Balwant Sheth School of Architecture BSSA aspires to be a School of Contemporary Thought. Learning Architecture at BSSA is about People, Processes and Technologies. Architecture is about the holistic understanding of People, Culture, Heritage and Art. BSSA wants to understand people to be able to build for them. Architecture is about understanding Processes rather than Products. BSSA focuses on understanding and analysis Processes in Nature, Science and Society. BSSA is a Process based Design School.
Publisher Balwant Sheth School of Architecture Editor Dean: Trilochan Chhaya Designed and Edited by Students of NMIMS BSSA (Batch 2019) Editorial Team
Akshita Sabarwal Saniya Sachadeva Ruta Mehta Anam Zatkal Devangi Kansagra Krishna Jani Manushi Shah Janhavi Mhatre Alefiyah Merchant Fauwaz Khan Tanay Verma
Project Guide Trilochan Chhaya Saritha Gopalkrishnan
Copyright 2018 Balwant Sheth School of Architecture SVKM’s NMIMS All rights, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Jaisalmer Batch of 2019
Acknowledgments: This documentation would not have been possible without the guidance of our esteemed Dean Trilochan Chhaya and Saritha Gopalkrishnan who accompanied us on the trip and conducted regular sessions while on the trip to review work and engage in discussions about the various nuances of architecture that were found there and helped us consolidate all our measure drawings and improve them once we returned from the trip.
Preface: This book contains IIND year documentation of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan by the BSSA’s Batch of 2014-2019 during the trip in the yeat 2014. The comprehensive study included documentation, sketches and measure drawing at the Jaisalmer Fort. Documentation of the fort centre as well as the smaller streets are documented
Table of contents
1. Introduction to Jaisalmer fort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01-02 2. Elevation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03-06 3. Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07-09
INTRODUCTION
Jaisalmer Fort is the second oldest fort in Rajasthan, built in 1156 AD by the Rajput Rawal Jaisal from whom it derives its name,[ and stood at the crossroads of important trade routes
Architectural features: The fort is 1,500 ft (460 m) long and 750 ft (230 m) wide and is built on a hill that raises above a height of 250 ft (76 m) above the surrounding countryside. The base of the fort has a 15 ft (4.6 m) tall wall forming the fort's outermost ring, within its triple ringed defence architecture. The fort's upper bastions or towers form a defensive inner-wall perimeter that is about 2.5 mi (4.0 km) long.
Restoration: The Jaisalmer Fort today faces manifold threats that are a result of the increasing population pressure on it. Water seepage, inadequate civic amenities, derelict houses and seismic activity around the Trikuta Hill are some of the major concerns impacting the Fort. Unlike most other forts, the Jaisalmer Fort has been built over a weak sedimentary rock foothill which makes its foundations especially vulnerable to seepage. Over the years this has led to the collapse of significant portions of the Fort such as the Queen’s Palace or Rani Ka Mahal and parts of the outer boundary wall and the lower pitching walls.
JAISALMER FORT
ELEVATION 1
ELEVATION 2 RESIDENTIAL
PLAN
COMMERCIAL RELIGIOUS REGAL/ROYAL GATEWAY PATHWAY/SQUARE 114 CANNON POINT
04
STREET ELEVATION
06
08
10
BALWANT SHETH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE