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Kothi Darshan Vilas, a typical example of the amalgam of
European and Muslim style of architecture, this building was started
during the reign of Ghazi-ud-din Haider, and completed by Nasir-ud-din
Haider (1837).
It formed a part of the Chhattar Manzil Palace complex, and was meant to
serve as a residence for the king's begums while the king himself resided
in the Farhat Baksh
Palace.
Darshan Vilas, also known as the Chaurukhi Kothi, or the 'House of Four
Faces' was so called "because each side of the building represented a
facade of another of Lucknow's European buildings."
While the front was an imitation of the
Dilkusha Palace, its
rear portion was based on the riverside facade of the Farhat Baksh.
The remaining two sides were built in accordance with the architectural
pattern followed at the Musabagh Palace. Kothi Darshan Vilas has been
famous as the Palace of Qudasia Mahal, the wife of king Nasir-ud-din
Haider. Today it houses the Directorate of Medical Health.