Discuss the work of some contemporary architects who have built in a style which is distinctively Indian.

Some architects have succeeded in drawing on the heritage of the past to create a style of building, which is both contemporary and distinctively Indian. The first such example was the Asoka Hotel built in red sandstone in the Mughal ..

Topics: GS-I: Indian Architecture

Discuss why the buildings constructed by the Public Works Department of the Government of India in the second half of the nineteenth century have no architecture.

The building constructed by the PWD of GOI in the second half of the 19th century maintained a monopoly in building activities and applied to the building their own dry as dust, formularies culled from Macaulay’s book-shelf and the products ..

Topics: GS-I: Indian Architecture

Discuss the architecture of the buildings in metropolitan cities of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta constructed by the English East India Company before 1857.

Francis Day began the building of the fort St. George in 1640 in Madras. Another important building built at Madras during the reign of the British Government was the High Court building, which is in George town, which was the ..

Topics: GS-I: Indian Architecture

What is the significance of the architecture of the buildings of Jantar-Mantar and Safdar's Tomb in the history of modern Indian architecture? Discuss.

The Jantar Mantar or Delhi Observatory was built by Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur in 1710 AD. He was a keen astronomer who studied Hindu, Muslim and European astronomical works. He found that the astronomical tables then being used by the ..

Topics: GS-I: Indian Architecture

Describe those features of the buildings of the Secretariat, the Rashtrapati Bhavan which show that in the construction of these buildings, there is a happy synthesis of traditional Indian and modern Western architectural styles.

The Secretariat buildings have chhatris in the Mughal style. There are also carved elephants and bell ornaments, which are copied from Hindu architecture. The Secretariat was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. The Rashtrapati Bhavan is the best proportioned building in ..

Topics: GS-I: Indian Architecture

Mention some buildings which were architecturally good when most of the government buildings during 1950 to 1960 were built under the influence of the Modern Movement. Also state what were the drawbacks of the Modern Movement in architecture?

After Independence, most of the architects who were called upon to produce a number of buildings in a short space of time between 1950 and 1960 did not draw on the decorative designs of Indian architecture. They were seduced by ..

Topics: GS-I: Indian Architecture