Practice MCQs — Architecture (with Answers)

1. What is the earliest known public water tank in the world, found at an Indian site? Answer: The Great Bath, Mohenjodaro.

2. Which site is often called the "cradle of Indian temple architecture"? Answer: Aihole.

3. What is the tower over the sanctum called in the Nagara style? Answer: Shikhara.

4. What is the gateway tower called in the Dravida style? Answer: Gopuram.

5. Which dynasty built the Kailasa Temple at Ellora? Answer: The Rashtrakutas (under Krishna I).

6. Which king built the Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur? Answer: Rajaraja I Chola.

7. Which Sultanate ruler began the Qutub Minar, and who completed it? Answer: Begun by Qutbuddin Aibak; completed by Iltutmish.

8. Which Mughal monument is considered a key precursor to the Taj Mahal? Answer: Humayun's Tomb.

9. Who built the Taj Mahal and in whose memory? Answer: Shah Jahan, in memory of Mumtaz Mahal.

10. What garden style, of Persian origin, is seen at the Taj Mahal and Humayun's Tomb? Answer: Charbagh.

11. Which Deccan Sultanate monument is famous for a whispering gallery? Answer: Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur.

12. Which architectural style blends Indian and Gothic/European elements, seen in Victoria Terminus? Answer: Indo-Saracenic style.

13. Who designed New Delhi's Rashtrapati Bhavan and Parliament House? Answer: Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker.

14. Who designed the city of Chandigarh? Answer: Le Corbusier.

15. Who designed the Lotus Temple in Delhi? Answer: Fariborz Sahba.

16. Which UNESCO site shows both Nagara and Dravida temple styles side by side? Answer: Pattadakal, Karnataka.

17. Which Odisha temple is shaped like a giant stone chariot? Answer: The Konark Sun Temple.

18. Which Gujarat stepwell is a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Answer: Rani ki Vav, Patan.

19. Which Sikh shrine has entrances on all four sides, symbolising openness? Answer: The Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), Amritsar.

20. Who designed the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad? Answer: Louis Kahn.

(End of Architecture notes. Cross-reference with Ancient India, Medieval India, and Paintings files for related detail.)