Padmanabhapuram Palace
Padmanabhapuram Palace
Padmanabhapuram Palace
KERELA
ENTRANCE GATEWAY
The Navratri
Mandapam was a
later addition, a
complete stone
structure of
approx. 66 x 27
used for festivities
NAVARATHRI MANDAPA
The entrance to the complex is from the west, through a formal version of the Padipura or
the entrance gate, which is common in all the traditional dwellings of Kerala. The central
locus of the entire composition is the Mothers palace or the Thai Kottaram, around which
all the other spaces are organised. There are separate halls for audiences & gatherings, a
large dance hall, feeding halls of various sizes, kitchen, residences for the king & other
dignitaries, weapons store, bath houses, offices and even a temple. There is also a 4
storeyed Upprika Malika in the complex, constructed in the 1740s, which is a testament to
the technological progress at that time. A 300 year old clock tower in the palace stands
witness to the march of time and is still now in good working condition. Though there is no
formal symmetrical spatial layout to be found as such, there lies a strong organisation
principle, which creates a very coherent & unifying whole. The various built spaces are
interlinked & accessed through a series of courtyards & open spaces which vary
volumetrically & in scale depending upon the level of privacy required, most often, being
very intimate in nature.
The columns are mainly in wood & stone and support the wooden roof structure, which has
been designed very creatively to be functional as well as aesthetic. There are strict rules &
canons laid down in the ancient building science of Vastu Shastra, regarding the use of
wood, techniques of joints, angles of roof forms etc, which have been religiously followed
over the various periods during which the complex was built. The overall effect of this being
that there exist cohesiveness throughout the structure.