Dada Harir ni Vav

Ahmedabad, India

The well is oriented east to west, with a domed entrance pavilion resting on twelve columns on the east end. A staircase descends from the west side of this pavilion into the well, passing through four subterranean pavilions (kuti) constructed using pillars and beams. Each pavilion ascends to ground level, and so they are progressively higher with more stories. The flights of stairs between the third and fourth, and the fourth and fifth pavilions pass through a bay supported by two pairs of columns for extra structural support. 

A the bottom of the flights of stairs is a fifth multi-story, pillar-and-beam pavilion that covers a larger ground area than the others. This pavilion is open to the sky through a central octagonal shaft framed by balconies.2 At the bottom of this shaft is a square pool. One can ascend the five stories of this deepest and tallest pavilion through spiral staircases at the north and south ends. An arched doorway on the east end of the fifth pavilion leads to the circular well shaft.

Two canopy structures rise above ground level at the top of the octagonal shaft. Their forms compliment the entrance pavilion and mark far end of the well.