Chettinad

CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
RELIGION AND BELIEF CULTURE PROPORTIONS SETTLEMENT PLANNING PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING HOUSING TYPOLOGY MATERIALS & CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
oMALAYSIA, Myanmar, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Vietnam have one factor in common the South Indian Chettiar. oThis enterprising community of businessmen saw its bold men crossing the rough seas a century ago, migrating to unknown and undeveloped lands oHe was probably spurred on in his endeavours by the fact that Chettinad, a dry and barren region deep in Tamil Nadu, South India, offered no career opportunities for him. oThe Chettiars went to the East, some as plantation workers, while others as bankers oGradually, this community became wealthy oHaving left families behind in their native land, it was customary for the Chettiars to make periodic visits home to preserve family ties, and to build palatial homes.
INTRODUCTION
The Chettinad houses were originally single-storeyed buildings made of sundried brick of mud and bamboo and thatch.
They evolved to become tile-roofed with a small two-storeyed tower at both ends of the front elevation, They later expanded vertically into two-storeyed structures, and horizontally through the addition of numerous halls and courtyards that could accommodate guests at marriages and other ceremonies
It was not unusual for three generations to live together in one house. The Chettinad houses accommodate up to four generations before separate houses are built by individual sons
PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING
oThe houses are built on a rectangular, traversal plot that stretches across two streets, with the front door opening into the first street and the back into the second.
oLooking in from the main threshold, your eye travels in a straight line across a series of inner courtyards, each a diminishing rectangle of light, leading out to the back door . othe courtyards supply ample light and air (pickles and papads were dried there) but leave the rest of the house in deep and cool shadow. The courtyards have tiles placed exactly under the storm-water drainpipes so that the stone floor is not damaged. o Underground drains run right through the house, with stone stoppers carved exactly for their mouths. o Large stone vats for water and wooden bins for firewood line the inner courtyards.
First comes an outer thinai - Large raised platforms on either side of the central corridor, where the host would entertain male guests.
The platforms lead off on one side into store rooms and massive granaries and on the other, into the ( Kanakupillai ) or Accountant's room.This area also usually leads off to the men's well.
From here, the huge elaborately carved teak front door, with image of Lakshmi carved over the head and navaratna or nine precious gems buried under the ( Vasapadi) threshold. The door leads into the first open air courtyard, with pillared corridors running on each side thatlead into individual rooms, each meant for a married son, each with a triangular slot cut into the wall for the evening lamp. Then comes the second counrtyard with large dining spaces on either side.
The third courtyard was for the women folk to rest and gossip, while the fourth, or nalankattai comprised the kitchens, leading out to the backyard with its women's well and grinding stones.
The wealthier the merchants the larger the house, often spreading out to a second floor.
Let alone air conditioning, inside an authentic Chettinad house you will never feel the need to use fans too amidst open courtyards, amazing wall finishes and earthy tiles
thinai
Kanakupillai
Line of sight With vast spaces, high ceilings and courtyards, the Chettinad houses were all mansions, mostly.
These houses were built on rectangular plots.
Curiously, the houses were so vast that most of them stretched between two streets, the front door opening into one street and the back into the next street.
Linearly designed, that if you were to enter a Chettinad house, the architectural design compels your gaze along a straight line from the door, through a series of inner courtyards, ending at the back door. Thus, the breeze, whenever there was any, never got broken.
Cool space The Chettinad houses were conceived as fortresses, guarding both valuables and the even more valuable, cool air.
So, from outside, you perceive no idea of the house's design. Thus instead of lawns in front of the house, the Chettiars had courtyards inside. But they retained the thinnai (platform outside the house that projects towards the street from the house's front wall), typical of ethnic Tamil architecture. The thinnai ended in granaries on one side and a room, generally the accountant's room, on the other side.
The heavy and elaborately carved front doors, with images of deities, Goddess Lakshmi especially (from the shiploads of Burmese teak, of course) sometimes had precious gems inlayed on it.
The courtyards
Most Chettinad mansions have at least a couple of courtyards. The living space leads one immediately into the courtyard. The first open-air courtyard, with corridors flanked by huge pillars on its sides, generally was bordered by rooms along its sides. You also notice triangular slots cut into the walls of these houses, an inbuilt shelf for lamps. The second courtyard opens out immediately and is flanked by spaces used for dining generally. The third courtyard served as a restroom for the womenfolk, while the fourth one housed the kitchens.
