INDIAN

ARCHITECTURE
Lecture: May 15, 2023
 Indian
Architecture
 • The Ganges is
the most sacred
river to Hindus.
It is worshipped
as the goddess
Ganga in
Hinduism.

https://www.keele.ac.uk/about/news/2020/january/ganges-river-study/Ganges-960.jpg
The Ganges River

https://s.w-x.co/ap_05032209383.jpg
 https://cdn.britannica.com/26/142626-050-01A227C8/Statue-Nandi-bull-Chamundi-Hill-
Karnataka-India.jpg

Sacred Cow
https://images.tribuneindia.com/cms/gall_content/2018/2/2018_2$largeimg22_Thursda
y_2018_001346514.jpg
Gopura and Nataraja Temple
• The architecture of India is
rooted in its history, culture and
religion.
• Indian architecture progressed with
time and assimilated the many
influences that came as a result of
India's global discourse with other
regions of the world throughout its
millennia-old past.
• The architectural methods practiced
in India are a result of examination
and implementation of its established
building traditions and outside
cultural interactions.
• Though old, this Eastern tradition has also
incorporated modern values as India became a
modern nation state.
• The economic reforms of 1991 further
bolstered the urban architecture of India as the
country became more integrated with the
world's economy.
• Traditional Vastu Shastra remains influential in
India's architecture during the contemporary
era.
Vastu Shastra (vāstu śāstra, also Vastu Veda, "science
of construction", "architecture") is a traditional Hindu
system of design based on directional alignments.
It is primarily applied in Hindu architecture, especially for
Hindu temples, although it covers other applications,
including poetry, dance, sculpture, etc.
The foundation of Vastu is traditionally ascribed to the
mythical sage Mamuni Mayan.
• Vaastu Shastra is the ancient Indian science of
architecture, which governs town planning and
designing of man-made structures.
• The focus is on human's well-being , which can only
be achieved when we are in harmony with nature
and the Universal flow of energy.
Entrance Details
 Mehrgarh culture—Indus Valley
Civilization (7000 BCE—1500 CE)
• Archaeological evidence from Mehrgarh
(7000 BCE) shows construction of mud brick
houses and granaries.
• Irrigation was developed in the Indus Valley
Civilization around 4500 BCE.
• The size and prosperity of the Indus
civilization grew as a result of this innovation,
which eventually lead to more planned
settlements which further made use of
drainage and sewers.
• By 2800 BCE, private bathrooms,
located on the ground floor, were found
in nearly all the houses of the Indus
Valley Civilization.
• The pottery pipes in walls allowed
drainage of water and there was, in
some case, provision of a crib for sitting.
• The Indus Valley Civilization had some of
the most advanced private lavatories in
the world.
• "Western-style" toilets were made from
bricks using toilet seats made of wood
on top.
• The waste was then
transmitted to drainage
systems.
• Sophisticated irrigation and
storage systems were
developed by the Indus Valley
Civilization, including the
artificial reservoirs at Girnar
in 3000 BCE and an early
canal irrigation system from
circa 2600 BCE.
Large-scale sanitary sewer systems were in place in the Indus Valley
by 2700 BCE.

The drains were 7-10 feet wide and 2 feet (0.61 m) below ground
level.

The sewage was then led into cesspools, built at the intersection of
two drains, which had stairs leading to them for periodic cleaning.

Plumbing using earthenware plumbing pipes with broad flanges for

easy joining with asphalt to stop leaks was in place by 2700 BCE.

Pramod Chandra (2008) details the Indus Valley architecture from

2500–1800 BCE:
• From excavated remains, it is clear that
the Indus Valley civilization possessed a
flourishing urban architecture.
• The major cities associated with the
civilization, notably Mohenjo-daro,
Harappā, and Kalibangan, were laid out
on a grid pattern and had provisions for
an advanced drainage system.
• The residential buildings, which were
serviceable enough, were mainly brick
and consisted of an open patio flanked
by rooms.
• For monumental architecture, the
evidence is slight, the most important
being a “sacred” tank (thought to be for
ritual ablution) and associated structures.
• Corbel vaulting (arches supported by
brackets projecting from the wall) was
known, and, to a limited extent, timber
was used together with brick; whatever
architectural ornamentation existed must
have been of brick or plaster.
Excavated ruins,
Mohenjo-Daro,
modern-day
Pakistan.
Vedic period—Post Maha Janapadas
period (1500 BCE—200 CE)

