ppebeiury pUreeeri sTypeeeiot) 101112015 st yeeeiots sUypeeeiosy 101112029 SU peeerers sTpeeerery ptoeeeiot) Uyeeeiors 101112045 KU M BAKONAM “Cambridge of South India” ABID A ENR Pree eO POL er E LG PSN veo INTC NEN 233) PRASHANT KUMAR Bee 4 BOO als BUCO CLA CYLINTRODUCTION Kumbakonam,also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India, gride ‘municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Its located 40 em (25 mi from Thanjavur and 273 km (170 mi) from Chennai and isthe headquarters of the Kumbakooam taluk of Thanjavur district. The town is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River to the north and Arasalar River to the south. According to the 201 census, Kumbakonam has a population of | 40,156 and has a strong Hindu majority: but it also has sizeable Musi and ‘Christian populations. Kumbakonam is known asa "temple town" due to the prevalence of a ‘number of temples here and is ned for its Mahamaham festival which ateracts people from all over the globe. ‘a town and a special Kumbakonam dates back to the Sangam period and was ruled by the Early Cholas,Pallavas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Pndyas, the Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Thanjavur Nayaks. and the “Thanjavur Marathas. It rose to be a prominent city between the 7th and 9th centuries AD, when it served asa capital ofthe Medieval Cholas.The town reached the zenith of is prosperity during the British Raj when it was a prominent centre of European education and Hindu culture;and it acquired the cultural name, the "Cambridge of South Ind. In 1866, Kumbakonam was officially constituted as a municipality which today comprises 45 wards, making Ie the second largest ‘municipality in Thanjavur distri. EVOLUTION OF CITY KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India” URBAN STUDY,INTRODUCTION THE ABSTARCT SCHEME AND THE IMPLIED OVERVIEW = J “The temple clty has been conceived withthe underlying canonical principles in its overall structure.The plan contemplates the Swastika mandala, a diagram that allows the flexibility to be marked out into a square, or rectangle or it may be of ary shape. “The diagram suggescs that the town to be surrounded by a rampart wall with a most at its foot filed with water-Two main streets cross each other at the center running North south and East West-The resultant quadrants would follow a street network in 2 Swastika pattern with the principle streets in each running in one cardinal direction The central location (of the main Siva or Vishnu temple, the presence ofa Jain temple in the SW quadrant, the palace in the west and the kalyani are also camparable to the temple city ‘The towering gopuram| urban fabric The Market place enh The swastika diagram ‘The main spines and the institutions ‘The abstract scheme KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India”DOCUMENTATION ARINGNAR ANNA - NAGESHWARAM STREET NODE BUS STOP PLAN The bus stop is located behind the Pilliyar temple at Nageshwaram streeet justin front of a congested trafic junction, ‘The bus stop now ceases to exist in a functioning state and is now in a run a down state used by the local vendors as a store house of sorts. 4 ‘The revival of the bus stop to be used as a transport node centre again will aid greatly in the decongestion of the rnageshwaram street and the Tanjore highway i inks to. SECTION 30-VIEW KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India” ELEVATIONINFRASTRUCTURE onarirang Tog Hol & AMENITIES LaMP POsTs N (© ELECTRIC POSTS Tamil Nadu HR&CE Office Saarat Temple someshwara Being the centre of the city. the amenities around like hosptals, post office recreational spaces are sufficient. Even the smallest of the streets provide basic clinical and schooling facility, including the one in which ex. chelf minister of Tamilnadu, DrMGRamachandran studied, Mathematician, Ramanujams residence is also located in this region, which is more commonly treated as an exhibition space KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India”ZONING & PUBLIC Town Holl PLACES @ 00 Gonctirary 8 ® commercian ® service Tamil Nadu nT ‘The connecting vein between the two famousponds acts as the major commercial corridor of the city.Sterting from small petty shops to hotels and lodges, a variety of commercial =] activites take place here, Being the centre of the city, more public sector buildings and service providers are located close to this vein. Not to forget.the remains of residential zones which are a bit sparse, and are located only close to the temples on the rear side. KUMBAKONAM aaa “Cambridge of South India” Vihwanathor TempleDOCUMENTED BUILDINGS 1 ARS TEXTILE STORE 2. GOPURAM MANJAL FANCY STORE ms 3 PILLAYAR TEMPLE 5 Vihwona 4 BUS STOP Temple 5. MATHEMATICIAN RAMANUJAM'S RESIDENCE & MANGALA VILAS OWNER'S RESIDENCE 7 HOTEL MANGALA VILAS. KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India”The residence is around 200 years old and now belongs to a local buissnessman with minimal changes throughout it’s lifespan. The building underwent a single major renovation during the 50-60 after which it