Deccan Chronicle        26.11.2013

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.