Architecture in Chennai

Chennai is the third largest commercial and industrial centre in India. It is known for its cultural heritage and temple architecture. Architecture in Chennai is a confluence of many architectural styles. You can visit the ancient Dravidian temples built by the Pallavas or the Indo-Saracenic style (pioneered in Madras) of the colonial era. The 20th century steel and chrome of skyscrapers are magnificent architectural splendors in Chennai.

Some Architectural Splendors in Chennai

Architecture in Chennai has a colonial core in the port area punctuated with old temples, churches and mosques. The colonial legacy of Chennai is apparent in the vicinity of the Chennai port. The interesting sites in Chennai are:

-   Fort St George- The stretch between the Fort and the port is occupied mostly by the High Court buildings and several clubs, some of which have existed from the British era.

-   Chepauk cricket stadium- A little south of the Fort, across the Cooum River is the Chepauk cricket stadium, another British staple, dating from 1916. North and west of the port is Georgetown, where dockyard workers and other manual laborers used to live.

-   Tiruvallikeni (Triplicane) and Mylapore- the houses date back to the early 20th century. Many of them were built in the traditional Tamil style. The four wings surround a square courtyard and tiled sloping roofs. In sharp contrast, the apartment buildings along the larger roads in the same areas were built in 1990 or later.

-   The Presidency College- it was built in 1840. The Royapuram Station dates from 1856, the Chennai Central Station dates from 1873, the High Court was completed in 1892, the Ripon Building (which houses Chennai Corporation and the mayoral offices) dates from 1913, and the Southern Railway Headquarters was built in 1922.

-   The Madras High Court- it is the largest judicial building in the world after the Courts of London. Besides, the Government Museum, the Senate House of the Madras University and the College of Engineering, Guindy are some of the examples of Indo-Saracenic style of architecture.

-   Raj Bhavan- Adjoining the Governor’s residence (Raj Bhavan) at Guindy, there are five mandapams or memorials dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, the first Indian Governor General – C Rajagopalachari, former Chief Ministers of the state – Kamaraj and Bhaktavatsalam and one to Martyrs in general.

-   The Valluvar Kottam- it is an auditorium in memory of the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar. All 1330 verses of the poet’s epic – the Thirukkural, are inscribed on the granite pillars that surround the auditorium.

Other buildings of architectural significance are the Ripon Building housing the Chennai Corporation, The War Memorial, Vivekanandar Illam, The Egmore Railway Station and the Ramakrishna Mut