Page:Professional papers on Indian Engineering (second series).djvu/22

6 CANNING COLLEGE, LUCKNOW. of Examination Hall, its outlet being covered by an arched roof which is carried up spirally from a point 1} feet below roof level, the stair-case door opens on to the roof behind the turret on the east side of front por- tico, which hides it from the front, while it is hidden from the east by the parapet which at this point is 41 feet high.

The doors and windows throughout the building are of teak, fixed in teak chowkuts, these latter are not built into the walls, but fitted accurate- ly to the openings in the brickwork and secured by screws to dove-tailed bricks of sal wood, which were after being soaked in tar built into the walls; in addition to the glazed or panel doors, all outer doorways are fitted with teak venetians.

The arches in room over front porch, and also the front doors of upper front verandah, are fitted with ornamental cast-iron railings with teak top and bottom rails.

Ventilation is provided in Examination Hall by holes left at the soffit of the arch between each pair of ribs; it is provided in a similar manner for the long verandahs and corridors, and in rooms by openings in the ends of roof arches, which are carried up the end walls; all openings are cover- ed by suitable caps to prevent the entrance of rain.

Polished brass finials are given to turrets, minarets and the projecting windows of corner towers.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the main alteration made from the designer's specification is, that there is now no woodwork in the whole building except the doors, chowkuts, and library sky-light, and these in no way affect the stability of the building, the durability of which is only limited by the life of the iron and bricks used; these were of the best kinds procurable, and every care was taken and everything that suggested itself during the construction of the work done to ensure the greatest strength and durability.

The general effect of the exterior is very poor. The style, as the designer stated, is in harmony with the surrounding buildings of the Kaiser Bagh, but these Ferguson long ago condemned in the strongest terms as “corrupt and degraded,” and apart from the design the building is situa- ted almost immediately in front of the Tomb of Nawab Saadut Ali Khan and close to that of his Begum Moorshed Zadi, and these two lofty buildings, the platforms of which are higher than the floor of the College, in such close proximity to it, have the effect of dwarfing its dimensions and