Each of the small rooms off the main courtyard is the property of one married son in the patriarchal lineage of the ancestral builder of the home. It is the only part of the house, besides a section of the kitchen, to which a separate ownership can be attributed. Even today, men and women are segregated in a Chettinad house: the men occupy the outer verandah and front room; and the women occupy the kitchen courtyard and work around the main courtyard.
No house comes with less than two vast kitchens, not to mention several giant grinding stones and rows of fireplaces in the last courtyard all meant to entertain gigantic gatherings
'mansions for the gods'. A very fitting description considering that the houses are huge and wonderfully embellished with elaborate solid teak or granite walls
elements of this style,like the high ceilings, pillar framework and so On great effect, by way of both aesthetics and functionality.
PROPORTION
BELIEFS
A series of developments can be noted in the houses owing to the cultural changes and modernisation.
The thinnai was provided on either side of the house in the main entrance which is mainly used by the male members of the house for the informal meetings
In the later house when the intimate contact with the neighbours was reduced owing to the cultural change the front thinnai was enclosed to privacy This reduced the segregation between the male and the female of the house
Proportion
Well Well proportioned proportioned plan
Culture is an all embracing word which includes all significant aspects of human life beginning from philosophy, social organization , religion and economy, social institutions and meanings etc. The land of Tamils,in the southern part of INDIA is CHETTINAD the land of NATTUKOTTAI, founded by Chettiars,called by their preferred community name NAGARATHAR .
Chettiars,were one of the earliest business communities in India. They settled almost mid-centre between the capitals of the Pandya Kingdom in Madurai and the Chola Empire in Thanjavur in the 13th century.
CULTUR
Wood carving, silver embellishment, woven saris, palm-leaf baskets, gold jewellery, hand-made tiles, architectural styling, refined cuisine and egg plastering are among their contributions of Indian arts and crafts. These masterful innovations justified the self-proclaimed sobriquet the Chettiars gave themselves Nagarathars or the sophisticated townsfolk. Even today, Chettinad is a heritage zone dotted with the palatial homes that are called Nattukottais.
Towns like Karaikudi, Pallathur, Athangudi, and Kothamangalam, have the most lavish houses in Chettinad. The people of Chettinad then moved on from their settlement to other villages not far from their first settlement and, there were nine main clusters of villages. To each of them the Pandya King granted a temple in perpetuity.
CULTUR
Chettinad Houses:
The Chettinad houses are built on a rectangular traversal plot that stretches across two streets, with the front door opening into the first street and the back into the second. Looking in from the main threshold, your eye travels in a straight line across a series of inner courtyards, each a diminishing rectangle of light, leading out to the back door. second courtyard "conjugal" room
Veranda. First courtyard columns. open garde n space
Tinnai Puja room and storage corridor of dowry items.
kitchen. Veranda.
PLANNING
First comes an outer thinai - Large raised platforms on either side of the central corridor, where the host would entertain male guests. The platforms lead off on one side into store rooms and massive granaries and on the other, into the ( Kanakupillai ) or Accountant's room. The door leads into the first open air courtyard, with pillared corridors running on each side that lead into individual rooms, each meant for a married son. Then comes the second counrtyard with large dining spaces with the kitchens, leading out to the backyard with its women's well and grinding stones. The wealthier the merchants the larger the house, often spreading out to a second floor.
The courtyards supply ample light leaving the rest of the house in deep and cool shadow. The courtyards have tiles placed exactly under the strom-water drain run right through the house, with stone stoppers carved exactly for their mouths. Large stone vats for water and wooden bins for firewood line the inner courtyards.
HOUSING
Reception area in a Chettiar House
The ( kanakupillai) Accountant's room in the house of Raja Muthiah Chettiar
HOUSING TYPOLOGY
AMM House in Pallathur
The Meyyappans have converted the family clubhouse into The bangala, the S.A.R. Muthiah family has opened up some rooms in its family mansion to tourists. Muthiah Chettiar, the Raja of Chettinad, has opened his house in Kanadukathan for public viewing, while his brother's house next door has a floor converted to a museum that displays everything associated with chettiars.
HOUSING TYPOLOGY
Chettinadu Mansion has 7 Air-conditioned double rooms, each with an attached bathroom, a dressing room and a private balcony with an open air shower.
These rooms are comfortably furnished with hand picked original Chettinad pieces. Chettinad Palace which is located just behind Chettinadu Mansion.
Chettinad shandies, is where one gets idea about local marketing skills of the village folk and view the colourful arrangement of vegetables, fruits, snacks, chettinad baskets, and other rural produce, and may be pick up some items at throwaway prices.
HOUSING TYPOLOGY
VIEWS OF CHETTINAD
HOUSING TYPOLOGY
Chettinad Palace in Kanadikathan

