wada architecture

S.UdayakumarS.UdayakumarDeccan College Post Graduate & Research Deccan College Post Graduate & Research

InstituteInstitutePunePune

The traditional residence in Maharashtra was

called the wada. A wada was typically a large building of two or

more storey with groups of rooms arranged around open courtyards.

Two types of wadas: One which houses many families, like an

apartment building of recent times or chawl of Mumbai.(Mostly for the middle class families)

WHAT IS A WADA?

One in which only one family resided. (Mostly owned by the richer class like relatives of the peshwas and traders)

This Wada was built in 1875 by Shri Karandikar who was a moneylender by profession and was related to the Peshwas.

Wadas - which were the traditional residential form of

Maratha architecture, evolved under the reign of Peshwas. Its style was an amalgamation where features from

Mughal, Rajasthan, and Gujarat architecture were combined with local construction techniques.

EMERGENCE OF WADA ARCHITECTURE

Settlements developed around the Peshwa’s residence. Land around the Peshwas residence was divided into

wards called peths. These were self-sufficient units and they were named after

the days of weeks or the person who had established the peths.

SETTLEMENT OF PUNE UNDER THE PESHWAS

The streets and roads in the settlement were narrow. Roads were never straight as the growth of the settlement

was organic. The plots for construction of wadas were rectangular and

lay right next to the streets.

NEIGHBOURHOOD OF A WADA

A wada never had a garden or vistas leading to it. The urban form of the settlement appeared like a maze of two

or three storied structures having internal open spaces, placed along the road network with very little open community space.

Pune having a moderate type of climate has the following

characteristics: The solar radiation is more or less the same throughput the

year. The relative humidity in dry periods varies from 20-55%

and in monsoons 55-90%. The total rainfall usually exceeds 1000mm per year. Winter

is a dry season.

CLIMATE

Winds are generally in summer. Their speed and direction mainly depends upon the topography. The sky is mostly clear with an occasional presence of dense

low clouds during summer. The design of a wada was not influenced much by the climatic

factors rather it was influenced more by the social and cultural factors.

Distinct zoning can be seen. Separate entrances for guests, domestic help, people

visiting the durbar, separate entries for the people performing in the durbar and a separate entry into the cattle shed.

There are 4 entrances to the house.

SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KHARADKAR WADA

Privacy for the women given a priority. Three main courtyards or chowks. The wada has it’s entrance in the southern side.

The most significant features of the wada was the way it’s

zoning of public, private and semi-private spaces was done.

This can be seen very distinctly in the plan.

ZONING

Visual showing the environment of the wada

Small window openings with wooden grills

One of the HAUDS in the wada

One of the most interesting features of this wada was the

underground water supply which came from Katraj dam which was 11kms from the site.

One noteworthy point is that no pumping was required. The water that came was collected in open tanks called

‘HAUDS.’

Kharadkar wada has three separate hauds for separate

activities. One for bathing, one for washing utensils and one for storing

drinking water.

•All the staircases were places in 4ft thick walls.

This was done so that when the women moved around in the

house they wouldn't be seen from the outside. This way the privacy of the house was maintained. All the external walls of the wada were 4ft thick. This helped to keep the interior of the wall cool in summers.

Stone base supporting a wooden pillar

Niche in the wall

Ring in the courtyard to tie horse

Wooden battens supporting the upper floor

External wall section of a wada

Carving on wooden door frame

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