Ancient Greek Architecture

The earliest buildings that were built in Greece, in the New Stone Age, are small houses or huts, and wooden walls around them for protection. Later there are bigger houses, and stone walls around the villages. By the Early Bronze Age, we find one bigger house in the middle of the village, and fancier, bigger stone walls. In the Late Bronze Age, under the influence of Western Asia, and the Minoans on Crete, there are palaces and big stone tombs, as well as paved roads and bridges, and dams (and more stone walls). During the Greek Dark Ages the palaces were burned, and the roads and bridges and dams mostly fell apart. But at the end of the Dark Ages, with the beginning of the Iron Age and the Archaic period in Greece, we see a new type of building: the temple for the gods. These earliest temples are built in the Doric style. There are houses, but no more palaces. But roads and bridges and stone walls begin to be built again. In the Classical period, there are more temples, bigger and with new design ideas: the Parthenon is built in the 440's BC. People begin to build in the Ionic style. Democracy prevents the Greeks from building palaces or big tombs, because politically all men are supposed to be equal, and so it would look bad to have a big palace even if you could afford it. Instead, the Greeks build public buildings: gymnasia, and stoas, where men can meet and talk.

By the 300's BC, in the Hellenistic period, there are some new architectural types. Less time is spent on temples. The new form is the theater, and many theaters are built all over the Greek world. Also, there is new interest in town planning at this time: streets begin to be laid out in straight lines, instead of just developing naturally. With the conquests of Alexander the Great, architecture becomes an important way to spread Greek culture and show who is in charge in the conquered countries. On the other hand, once the Romans conquer Greece , around 200 -100 BC, they too use architecture to show that they are in charge, and suddenly there is a lot of building in the Roman style. Corinthian architecture became more popular. About 400 AD, the Greeks convert to Christianity, and begin to build churches and monasteries. During the Middle Ages, parts of Greece were taken over by the Normans, who built castles, and other parts were still controlled by the Byzantine Empire, and built in a more West Asian style. Finally, in 1453 AD, the Byzantine Empire was taken over by the Turks, and Islamic mosques began to be built in Greece. Introducing - History of Indian Architecture India's Architectural Heritage

One definition of a great civilization is the magnificence of its architectural legacy, and India is surely among the foremost. The country is dotted with the remains of ages gone by, many world famous like the Taj and Qutab Minar, and some still cloaked in obscurity, off the tourist circuit, waiting to be 'discovered', but architectural gems nevertheless. In a perfect world, we would all be traveling, exploring and writing for a living, seeing monuments, marveling at the ineffable genius of builders long dead, imagining our world in the age of kings, dreaming of empires long gone and their pomp and glory. For most of us, however, this is wishful thinking. Fortunately, technology comes to our aid. Through the combined media of television, books, radio, and recently the web, we can look at images, hear words, and experience that which we perhaps will never be able to see, feel or touch. Thus, our first attempt will be to explore, as vividly and clearly as possible, India's immense built heritage.

Lessons from the Past To begin, it should be pointed out that in the large volume of published work on world architecture, there is comparatively little on India (of course, the word 'India' here denotes the sub-continent - including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. These countries, though separated by political boundaries, share a common cultural heritage). This is not surprising by far the majority of authors are Westerners. It has been traditionally difficult for Western historians to make a correct and unbiased appraisal of Indian architecture - even if they should choose to do so. One chief cause is that Indian architecture - both Hindu and Muslim has been traditionally considered exotic, not subject to the same rules of analysis as Western examples. Much research still needs to be done - a beginning has been made but the majority of the Indian vernacular still waits to be dissected. This is a pity since there are many lessons to be learnt - lessons especially valid today when modern Indian architects, trained in schools of architecture closely patterned on Western examples, are lacking in all but the most rudimentary knowledge of their own heritage and the conditions - social, cultural, political - which spawned it. Valuable insights on building morphology, use of material and climatic appropriateness - which today are all major issues can be gleaned from the ingenious solutions in the vernacular. This section, then, is also an attempt to strip Indian architecture of its 'exotic' tag, and present it for what it is - an intelligent, innovative response to local conditions. In the beginning... That said, where does one begin? With a past stretching back to 2500 B.C., there are innumerable examples to choose from. It is difficult to select truly representative monuments - those which clearly typify the spirit of their age and/or usher in a new style. Equally, it is difficult to decide which ones to omit. The best way is to start chronologically, from the very beginning. The Indus and its tributaries were one of the earliest cradles of civilization. Here, at least, there is no ambiguity - the cities of the Indus Valley Civilization are the first surviving evidence of architecture/town planning in the sub-continent. The life and times of the Indus Valley people make for a fascinating study. Thus, the Harappan Culture will form the basis of the first article.

