India is a land of cultural variety. Each of the different states and Union Territories that make up the nation, have their own unique culture and style. The buildings of Kashmir valley are created to blend with the snow capped hills and gentle mountain slopes and lakes. Earthquakes are a part of the life of the valley and people have learnt to live with them and build for them. The traditional buildings of Kashmir can be divided into two main types of constructions—the Taq and the Dhajji Dewari.
Timber beams are used in buildings in the Taq system, but do not provide a complete frame for the building. These timbers are ‘runners’ which rest along load bearing masonry walls. The floor beams and the runners for the cross walls overlap them. The whole network of beams is intended to bind the walls and the floors together. The weight of the masonry ‘prestress’ the walls and creates resistance to lateral forces. The mortar used is of negligible strength and there is no bonding between the infill walls and piers. There is a weakness between the wythes of the masonry in the walls. Heavy sod roofs are used in these buildings.
The Dhajji Dewari is a half timber, brick nogged construction. It provides for an efficient and economical use of materials. Wood usage is minimal but still the construction is resistant to in plane movement of masonry. Variations of the brick nogged building can be found in parts of England and Europe too.
In Western India the architecture of Gujarat is distinguished by order and coherence. The Gujarathi home is a spatial embodiment of culture and an expression of the collective. The traditional home in Gujarat is a legacy of the medieval period. The organization of the house is simple, spacious and linear. The houses are deep set wall to wall houses with a narrow frontage that opens on to the street. The houses have a dense built environment and there is no land surrounding the property. The house contains three or four sequential rooms one behind the other. A small courtyard adorns the center and provides light and ventilation to the home. Basements are built for storage and water collection. These basements also help keep the house cool in summer. The courtyard is ornate and is the center of the household activities. The house is dominated by wooden facades. These facades have an intricate ordering mechanism and profuse carvings. The horizontal bands and vertical fenestrations make an aesthetic impact. The whole construction is made of brick and wood. Sometimes burnt brick is used with mud mortar. Wood work contributes a great deal to the aesthetics of the floors, carved columns, brackets and balconies.
Deep in the south of India one comes across the traditional Chettiar home. These Chettinad houses are built on rectangular plots that span two streets with the front door opening on one street and the back door opening on the other. A visitor standing at the front door would have a glimpse of the back door through a serried of diminishing rectangular doors that are set in a straight line. The entrance to the house is guarded by a rectangular veranda called the Thinai. The veranda has raised platforms on either side of the front door for visitors to sit. The platforms lead out to the granaries and the Accountant’s room. The men’s well is also located near these granaries. Nine gems are buried under the steps leading into the house at the time of construction. The front door is an elaborately carved teak wood art piece. It leads to the open courtyard with pillared corridors on either side leading to individual rooms. The second courtyard is the dining area with dining spaces on either side. The third courtyard consists of the women’s quarters. The last courtyard leads out to the backyard with the kitchens, the women’s well and grinding stones. Sometimes these houses contain a second storey.
The walls of the Chettinad house are made of baked bricks and plastered over with a secret binding substance made of roots, yolk and lime. This mixture leaves the walls silky and washable. The tiles are generally Spanish or Italian Marble or a variety of local tiles called Athangudi tiles. The pillars are carved Burmese teak and some houses have turrets and guard houses on the terrace. The carvings and friezes include Hindu Gods, Pictures of British soldiers, Victorian women and scenes from the British period. The outer walls of the houses are a bizarre clash of colours, curves, domes and arches.
India today has a large number of cities and
towns where western style housing is extremely popular.
Apartments and bungalows are common in most metropolis and
towns. Government housing schemes and development also
focus on construction of cheap western style houses made of
brick and concrete.
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