Wooden Architecture Of Kerala

This volume explores the socio-cultural and the tectonic aspects of Kerala's wooden architecture, which is deeply rooted in religious and secular customs and shaped by geo-climatic forces. The author's multi-disciplinary approach links the various ethnic groups residing in Kerala, and the mutual adoption and adaptation of construction systems within migrant groups. This volume attempts to fill the research gap concerning vernacular styles, a need made more urgent by the fact that the traditional ways of building may get replaced by the modern much faster than we can imagine. AUTHOR: Miki Desai is a recipient of the Fulbright Fellowship, 2000, and the Graham Grant, 2005. He is the author of Architekture in Gujurat, Indien: Nauernhof, Stadthaus, Palast, and the co-author of Architecture and Independence: The Search for Identity: India 1880 to 1980. He received the Earthwatch fellowship in 1996. He has taught and lectured at many universities in Europe and the USA. 211 photographs, 53 drawings, 95 plans, 2 maps

It was in the late 1960s and 70s that the author, then a student of architecture, first encountered built environments belonging to the genres of folk or vernacular traditions. The persistent exclusion of these traditions from the modern urban vision compelled the author to document these styles, culminating in this book on the wooden architecture of Kerala. This book explores the socio-cultural and the tectonic aspects of Keralas wooden architecture, which is deeply rooted in religious and secular customs and shaped by geo-climatic forces. The authors multi-disciplinary approach links the various ethnic groups residing in Kerala, and the mutual adoption and adaptation of construction systems within migrant groups. Despite being a living tradition serving millions of people, vernacular architecture in India has not received the academic and analytical attention it deserves. This volume attempts to fill this research gap, a need made more urgent by the fact that the built environment is changing and the traditional ways of building may get replaced by the modern much faster than we can imagine.

This book reinterprets the Muslim architecture and urban planning of South India, looking beyond the Deccan to the regions of Tamil Nadu and Kerala - the historic coasts of Coromandel and Malabar. For the first time a detailed survey of the Muslim monuments of the historic ports and towns demonstrates a rich and diverse architectural tradition entirely independent from the better known architecture of North India and the Deccan sultanates. The book, extensively illustrated with photographs and architectural drawings, widens the horizons of our understanding of Muslim India and will no doubt pave new paths for future studies in the field.

This book examines Indian architecture in the context of the fight for and attainment of Independence. It traces the patterns of architecture since the founding of the Indian National Congress in the 1880s, exploring the impact of political ideology on the built environment. The authors provide the antecedents as well an idea of the impact of architectural work in newly independent India on subsequent work.

Take a journey through Indian architecture from the dawn of civilization to the present with this colorful, attractive survey. The architecture of India reflects both the cultural diversity of the subcontinent and its rich political and historical inheritance. In this guide, the various strands of this rich architectural history, from the dawn of civilization to modern times, are beautifully presented in word and picture. Readers are taken on a fascinating tour of Indus Valley civilization, early Vedic traditions, Hindu, Jain, Mughal, regional, colonial and post-independence architectural styles. Themes such as water architecture and the architecture of science also figure prominently, giving many westerners their first glimpse of these styles. The informative text, complemented by 400 photographs, watercolors, maps and plans, provide compelling evidence of India's influence on building design throughout history.

The Mayamata is a Vastusastra, that is to says a treatise on dwelling and as such, it deals with all the facets of gods temple dwellings, from the choice of a site to the iconography of temple walls. It contains many precise descriptions of villages and towns as of temples, houses, mansions and palaces. It gives indications for the selection of proper orientation, of the right dimension and of appropriate building materials. It intends to be a manual for the architect and a guidebook for the layman. Well thought of by the traditional architects (sthapatis) of South India, this treatise is of interest at a time when technical traditions, in all fields are being scrutinized for their possible modern application. The Mayamata has so far been translated into Tamil and into French. The present English version is based upon the edition, with French translation, previously published by Dr. Bruno Dagens in the Publication Series of the French Institute of Indology (Pondicherry).