UNIT V WESTERN INFLUENCES ON VERNACULAR

ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA

Colonial influences on the Tradition Goan house

Evolution of the Bungalow from the traditional bangla
Victoria Villas – Planning principles and materials and methods of construction.
Settlement pattern and house typologies in Pondicherry and Cochin.
GOAN HOUSES
LOCATION & FEATURES
 Goa is the india’s smallest place in terms of
area & 4th smallest in terms of population.
 Located on the west coast of India in the

region known as konkon, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to

the north & by Karnataka to the east & south while the arabian sea
forms it’s western coast.
 Portuguese first landed in goa as merchants in the early 16 th century &

conquered it soon thereafter.

 The historic city of margoa still exhibits the cultural influence of

Portuguese .
ARCHITECTURE OF GOA

 Architecture of goa is the combination of

indian , islamic, portuguese style.
 Since the portuguese ruled for 4 centuries,
many churches & houses bear striking
elements of portuguese style of architecture.
 Goan hindu houses do not show any
portuguese influence though modern temple
architecture is the amalgam ofr4 original
goan temple style with dravidian ,islamic ,
portuguese architecture.
DESIGN INFLUENCES

 The following factors affected house design in goa;

 Protecting oneself from the fierce monsoons was the basis of
architectural form.
 Portuguese rule allowed goans to travel abroad, when returned they
brought with them ideas & influences from other countries, the goan
master builder executed this ideas using local building material,
making the goan houses a mixture of adaptation of design elements &
influences from all over the world.
 The architectural style of portuguese – built churches.
PORTUGUESE INFLUENCE
 The traditional pre-portuguese homes were
inward
looking with small windows; this
reflected secluded role of women.
 The catholic house were more outward
These balcoes are bordered
-looking & ornamental, with balcoes by ornamental columns , that
(covered porches) & verandahs sometimes continued along
facing the street.
 The large balcoes had built in seating ,
the steps & added to the
open to the street , where men & stature of the house.
women The house of rich landlords
could sit together & chat with their
had high plinths with grand
neighbours or just enjoy the cool breeze.
staircases leading to the front
door or balcoes.
PORTUGUESE INFLUENCE
 BALCOES are verandahs with seats
built into the sides.
 Balcoes are commonly found in goan
houses & generally understood to be
dating from the time goa came under
portuguese rule & In the years after.
 Alternately balcao is the wide veranda running along it’s sides & back;
seats are built into the sides where
the front entrance opens out on
the street outside.
WINDOWS

 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.
 The design is therefore import but serves a

similar purpose in goa; to help construct the

identity of the home.
 Windows gradually became more

decorative, ornate, & expressive.

TYPES OF WINDOWS
DOORS & RAILINGS
 Front doors or flanked by columns
pilasters.
 Railings were the most intricate
embellishments in a goan
house.
 Pillars , pierce , colours do not seem
to be
influenced by any style in
particular rather they
confirm rather they mixed architectural style
GOAN HOUSES

GOAN HOUSES

HINDU HOUSES CHRISTIAN HOUSES

 Internal courtyard with rooms built porch (balcaov), tall european

around it. Columns.
 Materials: backed clay tiles, laterite laterite stone, local bricks,
windows with wooden frames mangalore tiles.
HHINDU HOUSES
 Rectangular in plan.
 Single storey.
 Central courtyard with tulsi madam.
 Central entrance has verandah.
 The room arranged around pillared
courtyard.
FEATURES
 Goan traditional hindu houses have the following features:
ANGAM : courtyard with tulsi vrindavan.
CHOWKI: space next to the courtyard ,
family activities take place - internal
veranda
RAJANGAM : courtyard inside the house.
DEVA KOOD : a place for daily prayer or
other rituals.
SALL : a hall.
RANCHI KOOD : a kitchen with a door
which called magil darr.
FEATURES

 BALANTIN KOOD : A special room meant for pregnant &nursing

mothers.
 KOTAR : store room.
 A hall specially meant for celebrating ganesatsav.
 SOPPA : space used for relaxation.
 VASHRI : dining hall.
 MANNE : bath rooms next to the well.
FEATURES
 USE OF COLOUR :
-dramatic startling colours.
- initially achieved with vegetables & dyes
- plays an important role in goan architecture.
- colour was decorative & used purely to
create sensation.
 CORNICE :

