Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Stories about life in agraharam belong to late 19th century and early
20th century. But behind the stories lies simple parallel to todays
lifestyle.
Chennai has managed to retain the charm of centuries old lifestyle.
Modern amemities have found their way into typical agraharam house
in triplicane, chennai.
In modern parlance, an agraharm would be the equivalent of a gated
community.
Traditionally, an agraharam was a cluster or row of houses that
abutted the temple wall, &served as colony for the temple priests and
their family.
Life has revolved around the community , which comfortably practised
its unique rituals.
A typical agraharam house compries a stone bench in the verandah
and an open courtyard in the middle of the of the houses.
It is well-ventilated with wooden beams or terracotta tiles for the
The over hang provides shelter from rain and use glare in the building
The inner serves as a study or a guest room and provides access to
the upper floor.
SYMBOLISM
:
Thulasi maadam.
Open courtyard
Thinnai
Verandha
Sloped roofing
MATERIALS USED FOR CONSTRUCTION:
Use of locally available material like;
1.BRICK
2.LIME/CHUNAM
3.WOOD
VENTILATION:
Doors where aligned in a straight line from the
main entrance till the back of the house so as
to provide for natural cross ventilation.
They made full use of the forces of nature
for cooling, ventilation and lighting purpose.
architecture. Each house opened out into the street and each had a
vasal-thinnai, which led to the ul-thinnai, rezhi, thazhvaram, adukkalai
and kottil. Many of the agraharams had small inner courtyards, which
provided adequate daylight to the rooms.
Houses are constructed in row type with common wall construction
The occupants own the eastern wall of the house whereas the western
length
leaving a small opening for the light in the upper side of the wall( double
storey height).
Via thinnai from one street and exit is through the backyard to the
another street