Architectural Elements and Materials

Brick (mud), wood and stone have been the essential materials of construction since the genesis of shelter. Grass, hay, palm leaves, twigs and such have been used in the most primitive architectures and in tandem with the essential ones mentioned above. Thus carpentry and masonry emerged as the prime trades of construction activity. Consequently the support systems, floor systems and the roof systems developed; and therein came up the logic of using materials in the most sensible or efficient manners. The walls,columns, rafters, brackets, capitols, bases and such came up as the elements or the vocabulary of construction.Shikhars, domes, vaults, roofs minarets and such became the components or phrases. A regional syntax gave rise to the built form and the architecture. The elements and the components were elaborated, details were developed and stylistic nuances came up. Architectural types emerged along with the elements and the components that enriched the language and the stories of architecture.

Chariots, India

Chariots, India

Chariots have been archetypical objects of the Indian subcontinent. 1 One of the primitive forms of chariots as a votive object is popular in parts of Gujarat. Clockwise: 2 Chariot for the rath yatra in Karnataka is being crafted. 3 A wooden chariot of Himachal Pradesh. 4 A stone chariot in Hampi. 5 The Sun Temple at Konark where the temple itself is a chariot, which is made to honour the Sun God. Upon examining the elaborate construction of wooden chariots in south, it can be assumed that chariot making is one of the most important and difficult problems a good carpenter can attempt. This is due to its complex joinery, carving and the structure required to make it mobile.

Gateways

Gateways

1 A gateway to Sikandra tomb with inlay in marble cladding. Clockwise: 2 A gate of Gujarat Vidhyapeeth student’s hostel, Ahmedabad, built in 1925 dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. 3 A padipura or a small wooden gateway to a house in Kerala. 4 A gateway to a minor temple in Kanyakumari with a gable roof. 5 Gateway to the zannana within the old darbargadh in Bhuj. 6 A spiked gateway to a town in Saurashtra. 7 A gateway to the Portuguese territory Daman.

Doorways

Doorways

1 A doorway with an auspicious wooden lintel in Uttaranchal. Right: 2 A Gujarati doorway with a mural around it. Below, clockwise: 3 A detachable wooden door assembly in Kerala. 4 A heavy stone pivoting shutter, Hampi. 5 A rural doorway in the outer wall of wada type house, Saurashtra. 6 A carved lintel to the doorway of temple at Kerala. 7 A wooden doorway connecting two pols in Ahmedabad.

Wooden Column Types

Wooden Column Types

1 Wooden columns, brackets and floor bands of a typical Gujarati haveli in Vaso. The wooden bands and the columns on the wall behind provide an earthquake proof construction. Clockwise: 2, 3, 4 Columns traditional to the region of Karnataka. 5 Columns, brackets and beams of a primitive temple in Hassan area of Karnataka. 6 Wooden column carved out of full tree trunks in Narsiman Temple, Ponda, Goa. 7 Wooden column in the namaskar mandap (salutation pavilion) of a temple in Kerala.

Stone Column Types

Stone Column Types

1 A small pavilion with closely packed columns on the periphery and one column in the centre, Shravanabelagola. Clockwise: 2 A column at the Buddhist Kaneri caves near Mumbai. 3 A column and brackets in their nascent early form, Hampi. 4 A Chalukyan column type in Tambdisurla, Goa. 5 An eclectic column base at Panala near Kolhapur, Maharashtra. 5 Columns having typical marugurjar order at Champaner.6 Specially carved columns at the dance pavilion at Modhera, Gujarat (c.1200 A.D) 7 A decorative column type in a temple at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka.

Roof Types

Roof Types

Clockwise: 1 A bamboo roof with thatch in Southern India 2 A bhunga roof of Kutch made from the locally available twigs and branches. 3 A circular wooden roof termination in a Kerala temple. 4 A special truss roof over the vegetable market in Bhuj, Gujarat.5 Portuguese time roof used in a typical Hindu temple of the area. 6 The bottom view of a thatched roof in Southern India.

Shikhar Types

Shikhar Types

Clockwise: 1 An opened-up stone shikhar showing the construction system in Polo temple complex, Gujarat. 2 A temple with a typical early Dravidian shikar- Aihole, Karnataka. 3 A later more sophisticated Dravidian shikar atop Chandragiri hill, Shravanabelagola. 4 A stone shikar with a wooden roof over it, constructed in a manner typical to Himachal Pradesh. 5 Miniaturised shikar appearing in all four directions on the top of a main shikar, Himachal Pradesh 6 A sophisticated version of wooden roof over stone shikar in Chamba valley.7 A sandstone shikar type in a complex near Jodhpur.

Use of brick in different periods and regions

Use of brick in different periods and regions

Clockwise : 1 A minaret in moulded bricks for different layers and brackets c.1500 A.D. 2 A minaret with specially made bricks for different layers and niches, Ahmedabad, c.1500 A.D. 3 Thin fascia brick construction with an arch. 4 Detail of a specially moulded brick to make columns without plastering belonging to the colonial period. 5 A triangular brick arch of colonial times. 6 A Southern Indian temple spire constructed in specially made bricks, without the plaster.