The 110-year-old Chettinad Palace in Kanadikathan village is the oldest surviving building of this style, built by Dr Annamali Chettiyar, founder of the Indian Bank and the Annamalai University in Chidambaram
PALACES
Next to the palace is the Raja's brother's house, a treasure house of all things Chettinad furniture, ornaments, saris, vessels and the like. Located nearby is the `Chettinad' railway station with a rest-house close by, which belongs to the Raja's family.
ENTRANCE OF PALACE
OUTSIDE VIEW
ENTRANCE
INNER ENTRANCE COURT
PRIVATE ENTRANCE
DINING HALL
PALACES
GALLERY AROUND PATIO
ENTRANCE
PALACES
GALLERY AROUND PATIO
ENTRANCE
PALACES
Building materials used are

The walls are of baked bricks
Plastered over by a secret recipe of roots,
Yolk and lime that leaves them silken smooth and washable;
The tiles are Spanish;
The floors of Italian marble or locally - crafted Athangudi tiles;

The pillars of Burmese teak, many houses have small turrets, Elaborate guard houses on the terrace.
Inside an authentic Chettinad house you will never feel the need to use fans too amidst open courtyards, amazing wall finishes and earthy tiles Plastered over by a secret recipe of roots, Yolk and lime that leaves them silken smooth and washable The floors of Italian marble or locally - crafted Athangudi tiles; The pillars of Burmese teak, many houses have small turrets,
Karaikudi - Chettinad House

Matchbox-like structures, tall endless mud and lime copies of mass produced enclosures. Chettinad houses are built on a rectangular traversal plot that stretches across two streets, with the front door opening onto the first street and the back onto the second. Looking in from the main threshold, your eye travels in a straight line across a series of inner courtyards, each a diminishing rectangle of light, leading out to the back door.
First comes an outer thinai - Large raised platforms on either side of the central corridor, where the host would entertain male guests
A typical chettinad construction
The platforms lead off on one side into store rooms and massive granaries and on the other, into the ( Kanakupillai ) or Accountant's room. This area also usually leads off to the men's well. The airy courtyards seem somehow to absorb and mute everything down inside. The outside are not always so lucky - colors, curves, domes and arches often clash painfully but the message of splendor is not lost.
Its practical richness.. The detail inside the houses are rich.
The courtyards supply ample light and air ( pickles and papads were dried there ) but leaving the rest of the house in deep and cool shadow. The courtyards have tiles placed exactly under the storm-water drain run right through the house, with stone stoppers carved exactly for their mouths. Large stone vats for water and wooden bins for firewood line the inner CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE courtyards
Construction techniques. Madras terrace roofing.

