Most homeowners visit India's great buildings as tourists. They photograph the carvings, read the plaque and move on. Yet many of these buildings were designed to solve exactly the problems that every Indian home still faces: brutal sun, heavy monsoon rain, dust, the need for breeze, the need for privacy, and the wish to make a place feel calm and dignified. The architects and craftsmen who built them had no air-conditioning and no electric light, so every decision about orientation, shade, openings, thickness and material had to work.
This article picks ten Indian buildings — four ancient or medieval, two from the Mughal and Rajput courts, and four from India's modern era — and pulls out the lessons that a homeowner can actually use. A temple or a museum is not a house, and nobody needs a carved stepwell in their basement. But the principles scale down remarkably well: the same thinking that shades the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh can shade a west-facing bedroom window in Surat, and the same idea that ventilates Kanchanjunga Apartments in Mumbai can cool a 3BHK on the twelfth floor.
The selection leans towards buildings that are well documented and easy to visit, and towards Gujarat, where Aaditya Interior is based and where several of India's most instructive modern buildings stand. For each, the article gives the essential facts, the core lesson, and a practical translation into dimensions, materials and decisions for a home.
The ten buildings at a glance
The list runs roughly in chronological order. Dates are given only where they are well established; for older monuments, centuries are more honest than exact years. Four of the ten are inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, either on their own or as part of a larger site.
| # | Building | Place | Period | Designer / patron | Core lesson for a home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rani ki Vav (stepwell) | Patan, Gujarat | 11th century | Commissioned in memory of King Bhima I | Go below the heat; water and mass cool |
| 2 | Brihadeeswarar Temple | Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu | Completed c. 1010 | Chola king Rajaraja I | Structure and material are the design |
| 3 | Sun Temple, Konark | Odisha | 13th century | Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I | Orientation to the sun |
| 4 | Taj Mahal | Agra, Uttar Pradesh | 17th century | Mughal emperor Shah Jahan | Axis, symmetry and the plinth |
| 5 | Hawa Mahal | Jaipur, Rajasthan | 1799 | Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh | A screened facade for privacy and breeze |
| 6 | Capitol Complex | Chandigarh | 1950s–1960s | Le Corbusier | Shade before glass: brise-soleil and parasol roofs |
| 7 | Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya | Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad | Opened 1963 | Charles Correa | A modest grid, open pavilions, courtyards |
| 8 | Indian Institute of Management | Ahmedabad | 1960s–1970s | Louis Kahn, with B. V. Doshi and Anant Raje | Deep openings, brick, controlled light |
| 9 | Kanchanjunga Apartments | Mumbai | Completed 1983 | Charles Correa | Buffer verandahs and cross-ventilation in a tower |
| 10 | Sangath | Ahmedabad | c. 1980 | B. V. Doshi (his own studio) | Earth-sheltered rooms, reflective vaults, water |
Ancient lessons: water, stone and the sun
1. Rani ki Vav, Patan — go below the heat
Rani ki Vav is a stepwell in Patan, north Gujarat, built in the eleventh century in memory of King Bhima I of the Chaulukya (Solanki) dynasty; tradition and inscriptions associate it with his queen, Udayamati. It was designed as an inverted temple: seven levels of stairs and pavilions descend to the water, and the walls carry hundreds of finely carved sculptures. The stepwell lay silted up for centuries before it was excavated and conserved, and it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.
The lesson for a home is about thermal mass and depth. Anyone who has walked down into a stepwell on a summer afternoon feels the temperature fall: the earth around it is far more stable in temperature than the air, the water evaporates and cools, and the stone stays shaded. A home cannot sit in a stepwell, but it can borrow the principle. Ground-floor and basement rooms in bungalows are naturally cooler; earth berms, shaded courtyards with water, and heavy masonry walls on the west and south slow heat gain; and in flats, keeping thermal mass inside the insulated envelope — stone or tile floors rather than carpets, solid internal walls — helps stabilise the indoor temperature. The stepwell is also a reminder of water harvesting, which Gujarat's traditional houses took seriously with underground tanks.
2. Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur — let structure be the design
The Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur was built by the Chola king Rajaraja I and completed around 1010. Its granite vimana, the tower over the sanctum, rises more than 60 metres, and the temple is part of the UNESCO site Great Living Chola Temples. The lesson here is that the most impressive design often comes from structure and material rather than applied decoration. The temple's power lies in its massing, its proportion and the precision of its granite, and it has been in continuous use for more than a thousand years.
In a home, this lesson translates into a preference for durable, honest materials and visible good construction: stone or quartz counters rather than laminates on high-wear surfaces, solid timber or thick edge-bands on joinery edges, exposed structure when it is well built, and fewer but better materials. It also argues for maintenance as part of design. A Chola temple survives because generations have cared for it; a home interior lasts when it is designed to be cleaned, repaired and refinished rather than replaced.
3. Sun Temple, Konark — orient to the sun
The Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha was built in the thirteenth century under the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I and is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple is conceived as the chariot of the sun god Surya, with 24 carved stone wheels and teams of horses, and it is oriented so that its entrance faces east, towards the rising sun. For homeowners, Konark is the most direct reminder that orientation is the first design decision. Long before Vastu was turned into lists of rules, the underlying idea was simple: understand where the sun rises, where it is hottest and where it sets, and plan the house around that.
In India's latitudes, east light is gentle and welcome in the morning; south light is high in summer and can be shaded easily with an overhang; and west light — low, hot and long — is the most difficult to control. Bedrooms facing west heat up in the late afternoon and stay warm into the night. A homeowner choosing between two otherwise similar flats should ask which way the main glazing faces; in an independent house, the plan should place service spaces — stairs, toilets, stores — on the west where possible, as buffers.
Court lessons: axis, proportion and the screen
4. Taj Mahal, Agra — use an axis and a plinth
The Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal and constructed over roughly two decades in the seventeenth century, is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its beauty depends on a few strict ideas: a single strong axis from the gateway through the charbagh garden to the tomb; near-perfect symmetry on both sides of that axis; a raised plinth that lifts the building and gives it presence; and a limited palette of white marble with inlay. Nothing is left to chance, and nothing is crowded.
Those ideas transfer directly to interiors. An axis — a line from the entrance door to a focal point such as a window, a painting or a pooja unit — gives a home an immediate sense of order. Symmetry around a focal wall (a TV unit flanked by matching shelves, a bed flanked by two side tables and two lamps) makes a room feel calm. A raised element — a platform for a pooja unit, a plinth under a bed or a sofa — adds presence. And a limited palette, used with discipline, reads as luxury far more convincingly than many competing materials.
5. Hawa Mahal, Jaipur — screen the facade
The Hawa Mahal, built in 1799 for Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, is essentially a five-storey screen: a pink sandstone facade honeycombed with 953 small windows and latticed jharokhas. It allowed the women of the court to watch street life unseen, and its many small openings let breezes move through the building while breaking up the direct sun. It is one of the clearest demonstrations that a facade can be thick and layered rather than a thin skin of glass.
For homes, the Hawa Mahal argues for a second layer in front of exposed glass. In a bungalow, that layer can be a jaali screen, a terracotta block wall or a timber louvre set 150–600 millimetres outside a west-facing window; in a flat, where the society may not allow external changes, it can be a balcony screen, an internal jaali partition, or layered curtains with a sheer and a lined blackout. The screen principle — many small openings, roughly 30–40 per cent open for daytime privacy — is explained in detail in this blog's article on the Indian jaali.
Modern lessons: shade, grids and deep openings
6. Capitol Complex, Chandigarh — shade before glass
Le Corbusier's Capitol Complex in Chandigarh — the Palace of Assembly, the Secretariat and the High Court — was built in the 1950s and 1960s and inscribed in 2016 as part of UNESCO's listing of his architectural work. Its signature device is the brise-soleil, a deep grid of concrete fins and shelves set in front of the windows, sized so that the high summer sun is blocked while lower winter sun can reach inside. The High Court adds a giant parasol roof that shades the building below and lets air flow between roof and offices.
