VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA
Indian vernacular architecture • is the informal • functional architecture of functional architecture of structures • often in rural areas of India • built of local materials and • designed to meet the needs of the local people the local people. • The builders of these structures have’nt learned formal architect ral design and architectural design and • their work reflects the rich diversity of India's climate • locally available building materials and • the intricate variations in local the intricate variations in local social customs and craftsmanship.
RURAL HOUSE AT MANALI
CHETTINAD HOUSE OF TAMIL NADU
• The term "vernacular architecture" in general architecture in general refers to the informal building of structures building of structures through traditional building methods by building methods by local builders without using the services of a using the services of a professional architect. It is the most widespread is the most widespread form of building
TODA HUT
VILLAGE HUT OF WEST BENGAL
• The art, architecture and oral traditions of tribal g g p villages are indigenous vernacular expressions of diverse culture of India • All ritualistic , artistic, sacred and profane expressions of their life are distinctly reflected expressions of their life are distinctly reflected • Their landscape with covered with traditional sacred sites, mounds, burial grounds, pathways, festive spaces all historically significant in tribal mythology
Factors of Vernacular Architecture in India • Climate Climate • Varies from scorching sun in Gangetic plains to the tropical conditions of the south the tropical conditions of the south • From dry cold climates in Leh to the perennially damp conditions in the north east i ll d di i i h h of the country • Variation in climate spawns a diverse form of vernacular architecture
Factors of Vernacular Architecture in India • Geography • Vary from hilly terrain of the Himalayas and Kashmir to the flats of the Deccan and the Kashmir to the flats of the Deccan and the South • From the damp ground of Assam and Bengal F h d d fA dB l to the dry earth of Punjab
Factors of Vernacular Architecture in India • Availability of Local materials y • An abundance of red laterite stone makes Goa and Karnataka the medium choice of vernacular constructions • North India clayey soil makes sun burnt bricks and mud mortar a commonly used medium and mud mortar a commonly used medium • Bamboo construction can be found in North‐East • Mangalore roof tiles in south g • Plethora of Sandstone made medieval Jaipur PINK CITY
Factors of Vernacular Architecture in India • Anthropology • The comparative study of the physical and social characteristics of humanity through the examination of historical and present geographical distribution , historical and present geographical distribution , cultural history , acculturation and cultural relationships • Culture • Social Organisation of a particular people : language, economic and political organisation , law and conflict resolution, patterns of consumption and exchange , l i f i d h kinship and family structure , gender relations , religion, mythology etc
Regional Variation • Building material depends on location. • In hilly country where rocky rubble, ashlar, and pieces of stone are available, these can be patched together with a mud mortar to form walls. • Finer stonework veneer covers the outside. Sometimes wood beams and rafters are used with slate tiles for roofing if available. f f l bl • Houses on hills usually have two stories, with the livestock living on the ground floor. Often a verandah runs along the side of the house. The roof is pitched to d l ith th deal with the monsoon season and the house may sit d th h it on raised plinths or bamboo poles to cope with floods.
Regional Variation Regional Variation • O On the flat lands, adobes are usually made of mud or t e at a ds, adobes a e usua y ade o ud o sun‐baked bricks, then plastered inside and out, sometimes with mud mixed with hay or even cow dung and whitewashed with lime. d h h d hl • Where bamboo is available (mainly in the north and northeastern states) it is widely used for all parts of the th t t t ) it i id l df ll t f th home as it is flexible and resilient. • Also widely used is Also widely used is thatch from plants such as elephant thatch from plants such as elephant grass, paddy, and coconut. In the south, clay tiles are used for p pakka roofing while various plant material g p such as coconut palm is common for kacha.
Categories • Indian Indian vernacular architecture has evolved vernacular architecture has evolved organically over time through the skillful craftsmanship of the local people Despite the craftsmanship of the local people. Despite the diversity, this architecture can be broadly divided into three categories divided into three categories. • Kacha • Pakka P kk • Semi‐Pukka
Kacha • Kacha type is building made of natural materials such as mud,, ggrass,, bamboo,, thatch or sticks and is therefore a short‐lived structure. • It is not made for endurance • It requires constant maintenance and replacement. d l • The practical limitations of the building materials available dictate the specific form which can have a available dictate the specific form which can have a simple beauty. g kacha is that construction • The advantage of a materials are cheap and easily available and relatively little labor is required.
Pakka • Pakka a a type type is structure made from materials s st uctu e ade o ate a s resistant to wear, such as forms of stone or brick, clay tiles, metal or other durable materials, sometimes using mortar to bind, that does not b d h d need to be constantly maintained or replaced • It is expensive to construct as the materials are It i i t t t th t i l costly and more labor is required. • A pakka may be elaborately decorated in contrast may be elaborately decorated in contrast to a kacha.
Semi‐ Pakka Semi • A A combination of the combination of the kacha and pakka style, style the semi‐pakka, has evolved as villagers have acquired the resources to add elements acquired the resources to add elements constructed of the durable materials characteristic of a pakka. characteristic of a pakka • Architecture as always evolves organically as the needs and resources of people change the needs and resources of people change.
