Architectural typologies in Ahmedabad
The fortified town of Ahmedabad is an irregular semi-circular city on the eastern bank of the river. Up until British colonial rule, the predominant architectural typologies that one can find within and beyond the walls of the old city in Ahmedabad, include mosques, tombs, temples, havelis, pols and stepwells.
The Bhadra Fort (Citadel)
The Bhadra Fort was built by Ahmad Shah when he established the city of Ahmedabad and declared it as his captial in 1411 on the eastern embankment of Sabarmati. It sprawled over forty three acres and housed the royal palaces, Ahmed Shah's mosque, open spaces and a triple gateway (Teen Darwaza) leading to the royal square; all within a fortified wall with several gates and watch towers. Another wall was added later and urban development flourished in its ten kilometer circumference. This area is often referred to as the walled city.
Mosques and Tombs
Islamic architecture in Ahmedabad spans from pre-Sultanate times to the Mughal era, manifest in the form of mosques, tombs and striking mosque-tomb complexes found on both sides of the Sabarmati river. Medieval mosques were mainly rectangular in plan with columnar structures built in the indigenous trabeated style. They had an open prayer hall held up by intricately carved columns to the east and a mihrab1 to the west. The mosque diagram is composed of the qibla2 wall on the western side facing Mecca and the porous, columnar space adjacent to it on the east.
The Muslim tombs were burial chambers built to house the graves of saints, royals other revered figures. These structures show bilateral symmetry accentuating the center with a strong vertical axis capped by a central dome. This exaggeration of the central dome skyward reflects the tenet of the Muslim belief that the deceased were connected to heaven. The square plans of tombs display columnar structures similar to the mosques and are built in heavy masonry construction systems. Larger complexes which combine mosque and tomb alongside palaces like Sarkhej Roza were built as summer retreats for royals and can be found on both sides of the river.
Hindu and Jain Temple
Hindu and Jain temples constitute another dominant religious architectural typology of the city. These two affluent mercantile communities were responsible for commissioning numerous temples within and outside the walled city in various artistic traditions over the centuries. They are found in a variety of orientations but share plan forms and are governed by common organizational principles of Vastu-Shastra3 (Garbagriha) where the idol resides. The Garbagriha marks the vertical axis accentuated by the built form of the Shikara (the spiral tower).
Pols and Havelis (residential units)
Pols are small dead-end streets with compact housing clusters on both sides which form a small residential unit. Found exclusively within the walled city on the east side of the river, pols are protected by a large entrance gate and governed by community identity which forms distinct residential patterns throughout the old city. The prosperous and influential community of Jain and Hindu merchants resided in dwellings situated within the pols known as havelis. Havelis are relatively larger mansions or houses made out of wood with elaborate carvings that have a significant footprint in the fabric of the pols.
Vaavs (Stepwells)
A vaav or a stepwell is a linear building that represents a peculiar architecture of subtraction. It consists of a square, circular or octagonal dug well accessible by stairs that penetrate the earth. The top most landing has a shaded roof held up by columns. Each ensuing flight of stairs leads to a landing with an open structure in the form of pavilions, colonnades or porches until one reaches the well at the very bottom. Each landing pavilion is supported by columns and becomes the roof of the pavilion below. In many cases, the walls of the well are adorned with brackets, niches and other sculpted ornamentation.
A linear longitudinal section of a stepwell yields a triangle, with one horizontal line at ground level, one tracing the diagonal formed by the stairs and the third cutting into the main well, perpendicular to the ground. The variety of orientations of the linear axis of stepwells is governed by the exact location of the aquifer and not any form of religious use. Though some stepwells had shrines and religious depictions in their sculptures, they were largely secular structures.
- 1. mihrab - a semi-circular niche in the wall that indicates it is the qibla
- 2. qibla - the direction of Mecca to which Muslims turn at during prayer
- 3. Vaastu Shastra - The canonical texts describing design theories and the Hindu systems of architecture which integrates. These plans are multi-layered with various thresholds demarcating each layer leading up to the innermost sanctum