Re-interpreting Form and Function through India’s Vernacular

Senior Honours Dissertation 2004

Armeet Singh Panesar

 C ontents

∞ Introduction 5

∞ Colonialism 11

∞ Modernism 16

∞ Vernacular in Part // 21

∞ Dwelling 23

∞ Chowk 26

∞ Chhata 31

∞ Jali 34

∞ Otta 38

∞ Materiality 41

∞ Behaviour 46

∞ Conclusion 49

∞ Bibliography 52

∞ Picture Credits 54
4
 Introduction
Over the last twenty years, India has seen a vast progression of urbanisation and
commercialism that has struck the influence of India’s architects to re-think about
ways in which to design in accordance to an ever increasing population, aswell as
to continue the fight for achieving a true Indian ‘Modernism’. Since independence,
a rethink on the colonial mode of architecture and urban planning, which were
generally not in suit to the country’s own resources, climate and socio-cultural
conditions, has led to a great amount of healthy questioning. The thought has also
stimulated a re-interpretation of Indian architecture as a social heritage, and an
ultimate essence of indigenous human life form. On a historical perspective,
todays practicioners of architecture have either neglected the original meanings of
ancient design and construction and pursued a discourse in achieving an imitative
style that tries to explore a superficial architecture, ironic to its theoretical
foundation; or to approach the architecture from a philosophical spectrum, in
alliance with the ideas of Modernism, and create strong yet self-conscious buildings
that break away from the real qualties of contemporary indian culture and society.

Architects have always been faced with the task of finding a workable balance
between the desire for change and the need for continuity, and today’s architects
are no exception. Indeed, these opposite but not necessarily opposing influences
are primary considerations in finding a suitable mode of architectural language that
supports both these issues. This project essentially attempts to examine what
specific architectural elements can help create the form of this language, in parallel
with the society, climate, culture and region it is built within.

5
6
Many cultures deviate from these issues in favour for what might just seem either
fashionable or politically beneficial to them. In contrast, a sociological desire is
more apparent to the contemporary pressures of progressive cultural architecture,
and therefore this project serves as a medium to re-introduce to societies what
factors in regional building we should really be focusing upon and not to just
accept the common desires of change through ‚uncultured‘ ideologies. The project
is also not aimed to promote some factual justification of a preferred style, but on
the contrary, to demonstrate the use of a certain vocabulary within a changing
architectural spectrum.

In order to investigate and understand this issue, the spectrum of this project is
sectioned into relevant parts. The selected parts are designed to show what areas of
architectural thought influence the way appropriate Indian styles can be created for
societies that require it.1 However, a society that promotes another design culture
often oversee what lies in the groundings of the architecture. In the West, for
example, we can generally believe that what has been built for us, whether homes
or public building, is of high regard on the human scale, of social significance, and
functional. Most of what has been built for us in a Modern way, on the other hand,
by-passes the actual meaning ‘to dwell‘ (for a normal fluid culture), because there is
no control over the technological and advanced materialism that exists in our
cultures. They essentially do not compliment our natural human ‘needs‘. The
notion of thought here is that one should not pass off an assumption of specific

1
Although, the discussion is founded against my own personal experiences of indigenous
architecture, it will be obvious to see that many separate global and political issues can be brought in
onto these to help further the investigation. However, being a study on the physical patterns of the
architecture, this area will not be discussed in broad detail.
7
‘basic‘ local cultural elements.2 It exists with a force that influences environmental
change externally aswell as internally and therefore, in order to create an
appropriate attitude to building and processes, it is vital to establish what features of
the locale influence appropriate building typology on a regional scale.

This search is both complex and beneficial, with contradictory forces, because on
the one hand it must be realised that most importantly through buildability, it tries
to make clear a realisation on both the issues of a corrupt educational system that is
being influenced too heavily upon Western ideas and on the other hand it focuses
upon an urge to design with regard to cultural needs and aspirations. Vernacular
architecture, as the original and essential influence to these ideologies, therefore
plays an important notable part in this project, yet it cannot be discussed or
appreciated in its contemporary context without prior regard to the traditions it is
founded upon.

What we can explore through the vernacular issue will no doubt shine light upon
the reasons for why historic Indian Architecture has remained as powerful now as it
was when originally constructed. India’s historic architecture therefore informs the
importance of the domestic-vernacular influence and examples can be seen
through religious symbolism or space and light associations.3

Ellora Caves – worship hall

2
These being elements of a part, of which a set of parts (all of which cannot be discussed in the
limitations of this project) are a sum of the whole and Totality of the architecture they are related to.
3
An example can be seen through the influence of the Ajanta and Ellora monastery caves of
Aurangabad (Maharashtra).
8
An understanding of the European contribution to the evolution of an Indian style is
also essential in realising why such a debate is relevant to the field of architecture
not just in the East but in the West too, where architecture, predominantly in the
domestic, has seemed to develop itself without true concern and connection to
specific cultural and sociological interests that the style was originally based upon.
The issue is deep throughout the architectural language, and this project allows for
a fluid scope into other interesting realms of architecture that will help in enabling
this issue to be fully appreciated
.

Ellora Monastery caves in Aurangabad. Built from the

middle of 2 Century by the Buddists.
nd

9
10
 Colonialism
Throughout India’s history, people have shown an exceptional capacity to absorb
the influences of outside cultures into its own and allow many important
transformations to take place. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the
Portuguese became the first colonial settlers to the western ports of India. They
were followed by the Dutch and the English, then the French and the Danes,
establishing various trading settlements throughout the country. They encountered
such a rich and diverse culture which enabled them to expand themselves on a
large sociological scale, and in turn they gave back much to what India has
developed upon today. Such indigenous natural resources of the peninsula,
strategically located in line with the trade routes of South East Asia and China to the
Middle East and Europe also ensured the thriving growth of many Indian cities as
the power base of economic and political control. The hierarchical control is India Gate, Delhi

based upon all levels of society and it is obvious through a basic journey of the
country that the communities believe in those colonic physical influences, enabling
them to establish better modes of working life.

The most influential transformations of India’s architectural heritage occurred with

the invasion of the Muslims in the 12th century AD. Through the Mughul Empire,
the mistri (master mason) of the urban and rural civilisation had ‘absorbed the
impact of Islam to evolve a sophisticated Indo-Islamic synthesis, not only for the
particular imported building types of the mosque and mausoleum but for secular
4
architecture, planning and landscaping in general’. Such examples can be seen at
Fatehpur Sikri, The Red Forts of Agra and Delhi or the Taj Mahal.

4
Architectural Review, no.1086, p.26
Detail from Taj Mahal, Agra 11
From the mid-sixteenth century up until independence in 1947, European colonial
architecture established a ubiquitous presence throughout the sub-continent, the
British being the most dominant of these. The list ranges from the Manqueline-
Baroque churches, convents and palaces of Portuguese Goa, French rationalism at
Pondicherry, the Anglo-Indian transposition of Neo Classicism initiated in Madras
and Calcutta, to Bombay’s Indo-Saracenic metamorphosis of Ruskinian Gothic and
finally the Classical sublimation of Edward Lutyen’s and Herbert Baker’s New
Delhi.5

What appeared to be alien architecture did not seem to harm the composure of
Indian society and they synthesised their daily lives with European Colonialism as
much as they did with the Indo-Islamic Mughuls. Such acceptance was enjoyed by
Fig.1, Parliament Buildings, New Delhi
the mistri of the time that they adapted and played with cross culture styles whilst
still keeping a strong Indian vitality within their architecture. However, they only
took upon such achievements in order to preserve a continuum in the flow of
wealth from the Colonials. Until independence, the mistri and architects have
relied upon the influences of the West and have lost the courage to find what they
themselves believe think is a style for their country alone. India’s Independence
provided this chance and fifty years on a struggle to get away from the times of
being thrown around in a wave of upward influences is still going on.

