ANALYSIS REPORT
Building:
Muir College, Allahabad University
School Of Planning And Architecture, New Delhi
1
Muir college, allahabad
1. At A Glance
Allahabad
2. Metamorphosis Of Architectural Styles 3. University Of Allahabad 4. William Emerson And His Works 4.1 Victoria Memorial 4.2 Crawford Market 4.3 All Saints Cathedral 5. Site For The University 6. Architectural Features Of Muir College 6.1 Arcades 6.2 Minar 6.3 Dome 6.4 Ornamentation 6.5 Materials And Construction 7. Senate Hall 8. The Present 9. Bibliography
Muir college, allahabad
1. at
Allahabad
a glance
Allahabad…teethraj…Prayagraj…
the
city
of
holy
confluence.
Allahabad has been a very important city through the ages. It is the site for the Kumbh Mela which lends its religious significance. It lies at the apex of the great plains of the Doab which makes it strategically located. Due to all these reasons, it was the place where the scholars met and exchanged learning and ideas making it a seat of learning. Allahabad, in the ancient times, has always been a sacred city of India.
The city has a prominent place in history and culture from time immemorial. The mention of Prayag in Manusmriti and also in Ramayana establishes the fact that the city was regarded as a centre of religion. The origin of kumbh also finds its reference to this city and thus Allahabad’s importance culturally is established. The British saw this as a city with great potential, a city of the future. Lord canning visited Allahabad before making it the capital of the northwestern province and shifted powers from Agra. The British administration with an intention of ruling over India saw Allahabad as a city of the future. They saw
the prospect of a glorious future in Allahabad and planned the city in a manner to project it as a center of education, culture and administration. With religious bearings an already established feature, this, added to its charm and growing potential. The establishment of commisionnary, revenue and the high court established the importance of Allahabad in the colonial times too.
Muir college, allahabad
The mythological epic of Ramayana records Sage Valmiki’s description
of
Lord
Ram
to
Bharadwaj ashram in Allahabad. The present Bharadwaj University of
Ten
Pupils
thousand further
Brahmachari
confirms
the
importance of the city as a great seat of learning in ancient times. In 1813 the British decided to oppose the prevalent Indian system of education in whose effect they closed down over 300 maktabs and pathshalas. Active participation of organizations of Arya Samaj founded by Swami Dayanand, the Brahmo Samaj, teachings and mission of Sir Syed Ahmed, other religious missions like Anglican missions, the Methodists, the A.P. Mission and the Roman Catholics also had a great impact on the cultural impact of the town. Allahabad today continues to be an important city in terms of its location, universities and administration, for the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Muir college, allahabad
1.1
The Architecture… Allahabad has seen a Myriad of styles and influences by the time
Muir College was built. Akbar during his Reign built the Allahabad Fort. Many more Mughal buildings like Khusro Bagh followed it. With the coming of British, came other completely differently styles of buildings. Allahabad now Boasted of churches like St.Peter’s church, St. Joseph’s church and All Saints church which are one of the finest example of gothic architecture in India. By 1857, Colonial architecture has set up its roots in India And its effect was also seen in Allahabad. Finally, Muir College, designed by William Emerson was built in 1873. it was highly experimental and it set stage for a very rich and new architecture idiom.
Muir college, allahabad
All Saints Cathedral This
magnificent
cathedral, designed by Sir William Emerson in 1870 and Consecrated in 1887, is the finest of Anglican
cathedral
in
Asia is faced in White stone with red
stone
dressing. No one visiting the cathedral can
fail to be impressed by the beauty of the marble altar with intricate inlay and mosaic work.
What makes this church
different from the others is the stained
glass work done in the 18th century. Reflecting the life of Virgin Mary this work is similar to the art found in the churches of Goa. It was made of stone when the other churches and buildings were built with stone and wood. The marble inlay work at the altar is also commendable. Also the stucco work on the roof and the exterior makes the church look extremely beautiful.
