ARCHITECURE OF GOA

• Portuguese merchants first landed in Goa

in the 15th century, and annexed it soon
after. The Portuguese colony existed for
about 450 years, until it was taken over by
India in 1961
• Goa, being in the tropical zone and near the Arabian
Sea, has a warm and humid climate for most of the year.
The month of May is the hottest, seeing day
temperatures of over 35°C (95°F) coupled with high
humidity. The monsoon rains arrive by early June and
provide a much needed respite from the heat. Most of
Goa's annual rainfall is received through the monsoons
which last till late September.
• Goa has a short cool season between mid-December
and February. These months are marked by cool nights
of around 20°C (68°F) and warm days of around 29°C
(84°F) with moderate amounts of humidity.
Goan Houses
• Most "Goan style" houses standing today
were built between the 18th century and
the early part of the 20th century. They
display a mix of neo-Classic and neo-
Gothic styles.
The following factors affected
house design in Goa:
• Protecting oneself from the fierce monsoons was the
basis of architectural form.
• The European lifestyle was encouraged in an attempt to
separate newly converted Goan Christians from their
cultural roots. They adopted a European outlook but did
not cut themselves off from their Indian roots completely.
The resulting cultural fusion affected house design.
• Portugese rule allowed Goans to travel abroad; when
they returned they brought with them ideas and
influences from other countries.
• The Goan master builders executed these ideas using
local building materials, making the Goan house a
mixture and adaptation of design elements and
influences from all over the world.
Exteriors
• The traditional pre-Portuguese homes were inward-
looking with small windows; this reflected the secluded
role of women.
• The houses opened into courtyards, and rarely opened
onto streets.
• The Catholic houses built or refurbished between the
middle of the 18th and the 20th centuries were more
outward-looking and ornamental, with balcãos (covered
porches) and verandas facing the street.
• The large balcãos had built-in seating, open to the street,
where men and women could sit together and ‘see and be
seen’, chat with their neighbours, or just enjoy the evening
breeze.
• These balcãos are bordered by ornamental columns that
sometimes continued along the steps and added to the
stature of the house. This, together with the plinth, which
usually indicated the status of the owners. The houses of
rich landlords had high plinths with grand staircases
leading to the front door or balcão.
The Hindu Goan house was built around a quadrangle which was divided
internally with partitions to suit the lifestyle and requirements.
Balcaos

Colonnaded
porch with seats
built into the sides
is the Goan
house’s device for
opening up to the
outer
world.
The balcao which by 19th century
had become an important element in the design of
the house took on the added dimension of a double
storied porch.
• Large ornamental windows with stucco mouldings open onto
verandas. These may appear purely decorative, but have their
origins in similar mouldings in the windows of Portuguese houses.
There these elements of style were devices to help sailors identify
their homes at a distance as they sailed in.
• The design is therefore an import but serves a similar purpose in
Goa: to help construct the identity of the home.
• Windows gradually became more decorative, ornate, and expressive.
• Front doors were flanked by columns or pilasters.
• Railings were the most intricate embellishment in a Goan house.
• Pillars, piers, and colours do not seem to be influenced by any style
in particular; rather they conform to a rather mixed bag of
architectural styles.
• The earliest examples of masonry piers or pillars were in solid
stone masonry and were either square or rectangular in section.
The pillars did not have the characteristic capital and base, or other
features
found in a regular column.
Cornices
• Country tiles used as a CORNICE is a
feature peculiar to Goa. The effect
achieved is very aesthetic, giving the roof
projection a solid moulded appearance.
Gateposts and Compound
walls
• Gateways consisted of
elaborately carved
compound walls on either
side of the gate posts.
• In 18th century, the
gatehouses were lofty
and elegant and their
ornamentation reflected
their masters’ social
status.
Gateposts & Compound Walls