This is the single most valuable lesson on this list for Indian homeowners. Heat is far easier to stop before it reaches the glass than to remove afterwards with air-conditioning. On south-facing windows, a horizontal overhang (chhajja) does most of the work, because the sun is high in the summer sky. On west and east windows, the sun is low, and horizontal overhangs barely help; vertical fins, louvres or an external jaali are needed. On a top-floor flat or a bungalow roof, a second roof — a pergola, a shade sail or a ventilated false roof — plays the part of Le Corbusier's parasol.
7. Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, Ahmedabad — a modest grid around courts
Charles Correa's museum at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, opened in 1963, is one of the gentlest buildings in India. It is made of a repeating square module: brick piers and pyramidal tiled roofs, arranged around open courts and a water court, with wooden louvres instead of glass in many openings. Some units are enclosed and some are open pavilions, so visitors move through a rhythm of shade and light, inside and outside, at the pace of a walk. The building is deliberately modest in scale, in keeping with the ashram it serves.
The homeowner's lessons are three. First, a simple repeating module — in a house, often a 3000 or 3600 millimetre grid — makes planning, structure and furniture easier and gives rooms a family resemblance. Second, open and closed spaces can alternate: a verandah between two rooms, a small court between a living room and a bedroom, a semi-open puja or seating pavilion. Third, modesty can be a design value. A home that is human in scale, with ceilings, doors and windows sized to the body rather than to impress, is often more comfortable than a grander one.
8. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad — deep openings and honest brick
The campus of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad was designed by Louis Kahn from the early 1960s, with B. V. Doshi involved in bringing him to the project and Anant Raje continuing the work after Kahn's death; the main buildings were completed through the 1960s and 1970s. Built in load-bearing brick with concrete ties, it is famous for its huge circular and arched openings set deep into thick walls. Those openings are not decoration: they let light in indirectly, keep direct sun off inner glass, and create shaded in-between spaces where students gather.
At home, the lesson is depth. A window set deep into a thick wall, or behind a shaded balcony, admits soft reflected light rather than harsh direct sun. Interior designers can create depth even in thin modern walls by building out window reveals with seating ledges or bookshelves 300–450 millimetres deep, by adding external fins, or by placing a planted balcony between the glass and the sky. The campus also shows that one material used confidently — here, brick — can carry an entire architecture; an interior that commits to one main material often looks more expensive than one that uses many.
Lessons for living: Kanchanjunga and Sangath
9. Kanchanjunga Apartments, Mumbai — a buffer for every flat
Completed in 1983 on Cumballa Hill in Mumbai, Charles Correa's Kanchanjunga Apartments is one of the most studied residential towers in India. Correa faced a classic Mumbai problem: the best views and the sea breeze come from the west, but so do the hot afternoon sun and the heaviest monsoon rain. His answer was to give each apartment a double-height garden terrace at the corner of the tower, set behind the building line, so that the living rooms are protected from sun and rain by a deep, open buffer, while still enjoying the view and the breeze. The apartments interlock in section on split levels, and many have openings on more than one face for cross-ventilation.
No homeowner can rebuild their tower, but the Kanchanjunga lesson applies to every flat with a balcony: treat the balcony as a buffer, not as extra floor area to enclose. A balcony 1500–2400 millimetres deep in front of the living room shades its glass, keeps rain off the windows, and provides a semi-outdoor room. Enclosing that balcony with glass to gain carpet area — a common move — usually makes the living room hotter, because the glass is now unshaded and the buffer is lost. Where cross-ventilation is possible, keeping internal doors and partitions open-able lets air pass from the windward to the leeward side of the flat.
10. Sangath, Ahmedabad — earth, reflective vaults and water
Sangath is B. V. Doshi's own architectural studio in Ahmedabad, built around 1980. Its long barrel vaults are partly sunk into the ground and covered with broken white china mosaic, which reflects much of the sun's heat; the earth around the lower spaces keeps them cool; and rainwater runs off the vaults through channels and cascades into pools and a terraced lawn that doubles as an informal amphitheatre. Inside, the vaults bounce light softly down into the studios. The name Sangath is usually translated as moving together, and the building feels more like a small village than an office.
For homeowners, Sangath offers three practical lessons. Reflective roofs work: white china mosaic or high-reflectance roof coatings on an exposed terrace can noticeably reduce heat entering top-floor rooms, which is why the technique is common on Gujarati terraces. Indirect light is kinder than direct light: a vaulted, coved or light-coloured ceiling that bounces daylight or artificial light is more comfortable than bare downlights. And water and planting near openings cool the air slightly by evaporation and, just as importantly, make a home feel calmer.