The Taj Mahala UNESCO World Heritage Sitein Agra was built by Shah Jahan as memorial to wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Detail from the Jain temple at Ranakpur dedicated to Adinatha.

Mauryan architecture in the Barabar Mounts, Bihar. Grotto of Lomas Rishi. 3rd century BCE.

Excavated ruins, Mohenjo-daro, modern-day Pakistan.

The Great Stupa at Sanchi (4th-1st century BCE). The dome shaped stupa was used in India as a commemorative monument associated with storing sacred relics.

Grand Anicut dam on river Kaveri (1st-2nd Century CE) is one of the oldest water-regulation structures in the world still in use.[7]

The temple complex at Khajurahoadhering to the shikhara temple style architectureis a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ornate lintel over mantapa entrance, Belur temple.

Qutub Minar a prominent islamic architecture in India

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (completed 1897) , formerly Victoria Terminus.

The S Cathedral of Santa Catarinalocated in Old Goais a cathedral dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria.

The famous jaali from the 16th-century Sidi Saiyyed mosque built by Ahmed Shah of Gujarat, in Ahmedabad

The North Block in New Delhi houses key government offices, built along with Lutyens' Delhi.

Chandigarh Secretariat designed by Le Corbusier.

Indian Architecture - Residential

A Toda tribal hut

A village hut in West Bengal

House in Agumbe

House with verandah in Ettayapuram

Traditional home, Manali

Indian vernacular architecture is the informal, functional architecture of structures, often in rural areas, of India, built of local materials and designed to meet the needs of the local people. The builders of these structures are unschooled in formal architectural design and their work reflects the rich diversity of India's climate, locally available building materials, and the intricate variations in local social customs and craftsmanship. It has been estimated

that worldwide close to 90% of all building is vernacular, meaning that it is for daily use for ordinary, local people and built by local craftsmen. The term "vernacular architecture" in general refers to the informal building of structures through traditional building methods by local builders without using the services of a professional architect. It is the most widespread form of building. Indian vernacular architecture has evolved organically over time through the skillful craftsmanship of the local people. Despite the diversity, this architecture can be broadly divided into three categories.

kachcha
A kachcha is a building made of natural materials such a mud, grass, bamboo, thatch or sticks and is therefore a short-lived structure. Since it is not made for endurance it requires constant maintenance and replacement. The practical limitations of the building materials available dictate the specific form which can have a simple beauty. The advantage of a kachcha is that construction materials are cheap and easily available and relatively little labor is required.

pukka
A pukka is a structure made from materials resistant to wear, such as forms of stone or brick, clay tiles , metal or other durable materials, sometimes using mortar to bind, that does not need to be constantly maintained or replaced. However, such structures are expensive to construct as the materials are costly and more labor is required. A pukka may be elaborately decorated in contrast to a kachcha.

semi-pukka
A combination of the kachcha and pukka style, the semi-pukka, has evolved as villagers have acquired the resources to add elements constructed of the durable materials characteristic of a pukka. Architecture as always evolves organically as the needs and resources of people change.

Regional variation
Building material depends on location. In hilly country where rocky rubble, ashlar, and pieces of stone are available, these can be patched together with a mud mortar to form walls. Finer stonework veneer covers the outside. Sometimes wood beams and rafters are used with slate tiles for roofing if available. Houses on hills usually have two stories, with the livestock living on the ground floor. Often a verandah runs along the side of the house. The roof is pitched to deal with the monsoon season and the house may sit on raised plinths or bamboo poles to cope with floods. On the flat lands, abodes are usually made of mud or sun-baked bricks, then plastered inside and out, sometimes with mud mixed with hay or even cow dung and whitewashed with lime. Where bamboo is available (mainly in the north and northeastern states) it is widely used for all parts of the home as it is flexible and resilient. Also widely used is thatch from plants such as elephant grass, paddy, and coconut. In the south, clay tiles are used for pukka roofing while various plant material such as coconut palm is common for kachcha.

Urban vernacular

Chennai suburb

Old part of Ahmedabad

Bridge in the middle of town, Manali

a slum in Calcutta

Commercial vernacular

Restaurant in KulluRestaurant in BengaluruBazaar in BangladeshNorthern Pakistan

Hill houses

Roofs of the cottages at Darjeeling Concrete/brick and timber Ponmudi hill houses

Hill Station in Tamil Nadu