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A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. [1] [2] A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. [3]
Although the form verandah is correct and very common, some authorities prefer the version without an "h" (the Concise Oxford English Dictionary gives the "h" version as a variant and The Guardian Style Guide says "veranda not verandah"). [4] Australia's Macquarie Dictionary prefers verandah. [5]
Veranda, as used in the United Kingdom and France, was brought by the British from India (Hindi : बरामदा). While the exact origin of the word is unknown, scholars suggest that the word may have originated in India or may have been adopted from the Portuguese and spread further to the British and French colonists. [6] Ancient and medieval Indian texts on domestic architecture like Vastu shastra uses the word "Alinda" for this architectural feature. [7]
The veranda has featured quite prominently in Australian vernacular architecture and first became widespread in colonial buildings during the 1850s. The Victorian Filigree architecture style is used by residential (particularly terraced houses in Australia and New Zealand) and commercial buildings (particularly hotels) across Australia and features decorative screens of wrought iron, cast iron "lace" or wood fretwork. The Queenslander is a style of residential construction in Queensland, Australia, which is adapted to subtropical climates and characterized in part by its large verandas, which sometimes encircle the entire house.
The bandeirista style house from Brazil typically has a veranda positioned to face the sunrise. [8]
In Hong Kong, verandas often appear on the upper floor of the first to third generations of Tong Lau (shophouses) due to a lack of space since the 19th century.
Early known examples of verandah in domestic architecture come from Vastu shastra texts which lay out plans and describe methods to build houses, where alinda (veranda) is a common feature of domestic buildings. [9]
Porches were a natural idea in India, a mostly warm, tropical country. In Gujarat the porch area is called the otala and in the Hindi belt it is known as alinda. These structures are not only used to cool off, but also as a centre of social life where neighbours can talk and kids play, or as a religious centre where rituals and worship of certain Gods can take place. [10]
In Southern India, the term thinnai is used, and these structures are very common. This area serves a religious purpose in addition to a social one, and is the centre of everyday life for many. [11] Konkan's architecture is influenced by nature. It is sustainable and cost-effective. In Konkan traditional architecture, the veranda is called otti, a semi-open space with low seating covered with a permanent roof. It serves as a transition space leading to an enclosed environment. Sometimes the sides are covered by wooden jali walls. It offers a temporary resting space to house members during the afternoon and evening.
In regions with heavy snowfall, especially Aomori and Niigata prefectures, structures called Gangi-Zukuri (ja:雁木造) have been developed since the Edo period. For example, the total length of Gangi in old Takada city is over 16 Kilometers. [12]
In Poland, the word "weranda" is commonly used for the unheated roofed annex to a house, without walls or with glass walls.[ citation needed ]
In Sri Lanka, verandahs original derivation was from traditional vernacular architecture and are known as "Pila" in Sinhalese. Both front and rear veranda examples are also known and common feature in local vernacular architecture. [13] [14] [15] [16] Traditionally, domestic vernacular architecture layouts were also influenced by Sri Lankan Buddhist Manjusri Vasthu Vidya Sastra text, which in turn was influenced by Indian Vastu Shastra texts. [17]
The Creole townhouse in New Orleans, Louisiana, is also noted for its prominent use of verandas. In fact, most houses constructed in the Southern United States before the advent of air conditioning were built with a covered front porch or veranda.
Spanish Colonial architecture (as well as the "Mission style" revivalist version that became popular in the Western United States in the early 1900s) commonly incorporates verandas, both on the exterior of buildings and, in cases of buildings with courtyards, along the interior walls of courtyards. In some cases, homes were constructed with every room opening into a courtyard veranda, rather than interior corridors or direct connections to other rooms.
Geomancy translates literally to "earth divination," and the term was originally used to mean methods of divination that interpret geographic features, markings on the ground, or the patterns formed by soil, rocks, or sand. Its definition has expanded over time, to include any spiritual, metaphysical, or pseudoscientific practice that is related to the Earth. In recent times the term has been applied to a wide range of other occult and fringe activities, including Earth mysteries and the introduction of ley lines and Bau-Biologie.