When visiting any of these buildings, it helps to go with a short list of things to observe rather than only a camera. The table below suggests what to notice at each, and where the same idea could appear in a home.
| Building | What to notice on a visit | Where it shows up at home |
|---|---|---|
| Rani ki Vav | How the air temperature changes as you descend; how light falls down the shaft | Ground-floor rooms, shaded courts, stone floors |
| Brihadeeswarar Temple | The proportion of base to tower; the precision of the stone joints | Fewer, better materials; joinery alignment |
| Konark Sun Temple | Which way the entrance faces; where the morning sun lands | Orientation of the main glazing and the pooja corner |
| Taj Mahal | The single axis from the gateway; the raised plinth; the restricted palette | Focal walls, symmetry, a limited material palette |
| Hawa Mahal | The depth of the facade; the size and number of openings | Jaali partitions, balcony screens, layered curtains |
| Capitol Complex | Shadow patterns on the fins at different hours; the parasol roof | Chhajjas, fins, terrace pergolas |
| Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya | The rhythm of open and closed units; the water court; the louvres | Verandahs, semi-open seating, modular planning |
| IIM Ahmedabad | The depth of the brick openings; reflected light inside | Window seats, deep reveals, one dominant material |
| Sangath | The white mosaic vaults; the sunken rooms; the water channels | Reflective terraces, coved ceilings, water features |
From monument to home: the lessons, sized and priced
The table below turns each lesson into a specific decision for a flat or a bungalow, with typical dimensions and, where reasonable, indicative October 2026 costs from the price bands used across this blog. Costs for external works such as overhangs and fins depend heavily on the building, the society's rules and access, and should be quoted on site.
| Lesson | From | Home application | Typical dimension | Indicative cost (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shade glass outside | Chandigarh, Hawa Mahal | Chhajja on south; fins or jaali on west | Chhajja 450–750 mm; fins 300–450 deep | MS jaali ₹450–1,000 per sq ft; GFRC ₹700–1,600; confirm on site |
| Buffer the living room | Kanchanjunga | Keep balcony open; plant and shade it | Balcony 1500–2400 mm deep | Planters and seating only — far cheaper than enclosing |
| Reflect the roof | Sangath | White china mosaic or reflective coating on terrace | Whole exposed terrace | Exterior coatings from ₹17–26 per sq ft; china mosaic quoted locally |
| Use an axis | Taj Mahal | Align entrance, focal wall and ceiling light | Shelves 600–900 mm each side | No extra cost — a drawing decision |
| Deepen openings | IIM Ahmedabad | Window seat or bookshelf reveal | 300–450 mm deep | Cabinetry ₹1,200–2,200 per sq ft of elevation |
| Screen for privacy | Hawa Mahal | Jaali partition or balcony screen | 30–40 % open; panels ≤ 1200 mm | MDF ₹350–800; MS ₹450–1,000 per sq ft |
| Mass and cool floors | Rani ki Vav | Stone or tile floors; heavy west walls | — | Vitrified ₹60–120 + ₹25–40 laying per sq ft |
| A modest grid | Gandhi Smarak | Plan rooms on a 3000–3600 mm module | Module 3000–3600 mm | No extra cost — saves joinery waste |
Which lessons matter most in your climate
The National Building Code of India and the Energy Conservation Building Code divide the country into five climate zones. The same building lesson does not carry equal weight everywhere: a buffer balcony is vital in humid Mumbai, while thermal mass and a shaded court are vital in hot-dry Ahmedabad or Jaipur. The table below matches each zone to the buildings whose lessons apply most strongly.
