Lahore is a historical and the second largest city of Pakistan. It has a unique geographical location as it is located on the main trade and invasion routes to South Asia. Its history dates back to 1000BC, when its foundations were laid by the Hindu prince Loh, son of Rama Chandra. After the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni in 1000AD, the city of Lahore has grown, flourished, suffered invasions and destruction, and yet survived through the Sultanate (1206-1524), the Mughal (1524-1712) and Sikh (1764-1849) periods with an uneven, yet unbroken, cultural evolution. This is evident in the form of monuments and artefacts that developed and evolved over time. The research paper discusses how architecture and contemporary arts in Lahore developed with time through the examples of representative buildings as case studies. It also discusses the impacts of cultural, religious and social factors on the art and architecture during different rules and how they are embodied in the city of Lahore to contribute towards its unique identity. The Mughals, who ruled for almost three centuries, were famous as great builders. They laid the infrastructure of Lahore and built finest architectural monuments. They were succeeded by the Sikh dynasty, but with minor architectural impacts. However on the palimpsest set by the Mughals, the British managed to transform the city of Lahore into modern lines. Hence, through the introduction of new building types, the British presented art and architectural style that was not known before to give Lahore a new identity.
Lahore is a historical and the second largest city of Pakistan. It has a unique geographical location as it is located on the main trade and invasion routes to South Asia. Its history dates back to 1000BC, when its foundations were laid by the Hindu prince Loh, son of Rama Chandra. After the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni in 1000AD, the city of Lahore has grown, flourished, suffered invasions and destruction, and yet survived through the Sultanate (1206-1524), the Mughal (1524-1712) and Sikh (1764-1849) periods with an uneven, yet unbroken, cultural evolution. This is evident in the form of monuments and artefacts that developed and evolved over time. The research paper discusses how architecture and contemporary arts in Lahore developed with time through the examples of representative buildings as case studies. It also discusses the impacts of cultural, religious and social factors on the art and architecture during different rules and how they are embodied in the city of Lahore to contribute towards its unique identity. The Mughals, who ruled for almost three centuries, were famous as great builders. They laid the infrastructure of Lahore and built finest architectural monuments. They were succeeded by the Sikh dynasty, but with minor architectural impacts. However on the palimpsest set by the Mughals, the British managed to transform the city of Lahore into modern lines. Hence, through the introduction of new building types, the British presented art and architectural style that was not known before to give Lahore a new identity.
Purpose: In the city of Uch, if one looks critically at the current practice of demolishing old traditional houses and constructing new ones, it can easily be ascertained that in any society or a part of society there are internal and external factors that influence the local trends in every walk of life including building design and construction. Design/Methodology/Approach: Whether those trends are socio-culturally appropriate or not in their entirety, we need to enquire if there is a justifiable and positive balance between those internal and external societal factors that result in the demolition of the traditional houses. In the field survey of Uch Sharif, one contemporary building was evaluated as compared to a traditional building for selection based on the approximate age of the building. Findings: The degree to which the original design was modified, its cultural appropriateness, environmental comfort in terms of temperature and relative humidity audited inside the building, use of local materials and techniques, plan type and presence of architectural elements. The results show that traditional buildings are fast diminishing causing irreplaceable examples of traditional wisdom and ingenious craftsmanship to be struck down one after the other by the cyclone of urbanization supercharged by market forces. Implications/Originality/Value: Through research, it was concluded that the Contemporary buildings, which are replacing traditional buildings, are less responsive to the local climate, culture, skills, and the issue of cost which core of the design criteria of traditional buildings.
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