Living Heritage of Mewar

A publication recording The City Palace’s journey through time

The City Palace at Udaipur has gone through generations of change and transformation since its inception as the genius loci of Udaipur in the mid-16th century. Twenty-two generations of custodians from the house of Mewar who have safeguarded and developed this valuable resource of Udaipur, have contributed to five distinct styles and phases of architecture that subsequently impacted the urban form of the lake city of Udaipur.

This publication is a narrative of the multifaceted architectural evolution of the unique palace.

 

The art of collaboration

We collaborated with fellow designers, artisans, researchers, architects, and conservationists with unwavering enthusiasm, spanning over four years (2005- 2009). The project was indeed monumental, undertaken in association with the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation and DRONA Foundation. It was only through a joint effort that we succeeded in representing the heritage of The City Palace to such exacting standards.

 

Information architecture

The content of the book stretches to the full extent of time. The book unfolds as a story of the palace, from the time it came into being to its global significance in present day. This is achieved by dividing the narrative chronologically into phases of the rich historical past.

 

 

 

Visual and instructional flair

Imagery is at the forefront of translating the dense content of the book into something exceptionally engaging. The book provides an overview of the exhaustive research and analysis of the palace art, architecture, landscape and conservation. This information is supported by 165 photographs and 58 plans. The plans have been skillfully illustrated as skylines, 3D views, cross sections and elevations.