By the time direct British rule had been imposed and Queen Victoria proclaimed
Empress of India in 1877, the etiquette of the Gothic revival had come to be
accepted in alliance with Classicism as an appropriate expression of the Raj. The
hybrid styles that the British introduced led to a serious, Arts and Crafts inspired,

5
Architectural Review, no.1086, p.26
12
attempt to revive the traditional skills of the mistri as the basis of a genuinely Indian
contemporary architecture. Major projects were undertaken throughout the
country but under the supervision of the western architect. All craftsmanship and
design was therefore influenced through what the British felt was a style of their
presence, disregarding the truth and honesty so apparent in the mistri’s work. The
British empirical tradition, as opposed to the French Cartesian rationalism, informed
the Anglo-Indian architectural synthesis and gained freedom from the social and
speculative pressures from Georgian London. This enabled many of the British
company’s officers and merchants to rapidly acquire a foundation in building
themselves living quarters and political bases on a scale inconceivable in Britain
yet ‘common enough in India with its material abundance and cheap labour, and
where both climate and culture encouraged expansive building programmes as a
manifestation of power and status’6.

Through this arrogant building process, India’s stance in colonial heritage has become
so complete that its re-examination through a sociological and cultural perspective
rather than through actual building type will no doubt provide an efficient reasoning
for a new language in contemporary Indian architecture. Yet, this does not mean to
say that Western modes of modern practice should be ignored, more so that the rich
architectural potential offered by indigenous methods of building and design is not
destroyed by, but integrated with, the advantages offered by efficient modern Western
technology.

6
Architectural Review, no.1086, p.27
13
14
India has an architectural tradition of nearly 5000 years and if one studies the
archaeological remains of architecture along with the works on Vastu Shastra (Spirit
and Study in sacred Hindu writings), one would find that there was an elaborate
and systematic knowledge about various elements of architecture, starting from the
layout of villages, towns and forts to houses, rooms and ornament, as well as
precise rules about building houses for gods and king. Even with West Asian
relationships, India was still able to hold its specifics in the traditional style whilst
absorbing their influences. With wide spread experimentation from the British,
despite resistance from the Public Works Department, an imposition into the Indo-
Saracenic attempted to make a hybrid style appropriate to India’s architectural
structure and climate.
Jami Masjid, Taj Mahal, Agra

Robert Fellowes Chisholm first pioneered this style in Madras with an ambitious
combination of Indo-Islamic and Byzantine styles with Renaissance articulation.7
Such a style just became a political state of architecture. Nevertheless,
experimentation is healthy in determining appropriateness, as this is an essence of
real life ‘living’ architecture. One experiments on their own heritage and if copying
motifs created a symbolic and practical surrounding for the community of the time
then this would have been enlightenment for the people, but the empowerment of
the British broke this foundation and copying motifs did not integrate the spirit of
the architecture with the way they lived.

7
Architectural Review, no.1086, p.30
15
Modernism

The Modernist movement was another experiment to try and find ‘appropriateness’
for India. Such practice just could not be dealt with India’s own architects because
their minds were too adapted to the style of the British. Yet what was this
Modernism trying to achieve? We need to understand this in line with our previous
discussions to determine a position for what we shall call an ‘Appropriate form and
functionalist’ architecture.

Throughout history, India has been concerned with defining ideas such as truth and
bliss and the various states of the mind. ‘Western values such as technology and
reason have forced a certain ‘rationalization’ of form and expression, yet the values
Corbusian Appartment blocks and (below) Sectretariat
prevalent in India, of spiritualism, tradition and the cyclical nature of life, have
predisposed the nation’s architects towards a more abstract approach to their
work’.8 Consequently, Modern architecture in India, although it might well make
use of Western technology, does not share the ideological principles of the
industrialised world. There is no pressure on India’s architects to conform to set
standards of style yet through the British colonial, they still find it hard to break
away in fear that the West will look down upon their ‘off-steering’ style.
Realistically, this issue is contradicted now. Architecture is about change and
exploration and when such diversity is apparent and realised from urban to rural,
the West will no doubt look up to their courage and imagination.

8
Herbert J.M Ypma, India Modern – Traditional Forms & Contemporary Design, 1994, p.209

16
It should, however, not be looked upon as an East west dilemma and India has its
independence to break away from this now. They want to achieve a Modernism
like how it took effect in the West but if they took on a true definite sense of
Modernism then in comparison the cultural style would be inherently different.
Firstly, we must see what the Modernist approach is, and from this we will see why
Modernism is not just formed through technology but through a material and an
attitude with that material.

One of the important monuments of twentieth century Modernism, Le Corbusier’s

1951 plan of Chandigarh, the capital of the province of Punjab in India, has
received its share of criticism for lacking a viable urban scale. For instance, one of
many issues brought about is the fact that there is no articulated continuity between
Assembly building, Le Corbusier, Chandigarh
public and private spaces. Although the plan allows for a clean and spacious
community, the culture it behaves with does not inspire the way in which India
lives. ‘As a Modernist, he was uncompromisingly opposed to the traditional cities
in Europe as well as India. Le Corbusier’s notion of India was that of a ‘peasant
culture’. He seemed oblivious to any living urban architecture in India and in
expressing his ideas about Indian architecture he was not being particularly
original. He was drawing from a nineteenth century colonial discourse that
conceptualised India as a static, timeless object whose greatness resided in the past,
but was now lost.9 Thus it seemed that only the Western philosophy could awake
and quickly re-vitalise India from their ‘passive’ architectural methods of the past.
This is against what we should see in a prospering architectural country. After all,

9 Chandigarh market street facades

Swati Chattopadhyay, A Critical History of Architecture in a Post-Colonial World: A view from Indian
History, 2003, http://architronic.saed.kent.edu/v6n1/v6n1.05a.html, p.2

17
every human is capable of suitable changes, its just a matter of time that determines
when this happens. Affliction from the West is just an unnecessary intrusion to
something great that is gradually developing. Seeking India’s own Modernism will
help see what might come out from what the people’s desire and not from one’s
ideals. Yet, what defines the mode of Modernism?

Modernism is an attitude. An attitude is composed of a belief and a value. A

Modernist is someone who believes that there are better ways of doing things. A
Modernist is also someone whose line of thinking owes much to the spirit of the
enlightenment – to the belief that the world can be improved – that it can and
should be made a better place for better people. India has a rich history of
modernist thinkers and doers from Raja Rammohan Roy (1772-1833) to Secretariat, Le Corbusier, Chandigarh
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) to Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964).10
Westernisation is often considered a model for Modernisation, and certainly many
ideas from the West have flowed into India. Nevertheless, one should be cautious
about architectural generalisations because at the same time, ideas from India have
influenced the West, often in subtle ways. When Le Corbusier first arrived in Delhi,
he saw the old astronomical observatory called Jantar Mantar, built by the
astronomer Maharaja Jai Singh (1699-1744). The essence of these forms, in
combination with an image he saw over Ahmedabad of power station cooling
towers, took seed in Le Corbusier’s imagination and later they were manifested in
his concepts when he began sketching for the Assembly building in the Capitol
Fig.2, The Jantar Mantar,
Complex of Chandigarh.11 Maharaja Jai Singh

10
Lang, A concise History of Modern Architecture in India, p.3
11
Chandigarh-Planning and Architecture, http://chandigarh.nic.in/hback1.htm, p.22
18
In our current generation most writings are pre-occupied with the issue of
combining Western Modernism with India’s indigenous building and design
tradition. What we must realise is that if we follow our definition of Modernism,
then we can see that it is already inherent in India’s own regional design and
technological philosophies. The vernacular expresses this well, because it does not
face the Indian commercial struggle for balancing Modern western concepts of
design with an indigenous culture. The problem we have seen with Modernism in
India is that there is too much architectural pastiche and commercial exploitation in
urban sectors of society, and poor imitations of the Modernist style can be seen
everywhere from inefficient concrete scoops to ugly pilotis.

