REVIVAL OF INDIAN ARCHITECTURE

UNDER BRITISH PATRONAGE.

INDO SARCENIC ARCHITECTURE

 INTRODUCTION
• WHAT IS INDO SARCENIC? – 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 with the
gothic revival and neo classical styles favoured in Victorian
Britain .

• Indo-Saracenic, also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-

Gothic, and, formerly, Hindoo Style, mostly used in public
and government buildings in the British Raj, and the
palaces of rulers of the princely states.
 Development of the style
• Initially the British constructed governmental and
public buildings in European classical styles
regardless of Indian local climate and traditions.
Only after the 1858, the local architectural
traditions, especially the Mughal tradition were
introduced to the colonial erections. This was also
the time of Gothic Revival, so Gothic features
were used as the base and the domes and
Chhatris were used to produce the external
appearances to the buildings.
 Principal characteristics
• Bulbous domes
• Over hanging eaves
• Arches
• Contrasting colours
• Char chala – curved roofs
• Domed chatris
• Pinnacles
• Minarets
• Harem windows
• Open pavilions with banciala roofs
• Jalis
• Mashrabiya
 Leading architects
• Robert Fellowes Chisholm
• Charles Mant
• Henry Irwin
• William Emerson
• George Wittet
• Frederick W. Stevens
Structures built in Indo-Saracenic style in India and in certain
nearby countries were predominantly grand public edifices,
such as clock towers and courthouses.

Civic as well as municipal and governmental colleges along

with town halls counted this style among its top-ranked and
most-prized structures to this day.

Typically, in India, villages, towns and cities of some means

would lavish significant sums on construction of such
architectural works when plans were drawn up for
construction of the local railway stations, museums and art
galleries.
The British-era Islamia College was built in an
Indo-Saracenic Revival architectural style
in Peshawar, Pakistan

Aitchison College in Lahore with
domed chhatris, jalis, chhajja below the
balcony, and other features, reflective of
Rajasthani architecture
 In Indian context...
Confluence of different architectural styles had been attempted
before during the mainly Turkic, Delhi
Sultanate and Mughal periods.

Turkic and Mughal incursions in the Indian subcontinent,

introduced new concepts in the much more advanced high
architecture of India.

The prevailing style of architecture was trabeate, employing

pillars, beams and lintels, with less emphasis on arches and
domes used during earlier Buddhist periods.

 Local influences also lead to different 'orders' of the Indo-Islamic

style.
Mughal era.. Decline and revival
• Shah Jahan was succeeded by his son, Aurangzeb, who had little interest in art and
architecture. As a result, Mughal commissioned architecture suffered, with most engineers,
architects and artisans migrating to work under the patronage of local rulers.
• To usher in a new era, the British "Raj", a new architectural tradition was sought, marrying
the existing styles of India with imported styles from the West, such as Gothic
• The British tried to encapsulate South Asia's past within their new Indic buildings and so
represent Britain's Raj as legitimate.
• The main building of Mayo College, completed in 1885, is in the Indo-saracenic style, the
architect being Maj Mant. Examples in Chennai include the Victoria Public Hall, Madras High
Court, Senate House of the University of Madras, and Chennai Central station.
• The building of New Delhi as the new imperial capital, which mostly took place between 1918
and 1931, led by Sir Edwin Lutyens, brought the last flowering of the style, using a deeper
understanding of Indian architecture.
• The Rashtrapati Bhavan (Viceroy's, then President's Palace) uses elements from ancient
Indian Buddhist era architecture as well as those from later periods. This can be seen in the
capitals of the columns and the screen around the drum below the main dome, drawing on
the railings placed round ancient stupas.
THE BRITISH ERA- in Malaysia

•  The Indo-Saracenic style was officially introduced to the Federated Malay States in British

