CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

RELIGION AND BELIEF

CULTURE
PROPORTIONS
SETTLEMENT PLANNING
PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING
HOUSING TYPOLOGY
MATERIALS & CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

The Chettinad houses were originally singlestoreyed buildings

made of sundried brick of mud and bamboo and
thatch.
They evolved to become tile-roofed with a small
two-storeyed
tower at both ends of the front elevation,
They later expanded vertically into twostoreyed structures, and
horizontally through the addition of numerous
halls and courtyards
that could accommodate guests at marriages
and other ceremonies
It was not unusual for three generations to live
together in one house.
The Chettinad houses accommodate up to four
CHETTINAD
ARCHITECTURE
generations before
separate houses are built
by individual
PRINCIPLES
OF sons

oThe houses are built on a rectangular, traversal plot that stretches

across two streets, with the front door opening into the first street
and the back into the second.
oLooking in from the main threshold, your eye travels in a straight line
across a series of inner courtyards, each a diminishing rectangle of
light, leading out to the back door .
othe courtyards supply ample light and air (pickles and papads were
dried there) but leave the rest of the house in deep and cool shadow.
The courtyards have tiles placed exactly under the storm-water
drainpipes so that the stone floor is not damaged.
o Underground drains run right through the house, with stone stoppers
carved exactly for their mouths.
o Large stone vats for water and wooden bins for firewood line the
inner courtyards.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

First comes an outer thinai - Large raised platforms on either side of

the central corridor, where the host would entertain male guests.
The platforms lead off on one side into store rooms and massive
granaries and on the other, into the ( Kanakupillai ) or Accountant's
room.This area also usually leads off to the men's well.
From here, the huge elaborately carved teak front door, with image of
Lakshmi carved over the head and navaratna or nine precious gems
buried under the ( Vasapadi) threshold.
The door leads into the first open air courtyard, with pillared corridors
running on each side thatlead into individual rooms, each meant for a
married son, each with a triangular slot cut into the wall for the
evening lamp.
Then comes the second counrtyard with large dining spaces on either
side.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
PRINCIPLES OF

The third courtyard was for the women folk to rest and gossip, while
the fourth, or nalankattai comprised the kitchens, leading out to the
backyard with its women's well and grinding stones.
The wealthier the merchants the larger the house, often spreading
out to a second floor.
Let alone air conditioning, inside an authentic Chettinad house you
will never feel the need to use fans too amidst open courtyards,
amazing wall finishes and earthy tiles

thinai

Kanakupillai

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

Cool space
The Chettinad houses were conceived as fortresses, guarding both
valuables and the even more valuable, cool air.
So, from outside, you perceive no idea of the house's design.
Thus instead of lawns in front of the house, the Chettiars had
courtyards inside.
But they retained the thinnai (platform outside the house that projects
towards the street from the house's front wall), typical of ethnic Tamil
architecture.
The thinnai ended in granaries on one side and a room,
generally the accountant's room, on the other side.
The heavy and elaborately carved front doors, with images of deities,
Goddess Lakshmi especially (from the shiploads of Burmese teak,
of course) sometimes had precious gems inlayed on it.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
PRINCIPLES OF

The courtyards
Most Chettinad mansions have at least a couple of courtyards.
The living space leads one immediately into the courtyard.
The first open-air courtyard, with corridors flanked by huge pillars
on its sides, generally was bordered by rooms along its sides.
You also notice triangular slots cut into the walls of these houses,
an inbuilt shelf for lamps.
The second courtyard opens out immediately and is flanked by
spaces used for dining generally.
The third courtyard served as a restroom for the womenfolk, while
the fourth one housed the kitchens.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
PRINCIPLES OF

Each of the small rooms off the main courtyard is the property of one
married son in the patriarchal lineage of the ancestral builder of
the home.
It is the only part of the house, besides a section of the
kitchen, to which a separate ownership can be attributed.
Even today, men and women are segregated in a Chettinad house:
the men occupy the outer verandah and front room;
and the women occupy the kitchen courtyard and work around the
main courtyard.
No house comes with less than two vast kitchens, not to mention
several giant grinding stones and rows of fireplaces in the last
courtyard all meant to entertain gigantic gatherings

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
PRINCIPLES OF

BELIEFS
A series of developments can be
noted in the houses owing to
the cultural changes and
modernisation.
The thinnai was provided on either
side of the house in the main
entrance which is mainly used by the
male members of the house
for the informal meetings
In the later house when the
intimate contact with the neighbours
was reduced owing to the cultural
change the front thinnai was
enclosed to privacy
This reduced the segregation
between the male and the female
of the house

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

Proportion
Well
Well proportioned
proportioned plan

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

Culture is an all embracing word which includes all

significant aspects of human life beginning from philosophy,
social organization , religion and economy, social
institutions and meanings etc.
The land of Tamils,in the southern part of INDIA is
CHETTINAD the land of NATTUKOTTAI, founded by
Chettiars,called by their preferred community name
NAGARATHAR .