-country tiles used as a corbel are feature

peculiar to goa.
- the effect achieved is aesthetically pleasing , giving the roof projection a
solid , moulded appearance.
FEATURES

 INTERIOR :
-painting on wall.
-walls up to the tado height is finished with glazed tiles
-floral pattern below the cornice.
-The rooms only receive light through the door and through small
windows with wooden baulsters in the large houses.
CHRISTIAN HOUSES
 Houses acquired balcaos with built in seatings @ the entrance of
the house.
 Columns line the balcoas.
 Only churches & chapels were allowed to remain white & the
remain required to sport a colour.
 the façade of the most houses was symmetrical with the
entrance door occupying the place of honour.
 Gateways to the houses were lofty & elegant in the 18 th century
later they were replaced by towering gateways.
 Railings were the most intricate embellishment
in goan house.
 The kitchen in goan house was
@ the fartherest end of the house.
features
 FRONT DOORS:
 The front doors were flanked by columns or pilasters. They were simple in design, wider and
larger than internal doors and they were left open during the day to welcome guests and shut
only at night.
 The doors were only partially visible during the day so people did not spend much on the
decoration and the carving on them.
 Gothic arches over the doors were another feature that served to exaggerate posture
 RAILINGS:
 Railings were the most intricate embellishment in a Goan house
 cast iron railings were direct imports from British India.
 Ornamental railing often combined Greek key and Gothic motifs to make up some of the
most exclusive railings designs in the world.
 Floral motifs were added on it at the intersection of the wooden strips.
 The wooden railings with turned bolsters were executed by Goan craftsmen who often
copied motifs from Hindu temples
features
 GOAN FLOOR TILES:
 Tiles are a unique feature of Goan houses and at Calizz
 The floors are made with a perfect blend of Portuguese and Italian tiles that still

look as glowingly fresh as when they were first installed in the main house of Dona
Bertha as well as the consultancies of the Lawyer and the doctor.
 FALSE CEILINGS:
 To protect the house from draughts and to cover the tiled roof these ceilings were

used and they gained popularity in the 1700’s.

 At the entrance of Dona Bertha’s house there are two sitting halls (known as Sal

in Portuguese).
 Both the sitting halls have got a typical false ceiling which is intricately carved by

the Goan carpenters.

Evolution of the Bungalow from the Traditional Bangla
Bangla an Indian term to describe a hut originated from
Bengal.
India 17th century Bengali or Bangla is an Indo- Aryan
language of the eastern Indian subcontinent
The traditional dwelling of Bengal region is referred to as
Bangla.
A bangla is a thatched hut, generally built with a
distinctively curved roof. The walls were made of
either mud or bunches of straw or mats, tied to each
other and to the bamboo frame to form walls.
•These huts are constructed for some special occasion, like a
marriage, a meeting place during the hunt, etc,. In general, it
represents a place for rest or recreation.

•The ‘bangla’ was also used more permanently. In the late 19th
century, the term described the common hut of the Bengal
peasant, which had a sloping roof on two sides and two gable
ends.
The general characteristics of settlement in Bengal region are:

•Main occupation of the people is agriculture.

•A single dwelling consists of multiple units forms a cluster
•A village consists of number of such clusters located in random
organization without a regular street pattern
• The houses are scattered to allow air movement between them as
the region is having hot and humid climate
•Temporary materials such as thatches, kuss (a sweet smelling
grass), leaves and reeds were used to construct
•Mud and wooden members were used later .
•The size and type of hut varies for different caste groups.
Artist Bungalow
The family of an ‘artist’(Bengal Peasant),
owned two huts.
•one for sleeping (7cu. X 5cu.)
•Another shared for cattle’s (cows) and
for cooking purposes

•The Chauchala type, having four

sides,
•The Dochala type, having two sides
with gable ends and a central curved
ridge.
•Ath- Chala Type
Chau-Chala Roof

•The chauchala roof has a

covering on four sides
•less curved, in some domical

Dochala Roof

•Four sloped faces joining at the

apex.
•Roof was divided into two
sections with a clear story
between for light and ventilation
Ath- Chala Type
•chau-chala type houses were having four more
projections on all the four sides so as to cover the
verandah all round the house,
The Colonial Bungalows

•The bungalows are built in a large plot which is well defined by means
of enclosure wall, leaving enormous space for outdoor activities.
•They have extroverted planning.
•More permanent materials such as mud, sun dried bricks, wood and
tiles were used.
•The bungalows were divided into individual spaces to accommodate
various functions.
VICTORIA VILLAS

Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the

mid-to-late 19th century. 