• The Buddhist stupa, a dome shaped monument,

was used in India as a commemorative monument
associated with storing sacred relics.
• The stupa architecture was adopted in Southeast
and East Asia, where it became prominent as a
Buddhist monument used for enshrining sacred
relics.
• Upon its discovery, this architectural became
known as pagoda to the people from the Western
world.
• Fortified cities with stūpas, viharas, and temples
were constructed during the Maurya empire (c.
321–185 BCE).
• Wooden architecture was popular and rock cut
architecture became solidified.
• Guard rails—consisting of posts, crossbars, and a coping—
became a feature of safety surrounding a stupa.
• Temples—build on elliptical, circular, quadrilateral, or
apsidal plans—were constructed using brick and timber.
• The Indian gateway archs, the torana, reached East
Asia with the spread of Buddhism.
• Some scholars told that torii derives from the torana gates
at the Buddhist historic site of Sanchi (3rd century BCE -
11 century CE).
The Great Stupa at
Sanchi (4th-1st century
BCE). The dome shaped
stupa was used in India
as a commemorative
monument associated
with storing sacred
relics.
Stupa within
the Hall at
Karli/Chaitya
Amaravati
Stupa
Rock-cut step wells in India date from 200-400 CE. Subsequently, the
construction of wells at Dhank (550-625 CE) and stepped ponds at
Bhinmal (850-950 CE) took place.

The city of Mohenjo-daro has wells which may be the predecessors of

the step well.

As many as 700 wells, constructed by 3rd millennium BCE, have been

discovered in just one section of the city, leading scholars to believe
that 'cylindrical brick lined wells' were invented by the people of the
Indus Valley Civilization.
Stupa
Northwest
Pakistan :Manki
ala near
Rawalpindi
Stupa at Taxila Pakistan
• Chapels encircle the Chir-Tope Stupa
at Taxila, Pakistan. It is also known as
the Dharmarajika Stupa. Taxila,
meaning "the city of cut-stone," was
the capital of Gandhara. It was a
center of Buddhist learning and
known for its famous teachers. ---
1950-1980, Taxila, Gandhara Region,
Pakistan ---
• Cave temples became prominent throughout western
India, incorporating various unique features to give rise to
cave architecture in places such as Ajatna and Ellora.
Chaitya, Ellora
Chaitya,
Ajanta
Rock Cut at
Bhaja 250
BC
Lomas Rishe
Cave
Rock Cut
Caves in
Barabar Hills
(Aerial)
 Bhaja caves
• As structures excavated in stone were
the most durable, rock cut architecture
came to the fore in India during the
reign of Emperor Ashoka who was
looking for a lasting medium to
commemorate and spread the teachings
of Buddha.
• The style of architecture turned out to
be especially suited to the Sahayadri
ranges, as the hills were composed of
alternating horizontal strata of harder
and softer volcanic trap rock making
excavation easy.
• Walled and moated cities with large
gates and multi-storied buildings which
consistently used arched windows and
doors are important features of the
architecture during this period.
• The Indian emperor Ashoka (rule: 273—
232 BCE) established a chain of hospitals
throughout the Mauryan empire by 230
BCE.
• One of the edicts of Ashoka (272—231
BCE) reads: "Everywhere King Piyadasi
(Asoka) erected two kinds of hospitals,
hospitals for people and hospitals for
animals.Where there were no healing
herbs for people and animals, he ordered
that they be bought and planted.“
• Buddhist architecture blended with
Roman architecture and Hellenestic
architecture to give rise to unique
blends—such as the Greco-Buddhist
school.
 • Vihara (िवहार) is Sanskrit or Pali
for (Buddhist) monastery.
• It originally meant "dwelling" or
Viharas "refuge", such as those used by
wandering monks during the rainy
season.
Vihara at Taxila
 • Takht-i-Bahi (or Takhtbai or
Takht-i-Bahi or Takht
Bahai) is a Buddhist
Takht Bhai monastic complex dating
back to 1st century BC.
Vihara
• It is located about 15
kilometers from Mardan in
Pakistan's North-West
Frontier Province.
Takht Bhai
Monastery at
Nalanda
The Ruins
 Early • The South Indian temple consists
Common essentially of a square-chambered
Era—High sanctuary topped by a superstructure,
Middle Ages tower, or spire and an attached pillared
(200 CE—1200 porch or hall (mandapa, or
CE) mantapam), enclosed by a peristyle of
cells within a rectangular court.
• The external walls of the temple are
segmented by pilasters and carry
niches housing sculpture.
• The superstructure or tower above
the sanctuary is of the kūtina type and
consists of an arrangement of gradually
receding stories in a pyramidal shape.
• Each story is delineated by a parapet
of miniature shrines, square at the
corners and rectangular with barrel-
vault roofs at the canter.
• The tower is topped by a dome-
shaped cupola and a crowning pot and
finial.
• North Indian temples showed
increased elevation of the wall and
elaborate spire by the 10th century.
• Richly decorated temples—including
the complex at Khajuraho—were
constructed in Central India.
• Indian traders brought Indian
architecture to Southeast Asia through
various trade routes.
Osian Sun temple, 700's AD

