COLONIAL

ARCHITECTURE
IN INDIA
MODULE-3
•Colonization of India also had an impact on architectural style. With
colonization, a new chapter in Indian architecture began.

•In the beginning of colonial rule, there were attempts at creating

authority through classical prototypes.

•In its later phase, the colonial architecture culminated into what is
called Indo-Saracenic architecture.

•The Indo-Saracenic architecture combined the features of Hindu,

Islamic and Western elements.

•Colonial architecture exhibited itself through institutional, civic and

utilitarian buildings such as rest houses and government buildings
COLONIAL ERA (1500AD-
1947AD)
•Colonial architecture in India followed developments not only from
the metropolis but also took inspiration from existing architecture in
India.

•Architecture is an important non-verbal medium for the

communication of values about ways of life, aesthetic aspirations and,
more generally, cultural ideologies.

•It always reflects the distribution of political and economic power

within a society.

•The British, French, Dutch, Danes and the Portuguese were the
main powers that colonized India. The European colonizers created
architecture that symbolized their mission of conquest.

COLONIAL ERA (1500AD-

1947AD)
Colonialization in India
•Colonialism in India primarily delineates the process of the
foriegn occupation of India and its long-term impact on the
various aspects of our national life which includes trade,
lifestyle, relegious aspects and culture.

•Architecture became an emblem of power, designed to

endorse the patron.

• The European created architecture that symbolized their

mission of conquest, dedicated to the state or religion
•The British, French, Dutch and the Portuguese were the
main powers that colonized India.
COLONIAL ERA (1500AD-
1947AD)
•For two-thirds of the period India was under British
control. Most of rural India was largely untouched by the
British experience.

•The situation in the urban environment was very different,

particularly in the major cities founded by the British:
Bombay (now Mumbai), Calcutta (now Kolkata), Madras
(now Chennai) and finally New Delhi.

Impact of Colonial Styles In India

•These cities were developed under the military and
economic domination of British, but they also reflect the
situations of confrontation between foreign and indigenous
values and ultimately between tradition and modernity.
•While the British may have left India, the essential conflict
remains.

•The Dutch, Portuguese and the French made their

presence felt through their buildings but it was the English
who had a lasting impact on architecture.

Impact of Colonial Styles In India

•Three interrelated forces acting simultaneously on urban
design and architecture in India are of concern here.

•One is the impact of the industrial revolution.

•The second, more pointedly, is the impact of the

colonizing powers and the reaction to it.

•The third is the impact of the internal struggle for

intellectual and political dominance over independent
India.

Impact on Architecture after Independence

•The focus is on British efforts to create architecture worthy
of the imperial enterprise

And

•On Indian attempts to develop architecture of self-worth as

the nationalist movement developed

And

•Having achieved independence, the country was confronted

with the question of “what next?”

Impact on Architecture after Independence

•British dominance tended to impose a set of ideas on
the whole country, although there has been a continuous
debate.

•In 1947 came a desire for new ways of thinking, which

together with the firmly established ways, resulted in a
dual set of values that continued to shape the work of
architects.

•One set focused on the future and the other on the past.

Impact on Architecture after

Independence
•India’s post-independence desire for a place in the
limelight as a leading player in international politics is
reflected in the symbolic content of its architectural forms.

•The search for a symbolic aesthetic reflecting the

aspiration of India has focused largely on what a building,
building complex, or urban scheme is built of –its
structure and materials – and, more generally, on

what it looks like, its external appearance - its

size, proportional schemes, issue of identity
communicated through the exterior appearance of
buildings.
Impact on Architecture after
Independence
(1498-
1961) PORTUGUESE COLONIAL
 •The first Portuguese encounter with the subcontinent was on
1498 when Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on Malabar
Coast.

•The Portuguese history of Goa begins around the 15th

Century, when Portugal began to set its sights on Goa as a
destination in which to expand her empire.

•For nearly 500 years, this small area on India's west coast was
ruled by the Portuguese.

•Their influence is clearly visible today in the architecture,

food, art and ideology that make Goa unique.

(1498-1961)
PORTUGUESE COLONIAL
 To main objectives when they arrived : to break into trade
: to convert the eastern
peoples to Christianity

•They built many monasteries and churches dedicated to Saints,

and even the military bastions of the forts were named after them.

•Many shrines and churches were built at road junctions and in

the interior and were usually marked by large, conspicuous crosses.

