The grand mansions of Tamil Nadu's Chettiar merchant community, built with materials drawn from a trading network that once reached Southeast Asia.
तमिलनाडु · Tamil Nadu
Chettinad houses are known for long pillared halls, elaborate Athangudi tile flooring made locally with a distinctive hand-cast technique, and building materials, Burma teak, Italian marble, Belgian glass, brought back from the trading network the Chettiar community operated across South and Southeast Asia through the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The region's homes are laid out around one or more courtyards, similar in principle to the Kerala nalukettu already covered on this page, and the distinctive Athangudi tiles remain handmade in the region today, still fired using the same local clay and technique.