtrapati Bhavan can be seen on the horizon, but it disappears
behind Raisina Hill as one arrives at the base of the hill (today known as Vijay Chowk). The building
re-appears again, its dome unveiled a little at a time, as you ascend Raisina Hill.
The architecture of Rashtrapati Bhavan is an interesting example of Imperial architecture
designed during a period of growing anti- colonial feeling. It is an awe-inspiring structure, a stolid
symbol of British imperialism (interestingly, its façade is the same length— 630 ft—as that of
Buckingham Palace). It is, however, also a sign of the times: early twentieth century India was
simmering with anti-British sentiment, and a need to show some respect for Indian tradition meant
that this grand new building had to be more than just a European edifice sitting grandly in an Indian
setting.
a. Durbar Hall
b. North Court
c. South Court
d. State Dinning
e. Ball Room
• Lutyens, a fervent believer in the superiority of
western architecture over Indian, had been
intending to give the building a classic
European appearance; the Viceroy, Lord
Hardinge, however insisted that Indian elements
be incorporated in the design. Lutyens therefore
spent time travelling across India, trying to find
elements in indigenous architecture that would
fit with classical western designs. You can see
the result all across Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Sometimes it’s an
odd fit, as in the
kitschy metallic
cobras around a
fountain in the south
court.
• Often, it’s
something very
markedly Indian,
such as carved
stone elephants, or
small domed
pavilions (chhatris).
• or over a marble
floor inlaid with
coloured stone
• or you may see elegant
floral-carved stone jalis
(screens)—without realizing
that these are all Indian
architectural elements.
• The most obvious Indian element
(or, rather, Delhi element) is the
building material—red and buff
sandstone—a nod to preceding
dynasties, which also used it in
their major monuments.
Interestingly, Lutyens used no
steel in this construction.

• The other very visible Indian

element at Rashtrapati Bhavan is
its large dome.This was inspired
by both the stupa (a structure
containing Buddhist relics within)
at Sanchi and the Pantheon in
Rome. The bronze dome is twice
the height of the building,
staggeringly disproportionate,
some would say, though that
effect is balanced by the sheer
length of the façade.
 The influence of the Pantheon is better appreciated when
you’re inside Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Durbar Hall, which lies
below the dome. Here, looking up, you can see the large
oculus (the circular opening in the centre of the dome), The
Durbar Hall was, used for major state functions.
Another important hall in the Rashtrapati Bhavan is the Ashoka Hall,
formerly the ballroom, its walls and ceiling painted with scenes from
Persian poetry.
• These two halls, the State Dining Room (for formal
banquets), a large number of guest suites, and the private
apartments of the Viceroy and his family were planned
down to the last detail by Lutyens. He designed
everything from chandeliers to furniture for these areas.
In some cases, Lutyens personally chose other elements
that would fit into the design: for example, Kashmiri
carpets in Mughal designs, or chandeliers imported from
Europe. Lutyens designed another major component of the
Rashtrapati Bhavan Estate: the Mughal Gardens that
sprawl over 13 acres behind the building, obvious
resemblance to terraced Mughal gardens like Shalimar
and Nishat in Kashmir.
As in the traditional Mughal
garden, there are water
channels and pools,
chhatris, parterres, and
carved fountains—
although the design of
ornate fountains here,
carved as numerous
interlocking circles, is not
traditional.
 Rashtrapati Bhavan contains 340 rooms, of which only a few
rooms are occupied by the President and his/her family.The
others are used as offices, display galleries, storerooms, and so
on.
Casual tourists can look in and take photographs through the
wrought-iron gates (also, incidentally, designed by Lutyens) of
the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In front of Rashtrapati Bhavan, you can see a 145 ft high
column of buff sandstone, topped with a bronze lotus
and a glass star. Inspired largely by Trajan’s Column in
Rome, this is known as the Jaipur Column.Though
designed by Lutyens, it was erected under the aegis of
the Maharaja of Jaipur, to whom much of the land on
which New Delhi was built originally belonged.The plan
of New Delhi, with its major axes marked out, is carved
onto the plinth of the Jaipur Column.
North Block and South Block

