Architecture of Taj Mahal Building - Essay Example

ARCHITECTURE OF TAJ MAHAL BUILDING Insert s) Table of Contents Architecture of Taj MahalBuilding Introduction Taj Mahal building is an immense mausoleum built of while marble in Agra, India. Constructed between 1631 and 1648, Taj Mahal (which means Crown Place) remains one of the most universally admired masterpieces of world heritage, and is considered to be a premier example of Mughal architecture due to its unique combination of elements of Indian, Persian and Islamic architectural styles1. The construction of the architectural monument was commissioned in 1631 by Shah Jahan, a Muslim emperor of India in 1631 in memory of and as a burial place for Queen Mumtaz Mahal, his dear wife who died of childbirth earlier in the same year. The construction continued on for a period of 24 years, employing up to 24,000 workers led by the buildings master architect known as Ustad ‘Isa. It was eventually completed in 1648 at a cost of nearly 32 Million Rupees. Standing on a raised, square platform, the mausoleum consists of a two storied cubical shaped building set within a large rectangular grid and surrounded with beveled edges. The octagonal tomb is located beneath the main onion shaped dome at the center, surrounded by four small halls. The four corners of the building are skillfully truncated, forming a shape of unequal octagon. In addition, based on the architectural concept of interlocking arabesque, each corner of the building stands on its own and has a minaret that is topped by finials. Culturally, the iconic building is largely based on Islamic culture with a blend of design traditions from Persia and India. For example, the white marble is symbolically attributed to the Islamic color of mourning. The design of the interior of Taj Mahal characterized by open spaces is also common in many Islamic mosques and Muslim homes and is functional in nature as it promotes social interaction and communal worship. In addition, the large open spaces in the building may have also been used to symbolically eliminate the barrier between the individuals and God. The interior of the mausoleum is primarily decorated with flowery calligraphy from Quran, colored stones and previous jewels that beautifully stand out against the while marble background. Generally, the land mark mausoleum is set on an expansive beautiful land located close to the bend of Yamaha River. On the other hand, the incorporation of the celestial dome in the design of the mausoleum is an element of Hindu architecture that may have been adopted by the mughal Muslim culture. Taj Mahal also contain a number of Islamic elements some of which include passages of Quaran, arabesque calligraphy and beautiful recessed portals known as Iwans that resemble peaked arches originating from a point in the center, with the large Iwan being in the middle. Taj Mahal is one of the benchmarking architectural designs in the world. This building therefore is the epistemological representation of competency in architectural designing. Finally, due its unique symmetry, Taj Mahal has been widely considered to be India’s most finest and famous piece of architecture. This is particularly due to the use of the architectural principle of self replicating geometry design. In Islamic culture, the use of strict and abstract geometric patterns such as in Taj Mahal is widely believed to have originated from the Islamic view of the would that forbids the use of animal and people images in decorations as a way of discouraging paganism2. Instead Islamic emphasizes on the preference of abstract geometric patterns in the architectural designs. Taj Mahal, designated as a UNESCO world heritage site in the year 1983, attracts about 3 million domestic and international tourists a year in India. This is basically due to this building’s magnificent roof structure, floor structure, wall structure and the foundation systems. This paper critically discusses Taj Mahal as an example of Mughal architecture with particular focus to the cultural context historic, climatic, geographic and cultural context of its architectural construction system elements. Design plan features of Taj Mahal Source: http://www.noellemunozjewelry.com/display/ShowJournal?moduleId=7805302®isteredAuthorId=1096917¤tPage=35 Foundation Systems Significant attention was given to the construction of Taj Mahal foundation since the gigantic building was constructed on the banks of river Yamuna3. As was the practice of Mughal architectural structures, masonry cylindrical foundations were sunk into the soil at particular intervals. Although both the terrace and he minarets of the mausoleum building were established on a firm compact masonry bed, the foundation is largely surrounded by wood (teak and ebony). Generally, Taj Mahal foundation structure sparingly was initially in wooden and concrete materials but due to emerging criticisms, metallic foundation was later adopted. On the other hand, the garden foundation of this building extends to over 22.44 hectares (55.5 acres) and in foundation; the building includes waterworks infrastructure of sang-i-marmar; white