DAKSHINACHITRA – TAMIL NADU

INTRODUCTION:
-Dakshinachitra is an exciting cross cultural living museum of art,
architecture, lifestyle, crafts and performing arts of south India.
-One can explore 17 heritage houses, enable along recreated
streetscapes, exploring contextual exhibitions, interacting with
typical village artisans and witnessing folk performances set in
an authentic ambience.
-Dakshinachitra means – “A picture of the south”
-Dakshinachitra is more than just a venue-it is a heritage village, a place where contemporary
art, Music and Dance forms of the south finds its manifestation into a journey of discovery and
self-learning.
-The sprawling 10 Acers campus is divided into four prominent states of the south-kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh further emphasising on their respective cultural in
terms of house architecture that is re-modelled district wise-brahmin house, potters house,
merchant house etc.. Textile and handicrafts found in temples, art exhibitions and more , other
activities in the centre include performing arts, music, research and educational programs with
workshops and heritage trips which connects thee neighbouring village at the centre.
-Here are the states clustered together but their diversifies are kept alive.

ANDHRA PRADESH
TAMIL NADU SETTLEMENT SETTLEMENT

KARNATAKA SETTLEMENT KERALA SETTLEMENT

 Architect : Laurie Baker, Benny Kuriakose
Total Area : 10 Acres
Built up Area : 3 Acres
Construction Time : 10 Years
Cost of project : 70 Lakh
SITE LOCATION :
-Dakshinchitra occupies 10 Acers overlooking the bay of Bengal, at Muttakadu, 25Kms
south of chennai on the easr coast road to Mamllapuram, Tamil Nadu, India.

CLIMATE :
-Rainfall is moderately low.
-The temperature is high.
-The relative humidity is semi-humid.

ENTERING DAKSHINACHITRA :
-The entry to Dakshinachitra is very cosy and small like entering a south Indian home.
-The various play with brick at the entrance compound wall facade etc..bore witness to the
involvement of brick master in the design.
-There were the archtypal chocolate pillars, thatched roofs and richly carved doors which
effectively restricts the view into the interiors, thus leaving the imagination to us.

GENERAL:
KERALA SECTION
- Reception centre
- Hindu house-trivandrum districtttt
-Crafts shop
- Cattle shed
-Seminar hall orientation film
- Hindu house-calicut district
-Gallery for temporary exhibitions
- Granary and textile exhibition
-Restaurant
- Syrian Christian house-puthupally
-Library and archives
- Small pavilion padipura
-Mandapam
-Cantten
-Craft bazaar
-Amphitheatre
-Activity hall

LIBRARY OAT
TAMIL NADU SECTION KARNATAKA SECTION:
-Merchant house chettinadu, putukotai district -Weavers house
-Agriculturists house
-Potters house
AMENITIES:
-Basket weavers house
-Guest house
-Ayyanar shrine
-Artisans quarters
-Weavers house
-Lathe workshops
-Textile exhibition
-Driver’s shed
-Agraharam brahmin house
-Gallery and stores
-Art exhibition
-Restaurant
ANDHRA PRADESH SECTION: -Crafts shop
-Ikkat weavers house -Tea shop
-Coastal Andhra Pradesh house: cattle shed and grananry

SITE PLAN:

PEDESTRIAN FLOW:
-All pedestrian paths were paved by stones with trees on either side.
-The pedestrian flow was clearly demarcated from the paths used
for commercial purposes.
-The pedestrian flow gets branched out from the entrance to various
state’s houses.

VRHICULAR FLOW:
-The vehicular flow is restricted at the entry plaza itself.
-The parking sheds are also provided in traditional style roofing.

VEGETATION:
-Trees are seen in dense near the parking area, guest houses, Kerala section and Karnataka
section.
-Trees are seen in other parts of site also along the pathways.
-Palm trees, Coconut trees were majorly seen.
WATER BODY :
-The artificial pond runs from the OAT long the Tamil nadu section, Kerala complex
and artisans complex.
-The flow of water bodies are bounded with stones.
-Wooden bridges run above the water bodies connection the children's play area and
the Tamil nadu section.
-These ponds get filled during rainy season as these ponds serve as a collecting point
for the entire site.

TAMIL NADU SECTION :

-Mostly, Tamil houses have an inner courtyard which is used for drying grains, shelling
pods and for functions.
-There will be a raised veranda or small seating area in the front of the house, called a
tinnai.
-The houses from tamil nadu at dakshinachitra were typical houses found in many
village throughout tamil region.