Chettiars,were one of the

earliest business
communities in India. They
settled almost mid-centre
between the capitals of
the Pandya Kingdom in
Madurai and the Chola
Empire in Thanjavur in the
13th century.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

CULTU

Wood carving, silver embellishment, woven saris, palmleaf baskets, gold jewellery, hand-made tiles,
architectural styling, refined cuisine and egg plastering
are among their contributions of Indian arts and crafts.
These masterful innovations justified the self-proclaimed
sobriquet the Chettiars gave themselvesNagarathars
or the sophisticated townsfolk. Even today,
Chettinad is a heritage zone dotted with the palatial
homes that are called Nattukottais.
Towns like Karaikudi, Pallathur, Athangudi, and
Kothamangalam, have the most lavish houses in
Chettinad.
The people of Chettinad
then moved on from
their settlement to other
villages not far from
their first settlement
and, there were nine
main clusters of
villages. To each of
them the Pandya King
granted a temple in
perpetuity.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

CULTU

Chettinad Houses:
The Chettinad houses are built on a rectangular traversal
plot that stretches across two streets, with the front door
opening into the first street and the back into the second.
Looking in from the main threshold, your eye travels in a
straight line across a series of inner courtyards, each a
diminishing rectangle of light, leading out to the back door.
second courtyard
"conjugal" room
Veranda. First courtyard

columns.

open
gard
en
spac
e

Tinnai Puja room and storage

corridor
of dowry items.

kitchen.
Veranda.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

PLANNIN

First comes an outer thinai Large raised platforms on either

side of the central corridor, where
the host would entertain male
guests. The platforms lead off on
one side into store rooms and
massive granaries and on the
other, into the ( Kanakupillai ) or

The door leads

Accountant's
room.into the first open air courtyard,
with pillared corridors running on each side that
lead into individual rooms, each meant for a
married son. Then comes the second counrtyard
with large dining spaces with the kitchens, leading
out to the backyard with its women's well and
grinding stones. The wealthier the merchants the
larger the house, often spreading out to a second

The courtyards supply ample light leaving the rest of the

floor.
house in deep and cool shadow. The courtyards have tiles
placed exactly under the strom-water drain run right
through the house, with stone stoppers carved exactly for
their mouths. Large stone vats for water and wooden bins
for firewood line the inner courtyards.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
HOUSING

AMM House in
Pallathur

The Meyyappans have converted the family

clubhouse into The bangala, the S.A.R. Muthiah
family has opened up some rooms in its family
mansion to tourists. Muthiah Chettiar, the Raja of
Chettinad, has opened his house in Kanadukathan
for public viewing, while his brother's house next
door has a floor converted to a museum that
displays everything associated with chettiars.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

HOUSING TYPOLOGY

Chettinadu Mansion has 7 Airconditioned double rooms, each with an

attached bathroom, a dressing room
and a private balcony with an open air
shower.
These rooms are comfortably
furnished with hand picked original
Chettinad pieces.
Chettinad Palace which is located
just behind Chettinadu Mansion.
Chettinad shandies, is where one gets
idea about local marketing skills of the
village folk and view the colourful
arrangement of vegetables, fruits,
snacks, chettinad baskets, and other
rural produce, and may be pick up
some items at throwaway prices.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

HOUSING TYPOLOGY

VIEWS OF CHETTINAD

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

HOUSING

Chettinad Palace in Kanadikathan

The 110-year-old Chettinad Palace in Kanadikathan
village is the oldest surviving building of this style, built
by Dr Annamali Chettiyar, founder of the Indian Bank
and the Annamalai University in Chidambaram

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

PALACES

Next to the palace is the Raja's brother's house, a treasure

house of all things Chettinad furniture, ornaments,
saris, vessels and the like. Located nearby is the
`Chettinad' railway station with a rest-house close by,
which belongs to the Raja's family.