Malaya (present day Peninsular Malaysia) by British engineers and architects who have
worked in British India prior.
• During the design of government offices for the Selangor state government in Kuala
Lumpur in the late 19th century, C. E. Spooner, then State Engineer of the Public Works
Department, favoured a "Mahometan style" over a neoclassical one to reflect Islamic
mores in the region, instructing architect A.C. Norman, with further assistance by R. A. J.
Bidwell, to redesign the building.
• The style was also favoured as one of several adopted by British architects for Malayan
mosques as they did not feel the need to adhere accurately to the cultural heritage and the
traditional culture of the Malays, who remain prominent in Malayan society and are
Muslims but lacked the means to design buildings of grand scales; both the Jamek
Mosque and Ubudiah Mosque, both designed by Hubback, are examples of mosques that
resulted from this fusion of style.
Few important examples
 Chepauk palace
• The Chepauk palace , in one of the first
buildings in the indo – sarcenic reign.
• originally the official residence of the
Nawabs of Carnatic/Arcot.
The Chepauk Palace comprises two blocks
— Kalas Mahal and Humayun Mahal.
• The PWD has now initiated steps to
restore the Humayun Mahal. Kalas Mahal
is all set to house National Green Tribunal,
Southern Bench.  
• Spread over an area of 117 acres, the
palace, which was designed by architect
Paul Benfield, was completed in 1768.
Kalas Mahal, which was recently restored
to its original glory, was the official
residence of the Nawabs from 1768 to
1855.
 Chathrapathi Shivaji
Terminal

The terminal was built over 10 years, starting in 1878, according to a

High Victorian Gothic design based on late medieval Italian models. Its
remarkable stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground
plan are close to traditional Indian palace architecture.
The property is protected by a 90.21 hectare
buffer zone. The Terminus is one of the major
railway stations in the Metropolis of Mumbai
and more than 3 million rail commuters use it
everyday. In addition to the initial 4 railway
tracks, the terminus now facilitates 7 suburban
and 11 separate out-station tracks.
 This building, designed by F. W.
Stevens, is spread across a 2.85
hectare area.

It is an outstanding example of the

meeting of two cultures, as British
architects worked with Indian
craftsmen to include Indian
architectural tradition and idioms
thus forging a new style unique to
 Vidhana soudha

Vidhana Soudha is the name of a particular building located in Bengaluru, India.

Constructed in 1956, the building serves as the seat of legislative assembly for the
government of the state of Karnataka. In terms of its look, the building is quite
grand owing to its architectural beauty. It style is often described to be relevant to
Neo-Dravidian and is been constructed following the approach of the Indo-Saracenic
 The construction as well as conception of
the building is accredited to Kengal
Hanumanthaiah (second chief minister of
Karnataka). Completed in between the
year 1951-1956, the first stone of the
building was laid by the first prime
minister of India Sri, Jawaharlal Nehru on
13th of July
However, 1951.
appropriate design as well as fast
pace construction of the structure was ensured
by Hanumanthaiah. In order to provide the
building with a contemporary outlook,
Hanumanthaiah visited numerous places of the
world including Europe, Russia and United
States and took ideas from other buildings.
There are more than 300 small and big rooms inside the
structure which accommodate more than twenty
department of the state government. 
 Chittagong court building

This gigantic Judge Court building was built immediately after the East India
Company conquered and declared Chittagong as a separate administrative area in
1773. The building is huge, over 250 thousand square feet and has hundreds of
rooms.
 The building plan follows a
rectangular form running east
west with extension on the west
and a major north-south
extension on the east after which
the buildings extends further at a
lower level. This permits this
section to have three floors.

 The plan is largely dictated by the

topography of the site. The blending
of different levels was done with
extreme care. Bricks were laid with
immense skill, making neat protruded
mortar joints.
 Gate way of India
The Gateway of India is one of India's
most unique landmarks situated in
the city of Mumbai. The colossal
structure was constructed in 1924.

Located at the tip of Apollo Bunder,

the gateway overlooks the Mumbai
harbor, bordered by the Arabian Sea
in the Colaba district.

The main objective behind the construction of

the Gateway of India was to commemorate
the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to
Bombay (Mumbai).
•The structural design of the Gateway of
India is constituted of a large arch, with a
height of 26m.
•The monument is built in yellow basalt and
indissoluble concrete.
• The structural plan of Gateway of India is
designed in the Indo-Saracenic style.
• One can also find traces of Muslim
architectural styles incorporated in the
structure of the grandiose edifice.
•The central dome of the monument is
about 48 feet in diameter, with a total
height of 83 feet.
• Designed with intricate latticework, the 4
turrets are the prominent features of the
entire structure of the Gateway of India.
• There are steps constructed behind the
arch of the Gateway that leads to the
Arabian Sea.
• The monument is structured in such a way