When the British first made inroads into India, little impact had been, was, or even intended on being made. Structures were mainly reflective of their functions, simple warehouses and a number of rather temporary administration facilities with residences remaining few in number, these kept to the traditional and vernacular. However, as British interests in India expanded, more permanent structures were required to facilitate the infrastructure of the new British Raj- symbols of their new status as the power seat; a sense of permanence and prominence.

1. INDO-SARACENIC
ARCHITECTURE

2. What is Indo-Saracenic?
An architectural style movement by British architects in the
late 19th century British India which drew elements from
native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture, and combined it
with the Gothic revival and Neo-Classical styles favoured
in Victorian Britain.

3. Development of the Style
• BEFORE 1857- European classical style (incorporating Greek
and Roman Features such as columns, triangular pediments)
employed for the public buildings: image as the holders of
power and status and to distance themselves from the
natives.
• REVOLT OF 1857- India began to be ruled under the British
crown: essential to legitimatize their rule and connect to the
natives of the colonised land.

4. “In the public buildings put up by the Raj it was essential
always to make visible Britain’s imperial position as ruler, for
these structures were charged with the explicit purpose of
representing empire itself. Since they wanted to legitimatize
their rule, they decided to justify their presence by relating
themselves to the previous rulers, the Mughals. The British
deliberately kept Mughal princes in power so as to not to
provoke Indian contempt and to further establish their
connection to the Mughals. These princes were a vision of the
future, but the British also needed them to be a
representation of the past. And it worked.”
-Sir Thomas Metcalf

5. St. George's Cathedral, Chennai (1815)
Chepauk Palace, Chennai (1864)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George's_Cathedral,_Chennai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chepauk_Palace

6. Principal Characteristics
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Onion (Bulbous) Domes
Overhanging Eaves
Pointed Arches, Cusped Arches, or Scalloped Arches
Vaulted Roofs
Domed Kiosks
Many Miniature Domes, or Domed Chhatris
Towers or Minarets
Harem Windows
Open Pavilions
Pierced Open Arcading

7. Leading Architects
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Robert Fellowes Chisholm
Charles Mant
Henry Irwin
William Emerson
George Wittet
Frederick W. Stevens

8. Prominent Buildings
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Courts and other Civic Buildings
Clock Towers
Government Colleges and High School Buildings
Railway Stations
Art Galleries
Palaces of the Indian Maharajas

9. Map showing the locations of cities having Indo Saracenic style buildings in India
http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/

10. The Princely States and the British
• From the middle of the 19th century, the British Crown
became the guarantor of peace and commerce treaties.
• The princely states were, watched over by British agents and
their powers were limited to internal matters.
• Change in lifestyle began to be reflected in their architecture
as well - durbar halls, rooms for European guests were built,
introduction of the dining and drawing rooms, fireplaces,
marble fountains and statues.
• New princely towns of Jaipur, Bikaner and Mysore most
successful in negotiating this divide.

11. Amba Vilas Palace (19001910), Mysore
• Henry Irwin
• fluted pillars from the Red
Fort in Delhi, onion domes
from the Taj Mahal, Mughal
tracery and European halls.
Durbargadh Waghaji Palace
(1882), Morvi
•Indo-Venetian Gothic building
•Saracenic domes and Rajput
arches.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mysore_Palace,_India
http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articl
es&ArticleID=1006
Such palaces were a sophisticated political symbol of the imperial
presence- outwardly Indian and built by Indian hands, the overall
control stayed with the British.

12. SENATE HOUSE- MADRAS UNIVERSITY
• Constructed by Robert Chisholm between 1874 and 1879
• Inspired by the Byzantine and built in the Indo-Saracenic style.

13. http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/

14. http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/

15. http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/

16. Turrets
Stone columns with sculptured capital
http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/
Hindu iconography on the capital

17. Large clerestory circular openings decorated with
coloured glass
http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/

18. SECRETARIAT BUILDING, NEW DELHI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_Building,_New_Delhi

19. Secretariat Complex, North Block. Delhi. 1930s
Photograph by Medha Malik Kudaisya

20. Plan of the Secretariat along the Rajpath
Two blocks of symmetrical buildings (North Block and South
Block) on opposite sides of the great axis of Rajpath, and
flanking the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's House).

21. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_Building,_New_Delhi
•Designed to form two squares; broad corridors between different
wings and wide stairways to the four floors.
•Each building is topped by a giant dome, while each wing’s end
with colonnaded balcony.

22. Photograph by Medha Malik Kudaisya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_Building,_New_Delhi

23. Columns and colonnaded verandahs
Photograph by Medha Malik Kudaisya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_Building,_New_Delhi
Chattris & Chajjas in red sandstone

24. “The men who will actually leave the impress of their hands on
the material. These men have an art language of their own, a
language which you can recognize but cannot thoroughly
understand. For this reason an architect practicing in India
should unhesitatingly select to practice in the native styles of
art - indeed the natural art-expression of the men is the only
art to be obtained in the country.”
-Robert Fellowes Chisholm (1840-1915)

25. REFERENCES
• Gupta, Narayani. Delhi Between two empires, 1803-1921.
Delhi, 1986
• Irving, R G. Indian Summer: Lutyens, Baker and Imperial Delhi.
New Haven, 1981.
• Metcalf, T R. An Imperial Vision. Indian Architecture and
Britain's Raj. Berkeley, 1989.