scholarly journals Tropicality of Colonial Heritage Buildings in a Deltaic Landscape: British Colonial Architecture in Khulna

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhaiminul Islam ◽  
Hasan Muntasir

During the 17th-18th century colonial period on the Indian subcontinent, British colonial architecture flourished – including in the Bengal Delta. Although colonial architecture was inherently different from the traditional architecture of this tropical region, the monsoon climate and deltaic landscape forced colonial style buildings to incorporate a number of tropical architectural features to ensure climatic comfort. In the contemporary period, due to pressure from population density, many colonial buildings have been demolished and replaced with multi-story buildings. However, the tropical forces of this deltaic region need to be evaluated in order to re-create climate responsive architecture. This study aims to identify tropical architectural features inherent within colonial buildings of Khulna, Bangladesh, a city which formed a junction in the deltaic region during the colonial period. Four colonial buildings have been selected as case studies: two residential buildings, one mixed-use building, and a school. Tropical features were analysed from photographic data, and reproductions of plans and sections of the selected buildings, in order to reveal the significant tropical architectural features of these colonial period buildings. The case studies reveal structural and design elements that aided ventilation and air flow, and controlled solar radiation, humidity and driving rain. The findings aim to encourage practicing architects to rethink climate responsiveness in contemporary buildings in Bangladesh, by revealing how, a century ago, colonial buildings were influenced by the tropical deltaic climate, which impacted foreign architectural ideology and practice.

2021 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-219
Author(s):  
Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury

The partition of the Indian subcontinent forced millions of people to flee to the other side of the borders, freshly demarcated by the British colonial rulers just on the eve of their departure from South Asia. Almost a decade-long migration of people could not, however, settle the boundaries and lives of the people once and for all. The postcolonial rulers retained many of the draconian laws of the late colonial period, like the Foreigners’ Act in India, and laced them with new laws and regulations, thus leading to greater dispossession of people of homes, generating widespread situations of un-freedom, and creating countless refugees and stateless persons, mostly forced to survive in sites of precarious life, without any right to have rights. The concern of this contribution is this politics of dispossession in postcolonial South Asia and its relation with citizenship laws of the region.


Author(s):  
Sheikh Zobaer

The Shadow Lines is mostly celebrated for capturing the agony and trauma of the artificial segregation that divided the Indian subcontinent in 1947. However, the novel also provides a great insight into the undivided Indian subcontinent during the British colonial period. Moreover, the novel aptly captures the rise of Indian nationalism and the struggle against the British colonial rule through the revolutionary movements. Such image of pre-partition India is extremely important because the picture of an undivided India is what we need in order to compare the scenario of pre-partition India with that of a postcolonial India divided into two countries, and later into three with the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. This paper explores how The Shadow Lines captures colonial India and the rise of Indian nationalism through the lens of postcolonialism.


2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chay Yoeng Chung ◽  
Ahmad Hakam Abdul Razak ◽  
Ming Zo Tan ◽  
Sharp Ugwuocha ◽  
Eric Twardowski ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthieu Spekkers ◽  
Viktor Rözer ◽  
Annegret Thieken ◽  
Marie-Claire ten Veldhuis ◽  
Heidi Kreibich

Abstract. Flooding is assessed as the most important natural hazard in Europe, causing thousands of deaths, affecting millions of people and accounting for large economic losses in the past decade. Little is known about the damage processes associated with extreme rainfall in cities, due to a lack of accurate, comparable and consistent damage data. The objective of this study is to investigate the impacts of extreme rainfall on residential buildings and how affected households coped with these impacts in terms of precautionary and emergency actions. Analyses are based on a unique dataset of damage characteristics and a wide range of potential damage explaining variables at the household level, collected through computer-aided telephone interviews (CATI) and an online survey. Exploratory data analyses based on a total of 859 completed questionnaires in the cities of Münster (Germany) and Amsterdam (the Netherlands) revealed that the uptake of emergency measures is related to characteristics of the hazardous event. In case of high water levels, more efforts are made to reduce damage, while emergency response that aims to prevent damage is less likely to be effective. The difference in magnitude of the events in Münster and Amsterdam in terms of rainfall intensity and water depth, is probably also the most important cause for the differences between the cities in terms of the suffered financial losses. Factors that significantly contributed to damage in at least one of the case studies are water contamination, the presence of a basement in the building and people's awareness of the upcoming event. Moreover, this study confirms conclusions by previous studies that people's experience with damaging events positively correlates with precautionary behaviour. For improving future damage data acquisition, we recommend to include cell-phones in a CATI survey to avoid biased sampling towards certain age groups.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-30
Author(s):  
Shabbirullah Qureshi ◽  
M. Ashraf Khan

