Case Study of Jaipur

1. JAIPUR
Presented by
Krishnaveni / Monishkumar / Shrividhyah / Yokeswari
A STUDY ON ITS EVOLUTION AND SETTLEMENTS

2.  Jaipur lies at a distance of about 200
miles from Delhi, 150 miles from Agra
and 84 miles from Ajmer.
 Capital city of Rajasthan is located
amidst the Aravali hill ranges at an
altitude of about 430 m above sea
level.
Latitude – 26 55’ N
Longitude – 75 50’ E
 The eastern Rajasthan, lying to the east and south east of the Aravalli divide includes
the modern administrative districts of – Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Banswara,
Dungarpur, Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Jaipur, Tonk, Dausa, Dholpur,
Karauli, Bharatpur and Alwar.
 The current district of Jaipur lies in Eastern Rajasthan, in the Banas River basin and
forms a part of Eastern Plain of Rajasthan.
 The region is drained by a number of seasonal rivers of which Banganga, Dhundh and
Bandi are prominent.
INTRODUCTION

3.  In Aryan epics, Dhoondhar region (called Matsya Desh/ Mina Wati) was the shortest
trade route between north India and rich port cities of Gujarat and Malabar.
 The region was held by Badgujars, Rajputs and Minas till the 11th century.
From the 11th century onwards, however, the Dhoondhar region was increasingly
under the power of Kachchwaha dynasty of Rajputs.
 The three main capitals of the Dhoondhar Region under the Kachchwahas –Jaipur.
Dausa Amber
 Sawai Jai Singh II (1700 – 1743) who outlived five Mughal emperors and tried to
prop up the Mughal Empire from 1707 – (Aurangzeb’s death) to sack of Delhi by
Nadir Shah (1739) established the city of Jaipur and strengthened the boundaries
of Dhoondhar.
HISTORY

4. Modern Jaipur was founded
in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai
Jai Singh II of Amber who
ruled from 1699–1744.
Initially, his capital
was Amber, which lies
11 km from Jaipur.
CITY AND ITS EVOLUTION

5. The generic plan of a medieval Rajasthani hill
town- as in Dausa and Amber (TOP)
A – Religious centre or temple
B – Political centre or for
C – Gates and walls
D – Havelis and houses
The site selected for establishing the new
capital of Jaipur was a valley
located south of Amber and the plains
beyond, a terrain that was the
bed of a dried lake. There used to be
dense forest cover to the north
and the east of the city.
To facilitate water supply to the new city,
the Darbhavati river in the
north was dammed to create the Jai
Sagar and Man Sagar (that later
housed the Jal Mahal) lakes.
The east-west axis of the town was
divided by three perpendicular roads into
eight portions with the central
ones of equal size and the outer ones as
per the remaining dimensions till the
Chand Pol in the west and Suraj Pol in
the east.

6. Reasons for Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh to change his capital from Amber to Jaipur
Military Reasons
 Defence was an important consideration.
 A site at the South of Amber ensured
greater distance from Delhi and also
prevented the expansion of the city in
that direction.
 It was clear that the out skirting hill
ranges (Nahargarh hills) shaped as a
horseshoe would allow the new city to
expand only in the South. So this flat site
with a basin like shape was chosen.
 It was an open plain bounded on the
north-west and east by hills.
Geographical Reasons
 The rocky terrain of Amber
restricted expansion.
 Jaipur had the potentialities of
developing into a city with adequate
drinking water due to the presence
of a perennial stream nearby and
good drainage system.
 Its rugged hills also ensured a
constant supply of building
material, which might be required in
the times to come.

10. PLANNING

11.  It is a model of town planning- the first
planned city in India, based on Hindu
systems of town planning and followed the
principles prescribed in the Shilpa-Shastra.
 The site should be divided into grids or
mandalas ranging from 2x 2 to 10 x 10.
 The Prastara type of layout, which gives prominence to the cardinal directions. Thus
the plan of jaipur gridlines being the city’s main streets.
 The central axis of the town was laid from East to West between the gates of the
Sun(Suraj pol) and the moon(Chandpol).
 This was crossed by two roads at right angles dividing the town into nine almost
square, almost equally sized blocks, which were further sub divided by lanes and alleys
all at right angles.
PRASTARA PLAN:

12.  The mandala could not be complete in the
NW due to the presence of the hills.
 So this North-West ward was transferred to
the South-East corner of the city, making
the shape of the plan as a whole
asmmetrical rather than square.
 The city’s division into nine wards was also
in conformity with the Hindu caste system,
which necessitated the segregation of
people belonging to different communities
and ranks.
 Even the lanes were named after the
occupations of inhabitants such as
Maniharon ka Rasta, Thatheron ka Rasta &
many others.
 Following the directions of the Hindu Shilpa
shastra, width of the main streets & other
lanes were fixed. Thus the main streets of
the city were 111ft. wide, secondary streets
55 ft. wide & the smaller ones 27ft. wide.

