Page 46 - JCAU-6-1

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism A study on the spatial characteristics of gara

also solidified their political influence (Luengo, 2023); (iii) the fundamental reasons for changes in urban structure
Prosperous Colonial Period: Western colonizers exerted and residential types at both the macro-urban and micro-
their influence on military, economic, religious, and social architectural levels (Eddy et al., 2020).
aspects of the colony, prompting distinct planning for
various ethnic and religious groups; (iv) Modern Period: 2. Shophouse, haveli, and gara
In the modern era, some traditional cities have vanished, Traditional Indian houses are commonly referred to
whereas others have flourished into major metropolises as the courtyard-style haveli (Figure 2). However, the
(Wang & Jia, 2016). From the ancient “Maritime Silk Road,” field investigation conducted in this study showed that
to European colonization and national independence, the the traditional houses in Surat are not havelis, and their
forms and architectural typologies of Asian port cities planning features closely resemble those of the shophouses
have predominantly been shaped by three factors: trade, in the Malay Peninsula and Indochina Peninsula (Figure 3).
colonization, and religion.
India, situated along the route of the “Maritime Silk 2.1. Haveli
Road,” harbors Surat, a city in Gujarat, as a port city Haveli is a noble residence in North India, characterized
that emerged within this dynamic environment. The by similar width and depth, representing a courtyard-style
city was founded by Akbar, the third emperor of the architecture. In general, it features two courtyards, with
Mughal dynasty, establishing the first seaport city. After the front yard intended for men’s use and the backyard
the 16 century, Surat became a stronghold for Muslim for women’s use. Courtyards are generally square shaped
th
merchants engaging in maritime trade across the Indian and mainly used for natural light and ventilation purposes.
Ocean (Gupta, 1979). Spanning from the late 16 century Depending on the needs, haveli can be divided into family
th
to the first half of the 18 century, Surat served as a trading rooms, reception rooms, trade office rooms, and carriage
th
hub of Asia for the Portuguese, British, and Dutch. Due garages (Bera, 2020).
to its unique geographical location, Gujarat directly
links to ports along the west coast of India, the Arabian 2.2. Form, origin, and development of shophouse
Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the east coast of The involvement of Western colonizers in Asian trade
Africa. In addition, it serves as a hub for trade routes to competition promoted architectural innovation (Luengo,
Java and China through the Strait of Malacca (Figure 1). 2017). The spread and evolution of shophouses (Figure 2)
Therefore, the urban layout and architectural styles of spanned roughly two centuries, from the establishment of
Surat were predominantly influenced by trade, religion, the Straits Colony to the independent autonomy of each
and colonization. To clarify the formation process of Surat colony. Jon Lim divided this evolutionary phase into three
City, the spatial pattern of historical blocks, and the spatial periods based on the time of colonial government power
characteristics and evolution of gara, it is essential to infer transfer and important regulations (Lim, 1993):
1
1 Gara: Originally intended as a commonly used (i) The first period (1786–1866): The migration of early
architectural term in the southern region of Gujarat, Chinese people to Southeast Asia facilitated the adoption
gara refers to the spacing between beams. of “street houses” architectural forms from ancestral
homes in southern China (such as bamboo pole houses
in Fujian, bamboo tube houses in Guangdong, and
Tingzi buildings in Taiwan) into Singapore (Chen,
1998). In 1822, under British influence, Raffles in
Singapore combined the corridor form of ancient
Greece and Rome with traditional Chinese commercial
buildings, giving rise to the shophouse. The idea of
racial zoning governance was adopted, leading to
the separation and distribution of cities according to
different ethnic groups. To unify the urban landscape
and facilitate management, the planning of grid-shaped
blocks was introduced. Shophouses emerged in Penang
and Malacca, Malaysia, in 1862.
(ii) The second period (1867–1926): This period
was characterized by the further development of
shophouses in Penang and Singapore as the British
Figure 1. Location of Surat. Source: Drawing by the authors gained control of the Straits Colonies. European

Volume 6 Issue 1 (2024) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1797