Originating in ancient India, Vastu Shastra is a traditional Hindu system of architecture based on ancient texts that describe principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, space arrangement, and spatial geometry. The designs aim to integrate architecture with nature, the relative functions of various parts of the structure, and ancient beliefs utilising geometric patterns (yantra), symmetry, and directional alignments.
Hindu temple architecture as the main form of Hindu architecture has many varieties of style, though the basic nature of the Hindu temple remains the same, with the essential feature an inner sanctum, the garbha griha or womb-chamber, where the primary Murti or the image of a deity is housed in a simple bare cell. For rituals and prayers, this chamber frequently has an open space that can be moved in a clockwise direction. There are frequently additional buildings and structures in the vicinity of this chamber, with the largest ones covering several acres. On the exterior, the garbhagriha is crowned by a tower-like shikhara, also called the vimana in the south. The shrine building often includes an circumambulatory passage for parikrama, a mandapa congregation hall, and sometimes an antarala antechamber and porch between garbhagriha and mandapa. In addition to other small temples in the compound, there may be additional mandapas or buildings that are either connected or separate from the larger temples.
A shophouse is a building type serving both as a residence and a commercial business. It is defined in dictionary as a building type found in Southeast Asia that is "a shop opening on to the pavement and also used as the owner's residence", and became a commonly used term since the 1950s. Variations of the shophouse may also be found in other parts of Asia; in Southern China, Hong Kong, and Macau, it is found in a building type known as Tong lau, and in towns and cities in Sri Lanka. They stand in a terraced house configuration, often fronted with arcades or colonnades, which present a unique townscape in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, and South China.
Architectural theory is the act of thinking, discussing, and writing about architecture. Architectural theory is taught in all architecture schools and is practiced by the world's leading architects. Some forms that architecture theory takes are the lecture or dialogue, the treatise or book, and the paper project or competition entry. Architectural theory is often didactic, and theorists tend to stay close to or work from within schools. It has existed in some form since antiquity, and as publishing became more common, architectural theory gained an increased richness. Books, magazines, and journals published an unprecedented number of works by architects and critics in the 20th century. As a result, styles and movements formed and dissolved much more quickly than the relatively enduring modes in earlier history. It is to be expected that the use of the internet will further the discourse on architecture in the 21st century.
The architecture of ancient Sri Lanka displays a rich diversity, varying in form and architectural style from the Anuradhapura Kingdom through the Kingdom of Kandy (1469–1815). Sinhalese architecture also displays many ancient North Indian influences. Buddhism had a significant influence on Sri Lankan architecture after it was introduced to the island in the 3rd century BC, and ancient Sri Lankan architecture was mainly religious, with more than 25 styles of Buddhist monasteries. Significant buildings include the stupas of Jetavanaramaya and Ruwanvelisaya in the Anuradhapura kingdom and further in the Polonnaruwa Kingdom. The palace of Sigiriya is considered a masterpiece of ancient architecture and ingenuity, and the fortress in Yapahuwa and the Temple of the tooth in Kandy are also notable for their architectural qualities. Ancient Sri Lankan architecture is also significant to sustainability, notably Sigiriya which was designed as an environmentally friendly structure.
Shilpa Shastras literally means the Science of Shilpa. It is an ancient umbrella term for numerous Hindu texts that describe arts, crafts, and their design rules, principles and standards. In the context of Hindu temple architecture and sculpture, Shilpa Shastras were manuals for sculpture and Hindu iconography, prescribing among other things, the proportions of a sculptured figure, composition, principles, meaning, as well as rules of architecture.
Dravidian architecture, or the Southern Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from Southern India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century.