Brihidesvara Temple (1000's

AD)
 Late Middle Ages (1100 CE—1526 CE)

• Vijayanagara Architecture of the period (1336 - 1565 CE)

was a notable building style evolved by the Vijayanagara
empire that ruled most of South India from their capital at
Vijayanagara on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in
present-day Karnataka.
• The architecture of the temples built during the reign of
the Vijayanagara empire had elements of political authority.
• This resulted in the creation of a distinctive imperial style
of architecture which featured prominently not only in
temples but also in administrative structures across the
deccan.
• The Vijayanagara style is a combination of the Chalukya,
Hoysala, Pandya and Chola styles which evolved earlier in
the centuries when these empires ruled and is
characterized by a return to the simplistic and serene art
of the past.
• Hoysala architecture is the distinctive building style
developed under the rule of the Hoysala Empire in the
region historically known as Karnata, today's Karnataka,
India, between the 11th and the 14th centuries.
• Large and small temples built during this era remain as
examples of the Hoysala architectural style, including the
Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple
at Halebidu, and the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura.
• Other examples of fine Hoysala craftsmanship are the
temples at Belavadi, Amrithapura, and Nuggehalli.
• Study of the Hoysala architectural style has revealed a
negligible Indo-Aryan influence while the impact of
Southern Indian style is more distinct.
• A feature of Hoysala temple architecture is its attention to
detail and skilled craftsmanship.
• The temples of Belur and Halebidu are proposed
UNESCO world heritage sites. About a 100 Hoysala
temples survive today.
 The temple complex at Khajuraho—
adhering to the shikhara temple style
Ornate lintel over mantapa architecture—is a UNESCO World
entrance, Belur temple. Heritage Site.
Islamic influence and Mughal Era (1526 CE-1857 CE)

• Mughal tombs of sandstone and marble show Persian

influence.
• The Red Fort at Agra (1565–74) and the walled city of
Fatehpur Sikri (1569–74) are among the architectural
achievements of this time as is the Taj Mahal, built as a
tomb for Queen Mumtaz Mahal by Shah Jahan (1628–58).
• Employing the double dome, the recessed archway, white
marble and parks while stressing on symmetry and detail
was visible during the reign of Shah Jahan.
• Quranic verses were described on the walls of the
buildings.
• However, the depiction of any living being an essential part
of the pre-Islamic tradition of India—was forbidden under
Islam.
https://cdn.britannica.com/13/173813-050-1DCA15F5/Harmandir-Sahib-Amritsar-India-Punjab.jpg

In the August of 1604 CE the construction of the Harmandir Sahib—

the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion—was completed.
 Colonial Era (1757 CE—1947 CE)

