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 British vis-à-vis the Mughals

 the Europeans brought with them concepts of town planning and
architecture new to India. In doing so, they had the whole history of
European architecture –Classical, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and
baroque upon which to draw to create images of self and power.
Colonial Architecture in India
Symbolism In Architecture
 The British used the classical not simply because it was in good taste but
because they saw themselves as carrying the mantle of the Romans. Their
architecture came to stand as a symbol of British imperialism throughout
the empire.
 The British saw themselves as the successors to the Mughals and sought
to present themselves that way. They used architecture in much the same
way-as a symbol of power, a superior religion and way of life.

 Indo -Saracenic was an effort to merge British and Indian aspirations

after 1857.
Colonial Architecture in India
 Bombay, Calcutta and Madras were built as English cities yet they
did not have a clear plan and simply grew from a nucleus.

 Stages of the growth of British architecture in India

1. Decline of the Hindu and Muslim classical architecture.
2. Practical utilitarian structures for army and trade.
3. Public Works departments-new building types.
4. Pattern books and precedents.
5. Resistance to modernization.
6. Original works with regard to Indian context.
Colonial Architecture in India
Urban Design

 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

Colonial Architecture Splendor At New Delhi

 New Delhi is a city made by the British, not the Mughals. In
1911 the King Emperor George V passed an order declaring that
the capital would be moved from Calcutta to Delhi.

 The city was planned systematically, combining 20th century

architecture with that of two centuries before.

 Sir Edward Lutyens was responsible for the overall plan of

Delhi, and his tour de forte is Rajpath, approached by a 3.2km
long road flanked by the imposing buildings of the two
Secretariats, built by Herbert Baker.

 The Rashtrapati Bhawan, built of brown stone, is truly a

befitting home for the President of the second largest democracy
in the world.

Edwin Lutyens
 Colonial Architecture in India
D E L H I

 But it wasn’t Lutyens or Bakers who built the rest of Delhi as is

commonly believed; most if its structures were designed by an
unknown Englishman called Robert Tor Tussell, who built
Connaught Place, Eastern and Western Courts, Flagstaff House
(where Jawaharlal Nehru lived later) and the thousands of public
buildings, post offices, officer’s bungalows and public buildings.
 With India’s independence in 1947, British architecture died a gradual death,
especially after the new city of Chandigarh was completed by Le Corbusier and his
English colleagues.
Colonial Architecture in India
Delhi

The Rashtrapati Bhawan

Colonial Architecture in India
Delhi-The Rashtrapati Bhawan-Viceroy’s house

•The Viceroy declared that the palace was to be

classical, but with an Indian motif. This was close to
what the design eventually developed into.
•While Lutyens wanted an almost totally classical
building, it was probably due to pressure from others
that forced him to include Indian elements in the design.
•Lutyens believed he came to India to bring Western
culture to it, rather than to conform to Indian designs
•While Lutyens wanted the Viceroy’s house to go higher
up, he was forced to move it back from the intended
position due to a dispute with Baker. Following the
completion of the palace, Lutyens fought with Baker,
because the view of the front of the palace was obscured
by the high angle of the road.
 Colonial Architecture in India
Delhi-The Rashtrapati Bhawan

 . This Column was a gift

to the Viceroy from Sir
Sawai Madho Singh, the
Maharaja of Jaipur, to
commemorate the
creation of the new
capital. The 145-m high
column is crowned with
a glass star on a bronze
lotus blossom
The North Block flanks out of the
Rashtrapati Bhavan. The front of the palace, on
the east side, has twelve unevenly spaced columns
with the Delhi order capitals. These capitals have a
fusion of acanthus leaves with the four pendant The Jaipur Column, 1930s, placed in
Indian bells the front court of Rashtrapati
Bhavan
 Colonial Architecture in India
Delhi The Rashtrapati Bhawan
Detail of the entrance gate
 Some various Indian designs were added to the building. These
included several circular stone basins on the top of the palace,
as water features are an important part of Indian architecture.
There was also a traditional Indian chujja or chhajja .
 On the roofline were several chuttris, which helped to break up
the look of the flat part of the roofline not covered by the
dome. Lutyens himself did not like the complicated
ornamentation used in traditional Indian architecture, which
he saw in a very negative light.
 He did not like the way that buildings would be covered in
patterns and motifs. Instead he appropriated some Indian
designs, but used them sparingly throughout the palace.
 Colonial Architecture in India
Delhi The India gate-The All-India War Memorial,1931

 Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens after King-

Emperor George V announced in 1911 that the Raj
would shift its capital from Calcutta to Delhi.
 This high structure was meant to honor the 90,000
soldiers of the Indian Army who died during World
War I.
 Known as India Gate since the word 'India' is boldly
inscribed on the entablature, the Memorial is sited at
the end of the Central Vista t-he Rajpath which
originated at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and served as
the axis upon which Lutyens' design of the Capitol
was based.
 Colonial Architecture in India
Delhi -The India gate-The All-India War Memorial,1931

The 22.25 meters' high canopy

which stands in a circular
basin in a square pool.
During the colonial period a
white marble statue of
King-Emperor George V
stood in the canopy which
could be seen by the Viceroy
from the roof of his palace.
This was seen a symbol of This two-mile long Central Vista links the
imperial domination and Viceroy's Palace to the Memorial Arch.
was removed after India Around it were constructed the official
gained independence buildings as well as the residences of
Princely Rulers from the different Indian
States.
 Colonial Architecture in India
Delhi -The Parliament House, Sansad Bhawan