• A composition with the porcupine

• In Goa, gateways and motif (Kadamba period)and the ball finial. The
clustered pier has a very Gothic touch.
gateposts that crave
attention are architectural
features that perform an
ambiguous function- that
of drawing your attention
to the house within and
intimidating you from An unusual combination of rusticated piers,
ococo moulding on the masonry, tapering
entering without clasped orbs for finials on one pier with
an animal (dog) on the adjacent one

permission
The simplest of gateways seen in Hindu houses had a
• 19th century, gatehouses simplepitched roof over the gate covered with tiles

were usurped by towering

gateways that became
banners of their
architects’
skills and prowess. The
early examples of A very elaborate gateway flanked bytwo pilasters in the
Tuscan stylewhich are capped with a crocket. Thecrest of
the wall has a Neoclassicalsuch to it with two addorsed
gateways swansand a crown at the apex.

in the Goan houses are

really entrance ways
with a very strong Hindu
influence.
Compound
Walls
• Vying for attention on
either side of the
gateposts are elaborately
carved compound walls.
With each house using an
innovative and unique
detail, an array of designs
of compound walls can
be found.
Use of colour
• Dramatic and startling colour—initially achieved with
vegetable and natural dyes—plays an important role in
Goan architecture.
• Colour was decorative and used purely to create a
sensation.
• With a colour wash, the house looked "dressed" and
therefore displayed the economic well-being of the family
that lived in it.
• Here art in architecture performed a social function.
However, this was not completely a matter of individual
choice, since during Portuguese rule the owner of the
house could be fined if his house was not painted.
• The walls were made of mud and then later of
LATERITE stone; they were usually plastered then
painted.
• Goan
houses were initially
coloured in
vegetable and
natural dyes limiting
the choice of
colours to red
(from red oxide),
burnt red(from clay)
and blue
(from indigo).
• Very few buildings are coloured exactly alike and solid
colours are used for front facades, interiors are usually in
paler colours/white highlighted by a solid color.
• This rendering or piping in white is the result of the
unwritten rule during the Portuguese occupation of Goa
that no private house or building could be painted in
white.
• Only churches and chapels enjoyed this privilege. It is
understandable that Goan Christians followed this rule,
as white was associated with the Virgin Mary and
therefore the virtues of purity and chastity (both desirable
in Goa), but, surprisingly, Goan Hindus also respected
this practice.
• As a result of this code, an interesting and aesthetically
pleasing trend developed, as competition among
neighbours gave impetus to variety.
colour
A code
of colour conduct dictated
that no house could
be painted an all white.
Private houses paid
homage to houses of
worship by refraining from
bearing the same
distinctive whiteness.
verandah
• Climatic conditions aided
the metamorphosis
of the balcao at the end
of 19th century into a
wide veranda running all
along the front and
sometimes
the sides of the house
too.
Interiors
• Most houses are symmetrical with the entrance door
occupying the place of honour.
• Typically this front door leads to a foyer which then either
leads to the sala (the main hall for entertaining a large
number of guests) or the sala de visita (a smaller hall for
entertaining a small number of guests) and in some
cases the chapel in the house.
• From here one can also directly enter the rest of the
house, which usually revolved around a courtyard.
• Typically the master bedroom opens into the sala or is
close to it.
• The dining room is usually perpendicular to these rooms;
the bedrooms flank the courtyard, and the kitchens and
service areas are at the rear of the house.
• In the case of two-story houses, a staircase,
either from the foyer or the dining room, leads to
more bedrooms.
• Consisting of humble burnt earth plastered over
with cow dung and hay, or with elaborate
patterns made with tiles imported from Europe,
the floors in Goan houses have been both
workplaces and statements.
• Almost all Goan houses have a false ceiling of
wood
• Almost all Goan houses appear to have
false ceilings in wood. No examples of
plaster or stucco have been found.

A ceiling with a distinct Baroque character. The

densely ornamented areas are divided into a gridwith
each section being filled with heavily gilded floral
motifs.
• Humble burnt earth
plastered
over with cowdung and
hay or elaborate patterns
made with tiles imported
from Europe, the floors
in Goan houses have
been both statements
and
workplaces.
• The earliest examples of
masonry piers or pillars
were in solid stone
masonry and were either
square or rectangular in
section. The pillars did
not have the
characteristic capital and
base, or other features
found in a regular
column.
Eave boards
• design of the eaves
boards in Goa reflect the
character of those of the
Gothic Revival period.
Eaves boards were used
on the verge of gables
and on the eaves of
timber roofs where the
covering of the roof
extended over the wall