Muir college, allahabad
2
Metamorphosis of styles With the Mohammeddans came and entirely new shape, the dome,
thus transforming the skyline of the country. Indo Sarsenic term first used by the British professional defining the blending of the local Indian or Hindu style of building with popular Islamic design features.
Architecture in mid 1800’s started breaking from the conservative and rigid style of architecture and began experimenting with the fusion of various styles predominant then. This led to a statistically hybrid architecture. The hybrid combined diverse architectural elements of Hindu and Mughal with Gothic cusped arches, domes, spires, tracery, minarets and stained glass in a wonderful almost playful manner. Several reasons are sited for this style to have evolved. In the revolt of 1857 compelled the British to loosen up their political stance and become more amiable to the locals. So a style was adopted which could both use the locals skills and keep the British in command. Other reasons include the imperial concerns to maintain cordial relations with the Maharajas who generously patronize this style. The
Muir college, allahabad
climate difference also contributed to the evolving of this kind of architecture. Revival of Indian crafts was also considered by the multitude of architects who adopted this style. William Emerson (1843-1924) first visited India in early 1860’s. his contribution to this change in style as seen in the famous buildings Victoria Memorial, All Saints Cathedral, Crawford Market and the Muir College. Emerson argued for the use of Moslem sensibilities in architecture built by the British. He felt the need of adopting the indigenous art of countries which they conquered. He also insisted that architecture of the west would not suit the eastern natives without modification and incorporation of Indian styles. He has been rightly called a “licentious eclectic�. As the British hold on the subcontinent gained a firmer footing, several scholars like William Hodges, the Daniell brothers and James Fergusson began studying Indian art and culture to interpret and understand them better. They patronized the vernacular styles and local skills. From their studies the British gathered that no particular style could be adopted all over the country. The regional styles were varied and the major architectural styles practiced were a mixture of the numerous regional styles. The broader division sees the classification of these styles into two heads of the Hindu and the Islamic. The Hindu had Rajputana, Dravidian, Beejapore architectural styles while Sayyid, Lodis, Tughlaq and Moghul included in the Islamic. In this complex scene of architecture in the country the Imperial architects adopted an eclectic mix of styles much like what was happening in the west at around the same time. This eclecticism was a result
Muir college, allahabad
of climatically directed analysis where the severe Gothic revival of the west was modified to a more liberal Venetian Gothic. In India the evolution of this style forms a part of the evolution of the Indo-Saracenic origin and various reasons are cited for the coming of this style. The revolt of 1857 was a turning point in the history of British India, and had a significant impact on the British psyche. After which a more politically conscious use of architecture was adopted by the Governors. The buildings built were intended to make an impression on the Indian population and also the neighboring European nations. The motifs synthesized by Akbar’s policies and the city of Fatehpur Sikri were interests of the British from where the inspiration for the IndoSaracenic style is drawn. The revive
need
Indian
to
crafts
tradition and create an opportunity
for
the
Indian craftsmen to use and develop their skills had to be addressed. For which adopting a local style was most appropriate.
Thus
began a blending of the British and Indian styles using the best technology and superior planning of the west with the local crafts and traditions of India.
The difference in climate obliged the Europeans to build for the great heat of the sun, monsoons and other climatic factors. The ‘style’ could
Muir college, allahabad
simply not be applied in the new environment because of the vast difference between the theoretical projections of light and shade learnt on the boards and
the tropical scene where these buildings were erected. This led to a change of
European prototypes towards something that can be called a Euro-typical or a Euro-Indian architecture. The Gothic was modified gradually into a VenetianGothic style, and then further into an “Indo-Gothic� style, that used features like verandahs and sunshades, and finally into Indo-Saracenic style.
