Professional Documents
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Colonial Architecture
Colonial Architecture
IN INDIA
DELHI
BOMBAY
CALCUTTA
MADRAS
Colonial Architecture in India
Symbolism In Architecture
Architecture always reflects the distribution of political and economic power
within a society
British architecture in India became a symbol of British attitudes.
In the British colonial administration there were two views of how
India should be ruled :Progressive and Conservative.
The planning and urban design policies of the British followed certain
principles –
a. their perceptions of the nature of the Indian city,
b. the fear of further revolts along the lines of the Mutiny of 1857,
c. Haussmann’s plan for Paris which had become so popular in Europe and which
advocated cutting through and demolishing old city centres to make space for
new construction and boulevards, and
d. planning techniques already in use for Britain’s industrial
A number of new towns and new suburbs were built to house the British, and
the pattern of new town planning changed.
In the main the effort was to physically and socially separate the Europeans
from the indigenous populace – the so-called ‘White’ and ‘Black’ towns of
Madras being an example
Colonial Architecture in India
D E L H I
Edwin Lutyens
Colonial Architecture in India
D E L H I
Chowranghee road,
Calcutta ,1780-
Colonial Architecture in India
BOMBAY
The gateway is a combination of European and Indian ceremonial architecture. The last British
troops marched out through this gate when India became independent in 1947
Colonial Architecture in India
Madras-Chennai
Fort St George is the name of the first British fortress in India, built in 1644 at the coastal city
of Madras (modern city of Chennai.) The construction of the fort provided the impetus for
further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally a barren land. Thus, it is
only correct to say that the city evolved around the fortress
The fort was completed on April 23rd, coinciding with St. George's Day, celebrated in honour of
St. George, the patron saint of England. The fort, hence christened Fort St. George faced
the sea and a few fishing villages, and soon became the hub of merchant activity. It gave
birth to a new settlement area called George Town, which grew to envelop the villages and
led to the formation of the city of Madras. It also helped establish British influence over
the Carnatic region,
Colonial Architecture in India
Secular Buildings