Both Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn pioneered in thought over traditional principles
that dealt with climate, space, urbanism and habitation, yet the thoughts were
proposed from a sphere of international knowledge and not from local cultures. If
the thoughts involved a reconciliation of Modern technology and regional methods,
Top: Example of architectural pastiche, Punjab
Bottom: India’s original form of Vernacular concepts,
Amber Fort, Jaipur

then the architecture would no doubt have a strong architectural sub-structure

within the contemporary and changing Indian culture. Architects such as Laurie
Baker, Balkrishna Doshi, Hassan Fathy and Uttam Jain are just a select few who
follow on from this issue and have been heavily involved in exploring exciting and
appropriate ways for a Contemporary Indian architecture.

Generally through India’s vernacular, a typical architectural expression arises

primarily from the function it is designed for. We see form and function through
the philosophy of Modernism, mentioned earlier, yet function depends upon the
culture that requires it. The differences are therefore not only a morphology of

19
cross-cultures but also of meaning and use. Morphology, however, is easily
recaptured than a meaning, and in spite of recent efforts to learn the paradigms of
the Indian domestic the indigenous paradigm is in terminal decline.12 Domestic
architecture in whatever form provides deeper social insights and is expressive of
functional needs. We should therefore learn the paradigms from the traditional
functional past and use them to explore a paradigm for the ever changing, flexible
future.

Religion formed a specific paradigm for India’s architecture because it is so

inextricably linked with everyday life and that ‘the monuments built tended to
survive for the obvious reason that they were intended to, and were therefore built
of more lasting materials.’13 The style is influenced through its relation with the
communities, which are founded upon the way people live through the culture of
the domestic. Through this concept we learn to design in judgement of future
global instances in order to retain the cultural presence that has continued for
thousands of years. Although India has broken politically from the architectural
influences of the West, its technology allows it to be directly linked with the West.
This is beneficial to India’s economy and therefore the quality of its architecture. It
should not, however, become accustomed to the culture that is ‘packaged’ with it,
i.e. globalisation and standardisation, otherwise over time we will lose all sense of
a country’s identity and traditional richness. The architecture now is therefore
looking into providing a national language that suitably links this efficient yet
unfamiliar technology with the fundamental lessons learnt in Vernacular fabric.

12
Tillotson, Paradigms of Indian Architecture, 1998, p.9
13
Romila Thapar, Tradition and Change, in Brian Brace Taylor, Raj Rewal, p.20, 1992
20
Vernacular in Part //

‘A good design contains with it many parts – but all parts do not necessarily make a
good design. In order to achieve complete results, it is necessary to control
expression of each part and direct them towards one principle idea.’14

Understanding the Traditional:

India’s traditional villages are characterised by both public and private spaces, and
in many ways these spaces evolved from past generations into the towns of the
present day, incorporating the same architectural culture inherent in the people.
This complex tradition provides many designers with spatial and organisational True Vernacular, Fatehpur Sikri
lessons. The clustering of buildings, for example, created a close sense of
community and one wonders whether this community, which in contemporary life
is inevitably being fractured, can be reconstituted in some form. As Romila Thapar
suggests; ‘Perhaps the clan of the village will now emerge as the class of the urban
nexus.’15 Hence, the removal of a sense of community from an urban or rural
fabric will undoubtedly bring about ‘alienation’.

Differences in status and resources are also evident in the vernacular. From the
early royal palaces of the fifteenth century, the traditional vernacular can be seen in
its richest form, such as the palaces of Fatehpur Sikri, Agra and Delhi. They are
imperial and declare themselves of a style and size in juxtaposition with the

14
William J.R Curtis, Selected thoughts of the Architect – Balkrishna Doshi, 1988, p.164
15
Romila Thapar, Tradition and Change in Raj Rewal, 1992, p.21
21
material construction. This is perhaps a true example of architectural honesty. On
the other hand, the Vernacular architecture of the British Empire in India turned the
earlier tradition inside out. The clustering of communities in the havelis (courtyard
house) of earlier times gave way to the wide-open spaces of the cantonments
(Indian military station) in the vicinity of the old cities. In many of the old cities of
northern India the distinction is still visible, juxtaposed with what remains of the
‘civil lines’ areas on their outer peripheries. The Bungalow was another design
concept employed by the British during their stay. It was an interesting experiment
that worked well for its time once imported back into the Europe and America. The
Bungalows seem to generate from a collection of rooms surrounded by a portico or
veranda (for the circulation of air), set in a garden reminiscent of English suburban
houses.16 The bungalow does not grow around the courtyard for the public space
of the house is the veranda, which is also a kind of threshold area, an area for
negotiation, neither in nor out. Living therefore becomes more private and more
Above; Fig.3, A
enclosed. Of course, since the culture of the West is generated through a more Traditional haveli.
sectored and individual community, and that because the society is able to adapt Opposite; Fig.4,
quickly to this style of living, then this concept has become the norm. A question Balkrishna Doshi’s
own home.
to be asked through this area of study is whether the individual’s home has to be a
place apart or whether it can be clustered and integrated around specific features,
such as courtyards and terraces, enlivening both the private and public community.
We should also ask how a culture achieves this. After all, we all have to live with
neighbours in nearly every form of housing, and essentially a healthier community
atmosphere is enhanced through a greater integration of these basic ‘dwelling’
characteristics of living and accommodating each other.

16
Romila Thapar, Tradition and Change in Raj Rewal, 1992, p.23
22
Dwelling .:

In spite of differences in local contextual conditions such as climate and

topography, there is a basic commonality through India in the organisation of
spaces. It is this commonality that we are attempting to understand. This dwells
upon the issue of regionally based design that is capable of expressing local
traditions of building, construction and material in a rational and logical manner
whilst also being able to accommodate the demand for a wide spectrum of building
types. If architecture is the expression of the community and not of the self-
sufficient individual, then it would be more civilised and ‘Modern’ for India’s
architects to follow from the traditional principles of domestic life and integrate
them with more efficiency for the current trends in India’s communities, whether
urban or suburban. And in India, a country in which 82 per cent of the 1 billion
population is rural with a strong self-build tradition, regionalism must inevitably
mean references to Vernacular spatial organisation.17

What this section is promoting here is to not give a rule to a language but to show a
domestic language that has an inherent goal in providing an appropriate way to
dwell. We can investigate this in reference to Heidegger’s philosophy;

1. What is it to dwell?
2. How does building belong to dwelling?

17
Dan Cruickshank in Architectural Review, Indian Identity, vol.182, p.51
23
With this Modern mode of thought we can already realise that the architectural
‘Elements’ form the genesis in answering this question. Yet, what makes the
domestic so socially strong that it has kept its culture in the same mode of thought
for thousands of years? Today’s houses may be well planned, easy to keep,
attractively cheap, open to air, light and sun, but – do the houses themselves hold
any guarantee that dwelling occurs in them?18 To realise this in the context of India
we must acknowledge that there is more to tradition than the superficialities of
style. To understand it properly, one needs to dig down to the sub-structures and
informing principles, and only then can one see what can be drawn from natural
human builds and utilise them in parallel with changed cultures and societies.

By analysing the general patterns (in reference with the ideas of Christopher
Alexander’s A Pattern Language) that make up the fabric of Indian dwelling we
should be able to recognise in a contemporary context what architectural Elements
make the most economically and architecturally complete building aswell as
learning how such Elements allow for ‘dwelling’ to occur. The logic of these
patterns also infuses an aspect upon the structural organisation with aesthetic
expression, which are no doubt mutually dependent.19 Through these we share the
advantages of ecological and true contemporary concepts that fulfil the general
living of one type of culture.