• While Lutyens was designing the Government House, Herbert Baker was
working on the design of the Secretariat buildings. These buildings, two
identical blocks facing each other across King’s Way, were to house
important ministries of the government. It was essential, therefore, that they form
a composite whole with Government House, the entire (so to say) ‘supreme
power’ looming imposingly on Raisina Hill. The blocks are made of buff and red
sandstone, with the red sandstone forming a broad ‘base’ for the outer walls.
• As Lutyens did in Rashtrapati Bhavan, in
the Secretariat too Baker used a
combination of European and indigenous
architectural elements. The semi-circular
arches, the Corinthian columns, and the
baroque dome are unmistakably western;
the carved elephants and lotuses, red
sandstone jalis, chhajjas, and the chhatris
on the terraces are just as obviously Indian.
• In a nod to Mughal architecture, Baker designed the main
entrances of both blocks to resemble a traditional Mughal
gateway. If you’ve seen the tomb of Humayun (near Nizamuddin,
in Delhi), you’ll note the same details here: a small arched
doorway, set into a much larger (also arched) gateway. As in
Humayun’s Tomb, here too circular medallions decorate the inner
corners of the archway, and a small, ornate balcony projects
above the inner door.
• The North and South Blocks sit on a plinth about 30 ft
above the ground and are connected by an
underground passage (still in use). Between them, the
four-storied Secretariat buildings have about 4,000
rooms, several inner fountain courts, and miles of
corridors. Both blocks have original paintings decorating
some walls and ceilings. The North Block, for example,
boasts of allegorical depictions of justice, war, and peace;
the South Block has paintings of Indian cities and emblems
of older kingdoms.

• Outside each block are two sandstone columns—a total

of four columns in the Secretariat. These, known as the
Columns of Dominion, were ceremonial gifts to India
from the colonies of Britain which had dominion status:
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.
• Each column is topped by a bronze ship in sail (to symbolize Britain’s
maritime traditions).The ship rests on a replica of the Ashoka Capital: a
lotus blossoming above a wheel, flanked by a horse on one side and a bull
on the other.
India Gate

India Gate:

Even though a war memorial,

evokes the architectural style of
the triumphal arch, designed by
Sir Edwin Lutyens.
• In keeping with the concept of an impressive central vista, Lutyens and
Baker envisaged a massive memorial arch to form one of the structures
of the main axis, that is the King’s Way. The ‘All India War Memorial’
would be to King’s Way what the Arc du Triomphe is to the Champs
Élysées.

• The monument was built as a memorial to Indian soldiers killed in battle

during the First World War.The inscription at the top of the arch reads:
‘To the dead of the Indian armies who fell honoured in France and
Flanders, Mesopotamia and Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli, and
elsewhere in the near and the far-east, and in sacred memory also of
those whose names are recorded and who fell in India or the north-west
frontier and during the Third Afghan War.’

