Navigation:
COLONIAL PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE
Page 8
OVERSEAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (1924)
The Chamber of Commerce of Karachi had been formed in 1860 as the primary institution to control the economic activity of the city. By 1920, it had a membership of 63 companies out of which 7 were locally owned. Mr. Jahangir Kothari was the first Indian who was allowed to represent the Chamber at an international event -- the Chicago Exhibition of 1863. (ref Lari, 1996)
When the Chamber of Commerce outgrew its earlier building more modest building, construction on a new building was started in 1924. As with the Masonic Lodge and the Bank of India buildings, the Classical order was adopted to give it a sober and official look. The front entrance portico uses Doric columns that impressively rise to the full two story height of the building and stand on a high podium. The building is built out of dressed Gizri sandstone.
THE SINDH HIGH COURT (Originally, The Judicial Commissioner's Court 1923-29)
The imposing building of the Judicial Commissioner's Court was the first building to be built in the 200 acre Artillery Maidaan Quarter of the city. The arsenal, Horse Keeper's Lines, gun sheds, and other such earlier existing works were removed from the site to clear it for the building, which was to be located on the axis of the new road named King's Way (presently Shahrah Kamaal Ataturk). Construction work was started on September 1923, but due to a shortage of funds it was finished six years later. The building was formally opened on November 22, 1929 by the then Governor of Bombay, Frederick Hugh Sykes. Even with the construction delays, the building cost Rs. 3,055,000 whereas Rs. 3,975,248 had been originally sanctioned for it. It was built entirely out of pink-hued Jodhpur sandstone and when completed, it was considered to be the most imposing building in the city.
The architectural design of the Judicial Commissioner's Court was drafted by the Office of the Consulting Architect of the Government of Bombay, and is known to be a joint effort by Woods Hill, A. J. A. Illingworth, and possibly also George Wittet (who died in 1926 while the building was still being built). Construction was carried out by the Karachi Building Division of the Public Works Department. The front facade of the building uses heavy Classical styling using tall ionic columns, whereas the sides are much simpler in design using very little ornamentation. The front entrance portico is imposing and rests on a high podium reached by a large number of steps. It is capped by a triangular pediment resting atop tall ionic columns. A shallow dome caps the building to complete the effect.
(referenced from Lari, 1996)Contribution note: Better pictures of this building are required. Please help the website by contributing them.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT: Anglo-Moghul and Moghul Revival
Bombay acquired its first Anglo-Moghul styled building in 1901, and the style was slowly advocated and adopted later in a lot of buildings in Bombay and the rest of British India. Even though it was a considerable attempt at the assimilation of indigenous architecture with western architecture, a lot of the buildings retained layout and massing of renaissance buildings with an outwardly facade incorporating Mughal elements. Anglo-Mughal was slow to come to Karachi because construction activity slowed down during World War I, after which, most of the Anglo-Mughal buildings of Bombay were constructed. The British Government was hesitant to adopt this style for official buildings other than museums or monuments and since the presidency capital got most of its Anglo-Mughal buildings so late, Karachi, the other major city in the presidency, got it even later in the 1920's with the Karachi Municipal Office building being the first Anglo-Mughal edifice in the city. Lea Market is another building designed in the Anglo-Mughal style.
In contrast to the Anglo-Mughal style, Mughal Revival was another style that appeared in the late 1920's in Karachi. This architecture was primarily inspired from Mughal architecture using very little influence from European architectural forms. The massing and layout were also inspired from indigenous architecture as opposed to the renaissance massing that was used heavily in Anglo-Mughal. Ahmed Hussain Agha was one of the pioneering architects who designed several buildings in Karachi in this style including the Hindu Gymkhana, the Mohatta Palace, and the Karachi Chamber of Commerce building.
The Hindu Gymkhana was one of the first Mughal Revival buildings in Karachi. It was built through the contributions of the Hindu community of the city. In a period of communal disturbances in the rest of India, the building was a testament to the peace of Karachi where a Hindu building would be okay with the expression of Muslim architectural forms. It is a small sized building, economically designed with a hall and a couple of smaller rooms for administrative purposes.
The architect of the Hindu Gymkhana was Ahmed Hussain Agha, who is also renowned for designing the Mohatta Palace later on. The inspiration for the layout and for the decorative architectural features of this building was the Moghul period tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah in Agra. The building was completed in 1925 and was made out of dressed Gizri sandstone, with reinforced concrete being employed for the cupolas of chhattrees and Jodhpur stone being employed for some decorative elements. Architectural elements include corner octagonal towers capped by chhattrees, ornamental brackets supporting chhajjaas, a raised central jharoka, and small chhattrees with drooping Bangladar roofs highlighting the corners of the porch. Jaalees, mughal arches, and pilasters have also been used at the openings.
(referenced from Lari, 1996)Currently, renovations and restorations have been carried out on the building, and it is being used to house the National Academy of Performing Arts.