HIGHLIGHTING FEATURES IN INDIAN VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE RAJASTHANI ARCHITECTURE Jharokha g g y Overhanging balcony Intrinsically worked out Often used for ceremonial Often used for ceremonial appearances • Several jharokhas Several jharokhas seen seen jutting out from the façade of typical havelis of Rajasthan typical havelis of Rajasthan
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• KERALA ARCHITECTURE Mangalore tiled sloping roof • slope‐roofed Mangalore tiles and thatch to draw off and channel rain
• VILLAGE SETTLEMENTS IN UTTARANCHAL • Characterised by houses of stones , timber and mud mortar on slopes with thick walls of rubble masonary designed to ward off cold with a shelter for animals below the main house • The heat given off by mulch animals heats the house above
• HOUSES IN ASSAM • Built on silts • To counter the damp ground To counter the damp ground
• HOUSES IN PUNJAB • Whitewash on the outside walls helps to cool down the summer heat h t
• KASHMIR HOUSE BOATS • Made of intrically Made of intrically carved cedar carved cedar wooden paneling • Large Large windows to provide views windows to provide views of snow‐covered peaks of Himalayan Mountains
• COURTYARD OF CHETTINAD HOUSES HOUSES • Courtyard with pillared corridors that lead to individual rooms • Courtyard is the main activity Courtyard is the main activity space
Vernacular Architecture of Gujarat
Vernacular Architecture of Gujarat
Architecture of Kutch • The Bhonga is a traditional construction type in the Kutch district of the Gujarat Kutch district of the Gujarat state in India, which has a very high earthquake risk. • A Bhonga A Bhonga consists of a single consists of a single cylindrically shaped room. The Bhonga has a conical roof supported by cylindrical roof supported by cylindrical walls. Bhonga construction has existed for several h d d hundred years. This type of Thi t f house is quite durable and appropriate for prevalent d desert conditions. t diti
Architecture of Kutch • Due to its robustness against natural hazards as well as its pleasant aesthetics, this housing is also known as "Architecture as Architecture without Architects. without Architects " It performed very well in the recent M 7.6 Bhuj earthquake in 2001. • Very few Bhongas y g experienced p significant damage in the epicentral region, and the damage that did occur can be mainly attributed to poor quality of the construction materials quality of the construction materials or improper maintenance of the structure. • It has also been observed that the failure of Bhongas in the last earthquake caused very few injuries to the occupants due to the type of collapse. collapse
Architecture of Kutch
Bohra Houses of Gujarat
• The traditional habitats of the Islamic community of the B h (generally referred to Bohras ( ll f dt Daudi Bohras) in Gujarat, found in cities and towns such as Surat, Siddhpur, Dahod, Godhra, Kapadvanj, Khambhat Ahmedabad Khambhat, Ahmedabad, Palanpur, Bhavnagar, Dholka, Surendranagar, Morbi and J Jamnagar, etc. are excellent t ll t examples of traditional architecture rooted in the regional landscape
Bohra Houses of Gujarat There are two broad categories of Bohrwads: one has an organic layout while the other is strictly geometrically laid out. The structure of a typical organic Bohrwad is inwardly oriented, where the houses are arranged in an i t d h th h di introverted neighborhood form. • Most Bohrwads Most Bohrwads have a formal entrance where gates have a formal entrance where gates used to be closed at night in the past. • The houses in a Bohrwad are typically grouped around a street and these form a mohalla; several mohallas d h f h ll l h ll form a Bohrwad. • Each mohalla Each mohalla is an exogamous unit and may have fifty is an exogamous unit and may have fifty to a hundred houses.
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Bohra Houses of Gujarat • These neighborhoods have a structural unity and give a general impression of relative orderliness and give a general impression of relative orderliness and homogeneity. • It has a well‐knit and dense urban character. It has a well knit and dense urban character • Besides the houses, a large Bohrwad generally contains a mosque, a Madressa, a Jamat t i M d J t Khana, and Kh d other buildings for collective functions. • In the Bohrwads, the neighborhood mosque is the most important institution as the central public space for religious rituals.
Bohra Houses of Gujarat • The Bohrwad streets stand apart because of a sense of order, extreme cleanliness, well‐designed of order, extreme cleanliness, well designed drainage system and the element of visual surprise. • The closely packed houses, site constraints and The closely packed houses site constraints and absence of standardized building controls result in an organic growth and a relatively irregular street an organic growth and a relatively irregular street pattern. • The meandering passageway with a pedestrian Th d i ith d ti sense of scale creates a series of vistas as one walks d down the street. th t t
Bohra Houses of Gujarat • The house can almost be considered a metaphor for the social system. y • Male dominance is strong and women are commonly segregated from men not belonging to their immediate g g g g families. • Gender is important as an organizing theme in dwelling Gender is important as an organizing theme in dwelling layouts and use of spaces. For the Bohras, religion is a way of life that also provides a civic code, influencing y p , g social behavior and interactions. • The Bohra house is usually always oriented according to y y g the cardinal directions as per the practice in the region.
