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Unlike [[French]] or [[Portuguese]] Colonialists, whose architecture was accustomed to Mediterranean needs, British designs rapidly altered adding arcades and deep verandahs to deal with the needs to shelter from sun and monsoon. Italianate designs often better suited the climatic needs, compared to pattern book English designs. Neo-Gothic variety often the choice of Venetian Gothic for in civic buildings in preference to High Gothic.
Against the dominant style of the Aesthetic Imperialists (represented by the [[Public Works Department]] who commissioned and regulated colonial architectural design) there were the Native RevivalistRevivalists. They thought that civic architecture should represent the people, something with a connection to the land and the past, which in later Victorian times was mirrored by William Morris’ Arts and Craft’s view - of returning to an architecture using craftsmanship and traditional methods. Bombay was more liberal , so many of the later universities and law courts opted for Indo-Saracenic architecture (a mixture of Hindu, Islamic and Western elements applied to Western buildings). James Fergusson a Morris supporter, argued that copying Indian styles to be a crime, and backed the expressive use of Indian forms in architectural expression. The issue was that it was not a fusion of east and west design. Architects working in the [[Princely States]] managed this. Indigenous methods prevailed in [[Hill station|hill stations]] where informal residential designs used the best of both traditions.
Most of the designers throughout the Raj were [[British Army]] Engineers instructed in military engineering; architectural design was self learnt from practical experience, aided by architectural reference books and copy book designs. By 1870 regional differences are were obvious with Bombay Public Works employing professional officers trained in architecture, while Calcutta continued to use amateur military engineers. Later, consultant architects invited from Europe included Lutyens in [[New Delhi]], and Modernist Le Corbusier in post-colonial [[Chandrigarh]]
The quality of local craftsmen and raw material made a difference. Bombay’s stone carvers were able to work with better grade stone than others– naturally their work was more detailed..
Frequently colonial buildings were criticized about not responding to local conditions, or being built in traditional proven local methods. The "London look" was achieved by stucco render over brick, and sadly many Raj buildings are falling into disrepair as the stucco peels away.
==Other external links==
*[http://www.boloji.com/architecture/index.htm Indian Architecture] This is an excellent Indian site for a more detailed overview over view , it includes sections on Colonial Indian Architecture.*[http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/495 ''Deccan Queen: A Spatial Analysis of Poona in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries''] by Wayne Thomas Mullen. Sydney University Digital Theses 26-Mar-2006. A thesis which is “structured around the analysis of a model that describes the Cantonment, the Civil Lines, the Sadr Bazar and part of the Native City of the Western Indian settlement of Poona in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.” Contains sections on architecture
*[http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/architecture.html Victorian and Edwardian Architecture in British India] from The Victorian Web
*[http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=541 Heritage Buildings & Monuments] Photographs from Skyscrapercity.com
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/indiaindianengin00medlrich#page/76/mode/2up JG Megley lecture] Considers building comfort design issues, giving examples of comfortable bungalows, and stuffy churches - where services were held outside under the early morning shadow of the church.
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/indianarchitectu00haveuoft#page/n443/mode/2up Indian Architecture] by EV Havel, a good description of the [[Public Works Department]] and a readable critique of Colonial Architecture in late Victorian times – asking it this the right approach?
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofmoderns04ferguoft#page/468/mode/2up History of Modern Architecture] by James Fergusson mentioned above.
*[http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/495 ''Deccan Queen: A Spatial Analysis of Poona in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries''] by Wayne Thomas Mullen. Sydney University Digital Theses 26-Mar-2006. A thesis which is “structured around the analysis of a model that describes the Cantonment, the Civil Lines, the Sadr Bazar and part of the Native City of the Western Indian settlement of Poona in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.” Contains sections on architecture
== Current Books==
*''Stones of Empire'', Morris, Jan and JJ Cotton. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1983.
*''Splendors of the Raj (British Architecture in India 1660 -1947)'', Davis, Philip. London, John Murray (Publishers)Ltd, 1985.
[[Category: Occupations]]
