The Civilizations of the Indus Valley Region The people if the Indus River valley and their culture.
The Indus Valley Civilizations Contribution to Architecture
2
INDUS-VALLEY CIVILISATION ● Great deal of mud-brick architecture in stages two and three of the indus age. With the use of baked bricks at most buildings in Mohenjodaro. ● Buildings equipped with stone foundations. ● Important feature in the first half of the the third millenium was the growing use of large Platforms foundations. One side of these might be tens of metres long; Provided safety from flood and general erosion, formed boundary. ● Some of the platforms substructures, elevated large section of any settlement, eg. Mound of Great Bath. Town Planning ● It is believed that there was a grid town-planning in place. ● Mohenjodaro had an acropolis to the west separated from lower living spaces of the community . ● But most other settlements (Lothal, Rojdi, Hulas etc.) had an acropolis to the west, an important part of the city to the north with the granary and the husking floors. Other Mounded parts of the city were built out from the southern end. ● It seems that the first urban settlement of Mohenjodaro was constructed in a very short period with vertical water supplies. Platforms ● Mohenjodaro was designed as a city on the flood plain, hence platforms to raise the buildings above the flood plain.It served as foundation or substructure for building areas as in the case of Great Bath; Substructure for elevating single buildings in either full or part. The Drainage System and Domestic Water Facilities ● At Mohenjodaro the street and lanes in all neighbourhoods were provided with drainage. ● There was also provision for waste water management inside the house. ● The street drains are generally made of baked brick. ● Most of the drains had brick or stone covers. ● Open drains have been found along the sides of the streets. ● Special platform for bathing was a common feature of any house in Mohenjodaro, in the order of 1.5m a side. ● The floors of these platforms were sloped and smooth; floor brick carefully prepared with smooth upper surface, and the platform had a rim. ● The wider drains or culverts was covered with corbelled arch, the great bath had the largest culvert. Residential Architecture ● Most of the buildings of the lower town of Mohenjodaro have seemed to be used as residences. The standard baked brick at Mohenjodaro was 28 by 14 by 7 centimeters. Unbaked bricks were also in use. ● The buildings of lower town was solidly built with walls with thickness of meter or two being common. ● Thickness of walls and staircase seem to imply that most of these buildings had an upper storey. ● There are some hearts found on ground floor with raised and surrounded brick platforms but data suggests that the hearths were a common feature on the upper store of the house. ● There are some windows in mature harappan buildings, terra cotta fragments that look like grille could be window fillings. Some door sockets have also been found . ● Historians believe the use of timber for the roofs in Mohenjodaro. ATUL ANAND JHA B.ARCH. - II A/2305/2010
-
Upload
atul-anand-jha -
Category
Documents
-
view
89 -
download
1
description
A brief overview on How Indus Valley civilization's architecture was like
Transcript of The Indus Valley Civilizations Contribution to Architecture
INDUS-VALLEY CIVILISATION●Great deal of mud-brick architecture in stages two and three of the indus age. With the use of baked bricks at most buildings in Mohenjodaro.
●Buildings equipped with stone foundations. ●Important feature in the first half of the the third millenium was the growing use of large Platforms foundations. One side of these might be tens of metres long; Provided safety from flood and general erosion, formed boundary.
●Some of the platforms substructures, elevated large section of any settlement, eg. Mound of Great Bath.
Town Planning●It is believed that there was a grid town-planning in place.●Mohenjodaro had an acropolis to the west separated from lower living spaces of the community .●But most other settlements (Lothal, Rojdi, Hulas etc.) had an acropolis to the west, an important part of the city to the north with the granary and the husking floors. Other Mounded parts of the city were built out from the southern end.●It seems that the first urban settlement of Mohenjodaro was constructed in a very short period with vertical water supplies.
Platforms●Mohenjodaro was designed as a city on the flood plain, hence platforms to raise the buildings above the flood plain.It served as foundation or substructure for building areas as in the case of Great Bath; Substructure for elevating single buildings in either full or part.
The Drainage System and Domestic Water Facilities●At Mohenjodaro the street and lanes in all neighbourhoods were provided with drainage.●There was also provision for waste water management inside the house. ●The street drains are generally made of baked brick.●Most of the drains had brick or stone covers.●Open drains have been found along the sides of the streets.●Special platform for bathing was a common feature of any house in Mohenjodaro, in the order of 1.5m a side.
●The floors of these platforms were sloped and smooth; floor brick carefully prepared with smooth upper surface, and the platform had a rim.
●The wider drains or culverts was covered with corbelled arch, the great bath had the largest culvert.
Residential Architecture●Most of the buildings of the lower town of Mohenjodaro have seemed to be used as residences. The standard baked brick at Mohenjodaro was 28 by 14 by 7 centimeters. Unbaked bricks were also in use.
●The buildings of lower town was solidly built with walls with thickness of meter or two being common.
●Thickness of walls and staircase seem to imply that most of these buildings had an upper storey.
●There are some hearts found on ground floor with raised and surrounded brick platforms but data suggests that the hearths were a common feature on the upper store of the house.
●There are some windows in mature harappan buildings, terra cotta fragments that look like grille could be window fillings. Some door sockets have also been found .●Historians believe the use of timber for the roofs in Mohenjodaro. ATUL ANAND JHA
B.ARCH. - II A/2305/2010
Contemporary World
“Distinct characteristics of urban planning from remains of the cities of Harappa, Lothal, and Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley Civilization (in modern-day northwestern India and Pakistan) lead archeologists to conclude that they are the earliest examples of deliberately planned and managed cities.”
The original grid plan with its Modern day avatars in Ouagadougou, Barcelona andFlorida (right to left)
“The Indus-Valley civilisation had well developed vertical system for water delivery with baked brick lining the edges of well which is very similar to how its today still in many parts of India and well defined by this one picture”
`
“Harappans gave us the drainage system which today is what defines a well developed city”
“The use of English bond in these walls tells us that the bonds are not so english after all”
“The Harappanswere the pioneers of the building construction techniques that are still in use”
ATUL ANAND JHAB.ARCH. - II A/2305/2010