18
Martin Heidegger, Poetry, Language, Thought, 1975, p.146
19
Kulbhushan Jain, Spatial Organisation and Aesthetic Expression in the traditional Architecture of
Rajasthan, in G.H.R Tillotson, Paradigms of Indian Architecture, 1998, p.161
24
Chowk .:

Chowks (courtyard or other open space) in both private and public dwellings make
climatic sense in much of India and is one of the key elements to providing a
healthy and comfortable dwelling place. Whether in hot dry climates or warm
humid regions, the courtyard provides effective ways of enhancing the thermal
comfort of dwellings. It also adds to a unique social context, as we shall see later.
In these climates the air temperature drops considerably during the evenings, and
as the evening advances, the warm air of the courtyard, which is heated directly by
the sun and indirectly by the warm buildings, rises and is gradually cooled by the
already cooled night air from above. The air accumulates in the courtyard in
laminar layers and seeps into the surrounding rooms, cooling them. In the
morning, the air of the courtyard and the surrounding rooms heat slowly and
remain cool until late in the day when the sun shines directly into the courtyard.
The warm wind passing above the dwelling during the day does not enter the
courtyard but merely creates eddies inside, unless baffles have been installed to
deflect the airflow. In this way the courtyard system serves as a reservoir of
coolness throughout the hot spring and summer months.20

However, the courtyard Element is a type that is often regarded by today’s

contemporary designers as ‘old fashioned’. The majority of Indians also see no
desirable quality in the ‘old’ architectural concepts because it is considered a
greater virtue to build new with fashionable yet generally ‘inappropriate’
Fig.5, Geoffrey Bawa, Courtyard area in Ena de Silva House

20
Hassan Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, 1986, p.63
25
technologies. Ahmedabad based architects Kulbhushan and Minakshi Jain address
various problems of what is symbolically appropriate. They have found that
terraces are symbolically acceptable as Modern in lieu of courtyards.21 Yet as we
shall see from analysis of courtyard patterns, the courtyard does not necessarily
have to take form through the traditional way, and the technological concepts of a
courtyard allow it to be just as Modern as any other architectural Element.

Courtyards can be modified to incorporate terraces, gardens and secluded areas,

and would still climatically function to all the rooms that splay off it. The efficiency
of the modification depends on the construction technique used and with new
ways of construction processing available today, the traditional and advantageously
established courtyard element can be become contemporary in an infinite number
of ways. Just because the system is generally associated with the traditional, it does
not mean to say we should now disregard it. Through generations it has been
developed and utilised fully because it is most appropriate to the culture it is
established within. Not surprisingly, the Element and its concept have been
incorporated in many other countries, even in the subtlest ways (examples can even
Fig.6, Hassan Fathy, Plan of Village incorporating a system of courtyards
be seen in styles ranging from classicism to the high-tech).22

‘Indian-ness comes not from dress but from feeling and sense of thinking’.23

21
Jon Lang, A concise History of Modern Architecture in India, 2002, p.167
22
Research conducted from personal study trip in India, 2003.
23
Dan Cruickshank in the Architectural Review, Indian Identity, vol.182, p.54
26
The courtyard has major benefits in India that allow it to become an adaptable and
unique Element, just like the culture that lives with it, and there are many positive
areas to the courtyard that enable it still to be used in contemporary societies. The
unique presence of the courtyard is sustained through many different buildings
because of its ability to work in parallel with the designer, builder and community.
India, generally being a self-build country without the heavy influence of pre-
fabrication, has a great capacity to generate building Elements that reflect upon the
people who dwell within them, rather than Elements being subjects of commercial
manufacture. This way people do not lose cultural and regional context within the
‘inner-self’ of a building, and a rich variety of Elemental patterns inspires the fabric
of the community.

The experience that one has when entering a courtyard is of prime importance to
the Indian society. The courtyard is the heart of the dwelling as it serves many
other spaces at the same time being a spatially interesting one on its own. It can
serve as the playground for the young and the gossip centre for the elderly within a
protected, shaded environment. In a large haveli (courtyard house), more than one
courtyard Element might be involved in the architecture, and the variation in
heights open up new textures and views to the inhabitants. Due to the courtyard
being associated with Regionality, unlike in the West where a courtyard is generally
not a necessity for climatic and topographical concerns, the Element becomes very
texturally animated and serves as a visual-cultural focus to all the rooms. A haveli
could incorporate natural paths, ground level or higher, that cross the courtyard in
Fig.7, Plans of a Jaisalmer Haveli, showing the gradual openness
order to get from one room to another, increasing the fluidity spatial awareness of of space as one goes higher up into the dwelling
the building.

27
The entrance hallway is another one of the Elements that forms the path into the
courtyard. It is a minor entrance to that of the courtyard yet it is always
distinguished through the ornamental and integrated inscriptions and details. One
must always ‘know’ the entrance as it directs the coming and going of people and
dwelling, and supports the lively hood of the architectural threshold. Here
ornamentation becomes a function and not just symbolism from the sub-
conscious culture, which many outsiders feel is an unnecessary and unordered
influx of the pastimes that are not relevant to a Modern society. The fact that the
plan of the dwelling is loose and fluid, allows it to be adapted by local means to
incorporate more architectural subtleties that improve the quality of the
inhabitants life. If for instance one wanted to increase the number of rooms, the
courtyard could incorporate a series of steps up to the roof terrace level which
could become enclosed and converted into a bedroom. The roof above this
addition becomes the new terrace. The notion of not designing with pitched or
vaulted roofs allows for this simple and easily adaptable construct in both the
rural and public sector.

However, the courtyard is never perfectly enclosed by the rooms which surround it,
it gives at least a glimpse of some other space beyond.24 These glimpses usually
function from small slits in walls or in some more exquisite cases the wall would
consist of jalis (pierced screens) that enable a person to have a subtle view out of
the ‘window’, and experience a range of transitions. Transitions depend upon the
orientation of the dwelling, which in turn depends upon the subject of the street Fig.8, Balkrishna Doshi, Internal courtyard showing balconies and
shaded windows, Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board

24
Christopher Alexander, A Pattern Language, 1977, p.563
28
outdoors. These are all Elements of discussion in themselves.25 A person passing
through the courtyard and children running by can all be glimpsed and felt, but
they are not disruptive. Issues of light also play an important part of this dwelling
enabling element.

Aswell as acting in response to thermal comfort and social issues, the courtyard
enables sufficient light to enter and circulate into the surrounding rooms without
the problem of glare or excessive solar radiation. In situations where rituals and
ceremonies take place, whether weddings or religious, this climatic response
proves to be very atmospheric and enlightening.

Hindu temples provide the classic example of enlivening these sensations. An

elaborate sequencing of space starts with the open area at the entrance and
culminates at the garbha-griha (the sanctum sanctorum). These spaces are of
different sizes and have varied ceiling heights as well as degrees of enclosure, in
tune with the rituals assigned to each one of them.26 The same sensations can be
applied to both the private and public to create inspiring spatial sensations.
The fact that the courtyard is so flexible and adaptable allows it to be designed in
many different forms and with very different materials. Therefore, with materiality
comes an architectural language (as shall be discussed shortly), and one can see a
Modernist approach in just the way one handles and crafts a material for even the
most common of builds. Fig.9, Balkrishna Doshi, Aranya Community Housing,
Sketches showing the variety of spaces and their relationship
to one another.

25
Research conducted from personal study trip in India, 2003.
26
William J. R Curtis, Selected Thoughts of the Architect - Balkrishna Doshi, 1988, p.166
29
Another feature of the courtyard points towards the association of its design with
philosophy. India, as heavily rooted in the Cosmic, naturally finds the cosmos of
the sky an interesting feature of nature to gaze upon. The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is
one of the prime examples of India’s admiration in this philosophy. The courtyard
or terrace allows for an open human access point to this wonder of the universe. In
this sense we talk of the architecture being based upon symbolism and
representation, a way through which many Modernists have used to provide a new
intelligent basis and grounding to the reasoning of architecture. In many cases,
function can be lost from using this rich methodology, and the dweller simply
cannot dwell in the desired way of the architecture, let alone not being able to
understand the ‘hidden’ meanings or symbolism. Such architecture is only
appropriate to India’s culture if it performs its function and thought to the user, the
environment and the spiritualism of India’s traditional architecture. In this way the
architecture reacts against an individual focus and instead becomes an exciting
multiplex dialect.