Handmade floor tiles from Athangudi, are inlaid on the madras terrace roof pattern with the joists imported from Burma as batterns are melamine Burma teak.
Madras plastering technique.

Lime egg plastering, another traditional technique used to paint walls white and keep the insides of houses cool, that lasts virtually the entire life of the building,
Madras terrace roofing.
Construction techniques.
The construction material, decorative items and furnishings were mostly imported from East Asian countries and Europe. The marble was brought from Italy, chandeliers and teak from Burma, crockery from Indonesia, crystals from Europe and wall-to-wall mirrors from Belgium. The woodwork and stonework was inspired that of the houses in France and other European destinations
typical chettinadcarved construction A The huge elaborately teak front door, with image of Lakshmi carved over the head and navaratna or nine precious gems buried under the ( Vasapadi) threshold.
Pillared corridors running on each side that lead into individual rooms, each meant for a married son, each with a triangular slot cut into the wall for the evening lamp. Large dining spaces on either side.
The third courtyard was for the women folk to rest and gossip, while the fourth, or nalankattai comprised the kitchens.
INSULATED FROM THE SUN: High ceilings, special wall plasters, Athangudi floor tiles and open courtyards were characteristic of Chettinad buildings that helped the Chettairs stay cool, literally! The floors often sported differently colored boundaries as an aesthetic add-on The flooring was generally of Italian marble or locally-crafted cool-to the skin Athangudi tiles with their earthy hues ranging from burgundy.
The evolution of a whole way of life, from culture and history to the use of materials and new technologies, to an understanding of the environmental factors Many of the windows, with orange segment shaped fanlights over some of them, or barred and grilled doors, with pierced screen ventilators on top, have been treated with dark green paint. The basketwork has been used as lamps, as decorative flourishes in a niche and as containers for holding food in it.
Construction
The central is surrounded by pillars of burma teak and there is a combination of scarlet tiles and sloping woodwork. The construction material, decor items and furnishings were mostly imported,work were inspired by French and other European architecture.
EXTERNAL FAADE TREATMENT
Private entrance of the house where still the authentic family of the Chettiars live .
Dining hall where at least 250 people can dine in the traditional style, that is, by squatting on the floor. Dining hall with the door to the central inner courtyard and some old paintings .
Entrance of the Palace
The basic style of architecture is that of traditional Chettinad, while the construction material, decor items and furnishings were mostly imported, from east Asian countries where the Raja had spread his sprawling business and also from Europe.
The entrance view showing the details of their faade treatment with the combination of vibrant colours as well as the openings.
This is the view of one of the chettinad house which was built 120 years ago.
One of chettinad house showing the richness which it had with higher plinth
The verandah is just next to the iron-gate and was converted into the waiting area for the visitors.
The meeting hall is decorated with several pairs of tusks; one of them is over 8 ft long and shipped from South Africa.
The walls are made 1.5 ft to 3 ft wide to keep the cool without the use of any electronic equipment like the air conditioners.
Chettinad, rich in cultural heritage, art and architecture, is well known for its houses, that are embellished with marble and Burma teak.
The houses have wide inner courtyards and spacious rooms. The basic design comprises of a "thinnai" which is an enclosed courtyard and this is surrounded by family rooms. The plaster involves the application of the finely ground mixture of powdered shell, lime, jaggery and spices, including gallnut to walls.
This technique keeps the interior of the house cool during the hot and humid Indian summers and lasts a lifetime.
The architectural structure of a typical Chettiar home is a study in how a human dwelling can be constructed in harmony with nature.
High ceilings, airy and well ventilated, the house has one courtyard near the entrance leads to the imposing main door, usually made of wood with extraordinarily intricate carvings of mythological figures.
The thinnai is a long narrow raised platform that serves as a meeting place and also as a kind of accomodation for travellers and visitors.
The inner courtyard has special significance. It is lined with classically beautiful pillars made out of granite or teakwood.
