Evolution of Spatial Boundaries

in an Indian Space

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Prof. Yasmin Hales Prochetah Ghosh
Learning Objective
- To understand the role of a boundary in a space and it’s relation to the inhabitants socially, culturally and economically
keeping in mind it’s development in the Indian subcontinent over the years

What is a spatial boundary?

- It is vertical planar element meant to segregate or organise the space according to a particular order, plan or geometry. It
can be straight, curved, linear

Demarcating Organizing Enclosing Protection As a decoder of As a guide for Form & Façade
territory space space from outside messages movement modulator

Time Periods Covered

Neolithic Ancient Post Classical Colonial Post- Modern Future
period History period period Independence times predictions
7000 to 3000 BC to 500 – 1500 1615 – 1947 Era
1000 BC 500 AD AD AD 1947 - 2000 2000 - now
1. Neolithic Age (7000-1000BC)
- Boundaries for burial rituals
o Man turning from hunter – gatherer
o As Anthropologist Stephen Gudeman(1986) said Humans are modellers ,
securing a livelihood meaning the domain of material production,
distribution and consumption is modelled in all societies
o More development in agriculture – use of tools and weapons – made out of
stones, wood and bones – development in pottery
o The people of Neolithic Age lived in rectangular or circular houses which
were made of mud and reed. The people of Mehrgarh lived in mud-brick
houses while pit-dwelling is reported from Burzahom, the Neolithic site
found in Kashmir.
o With the arrival of use of architecture for habitation, they arrived at the first
attempt to control their immediate environment for privacy and for better
living.
o However, death continued to give a sense of time and its limitation to them
and soon the megalithic architecture began to appear that would result in a
fascinating variety of megalithic structures that seem to continue with the
advent of worship of the great heroes and the gods that can be seen today
in the form of temples
1. Neolithic Age (cont…)
o According to Tim Ingold, “By treating the perceived world as
culturalised space, the real-world landscape in which people
live and move comes to be rendered as an indifferent and
impersonal physical substrate, raw material for imaginative
acts of world-making.
o As a result ,stone circles (non-sepulchral) and burial rites
(sepulchral) in the form of megaliths were found. Major
difference is that unlike the house of the living, the house of
the dead tend to be sturdier. In the imagination of the
people, the dead seem to live longer than the living and need
better accommodation
o Concept of hero stone – generally a carved, painted or
engraved stone surrounded by dolmens and encasing stone
idol of deity for worship – slowly starting to resemble
modern day temples as we know
o A desire to not let go of the dead, the myths about the
presence of gods (probably aided by appropriate
hallucinations, prophecies and soothsaying) the place of
burial soon began to be treated as sacred
2. Ancient History (3000-500AD)
- Boundaries for worship
o As Mary Douglas stated in her study in “Purity & Danger”, that in
perception, world is constructed to a certain order, through the imposition of
culturally transmitted form upon the flux of the experience. This form saw
its experimentation most in the field of religion, the creation of an
experience around a myth, story or a legend
o Buddhism in India – Construction of Stupas, Chaityas & Viharas
o From this, a gradual transformation with the image of Buddha in the centre
of the structure arise as early as 2nd century BC
o Temples in India – not only a place of worship but the representation of the
great cosmos on earth – The lord Brahma at the centre and the other
directions assigned to various gods
o Conjectures amongst scholars about the possible origin of the temple from
megaliths, especially the dolmen
o The concept behind the space making and arrangement in religious spaces
remain the same despite the change in the “cultural models” over time which
Naomi Quinn and Dorothy Holland define as pre-supposed, taken-for-
granted models which are shared by the members of the society in their
understanding of their world and their behaviour in them
2. Ancient History (cont…)

o Temple Design branched off into predominantly in Dravida (North Indian) and
Nagara Style(South Indian). Dravida style is recognized by the stacked structures
known as Gopurams .These are large gates that tower higher than the inner
sanctum sanctorum of the temple
o Gopurams, with their appearance not dissimilar to the megalithic stone
arrangements are also placed in cardinal directions and act as spatial constituents
o Once embedded with significance, spatial constituents can be made to carry
meaning as part of a geo-symbolic order.(Thornton 2009, 10). The trend of using
these spatial interventions to guide the worshipper through a holy path either to
achieve nirvana or brahma, has been observed through all the religions
o Apart from wayfinding, they were also used drawings illustrations or carving on it
to leave behind a legacy
3. Post- Classical History (500-1500AD)
- Boundaries for protection and demarcation of social & gender causes
o Similar to Michael Focault’s work in Discipline & Punish of the panopticon,
the concept of self correction by the feeling of constant surveillance from
an unknown presence, Mughals used this to their advantage to build walled
and moated cities with large gates and multi-storied building
o Commanding heights were utilised to great advantage to construct forts.
These heights gave a good perspective of the region, strategic advantage
for security, unfettered and unhindered space to make residential and
official complexes while simultaneously creating a sense of awe in the
people
o Another feature was concentric circles of outer walls as in Golconda that the
enemy had to breach these at all stages before getting in
o The walls in all buildings were extremely thick and were constructed of
rubble masonry and then cased over with chunam or limestone plaster or
dressed stone. An amazing range of stones were utilised for construction
such as quartzite, sandstone, buff, marble, etc. Polychrome tiles were used to
great advantage to finish the walls. From the beginning of the seventeenth
century, bricks were also used
3. Post- Classical History (cont…)