(1498-1961)
PORTUGUESE COLONIAL
•The churches mainly followed European
styles, but technological and economic constrains
often limited their expression to facade only.
•The churches themselves were barn-like
character and constructed in indigenous
materials using local techniques.
•In India, it’s a mixture of various elements that
led to the
development of PORTUGESE BAROQUE STYLE
in 16-17C.
•In colonial settlements buildings became larger
in scale, their façade often heavily ornamented.
•The walls were made out of mud or laterite
ARCHITECTURAL
stone and colored CHARACTER
with vegetable and natural
•The Portuguese - Catholic houses faced the
street with unique large ornamental windows
opening onto verandahs.

•Bold colors were painted on houses

constructing distinct identity, allowing the
sailors to recognize their houses from sea.

•The covered porches and verandas were

designed for socializing contrary to the Hindu
styled housing. Front doors were lined with
columns, and railings were popular in
embellishment.

•The interior of Goan-Portuguese houses consisted

of elaborate patterns created with tiles
•The city was founded in the 15th century as a port on the
banks of the Mandovi river by the rulers of the Bijapur
Sultanate.

• Conquered by Afonso de
Albuquerque as his capital,
it houses many churches,
convents, chapels and a
Cathedral

• It once had a population of

two lakhs
• Old Goa is very important
for Goans because of its
churches.
Old Goa
•The Basilica of Bom Jesus is located in Goa, and is
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
•The church is located in Old Goa, which was the
capital of Goa in the early days of Portuguese rule.

•The basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis

Xavier.
•The Jesuit church is India’s first minor basilica, and is
considered to be one of the best examples of
baroque architecture in India.

•Construction work on the church

began in 1594 and the church was
consecrated in May 1605.

•In 1946 it wasCHURCHES

raised to the status
-Basilica of Bom Jesus
Old
of GoaBasilica.
a minor
This is one of the oldest churches in Goa and in
India.
•The three storied church is built of plaster
and laterite.
•The walls embrace old painting of saints , as
the floor is laid with pure white marble.
•Apart from the elaborate gilded altars, the
interior of the church is simple.
•The silver casket with the body of St. Francis
Xavier is placed on top of a mausoleum.

Characteristics and Features

which are the first three letters of Jesus in Greek.
The imposing facade built out of black granite in

an exquisite
Combination of Ionic, Doric and Composite

Orders, and has a main entrance flanked by two

smaller ones, each having Corinthian columns
supporting a pediment.
It measures 183 ft in length,55 ft in breath, and

61 ft in height.

Characteristics and Features

•The roof was originally tiled.

•The church is cruciform on plan.

•The flying buttresses on the northern

side of the church are recent additions.
Characteristics and Features
•The main altar is 54 ft high and 30 ft broad. The pillars and detail are
carved from basalt.
•As one enters, beneath the choir, to the right is an altar of St.
Anthony and to the left is an exceedingly well-carved wooden statue
of St. Francis Xavier.
•A projecting gallery, which was intended for the use of dignitaries on
solemn occasions, runs along the two longer sides of the Church.
•On the southern side in the transept is a chapel with gilded twisted
columns and floral decorations of wood, where the sacred relics of
the body of St. Francis Xavier are kept.

•The interior of this chapel is richly adorned with wooden carvings

and paintings, depicting the scenes from the life of the Saint.
CHURCHES
BOM JESUS CATHEDRAL COMPLEX- FLOOR
PLAN
 The church cruciform on plan
 Within the church are two chapels, a main altar and a sacristy
besides a choir at the entrance.
 A belfry( belltower) is at the back. 
 The main altar at the end of the nave is flanked by two decorated
altars in the transept, one dedicated to Our Lady of Hope and the
other to St. Michael.
 The richly gilded main altar has infant Jesus and above it is a
large statue of St. Ignatius Loyola and an ”IHS” medallion.
 The chapel on left hand side is of the holy sacrament whereas
that of right hand side has the relics of the body of St. Francis
Xavier. The interior of the chapel is adorned with scenes from the
life of the saint.
wealthy island of Goa, was protected by land attack b
fortifications. Fort Aguada on the coast of Permem,
cliff overlooking the sea, its bastions placed at strate
s related to contours. A church and a tower provided
of the fort.

ice of Cailo and Fort Largo protected the mouth of r

, and the south bank of the river was protected by
agoa , a fortification with prominent bastions facing
nd arched entrance gate.

fortified towns were Diu, Bassein, Daman, Bombay

FORTS
FORTS
FORTS
FORTS