Course Contents

The course aims at detailed study of the architecture as developed in Pakistan after independence in the back drop of Mughal and colonial architecture along with a brief overview of the Indus Valley Civilization, Buddhist and Gandhara Art and Architecture, the Hindu Architecture and the Sultanate Period Architecture.

Course Synopsis

Pakistan is endowed with a large number of ancient sites and historic structures. These historic assets are our link with our past and, as the custodians, it is incumbent upon all Pakistanis to stabilize and conserve them so that they could survive for many centuries more. In an age when globalization is all pervasive, it is Pakistan’s ancient lineage that provides us with a distinct identity. Less we forget —since this seems to be our best kept secret from the outside world — Pakistan is a treasure-house of ancient heritage, spanning over scores of centuries. Pakistan is home to Mehrgarh, Mohenjo-Daro and Harrapa —it is the land that beckoned Alexander to sail down river Jhelum with purple flags fluttering; the spectacular Gandharan civilization as the seat of Buddhism; the devotional carvings of the Hindu Shahi temples of the Salt Range and Tharparkar; the stately funerary clusters of Makli, Multan and Uch Sharif, a fusion of local trabeated and imported arcuate, representing successive Sultanate dynasties; the heart-expanding chahar-baghs and jewel-like edifices of the greatest kingdom in the world, established by the young ruler of Farghana; the Sikhs emulating the Great Mughals, and the shared legacy of eclectic architecture with its European overtones, a bequest of the British who colonized this land.

Course Learning Outcomes

• Ability to identify and utilize appropriate historic precedents towards architectural design in the studios. • Awareness of the social, cultural, political, economic and technological contexts of architecture, so as to create architecture that is relevant to its place and time. • The course will stimulate student’s interest in architectural history as an academic discipline. • To develop ability to correctly use architectural vocabulary in architectural design and discourse. • Students will be able to identify cross-cultural interactions/influences on architecture. • The course will help students to study how the ornamental vocabulary used in each era expresses contemporaneous attitudes and how it can be read as a record of political and social culture that surrounded and molded them.