o Elements of massive size were erected in order to show power &

prosperity like the iwan in Buland Darwaza in Agra and Qutub Minar in
Delhi, The everyday use of the minar was for the azaan or call to prayer. It’s
phenomenal height, however, symbolised the might and power of the ruler
o The inside of the space, meant for purposes ranging from residential to royal
is punctured with arched openings. The wall apart from using as storage
also starting serving the purpose of religion
o Mihrab – A recessed niche meant for prayer and oriented towards with
Mecca
3. Post- Classical History (cont…)

o Mughal tombs of sandstone and marble show Persian influence.

Employing the double dome, recessed archway, white marbles and parks
while stressing on symmetry and detail The concept of purdah was
something kept in mind whilst creating spatial boundaries, the concept of
veiling of women to hide their modesty and showed the social roles of
men and women like the example of Hawa Mahal where its main purpose
was to give women a viewing point away from the public, to see the
royal parades and the processions
o Boundaries were also used to show allocation of spaces to different social
classes like The Diwan e Khas at the Red Fort
4. Colonial Era (1615 - 1947 AD)
- Boundaries for dominance and identity
o The tradition of emphasis of power continued in this period like the
construction of Victoria Memorial in Kolkata and Gateway of India at
Mumbai
o Traditional European order of columns came into use. Large
colonnades, gothic windows, use of porticos and verandahs were
some of the elements of colonial architecture
o Superimposition, modification and replacement of existing building
practices, introduction of new materials and building techniques with
their impact on architectural form
o Revolt of 1857 – Major disruption of Power – Need for a new socio-
cultural meaning to calm stoked emotions
o Indo –Sarcenic style came as a purposeful change in style –
promoting their own senses of self-glorification
o Architects came to incorporate indigenous Asian Exoticism elements
whilst implementing their own engineering innovations to support the
structure
o Influence of Art Deco and Arts & Crafts Movement came into the
aesthetism of wall, both on interior & exterior scale
4. Colonial Era (cont…)
o Changes in dwelling type – development of bungalow typology –
evolution of single dwelling to an elaborate mansion
o Construction by mud & laterite blocks coloured by natural or
vegetable dyes - Bold colours used on the façade – originally meant
for distinguishing by sailors
o Example of Ananda Ranga Pillai Mansion in Pondicherry can be seen
a beautiful example of expression of combination of two cultures-
namely – the planning of a tamil house and aesthetics of
European style
5. Post - Colonial Era (1947 - 2000)
- Boundaries for identity
o Realization of freedom on these fronts – social,
economic, political and cultural
o How much indigenization could a newly
independent country afford, without appearing
backward and weak in the rest of the world?
o Gandhi – Nehru – Tagore – Absolute belief in
science and technology but passionate about rural
technology
o Wanted a city to reflect the identity of new
independent India- Contract of Chandigarh to Le
Corbusier
o There were three school of thoughts that competed
– revivalists, modernists and international
contribution – to create a new identity for the
country
o The idea of modernisation as their point was that
modern India required modern architecture
symbols, forms and functions to achieve economic
and social development
5. Post - Colonial Era (1947 - 2000)
o The country was met with an immediate need to build and there was a
need of marking an new notch in the vast chiasm of social and cultural
identity that the newly independent country needed . There was an
informal competition was going among big names who wanted to
achieve that role
o Shaped by the sentiments of anti-colonialism, patriotism, revivalism,
traditionalism as well as sentiments of modernity, development &
progress
o Apart from the purpose of space making, the boundary became a
canvas for identity of a new modern style adorned by various
architects during this period like Le Corbusier, Louis I Kahn, B V Doshi
o These spaces became places in present day because the local people
started to relate to it, starting having shared histories and later became
the cultural fabric of that place in modern day
o The development in styles saw a blend of vernacular design with a
sense in Modernism. Spaces were finally being looked outside if a
3dimensional box and started as a holistic experience
6. Current times (2000 - now)
- Boundaries for efficiency & distancing
o The problem of providing shelter and creating more room out of given
space still rules the architectural designs, but the difference is that the
designs of today are not only minimalistic, they support the multi-
utility feature also
o The definition of modern is no more blindly following the West; what
the visionaries have done in the past to use the resources in an
optimized manner is also being studied again.
o Builders want to get returns on every square feet of land they put on
sale in the form of house
o Boundaries now have a higher relevance when hygiene and social
distancing is of utmost importance.
o In this times of prolong physical inactivity in terms of outdoor activity,
there is a certain need for an element of versatility in space which can
quench the idle curiosity of the mind
o Common practice of using plexiglass barriers with sanitizer at bay are
a common theme of public and semi public places where public are
still allowed to go under restriction
6. Current times (cont...)
o Living within the confines of social distancing for the foreseeable future impacts
every move we make, and every breath we take
o To quote practicing architect & Interior Designer Indranath Basu, “Now that we
are spending more time at home and having to share that limited area with
our cohabitants, we need to work on optimising the available space.
Partitioning off or zoning our interior between various activities and people, or
during different times of the day, presents an easy option. The so-called
broken plan — with screens, curtains and plants in the absence of walls —
creates digital detox zones while other members of the household carry on
with their work. The home might even adopt some well known typologies from
open space offices, such as soundproof phone booths or objects with higher
walls”
o There is need to reclaim the outdoors. This is particularly important for women
for whom some of the spaces can be very oppressive. It may be good idea to
create a series of open and semi open spaces, such as thresholds, verandas,
courtyard and gardens, which extend the idea of a “home” from its limited
definition of propertied enclosure.
o A cohesive attempt to make a space more relatable and space efficient
7. Future Predictions
- Boundaries for controlling the space experientially & holistically
o It is slowly coming to realization that machine and digitization are
become part of the space that surrounds us from day to day. It is not
just for the sake of striding into the future but also for the ease of
accessibility and effective it provides. Smart homes has seen a
increment rise in sales in India over the decade and enclosures play
huge role as an interface between the man and the machine
o It is kind of a reverse Renaissance trend where man is no longer at the
centre of the development but machine is
o As anthropologist Alec Balasescu discusses, the artificial or in this
case machine, is highly disputed and anthropologically explainable as
a by-product of the process of cultural creation : in order to define
ourselves, we humans invented nature and we've relegated to the
outside of humanity to create humanity
o Climatically speaking, the boundaries may perform in a different way
in terms of inside-outside, rather in terms of outside-inside where
the amount of outside can be modulated
o A culmination of all the roles the wall has played over the ages will be
now inculcated into a single multi-purpose interface
7. Conclusions