went untouched. Thick mud wall.centre courtyard and sloped terracota roofs are tradmark features of the building.The residence follows the popular linear plan present through- ‘out parts of Kumbakonam. DOCUMENTATION MANGALAVILAS RESIDENCE PLANS fot x | | Ts] The residents are aware of the building's high vernacular value and are keen to preserve it They are reluctant to —! sell i.The building doesn’e jutt out of context in the street and is one of those which must be preserved to retain the ELEVATION beauty of the town. I pest oral 7 1 | | = = | — | ellis SECTION + GROUND FIRST FLOOR FLOOR KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India” URBAN STUDY.NERO DUCTION —] Pillar Temple - Tanjore Highway- Nageshwaram Road junction Located at the intersection between the Tanjore Highway and the Nagewshwaram street, the temple Is a key example of a traditional building fitting awiewardly into an urban context ‘The richly detalled highly packed bullding's entrance is frequented by enumerous people ‘passing by or on their way to the nearby Vishnu temple causing congestion at the already stretched traffic junction, ‘The detail rich temple must be decongested {and preserved while the traffic junction must ‘also ease Is flow and give way to more greenery, «|| The solution can be obtained by converting || the centre circ of the traffic junction into a {green belt and rerouting the traffic around this centre circle, a a KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India” URBAN STUDY.DOCUMENTATION PLANS MANGALAVILAS RESTAURANT ‘An old school restaurant present on the Main road, the restaurant has maintained its traditonal way of cooking and vernacular interiors of the bygone era, Buissness boomed during the late decades of the ae 1900s due to the boom of jweller vendors on Tanjore highway. Now the buissness is barely “5/7 passable due to the growth decline in this part of the town and congestion, SF aneasenn ‘The dining hall underwent an interior renovation In the seventies while all the other rooms retained their traditional and vernacular elements. — ‘The exterior look of the building is narrow and shanty and the building is a key example of the awkward development of contemporary buildings ‘around this part of the town affecting eCUON traditional buildings. = The buildingis an eye | sore in this | contemporary setting. | b KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India” URBAN STUDY. SECTIONPLANS ELEVATION eine Conclusion FLOOR The building doesnt fit in either into the comtemporary context or a vernacular one. Either preservation or demolition must be proceeded with caution, KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India” DOCUMENTATION SECTION A.R.S Textiles ‘Acsimple outlet at the outset of the Main road, itis located straight opposite the Main Vishnu temple. ‘Anarrow simple outlet with storage/aisplay shelves around the walt, it is decorated with plastering and extravagent yet cheap looking false ceiling plaster work from four decades back. The outlet is seen as a large entrance and a side staircase, from the front. A storage room is present behing the forefront outlet with an opening present at the leftback fend of the building, The side stairway also leads to an Upstair storage, The space is a 27'* 90' space with the enclosed space divided into two cubiodal spaces. Buissness is passable. The textile store is established in an. od building builtin the early 1900s .The store shares the the building with another store front with the mix of ate century interior and early century exterior an embodiment of awkwardness URBAN STUDY,DOCUMENTATION MATHEMATICIAN RAMANUJAM'S RESIDENCE Floor Plan Section KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India” URBAN STUDY.DOCUMENTATION MATHEMATICIAN RAMANUJAM’S RESIDENCE | Exploded view View Showing Entrance KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India” URBAN STUDY.DOCUMENTATION MATHEMATICIAN RAMANUJAM’S RESIDENCE The residence of the fered Indian mathematician Ramanuian.its : typical and strong example of atractional Kumbakonam residence. It's along narrow residence with a central passageway aligned to the right hand sige and the rooms to the left. The building has been left, Unhindered from the times of Ramarujan (i) the fst decade of the twentieth century @ therefore is ‘an ideal residence for a case study. ‘The roofing isa complex slope structure with adjacent roofing stretches meeting at dynamic angles. Th roofing consists of of an underlayer of rafters with teracota tiles lad above, The house consits of impressive column capita, thick mud wal, narrow doorways with stepping stores, COtnervernalucar features include timber and jal works in the doors and windoes, earthen flooring and the traditional stoves and tollet closets. The house typically consists of a Thinnal (entrance seating) Rezhi(Hal), Mitnthar(Courtyare), SamayalKattulKitchen) PattasalailLong Room), Adulolal(Dining) and Kotti(Backyard). ‘The house is present on a key traitional street overlooking the Vishnu Temple (Agraharam), The house and those KUMBAKONAM “Cambridge of South India” URBAN STUDY.