Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
THE FRENCH ARCHITECTURE IN PUDUCHERRY
A Brief history
Puducherry was mainly a fishing, and trading hub, due to its proximity to the sea. It wasn’t until the 1500s when European settlers first made contact with the city. The first being the Portuguese and the Danes.
Trading bloomed under this period, with textiles making up a large portion. This attracted the French later down the road, who planned to use the city as their hub for South Asian colonization. This was, however, spoiled by the Dutch, who took over the small town in 1693.
After receding the territory back, a toil between the British and the French went over until the 1800s when the British finally ceded to the French. The French ruled the current borders of Puducherry until 1954 when it was returned to India.
What interests us
The French rule between 1814 to 1954 gave the French settlers new land to spread their ideas and vision for how a costal city must be built. This opportunity was well taken, and Pondicherry still stands to this day as a testament to Indo-French Architecture.
Not purely French
Although Pondicherry is often regarded as a fine example of French Architecture, most of the building built in the French portion of the city have features taken from local vernacular houses of the Indian side of town. We’ll go over these features in details very soon. This gives as a view on how Indo-European Architecture was born, and what the term vernacular means to most of us. Despite wanting to build their vision, the French were mostly forced to take cues from traditional housing in the area to combat the different climate present here.
A planned City
Puducherry is one of the best planned cities built during the colonial era. There are two sections to the city. The White, or French town, and Black, or Indian town. The Black town is where most of the locals lives, and this is also the largest part of the town. The white town meanwhile, is where most of the French buildings were built, including most government and public service ones.
Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
The Streets
The streets of Pondicherry are known to be some of the most beautiful in all of India. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Pondicherry just to have their pictures taken in these streets. Let’s take a look at what makes these streets so attractive.
For starters, the roads are generally inspired by French avenues, with a small twist. Unlike a regular avenue, these streets are narrower to allow the trees to provide shade to them entirely. This decision was taken as Pondicherry is, unlike France, in a tropical climate belt, and shade was important for anyone walking throughout the day.
The French settlements
The French typically lived in large villas built on large plots of land in a grid pattern. Lots of definite French features are observable such as the colorful paint, the large doors, windows, and Entry
Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
columns. Starting from the entry, we usually have a colonnaded portico, which gives the viewer a grand appearance upon entry.
A cornice runs around the entirety of the building. In addition, there are segmented Arched windows for the inhabitants to look out of. There are also plenty of courts for the users to lounge on, and to give a spacious feel.
The roof is flat, this is done to withstand the heat in a different manner to that of traditional houses, by using Madras tiles, the heat is mostly reflected rather than transferred inside.
Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
The Interior
The interior, like the exterior, relies on columns to show its majestic appeal. The Kitchen, living room, and dining hall are all one space separated by columns. The other rooms have a fully enclosed space, with Arched doorways. The upper floors have a large balcony overlooking both the interior and the exterior.
A comparison with local houses
As mentioned earlier, there are a few notable design changes the French had to make in order to adapt their houses for this climate, and all of them have been taken from the Tamil side of town. We’ll also notice that some of these houses have a French influence on them. This holds a symbiotic relationship between the French and Tamil houses in Pondicherry.
The exterior
The exterior of a Tamil house in Pondicherry is very similar to that of a traditional Tamil home. A new addition is the terrace, which takes inspiration from the French side of town. This is topped with Madras tiles.
The houses also have a large number of columns in the entry way. Although this is common in Tamil houses, these houses have ornamented capitals. This heavy ornamentation can only be found in Pondicherry and nowhere else. Another key design aspect drawn from the French is the arched windows and doorways.
A notable feature that the French have taken from the Tamil houses is the front porch, or the Thinnai. French houses don’t have a proper Thinnai, but have the balcony hanging over the exterior
Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
of the lower floors to reduce heat gain and to provide a little space from the road. Not the same purpose, but a shared design element.
The interior
The interior of these houses don’t share much, but a very well-known Tamil influence on the French Villas comes in form of the courtyards. French Villas have courtyards, but not as small or as purposeful as the ones seen in Pondicherry. Courtyards here employ every trick in the book to cool down the building, a strategy taken from traditional Tamil homes.
Conclusion
From this comparison, we can see that regardless of how we want to design and build, we’ll have to take a look at the locally developed Architecture, as it’s been molded and shaped for hundreds of years. Either way, we’ll inevitably need to use those techniques to make our new structures viable.
Details/Gallery
Here are some detailing diagrams of both French and Franco-Tamil houses for your reference and understanding. We can also see a stark number of similarities between the two styles, which have helped each of the other styles to develop in relation to the climate and culture they’re built in. There are also multiple designs put forward for certain elements of a building, for example, windows. This is due to the large variety of windows that can be found within these buildings, and there’s more than that is present in the report. Not all buildings are the same, but the styles, for example the windows again, still use an arch design despite the numerous changes each building has compared to the other.
Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
French Houses-
Entrance Gateway
Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
Franco-Tamil Houses-
Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
Vigneshwar Kalivaradhan, 101121024, 3rd year B. Arch., National Institute of Technology
Tiruchirappalli,
A SPECIAL THANKS TO PROF. BELLATRIX VALDARIS FOR GUIDING ME IN THIS STUDY
References:
Pondicherry map: The People’s Village Travel Guidehttps://peoplevillage.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/pondicherry-the-french-quartersarchitecture/#:~:text=The%20French%20styled%20architecture%20is,engaged%20columns%20and% 20stucco%20designs.
Street View: musafir.com What the French left behind in Pondicherry: Arhcitecturehttps://in.musafir.com/blog/what-the-french-left-behind-in-pondicherry-architecture
Street View 2, Balcony/Arched Windows: Travelshoebum India’s French Colony: Puducherryhttps://travelshoebum.com/2018/02/19/indias-french-colony-pondicherry-a-photo-story/
Housing plans and sections: UrbanArch Foundation Pondicherry and its Architecturehttps://www.urbanarchfoundation.com/post/manage-your-blog-from-your-live-site
Intach French and Tamil Houses of PuducherryReferences\architectural_monuments32.pdf
Paper Planes The Tamil Quarter in PuducherryReferences\Papertrails.pdf
French Influence in Pondicherry by Muthu Krishnan Ramanathanhttps://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/french-influence-in-pondicherry-250449473/250449473
Vernacular Architecture of Pondicherry by Shanmugga Ranihttps://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/vernacular-architecture-of-pondicherrypptx/257796694