AN INDIAN PORTFOLIO

P ADMAN AB HAPURAM . PALACE By Raj Rewal, K.T. Ravindran and the Architectural Research Cell

This is the secolld pOl1j(Jlio ~f drawillgs to be pllblished by MIMAR in the series devoted to illlpol1allt architectllral colllplexes in allciellt Illdia .

The Architectllral Research Cell (scc list (:flllelllbcrs ill AlIMAR 20) has prodllced scale drawillgs of hithC/'lo IIl1doCIIlllelltcd historical bllildil~<;5, or Izas colTcCfed alld colllpleted earlier studies. SlIch Inatc­rial, depictillg the ric/lllcss ~f spatial al1'all,<;elllellfs, omalllCl1tal detail­illg, alld stl1lctllml SOllltiolls ~f the past adds illllll('llsc/y to the.fillid ~r resollrce ilifO/1/latioll for architects as well as historialls.

Padlllallabhapllral1l, presented here, is a 15th cmtllry colllplex locatcd in the sOllthem state ~fKerala ill Illdia. The text is an edited versioll by Mr. K. T. Ravilldmll, first pllblislzed ill Architectllre ill Illdia, (Paris, 1985). - Editors

T he Padmanabhapuram Palace is located close to the sea in southern India, a region with high rainfall and a tropical climate. Founded by the royal family ofTra­

vancore, adjoining the State of Kerala, the initial stmctures date from the period 1400-1500, with other buildings added incrementally over time. The palace's present name was given to it in 1744 by Marthanda Verma Maharaja, who was a devotee of Padmanabhan.

Comprised of edifices reflecting a variety of styles, the complex bears witness to the socio-political influences preva­lent at different moments in its history.

Entry to the palace compound is from the west, through a high door with a pitched roof stmcture abutting it, typical of the Kerala region. A succession of courtyards formed by buildings or simply walls becomes progressively more pri­vate in character until one reaches the core of the complex, termed thai kottaram (literally, the generic mother), reputedly the oldest building of the palace. It forms the centrepiece or focus of the entire palace compound, corresponding in pat­tern to a mandala, the ancient Indian diagram of the cosmos. It is the basic reference point in relation to which the location and openings of the other buildings have been determined. Although the palace may seem to be without any rationale in the layout and disposition, one comprehends its organisation the moment the esoteric mles governing its design have been revealed. Thus, successive generations of builders in the palace complex adhered to the mles laid down at the start.

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Building sciences applied in the achievement of Pad­manabhapuram involved a combination of astronomy, astrology, mathematics, reli­gious values, social moves, building technology and ma­gic. Such traditional building codes account for the overall cohesion in the design.

Kerala is a region with abundant timber and excellent clay, used for tiles and blicks, as well as laterite stone, granite and shell lime. While stlict rules also existed for the utilisa­tion of various materials and structural solutions, it was by far carpentry that was the most highly developed building art. Types of wood, their relative positions to one another, kinds of functions to be served, and the types of wood determined by the user's place in the social hierarchy were all specified in the traditional codes. Hence, one of the out­standing features of this palace is that these principles were faithfLllly followed over centuries.

Another significant quality of the buildings at Padma­nabhapuram is the sensitive handling of light and atmos­phere of repose created throughout. The aesthetic import­ance of the palace might well be described as a subtle combination of sophisticated understatement in design and a tactile celebration of the material employed.

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AN INDIAN I'ORIFllLIO

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