Architectural analyses of 19th century Indo-Saracenic structures designed by British Architect Robert Chisholm in Vadodara

Abstract

ABSTRACT A particular architectural style called ‘Indo-Saracenic’ emerged after 1860s and characterised British Colonial Architecture in India. Robert Chisholm was one of its early proponents who worked between the years 1860 to 1910. His initial phase of works emerged in the Madras Presidency and the later in the erstwhile Princely State of Baroda, now Vadodara. The author through the study of his works addresses the central research problematic of using “Indo-Saracenic” as an umbrella term, not distinguishing a huge number of local variants both in architectural historiography and pedagogy. Out of 27 buildings identified to have been designed by Chisholm in India, a critical sample of 10 career-defining buildings was extracted based on a definite shortlisting-criteria like typological uniqueness, structural integrity, heritage grading, etc. Four cases formed the critical sample from Vadodara: Faculty of Arts at Baroda College, Laxmivilas Palace, Khanderao Market and Nyaya Mandir. Two of them are discussed to find out if Chisholm’s architectural style constituted a unique localised Indo-Saracenic variant in Vadodara. The qualitative research tools used are historical/chronological research, typology studies, architectural analysis, etc.