HOA 3 Avendano - INDIAN ARCHITECTURE
HOA 3 Avendano - INDIAN ARCHITECTURE
College of Architecture
University of Santo Tomas
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3
1st Semester Ay 2010-2011
INDUS REGION - was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations
A. INFLUENCES:
II. Climate:
Tropical to temperate zonal extremes
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3. Jainism
Established in the 6th c. BCE by Vardhamana, called Mahavira “the Great Hero” or
Jina, the “Victorious One”.
Based on asceticism and ahimsa, theory and practice of non-violence (non-injury to
all living things)
4. Buddhism
Religion and philosophy founded in northeastern India in the 5th c. B.C.E., and based
on the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama, a Sakya prince known as Buddha the
enlightened one.
Adopted some ideas from Hinduism, doctrine of karma but rejected caste system
and all of its gods.
5. Islam
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B. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
Monolithic
Monumental
Free standing construction
Rock-cut buildings
Laid down by Brahmanism (Barabar) and by Jainism (Udayagiri and Khandagiri).
Buddhist - magnificent development and artistic character
1. INDUS CIVILIZATION
• Began to develop around the Indus River in what is now Pakistan and western India.
• Two principal cities planned systematically:
1. Harappa, Punjab – elevated citadel (urban center)
2. Mohenjo-Daro, Sindh - town proper consisting of houses and market palaces
3. Dholavira – another significant site, which has some of the best preserved stone
architecture.
- Had several large reservoirs, and an elaborate system of drains to collect water
from the city walls and house tops to fill these water tanks.
System of Construction:
• Cities were well planned with wide streets, public and private wells, drains, bathing
platforms and reservoirs.
• Houses of the city were constructed of bricks and consisted of apartments built around an
open courtyard
o Alternating a course of headers (also known as English bond)- method of brick
construction
o Corbelled arch obtained by schematic arrangement of bricks so as to leave an empty
space resembling the shape of an arch.
Examples:
1. Ajanta Caves
• Contains 29 caves
• Most magnificent examples of rock cut architecture and cave paintings which
dates back to the 5th c.
• The paintings and sculptures of major events in the life Buddha are considered
masterpieces of Buddhist religious art.
2. Ellora Caves
• Excavated from the solid rock and symbolizes the three faiths of Hinduism,
Buddhism and Jainism.
• 350 AD to 700 AD, finest examples of rock cut cave - temple architecture houses,
detailed facades and exceptionally carved interiors.
• 34 caves:
o 12 caves to the south are Buddhist,
o 17 in the centre are Hinduism,
o 5 caves to the north are Jainism
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C. STUPA (TOPE)
• Beginnings were traced back to the funerary customs of the Vedic age
• Dome-shaped mound that mimics the funerary mounds used to mark the graves of
great kings
• Contain holy relics to indicate the sacred character of the place or commemorate an
important event associated with Buddha
• Spatial characteristics:
o Stupa plans develops symmetrically about a central point - centrality
o Stupa volume develops symmetrically about an axis that rises vertically from
the central point- axiality
o Stupa mass is oriented in accordance with the directions of cosmic space
N S
Axis Mundi, Umbilicus Mundi, Sun
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Other parts:
(A) Vedika- railing composed of a framework consisting of vertical posts and cross bar
(E) Sopana – staircases going to the terrace
Pradakshina-patha (circumambulation) - the faithful would use this to circle the stupa to pay
homage to the Buddha. Motion was always clockwise, since this kept one's right side
(considered better) toward the relics.
Examples:
1. Sanchi Stupa in Madhya Pradesh- best specimen of stupa art.
2. Amaravathi, Andhra Pradesh – finest Buddhist stupa in South India
3. Stupas in Nagarjunakonda, Jaggayapetta and Ghantasala in South India.
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Buddhist Ornaments
• Restrained both in character and extent.
• Painted wall decoration was widely used and ranged from purely architectural forms
to very elaborate genre paintings - cave walls at Ajanta.
• Provide invaluable social and architectural records of the period.
• Female form in its most voluptuous - common motif used in architectural sculpture.
http://www.answers.com/topic/mandala http://dcsymbols.com/mastersquare/
page4.htm
The center of the mandala is called the station of Brahma, the first of beings
and the engineer of universal order. Surrounding Brahma are the places of
twelve other entities known as the sons of Aditi, who assist in the affairs of
universal management. The remaining empty squares represent the akasha
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The temple itself should always face east, considered the most auspicious
direction-the place of origin of the sun. From the east appears the rising sun,
the destroyer of darkness. The sun is the giver of life. It brings joy and
happiness and is the watchful eye of the "Cosmic Being.