| Climate zone | Example cities | Priority for homes | Most relevant buildings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot-dry | Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur | Thermal mass, shaded courts, small west openings, reflective roofs | Rani ki Vav, Sangath, Hawa Mahal |
| Warm-humid | Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi | Cross-ventilation, deep balconies and eaves, moisture-resistant materials | Kanchanjunga, Gandhi Smarak |
| Composite | Delhi, Lucknow, Chandigarh | Shade in summer, admit low winter sun, flexible openings | Capitol Complex, Taj Mahal |
| Temperate | Bengaluru, Pune | Moderate shading, daylight, ventilation | IIM Ahmedabad (light), Gandhi Smarak |
| Cold | Shimla, Srinagar, Leh | Admit sun, insulate, reduce openings on the cold side | Konark (orientation to the sun) |
Surat, where Aaditya Interior is based, is a coastal city with long, humid summers and a heavy monsoon; homeowners should check the zone listed for their own city in the code annexures, but in Surat practice cross-ventilation and shaded balconies matter most, followed by protection of west-facing glass and the use of moisture-resistant boards — BWR or BWP plywood and HDHMR — in joinery. A flat in Ahmedabad, only a few hours away, sits in a hot-dry climate and benefits more from thermal mass, heavy curtains on west glass and reflective terraces.
Nine rules a homeowner can take from these buildings
- Check orientation before buying: prefer main glazing facing north, east or well-shaded south; treat large unshaded west glass as a cost.
- Shade glass from outside wherever the building allows it — overhangs on the south, fins or screens on the west and east.
- Keep balconies as open buffers; do not glaze them in to gain carpet area unless the glass is shaded.
- Plan for cross-ventilation: keep at least one path of open-able doors or screens between opposite windows.
- Organise each main room on an axis — door, focal wall, ceiling light — and mirror the elements on either side.
- Use one main material with confidence rather than many; let structure and craft carry the design.
- Put a reflective finish on exposed roofs and terraces; in top-floor flats this is often the best value thermal upgrade.
- Build depth around windows with seats or shelves 300–450 mm deep to soften light.
- Design for maintenance: materials that can be cleaned, repaired and refinished outlast those that can only be replaced.
Frequently asked questions
Which Indian buildings are UNESCO World Heritage Sites on this list?
Rani ki Vav (2014), the Brihadeeswarar Temple as part of the Great Living Chola Temples (1987), the Sun Temple at Konark (1984), the Taj Mahal (1983), and the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh as part of The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier (2016).
What is a brise-soleil?
A brise-soleil, French for sun-breaker, is a fixed array of fins, louvres or shelves set in front of a window to block direct sun while allowing light and air through. Le Corbusier used concrete brise-soleil extensively in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad; in homes, the same idea appears as concrete, aluminium or GFRC fins, or as a jaali screen.
How can a flat stay cooler without more air-conditioning?
Shade the glass from outside where allowed, keep balconies open as buffers, use lined curtains or blinds on west windows, allow cross-ventilation at night, apply a reflective finish to exposed terraces on top floors, and use light-coloured exterior and roof finishes. These measures reduce heat gain so that any air-conditioning runs less.
Who designed Kanchanjunga Apartments and why is it famous?
Charles Correa designed Kanchanjunga Apartments in Mumbai, completed in 1983. It is famous for giving each apartment a double-height garden terrace that shades the living spaces from the western sun and monsoon rain while keeping sea views and breezes — a model for climate-responsive high-rise housing.
What is Sangath and can it be visited?
Sangath is the Ahmedabad studio of architect B. V. Doshi, built around 1980, known for its earth-sheltered spaces, white china-mosaic vaults and water channels. It is a working office and foundation; visiting arrangements should be checked with the organisation in advance.
Sources & standards
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen's Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat (2014); Great Living Chola Temples (1987, extended 2004); Sun Temple, Konârak (1984); Taj Mahal (1983); The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier (2016)
- Archaeological Survey of India — monument notes on Rani ki Vav, Konark, Thanjavur and the Taj Mahal
- Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan — Hawa Mahal (built 1799)
- The Pritzker Architecture Prize — 2018 Laureate, Balkrishna Doshi (biography and works including Sangath)
- Charles Correa Foundation — project records for the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya and Kanchanjunga Apartments
- Bureau of Indian Standards — National Building Code of India 2016, Part 11 (Approach to Sustainability: climate zones); Bureau of Energy Efficiency — ECBC and Eco-Niwas Samhita
- Price ranges: indicative October 2026 estimates — confirm locally before budgeting