• European colonialism bought with it a wide array of

influences to further shape Indian architecture.
• Imperial power was stressed by using grand buildings.
• Local craftsmen incorporated new skills and added them
to their trade.
• Colonial architecture became assimilated into India's
diverse traditions.
• Other innovations made during the European Industrial
Revolution came with the British Raj to India.
• The European involvement in India through the 1920s and
the 1930s bought architect Le Corbusier and the Art Deco
movement to India.
• Fusion has been a consistent feature of modern Indian
architecture—for example Indian elements of chhajja
(wide roof overhangs), jaali (circular stone apertures) and
chhatri (free-standing pavilions) were intermixed with
European architecture during the construction of the
Rastrapati bhavan.
• This neoclassical project—which also contained a stupa
like dome was overseen by Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens and
the Indian Institute of Architects (est. 1920).
Chatrapati
Shivaji Terminus
(completed
1897), formerly
Victoria
Terminus.
 • In recent times there has been a movement
of population from rural areas to urban
centers of industry, leading to price rise in
property in various cities of India.
• Urban housing in India balances space
constrictions and is aimed to serve the
working class.
• Indian government has accepted World
Trade Organization's General Agreement on
Republic of Trade in Services (GATS), enabling foreign
India (1947 architects to practice in India, and thereby
adding to the plurality of Indian building
CE—present)
traditions.
• Growing awareness of ecology has
influenced architecture in India during
modern times
• Indian buildings reflect India's culture
and myths.
• Jawahar Kala Kendra at Jaipur, a
Charles Correa design—for
example— represents the layout of a
mandala.
• Raj Jadhav (2007) notes the position of
traditional Vastu Shastra in modern
Indian architecture:
• The ancient Indian architectural text of
Vastu Shastra is widely used in modern
Indian architecture for planning houses,
residential complexes, office, commercial,
industrial and other building types.
• The principles of Vastu Shastra regulate
planning and design specifics from town
planning to the furniture layout of a room.
• The stipulations are said to be governed
by ancient empirical knowledge of the
human body and its relation to the earth
and the cosmos.
• Following these stipulations, it is said,
ensures overall human well-being.
• Hence, a client with a belief in Vastu
Shastra will choose a plot of land and
locate the functions and elements of a
building using the guidelines of this text.
• Architects and clients consult specialists
in Vastu Shastra and then agree upon
a design.
• The belief in this ancient body of
knowledge is experiencing a rapid revival.
• Security is a main concern in
government buildings.
• The architecture of these buildings
lays emphasis on security precautions.
• One method of achieving that may be
designing separate entrances for
separate user groups.
• The VIP entrances and exits can have
required security arrangements for
ensuring safety
• Concentricity has been employed in
Indian architecture since millennia.
• The plan of early buildings aligned them
to a spiritual motif corresponding to
cosmological imagination.
• The concentric feature of Indian
architecture is common to buildings of
various regions and cultures within
India—notable examples being various
Hindu temples, the Taj Mahal, and
buildings constructed according to
Rajasthani architecture.
• This plan is divided into various parts by
the designer who uses concentric placing
of these parts in his construction.
• Modern Indian architects continue to
use and incorporate this feature in
buildings for example in the Indian
Parliament Library or the Vidhan Sabha
(Bhopal).
• A significant feature of India's
architecture is the courtyard. Klaus-
Peter Gast (2007) elaborates on the
significance of courtyards in India.
• The courtyards also take up an old
Indian architectural motif whereby the
courtyard provides light and air for the
rooms directly in this hot climate, and
people are able to spend time outside
or inside according to the time of day.
• The courtyard is also the classical
symbol of something shared, a place
where people meet, spend time with
each other and live together.
• This aspect is emphasized in the
courtyard for the general public, which is
placed immediately inside the entrance
and constructed in the form of a Kund, a
large area of stone steps.
• Here people spend their waiting time
together almost as if in a state of
communal meditation.
• A waiting area that would be completely
inconceivable in Western culture
functions as a “think tank” here, with the
ambience of waiting stimulating
communal reflection.
• Climate responsive architecture has long
been a feature of India's architecture but
has been losing its significance as of late.
• Indian architecture reflects its various
socio-cultural sensibilities which vary
from region to region.
• Certain areas are traditionally held to be
belonging to women.
• Villages in India have features such as
courtyards, loggias, terraces and
balconies. Calico, chintz, and
palampore—of Indian origin—highlight
the assimilation of Indian textiles in
global interior design.
The North Block in New Delhi Chandigarh Secretariat
houses key government offices, designed by Le Corbusier.
built along with Lutyens' Delhi.
 Indian Vernacular Architecture