The similarities between the prevalent Gothic style and the IndoSaracenic, namely the prominent skyline, elaborate use of sculptural features for surface ornamentation and polychromatic use of stone, making the transition of this style simpler. The British architects-engineers were taken by certain typical elements of traditional architecture, and were used extensively on the facades of the buildings that were designed. These were
the dome, the pointed arch (cusped, foliated), minarets (turrets, clock tower), jails (screens), chattris (cupolas), brackets, balconies, and certain roof forms (bangladhar roof), and these were all used freely and often indiscriminately without regard to local style, origins or context. The most splendid examples of the Indo-Saracenic style are seen in the palaces of the maharajas. Many of the Maharajas embraced this style completely while others were coerced into adopting it by the British. This hybrid represented two
ideologies to the rajas; by patronizing local design and craftsmen, they were still seen to be firmly connected to their roots and close
Muir college, allahabad
to their people; and by adopting the Western technology and planning in their palaces, as well as the new progressive style being promoted by the British,
they were seen to be modern and forward-looking.
Hence we see the Indo-Saracenic style being adopted as the official style for buildings of the Raj of this period, seen most notably in public buildings like museums and art galleries, as well as the major civic buildings
built at this time. Alongside, several private residences of the Maharajas were also built in this style, leading to the further spread and popularity of the movement. Whilst the eclectic architecture of the west remained solely picturesque and did not see the use of Indian design elements excepting when seeking to evoke an exotic and sensual image, Indian architecture remained open to a wide range of influences. Emerson while designing the Muir College describes
that
he
was,
“determined not to follow too closely Indian art, but to avail an Egyptian phase of Moslem Architecture, and work it up with the Indian Saracenic style of Beejapore and the Northwest, confining the whole in a western Gothic design. The beautiful lines of the Taj Mahal inspired me in my dome over the hall, and the Indian four centered arch suggested itself as convenient for my purpose while the details show how the Gothic tracery is
blended with the Indian geometrical perforated stonework in the windows, and
the Caireen Moucharabyeh wood-work; Gothic shafts and caps are united with
Muir college, allahabad
Indian arches; and the domes stand on Gothicized Mohammedan pendentives and semi-circular arches.”
At the Mayo College though European styles were excluded, Mant tried to ensure that its structure possessed a varied outline a picturesque appearance. Interestingly, Saracenic forms in India were not used to create an idea of the sensual because here other important issues were at stake. As in the “east”, the “east” could not be exotic. Contemporary British taste, with its penchant for the “picturesque” in architecture, thus reinforced the appeal of the eclectic Indo-Saracenic design. Indian builders in the IndoSaracenic style, though they secured but little support in England for such “exotic designs”, did not have to confront boldly the uncomfortable fact that this architecture had its origin in, and in turn made manifest in stone, the latenineteenth-century imperial enterprise. An architecture of colonialism, the
Indo-Saracenic was also a “modern”, even a Victorian, architecture the incorporated in its design much of the “taste” of the times.
Muir college, allahabad
3
University of Allahabad The
most
significant step towards the educational policy for Indians was taken by Sir Macaulay, who insisted on forming a class of interpreters between the English
subjects minute
and
their
(Macaulays
of
1835).
Quoting Sir Charles E. Trevelyan, “The only means at our disposal is to set the natives on a process of European improvement, to which they are already sufficiently inclined. They will then cease to desire and aim at independence on the old Indian footing……” Finally in 1869, Allahabad University was established. It has always occupied an esteemed place among the universities of India for over a
century now. Established on 23rd September 1887, it is the fourth oldest university of India after Calcutta, Bombay and Madras University. The central college building named ‘Muir central college’ after Sir William Muir, Lt Governor of the Province. The credit for conceiving a large Central College at Allahabad, eventually to develop into a University, goes to Sir William Muir.
