Vernacular Architecture

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE LUDIYA VILLAGE, NEAR BHUJ , GUJARAT, INDIA

Climatic Investigation

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The climate is very warm during the summer and moderate during the winter. The village of Ludiya is not so desertic as the rest of the surroundings even if it is situated in the desertic climate.

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There is a microclimate which enables people to use more abundantly grass and having cultivable lands. It is why, their houses seem to use more abundantly grass for the roofs, which are larger and deeper than other similar villages in the area. There is an important shift between the day and night temperature . There is a difference of about 10 C° •

The Bungha •

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A circular space enclosed by mud walls is the most typical dwelling construction. It is called a . Their circular design and the mesh of mud plaster and twigs make them resist any wind pressure and quake. The diameter may vary from 3 meter to 10 meter. The roof is made of wooden top dome where bamboo sticks are fixed with a thick layer of grass put on roof and tied together. The walls are made of mud. They can not bear the wood beam of the roof, which runs across the space diagonally and rests on two wooden posts. The beam is often kept exposed outside the circular wall.

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Flooring can be done using cement/ tiles etc. as per requirements. Circular spaces are the main living zones, rectangular spaces are for secondary functions, like cooking cleaning and storing. They are smaller and not so strong. They do not resist very well to earthquakes or cracks. Their outer walls are painted with mud colour motifs by women of the house every year during Diwali and carved wood line the inner walls inlaid with mirrors.

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On the drawing we see a typical house : on left, the area for men and its external space, the veranda and on the right side, the space for women and child. These different spaces are not interconnected because they crack at the junctions. However, a horizontal clay platform about 50 cm high, delimits the dwelling unit. Moreover, it is a way to avoid rainfalls inside the house; It is a kind of threshold, making boundaries physically.

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The thick walls keep the interior cool when the temperature rises to 40 degrees Celsius in summer and warm when it drops to 10 degrees in the winter. In the Ludiya village, near the Pakistan border, all of its 12 `bhungas ’ survived the January 26 tremors when every other house, including the ``modern’’ version of the `bhungas ’, collapsed. The ``modern’’ version had given a go by to traditional architecture replacing the twigs of the `babul’ trees with stones.

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the original circular shape, interesting for its strong resistance to earthquakes.

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walls made of mud

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natural ventilation

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simple glazing little windows

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shading devices

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Concrete foundations

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Thick concrete wall-panels

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the wind, use natural ventilation to make living more comfortable when it is hot. Because the Indian summer is hot and very humid, increase the benefits of natural ventilation use passive solar energy to increase the comfort at night ( solid compact walls)

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keep hot temperature out during the day :

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sheltering

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build attached housing to minimize the number of exposed walls Create openings for day light which does not leave hot temperature come inside ( north oriented) compact house to minimize the number of exposed walls

High mass walls raised at a level to protect from rainfall

windows : high. Create openings for day light which does not leave hot temperature come inside (