Architecture case study of TAJ MAHAL with all the design elements and principles marked along with plans and photographs for better understanding.

1. Golden Triangle of India
Jaipur
(The Land of Rajput Kings)
Delhi
(The Capital of India)
Agra
(The City of Taj)

2. Taj Mahal

3. 22 years
32 million rupees
20,000+ workers

4. Located in – Agra, India
Chief Architect- Ustad Isa, Ustad Ahmad Lahouri
Started in- 1631
Completed in – 1652
Features- 43 kinds of jewels used

6. On her death bed her last wish to the emperor was :-
• To build a symbol or a monument to their love
• Also asked her husband not to marry anyone else
Shah Jahan was deeply in love with his third wife Arjumand Banu Begum,
whom he renamed later as Mumtaj Mahal(meaning the “Jewel of the Palace”)
She died giving birth to their 14th child on the battlefield.

7. The Taj Mahal was then constructed by her husband as her final resting place.

9. The Moonlight
Garden to the north
of the Yamuna.
Terrace area: Tomb,
Mosque and Jawab.
Charbagh (gardens).
Gateway, attendant
accommodations,
and other tombs.
Taj Ganji (bazaar)

10. 900ft.awayfromthedoorway
Entrance- from south

11. The very size of the massive mausoleum, all crafted of marble, would require a force to support
its heavy structure. This force was the Yamuna river, functioning like the keel of a boat that’s
why the builders of the Taj Mahal needed land with a river.
Shah Jahan acquired the land from Raja Jai Singh in exchange of four mansions :-
Haveli of raja bhagwandas Haveli of madho singh
Haveli of rupsi giragi, Haveli of chan singh,

12. They say the changing colour resembles the changing mood of females - in particular the Emperor's queen.
GOLDEN AT NIGHT
MILKY WHITE IN THE EVENING
PINKISH IN THE MORNING

13. Characteristic Features:-
• A uniform pattern of structure and character,
• Including large bulbous domes,
• Slender minarets at the corners,
• Massive halls,
• Large vaulted gateway and
• Delicate ornamentation.
• Garden, pavilions
• The mosque, the tomb, the palace and the fort
• Symbolic geometry
• Use of pure forms such as circles and squares
• Symmetrical layouts featuring rectangular courtyards
and halls.
MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE includes:- Indian, Persian, Islamic Architecture

14. Characteristics of Ebony Wood:-
• Needs constant flow of water to remain firm and durable.
• obtained from the trees of Diospyrosps which are found in West Africa, in
Mauritius, in India and Sri Lanka.
Present scenario:-
• The level of Yamuna goes down in these years causing threat to the base of Taj
Mahal because without constant flow of water.
• Ebony wood shrinks causing cracks in the main building. So. it is high time to
protect the Taj from this new type of threat.
Material used:-Ebony wood

15. Well foundation under Taj Mahal
• Well used by Mughal civil engineers.
• This required :-
 The excavation of wells
 Filling it up with sand above which the
plinth above the ground would be
erected.
• Use:-
 This make the building less prone to the
effects of scouring
 Evenly distribute the weight on the
foundation.

16. Carts pulled by dozens of oxen and elephants would carry the material up the tomb.

17. 22years(1632-1653)
Depictedby22 URS

18. 22 URS
11 in front
11 at the back
The Great gate (Darwaza-i rauza)—gateway to the Taj Mahal

19. Element
Meters Gaz
length / width
/ diameter
breadth /
depth / side
height
length / width
/ diameter
breadth /
depth / side
height
Overall
complex
896.1 300.84 1112.5 374
Overall
preserved
complex
561.2 300.84 696 374
Taj Ganji 334.9 300.84 416.5 374
Jilaukhana 165.1-165.23 123.51 204 153
Great gate 41.2 34 23.07 51 42 28.5
Charbagh 296.31 296.31 368 368
Riverfront
terrace
300 111.89 8.7 373 138
Mausoleum 56.9 56.9 67.97 70 70 84
Minaret 5.65 43.02 7 53.5
Mosque 56.6 23.38 20.3 70 29 25-29
All dimensions from Koch, p. 258-259 credited to Richard André Barraud
PlanDimensional Analysis

21. The four sides of the Taj Mahal are perfectly identical creating an astonishingly mirrored image on each side. It
uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and symmetry of architectural elements.