Fig.10, Courtyard in Haveli, Delhi

30
Chhata .:

The chhata (roof / terrace) plays an interesting role in the context of an Indian
dwelling. Generally flat roofed in the central and northern regions of India, they
also perform a culturally collective and diverse range of architectural roles. As
positive outdoor space, they are always used naturally in as many ways possible.
This is a complete contrast to the role of the roof in the West, and therefore the
abundance of functions classify it to be a different Element all together. Although
the flat roof might seem an inefficient method of creating overhead shelter in
comparison to a vault or pitched roof, the number of advantages it has when
incorporated in a haveli, out-weigh that of other roof systems. The chhata is a
product of the spatial experiences generated by the rooms integrated into the
dwelling. It is created through an ‘after-effect’ that has enabled it to become as
flexible as the chowk. The transition between ground to roof is an architectural
sensation on its own and when the level is reached a variety of activities can be
seen to take place. The chhata generates itself from the surrounding walls of the
haveli and is usually open to various views that allow the dweller to take in the
surrounding community. In rural communities, therefore, without an actual
physical connection to the adjacent building, the chhata forms a natural visual
connection to the rest of the neighbouring dwellings. In a way it counter-balances
the partial encasement of the courtyard below, as it is always open to the beauty
and cosmos of the sky at night or day. With regards to thermal comfort, the chhata
takes direct advantage of the sun, wind and air and so benefits to the domestic level
in drying crops, laundry and allowing the wind to freely circulate for children to fly
their kites.
31
32
With all the other neighbouring havelis consisting of these roof terraces, they are
able to play pathang (competitive kite games) after school or, because of the close
proximity between each house, conversions and physical exchanges take place in a
relaxed heightened atmosphere; such interaction is just one example of an activity
that establishes and binds a healthy living community.27 Again, minor Elements
also spring off the major, and sequential patterns such as the chajja (thin sloping
projection of stone resembling cornice) and the chattri (umbrella shaped
pavilion/dome) add a traditional texture to the Element aswell as providing an
essential symbolic and practical function. The chajja for instance is an extremely
important climatic element necessary to provide shade to openings, as well as to
external surfaces. It helps in reducing the radiation through the surfaces of the
building and also has a dominating role in generating the façade.28 Here then we
have an element that has social and structural meaning, aswell as practicality. Overhead terrace view in Punjab

The roof construction provides sufficient strength in weatherproofing and live load
support and the cheap and plentiful production of bricks (consolidated with lime),
means that they can be laid onto timber joists and then skimmed over with a layer
of cement-lime plaster for waterproofing. Water is drained by a gentle slope in the
roof which is then directed to spouts, carrying water clear of the walls, and during
the summer nights it remains cool enough for the family to socialise and sleep. The
chhata surface also softens and deflects the sun’s rays away from the spaces below
and in more complex spatial builds the terrace can be designed to direct breezes
across other areas of the building.29

27
Research conducted from personal study trip in India, 2003.
28
Kulbhushan Jain, G.H.R Tillotson, Paradigms of Indian, 1998, p.171 Fig.11, French Embassy staff quarters, Raj Rewal
29
Cooper & Dawson, Traditional Buildings of India, 1998, p.74
33
Jali .:

The jali (lattice, honey-combed walling, pierced stone and wooden screens and
walls) functions in many more ways than the conventional window opening. Since
the beginning of recorded art, India’s brains had devised the jali to filter the glare
and strong sunlight into cool but breeze filled rooms. India has used this device
more than any other country and it is essentially an Indian device.30 However, the
use of the jali by contemporary ‘modernist’ architects today suggests that it is not
the novelty of the device that informs the use, but rather its appropriateness. The
jali’s role as a climatic controlling element is important in providing a healthy and
economical living environment, yet the spatial qualities of the dwelling should
inform its placement and not its fashion or traditional presence. An overuse of
Stone Jalis from Fatehpur Sikri
these types of Elements however, produces geometric wastefulness and false
architectural intent.

Stone or timber carved jalis are elements that hold nature in its ornament through
the most natural and sacred way. This feature of the Element imbeds craftsmanship
very deeply within the root of the dwelling and therefore preserves its Identity. It is
this type of synthesis that provides a rich cultural and regional context to the
dwelling.

The jali has five functions. These functions involve: 1) controlling the passage of
light, 2) controlling the air flow, 3) reducing the temperature of the air current, 4)

30
Gautam Bhatia, Laurie Baker - Life, Work, Writings, 1991, p.244
34
increasing the humidity of the air current, and 5) ensuring privacy. Each jali design
is selected to fulfil several or all of these functions. The ornamentation can
therefore become part of the ‘technological’ component aswell, as the sizes of the
interstices (spaces between adjacent balusters) and the diameter of the balusters are
adjusted. The sizes of the interstices and the balusters of the jali placed in a wall
opening are adjusted to intercept direct solar radiation. This requires a lattice with
small interstices. The balusters, round in section, graduate the light reaching their
surfaces, thus softening the contrast between the darkness of the opaque balusters
and the brightness of the glare entering through the interstices. Therefore, with the
jali the eye is not dazzled by the contrast as in the case of the brise-soleil. The
characteristic shape of the lattice with its lines interrupted by the protruding
sections of the balusters produces a silhouette that carries the eye from one baluster
to the next across the interstices, vertically and horizontally. This design corrects Fig.12, Le Corbusier’s Brise-Soleil at the Mill Owner’s
the slashing effect caused by the flat slats of the brise-soleil and harmoniously Association Building, Ahmedabad

distributes the outside view over the plane of the opening, superimposing it on the
decorative pattern of the jali so that it resembles darkened glass made of lace.31

To provide airflow into a room, a jali with large interstices will ensure as much Highly ornamental
marble jali at Sri Hazur
open area in the lattice as possible. Where sunlight considerations require small Sahib Gurdwara.

interstices and thus sufficient airflow is not provided, an open, large-interstice

pattern can be used in the upper part of the jali near the overhang. Its cooling and
humidifying functions are also closely related. All organic fibres, such as the wood
or stone of a jali, readily absorb, retain, and release considerable quantities of
water, much like the evapo-tanspiration process in plants.

31
Hassan Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture – Principles and examples with
reference to Hot Arid Climates, 1986, p.47
35
36
Wind passing through the interstices of the porous element will give up some of its
humidity to the balusters if they are cool, as at night. When the jali is directly
heated by sunlight, this humidity is released to any air that maybe flowing through
the interstices. This technique is an efficient way of increasing the humidity of dry
air in the heat of the day, cooling the air at a time when most needed. During the
winter months, some jalis incorporate shutter doors that can be closed to prevent
the cold breezes passing into the internal spaces.

Like the roof terrace, the jali is also very adaptable in that it can be utilised on the
low-income rural scale through a low cost, non specialist material such as brick, or
on a larger scale, such as public buildings, incorporating more detail, expression
and aesthetic qualities of the mistri.

The function of the jali also has its integration with the façade it is placed within. It
essentially adds to the texture of the façade aswell as serving its purpose to the
functions mentioned earlier. On a social context, the jali acting as a translucent
barrier brings together the important relationship between the dwelling and the
street, yet it still ensures privacy from the outside whilst at the same time allowing
the occupants to view the outside through the screen.32 Subsequently, this works
uniquely with ‘sound to space’ concepts, as sounds can transmit through jali in a
way that create passive voices of the street. Together with the smells and ‘visual
through air’ concepts, the jali gives a greater sense of place and human dimension.
Fig.13, Hassan Fathy’s analysis of light falling on a jali.