ENTRANCE OF PALACE

INNER ENTRANCE COURT

HALL

OUTSIDE VIEW

ENTRANCE

PRIVATE ENTRANCE

DINING

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

PALACES

GALLERY AROUND PATIO

ENTRANCE

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

PALACES

The walls are of baked

Building
materials
bricks

used are

Plastered over by a
secret recipe of roots,
Yolk and lime that leaves
them silken smooth and
washable;
The tiles are Spanish;
The floors of Italian
marble or locally - crafted
Athangudi tiles;
The pillars of Burmese
teak, many houses have
small turrets,
Elaborate guard
houses
CHETTINAD
ARCHITECTURE
on the terrace.

Plastered over by a
secret recipe of roots,
Yolk and lime that
leaves them silken
smooth and washable

Inside an authentic
Chettinad house you will
never feel the need to
use fans too amidst
open courtyards,
amazing wall finishes
and earthy tiles

The floors of Italian

marble or locally crafted Athangudi tiles;
The pillars of Burmese
teak, many houses
have small turrets,

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

Karaikudi - Chettinad House

Matchbox-like structures, tall endless mud and
Chettinad
houses are
lime copies of mass produced
enclosures.
built on a rectangular
traversal plot that
stretches across two
streets, with the front
door opening onto the
first street and the
back onto the second.
Looking in from the
main threshold, your
eye travels in a straight
line across a series of
inner courtyards, each
a diminishing rectangle
of light, leading out to
the back door.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

Madras terrace
Construction techniques.
roofing.
Handmade floor tiles from
Athangudi, are inlaid on
the madras terrace roof
pattern with the joists
imported from Burma as
batterns are melamine
Burma teak.

Madras plastering
technique.
Lime egg plastering,
another traditional
technique used to paint
walls white and keep the
insides of houses cool, that
CHETTINAD
ARCHITECTURE
lasts virtually the
entire life
of the building,

Madras terrace roofing.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

The construction
Construction
techniques.
material, decorative
items and furnishings
were mostly imported
from East Asian
countries and Europe.
The marble was
brought from Italy,
chandeliers and teak
from Burma, crockery
from Indonesia, crystals
from Europe and wallto-wall mirrors from
Belgium.
The woodwork and
stonework was inspired
that of the houses in
France and other
European destinations
CHETTINAD
ARCHITECTURE

carved teak front door, with

A typical
chettinad
construction
image
of Lakshmi
carved
over the head and navaratna
or nine precious gems buried
under the ( Vasapadi)
threshold.
Pillared corridors running
on each side that lead into
individual rooms, each
meant for a married son,
each with a triangular slot
cut into the wall for the
evening lamp.
Large dining spaces on
either side.
The third courtyard was for
the women folk to rest and
gossip, while the fourth, or
CHETTINAD
ARCHITECTURE
nalankattai comprised
the

Construction
The evolution of a
whole way of life, from
culture and history to
the use of materials
and new technologies,
to an understanding of
the environmental
Many of the windows,
factors
with orange segment
shaped fanlights over
some of them, or
barred and grilled
doors, with pierced
screen ventilators on
top, have been treated

The dark
basketwork
has
with
green paint.
been used as lamps, as
decorative flourishes in
a niche and as
containers for holding
food in it.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

The central is surrounded by pillars of burma teak and there is a

combination of scarlet tiles and sloping woodwork.
The construction material, decor items and
furnishings were mostly imported,work were inspired
by French and other European architecture.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
EXTERNAL FAADE TREATMENT

Private entrance of the house where still the authentic family of the
Chettiars live .

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

EXTERNAL FAADE TREATMENT

Dining hall where at least 250 people can dine in the

traditional style, that is, by squatting on the floor.
Dining hall with the door to the central inner courtyard and some old
paintings .

