India has given us many water conservation techniques that are still used in many a places across the country. Of the many unique forms, the stepwells built over thousand years ago are not only an architectural marvel but innovation at its best. Let us take the example of Chand Baori, a stepwell built over a thousand years ago in the Abhaneri village of Rajasthan…
This 13-storey deep well is one of the oldest, deepest and largest stepwells in the world with 3,500 narrow steps arranged in perfect symmetry to the bottom of the well. At the bottom of the well, the air would remain 5-6 degrees Celsius cooler than at the surface.
The Baori has a precise geometrical pattern with the steps forming a magical maze. As you go down the steps on the left, you can see the baori narrowing towards the bottom. The wall of the well is symmetrically lined with two flights of steps each on three sides of the wall. It is based on the concept of equilateral triangle pattern where three smaller triangles would form a bigger triangle. Its deep and well-rounded bottom along with other geometrical shapes like rhombus, and diagonal criss-crossing lines makes Chand Baori look like an inverted pyramid
Dr Shobha Tawade
ScienceNow Digital