Muir college, allahabad
The Muir College, Allahabad was established in 1872, and completed on 23rd September 1887. Built after the Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta Universities it aimed to increase intellectual activities by bringing the educational forces at work to a common centre. The university became the unique synthesis of the oriental and western system of education. The building designed by William Emerson is a rich blend of many architectural styles and still stands tall as an esteemed institution imparting culture and education to all its students. The Universtity was constituted to give the English scholars and local residents education to make them eligible for various posts in the administration. The rich educational background and its capital status made Allahabad as the appropriate site for Muir College. The foundation of this college was laid by His Excellency Lord
Northbrook on December 9th 1873. There was a void in terms of intellectual activity in the Northern Province. This university filled this void by centralizing the educational efforts that were scattered before. Apart from imparting the highest form of education, this became a hub of exchange and evolvement of ideas. It also further enriched the culture. As time passed, it became the examining body for most institutions in the northern-central province. The
university became a unique synthesis of the oriental and western systems of education, and grew out of the Punjab university college, Lahore. The ground on which the college stands was selected by Colonel Hutchinson formerly consisted part of the site of the Clydedale Barracks, which ran in three parallel lines across what are now known as the Thornhill
Muir college, allahabad
road and Alfred Park almost as far as Canning Road. It forms an irregular plot with a total area of about 30,000 square yards, a maximum length of about 700 yards, and maximum breadth of about 500. It is skirted on the south and west by the Thornhill road and City Road, while the Katra Bazaar and Colonelganj bound it on the north and east.
The total cost of the building at the time of opening was nine lakh rupees. The first phase consisted of the hall and the tower, the four lecture rooms and the library forming the west side of the quadrangle, and five smaller rooms forming part of the north side opposite the hall. William Emerson was the architect of the main building. At the time Emerson envisioned and left provision for an addition to the building on the sides of its quadrangle. The addition of hostels also took place subsequently in the form of Oxford and Cambridge hostels and MacDonnell Hindu Boarding House.
The ambience of the campus with its physical setting was grand and
the image conveyed by the architectural style and the high level of education matched with its title being the “Oxford of the East�.
Muir college, allahabad
4
William Emerson
Sir William Emerson, 1843-1924 visited India in early1860s, for the first time A pupil of William Burges, Emerson had first visited India almost
forty years before. His early works in the sub- continent included the famous
Crawford Markets in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1865 and the splendid but incomplete All Saints Cathedral in Allahabad (1869-1893). In these and some other early projects Emerson experimented with medieval Gothic styles, similar to the manner of his teachers. But the design of his other great work in Allahabad, Muir College in 1873, is more eclectic. Drawing on Venetian, Egyptian and Deccani sources, this was one of the first essays in the Indo-Saracenic Movement. Like the contemporary Senate House in Madras (now Chennai) by R. F. Chisholm, it is a colorful and extravagant building, combining forms from the Islamic architecture of various regions with a European structure.
Muir college, allahabad
Moving from British India to the princely state of Bhavnagar in Gujarat, Emerson continued in a similar way with the Takhtsingji Hospital (1879 - 93) and the Palace (1894 - 95). Here at the request of his patron, he introduced forms from Hindu architecture, such as corbelled arches. Discussed in the following pages are three of his most celebrated works, the All Saints Cathedral, the Crawford market and the Victoria Memorial.
Muir college, allahabad
4.1
The Victoria Memorial Conceived and designed in 1901 to produce a magnificent building
similar to the Taj Mahal, construction of the substructure began in 1904. The total cost of construction of this monument amounting to one crore, and five lakhs of rupees (Rs.1, 05, 00,000/-) There is a certain resemblance with, more than the details mentioned which, lend the building a pervasive Indian character. It arises, first, from the material. From the very start, even before he expressed his views on its style, Curzon insisted that the Memorial should be built of white marble, and in the event the stone was brought from the same quarries in Makrana, Rajasthan that supplied Shah Jahan. There is also a correspondence in the forms: the great dome, clustered with four subsidiary, octagonal domed chattris, the high portals, the terrace, and the domed corner towers. There is even some correspondence in the function: like Shah Jahan, Curzon conceived the building as a memorial to an empress and as a powerful visual statement. This linking of the Mughal and British periods is sustained by the collection of exhibits within; and it is typical of the self-presentation of the late Raj, of which Curzon's Delhi Durbar and the whole Indo-Saracenic movements are further examples. In this context, the echo of the Taj Mahal need not have been an effect deliberately sought by the architect; but it is evident that Emerson greatly admired the Mughal masterpiece - a youthful lecture on it which he delivered to the RIBA in 1870 was a sustained panegyric.