• Indian vernacular architecture is the informal,

functional architecture of structures, often in rural areas, of
India, built of local materials and designed to meet the
needs of the local people.
• The builders of these structures are unschooled in formal
architectural design and their work reflects the rich
diversity of India's climate, locally available building materials,
and the intricate variations in local social customs and
craftsmanship.
• It has been estimated that worldwide close to 90% of all
building is vernacular, meaning that it is for daily use for
ordinary, local people and built by local craftsmen.
• The term "vernacular architecture" in general refers to the
informal building of structures through traditional building
methods by local builders without using the services of a
professional architect.
• It is the most widespread form of building.
 Categories of Vernacular Architecture

• Indian vernacular architecture has evolved organically over time

through the skillful craftsmanship of the local people. Despite
the diversity, this architecture can be broadly divided into three
categories.
1. kachcha
• A kachcha is a building made of natural materials such a mud,
grass, bamboo, thatch or sticks and is therefore a short-lived
structure.
• The practical limitations of the building materials available
dictate the specific form which can have a simple beauty.
• The advantage of a kachcha is that construction materials are
cheap and easily available and relatively little labor is required.
2. Pukka
• A pukka is a structure made from materials resistant to
wear, such as forms of stone or brick, clay tiles , metal or
other durable materials, sometimes using mortar to bind,
that does not need to be constantly maintained or replaced.
• However, such structures are expensive to construct as the
materials are costly and more labor is required.
• A pukka may be elaborately decorated in contrast to a
kachcha.
3. Semi-pukka
• A combination of the kachcha and pukka style, the semi-
pukka, has evolved as villagers have acquired the resources
to add elements constructed of the durable materials
characteristic of a pukka.
• Architecture as always evolves organically as the needs and
resources of people change.
A Toda tribal hut

A village hut in West Bengal

 Traditional
home, Manali
Chennai
suburb
Residential
Housing
 Brick and timber houses in Darjeeling

One of Kolkata's slums

Modern
Indian
Architecture • Lotus Temple: A Symbol
Of Excellence In Modern
Indian Architecture
• The architect, Fariborz
Sahba has attempted to make
this building familiar and
acceptable to the Indian
people without imitating any
of the existing architectural
schools of India. The basic idea
of the design is that two
fundamental elements - light
and water - have been used as
ornamentation in place of the
statues and carvings normally
found in Indian temples.
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-79896691d752bb1c356b1dadf8d5c684-lq
 Lotus Temple
The Interior
https://worldarchitecture.org/cdnimgfiles/extuploadc/b_92-1-.jpg
Largest stupa,
largest dome,
and largest rock
cave in the world.
[under
construction]
The Scheme
 The temple is a
modern
interpretation of
ancient Nagara
(Northern) and
Kalinga (Orissan)
Hindu temple
design
 The Sri
Mayapur
Vedic Temple
and
Planetarium
Proportion
Symmetrical
Orissan Temple Architecture
The Model
Bengali Temple Architecture
Sri Sri Radha Krishna Chandra Temple
END!
 References:
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil
e:Mohenjodaro_Sindh.jpeg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil
e:Sanchi2.jpg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil
e:Belur2_retouched.jpg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil
e:Khajuraho5.jpg
• Amritsar-golden-temple-
00.JPG
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil
e:Mumbai_India.jpg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NorthBlock.jpg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chandigarh_Secretariat_.jpg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Toda_Hut.JPG
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wbvillagehut1.JPG
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Old_style_home,_Manali,_20
04.jpg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Adambakkam_Subramanya_T
emple.JPG
• trojanattack.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html