{"id":12856,"date":"2017-03-27T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-27T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/stepwells\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T07:19:53","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T11:19:53","slug":"stepwells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/industry\/stepwells\/","title":{"rendered":"Monumental Ruins: Descend Into India\u2019s Ornate, Crumbling Stepwells"},"content":{"rendered":"

India is a vast country full of iconic architecture including countless stunning temples, mosques and palaces \u2014 but one often-overlooked typology might be the most extraordinary of all: Stepwells are water storage facilities on a monumental scale, designed to help populations across India cope with seasonal fluctuations in water availability. Thousands of stepwells were built across the country starting around the second century A.D., but as India\u2019s water table has dropped, the majority dried up and was abandoned long ago.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Chand Baori; Abhaneri, Rajasthan; circa 800 CE\/18th century<\/i><\/p>\n

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Van Talab Baoli; Amer, Rajasthan; circa 1600\/19th century<\/i><\/p>\n

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Ujala Baoli Mandu; Madhya Pradesh; late-15th\/early-16th century<\/i><\/p>\n

As a consequence, this unique form of infrastructure \u2014 often of immense scale and embellished with ornate details \u2014 is slowly crumbling away. In an attempt to document these beautiful but fragile architectural marvels, journalist Victoria Lautman has been traveling to India for the past several decades to photograph hundreds of unique wells. Lautman\u2019s new book, entitled The Vanishing Stepwells of India<\/i>, provides a fascinating record of these structures before they disappear completely.<\/p>\n

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Batris Kotha Vav; Kaoadvanj, Gujarat; circa 1120<\/i><\/p>\n

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Dada Harir Vav; Asarwa; circa 1499<\/i><\/p>\n

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Navghan Kuvo; Junagadh, Gujarat; fourth\/sixth\/mid-11th century<\/i><\/p>\n

Like portals into a subterranean world, many of these giant wells are up to 10 stories deep, and some had complex programs beyond their primary function as a source of fresh water. Many powerful philanthropists commissioned special stepwells as tributes to Hindu gods, complete with elegant columns, shaded arcades and cascading staircases hewn from solid rock. \u201cDescending into the earth is a profound experience, one in which sweltering heat turns to enveloping cool, and noises become hushed,\u201d wrote Lautman, reflecting on her emotional reaction to entering the wells.<\/p>\n

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Published by Merrell, The Vanishing Stepwells of India<\/i> is available now<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Hat-tip to <\/i>Colossal<\/a>; all images \u00a9 Victoria Lautman<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like portals into a subterranean world, many of these giant wells are up to 10 stories deep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"architizer_featured_type":"projects","architizer_featured_image":"1997002","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,3],"tags":[],"architizer_project":[],"architizer_brand":[],"architizer_firm":[],"architizer_product":[],"class_list":["post-12856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry","category-inspiration"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMonumental Ruins: Descend Into India\u2019s Ornate, Crumbling Stepwells - Architizer Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/industry\/stepwells\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Monumental Ruins: Descend Into India\u2019s Ornate, Crumbling Stepwells - 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