Thursday, November 12, 2015

Famous Projects: The Taj Mahal, Agra, India

This is truly the 17th century ideal fusion of between architecture, engineering and art. The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his third wife. The central structure of the complex and the most popular piece is made of marble with a height of 115 feet. The top of the dome features a lotus design, which accentuates its height. This is also emphasized by tall decorative spires that extend from the edges of the base walls.

The central dome is surrounded by four smaller domed kiosks that replicate the center design and allow sunlight to aluminate the interior. The dome and the kiosks are topped by gilded finals. 130 feet tall minarets square the structure. One of the main concerns in those times was the fear of high structure collapsing. That’s why the minarets were built slightly outside the plinth, so that in the event of falling down, they won’t fall over the dome. In all, 28 precious stones were inlaid into the marble walls, including sapphire, crystal, turquoise and many more.

The Taj Mahal from Persian and Arabic, "crown of palaces", is a white marble mausoleum located on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658) to house the tomb of his favorite wife of three, Mumtaz Mahal.

Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for an additional ten years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million Indian rupees, which in 2015 would be valued at around 52.8 billion Indian rupees ($827 million US). The construction project employed around 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The domed marble tomb is part of an integrated complex consisting of gardens and two red-sandstone buildings surrounded by a crenellated wall on three sides.

The Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India". It is one of the world’s most celebrated structures and a symbol of India’s rich history. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, the Taj Mahal attracts some 3 million visitors a year. On 7 July 2007 it was declared one of the Seven winners of New7Wonders of the World (2000–2007) initiative in Lisbon.

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