Muir college, allahabad
4.2
Crawford Market The edifice is a blend of Norman and Gothic architectural styles.
The friezes on the outside entrance depicting Indian farmers, and the stone fountains inside, were designed by Lockwood Kipling, father of novelist Rudyard Kipling. The market covers an area of 22,471 sq m (24,000 sq ft) which 5,515 sq m (6,000 sq ft) is occupied by the building itself. The structure was built using coarse buff coloured Kurla stone, with redstone from Bassein. It has a 50 ft (15 m) high skylight awning designed to allow the sunlight light up the marketplace. It was designed by William Emerson in 1865 on the orders of Sir Arthur Crawford, the Municipal Commissioner of Bombay from 1865 to 1871.
Muir college, allahabad
5
Architectural of Muir College The college was first envisioned with a tower, a museum and a
quadrangle, reduced to form and shape in a memorandum and plan by Major Perkins. Emerson designed the college building with these instructions to guide him. The progress of time allows for extension in the design and also sees the removal of the unsightly chimney constructed to carry off the fumes of the laboratory. The Vizianagram tower, the hall, and the library are built of stone throughout; the main walls of the lecture rooms, professors’ rooms and offices, are of brick faced with stone; the verandahs everywhere are of solid stone. The yellow stone came from Mirzapur and the white from
Sheorajpur on the Jubbulpore line. The hall has a lofty and beautifully decorated dome clad in Multan glazed tiles with aerial galleries and general appearance of the sweetness and light. It is an excellent mix of Gothic and Indian architectural elements which also included Egyptian and Persian styles. Commenced in1874 and opened in 1886, it has been built around an arcaded quadrangle, and has a distinct skyline with three domes and a 200ft minaret. The imposing minaret is built of cream colored sandstone, with marble and mosaic floors.
Muir college, allahabad
“The details show how the gothic tracery is blended with indian geometrical perforated stonework in windows and the cairean moucharabyeh woodwork., gothic shafts and the dome stands on a gothic mohammedan pendentives and semicircular arches, the open staircase is also a gothic feature.”
“i determined not to follow to closely the indian art, but to avail myself of an egyptian phase of moslem architecture and work it up with the saracenic style of beejapore and the north-west, combining whole in a western -gothic style.”
“the beautiful lines of the taj mahal influenced me in my design of the dome over the hall and the indian four centered arch as convenient for my purpose, as well as working well with the general gothic feeling.” -William Emerson
Muir college, allahabad
5.1
ARCADES
The style of architecture affected is a modified Indian Saracenic. The arcades have been horse-shoed slightly because the architect felt it would be dangerous in a large building with modern requirements to enter into close competition with the severe competition with the severe marble structures of Northern India, and because it was felt necessary to bring the details into harmony with the tower, an
ornament which is not generally found in Indian Moslem architecture. Another reason for refraining from a rigorous adherence to the Saracenic style lay in the proximity of the new cathedral, with the style of which purely Indian Mohammedan architecture would not harmonize. The arch, essentially gothic in its geometry,
austantiously ornamented with Islamic
perforated jali. The jali are fitted in some places with Belgian glasses. The arches have been horse shoed slightly because the architect felt it would be too dangerous in a large building with modern requirements to enter into close competition with severe marble structures of north India.