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

EXTERNAL FAADE TREATMENT

The entrance view showing the details of their faade treatment with the
combination of vibrant colours as well as the openings.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
EXTERNAL FAADE TREATMENT

This is the view of one of the chettinad house which

was built 120 years ago.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
EXTERNAL FAADE TREATMENT

One of chettinad house showing the richness which it had

with higher plinth

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
EXTERNAL FAADE TREATMENT

The verandah is just

next
to the iron-gate and was
converted into the
waiting
area for the visitors.
The meeting hall is decorated
with several pairs of tusks;
one of them is over 8 ft long
and shipped from South Africa.
The walls are made 1.5 ft
to
3 ft wide to keep the cool
without the use of any
electronic
equipment like the air
conditioners.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

Chettinad, rich in cultural heritage, art and

architecture, is well known
for its houses, that are embellished with marble and
Burma teak.
The houses have wide inner courtyards and spacious
rooms.
The basic design comprises of a "thinnai" which
is an enclosed courtyard and this is surrounded
by family rooms.
The plaster involves the application of the finely ground
mixture
of powdered shell, lime, jaggery and spices, including
gallnut
to walls.
This technique
keeps the interior of the house cool
during the hot and humid Indian summers and lasts
a lifetime.
The architectural structure of a typical Chettiar
home is a study in how a human dwelling can be
constructed in harmony with nature.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

High ceilings, airy and well ventilated, the house has one
courtyard near the entrance leads to the imposing main
door, usually made of wood with extraordinarily intricate
carvings of mythological figures.

The thinnai is a long narrow raised platform that

serves as a meeting place and also as a kind of
accomodation for travellers and visitors.

The inner courtyard has special significance. It is lined

with classically beautiful pillars made out of granite or
teakwood.
The courtyard serves as the venue for the many
ceremonies that the community performs from
births to weddings to death.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

View showing the interiors with stout columns with lot of detailings.
Huge large marbles single piece marble is used as flooring

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

View showing the upper corridor having arcades connecting the

bedrooms with twin circular columns.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

Series of columns supporting the sloping roof

covered with pot tiles
which is adopted mainly to drain the rainwater.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

The ceiling has artistic patterns in vegetable dye over

roofing plates made of copper soldered with a special
variety of aluminum.
The no cementing agent was used in the construction
and the bricks are bound together with a paste of egg
white, the extract of an unripe medicinal fruit found in
the hills of Kadukkai and lime grind.
The hall leads to the central courtyard, which was
used for weddings and religious ceremonies.
The pillars around the courtyard are made of Burma teak.
There is a colorful combination of blood-red tiles and
sloping woodwork.
The ladies' hall has another courtyard and a rectangular
dining hall.
At least 250 people can sit and dine in the dining hall in
the traditional style, i.e., by squatting on the floor.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
INTERIORS

The third courtyard has several small

rooms around it. They were meant
to store crockery, food and other
kitchen items.
The servants' quarters are
situated
at the far end at a proper
distance
from the residential area of the
family.
A couple of large stone hand-grinders are fixed on the veranda
surrounding the courtyard.

Eleven firewood ovens are lined along the kitchen wall and there are also
two teak wood cupboards.
A puja room in a corner of the courtyard .
The first floor comprises mainly of bedrooms and living rooms .

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
INTERIORS

Near the kitchen provision has been made in the roof to

hold the traditional tools of the kitchen activities

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
INTERIORS

PLANNING CONCEPT
The concept of chettinadu house is believed to have arrived
from kaveripoompatinam.
The planning concept was essentially based on occupation of
the people and their desires .
Since they were traders they need spaces for keeping their
valuables called inside room and outside room which served
the purpose.
The dictated introverted planning was adopted to avoid multiple
access.
The scale of spaces like kalyana kottagai and bhojana hall was
determined by the religious and family festivals.

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
INTERIORS

SPATIAL ORGANISATION
SERVICE SPACEthe scale for these spaces is not fixed the day
to day activities but by the festive usage. Their
location in the linear arrangement follows the
living area.
MULTIPURPOSE CENTRAL OPEN SPACElocated amidst the room and often used as the
semipublic and commercial space.
FEASTING SPACE
though this space is less commonly used it is
considered as the important space and exists as
the status symbol of the household

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
INTERIORS

SPATIAL ORGANISATION
RECEPTION- this is designed to express the stately image of
the owner it has level variations and used both for receiving
the guest and for relaxation.
PATTAGASALAI- This is used for relaxation as well for the
confidential
dealings which is usually a raised platform. This
space
usually mixes with the central space.
SECURED AND SECLUDED SPACEThis space is created to serve the need for
storage .
The scale and the intimacy of the space reveals
the
material stored. The composition is such that
the
outerARCHITECTURE
room buffers the inner room.
CHETTINAD
INTERIORS