``

Delhi is a city that has seen both glory

and destruction in its long . It has been
plundered, ruined time and again only
to spring from its ashes to become the
capital of powerful dynasties.
Fortunately, the resilient and enduring
culture and heritage has withstood the
test of time and the city continues to live.
No city reflects the endless drama of
change better..
The heart of Delhi can be found in Old
Delhi, 350 yrs old, yet strong and
beating. Its many-branched arteries are
narrow with age, its veins jostle for
space, and its lifeblood is bound to get
clotted at some places at any time
Shahjahanabad``
Key Constituents of an Islamic City The key constituents of
shahjahanabad are:
A centrally located Friday
mosque.
A bazaar around it with very
distinct socio-economic
differentiations from centre to the
periphery.
A fortified city wall.
An imposing citadel
Intraurban almost
labyrinthesque divisions of living
quarters
Blind alleys.

The meeting of Shahjahanabad, or Old Delhi(north) and New Delhi

(South). The two are separated by the walls of the Mughal city, and a
band of open space- the Ramlila ground, acting as a cordon sanitaire
This part of New Delhi, around Turkman Marg, was designed as a
residential district for low rank government workers.
The street pattern is radically different from that of the Islamic city.3
Shahjahanabad``
The city originated,
when
•The fort at Agra
faced the agonizing
heat, coupled with
insufficient
accommodation and
space for
Shahjahan’s lavish
lifestyle and his
grand ceremonial
processions.

•The Fort and its buildings cost nearly 6 million. On the

auspicious day of 8th April 1648, Shahjahan finally entered
Shahjahanabad.
• From 1803 to 1857 the East India Company virtually controlled
Delhi. The city was taken over by the British after the defeat of
the Marathas at the battle of Patparganj in 1803.
Shahjahanabad``
The Red Fort and Jama Masjid were
the straight point for two straight
thoroughfares that framed the city.
From Lahore Gate ran a broad avenue
with a covered arcade-designed and
paid for by Jahan Ara-that housed over
1500 shops. Today known as Chatta
Bazaar.

The remainder of
Shahjahanabad took shape
CHANDNI CHOWK
within the city walls with its
havelis, mansions, mosques,
temples, sikh shrines and the
gardens of the nobility. The JAMA MASJID
walled and guarded
establishments of these
grandees included private
living quarters for the nobles RED FORT
and their harem.
Shahjahanabad``
4 Division of city sectors :
At the neighbourhood level the city of
Shahjahanabad was defined by the following
elements:
Thanas/wards/Mahallahs
Streets/bazaars and chowks
  Individual havellis
A. Thanas and Mahallas:
The city was divided into 12 thanas (wards) each
under the control of a thanadar.
Each thana was again subdivided into several
Mahallas (neighbourhoods).
The spatial system of the city was based on an
extensive hierarchical organization which allowed
a heterogeneous population to live together.
Shahjahanabad``
The local representatives of the different
social and ethnic groups aligned their
buildings and the adjoining streets in a
functional manner.
The Mahallahs were sealed, homogeneous
units within the city. They could only be
reached by means of several gates. The
alleys in the Mahallah were therefore semi-
private space, while the courtyard houses
were private space separated once again
from the outside world by a gate.
Shahjahanabad
SPATIAL ORDER
•Creation of the architectonic expression of what has often been called the
‘patrimonial system’ in its climax.

•The shurafas originated from the qasbahs, garrison posts and administrative
settlements in which Islamic scholars also met their clients and where an integrative
or even syncretist culture prevailed – usually established around a tomb or a waqf.

•The shurafa usually were situated to the west of the palace, along one of the two
boulevards-at the Chandni Chowk-, and, originating from the emperor’s palace, thus
furnishing the city with an unequivocal structure.

•Those professional groups delivering fresh agrarian products to the city must have
settled along the southern and south-south-western rim of the city walls (Delhi Gate
and Turkman Gate) : this is where institutions, such as, Masjid Gadariyon (shepherd’s
mosque), Masjid Kasai (butchers’ mosque) were located. . They all represent ‘low
ranking trades’.
Shahjahanabad
SPATIAL ORDER

•The closer to the core of the city the more socially recognized are the
professions settled there: weavers, producers of wool, traders of
saddle-horses, oil-extractors and manufacturers of straw goods, each of
them represented by their respective mosques.