What are the characteristics of Victorian architecture?

The following characteristics are typically found in a Victorian
style home:
•Narrow and Tall.
•Stairs.
•Towers and Turrets.
•Decorative Trim.
•Bay Windows. Large windows, sometimes filled with stained
glass or topped with stained glass panels, are a common
feature in Victorian houses. ...
•Asymmetrical House Design.
Victoria Memorial Kolkata
•The memorial was designed by Sir William Emerson using IndoSaracenic
style, incorporating Mughal elements in the structure.
•Lord Redesdale and Sir David Prain designed the gardens.
•The foundation stone of the memorial was laid down in the year 1906.
•The monument was intended to serve as a tribute to the success of the
British Empire in India.
•Architect Sir William Emerson laid down the actual plan of the
memorial.
•The design of the structure represents a fusion of British and Mughal
architecture.
•White Makrana marbles were used in the construction of Victoria
Memorial Hall and the building was inaugurated in the year 1921.
•The massive hall is 338 feet (103 m) by 228 feet (69 m) and rises to a
height of 184 feet (56 m). British government money was not used in its
construction at all.
Pondicherry
•Influence of French architecture at Pondicherry.
French Buildings

In the ville blanche are still found an impressive number of colonial

houses, mansion-type houses with courtyards behind ornate gateways,
dating from the 19th century.
•Most of them were built on a rather similar ground plan
•with variations in size,
•orientation and details,
•i.e. a symmetrical plan with the principal façade usually opening on
to the garden/court,
•the high and solid enclosing wall and the elaborate gateway forming
a clear limit between domestic and public space.
•The ceilings are marked by heavy wooden beams and wooden joists
•terrace roofing made of brick-on-edge masonry in lime mortar
•masonry works was burnt bricks in lime mortar
Tamil Buildings

•In the Tamil town most of the buildings are of similar

vernacular style and typology

•A significant feature here is that, in spite of the religious

differences of its population (Hindu, Christians, Muslims), the
entire settlement shares a common architectural pattern.
•The present town form is a hybrid of a European concept
and the native building traditions: a synthesis of these
two styles, which has resulted in a town that has a unique
Franco-Tamil identity.
•Unlike the colonial house, the Tamil house is very much
open to the street.
•It is built on rubble foundations, with walls of flat bricks
and Madras terrace roofing.
•It is characterized by a street veranda, called talvaram with
Mangalore tiles over wooden posts and a raised platform with
wooden columns and masonry benches for visitors, called tinnai. 

•Then, a corridor leads to the interior or central courtyard, open to

the sky, calledmutram,

•lined up by an inner veranda with country (canal) tiles of baked

earth over wooden columns. Beyond, are the more private spaces
like sami arai (pooja room), storeroom or bedroom and kitchen
which opens in to a rear courtyard that encloses a well, toilet and
bathroom.
Exchange of architectural patterns is evident in the facades

Tamil type with talvaram, tinnai and carved doors, while

the first floor features French influence with arched
windows, plaster decoration, columns with capitals,
architectural motifs such as mouldings of the doors
inspired by French designs,
Architecture Of Pondicherry
•The architecture here is highly influenced by the culture of the
place.
•An interesting fact about Pondicherry is that the city is divided
into two quarters. While one is the French sectors the other is the
Tamil section

The French sector is known as

•VilleBlanche
The Tamil quarter is known as
•Ville Nogar.
•Franco -Tamil category.
•In the Tamil section of the city a visitor can notice houses with
'thalvaramand' thinnais
•Vertical columns and pillars with
ornamented  parapet characteristic features of typical Tamil style
of houses. The thinna is are public verandas with masonry seats
for guests and visitors.
•The French houses were generally built with street frontage. The
window shades were generally made of wood or light metals.