British Colonial Architecture in India

British Architecture

• During the British colonial period in India (1757-1858), the British military developed a distinct urban planning style, separating their own spaces from Indian settlements, roads, bridges, embankments, and canals.
• The British used two terms to distinguish between building qualities: "kacchā" (inferior quality, makeshift, cheaply made) and "pakkā" (superior quality, durable, well-made, solid, and substantial).
• Early British buildings in India were made of bamboo, reeds, and sun-dried mudbricks, with pitched roofs thatched or built with country tiles, and flat roofs made of layers of leaves and earth.
• To give a more substantial appearance, facades began to be made of lime plaster stucco incised to look like stone, and later, sham domes and fake pillars were added.
• The Public Works Departments (PWDs) of the British East India Company were formalized in 1854-5, but were started in the 1760s as the Company's engineering offices.

Mesopotamia (3000 BC – 330 BC)

• Mesopotamia, meaning "between two rivers" (Tigris and Euphrates), was an ancient region in the eastern Mediterranean, corresponding to modern-day Iraq and parts of Iran.
• Mesopotamian architectural accomplishments include the development of urban planning, the courtyard house, and ziggurats.
• The availability of rich clay in the plain of twin rivers led to the use of clay in all buildings, with brick being the dominant material.
• Crude sun-dried bricks were used for ordinary works, kiln-burnt bricks for important works, and glazed bricks for decorative work.
• Ziggurats were built by Sumerians, and the absence of stone in Babylon led to the evolution of arch, vault, and dome construction.

Ancient Greek Architecture

• Ancient Greek architecture is divided into three orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
• Each order has a proportional system, governing the form, proportions, details, and relationships of columns, entablature, pediment, and stylobate.
• The Doric Order is the most basic, originating on mainland Greece and spreading to Italy, characterized by a wooden or stone shaft, and was used by Spartans.
• The Ionic Order is recognized by its volute-like structures on the capital, and was initially similar in style to the Corinthian Order.
• The Corinthian Order is the most decorative, characterized by flowering, leaf-like capitals, and a flat roof.

Ancient Roman Architecture

• Ancient Rome is famous for its aqueducts, which supplied the city with 85 million gallons of water daily.
• The Pont du Gard aqueduct is a notable example, carrying water from 30 miles away to supply the city of Nîmes with 22,000 tons of water daily.
• Typical Roman houses had different-purposed small windowless rooms surrounding a large reception room called an atrium, which was brightly colored and lit with an opening in the roof.
• More valuable houses had a second courtyard called a peristyle, planted with trees, flowers, and shrubs, and sometimes had small shops on the exterior facing the road.

Main Features of Roman Architecture

• Arches were used for support and decoration, applied to bridges, aqueducts, triumphal arches, and vaults.
• Columns were used as support and decoration, adopted from Greek columns, and were used in temples, peristyles, and public courtyards.
• Mosaic work was a prominent feature of Roman architecture, used on floors, walls, and vaults, with three main varieties: opus segmentatum, opus tessellatum, and opus vermiculatum.
• Opus vermiculatum is a type of mosaic that draws an outline around shapes using tesserae, often used to emphasize main design and foreground details.