• Further, in the direction of Chandni Chowk, mostly representatives of

the trading professions, eg.: traders of fabrics, fish, meats and luxury
goods, but also some of the professional groups processing goods, eg:
producers of water pipes can be found. All of them are characterized by
the spatial proximity to the imperial house.
Shahjahanabad``
Streets, Bazaars, chowks:
The city was separated from the surrounding land
by a wall and a moat. Passing through the city’s
gates marked the passage from one dominion to
another. The main thoroughfares, the secondary
roads and the bazaars were public space.

Interior courtyard of a havelli in the Walled City.

Notice the spill out of day to day activities in the
courtyard- thus the typology was not only suited
climatically but also enhanced the living
experience.
Havellis:
The members of the imperial household who lived
outside the fort/palace built large mansions
(havellis) on the model of the imperial design of
the Red Fort.3. As a rule these city palaces
accommodated not only the owner and his family,
but also their numerous followers, servants and
craftsmen with their workshops (karkhanas). The
internal organization of the space within the
havellis was therefore also based on the strict
distinction between the public, semi-private and
private space
Shahjahanabad``
Havellis:
The members of the imperial household who lived outside the
fort/palace built large mansions (havellis) on the model of the
imperial design of the Red Fort . As a rule these city palaces
accommodated not only the owner and his family, but also their
numerous followers, servants and craftsmen with their workshops
(karkhanas).
The internal organization of the space within the havellis was
therefore also based on the strict distinction between the public,
semi-private and private space

Interior courtyard of a havelli in the Walled

City.
Notice the spill out of day to day activities
in the courtyard- thus the typology was
not only suited climatically but also
enhanced the living experience.
Shahjahanabad``

Streetscapes:
There emerges a hierarchy of streets in the layout of the city.

•The primary streets were the main axes of the city – the Chandni Chowk
and Faiz bazaar.

•The secondary streets were the ones which entered the south of the city
from Chandni Chowk. (Thus they were perpendicular for some distance
and then assumed an organic form once deep in the city).

•The secondary street structure also includes the streets that are parallel
to the city walls – forming a concentric ring so to say, in the southern
part of the city. They then intermingle at chowks with the third layering
of streets, which derive their character from the fact that they are
perpendicular to the main mosque, Jama Masjid.
Shahjahanabad``
The City Form – MORPHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS

The urban infrastructure was laid out in a geometric pattern .

Shows traces of both Persian and Hindu traditions of town planning
and architecture with the Persian influence largely accounting for
the formalism and symmetry of the palaces, gardens and
boulevards.

The designed infrastructure of Shahjahanabad comprised

•The fort
•The Friday mosque
•The other major mosques, including the corresponding waqf
properties
•The two main boulevards
•The bazaars around the Friday mosque
•The elaborate system of water channels
•The major gardens and the surrounding city wall.
•The arrangement of these planned elements was influenced by
certain site features, which precluded absolute geometry.
Shahjahanabad``
PLANNING OF SHAHJAHANABAD

The city was planned according to Hindu planning principles of

Shilpashastra from Vaastushastra
.
 The site was placed on a high land as in the Shastras and was
Karmukha or bow shaped, for this ensured its prosperity.

The arm of the archer was Chandni Chowk

The string was Yamuna.

The junction of the two main axes is the most auspicious point in
the whole region and was therefore the Red Fort.
Shahjahanabad``
MORPHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS AT THE CITY LEVEL
At the city level:
1.The Red Fort
2.Water Systems and Canals
3.Mosques
4.Gardens
And at the street level:
1.Thanas/wards/Mahallahs
2.Streets/bazaars/chowks
3.Havellis (private mansions based on courtyard typology)

The elements that helped define the city were:

 The RED FORT / PALACE :-

The Fort just as Shahjahanabad was divided into imperial

(fort/palace) and ordinary space (city) .
Its axes were precisely aligned with the cardinal points of the
compass.
The Fort throughout is based on an extensive grid of squares.