Bohra Houses of Gujarat • The urban house has at its core a set of spaces, which in their sequence and proportions are identical to those of the rural dwelling. • It is basically a deep house‐plan with three (or four) sequential rooms one behind the other. • Certain concepts like clear separation between the public and private, the necessity for an in‐between zone at the entrance level, the male/female divide, seclusion of women, the intense need for privacy, l i f h i df i etc. have brought about specific devices and spatial configurations that reflect the tenets of the religion configurations that reflect the tenets of the religion.
Bohra Houses of Gujarat • Generally a joint family system is followed. • The kitchen is common to all and it becomes central to the family. h f l • The spatial hierarchy in the typical Bohra house has a sequence of otla (entrance platform), deli (arrival sequence of otla (entrance platform) deli (arrival space), avas (courtyard), parsalli and the ordo (room). The upper floors mainly house the bedrooms and the agashi hi (terrace). (t ) • The Bohrwad is made up of three to four storeyed‐high houses arranged in a high‐density houses arranged in a high density layout. The individual layout The individual courtyard becomes an air and a light shaft where the cooler air sinks below and the hotter air escapes out of the roof the roof.
Facades • The Bohras have adopted the regional tradition of Gujarat of making facades with intricate details in wood intricate details in wood. • They accommodated a whole range of styles, building materials and decorative treatments resulting in attractive facades (and streets) that have become the hallmark of their vernacular architecture. • In contrast to Islamic philosophy, there is exterior display and frontal exposure as the exterior display and frontal exposure as the facades are rich in variety and aesthetic expression. • They create a sense of enclosure and a play y p y of light and shadows by using of solids and voids.
Entrance
• Through Through the display of several textures and the display of several textures and patterns, they express balance and harmony within a predominantly symmetrical composition. • The surface of the facade is visually broken by ornamented columns, brackets and mouldings, at times bringing multicolored cohesion to the streets. t t • The facades enhance the totality of the physical ambience of the built environment. • Built by craftsmen, they reveal their comprehensive understanding of the elements of design, the nature of the building materials and design, the nature of the building materials and versatility of craftsmanship. • The unity of facades has been achieved by y y similarity of building types, materials of construction and commonality of a design vocabulary.
Architecture of Rajasthan Architecture of Rajasthan • .The architecture of Rajasthan is mainly based The architecture of Rajasthan is mainly based on the Rajput architecture which was a blend of the Hindu and Mughal structural design. of the Hindu and Mughal structural design • The stupendous forts, the intricately carved temples and the grand havelis of the state are temples and the grand havelis of the state are integral parts of the architectural heritage of the state the state. • The Rajputs were prolific builders.
Havelis of Rajasthan • Between Between 1830 and 1930, the 1830 and 1930 the affluent Marwaris constructed huge mansions in the Shekhawati and Marwar region. These buildings g g were called Havelis. • The architectural features of havelis of Rajasthan response to the response to the state’s diverse culture and climate. • They were heavily influenced by the Mughal architecture in their architecture in their construction. • The havelis also sported beautiful and appealing frescoes and were and appealing frescoes and were closed from all sides with one large main gate. • This provided security and comfort This provided security and comfort in seclusion from the outside world
Response to Climate • Th The architectural built form of these havelis hit t l b ilt f f th h li has h evolved in response to the climate, lifestyle and availability of material. il bilit f t i l • In hot climates where cooling is a necessity, buildings with internal courtyards were considered the most appropriate. • It acted as a perfect shading technique, while also allowing light inside. The arcade along the court, or the high wall around it, kept the interiors cool. y are excellent examples of p • courtyard havelis sustainability in the hot and dry climate.
Havelis of Rajasthan • There were two courtyards in a t i l Sh kh typical Shekhawati ti haveli. h li • The outer courtyard was mainly inhabited by men and the inner inhabited by men and the inner one was the domain of women. • A courtyard define the perfect spatial organisation of those times, being the heart of the the haveli, it also served as a haveli, it also served as a micro‐climate modifier.
Courtyards of Haveli • Courtyards Courtyards have served many purposes: have served many purposes: • Socio‐Cultural Aspects: • The chowk served as the centre for various ceremonies and the rituals. The tulsi plant was placed here and worshipped daily to bring prosperity to the p p pp y gp p y house. • Security and Privacy: • The chowk, at times,separated areas for men and women, and provided them with privacy. • Climate: The courtyard served as a micro‐climate modifier. • Different Activities At Different Times: • The use of the court in the day time, mostly by women to carry out their work, talk and interact with other women is one of the uses. • Articulation Of Space: • In Mor chowk, City Palace,Udaipur, there is the concept of courtyard as a dancing hall. It well explains, how it can be used in articulating space. Similarly, in havelis, a courtyard has several functions. Some miniature paintings also explain this. paintings also explain this.
Floor Plan & Section of Haveli
Floor plan and the section of a typical courtyard haveli, showing the air flow and the cooling by convection currents showing the air flow and the cooling by convection currents formed. Air movement caused by temperature differences is utilized in the natural ventilation of building.