32
Hassan Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture – Principles and examples with reference
to Hot Arid Climates, 1986, p.49
37
Otta .:

The harmonious urban and sub-urban facades created through the variety of
connected housing forms that incorporate the previously discussed Elements,
enable strong potent street textures that play in line with the culture. This is
addressed through the relationship between the ‘dwelling-to-street’ pattern focusing
around the ‘street-to-entrance’ connection. There is an elaborate effort to make this
threshold signify several things, because it is more than just an entry to a house.
The idea of a threshold has been symbolised in many ways by Indian people – in
religious rituals, in mythology, in paintings and in literature. Not only in its
manifestations as a physical entity on the edge of a town or city, or as an entrance
to a house, the idea extended to the in-between realms such as the dawn or dusk or
the land-water interface. So many of the activities and rituals are connected with
the mornings and the evenings – the transitions between day and night.
Fig.14, Havelis in Sikar, Shekhavati district

The structure of the plan in accordance to the courtyard, influences how closed off
the ground level is from the street. Therefore a great effort is made to define and
express the element of entry to a house in order to open out the natural enclosure.
Otta (transitional step zone) patterns, for example, bring about this concept in the
most interesting of ways:

The combination of courtyards, roof terraces and entrance facades relieves the
rhythm of the unit form and creates diversion alcoves along passages, giving order
and direction, both horizontally and vertically, aswell as an important sense of

38
place.33. Since the entrance of a dwelling is a centralised nucleus for the
inhabitants, it has its nature in the trappings of control. A simple otta pattern forms
an integral part to this and has its function in luring a person into a specific context.
A set of ottas informs further spatial experiences, such as a notion of height, ground
distance and time. In a different pattern mode, open stairs from the street to various
minor entrances, can serve people from the outdoors direct to private doors, and
therefore has in its nature an independence of free comings and goings.34
Balkrishna Doshi exemplifies this through his Aranya Low-Cost community-housing
scheme at Indore (1983-86).35

Hence, at the same time the Element being one that suggests privacy, it also serves
to express a social connection to the street. This concept, as mentioned earlier, can
also be seen to work in the same way between the courtyard and the living spaces
that generate from it. The major otta pattern that forms around the entrance Above; Fig.15, Aranya community housing project
threshold serves a variety of socially integrating activities that give the dwelling a
strong external presence. A series of platformed ottas outside of the front entrance
does not only raise a person off the street to direct them to an entrance, but also
serves to be a place of rest, outlook and community cohesiveness. Since the otta
has its associations with the window, then its ‘free’ concept allows people to hear
and smell what goes on outside, and to exchange words from a more grounded and
planar level. In this instance the social interaction is strengthened. In terms of
practicality, the larger platform otta can be seen to be used for setting up small

33
Myron Goldfinger, Villages in the Sun – Mediterranean Community Architecture, 1969, p.12
34
Christopher Alexander, A Pattern Language – Towns, Buildings, Construction, 1977, p.742
35
See James Steele, The Complete Architecture of Balkrishna Doshi – Rethinking Modernism for the
Developing World, Thames and Hudson, 1998, p.115-129

39
open food stalls, a platform for a ground floor workshop, a small play area for
children’s’ board games, or in hot summer months, a place for communal sleeping.
In many cultures, sleep is a communal activity without the sexual overtones it has
in the West today. It is believed that it could be a vital and healthy social function,
which plays a role as fundamental and as necessary to people as communal
eating.36 There is also a close relationship between the patterns created by this
social organisation and the structural system responsible for carrying loads. Since
the ottas can form a platform, then from here can sprout various styles of columns
which then follow up to support a system of roof overhangs, such as the chajja or
chattri or if the threshold is elongated against the façade it can even become a
platform for an arcade. The arcade compliments the behaviour of the otta element
Fig.16, Balkrishna Doshi, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
in the way it creates an ambiguous territory between the public world and the
private world. The control over these functions is very subtle and therefore there is
no stricture as to what purpose the Element should be used for. Yet the
environment, which is based heavily upon the culture of the street, must invite the
Element or such strange yet wonderful activities would never take place.

Charles Correa is one architect who has already demonstrated a capacity to bridge
new and old, monumental and folk, but it was in the 1970’s that he seemed to
formulate a kit of the basic Elements, as analysed above, in a variety of schemes to
deal with the wide range of social and cultural tasks. However, many of his
schemes back then seemed to nurture off into a materiality that is quite
questionable to the notion of appropriateness, even though they present a popular
Modern mode of Indian thought.

36
Christopher Alexander, A Pattern Language – Towns, Buildings, Construction, 1977, p.861
40
Materiality .:

If tradition is probed for its spatial and organisational models, then materiality can
form from the modern techniques in material extraction, construction and control.
If India is to advance further into the industrial movement then there will be a
change in trend on the way in which these three factors will be incorporated into
all types of public and private architecture. There is a strong notion on non-
standardised component construction in the non-commercial sector of India, which
is a strong method in giving buildings the social context and inherently its regional
identity that will always be needed to be sustain the heritage in many countries.
Only a select few buildings in the commercial sector follow this suit, and those that
fall into poor industrialisation methods gain only a short-term architectural
presence. Therefore, the hope is to make a relevant synthesis of old and new,
regional and universal.37 An intrusion of inappropriate technology into aesthetic
precepts and norms causes a cultural dimension based upon ‘reductionist’ logic
rather than a rationalist logic38, which confronts socio-regional symbols in a
contemporary humanistic mind frame.

What we have not, perhaps, understood properly is a place for a technology in

materiality. It is a tool that should be used in relation to man’s welfare and a look
into a general consensus of materials will only help in advancing into this complex
architectural realm. An appropriate use of material does not necessarily mean

37
William J.R Curtis, ‘Indian Identity’, Architectural Review, vol.182, no.1086, August 1987, p.38
38
Kenneth Frampton, The Aga Kahn Award for Architecture, Modernity and Community –
Architecture in the Islamic World, 2001, p.10

41
going back to a rustic approach of construction, instead it would inform the spirit of
the building to evoke a sense of continuity or belonging.

The choice of material has a significant number of effects on the aesthetic,

structural and symbolic expression of a dwelling. Two factors that are inherent in
the analysis of material precepts are honesty and human scale. Architectural
honesty will relate to the regional identity and the human scale will combine the
spirit of the building with that of the dweller and the society.

We can classify materials into two sectors, bulk materials and secondary materials.
Traditionally, bulk materials have been earth, concrete, wood, brick, stone,
snow….Today in India the bulk materials are essentially brick and concrete.39
However, even though concrete is economical in terms of its structural properties, Fig.17, IIM, Louis Kahn

it is expensive in India because the cement is imported from abroad. The

embodied energy therefore is very high and proves to be unsuitable in most private
and public sectors. There is also a consensus that concrete is a Modern material.
Maybe in the West it is, but because brick, timber and stone workmanship is cheap
in India a contemporary original mode of thought into creative and exciting
material aesthetics is taking place. The most common example can be seen in the
quality and finesse of the brick at the Indian Institute of Management designed by
Louis Kahn.40 On the other hand, the advantages of wood construction enable the
material to respond to changing needs and allows for relatively quick repair in the
event of damage or destruction. Timber, however, has become a secondary

39
Christopher Alexander, A Pattern Language – Towns, Buildings, Construction, 1977, p.957
40
See James Steele, The Complete Architecture of Balkrishna Doshi – Rethinking Modernism for the
Developing World, Thames and Hudson, 1998, p.15

42
material because it is not as sustainable in the country, and resources are running
short on supply for large urban buildings. It can therefore be only appropriate to
use such a resource on small-scale elements, such as windows, jalis, doors,
porches, eaves, furniture and other small scale finishes. India has such a diverse
range of tree species that it is no surprise how the local mistri are able to carve the
amazing and indigenous work of their hand into such a stiff and organic material.
The symbolism in timber craftsmanship is therefore very strong. It has such a rich
and textured tradition of use that we feel at home with it and therefore understand it
in accordance to the human scale.

