The subcontinent was ruled by the British during 1857-1947 during which they left an impact in the region. From bringing changes to the values, improving infrastructure and adding a new side to the architectural side of the sub-continent. After 1947 Pakistan came to being but it still had been affected by the changes brought by the British.
Lahore being the heart of Pakistan had gone through several changes. The British occupation of Lahore took place in a protracted but concerted manner. The General Post Office (GPO) along with YMCA building were constructed by the British to commemorate golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. These building with their unique designs reflected the British architecture specially by the massive clocks placed into the front outer wall of the building.
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| Queen Victoria |
Different from the Mughal architecture the colonial era architecture consisted of simpler designs. The Mughals focused more on constructions of Forts, Palaces and Mosques while the colonial architecture introduced buildings which focused more on benefiting the natives such as Universities to Government offices. The Mughal architecture used arches in windows, doorways while the new british colonial architecture introduced cubical shaped building with simple designs ignoring curves and arches.
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| Interior of the Tomb of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in Lahore |
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| Dewan-e-Khass Mughal architecture Lahore fort Pakistan |
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| The Architecture of Lahore Museum |
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| Mughal Architecture; Diwan-e-Khas (Hall of Special Audience) at the Lahore Fort |
Important buildings constructed by the British included the High Court, Government College, Tollinton Market and many more. Rather than focusing on massively constructed buildings, the British focused on smaller buildings through which they introduced their own architectural designs into Lahore.
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| Government College Lahore |
The colonial era architecture had a few basic designs such as handcrafted wooden work, high columns giving support to slopping roofs. An example of this is the Tollinton Market. The British introduced the importance of education in the region by constructing colleges and universities most famous of which are Aitchison College and the University of Punjab.
These building at that time and still to date have a uniqueness to them. During the colonial era as the natives were used to excessive work of stones, glass and expensive gems in the construction of buildings, the British introduced a simple yet elegant architectural design. Buildings often had statue heads on the walls and detailed work on the roof. High white walls and a simple exterior was eminent in the colonial architecture. The interiors also stood unique from the Pakistani architecture as wooden hand crafting was given more importance and used in a large quantity in the buildings.
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| Badshahi Mosque with damaged minarets during Sikh rule |
All these changes brought a revolution in the architectural designs of Lahore. Buildings were now made with stronger materials and the natives now demanded for more public benefiting buildings to be constructed rather than forts that would prove to be beneficial for the royals only. The Mughal buildings barely used cement or iron rods in the structure of the building giving preference to a paste made out of saw dust, mushed lentils and similar materials which the British architecture revived the construction procedures. With the introduction of using cement and iron rods to made the foundations of the buildings, the buildings were made more stronger and would last a longer time as well as be resistant to natural disasters such as earthquakes or heavy rainstorms.
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