100 and going strong

Chennai: Often referred to as Chennai’s own White House, the historic Ripon Buildings, where the city corporation has its headquarters, turns 100 on Tuesday.

One of the most loved landmarks of the city, located close to the Chennai Central Railway Station and opposite the Park Railway Station, it was built on November 26, 1913.

Both  beautiful and spacious, the heritage structure has rooms with ceilings so high that they measure 22 feet from the ground. The space this provides helps  keep Ripon’s interiors cool, notes former chief engineer of the city corporation, A. Swaminathan, recalling that during the early ’70s not many would even use a fan in its rooms. 

“ Only after the partitions came did the officials start using fans and later air conditioners. Even today it is the best eco- friendly building with better storm water drains than many parts of the city,” adds  the officer,  who served the corporation for 34 years.

Reflecting  Indo-Saracenic architecture, Ripon was built by Loganatha Mudaliyar and  took more than three years and  Rs 7.5 lakh to complete.  The 132 ft  tall building with corridors running over 252 feet,  was declared open by the then Viceroy and Governor General of India, Charles Hardinge.  

“It might be a little hard to believe but Ripon’s  clock tower is as tall as the rest of the building and is believed to be one of the biggest of its kind in the country. While the building is 30 meters tall, the clock tower adds another 28 meters to it,” says a senior corporation official.

While Ripon today has modern trappings like airconditioning, experts warn that it could suffer  damage because of them in the long run .  

“The civic body  has to bear in mind that the air conditioning inside Ripon could spoil the lime work in due course of time,” says Muzakkir Bijli, associate professor, Measi Academy of Architecture, explaining that the difference in temperature within and around the building created by the air conditioning could cause the lime plaster to peel off eventually.

Next: Ripon combines old and new aesthetics

Ripon combines old and new aesthetics

Chennai: The Ripon Buildings, now a 100-year-old building, has been hosting one of the world’s oldest corporations here in Chennai. But all is not old at the heritage building, as technology has been enlisted for its upkeep over  these years, and the building will be back to its original glory though only by 2014.

However, the building is being taken back to its old format with the corporation officials removing all the obstructions and restoring the building with limestone with which it was originally made.

“We have removed almost 90 per cent of the obstructions and rooms in the corridors and the building has been restored to its unique aesthetics,” said K. Arumugam, sthapathi working (artisans who take up works related to limestone restoration) at the Ripon Buildings.

“The building has a calm aesthetic value to it and to watch it during the night hours is a visual delight. A countless number of film shootings have taken place in the Ripon Buildings over the years,” recalled S. Selvaraj, who has served at the corporation as its public relations officer.

Now any senior citizen who visits the building will smell the originality of it due to the limestone works on it, but will feel the tech-touch where the officials have a walkie-talkie for communication, a well air-conditioned and acoustically engineered council hall, upgraded library, well equipped lifts and state-of-the-art grievance cell, admit Ripon Building sources.

Adding another feather to its cap will be a museum on its premises which will display the path it has come over all these 100 years. An annex building, which is almost a replica of the former, is nearing completion.

“Except for the mayor and the commissioners, all the officials will take their position inside the new building while the ground floor of the old building will have displays of photos and robes portraying the early periods,” said a senior official at the Ripon Buildings.