Chaunsath Khambha

ARCHITECTURAL DOCUMENTATION AND CONDITION ASSESSMENT Chaunsath

Humayun’s Tomb Nizamuddin Basti Sundar Nursery

Khambha

urban renewal initiative A Public-Private Partnership initiative of Archaeological Survey of India Municipal Corporation of Delhi – Central Public Works Department Aga Khan Foundation - Aga Khan Trust for Culture

CO - FUNDED BY

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

AGA KHAN TRUST FOR CULTURE

CO N T E N T S 1.

INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................................................................

2.

THE CONDITION ASSESSMENT PROCESS.............................................................................................................................

3.

LASER SCANNING ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

4.

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

5.

CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF THE DOMES........................................................................................................................

DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME DOME

6.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF THE EXTERIOR ELEVATIONS…………………………………………………………

EAST SIDE SOUTH SIDE WEST SIDE NORTH SIDE

7.

01 Pg. No. 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26-30 Pg. No. 31-35 36-40 41-45

CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF THE INTERIOR ELEVATIONS…………………………………………………………

EAST SIDE SOUTH SIDE WEST SIDE NORTH SIDE

6.

CONDITION ASSESSMENT TABLE ………………………………………………………………………………………….

7.

GLOSSARY…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

46-50 Pg. No. 51-55 56-60 61-65

I NTRODUCTION Chaunsath Khambha Is the tomb of Mirza Aziz Kokaltash, the great Mughal Emperor Akbar’s foster brother. The tomb was built in the year 1623-24 A.D. The marble structure is called Chaunsath Khambha because of the 64 columns which support the roof of the hall. It stands within the largest open space within Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti and entered through an impressive gateway located on the north-eastern end of the complex.

The monument has suffered severe decay caused due to excessive water seepage and inappropriate repairs works in the 20th century. The water seepage has resulted in the iron clamps rusting leading to their expansion and resulting damage to the marble. Past repairs have included cementing the broken portions with white cement without removal and replacement of iron clamps thereby causing further damage and deterioration of the marble.

N

Architectural Floor Plan

Also, in the 20th century layers of concrete have been added to the roof in an inappropriate attempt to prevent water seepage into the building below, these layers will need to be removed to be carefully, manually removed to restore the original roof levels and reduce the enormous extra dead-load on the building and ensure quick water drainage from the outlets on the roof that have been partially blocked as a result of the extra concrete.

The marble of both arches and pendentives fulfill a combination of structural and decorative roles and the structural performance of both is currently under threat from the exfoliation of iron cramps and dowels set within to secure the various elements together.

There is extensive damage to the marble arches, pendentives and domes, and the marble cladding on the elevations.

Due to excessive thickness of the dome and added layers of the concrete the dampness is retained in the monument. It is now required not only to remove the excess load from the terrace but also to remove iron clamps which will be replaced with stainless steel clamps of similar size.

Archival Painting of Chaunsath Khambha

Archival Section of Chaunsath Khambha and the Forecourt.

TH E C O N D I T I O N A S S E S S M E N T P R O C E S S

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5:

Archival and architectural data was collected from Zafar Hasan’s -” Monuments of Delhi (Vol. 2) DELHI ZAIL listing”, Carr Stephen's - “The Archaeology and Monumental Remains of Delhi” and Ebba Koch’s” Mughal Architecture” and classified for further referencing.

3D Laser scanning of the whole complex was done.

Stone by Stone assessment of the domes, exterior and interior façades of the monument were done manually on the images by visual inspection of each stone its defects and its causes.

On the basis of the 3D Laser scanning drawings, on site measurements, photo documentation and visual inspection the data was assimilated and further referenced to form a complete integrated data set by which the condition of the monument could be assessed to establish the extent of the defects.

The data set was studied and calculations were made to form a Condition assessment table which tabulates the condition of the building on a single page.

Timeline of the monument was established and all archival paintings and images were collected and compared for evidences.

For the monument each bay was scanned individually and also each façade from the interior and the exterior.

Architectural measured drawings were prepared from the 3D Laser scanning data and the onsite measurements that were taken. To form a complete set of drawings.

The defects were identified and a legend was prepared to classify them. This stone assessment was later transferred into AutoCAD to create a soft copy for the data set and for further study.

The condition assessment table tabulates the extent of the defects in the form of percentage of white cement used, percentage of Bursting etc.

3D L A S E R S C A N N I N G 3D Laser scanning analyses a real-world object or environment to collect data on its shape, its appearance and its details. The collected Point cloud data can then be used to construct digital, two dimensional drawings and three dimensional models. Scanning of historical sites and artifacts have been done both for documentation and analysis purposes as it has immense precision unlike manually measured drawings which have a percentage of Human error

Top View of Chaunsath Khambha

3D L A S E R S C A N N I N G

Top View of a Single bay

3D L A S E R S C A N N I N G

View of the Eastern faรงade of Chaunsath Khambha