marbles, moonlight garden, Taj ganji and the subsidiary tombs. The foundational structure borrowed a lot of knowledge from both an earthly replication of the house of Mumtaz in paradise and propaganda instrument for the emperor (DuTemple, 2003 pg. 121). The foundation was steadily larger in surface area to give room for any expansion activities within the Mausoleum and give a spacious view of the whole structure. Fig. 2: Foundation Plan of Taj Mahal Complex including Borehole Locations Source: https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/34002/P%200291-%20Taj%20Mahal-%20An%20Appraisal%20of%20Foundation%20Performance.pdf?sequence=1 Wall Systems Both the inner and outer wall structures are amongst the finest Mughal architectural designs. The wall surface areas of Taj Mahal changes in decorations and refinements proportionally. The wall structure in some parts is an all-inclusive concrete material while other parts are both wooden and metallic. The decorative elements of the wall structures were uniquely created by applying stucco, paint, stone inlays as well as carvings. The wall structure in simple terms can be grouped into either calligraphic abstracts or vegetative motifs. The interior wall structures explicitly describe dome interior inclusive of jasper black marbles a composition of florid thuluth script (Koch, 2006 pg. 145). The thuluth wall structure overly reduces skewing effect in cases of viewing the structure from below. Finally, the interior wall of the mausoleum is largely decorated with flowery calligraphy from Quran, colored stones and previous jewels that beautifully stand out against the while marble background. On the other hand, the plain white marble decoration of the exterior is symbolic of the sorrowful death of Queen Mumtaz Mahal, the dear wife emperor Shah Jahan since white colour is the Muslim colour of mourning. It is also widely believed that the abstract geometric patterns used in the design of Taj Mahal wall designs may have been particularly used to compensate for the absence of animal and people images in decorations as the Islamic culture associates such images with paganism4. Based on these wall designs, Taj Mahal outstandingly remains one of the most celebrated Indian museums and a symbol of this country’s rich architectural history. This structure, commonly referred to as Mughal architecture, is a representation of Ottoman, Persian, Indian an Islamic elements of structural and architectural analysis. According to experts, the mausoleum is a contingent and complex structural form of white domed marble. It is basically a building of an integrated architectural design of more than one structure. The construction of this mausoleum can be traced back in the antiquity in the periods between 1632 and 1653. This building’s construction and artwork design employed about 20,000 craftsmen and artisans. In the extrusion of this building, the chief architect awarded the contact was Ustad Ahmed Lahauri, an Indian of Persian origin. The height of Taj Mahal building is heightened because the whole structure sits on a cylindrical position of approximately 7 metres high. Because of this cylindrical drum shape of Taj Mahal gives it the reference of an onion dome (amrud guava dome)5. The top inner walls of this building is decorated with a lotus design; this design serves as an accentuate height. The gilded finial of Taj Mahal blends traditionally both the Islamic and Hindu decorative elements of architectural designs. Finally, the finial initially made of bronze and gold gave this building a typical fascination aspect to its visitors. This finial has recently changed in materials though it still represent Hindu and Islamic motif. Fig 3: Wall Systems of Taj Mahal building Source: http://rikesh.deviantart.com/art/Taj-Mahal-The-Lonely-Wall-185461865 Roof Structure The shimmering white marbles as roofing material of the Taj Mahal building reflects light and keeps off the heat from the sun. The white colour roofing design represents the Muslim colour of mourning. The roofing structure of Taj Mahal is of two side-to-side cubical structures with slanting edges set within a trapezoid and rectangular grid. The roof overshadows the main onion dome. The dome, which is the overall protective roof, is known as the great dome. This dome creates a bulb-related effect blending perfectly well in a spiral crescent on top of this building. Built on plinth, the roofing structure of Taj Mahal is extraordinarily one of the largest marble platform roofing elements of almost seven metres high. The roof structures of Taj Mahal consist of additionally inlaid semi-precious stones in floral forms which stand against the white marbles (Mann & Alan, 2008 pg. 111). Generally, the roofing system has uniquely made Taj Mahal one of the world’s beautiful architecture in addition to its beauty and love enduring symbolism of the Indian socio-cultural and community. The marble dome that vanquishes this building is its most spectacular feature which differentiates it from the other architectural designs. The marble dome of this building is of the same size as the basement height at about 