The courtyard serves as the venue for the many ceremonies that the community performs from births to weddings to death.
View showing the interiors with stout columns with lot of detailings. Huge large marbles single piece marble is used as flooring
View showing the upper corridor having arcades connecting the bedrooms with twin circular columns.
Opening leading to the upper terrace with stained glass at the top with bulk columns supporting the roof.
Series of columns supporting the sloping roof covered with pot tiles which is adopted mainly to drain the rainwater.
The ceiling has artistic patterns in vegetable dye over roofing plates made of copper soldered with a special variety of aluminum. The no cementing agent was used in the construction and the bricks are bound together with a paste of egg white, the extract of an unripe medicinal fruit found in the hills of Kadukkai and lime grind. The hall leads to the central courtyard, which was used for weddings and religious ceremonies. The pillars around the courtyard are made of Burma teak. There is a colorful combination of blood-red tiles and sloping woodwork. The ladies' hall has another courtyard and a rectangular dining hall. At least 250 people can sit and dine in the dining hall in the traditional style, i.e., by squatting on the floor.
INTERIORS
The third courtyard has several small rooms around it. They were meant to store crockery, food and other kitchen items. The servants' quarters are situated at the far end at a proper distance from the residential area of the family.
A couple of large stone hand-grinders are fixed on the veranda surrounding the courtyard.
Eleven firewood ovens are lined along the kitchen wall and there are also two teak wood cupboards. A puja room in a corner of the courtyard . The first floor comprises mainly of bedrooms and living rooms .
INTERIORS
Near the kitchen provision has been made in the roof to hold the traditional tools of the kitchen activities
INTERIORS
PLANNING CONCEPT The concept of chettinadu house is believed to have arrived from kaveripoompatinam.
The planning concept was essentially based on occupation of the people and their desires .
Since they were traders they need spaces for keeping their valuables called inside room and outside room which served the purpose. The dictated introverted planning was adopted to avoid multiple access. The scale of spaces like kalyana kottagai and bhojana hall was determined by the religious and family festivals.
INTERIORS
CULTURAL INFLUENCES A series of developments can be noted in the houses owing to the cultural changes and modernisation. The thinnai was provided on either side of the house in the main entrance which is mainly used by the male members of the house for the informal meetings
In the later house when the intimate contact with the neighbours was reduced owing to the cultural change the front thinnai was enclosed to privacy
This reduced the segregation between the male and the female of the house
INTERIORS
SPATIAL ORGANISATION SERVICE SPACEthe scale for these spaces is not fixed the day to day activities but by the festive usage. Their location in the linear arrangement follows the living area. MULTIPURPOSE CENTRAL OPEN SPACElocated amidst the room and often used as the semipublic and commercial space. FEASTING SPACE though this space is less commonly used it is considered as the important space and exists as the status symbol of the household
INTERIORS
SPATIAL ORGANISATION
RECEPTION- this is designed to express the stately image of the owner it has level variations and used both for receiving the guest and for relaxation. PATTAGASALAI- This is used for relaxation as well for the confidential dealings which is usually a raised platform. This space usually mixes with the central space. SECURED AND SECLUDED SPACEThis space is created to serve the need for storage . The scale and the intimacy of the space reveals the material stored. The composition is such that the outer room buffers the inner room.
INTERIORS

Chettinad

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CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE

These houses were built on rectangular plots.

Tinnai Puja room and storage corridor of dowry items.

Reception area in a Chettiar House

The ( kanakupillai) Accountant's room in the house of Raja Muthiah Chettiar

AMM House in Pallathur

Chettinad Palace in Kanadikathan

INNER ENTRANCE COURT

GALLERY AROUND PATIO

GALLERY AROUND PATIO

Building materials used are

The floors of Italian marble or locally - crafted Athangudi tiles;

Karaikudi - Chettinad House

A typical chettinad construction

Construction techniques. Madras terrace roofing.

Madras plastering technique.

Madras terrace roofing.

EXTERNAL FAADE TREATMENT

EXTERNAL FAADE TREATMENT

Entrance of the Palace

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