When the British first made inroads into India, little impact had been, was, or even intended on being made. Structures were mainly reflective of their functions, simple warehouses and a number of rather temporary administration facilities with residences remaining few in number, these kept to the traditional and vernacular. However, as British interests in India expanded, more permanent structures were required to facilitate the infrastructure of the new British Raj- symbols of their new status as the power seat; a sense of permanence and prominence.
2. What is Indo-Saracenic?
An architectural style movement by British architects in the
late 19th century British India which drew elements from
native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture, and combined it
with the Gothic revival and Neo-Classical styles favoured
in Victorian Britain.
3. Development of the Style
• BEFORE 1857- European classical style (incorporating Greek
and Roman Features such as columns, triangular pediments)
employed for the public buildings: image as the holders of
power and status and to distance themselves from the
natives.
• REVOLT OF 1857- India began to be ruled under the British
crown: essential to legitimatize their rule and connect to the
natives of the colonised land.
4. “In the public buildings put up by the Raj it was essential
always to make visible Britain’s imperial position as ruler, for
these structures were charged with the explicit purpose of
representing empire itself. Since they wanted to legitimatize
their rule, they decided to justify their presence by relating
themselves to the previous rulers, the Mughals. The British
deliberately kept Mughal princes in power so as to not to
provoke Indian contempt and to further establish their
connection to the Mughals. These princes were a vision of the
future, but the British also needed them to be a
representation of the past. And it worked.”
-Sir Thomas Metcalf
5. St. George's Cathedral, Chennai (1815)
Chepauk Palace, Chennai (1864)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George's_Cathedral,_Chennai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chepauk_Palace
6. Principal Characteristics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Onion (Bulbous) Domes
Overhanging Eaves
Pointed Arches, Cusped Arches, or Scalloped Arches
Vaulted Roofs
Domed Kiosks
Many Miniature Domes, or Domed Chhatris
Towers or Minarets
Harem Windows
Open Pavilions
Pierced Open Arcading
8. Prominent Buildings
•
•
•
•
•
•
Courts and other Civic Buildings
Clock Towers
Government Colleges and High School Buildings
Railway Stations
Art Galleries
Palaces of the Indian Maharajas
9. Map showing the locations of cities having Indo Saracenic style buildings in India
http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/
10. The Princely States and the British
• From the middle of the 19th century, the British Crown
became the guarantor of peace and commerce treaties.
• The princely states were, watched over by British agents and
their powers were limited to internal matters.
• Change in lifestyle began to be reflected in their architecture
as well - durbar halls, rooms for European guests were built,
introduction of the dining and drawing rooms, fireplaces,
marble fountains and statues.
• New princely towns of Jaipur, Bikaner and Mysore most
successful in negotiating this divide.
11. Amba Vilas Palace (19001910), Mysore
• Henry Irwin
• fluted pillars from the Red
Fort in Delhi, onion domes
from the Taj Mahal, Mughal
tracery and European halls.
Durbargadh Waghaji Palace
(1882), Morvi
•Indo-Venetian Gothic building
•Saracenic domes and Rajput
arches.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mysore_Palace,_India
http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articl
es&ArticleID=1006
Such palaces were a sophisticated political symbol of the imperial
presence- outwardly Indian and built by Indian hands, the overall
control stayed with the British.
12. SENATE HOUSE- MADRAS UNIVERSITY
• Constructed by Robert Chisholm between 1874 and 1879
• Inspired by the Byzantine and built in the Indo-Saracenic style.
20. Plan of the Secretariat along the Rajpath
Two blocks of symmetrical buildings (North Block and South
Block) on opposite sides of the great axis of Rajpath, and
flanking the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's House).
22. Photograph by Medha Malik Kudaisya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_Building,_New_Delhi
23. Columns and colonnaded verandahs
Photograph by Medha Malik Kudaisya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_Building,_New_Delhi
Chattris & Chajjas in red sandstone
24. “The men who will actually leave the impress of their hands on
the material. These men have an art language of their own, a
language which you can recognize but cannot thoroughly
understand. For this reason an architect practicing in India
should unhesitatingly select to practice in the native styles of
art - indeed the natural art-expression of the men is the only
art to be obtained in the country.”
-Robert Fellowes Chisholm (1840-1915)
25. REFERENCES
• Gupta, Narayani. Delhi Between two empires, 1803-1921.
Delhi, 1986
• Irving, R G. Indian Summer: Lutyens, Baker and Imperial Delhi.
New Haven, 1981.
• Metcalf, T R. An Imperial Vision. Indian Architecture and
Britain's Raj. Berkeley, 1989.
Notas do Editor
Saracenic was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs.
When the East India Company first came to India, the European classical style (incorporating Greek and Roman Features such as columns, triangular pediments) was followed for the public and other buildings to reflect their image as the holders of power and status and to distance themselves from the natives.
Indo-Saracenic architecture, although based mostly on political motives, kept both the British citizens living in India, as well as native Indians, content.It was a progressive move forward without the controversy that usually follows modernism.
considered to be one of the best and oldest examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture in India
it comprises of large two floor high central hall, 16m high, measuring approx. 50m by 15m, and has a capacity to seat 1600 people. though laid out as a simple rectangle, a strong variation in form is achieved on the sensitive lacing of the four towers on simple square projections that fall behind each of the side entrance porches.
tinier cupolas on octagonal drums pin the corners with a series of turrets lining the east and west sides. impressive double floor high verandas on the east and west faces are lined by stone columns with sculptured capitals bearing human figures and Hindu icons and support large horseshoe arches trimmed in stone.
the wall of the verandah facing the hall is broken by giant doors with large clerestory circular openings decorated by ornate geometrical patterns of coloured glass.the result is a finely proportioned mass with a high fenestrated lower portion, terminated by vertical solid masses that soar skywards.
Built in the 1910s by Herbert Baker
Two blocks of symmetrical buildings (North Block and South Block) on opposite sides of the great axis of Rajpath, and flanking the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's House).
Designed to form two squares; broad corridors between different wings and wide stairways to the four floors and each building is topped by a giant dome, while each wings end with colonnaded balcony.Cream and red Dholpur sandstone from Rajasthan, with the red sandstone forming the base.
Dome-like structure known as the Chatri, a design unique to India, used in ancient times to give relief to travelers by providing shade from the hot Indian sun.
There are traces of classical style, with columns and colonnaded verandahs