It is ironical that the Mughals are remembered as warriors yet their breathtaking architecture offers an inspiration for regional peace. Separatist narratives may attempt to emphasise the ideological differences in the Indian subcontinent, but the centuries-old resonance of architectural magnificence of the Taj Mahal in India and the Shalimar Gardens in Pakistan simply mocks any divisions. It is within this perspective that the preservation and restoration of the Mahabat Khan Mosque in Peshawar deserves more attention than it has been accorded. Papers published so far have served well by detailing its history and features, but its significance as the western-most unifier for the sub-continent has been left unexplored. This article aims to highlight the link that its architectural features create with the Mughal buildings of the whole subcontinent. Photographs from unique angles are shared to highlight this commonality and thus serve as a counter narrative of regional unity based on a common Islamic architectural heritage. Also included is a fresh inventory of its state of disrepair, based on a survey conducted by students of City University in 2019, to revoke attention towards its restoration. Finally, recommendations are offered to address the delay in relocation of surrounding shops that is currently hindering its repair.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Irfanuddin Wahid Marzuki

Kema merupakan salah satu kecamatan di Kabupaten Minahasa Utara yang berada di pesisir selatan Sulawesi. Saat ini Kema dikenal sebagai perkampungan nelayan padat penduduk yang terbagi menjadi Kema I, Kema II, dan Kema III. Riwayat sejarah Kema sudah dikenal semenjak abad XVI oleh pelaut-pelaut Eropa yang singgah untuk mengisi air minum, kemudian berkembang hingga menjadi sebuah kota pelabuhan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pasang surut keberadaan pelabuhan kema dalam perdagangan global Laut Sulawesi masa kolonial berdasarkan data arkeologi dan sejarah. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan arkeologi kesejarahan yang memadukan data arkeologi dengan data sejarah. Tahapan penelitian meliputi tahap pengumpulan data, analisis data, dan penarikan kesimpulan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan adanya bukti-bukti arkeologis yang mengindikasikan Kema dahulu merupakan sebuah permukiman yang sudah maju, meliputi pola permukiman dan jaringan jalan, pelabuhan dan saran pendukungnya, rumah ibadah, bangunan perumahan, pasar, dan jaringan komunikasi. Bukti arkeologis dan data sejarah mengungkap bahwa Kema dikenal sebagai pelabuhan laut yang memegang peranan penting dalam perdagangan global pada masa Kolonial. Pelabuhan Kema bahkan ditetapkan sebagai salah satu pelabuhan bebas di perairan Laut Sulawesi. Peran pelabuhan Kema saat ini mengalami kemunduran, hanya sebagai pelabuhan perikanan tidak lagi sebagai pelabuhan samudera.Kema is one of the districts in Minahasa Utara Regency located on the southern coast of Sulawesi Utara. Currently, Kema is known as a densely populated fishing village which is divided into Kema Satu, Kema Dua, and Kema Tiga. Based on historical data, Kema has been known since the 16 century by European sailors who stopped to fill drinking water, then expanded into a port city. This study aims to determine the rise and fall of the existence of Kema in the global trade of the Sulawesi Sea in the colonial period based on archaeological and historical data. This study uses a historical archeology approach that combines archaeological data with historical data. Research stages include data collection phase, data analysis, and conclusion. The results indicate archaeological evidence shows that Kema was an advanced settlement, covering the settlement patterns and road networks, ports and supporting facilities, houses of worship, residential buildings, markets, and communications networks. Archaeological evidence and historical data reveal that Kema is known as a seaport that plays an important role in global trading during the Colonial period. Kema is even designated as one of the free ports in Sulawesi Sea. The role of Kema is currently declining, only as a fishing port no longer as an ocean port. 