Stone has similar ‘cultural’ properties and also has techniques mastered from over
thousands of years. It is the one material that deeply sets the hidden traditions of
every day Indian life, all through the craftsmanship of the mistri. Whether used for
ornamentation or for structure, the material, whether through colour or cut, always
provides a regional context by reflecting the textures of the land it is produced
within, aswell as placing the dweller in scale with the nature and strength of the
build. However, with the changing living habits societies are experiencing today,
stone work does not provide for the flexibility required because it is hard to work,
adapt and design for efficient structural use.

However, brick also has an inherent honesty and human scale within it wide range
of properties that compliment the ideals of appropriate contemporary architecture.
Of these we can point its most distinct qualities: The brick and the labour required
to construct it is very cheap in India, and both resources are readily available from
many regions. The process is also well established over many generations now,
and the flexibility of the material proves a favourite for many domestic designs.
Fig.18, Laurie Baker Brick construction

43
Although brick is more suitable for the domestic in terms of cost, local availability
and its thermal comfort, it still does not generally reach up into more prestigious
developments. The concrete alternative still proves to be more popular on the
public and commercial scale because of its structural flexibility, shorter on-site
construction time, pre-fabrication possibilities, thermal mass and sharp clean
finishes. The concrete fashion has also been laid down by Le Corbusier’s
Modernist approach and this has withheld the country’s technologists to experiment
and build further into the creativity and expression of brickwork. Unique examples
can be seen from Louis Kahn’s IIM building in Ahmedabad to the foreign influences
of Eladio Dieste’s San Juan de Avila in Spain. 41

One feature attributed to brick is the textural qualities it produces. It is so distinct

that it can relate back to a form of structural ornamentation and therefore sustain a
strong symbolism in its architecture. The use of exposed brick in courtyards for
example, enliven the human-architecture qualities of sound, light and feel. The
variety of elements possible (i.e arches, vaults, beams, walls, piers) can suitably
inform a structure that follows social spaces and, depending on the style of
construction, an element can even perform the function of the jali, as can be seen
in many of Laurie Baker’s buildings.42 Generally the local brick labour is not

41
The Uruguayan Architect-Engineer Eladio Dieste has developed a new brick language that re-
interprets the traditional material in a modern and technically sophisticated manner. In certain ways,
the limit on the span of brickwork can be resolved through Dieste’s processes and techniques, and
therefore make concrete seem an ‘out caste’ product of the past. See Remo Pedreschi, The Engineer’s
contribution to Contemporary Architecture – Eladio Dieste, Thomas Telford, 2000
42
Laurie Baker’s approach to ecological and economical domestic design has enabled him to
convince those with authority that housing India’s homeless is a realisable goal, and that costly
government builds, made up from concrete and glass, minimised the number they could build aswell
as the style being unsuited to local conditions (Les Brown, “Legend of the Barefoot builder”, The
Scotsman – Arts and Architecture, 16th July 1990, p.15).

44
entirely skilled in bringing out the best detail of brick to mortar integration and the
poor finishes are often screeded with a cement render (at considerable extra cost)
and therefore it generally becomes associated with the paradigms of rural mud-
brick and earth architecture. With further advances into the world of brick, more
interest and experimentation will inform a higher quality of contemporary detail
design back into both the commercial and vernacular sector.

Fig.19, Casa Dieste, Dining and living areas. Note the

architecturally unique roof texture, and the free form plan.

San Juan de Avila,

Parish Church in
Alcala de Henares

45
Behaviour .:

In this section we are to examine why the Elements discussed should play such an
important part for human life to gain a strong social role. This area is an Element in
itself and should be equally related back to all the previous analyses on Elements.

Clearly, to create such a distinct array of Elements, we are proposing a way in

which to focus design. From practice and scientific theory, they are appropriate
systems to work with, and if they work correctly then they influence a formation of
stable human relationships. The Elements to the whole, which is ultimately the
language of the culture, therefore enforces an architecture that has a direct and
determinate effect on the way people behave. The Elements are not being
representative. They inform a question of strategy based upon the cultural needs
established from historical experience.

Furthermore, the architectural language brings about a centralisation in a design

process that is determined by natural activities of the human being. Yet, how is one
to negotiate and assert difference in an affirmative way to the societies that require
an education in developing appropriate architecture themselves, without the
process not being a simple reversal of the colonial?43 The aim of realising the
elements brings about an authenticity to the architecture that is derived from a
specific culture, yet because there is a contemporary technological push, the
architectural language is set to refrain from an unwanted, self-absorbed building

43
Vikramaditya Prakash, Identity Production in Postcolonial Indian Architecture: Re-covering what we
never had, Postcolonial Space(s), 1997, p.46
46
environment. This pressure-enforced behaviour involves an understanding of
sociological movement patterns, just as much as the analysis of human physical
dimensions and territorial interaction.

A sociological movement pattern is based upon an activity pattern that results from
some process of habituation. The role of the Elements provide a comfort zone in
living for an ambiguous environment and therefore they should act in relation to
mans’ association of ‘space and time with function, rank, activity and affect.’44 The
Elements therefore condition the way in which one individually dwells.

A person will scrutinize the environment for, in Louis Kahn’s terms, ‘availability’ for
achieving his goals. If a physical setting hinders or does not support a goal-directed
activity, an individual will reorganise the situation by changing the physical setting,
changing his relationship to it, or by adapting his activity within the setting. In
relation to the earlier discussion, the Element can be perceived as an activity system
that follows this concept. In the context of the plural, Elements which have similar
qualities, are said to be tied into stable relationships, hence objects that are close
45
together tend to be grouped together. Elements will therefore combine to follow
a technological principle at the same time being influential to the types of human
activities that surround it. This behaviour is not entirely dependent on the way in
which the individual Element performs, nor does the behaviour exist without
reference to its spatial context. The physical setting, i.e. the architectural elements,
can support some behaviours and discourage others. If neither of these options are

44
Jon Lang, Designing for Human Behaviour – Architecture and the Behavioural Sciences, 1974,p.217
45
Ibid,. p.103
47
possible, a highly stressful situation will develop.46 Therefore, in order for healthy
and adaptable living environments, the Elements should be such that they are
suited primarily to the contemporary culture and then to the ergonomics of the
individual. This ensures that dwelling does occur in building in as much a
balanced way as possible.

46
Jon Lang, Designing for Human Behaviour – Architecture and the Behavioural Sciences, 1974, p.93
48
Conclusion .:

We have not analysed in depth the specific work of other architects that follow in
this issue, instead the recognition of the architectural roots used in their designs
have revealed how the indigenous design and technologies can be classified as
having a Modern presence, but more importantly a contemporary context. The true
Modern condition, however, can be fought back here because there is a
transformation of idealistic design principles, yet with new appropriation.
However, reading back into Heidegger’s inspiration on the dwelling, possibly
conjures up the fact that to be in a state of appropriation is to dwell…

If the Elements of an architect’s vocabulary are sufficiently rooted in realities like

climate, structure, and the deeper patterns of tradition, they man take on a certain
objectivity where an identity of the basic ‘character’ is preserved while numerous
variations are achieved. Yet the boundaries between these various zones are not
formal and sharply demarcated, but easy and amorphous.47 Subtle modulations of
light, and of the quality of ambient air, register each transition on our senses. The
senses are therefore our Elements in which we use to dwell, and in parallel with the
architectural elements, there forms a physical to psychological force. Such a
rhythm can subsequently guide the concept into a heuristic device that helps to
control the cyclical nature of the architects’ vocabulary.

