Exploring Chennai’s heritage through window illustrations

A Chennai boy, he always wanted to do an illustration series that depicts the history of the city. Sunil developed a series of illustrations titled Windows of Madras. “Most of us only know about the popular heritage structures. But there are a lot of heritage buildings that are privatelyowned and even the owners aren’t aware of its value. I started doing research and got to know that the Heritage Conservation Committee has properly listed out the heritage buildings area-wise. If you check their website, you will get to know how areas are developed at different times like Pallava period, colonial era, Portuguese rule, and so on. Many asked me, ‘Why windows’? Well, a window or a door or any ornamentation of a building shows the architectural style in general. A window being a small component speaks a lot about the building and its past. I have created minimal illustrations with lines, geometric shapes and limited colours,” says Sunil.

The young architect’s idea was to create awareness about the neighbourhood heritage buildings. “The architecture in Anna Nagar will be different from Broadway or Nungambakkam. I have studied 30 localities and it is really interesting to know the history of each neighbourhood. Broadway is officially known as Prakasam Salai, after the freedom fighter T Prakasam. Until the late 18th century, the area on which the present day’s road lies remained as an unwanted drainage channel, known then as Atta Pallam. The buildings built in the British era in this region show a western architectural style. If you look at Periyamet, there are a few colonial-era buildings showing the Gothic-style and Neoclassical style of architecture. High ceilings and teakwood panels are one of the common characteristics in these buildings,” shares the architect.