13.  South of the main road were four almost
equal rectangles.
 The rectangle opposite the palace has been
broken up into two equal and smaller
rectangles by the Chaura Rasta. Thus
altogether there are now five rectangles on
the south of the main road called Chowkris.
 On the North of the main road from West
to East are the Purani Basti, the Palace and
Ramchandraji.
 The principal bazaar leads from the western
gate in the city wall, The Chandpole,
passing in front of the Tripolia Gate, to the
eastern city gate, the Surajpole.

15. URBAN FORM AND ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY
WHY PINK?
 Using pink to cut down glare.
 Jai Singh II's apparent devotion to
Lord Shiva (whose favorite color is
reputedly terra cotta).
 Pink is the traditional color of hospitality, and the city was freshly painted and paved with
pink gravel to warmly welcome Edward VII for his visit here in 1876.
ROAD NETWORK
 Jaipur’s road network follows a definite
hierarchy.
 The major east-west and north-south road
,form the sector boundaries and are called
Rajmarg as they lead to the city gates, They
measure 33m wide.
 Next there is a network of 16.5m wide which
runs north-south in each sector linking the
internal areas of the sectors to the major
activity spine.

16. PUBLIC SPACES
1. CHAUPAR :
 It’s a square that occurs at the intersection of east west
roads with three north south roads.
 Each chaupar is around 100m x 100m were used for
public gathering on festive occasions.
 The distance between two chaupars is about 700m
which is ideal for pedestrian movement. It has
controlled façade treatment enveloping it.
2. BAZAARS:
 Originally only four bazaars
were planned for the city.
 These were later named as
Johri bazaar, Sireh Deori
Bazaar, Kishan pole Bazaar &
Gangori Bazaar

17. Section through Ram Ganj Bazaar
Commercial
Footpath
Road Temple
 Original markets in the city include Kishanpole bazaar, Gangauri bazaar, Johari bazaar,
Sireh Deorhi bazaar, along the main north-south and east-west axes that intersect at
Chhoti and Badi Chaupars.
 Bazaar streets have temples above shops with wide staircase starting from pavement
to the temple level.
 Space above shops at first floor level originally functioned as galleries for watching
royal processions, religious festivals and public celebrations
 On the main streets strict control was exercised on the street façade, along which
were located shops and arcades- one storey high, but beyond the frontage the
buildings could be of any height or any shape, some built with flat roofs & others
with traditional chattris.

18. TYPOLOGY OF FACADES
 Facades of Jaipur and surroundings typically
have gokhdas (sitting spaces) on either side
of the entrance.
 The openings are often characterized by the
use of cusped, trefoil or pointed arches
with rectangular or chhatri (vaulted dome)
type framing, flanked with lotus columns.
 Stylistically, the bangaldar (curvilinear) roof
became prevalent in stone chhatris and
hhajjas (sunshades) and was later used in
there areas of Rajasthan too.
The bangaldar
chhatri with
the sunshade
following the
profile forms the
focus of
the Chandra
Mahal façade,
in the City Palace
complex
Goyal
Bhawan

19. TYPOLOGY OF TEMPLES
 Each mohalla (cluster of houses) has its own temple presided over by the deity most
appropriate for their prosperity and protection.
 A relationship between temples and wells (both constituting ritual spaces) can be
observed inside the chowkries in the layout of the sectors.

20. TYPOLOGY OF HAVELIS
 The havelis of Jaipur range from a single courtyard house form to an assemblage of
multiple courts, depending on the status of the owner and number of family members.
 Majority of the havelis have one or two courtyards.

21. TYPOLOGY OF WATER BODIES
 The surface water bodies – Talkatora, Jai Sagar,
Man Sagar (Jal Mahal Lake) and the Ramgarh
Lake were important features in the city plan.
 The artificial lakes were created in response to
the natural topography.
 A unique water system of underground canals
was specially devised for the water supply in the
city and the square central tanks were located in
the Badi Chaupar and Chhoti Chaupar.

22. VISION FOR PLANNED GROWTH
 This section simulates the original form, studies transformations in built form over time
and demonstrates possibilities of enhancing the built heritage through planned
intervention and architectural guidance.

27. THANK YOU……..