Indian vernacular architecture the informal, functional architecture of structures, often in rural areas of India, built of local materials and designed to meet the needs of the local people. The builders of these structures are unschooled in formal architectural design and their work reflects the rich diversity of India's climate, locally available building materials, and the intricate variations in local social customs and craftsmanship. It has been estimated that worldwide close to 90% of all building is vernacular, meaning that it is for daily use for ordinary, local people and built by local craftsmen.
Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, was a Sri Lankan architect. He was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation.
Hindu architecture is the traditional system of Indian architecture for structures such as temples, monasteries, statues, homes, market places, gardens and town planning as described in Hindu texts. The architectural guidelines survive in Sanskrit manuscripts and in some cases also in other regional languages. These texts include the Vastu shastras, Shilpa Shastras, the Brihat Samhita, architectural portions of the Puranas and the Agamas, and regional texts such as the Manasara among others.
Vaidyanatha Ganapati Sthapati was a Sthapati and head of the College of Architecture and Sculpture in the Vastu Shastra tradition ascribed to the sage Mamuni Mayan.
The Manjusri Vasthu Vidya Sastra is a manuscript of the 5th or 6th century CE that gives the basis on which Sri Lankan Buddhist monasteries, towns, houses are constructed. It contains detailed information concerning plans, structures and the auspicious placement of particular elements.
The Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) is a multi-arts center located in the city of Jaipur, India. It was built by the Government of Rajasthan to preserve Rajasthani arts and crafts. The center has eight blocks housing museums, an amphitheater, a closed auditorium, a library, art display rooms, a cafeteria, a small hostel, and an art studio. It also houses two permanent art galleries and three others, and it hosts its yearly theatre festival.
Kerala architecture is a style of architecture found in the Indian state of Kerala, and in parts of the Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka. Kerala's architectural style includes a unique Hindu temple architecture that emerged in southwestern India, in slight contrast to Dravidian architecture practiced in other parts of southern India. The architecture of Kerala has been derived from Indian Vedic architectural tradition and forms a part of Dravidian architecture, one of the three styles of temples mentioned in the ancient books on Vastu Shastra. The Tantrasamuchaya, Thachu-Shastra, Manushyalaya Chandrika, and Silparatna are all architectural treatises that have had an impact on the architecture of Kerala. The Manushyalaya Chandrika, a work devoted to domestic architecture, has its roots in Kerala.
The culture of South Asia, also known as Desi culture, is a mixture of several cultures in and around the Indian subcontinent. Ancient South Asian culture was primarily based in Hinduism, which itself formed as a mixture of Vedic religion and indigenous traditions, and later Buddhist influences. From the medieval era onwards, influences from the Muslim world and then Europe also became prevalent.
A porch is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule, or a projecting building that houses the entrance door of a building.
Kanippayyur Shankaran Namboodiripad (1891-1981) was a Nambudiri Brahmin in the State of Kerala in India who helped rejuvenate interest in the Indian traditional architectural styles known collectively as Vastu shastra. He was a consultant for the renovation of many temples in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and also the Royal Architect for the three royal families of Travancore, Cochin and Kozhikode (Calicut). He was a prolific writer authoring more than a hundred books on a variety of books relating to traditional knowledge areas like vastu shastra (architecture), jyothisha, ayurveda, and also books on history. He compiled a Sanskrit-Malayalam Dictionary and a Dictionary of Indigenous Medicines.
The Aparajitaprccha is a 12th-century Sanskrit text of Bhuvanadeva with major sections on architecture and arts (Kala). Predominantly a Hindu text, it largely reflects the north and western Indian traditions. The text also includes chapters on Jain architecture and arts. The text is notable for its sections on temple architecture (vastu), sculpture (shilpa), painting (chitra) and classical music and dance.
Kala Suri Barbara Sansoni was a Sri Lankan designer, artist, colourist, entrepreneur, and writer. She was known for her works in architecture, textile designs, and handwoven panels. She founded the Barefoot textile company, a company that is highly acclaimed for its handloom fabric. She also served as the chairperson and chief designer of Barefoot Pvt. Ltd for several years.