Indian architecture is not an object in space; it integrates space within the object, where the built and the unbuilt become counterpoints to vitalize each other. The alchemy of the two sustains the space and the life within. The void within the built—the courtyard—lies at the genesis of the urban dwelling form in India across geography and time. In ancient Indian sciences, the courtyard assumes the central position as Brahmasthana, the nucleus of the living environment. It provided for an open-to-sky outdoor space while being away from the public eye and thus suited an introverted lifestyle. In this book, the author traces the metaphysical, mythical, socio-cultural, environmental and spatial roles of the courtyard in the domestic architecture of India—from early civilization and Vedic times to Islamic and colonial influences.

This volume documents traditional and vernacular courtyard dwelling types across India within diverse climatic, cultural as well as geographic zones such as western (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra), southern (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa), eastern (Bihar, West Bengal), central (Madhya Pradesh) and northern (Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.). It then discerns the spatial elements constituting the court, and the arts, the crafts as well as the elements integral to the court.

Illustrated with splendid photographs and representative drawings, the book attempts to understand the presence and resolution, continued use and adaptation as well as the diverse interpretations and abstractions of the courtyard.

Yatin Pandya is an author, activist, academician, researcher as well as a practising architect with his firm FOOTPRINTS E.A.R.T.H. (Environment Architecture Research Technology Housing). He is a graduate of CEPT University, Ahmedabad, and holds a Master of Architecture degree from McGill University, Montreal. Pandya has been involved with city planning, urban design, mass housing, architecture, interior design and product design as well as conservation projects. He has authored numerous papers, which have appeared in national and international journals, and has produced several documentary films on architecture. During his tenure at the Vastu-Shilpa Foundation, Pandya worked on the publications Concepts of Space in Traditional Indian Architecture and Elements of Spacemaking, published by Mapin and now in their fourth reprint, which have won the Indian Institute of Architects’ (IIA) Award for Architectural Excellence in Research in the years 2012 and 2014, respectively. The research leading to this book was also carried out during his time at Vastu-Shilpa Foundation. He is a visiting faculty at the National Institute of Design and CEPT University, and a guest lecturer at various universities in India and abroad. The recipient of numerous national and international awards for research, design and dissemination, Pandya counts environmental sustainability, socio-cultural appropriateness, timeless aesthetics and economic affordability to be key principles of his work.