22. The four minarets of the Taj Mahal have been constructed slightly outside of the plinth so that in case the
minarets fell, they would fall away and not on the main structure.

23. 186 ft
Raised square podium
The purpose of the podium was to level the
originally sloping land so that it can carry the
grand structure on it.
Onwhichthewholebuildingrests
190 meters in length
71 meters wide and
9 meters high.
Uponwhichthe tombrests
61 meters in length
4 meters high

24. The corners of the platform are
truncated to form an unequal octagon

25. Subsidiary
domed
chambers
The central dome is 58 feet in
diameter where it is fullest and is
as high as 213 feet. The four
subsidiary domed chambers border
it

26. Double domes-
 Provides a proportionate ceiling
to the interior hall while the
outer dome could be raised to
an imposing height
 The hollow space between the
two domes reduced the weight
of the dome
 Served in creating the echo
effect.

27. 162.5 feet
Four tall and slender minarets rise gracefully from the four corners of the
white marble dias and eight windowed cupolas crown them. The purpose of
these minarets was to frame the central edifice.
Eight windowed
cupolas

28. 1 2
3 4
• In Islam, the number 4 is holy. The gardens were therefore laid out in a quadrate design.
• The canals cross in the center of the garden, dividing it into four sections that are again divided into sixteen
flowerbeds.
1 2
7 8
65
1211
109
3 4
1615
1413

29. Back view of Taj Mahal
The Twin structures- The Jawab and The Mosque
East of the
taj mahal –
The
Jawaab
west of the
taj mahal –
The
Mosque

30. It is made up of red sandstone.

31. The Mosque
• The structure to the west of the Taj
Mahal is a Mosque.
• It is a place for worship.
• As it is in the direction of Mecca.
• The structure to the east of Taj
Mahal is a 'Jawaab' (translated as
'answer').
• It is a complimentary structure to
the Mosque as it counterbalances
the imposing Mosque.
• It is never used for prayer
offerings, as it faces away from the
Mecca.
The Jawaab
(Mehmaan Khana)

37. Jawaab and Mosque

38. Gardens

39. Minarets

40. (Hexagon)Swastika (Pentagon)
A number of marks are engraved on red stone slabs, on the pathways, stairs,
plinths and pavements of the Taj Mahal.

41. KalashFlowers and petals calligraphy

42. Inlay workDome interior calligraphy

43. Inlay workDoors inside Artistic work on walls

44. Hexagons
Pentagons Zig-zag

45. • The buildings are constructed with walls of brick and rubble inner cores
• faced with either marble or sandstone locked together with iron dowels and
clamps.
• The bricks were fired locally and the sandstone was quarried 28 miles (45 km)
away near Fatehpur Sikri.
• The white marble was brought 250 miles (400 km) from quarries belonging to
Raja Jai Singh in Makrana, Rajasthan.
• Legend says- The scaffolding and centering for the arches was constructed
entirely in brick.
• Modern scholars say- the scaffolding was made of bamboo and materials were
elevated by means of timber ramps

46. Materials
Lapis
Lazuli –
Afghanista
n
Amber –
Burma/My
anmar
Turquoise
– Tibet
Jade –
China
Rubies –
India
Diamonds
– India
Craftsman
Delhi
Kannauj
Lahore
MultanBaghdad
Shiraz
Bukhara

47. • Legend says-
• Shah Jahan had planned to build another Taj Mahal in BLACK MARBLE, which was
to be his own tomb on the opposite bank of the River Yamuna and connect the
two by a bridge.
• They further attach the Mehtab Burj opposite the Taj Mahal and its adjoining wall
as actually the foundations and remnants of the abandoned plan.
MehtabBurj

48. Taj mahal
bangladesh
Bibi ka
maqbara
Aurangabaad,
Maharashtra
Trump taj
mahal
in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin.
Tripoli shrine
temple
in Atlantic
City, NJ

49. According to ram nath, former head of history at Rajasthan University: “originally the pressure of the river
flowing by the Taj kept the building erect. But over the years, the Yamuna has dried up and the building has
no support. That is why the four minarets are leaning.