o During the course of the presentation, the role of a spatial boundary its role in
death rituals, worship, protection, identity within the context of an Indian
space has been studied and a conclusion regrading wall or spatial boundary
and its multi-faceted role over time, how and why its role changed with the
development of the country
o In essentiality boundaries are meant to keep apart or separate things in an
unified, shared space but these boundaries, which are supposed to be
inanimate, starts to develop its own colour, texture, character, historicity. Its
not just about reading between the lines but reading the lines as well
Bibliography
o Ingold, Tim. Perception of the Environment. London & New York. Routledge, 2000.
o Low, Setha. The Anthropology of Space & Place: Locating Culture. Oxford, UK. Blackwell Publishing, 2003
o Vahia, Mayank. Menon Srikumar. Megaliths in India and their possible connection to Astronomy. 2010. Web
o Foucalt, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. France. Pantheon Books, 1975
o Aucoin, Pauline. Towards an Anthropological Understanding of Space & Place. Springer International Publishing. AG,
2017
o Chandna, Mohit. Spatial Boundaries: Abounding Spaces. Leuven University Press. Belgium, 2021
o Houseman. The Changing Trends in Indian Architecture. Houseman. June 30, 2017.
https://www.housingman.com/news/the-changing-trends-in-indian-architecture/
o Ghosh, Paramita. How Bauhaus Built India. Hindustan Times. October 11, 2019. https://
architexturez.net/pst/az-cf-177712-1459648402
o Chayka, Kyle. How the Coronavirus will reshape Architecture?. The New Yorker. June 17, 2020 https://
www.newyorker.com/culture/dept-of-design/how-the-coronavirus-will-reshape-architecture
o McKeough, Tim. What Will The Interior Design Profession Look like 10 Years in The Future. Architectural Digest.
April 2, 2019. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/future-interior-design-profession
o Chauhan, Aman. Indian Architects that shaped the face of the new India in Post-Independence. Rethinking the Future.
November, 2019. https
://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/know-your-architects/a1392-indian-architects-that-shaped-the-face-of-new-india-in-p
ost-independence-era
/