CRESCENT SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

SYNOPSIS

NAME OF STUDENT : MEENUABIRAMI.S

PROJECT TITLE:

REVITALIZING CHETTINAD HERITAGE

Introduction :

- Chettinad is a region almost centrally located in the Southern Indian state of Tamil nadu,
It’s a culturally and historically important region famous for its unique cuisine, agriculture
and architecture.
- A unique architectural style with a mix of international styles along with the vernacular
character forms the chettinad architecture.
- The Chettinad region is well known for its 19 th century mansions, whose wide courtyards
and spacious rooms are embellished with marble and teak, and furnishings were mostly
Imported from East Asian countries and Europe.

Research Questions:

Can Energy efficient features and specific elements of chettinad buildings be incorporated in
present modern buildings?

Preliminary Data/Background:

- Trade and Commerce

- Settlement Organization

- Climatic consideration, materials used, street scapes, cultural influences

- House planning concepts, organization and usage of spaces

- Elements of chettinad architecture

- Net case studies

- Live case studies

Aim:

-To identify the need for conserving the chettinad architecture , and bringing the focus to the objectives
of fore mentioned topic
-To analyse the impact of tourism on conservation and also the functions and responsibility of the
managing bodies and government, determined to provide a successful long time solution for
Revitalizing the chettinad architecture.

Objectives:

-To study about the architectural characteristics and changes undergone by chettinad regions since
18th century and architectural features which made chettinad buildings climate responsive and energy
efficient
- to study about the spacial planning and Vaastu in chettinad buildings
- to identify the heritage value of these palatial homes, over a time span of roughly two centuries ,which
reached their pinnacle of existance and spiraled towards extinction.

Scope :

- The scope includes the study of mansions constructed between the second half of the 19th century
And the first half of the 20th century in the region of chettinad ,Tamil Nadu , India.In focus will be the
vulnerable mansions that fall in line with the traditional style of chettinad architecture and are under
threat of obliteration or complete transformation.How heritage conservation can be achieved both by
intervention and education, so as to prolong the shelf life of individual buildings and their context.

Limitation :

- The study will be covering about the climatic responsive elements of heritage mansions and will
majorly cover about the science of Vaastu in chettinad buildings and materials used in efficient way
and the spacial planning of chettinad building

Methodology: Data collection and case studies

Sources of Literature identified: Surveys, case studies