Thesis (M.Archit.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, 2007. / Indian architecture has its unique place in the architectural history of the world. It constantly
inspires its people. It continues to fascinate many a tourist and thinker. It has a multi-layered,
4000 year old history with the Indus valley civilisation (approx. 2500 BeE) boasting of highly
sophisticated space planning concepts. The progressive evolvement of Indian culture since then
has seen further refinement of all its art-forms. The remnants of the built forms of such bygone
eras hold immense architectural merit that makes a walk through any traditional town a
meaningful memory, even today.
If architecture is the reflection of culture, what should have been the richness of the culture that
gave rise to such splendour in architecture! Yet, "In order to understand a culture, it is not
enough to describe its buildings, but one wants to know the impulses that drove people to build
them." (Ballantyne, 2004, 30). So then what were these impulses that drove the Indian people to
create the stupendous architecture, the representations of which are marvelled at today?
The main proposition of the dissertation is that the ancient Hindu concept of "Art as Experience"
on which much of the conscious place-making by the Hindu people was based, evolved from
profound metaphysical seeds that addressed the very basis of man's existence on earth. The
research hopes to partially prove that the greatness of traditional Hindu architecture lies in its
metaphysical moorings of Ultimate Reality and Ultimate Truth and in doing so understanding
what Ultimate reality was in Indian philosophy and what bearing it had on Hindu architecture
and addresses the questions of how traditional Indian Hindu architecture housed man: body,
being and all within his unique context? How does Hindu architecture with its unique perception
of man and his environment converse with universal perennials? What is the currect architectural
scene in India? And what are the lessons that such a comparative study might teach one?
The research tries to answer the above questions by looking in depth at the ancient Hindu
architectural concept of "Art as Experience" that is believed to have given rise to the ancient
Hindu architecture of India. Starting with examining Indian metaphysical constructs and within it
the perception of known and unknown entities of reality; further exploring its relevance to
architecture in terms of the role of body in architecture, the concept of micro and macrocosms,
contextual appropriateness and the unique place that thresholds held in life, the research moves
on to the role of an architect and the way in which the architecture created lent meaning to the
everyday life of people, attempting to understand how ancient architecture was weaved into the
lives of people and their beliefs. Further, some parallels with non-Indian architectural thought are
discussed following which the need for a sensate environment for human beings to live in, the
need for identity and meaning in architecture, the concept of place and culture as a generating
force for architecture are also explored. Finally the current state of architecture in India is
discussed. In the end, some lessons that could be learnt from history are enumerated that could
help in creating architecture that integrates both the universal principles and the particularities of
culture to bestow meaning and identity to the people it purports to serve.
This research tries to examine the past to look for clues to a future of identifiable and authentic
architecture - to bring the ancient and contemporary into the same framework in order to look
for lessons within.
Abstract submitted by Kshama Chari. S.no: 0514479E to Dept. of Architecture. University of Witwatersrand on 18 lui 2007.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/17588 |
| Date | 30 April 2015 |
| Creators | Chari, Kshama |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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