UNIT 2

TEMPLE TOWNS
– Understanding Spaces

1. Madurai
2. Srirangam

MEDEIVAL INDIA
1. Jaipur
2. Shahjahanabad
3. Ahmedabad (notes)

MEASI Academy of Architecture

Compiled from sources and lecture sessions
Priya Sasidharan
 CONCEPT – TEMPLE TOWNS

1. Concentric Planning
2. Cardinal Directions
3. Community Hierarchy / Occupation and Class

Source - Bharnae
TEMPLE TOWN – Madurai

1. Settlement Pattern
2. Centre and concentricity
TEMPLE TOWN – Madurai

1. Tradition and Design Crux

TEMPLE TOWN – Madurai

1. Street – Network
2. Defensive Edge - Boundary
TEMPLE TOWN – Madurai

1. Spatial Hierarchy

http://www.slideshare.net/riffahmed1/study-of-city-evolution-temple-town-
madurai - Madurai
. Temples were laid in concentric form and the
settlements too grew in concentric layers.
Madurai and Chidambaram are classic
examples. Srirangam on the other hand is a
settlement within a temple, than a settlement
around a temple. The eight enclosures well
defined by huge prakara walls, punctuated by
gopurams and centered around the reclining
form of Vishnu has a distinctive temple
appearance. The inner five enclosures make
the temple and the outer three function as a
settlement.

TEMPLE TOWN – SRIRANGAM

Concentric Enclosures
TEMPLE TOWN – SRIRANGAM

Concentric Enclosures
A. SRIVATHSANA. Article in THE HINDU : TOWN WITHIN A TEMPLE
An island formed by the Cauvery and its tributary, Srirangam, is unique in many aspects.
Palm trees and temple towers make a typical skyline of many a historic town in Tamil Nadu. Most of these towns are
concentrically arranged around the temple and you can see the towering gopurams or entrance towers even from a
distance.Tamil Nadu is a land of temple towns and Srirangam is unique among them. We know of temples within
towns, but only in Srirangam an entire town is located within a temple.The geography of Srirangam is also unique. It
is an island formed by the Cauvery and its tributary Kollidam. The temple town is located in the centre of this 18 km
island and is on higher ground.There are eight concentric rectangles around the sanctum. The inner five make the
temple and the outer three the town. Each of these prakaras or enclosures are defined by tall walls and punctuated by
gopurams or entrance towers. In all there are 21 gopurams in Srirangam. In 1996, the outermost southern gopuram
was completed and it is the tallest in Asia.

Exclusive
The eight enclosures were open space till the 15th Century and were used to temporarily rehabilitate people affected
by the floods. It is bereft of any sacred function. Hence, the town is also known as saptha-prakara kshetra or place
with seven enclosures. It is believed that each street is named after the king who built it. However, research does not
completely support this.Srirangam was an exclusive religious town. The temple was wealthy, employed many
hundreds of people, patronised art and was wealthy enough to lend money to adjacent villages. There was a library or
Saraswathi Bandaram and a hospital inside the temple. There were festivals round the year and pilgrims flocked to
this place to worship.In the 20th Century, Srirangam became a municipality and the town started to grow outside the
fortified enclosure walls. Today it is spread all across the island.The ecologically sensitive and beautiful landscape of
Srirangam once inspired many poets, but now it is fast deteriorating. Many beautiful groves and gardens are giving
way to dense building blocks. The quaint riverbanks are buzzing with building activity. Old buildings are being
demolished rapidly. The ecology of the island and the life within the town needs to be protected and sensitively
planned for.
 MEDEIVAL India - JAIPUR

Source - http://www.slideshare.net/saumyakohli/architecture-and-planning-of-
jaipur
MEDEIVAL India - JAIPUR
MEDEIVAL India - JAIPUR
MEDEIVAL India - JAIPUR
MEDEIVAL India - JAIPUR
The historic city of Ahmadabad is constituted out of residential settlements 'Pol' and has a specific
scale of its community based settlement grouping. Several of such settlements combined together
forms a 'Pur' neighborhood and the historic city has several 'Pur' neighborhoods forming the entire
fortified historic city.

These various 'Pur' have its own urban structure which is self sufficient for the communities, where
each 'Pol' once again is a self sufficient unit. In as much as the individual 'Pol' is an entity by itself,
the 'Pur' also is an entity at a larger scale and so the progression goes further and makes the city
comprising of such entities giving it a homogeneous urban form which is characterized by the 'Pur'
the 'Pol' and by a house. This intrinsically emergent character is the key to the identity and
associations that play an important role in a socially defined urban form which is a living historic
cultural heritage.

Ahmadabad has a rich heritage of settlement patterns in its historic old town, which was populated
by a large merchant community in various community settlements following different religions.
Ahmadabad's multicultural communities lend a distinct character to its settlement patterns and its
built environment which always had the religious institutions as its core around which the
settlement patterns grew.

The house form, the grouping of houses and the hierarchy of its access ways formed an extremely
secure and homogeneous settlement pattern, which even today provides an excellent example of
community living and urbanity based on cultural identity and sense of collective agreement in its
formation.
The communities advocated a living in tune with religious practices and sharing as the basis for
their welfare and at the level of the house form this was amply expressed by the treatment of the
facade and entrance areas which provided a gradual transition space which allowed the occupants to
socialize with outside and also create a distinct zone of spaces for the houses to distinguish between
the public and private areas of family living. This attitude provided a very important facade
expression which resulted into the elaborate wooden architecture of the town.

The attitude to embellish the wooden architecture with intricate carvings and symbolism akin to the
religious buildings gave rise to a very important expression of domestic architecture in western
India, which has also established a very important phase of characteristic architecture in western
India. The house form was designed as a corollary to temples as house was also seen as a temple in
their belief to emulate spirituality in daily life. In many cases, the houses also became places of
worship depending upon the benevolence of the owners. Architecture of religious institutions
assumes important significance in built environment in any culture as representative of the sum total
of its cultural identity and image.

The places of worship are conceptualized with highest imaginative skills to represent the associative
and built with the best available skills employing long lasting materials and techniques and building
skills. This form of architecture then becomes a source of inspiration in all its meanings to inspire
the people and influence their own built environment.
MEDEIVAL India - Shahjahanabad
MEDEIVAL India - Shahjahanabad
MEDEIVAL India - Shahjahanabad
MEDEIVAL India - Shahjahanabad
MEDEIVAL India - Shahjahanabad
MEDEIVAL India - Shahjahanabad
 MEDEIVAL India - Shahjahanabad

Source - http://www.slideshare.net/parthsadaria/old-delhi-41036980 -
Shahjahanabad
 MEDEIVAL India - Shahjahanabad

Source - http://www.slideshare.net/parthsadaria/old-delhi-41036980 -
Shahjahanabad