Muir college, allahabad
Geometrical behavior of the rose window with Islamic jali. Basic construction of the rose window begins with the hexagon inscribed in a circle that is similar to the geometrical construction of the Islamic jali pattern. The
Islamic
jali
pattern
developed in the hexagon divides into circles which are micro cosmos of the complete rose window. The elevation boasts of certain balance and
synergy.
Analyzing
its
geometry one finds the length of the building and its minar in the ratio of 1. The architect has exhibited eclecticism
not
only
in
the
ornamentation but also in the building system used. The room are seen vaulted with the gothic vaulted arches and corbelled Indian vaults. Thus exuding the much eclecticism seen in the structure. Barrel vaults are also seen in the structure.
Muir college, allahabad
5.2
•
MINAR
The Minar which is built along with the Vizianagram hall is about 184ft high. Its access is from the roof of the Vizianagram hall. The Minar is in five levels, the topmost opening out onto a crenellated terrace. At every stage, balconies project out. In plan, at the base, the Minar is square which later becomes a chamfered square. At level one, it becomes an octagonal shaft with slightly horse shoed Tudor arches. The second level is a long octagonal shaft with a lesser lateral dimension and keyhole longish arches. This level has a balcony which projects out on a unique system of stalactite bracketing, which is very characteristic of the Indian Islamic architecture. It is a cluster of miniature arches, or small alcoves, with brackets in between. These little alcoves are patterned with a network like honeycombing. The upper storey is a circular arcaded pavilion around another octagonal shaft. The arches on this level are Islamic arches. The topmost storey is another octagonal pavilion with gothic arches. The Minar decreases in the lateral dimension significantly with height. This taper giver it a marked upward impulse and makes it look more stable and taller. The
Minar, complete with austere sandstone finish, dominates the whole setting and lends it certain rich grandeur. The scale of the Minar is accurate enough to make it appear grand but not imposing. • At the height of 184 ft the Minar stands in five levels. In the plan it is chamfered at every level to finally become an octagonal shaft.
• The taper gives it a marked upward impulse making a tower more stable and tall. • Accessed from the roof of vizianagaram hall.
Muir college, allahabad
• Unique system of stalactite bracketing for the cantilevered balconiescharacteristics of the Indian- Islamic character. • Seen as a cluster of miniature arches or small alcoves, with brackets in between. • Built with an austere yellowish stone finish exudes rich grandeur in its whole and dominating settings. •
Though the Minar is a powerful authorities symbol its purpose its purpose still remains questionable
5.3
DOME
Like in the Taj Mahal the dome of the Vizianagram Hall is Onion shaped also called the amrud or guava shaped. Its works on the dome, drum and pendentives system and is finished with a lantern instead of the finial of the Taj. Emerson is recorded to have quoted that he was inspired by the beautiful lines of the Taj Mahal and the dome is a result of that quest to achieve the perfection boasted of by the Taj. This Islamic feature in the building is covered with tiles made by the guilds of Rajasthan, these tiles of blue and white color are said to have shone against the blue sky.
Emerson is said to have been inspired from taj mahal in this dome, which is Persian in style. It is lofty and beautiful decorated with arial garalleris and general appearance sweetness and light. The lusture paintings in the dome with its extraordinary sheen far outstrips any other medium of architectural decoration in its ability to dissolve the solid mass of the structure.