• The names of 90,000 men who died during these conflicts are
inscribed on the uprights of the arch. (Over the decades since its
construction, this has come to be a memorial for Indian soldiers in other
wars as well, including the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 and the Kargil
war of 1999.This is in addition to the names of soldiers awarded the
Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military decoration).
• The relatively plain façade and clean lines
of India Gate lie in sharp contrast to the
more ornate appearance of the Secretariat
buildings or Rashtrapati Bhavan. Like
these buildings, though, India Gate is also
composed mainly of buff sandstone. At the
top of the arch are inscribed the letters
INDIA, with MCMXIV on the left and
MCMXIX on the right—the Roman
numerals indicating the beginning and the
end, 1914 and 1919, of the First World War.
Between the narrower sides of the columns
are two large sandstone pine cones,
symbolizing eternal life. Topping the arch is
a shallow dome with a bowl to be filled with
burning oil on anniversaries to
commemorate martyrs. A similar structure
was installed under the arch, where oil was
ceremonially burnt on the anniversary of
the memorial’s inauguration. While oil is
rarely lit in the bowl above the arch, the
bowl below the arch was replaced, in
1970, with an ‘eternal flame’, burning
constantly in memory of India’s dead
soldiers. This is in the form of a plain
square shrine of black marble, atop a
stepped platform of red stone. From the
centre of the black shrine rises an
upturned bayonet supporting a helmet, a
symbol of the unknown soldier. On each of
the corners of the red stone platform is a
constantly-alight flame. The shrine is
known as the Amar Jawan Jyoti (literally,
‘Flame of the Immortal Warrior’).The words
‘AmarJawan’ is also inscribed in gold on all
four sides of the shrine.
• Just beyond India Gate
is a domed, tall-
columned canopy,
standing in the middle of
a large pool of water and
built to commemorate
King George V. Lutyens
drew his inspiration for
this from an ornate
pavilion at
Mahabalipuram. It
originally housed a white
marble statue of George
V, shifted to Coronation
Park in 1968. Since then,
there have been
suggestions to install
other statues—including
Mahatma Gandhi’s—
under the canopy. These
have been dismissed as
being contrary to the
nature of the canopy and
the central vista.
Islamic architecture had been called Saracenic architecture in Europe
until the 19th century, hence came the strange name of Indo-
Saracenic style.
And yet Indians accepted it in a sympathetic way as what British
architects
represented Indian nationalism, and it was diffused throughout the
country. The background of that was the progress of the research of
ancient buildings since the foundation of the Archaeological Survey of
India on the one hand, and the first elucidation of the architectural
tradition of India by the publication of the History of Indian and Eastern
Architecture (1876) written by James Fergusson on the other hand.
The precursors of this style were Charles Mant (1840-81), who designed
the New Palace of Kolhapur (1881) and William Emerson (1843-1924),
who designed Muir College (1886) in Allahabad.
The reason of that Islamic architecture was selected as the Indian
tradition was that Mughal architecture based on arches and domes
was considered more compatible with European architecture than
Hindu temples based on the post and beam structure. In spite of that,
Robert Fellows Chisholm (1840-1915) mastered Indian traditional
architecture other than Islamic, and made a compromise between
that and Western architecture. It is best represented by the Napier
Museum (1880) in Trivandrum absorbing south Indian tradition of
wooden architecture.
There are many late colonial buildings in the city, such as the Anglican
Cathedral (1935) designed by H.A.N. Medd. The ornament less Garrison
Church of St Martin (1930) designed by Arthur Gordon Shoosmith, a
disciple of Lutyens, is the first work of modernism in India. Currently,
Delhi is a metropolis with a population of 14 million, comprising eight
historical cities from the first Lal Cot (Qutb district) and spreading to the
greater urbanized area. Important facilities for arts include the National
Museum and the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in New
Delhi.
“Public buildings: Major Architectural Features and their Utilitarian and
Symbolic Significance,” deals with the public buildings constructed
during the colonial period. By public buildings we mean those buildings
that were open and accessible to the general public. According to
their nature, these buildings were classified into the following different
categories: (a) Churches/Chapel (b) Circuit House (c) Hospitals (d)
Schools/Colleges (e) Bridges (f) Post Office (g) Library/Stadium/Club
(h) Police Station (i) Commercial Place (j) War Memorial/Canopy. The
public buildings show a remarkable amalgamation of British
architecture with the indigenous style/elements. This was partly owing
to the fact that several architects, masons and workers involved in the
construction of these buildings were Indians.
“Residential Bungalows: Architecture as a Resource of Power”, is
devoted to the discussion of the Bungalows constructed under the
British rule. Bungalows were residential complexes in which resided the
high officials of the British Raj. These buildings provide us with an insight
into the British Indian architectural pattern, and help us see the process
of cultural diffusion during the colonial period. The Bungalows reflected,
and their architecture sustained both class and racial difference. The
bungalows spatially separated the whites from the blacks, but, more
significantly, also the higher class whites from the lower class whites. The
pattern of the residential building construction give one an idea of the
class status, its residents occupied. It also signified how architecture
reflected differences based on class and race.
“Official Building” deals with those buildings of colonial period, which
were built to serve as sites of administration. Like several other buildings
of the colonial period, the official buildings were based the design of
Lutyens and Baker. These two architects were well versed in the neo-
classical style that was the brainchild of Renaissance. They were
responsible for the construction of many important buildings in Delhi,
after the capital was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi. Among the most
magnificent official buildings of that era was the Viceroy House
(Rashtrapati Bhawan). Lutyens designed it, and it served both official
and residential purposes. The building was divided into different parts in
accordance with their utilitarian value but to secure an aesthetic touch,
were enclosed by some of the indigenous, particularly Mughal, features
in the buildings were the presence of chajja, jalis, etc. The official
buildings of the British era are, indeed, magnificent examples of the
amalgamation of Anglo-Indian styles. They are also remarkable in
combining utilitarian needs with aesthetic appreciation.
The study of the colonial architecture demonstrates the immense
changes that were introduced by the British in India, in the building
construction activities. At the same time, it has shown to us certain
structural continuities and the influence of Mughal and other
indigenous architectural technique over the British architecture in India.
Colonial architecture was a symbolic index of imperial power, and was
intended to strike awe and terror in the minds of the subject Indians. To
achieve that objective, the scale of its grandeur was matched by a
deep and sustained invocation of Mughal architecture. Colonial
architecture was not entirely “colonial”, after all!