Changes

Early buildings in fortified encampments were simple and functional; decoratively crenellations adorned parapets like battlements. As colonial aspirations changed from purely trading to empire, prominent buildings expressed power. This came not just from the British dominance but from their stylistic choice of Neo-Classicism to represent their cultural authority. Porticos and Doric columns were repeatedly used c for 300 years. Palladian refinement reflected social aspirations for the English elite in India. More numerous were the modest cottages and bungalows, for the many of the middle classes, that borrowed stylistically from Bengali ‘bangla’ village huts. Church architecture differed by following the prevailing English trend - from the clean lines of Christopher Wren’s English Renaissance churches to the verticality of Pugin’s Victorian Neo-Gothic piles –they represented pure Christian values in a pagan land.

Against the dominant style of the Aesthetic Imperialists (represented by the [[Public Works Department ]] who commissioned and regulated the colonial architectural design of most colonial buildings) there were the Native Revivalist. 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. Many 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 stations where informal residential designs that used the best of both traditions.

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.

*[http://www.boloji.com/architecture/index.htm Indian Architecture] This is an excellent Indian site reviewing architects and architectural stylefor a more detailed overview , including it includes sections on Colonial Indian Architecture.