Colonial Architecture of Pakistan By Architect Fatema

“Colonial Architecture “. The Term Colonial itself depicts power and dominancy. In Early eras, when a country was conquered by the military forces , they used to built their official , residential and public buildings in a way which could portrays their official powers and dominancy. The Colonial Style of Architecture has always been inspired by the locality and contextual environment of the region and similarly the local available materials. In terms of the newly built architectural history of the country, the Colonial style of architecture comes first in the row as they are considered the first official settlements.

Chief Minister House Nathiagali

The Building in the above image is the Chief Minister House Nathiagali, also known as the KPK HOUSE, is the Colonial Style building built in late 1800s by the British Raj to serve as the official residency of CM. The building is located in the lush green mountains of Nathiagali surrounded by the dense Pine Trees. The locality of the building itself depicts the strategic mindsets of the British rulers, as how they designed these splendid and magnificent structures in dense forests of Galiyat region with alluring views and sceneries.

The Colonial Residency welcomes the visitors with its charismatic brick floor which enters into the white marbled Veranda that is elongated throughout the building. The appealing and charming white French doors and windows in the veranda depicts the French and Britain influences in the over form of the residency. The delicate 6 inches narrow wooden pillars across the veranda which holds the wooden pitch gamble roof give a typical impression of an English Villa.

The black and white images of the CM House reminisce the nostalgic old British Period.

Dak Bunglow Changla Gali

There are vast numbers of Buildings related to Colonial Architecture all over Pakistan but if we draw attention to Galiyat Division of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa , there are many historic and nostalgic Rest Houses usually called “ Dak Bunglows “ in older terminologies. Each Dak Bunglow Has its own tales as these are not only buildings but story tellers in its own nature.
The Below image shows another nostalgic Dak Bunglow Originally Built in 1875 in the British’s era ,situated in Changla Gali of the Galiyat Division Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa.
The Dak Bunglow literally means an office and also a resting place for the officials who used to carry “Dak” meaning “ Letters “ from one place to another. This means these Bunglows were the resting points where the officials used to rest and continue their journeys the next mornings.

The Construction Birthmark Caved in the Main Veranda of the Changla Gali Dak bunglow Dated year 1875.

Cook House

The Cook House of the Changla Gali Dak Bunglow is probably much older than the main cottage. It has been reported to have built in 1850s.It seems that the main lodge is renovated time and again but this structure is neglected due to its less importance, as managed by lower staff & seldom guests came nearer. The structure has been built on blocks attached to each other by mortar and clay. The floor has been renovated time to time but the main lower floor has been constructed with stones courses.

The Murree Brewery Company Ltd

The Murree Brewery Company Ltd. was established in 1860 to meet the beer demand of British personnel at Ghora Gali near the resort place of Murree.
A huge Monumental blocks building with round and segmental arches and a symmetrical form depicts the royalty of British Raj in early days.

The Brewery was managed by the family of Edward Dyer. In the 1880s the company established a further brewery in Rawalpindi and a distillery in Quetta.
Due to scarcity of water in Murree in the 1920s, brewing was mostly transferred to Rawalpindi.
Does the legacy of the British Raj in various parts of the country shows the signs of great architecture but due to neglectance of government departments , we are losing these buildings with the passage of time. The Government need to address and draw attention towards the issue and should work towards the restoration of these beautiful buildings.