Muir college, allahabad
The oculus at the pantheon
The dome and finial of the Taj
ORNAMENTATION
The eclectic mix is very evident even in the ornamentation of the building and the other parts of the University. The Vizianagram Hall is
highly ornamented with a great variety of designs from across the different styles of the period. The most notable are the column capitals a pick from the Beejapore monuments are seen here. The flooring pattern is equally worked upon with a pictorial depiction of the sun and the solar system in the centre and patterned stone flooring otherwise. The Persian character is heightened by the use of blue and white glazed multan tiles. The drum and pendentive system is been used to support the dome which is in the sharp contrast to the conventional squinch
dome system. The opening in the dome allow natural light thus adding grandeur of the vizianagaram hall. The pendentive system used here is similar to the hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The lantern with its opening to let in light finds its basis in the oculus design seen in the pantheon. The oculus in the building is covered by a
Muir college, allahabad
chattri, thereby giving the Islamic dome a gothic finish. The sun in the flooring pattern is very symbolically placed under the oculus. The lantern with its opening to let in light finds its basis in the oculus designs seen in the Pantheon. The oculus in the building is covered by a chattri thereby giving the Islamic dome a Gothic finish. This feature is also seen in the Venetian Gothic architecture. The flooring pattern right below the eye is patterned with the sun and its solar system. The sun placed directly under the oculus is also the centre of the Vizianagram Hall. The structure, as a whole, presents a beautiful and noble effect, and is a welcome departure from the usual style of Indian public buildings.
5.4
THE CONVERGING SPIRAL The staircase adhered to one of the
side of vizianagaram hall is a unique feature in itself.It reduces in diameter as it ascends upwards. There is a semicircular arcaded skin attached to the staircase. The weight of the staircase is carried by the circular central member.
Muir college, allahabad
Till the weight of the staircase is carried by a central circular member. Until the first level, the stair case runs along the skin. However, on the upper one, the staircase converges and stands quite independent of the skin. A similar staircase is seen in Notre dome, Paris.
5.5
THE MODULAR PLAN The
building
is not a spontaneous but
a
deliberate
attempt
to
amalgamate
varied
styles and reflects open
mind
experimentation.
to
Devoid of any king of fetters the design reflects the complete understanding of the different architectural styles and context. The plan is based on modular system based quadrangle. Its modules gives the flexibility of adding more quadrangles over time. The rooms are flanked by arches verandahs on both sides.
Muir college, allahabad
6
Materials And Construction
The Muir College is one of the first few buildings in India to use iron girders with stone masonry. This system of construction began in the European buildings built in the same time; architects considered it a brave attempt to use novel materials. The rainwater disposal systems in the building are well thought of and outlaid in detail. The Vizianagram Hall and the Science library were built purely with limestone brought from Mirzapur. The other classrooms were vaulted and consisted of bricks faced with stone. The cost of this hall thereby increased the overall cost of the building. The Vizianagram hall was
purely funded by the king of Vizianagram, a kingdom in the present state of Karnataka, and hence was named after the kingdom.
Muir college, allahabad
The iron spiral staircase; the Islamic stone brackets; the rainwater disposal system.
Muir college, allahabad
THE PAST AND PRESENT The building overall reads as a crude beginning, a dress rehearsal, for an architectural idiom. It was one of the first essays in the indo Sara scenic style. William Emerson here broke rules and defied the rigid set standards and came up with something not seen so far. The building in massing and overall design is like any other European university but the minar, the dome and the rich ornamentation are completely eastern concepts. The unique union gives rise to synergy. The articulation of the ornaments is only superficial and restricts itself to the elevation itself. The amalgamation of different styles is at a rudimentary level while the plan remains purely undefined. It is an interesting study nevertheless. The effect is pleasing the elements sit in a visual camadiere. When three different domes and minar puncture the skyline, when rajputana arches are marked with Islamic Motifs, when gothic rose window filter light through the Islamic jails, when the scale of the building has such monumentality, it is indeed eclecticism glorified. But today the building stands in neglect and despair. The queen of education looks forlorn. The proud minar being the only reminder of the splendors long past. The paints are peeling, the tiles have fallen, and weed have encroached this temple of education. Like many other monuments in the country this one also cries for care and attention.
