INDIAN ARCHITECTURE

Architecture of India
The architecture of India is rooted in its history, culture and religion. Indian architecture progressed with time and assimilated the many influences that came as a result of India's global discourse with other regions of the world throughout its millennia-old past.The architectural methods practiced in India are a result of examination and implementation of its established building traditions and outside cultural interactions.
Though old, this Eastern tradition has also incorporated modern values as India became a modern nation state.The economic reforms of 1991 further bolstered the urban architecture of India as the country became more integrated with the world's economy.Traditional Vastu Shastra remains influential in India's architecture during the contemporary era.

ACHITECTURE IN THE POST COLONIAL PERIOD:

In recent times there has been a movement of population from rural areas to urban centres of industry, leading to price rise in property in various cities of India.Urban housing in India balances space constrictions and is aimed to serve the working class.Indian government has accepted World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), enabling foreign architects to practice in India, and thereby adding to the plurality of Indian building traditions.Growing awareness of ecology has influenced architecture in India during modern times.

Indian buildings reflect India's culture and myths.Jawahar Kala Kendra at Jaipur, a Charles Correa design for example represents the layout of a mandala.Raj Jadhav (2007) notes the position of traditional Vastu Shastra in modern Indian architecture.

The ancient Indian architectural text of Vastu Shastra is widely used in modern Indian architecture for planning houses, residential complexes, office, commercial, industrial and other building types. The principles of Vastu Shastra regulate planning and design specifics from town planning to the furniture layout of a room. The stipulations are said to be governed by ancient empirical knowledge of the human body and its relation to the earth and the cosmos. Following these stipulations, it is said, ensures overall human well-being. Hence, a client with a belief in Vastu Shastra will choose a plot of land and locate the functions and elements of a building using the guidelines of this text. Architects and clients consult specialists in Vastu Shastra and then agree upon a design. The belief in this ancient body of knowledge is experiencing a rapid revival.

The courtyards also take up an old Indian architectural motif whereby the courtyard provides light and air for the rooms directly in this hot climate, and people are able to spend time outside or inside according to the time of day. The courtyard is also the classical symbol of something shared, a place where people meet, spend time with each other and live together. This aspect is emphasised in the courtyard for the general public, which is placed immediately inside the entrance and constructed in the form of a Kund, a large area of stone steps. Here people spend their waiting time together almost as if in a state of communal meditation. A waiting area that would be completely inconceivable in Western culture functions as a “think tank” here, with the ambience of waiting stimulating communal reflection.