35metres; an almost impossible feature to achieve in most architectural design and construction of buildings6. The gilded finial of Taj Mahal blends traditionally both the Islamic and Hindu decorative elements of architectural designs. Finally, the finial initially made of bronze and gold gave this building a typical fascination aspect to its visitors. This finial has recently changed in materials though it still represent Hindu and Islamic motif. Floor Structure Systems The floor structure system of Taj Mahal building primarily consist of a large multi-chambered space with chamfered corners that are designed in the form of unequal octagon. Like most Mughal tombs, the basic elements of this floor are Persian in origin; a symmetrical method of floor design with an iwan, an arch-shaped doorway with a shiny floor and a topped large dome. The symmetry is particularly intended to enhance the aesthetics of the competitions and floors. In addition, the floor of this building stands on a square plinth. The floor structure is a large, multi-chambered structure. Generally, the focal view of Taj Mahal floor structure system is of a white marble material. On the other hand, the main houses such as cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz floors are below levels of the actual graves. The floor is also cubicle with chamfered edges approximately 55 metres on each side. On the enlarged floor sides, a massive pishtaque and vaulted archways frames with iwan; a floor combination with arch-shaped balcony at the top. The main floor arches extends above the roof horizontally by the use of an integrated façade (DuTemple, 2003 pg. 167). Fig 5: Floor plan of Taj Mahal Source: https://sites.google.com/site/ayushgoyaltajmahal/description-of-taj-ma Wall Environmental Barrier Systems There are a number of systems and materials that have been used in the construction of the walls of Taj Mahal building to provide a climate tempered controlled interior environment. For example, the walls of the building were particularly constructed using bricks, precious stones and rubble inner cores. The materials were then faced with sandstone or marble and then locked together with clamps and iron dowels. This was an important functional feature as it ensured the durability of the wall systems as well as provided adequate protection of the interior of the building from adverse weather conditions. In addition, the environmental barrier system of the walls of the mausoleum was further enhanced by the inclusion of precious stones that were skillfully laid into the white marble. On the other hand, although the foundation of the walls of the building was largely surrounded by wood (teak and ebony), the lifespan of the wooden materials was enhanced by passing water below the structure since the life span of teak or ebony is normally indefinite in water. However, there has been growing concerns with that the strength of the building is currently being threatened by the ever dropping water table. Additionally, the environmental pollution of the Agra region of India has resulted in the discoloration of the out marble layer of the walls of the building7. Fig 6: Discoloration of the white marbles Source: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es504005q Recommendations In order to make the mausoleum more earth friendly or efficient as well as to enhance its strength against external environmental adversities, one of the potential recommendations would be to developed strict government regulations to reduce their pollution and protect the shimmering white marble walls from potential discoloration such as from acidic rain. Additionally, the structural foundations of the walls of the mausoleum should be reinforced using concrete to enhance its stability. Lastly, the upstream uptake of the water from river Yamuna was be reduced to prevent the reducing water table. Conclusion In conclusion, Taj Mahal remains one of the best examples of Mughal architecture which uniquely blends the elements of Indian, Persian and Islamic architectural styles. Culturally, the iconic building is largely based on Islamic culture with a blend of design traditions from Persia and India. In general, the construction of the entire mausoleum building including the construction materials and methods, its foundation system, wall system, floor structure system and roofing system all respond to the Islamic culture as well as the climate of the people who used the building. Bibliography Bergin, M. H., Tripathi, S. N., Jai Devi, T. Gupta, M. Mckenzie, K. S. Rana, M. M. “The Discoloration of the Taj Mahal due to Particulate Carbon and Dust Deposition.” Environmental Science & Technology, 2014. DuTemple, Lesley A. The Taj Mahal. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company Limited, 2003. Koch, Ebba. The complete Taj Mahal and the riverfront gardens of Agra. New Delhi: Bookwise publishers, 2006. Mann, Elizabeth, and Alan Witschonke. Taj Mahal. New York: Mikaya Press, 2008. Richard Ettinghausen, Oleg Grabar, and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, Islamic Art and Architecture, 650-1250. New Haven: Yale UP, 2001. Read More