CASE STUDY

OF A FAMOUS
BUILDING

CASE STUDY
MYSORE
PALACE

Mysore
Palace
at
Mysore.

SCHOOL
OF
ARCHITECTURE

SESSIONAL
INTRODUCTION TO
ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE - A 5
2ND SEMESTER 20132014

MY NAME

Location :
Karnataka has been ranked as the
fifth most popular state in the
country for Tourism
Mysore is the second largest city in
the state of Karnataka.

Mysore is known as the Palace City of

India.
Till 2006 the Mysore palace was the most
visited monuments in India.

The main entrance or

Jayamartanda Gate is on
the Eastern most side.
Theres also a North & a
South gate. Southern gate
is open for the visitors.
The Main palace or
Durbar is on the Western
end.
About 65-70% of the total
area is greenery.

Palace

Mysore Palace ( Amba Vilas

Palace)
Construction period :
1897-1912
Location : Mysore,
Karnataka.
Built by : Wodeyar dynasty.
Architect : Henry Irwin.
Architectural Style : IndoSaracenic.

HISTOR
Y

The present building

is relatively new,
constructed over the
old palace that was
destroyed in fire.
The first palace in
Mysore was built in
14th century, which
was demolished &
constructed several
times.
Construction of the
current Palace was
commissioned in

OLD MYSORE PALACE

Architecture
of Mysore
Palace style
The Architectural
of Mysore Palace is
commonly described as
Indo-Saracenic. It blends
together Hindu, Muslim,
Rajput & gothic styles of
Architecture.

It blends together Hindu,

Muslim, Rajput & gothic
styles of Architecture.

There are three storeyed

Protruding balconies.
They have semi-domes made
of pink stone, while the
bottom resembles a lotus.

On the top of the Main

gate there are chattris,
which is a Rajput
architectural style.

On the front faade of the Palace, on can see the big central
archway, that is the main entrance to the building. On either
side of this large archway are two smaller arches.

The arches
are cusped
and of
Sassanian in
origin.
These are
supported by
massive
pillars.

Main Entrance
The main
archway opens
to a wide
passage
( Jayamartand
a Gate).
The court is
open to the
sky & an
enclosed
verandah runs
around this
court.

The whole court is netted at the top to

prevent bird messing the inside

The whole superstructure of the

octagonal shaped ceiling & the pillars
were specially made by the legendary
scottish foundry Waltr MacFarlane &
Co. Ltd.
There are a great deal of plaster work
on the ceiling
The capitals are beautifully carved
with hard granite.

WOODWO
RK
Excellence
craftsmanship.

of

local

Massive doors carved out of

teak & rosewood.
On the frames & lintels there
are finely done inlay work. At
first it may look like painting,
but on closer look they are
ivory chips embedded on the
surface.
To protect from tampering
such works are overlaid with

Stained
Glass
The durbar hall has
intricately designed
tinted glass ceilings.
This illuminates the
hall completely
The light play do
wonders
on
the
otherwise
brightly
painted
pillared
durbar hall

Science &
Technology
One of the main concerns was to make the palace fireproof
specially after the destruction of the old palace in fire.
So, stone & metal were used in the superstructure instead of
traditional woodwork.
Locally available materials were used , like hard Granite brought
from quarries present around present day Mysore.
Anything from teak wood, to marble, to granite, to ivory is used in
tastefull ways to make this a charming piece of Art.

Bronze
Tigers
There are 8 bronze tigers installed on
pedestals in The Mysore Palace

Six of them are

located in the arena
in front of the palace
building.
Another pair is
located inside tha
Palace.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Positive point
It is not as over-commercialised as other famous monuments in
India.

Negative points
The Mysore Palace may be a example of great Architecture, but it
is not as spectacular as the Taj Mahal or The Lotus temple.

Myths or Facts ?
The ancestry of the 200 kg, pure gold, throne at the
Mysore Palace is believed to be traced back to the Pandavas
- of the Mahabharata fame.
The Palace is the 4th structure that has been built on the
same spot.
An estimated 97,000 light bulbs are used to eleminate &
create the enchanting image of the Palace during festivals,
holidays & on Sundays.
Mysore palace was built for Rs. 42 lakhs( 100 million
dollars)

THANK
YOU