Temple are made of hard crystalline rock with carvings on it or soft stone
covered with countless figures.
– Granite
– Sandstone
• TEMPLE COMPLEX
1. MAIN SHRINE - nucleus
2. School
3. Hospital
4. Courts for the community
5. Spacious halls of the temple - place for the recitation and listening of folktales,
Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata and debates.
6. Gopurams
7. Reservoir - Water is used for rituals and also to keep the temple floor clean or
even for a ritual bath before entering the holy area.
8. Walkways
b. PRADAKSHINA PATHA
• Ambulatory passageway for circumambulation.
• Consists of enclosed corridor around the outside of garbhagriha.
• Devotees walk around the deity in clockwise direction as a worship
ritual and symbol of respect to the temple god or goddess.
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Example Plan of a
Hindu Temple
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THREE STYLES:
1. DRAVIDIAN (southern) style
• Found between the Krishna river and Cape Comorin.
• South-Indian Hindu temples are often like miniature towns. A broad open courtyard
(prakaram) surrounds the temple and mandapa (porch) on all sides.
• The roof contains a vaulted octagonal or domical structure.
• Complex is composed of:
1. Vimana
2. Mantapams/Mandapas (porches)
3., Gopurams (Gate-pyramids/sculptured gateway)
4. Chaultris/Chawadis (Pillared halls).
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Vertically represents the god’s body with the sikhara as the head and the garbhagriha as
the neck, mandapa as the body and gopura as the feet.
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Examples:
1. Temples at Khajuraho
2. Surya temple at Modhera - exquisitely carved
3. Orissa - most outstanding examples of nagara architecture
• Region of Orissa is an important landmark in the temple building activity in
India.
• Parasuramesvara temple at Bhubaneswar in Orissa - consisting only of a
shrine and a hall
• Composed of two portions:
1. Central shrine
2. Porch in front, raised on a square ground-plan.
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• Orissan builders tried to symbolize the human body in the composition of the
vertical sections of the body.
• Temple is made to look like a tabernacle of the Godhead
DRAVIDIAN STYLE
• Octagon in plan NAGARA STYLE VESARA STYLE
• Square in their plan • Apse or circle in plan
• Vimanam (Sikhara) - in the
• Sikhara curvilinear, or • Sikhara - combines both
form of truncated pyramids
beehive tower styles
• Taj Mahal (Palace of the Crown) of Agra also known as the pearl of India represents
absolute perfection .
o Erected by Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved queen, Arjumand Banu Begum,
called Mumtaz Mahal (Mausoleum)
o Year after her death in 1631, 22 years to complete,
o 20,000 workers, costing 32 million rupees
o Combines elements of Persian, Central Asian, and Islamic architecture
o Complex is comprised of five main elements:
1. Darwaza (main gateway)
2. Bageecha (garden) - fascinating feature with its water channels, lotus
pools and colourful flowerbeds and trees
3. Masjid (mosque)
4. Naqqar Khana (rest house)
5. Rauza (Taj Mahal mausoleum)
Indian style Hindu and Buddhist temples were constructed abroad in ancient times,
o Cambodia's Angkor Wat
o Java's Prambanan.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:
Auboyer, Jeannie. Landmarks of the World Art: The Oriental World. India and South-East Asia.
Mc. Graw-Hill Book Company, New York, Toronto. 1967.
De la Croix, Horst and Richard Tansey. Gardner;s Art Through the Ages. Ancient, Medieval and
Non-European Art. 7th ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. USA. 1976.
Harris, Cyrill M. Historic Architecture Sourcebook. Von Hoffman Press, Inc. 1977
th
Palmes, J.C. Sir Banister Fletcher’s A History of Architecture. 18 ed.The Athlone Press,
University of London. London
Snodgrass, Adrian. The Symbolism of the Stupa. Studies on Southeast Asia. Cornell University, Ithaca,
New York. 1985
Tadgell, Christopher… History of Architecture - India and Southeast Asia, The Buddhist and Hindu Tradition.
Ellipsis, London. 1988
Westwell, Ian. Timeless India. Chartwell Books, Inc., New Jersey, USA. 2007
Other Sources:
Lecture notes of Archt. Nick Ramos
Internet sources
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3
st
1 Semester AY 2010-2011, 2012-2013
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