In Hungary, there are a large number of built heritage. Of these, this current research focuses on the castles. Nowadays castles can be filled with many functions, such as schools, common lodging houses, hospitals or residential buildings. The most optimal form of usage is tourism utilization, such as museums, hotels, event venues. Organizing festivals is also a tool for this, it generates revenue for the castle, and makes it widely available to enhance the visibility and acquaintance of the venues. A festival is also intended to suffice the needs of tourists and local people, and these castles provide a suitable scene for this. Thus, the current research aims to present and evaluate the form of utilization of castles in which festivals are organized. The study aims to answer the research question through several case studies, that festivals contribute to the survival of the castles as they generate revenue and create more attractive destinations. To answer this question, a primary research method is needed where interviews with the owners of the venues and the festival directors come to the fore. In addition, the available secondary data are required that numerical support the generated revenue and number of visitors alike. In the end, the research will be carried out where both the utilization of the castles and the festival tourism will be of paramount importance and a joint impact assessment will be implemented.


Author(s):  
Anna A. Leontyeva ◽  

The Jewish were one of the most numerous ethnic groups among the urban population of the Ottoman Empire’s Balkan provinces, and the Jewish community in Bulgaria is one of the oldest in Europe. In the Ottoman state, the co-existence of different religious representatives as determined by the millet system, which was adopted by the Ottoman Turks from other Muslim states and developed at the initial stage of the Empire's existence. It assumed a certain autonomy for religious communities. The Jewish community had its own religious court, beit-din, with the help of which civil cases were resolved. The Jewish Religious Court forbade representatives of the Jewish community from appealing to the Sharia courts on issues within its competence. However, if the parties to a legal dispute were a zimmi (i.e. non-Muslims) and a Muslim, then the dispute should have been unconditionally considered in a Sharia court with the application of the norms of Islamic law. An analysis of the kadi court’s documents related to the cases of representatives of other confessions makes it possible to draw some conclusions about their occupations and the degree of integration into the urban society of Sofia. So, we can refute the thesis about the semi-autonomous existence of Jewish quarters in Balkan cities – we can talk about the erosion of the ethnic isolation of the places of residence of Jews in Sofia, and their active settlement, first of all, traditionally Christian quarters. An analysis of the source allows us to conclude that Jews actively interacted with representatives of other religions, participating in transactions for the sale of property with Muslims, while often it was not so much about the sale of residential buildings but about investing capital. A large number of shop sales deals testifies to the fact that members of the Jewish community had an active business life.


X ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohand Oulmas ◽  
Amina Abdessemed-Fouda ◽  
Ángel Benigno González Avilés

Assassing the defensibility of the pre-colonial defensive architecture in Algeria: case study on the medieval fortified villagesAlgeria’s pre-colonial towns of the medieval period still exist in different typologies, ranging from the isolated buildings (forts, castles) and town enclosures to whole urban units (fortified villages, defensives towns). Indeed, the constituent of these fortresses was their defense system, characterized by its large dimension, constituted essentially by the enclosure wall, and architectural features of defensiveness correlated with the outside and the inside of the fortresses. This paper aims to evaluate the relationship between physical landscape, built defensive features and cultural values of the medieval fortified villages in Algeria, two medieval fortified villages in our case “Kalaa of Beni Abbes” in Bejaia and “Kalaa of Beni Rached” in Oran, that we identified as an evolved landscape and interpreted as complex system (both defensive architecture and continuing cultural landscape). This current study consists of quantifying the defensiveness degree of these sites situated within different contexts, in fact, this method ensures to identify the strategy adopted to be protected against different invasions. However, in order to achieve this we calculate a spatial defensiveness index (DI) of these sites. The parameters of our choice are related to the implantation site, the elevation, the visibility and the geometrical shape, which allow us to estimate the defensiveness degree of the defense system of our case studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 47-91
Author(s):  
Syeda Sadia ◽  
Syeda Maryam Shah

It can safely be said that the colonial period ushered a new era of Sīrah-writing in the Indian subcontinent. A number of biographies of the Prophet (PBUH) were written in response to the works of Orientalists on Sīrah. In this wake, many Urdu biographers employed traditional and innovative methodologies in their biographies of the Prophet (PBUH). One such innovation was the usage of sacred scriptures of other religions in their biographies. This article studies the prophecies about the Prophet (PBUH) in Judeo-Christian scriptures and the ways in which Urdu biographers of the Prophet (PBUH) utilized them in their works.


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