Muir college, allahabad
Senate Hall The other university buildings were built actively on the site at Church Road. Building operations for the Law College, the Senate House and the Library commenced in 1910 and the Senate Hall was formally inaugurated in 1912. Designed by architect Swinton Jacob they were completed in 1915 at the cost of Rs. 11, 67,275. In 1892-93 the University began to invest some capital in the Government Securities. In 1899-1900 its reserve fund amounted to Rs. 34,000. The University was thus now in a position to construct its own buildings. In 1909 the present site was selected for the Library, the Senate House and the Law College. These buildings, which now house the Registrar's Office, Senate Hall and the English Department, were designed by Sir Swinton Jacob and their construction was approved in 1910. The foundation of the Senate House was laid on 17th January 1910 by Sir John Havett, the Chancellor. The construction of the Senate Hall, the Law College and the former Library building was commenced in 1910 and they were completed in 1915 at the cost of Rs. 11, 67,275.
Muir college, allahabad
The senate hall
In 1923 the Government decided to acquire the property of the Indian Press for the
University at the cost of about seven lakh rupees.
This property comprised the present buildings of the Philosophy Department, the department of Med./Mod. History and the spacious buildings in which there was formerly the Proctor's Office, Post Office, and some rooms which are shared by the Political Science, Med. /Mod. History, Ancient History and Hindi Departments. A few years ago this
spacious building was demolished. The Indian Press property also included a tiled roofed building behind the dramatic hall and a similar type of building near the Political Science department and another building near the English Department. Of these the first two exist now, the third was demolished recently.
Muir college, allahabad
Since 1911 many new buildings
have sprung up in the Senate House Campus and in the Chathem Lines campus. In the senate House Campus the Union Hall, the old Guest House, the
building
of
the
Commerce
Department, the N.S.S. building, the buildings
of
the
Ancient
History
Culture and Archaeology Department, Political
Science
Department,
Department of Oriental Languages, Hindi Bhawan, Psychology department, Education
department,
Geography
Department the New Library building are comparatively new constructions.
Likewise in the Muir College Campus several alterations and additions have been made from time to time. Among the new buildings, the buildings of the J.K. Institute of Applied Physics, the new Gymnastic Hall, and the new Mathematics Department are some additions. The Muir College has reached 120 years since being built and has catered to the changing needs of people. The plan allows for
expansion by attaching quadrangles and exhibits the architects vision to build a university on a grand and magnanimous scale.
Muir college, allahabad
As the years rolled on, the two campuses began to look small.
Consequently, the University obtained land from the Cantonment Board to house the department of Business Administration, Law Faculty and Gandhi Bhawan. And now recently the bungalow of the late Dr. Bani Prasad has been purchased. The university which holds a record number of alumni in the civil services of the country plans to expand and reinvent itself for the modern times.
Muir college, allahabad
The University Now “Oxford preserves every inch of moss on its stones.” Allahabad the, “Oxford of the east”, has dumped as garbage tiles that had behind them an eight hundred year old architectural tradition. Not many months after the country had instituted an “Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage”, Allahabad’s highest seat of learning desecrated a historic monument within its own campus. The much acclaimed tiles are now gone. Nobody seems to know who gave the orders to a local contractor to have them disposed as rubble and to
provide a new synthetic plastic surface for the dome-a grotesque, scalloped design in chocolate brown and candy white. The blue and white tiles will not return. The knowledge that crafted those lies buried with their craftsmen. The Vice-Chancellor’s pamphlet on the University’s centenary plans is entitled “From a glorious Past to a still brighter future.” The glories of the past were the tiles but will some synthetic plastic paint constitute the brightness of the future?
Muir college, allahabad
Bibliography • G.H.T. Tillotson • Thomas Metcalf
MARG publication An Imperial Vision
• Campus Thought
News Letter University of Allahabad
• The Gazetteer • Sabiha Foster
printed 1886 Islam + Architecture Architectural Design Vol 74 (Nov/Dec)
• Persian Architecture
A. U. Pope Printed 1965
• Sir Banister Fletcher • Christopher Tadgell
History of Architecture The History of Architecture in India