47
Hasan Uddin Kahn, Charles Correa – Architect in India, 1987, p.170

49
The architectural Element’s aim is to learn from the past, which controls this
cyclical nature, but simultaneously recognising that new ways of life are being
sought and that their new technologies often enable people to dwell in a more
accustomed way to their life than the ‘old’. Nevertheless, without deep roots in
one’s own culture and the heritage of the people it is not possible to sustain a
creative life. Creativity and the Elements also have to work with Equity, Pluralism
and Incrementality in order for dwelling to occur. This notion therefore prevents
the European concept of the individual, as the basic unit of society, to be accepted
48
for the purposes of civic life.

However, in an unimaginative Indian bureaucratic building system, the intrusion of

innovation and creativity is bound to meet stiff resistance on the public scale.
There must be a balance between the discussions of contemporary ideologies and
India’s hold on its roots, mostly due to the strength of religion, in order to
counteract this natural mode of thought. Architects nevertheless, should not be
designing indigenously for a style and construction as an alternative to Western
Modernism when the conditions and brief permit. Instead the method should allow
for the heuristic Elements to occur and circulate throughout the design process. As
Raj Rewal suggests, ‘We can do things here that you cannot do in the West because
of resources of human labour which is cheap and available, therefore the variety
and complexity of plan and so on is not more expensive because each object has to
be made individually (no mass production) so they might aswell be different as the
49
same.’ For this reason there is not much money saved in specifying a repetitive
detail.

Raj Rewal, Asian Games Village, New Delhi

48
K.T Ravindran, ‘Indian Identity’, Architectural Review, vol.182, no.1086, August 1987, p.68
49
Dan Cruikshank, ‘Indian Identity’, Architectural Review, vol.182, no.1086, August 1987, p.55
50
Yet the problem remains, and is shared by a majority of architects, that the distance
between them and the rest of society, between their specialised culture and that of
the bureaucratized society or of conservative rural society is increasingly difficult to
bridge. Only radical change in the social and economic structures of contemporary
India will allow the heuristic and Elemental messages, found in the work of
architects such as Raj Rewal and his contemporaries, to be heard and understood.
Only then can we hope to see re-established an identity that links socially inspired
architecture with cultural values.

51
Bibliography .:

Balkrishna V. Doshi, Cultural Continuum and Regional Identity in Architecture, Archnet

Publication, Conference proceedings, The Aga Khan Award for Architecture. 1985,
http:// http://archnet.org

Brian Brace Taylor, Raj Rewal, Mimar Publications, 1992

Chandigarh - Planning and Architecture, 2003, http://chandigarh.nic.in/hback1.htm

Christopher Alexander, A Pattern Language – Towns, Buildings, Construction, Oxford University

Press, 1977

Christopher Tadgell, The history of Architecture in India, Phaidon, 1990

Gautam Bhatia, Laurie Baker - Life, Work, Writings, Viking/Hudco, 1991

G.H.R Tillotson, Paradigms of Indian Architecture – Space and Time in Representation and Design,
Curzon, 1998

Hassan Fathy, Architecture for the Poor – An experiment in Rural Egypt, The University of Chicago
Press, 1973

Hassan Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture – Principles and examples with
reference to Hot Arid Climates, The University of Chicago Press, 1986

Hasan Uddin Kahn, Charles Correa – Architect in India with essays by Sherban Cantacuzino,
Butterworth Architecture, 1987

Herbert J.M Ypma, India Modern – Traditional Forms & Contemporary Design, Phaidon, 1994

Ilay Cooper & Barry Dawson, Traditional Buildings of India, Thames and Hudson, 1998

‘Indian Identity’, Architectural Review, vol.182, no.1086, August 1987, p.12-79

52
James Steele, The Complete Architecture of Balkrishna Doshi – Rethinking Modernism for the
Developing World, Thames and Hudson, 1998

Jon Lang, A Concise History of Modern Architecture in India, Permanent Black, 2002

Jon Lang, Designing for Human Behaviour – Architecture and the Behavioural Sciences, Dowden
Hutchinson & Ross, 1974
Les Brown, “Legend of the Barefoot builder”, The Scotsman – Arts and Architecture, 16th July
1990, p.15

Martin Heidegger, Poetry, Language, Thought, Harper Perennial, 1975

Muzharul Islam, Introducing Bangladesh – A case of Regionalism, Archnet publication

Myron Goldfinger, Villages in the Sun – Meditteranean Community Architecture, Lund Humphries
– London, 1969

Swati Chattopadhyay, A Critical History of Architecture in a Post-Colonial World: A view from

Indian History, 2003, http://architronic.saed.kent.edu/v6n1/v6n1.05a.html

The Aga Kahn Award for Architecture, Modernity and Community – Architecture in the Islamic
World, Thames and Hudson, 2001

Vikramaditya Prakash, Identity Production in Postcolonial Indian Architecture: Re-covering what

we never had, Postcolonial Space(s), Edited by Gülsüm Baydar Nalbantoglu and Wong Chong
Thai, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1997

William J. R Curtis, Balkrishna Doshi – An Architecture for India, Mapin Publishing, 1988

~
53
Picture Credits .:
Fig.1: Christopher Tadgell, The history of Architecture in India, Phaidon, 1990

Fig.2: Herbert J.M Ypma, India Modern – Traditional Forms & Contemporary Design, Phaidon, 1994

Fig.3: Ilay Cooper & Barry Dawson, Traditional Buildings of India, Thames and Hudson, 1998

Fig.4: James Steele, The Complete Architecture of Balkrishna Doshi – Rethinking Modernism for
the Developing World, Thames and Hudson, 1998

Fig.5: The Aga Kahn Award for Architecture, Modernity and Community – Architecture in the Islamic
World, Thames and Hudson, 2001 - Genius of the Place: The Buildings and Landscapes of Geoffrey
Bawa, David Robson, p.17

Fig.6: Hassan Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture – Principles and examples with
reference to Hot Arid Climates, The University of Chicago Press, 1986

Fig.7: G.H.R Tillotson, Paradigms of Indian Architecture – Space and Time in Representation and
Design, Curzon, 1998

Fig.8: James Steele, The Complete Architecture of Balkrishna Doshi – Rethinking Modernism for the
Developing World, Thames and Hudson, 1998

Fig.9: James Steele, The Complete Architecture of Balkrishna Doshi – Rethinking Modernism for the
Developing World, Thames and Hudson, 1998, Aranya Community Housing

Fig.10: G.H.R Tillotson, Paradigms of Indian Architecture – Space and Time in Representation and
Design, Curzon, 1998

Fig.11: Brian Brace Taylor, Raj Rewal, Mimar Publications, 1992

Fig.12: James Steele, The Complete Architecture of Balkrishna Doshi – Rethinking Modernism for the
Developing World, Thames and Hudson, 1998

54
Fig.13: Hassan Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture – Principles and examples with
reference to Hot Arid Climates, The University of Chicago Press, 1986

Fig.14: G.H.R Tillotson, Paradigms of Indian Architecture – Space and Time in Representation and
Design, Curzon, 1998

Fig,15: James Steele, The Complete Architecture of Balkrishna Doshi – Rethinking Modernism for the
Developing World, Thames and Hudson, 1998

Fig.16: Ibid,. IIM Building

Fig.17: James Steele, The Complete Architecture of Balkrishna Doshi – Rethinking Modernism for the
Developing World, Thames and Hudson, 1998

Fig.18: Hassan Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture – Principles and examples with
reference to Hot Arid Climates, The University of Chicago Press, 1986 – Plan of a part of the village of
Baris, Al-Kharga Oasis, Egypt, p.143

Fig.19: Remo Pedreschi, The Engineer’s contribution to Contemporary architecture – Eladio Dieste,
Thomas Telford, 2000
Ilay Cooper & Barry Dawson, Traditional Buildings of India, Thames and Hudson, 1998, p.76

p.51 picture from Christopher Tadgell, The history of Architecture in India, Phaidon, 1990

Last Picture from Herbert J.M Ypma, India Modern – Traditional Forms & Contemporary Design,
Phaidon, 1994

All non-figured pictures taken from Research material personally conducted on study trip in India,
December 2003 ©

55