Pondicherry Streetscapes

Streetscapes of the French Town:

The streets are usually characterized by continuous wall to wall construction, full or partial street frontage, high garden walls, elaborate gateways, and solid walls divided into smaller panels by the use of verticals (pilaster) and horizontals (cornices). The exterior wall panels feature flat or segmental arched windows with bands and heavy wooden shutters. In

the case of two storied buildings wooden balconies supported on wrought iron brackets and common. The composition is completed by a continuous parapet usually decorated with loopholes or terracotta pot baluster, or curved. In the case of important building decorative features and end ornaments are commonly used. Streetscapes of the Tamil Town:

It is interesting to note the distinct variation in the characteristics of French and Tamil street. French streets are characterized by mansion type villas with high compound walls, elaborate gates, garden courts, arched patios, colonnaded galleries, voluminous rooms, high arched opening, wooden balconies and flat terraced roofs. Tamil streets are mainly characterized by the thalvaram (Street verandah with platform and lean-to-roof over wooden posts) - a social extension of the house - and a thinnai (semi-public verandah space with masonry benches for visitors). These talking streets, so called because of their intimate scale and interactive nature, are typical of the vernacular Tamil architecture (also to be found in Kumbakonam, Tanjore, Chidambaram, Srirangam, Mylapore), and the entire street stretch is homogenous because of the use of connecting elements like lean-to-roofs, cornices (horizontals), pilasters or engaged columns (verticals) and ornamental parapets. These Tamil building usually feature a combination of flat and pitched roofs. Your door guard,
Doorways Pondicherry.