 . Earlier called the Circular House, it was added to the

layout at a later stage following the reforms which created a
large Legislative Assembly.
 This huge circular, colonnaded building comprises three
semicircular chambers for the Legislatures and a Central
Library crowned by a 27.4m high dome. It is 173m in
diameter and covers 2.02 hectares in area, with colonnaded
verandahs enclosing the entire circumference
 A verandah with 144 columns surrounds the three chambers.
The boundary wall has blocks of sandstone carved in
geometrical patterns that echo the Mughal jalis.
 Colonial Architecture in India
Delhi -The Connaught place

 . Named after the visit of Duke of Connaught to India, it is

the focus of entertainment, shopping, and business activities.
Designed by Robert Tor Russell in collaboration with WH
Nicholls, it comprises two huge concentric circles of
colonnaded verandahs in plastered brick design painted an
eye-pleasing white.
Colonial Architecture in India
Churches

S.George’s cathedral ,Madras,1816

 Designed by Sir James Caldwell on the lines of
James Gibbs with Palladianism and traces of
the Baroque movement.

S.John’s church, Calcutta,1787

 Neo-classical church, colonnades on the north
and south sides,tower shifted from rear to
entrance.

Presbyteriran church of St. Andrew, Calcutta,1815

 Closer to the Gibbs style with Tuscan- Doric
order.
Colonial Architecture in India
Churches

St.James Church Delhi ,1836

 Lavish and unusual example of neo classical
churches.
 Greek cross, dome, Doric porticoes with coupled
columns, ribbed dome.
 Baroque character.

S.Paul’s Cathedral, Calcutta,1847

 A good example of the picturesque Gothic style.
 Impressive brick building, rendered in chunam,
with a metal framed roof.
 Colonial Architecture in India
Calcutta

 Like Madras and Bombay, Calcutta was an early

British outpost, its Fort William being the highest
point on the Hooghly that ships could reach.
 Unlike Madras and Bombay, however, principles of
urban design were applied here, stemming from its
position in the last decades of the 18th century as the
Company’s main seat. Calcutta was stamped with
the hallmark of authority like the era’s classic
European capitals
 There were two main axes. The first one led from
the civil arm of authority around an expansive square
dominated by the barrack-like Writers’ Building, to
the military arm in the Maidan by Fort
William. The secondary one embraced the Council
House, the Courts and the Town Hall. At their
perpendicular intersection stood Government House,
built for the Governor-General Lord Wellesley from
1798 by Captain Charles Wyatt of the Bengal
Engineers – and the architectural family then
prominent at home.
Colonial Architecture in India
Secular buildings

Town hall, Calcutta ,1813

Chowranghee road,
Calcutta ,1780-
Colonial Architecture in India
BOMBAY

 The British followed various architectural

styles – Gothic, Imperial, Christian,
English Renaissance and Victorian being
the essentials.
 Bombay, a forgotten port because of its
weather, was renovated after the Sepoy
Mutiny in 1857. The old town walls were
broken down, and the Gateway of India
(through which the last British troops left)
was built.

 The idea was definitely Gothic, to give

Bombay a truly Imperial ambience. The
Secretariat, University Library, Rajabai
Tower, the Law Courts, Public Works
office, Telegraph office, Victoria Terminus
all followed the Victorian Gothic style,
similar to buildings in London.
 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

High Court, Calcutta

Post office, Calcutta

 Colonial Architecture in India
Secular Buildings

Post office, Bombay

Law courts, Bombay,1879

 Colonial Architecture in India
Secular Buildings

Town Hall, Bombay

The Greek Doric Order of its powerful temple-fronts doubtless
came from the principal source of the English Greek Revival
Quite different in its exceptional neo-classical gravitas is the
Bombay Town Hall of Colonel Thomas Cowper, Bombay
engineers
Colonial Architecture in India
Secular Buildings

Queen Victoria Memorial, 1906-21

Calcutta
Colonial Architecture in India
Bungalows and cantonments

 The Cantonment was a British military

settlement which was to spread out all over
India wherever the British were present in
sizable numbers. Originally conceived as a
military base for British troops, the cantonment
also began to house civilians who were
associated with servicing the military, and
developed into a full-fledged mini-city of its
own
Colonial Architecture in India
Bungalows and cantonments

 The bungalow’s design evolved as a type over a

hundred years.
 While the actual model for a bungalow remains
controversial, it appears to have dual origins:
the detached rural Bengal house sitting in its
compound (from the word root bangla – from
Bengal), and the British suburban villa.
 It was a fusion of these two types that led to a
building form which would later become an
enduring symbol of the Raj.

 The typical residential bungalow for the

wealthy, for example, was set back from the Early Colonial Bungalow
road by a walled compound. The amount of (Sanatarium in Kinnur)
land enclosed was a symbol of status.
Colonial Architecture in India
Bungalows and cantonments

 The early bungalows had long, low classical

lines and detailing. The Gothic revival in
England brought about a corresponding change
in bungalow design – spawning buildings with
pitched roofs and richly carpentered details
including such features as the ‘monkey tops’ of
Bangalore. The Classical bungalow with its
Doric, and later, in New Delhi for instance,
Tuscan orders became a symbol not only of an
European heritage but also of the military and
political might of Britain. That the bungalow
continues to evoke associations of wealth and
power is evident from its continued relevance as
a building type in India today. Early Colonial Bungalow ,1896
 The bungalow was therefore truly emblematic of
the ruling culture where social norms were
codified in the architecture.