WEAVERS HOUSE FROM KANCHIPURAM :

-This house had one functional pit loom used for weaving
Kanchipuram saris, along with a kitchen, a poja room and
a front hall.
-The weaver’s house had a large paved open area in the
back that served as a utility area with toilets, bathing area,
& facilities for washing clothes & kitchen vessels.
-Over 16 weavers house documented from Kanchipuram
and the most repetitive elements & planning were
documented and depicted in Dakshinachitra.
 PLAN
1.Thinnai 3.Pooja 7.Hall 10.Kitchen
2,4,8,11. Store 5.Passage 9.Eating Area 11. Bathing Area
13.Back veranda
MERCHANTS HOUSE FROM CHETTINAD :
-The exterior facade of the house at Dakshinachitra was a replication of a common facade
of smaller Nattukottai Chettiar merchant houses the outside columned veranda of
Burmese teak were a reconstruction from a house in the village of Aryakudi.
-The basic floor plan of a Chettinad house consists of
a) An outside veranda for guests, with a room for conducting business on one or both
ends;
b) An interior Courtyard to be used in ceremonies with a raised seating area at one or
both ends;
c) A series of small double rooms opening off the main courtyard for storage, prayer and
sleeping and
d) A small courtyard behind for cooking and for the women to socialize.

PLAN
BRAHMIN HOUSE FROM AMBUR :
-Brahmin houses were connected by a common wall and they were narrow in which and
very long.
-The Ambur house originally had a longer courtyard dor thecows, followed by another long
enclosed area, planted ratherwildly, which led down in a stepped river embankment.
-Due to space restrictions at Dakshinachitra, the second courtyardwas made smaller and the
third has been omitted.The upper floor was used for sleeping, drying and storing grain.

AGRICULTURISTS HOUSE FROM MAYAVARAM :

-The Agriculturist’s house from Mayavaram district, is typical of many houses found in
the village in and around Thanjavur and Mayavaram districts.
-It has been reconstructed without any changes except in its orientation.
-The original orientation of the house was north, so that the puja room and sacred area
were on the west.
-The front rooms were used for storage and sleeping.
The house had a second block with two small parallel courtyard stone used for kitchen
and eating, and one for bathing.

PLAN

ELEVATION

THE FIRST FLOOR WILL BE CONNECTED

FOR THE ENTIRE STRETCH

EXPLODED VIEW
POTERS HOUSE FROM CHENGLEPUT :
-The turn of the 20th century house of a practising potter is from the village of Tiruvallur, in
Chengelpet district.
-The original house, through built for one family, was occupied by two brothers and their
families, each living on one side of the house with a separate kitchen. The house depicts
the actual lifestyle of the potters, with space for living and working.
-The backyard originally had space for cooking and for cows; at Daskshinachitra, a
separate work shed behind the living quarters has been added for demonstration purposes.

THATCHED ROOFING SUPPORTED BY

WOODEN POLES WITH LOW EAVE PROJECTION
PLAN OF THE CLUSTER
TO DRY THEIR MUD PRODUCTS

BASKET WEAVERS MUD HOUSE FROM CHENGLEPUT

-These houses are two reproductions of simple mud houses occupied
by ordinary working class people of the state.
-The interiors of the houses show the lifestyle of ordinary villagers
with space for cooking praying, living and sleeping.

Plan
AYYANAR SHRINE :
-Ayyanar workship is popular from Madurai and the Pudukkottai
area up to Vriddhachalam.
-Ayyanar is a popular village guardian deity who lives on the
outskirts of the village in a thickly wooden scared grove.
-To prepare for the shrine, the neem tree, itclili tree, peepul tree,
bantan tree and vembu maram were planted at the site before
ayyanar constructed.

KARNATAKA SECTION :

WEAVER’S HOUSE FROM IKAL :

-This cluster from Ikal, Bagalkote district represents an urban settlement pattern and is
typical of weavers house in the northern region of Karnataka.
-The wooden gateway, stone and wooden window mark the entrance to the Karnataka
section are the remnants of a house which was built in the 18th century and belonged to
one of the oldest known families in the town.
-Almost all houses in northern Karnataka are built of stone. Each area has its distinctive
stone. The colour vary from area to area as does the way the stone is quarried and the
preferred shapes and sizes used for construction, In Ikal, the stone is granite.

ANDHRA SECTION :
WEAVER’S HOUSE FROM NALGONDA DISTRICT :
-Most weaver’s houses and other village houses in Nalgonda and Warangal district follow a
style locally known as bhawanti. The plan used commonly in the chitra sala, with three
bays or sections and a small courtyard in the middle. The building materials include
bamboo reapers, Palmyra beams and semi-circular roof tiles.

SKETCH OF THE CLUSTER :

-In a cyclone-prone area, fishermen and agricultural farmers build circular houses which
nestle closely to form clusters.
-The shape and the positioning help the houses battle against the raging winds.
The house consists of an inner circular room which is enveloped by another circular
space that serves as the kitchen on one side and a store at the other end.
-There is also a cooking area or Vantasala just outside the house.
-The walls were built by the cob wall technique that places balls of mud to make an 18”
thick wall.
-Palmyra timber was used for rafter, polymer thatch for the roof and lime wash for the
wall finish.
-There was a flat mud roof and timber roof under the sloping thatched roof to protect the
belongings in case of a fire.