The traditional residence in Maharashtra was called a wada. Wadaa were large multi-story buildings arranged around open courtyards. There were two types: those housing many families like an apartment, and those for a single rich family. This document describes the Kharadkar wada built in 1875 for a wealthy moneylender. It had distinct public, private, and service areas. Features included underground water storage, thick privacy walls, and wooden construction techniques. The wada design balanced social and cultural needs over strict climate considerations.

1. S.UdayakumarS.Udayakumar
Deccan College Post Graduate & ResearchDeccan College Post Graduate & Research
InstituteInstitute
PunePune

2. 
 The traditional residence in Maharashtra was
called the wada.
 A wada was typically a large building of two or
more storey with groups of rooms arranged
around open courtyards.
 Two types of wadas:
 One which houses many families, like an
apartment building of recent times or chawl of
Mumbai.(Mostly for the middle class families)
WHAT IS A WADA?

3. 
 One in which only one family resided. (Mostly owned by the
richer class like relatives of the peshwas and traders)
This Wada was built in 1875 by Shri Karandikar who was a moneylender by
profession and was related to the Peshwas.

4. 
 Wadas - which were the traditional residential form of
Maratha architecture, evolved under the reign of Peshwas.
 Its style was an amalgamation where features from
Mughal, Rajasthan, and Gujarat architecture were
combined with local construction techniques.
EMERGENCE OF WADA
ARCHITECTURE

5. 
 Settlements developed around the Peshwa’s residence.
 Land around the Peshwas residence was divided into
wards called peths.
 These were self-sufficient units and they were named after
the days of weeks or the person who had established the
peths.
SETTLEMENT OF PUNE UNDER
THE PESHWAS

6. 
 The streets and roads in the settlement were narrow.
 Roads were never straight as the growth of the settlement
was organic.
 The plots for construction of wadas were rectangular and
lay right next to the streets.
NEIGHBOURHOOD OF A WADA

7. 
 A wada never had a garden or vistas leading to it.
 The urban form of the settlement appeared like a maze of two
or three storied structures having internal open spaces, placed
along the road network with very little open community space.

8. 
 Pune having a moderate type of climate has the following
characteristics:
 The solar radiation is more or less the same throughput the
year.
 The relative humidity in dry periods varies from 20-55%
and in monsoons 55-90%.
 The total rainfall usually exceeds 1000mm per year. Winter
is a dry season.
CLIMATE

9. 
 Winds are generally in summer.
 Their speed and direction mainly depends upon the topography.
 The sky is mostly clear with an occasional presence of dense
low clouds during summer.
 The design of a wada was not influenced much by the climatic
factors rather it was influenced more by the social and cultural
factors.

10. 

12. 
 Distinct zoning can be seen.
 Separate entrances for guests, domestic help, people
visiting the durbar, separate entries for the people
performing in the durbar and a separate entry into the
cattle shed.
 There are 4 entrances to the house.
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE KHARADKAR WADA

13. 
 Privacy for the women given a priority.
 Three main courtyards or chowks.
 The wada has it’s entrance in the southern side.

14. 
 The most significant features of the wada was the way it’s
zoning of public, private and semi-private spaces was
done.
 This can be seen very distinctly in the plan.
ZONING

16. 
Visual showing the environment of the wada
Small window openings with wooden grills

17. 
One of the HAUDS in the wada

18. 
 One of the most interesting features of this wada was the
underground water supply which came from Katraj dam which
was 11kms from the site.
 One noteworthy point is that no pumping was required.
 The water that came was collected in open tanks called
‘HAUDS.’

19. 
 Kharadkar wada has three separate hauds for separate
activities.
 One for bathing, one for washing utensils and one for storing
drinking water.

20. •All the staircases were places in 4ft thick walls.

21. 
 This was done so that when the women moved around in the
house they wouldn't be seen from the outside.
 This way the privacy of the house was maintained.
 All the external walls of the wada were 4ft thick.
 This helped to keep the interior of the wall cool in summers.

22. 
Stone base supporting a wooden pillar

23. 
Niche in the wall

24. 
Ring in the courtyard to tie
horse
Wooden battens supporting the upper
floor

25. 
External wall section of a
wada

26. 
Carving on wooden door frame

27. Any QuestionAny Question