inclusive dimensions of vernacular architecture from

Informal Settlements Indian CitiesImpulses for Innovation in Architecture and Urban Planning

Inclusive dimensions of Vernacular Architecture from

Architectural education perspective.

P.P. Anilkumar

National BINUCOM conference,Informal Settlements in Indian Cities

Impulses for Innovation in Architecture and Urban PlanningKarpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, 1-4 September 2016

Inclusive dimensions of Vernacular Architecture from Architectural education

perspective.

Dr. P.P.Anilkumar,Associate Professor,

Dept. of Architecture, NIT Calicut

Methodology in mind…

Understanding the various aspects of Vernacular architecturefrom an inclusive development of shelter perspective..

Explore Design as a process and its essential sub componentsand how it involves people and their culture, materials andtechnology that is affordable..

Identifying those factors built into Vernacular architectureIdentifying those factors built into Vernacular architecturethat contribute to this feeling of inclusiveness and justifyingits incorporation into the region’s Architecture curriculum…

Thereby connecting them to contextual, cognitive and otherbackground reasons and thereby opening avenues to bringthem back…

Informal Settlements in Indian Cities-Impulses for Innovation in Architecture

and Urban Planning Education, 1st to 3rd September 2016, Faculty of

Architecture, Karpagam University, Coimbatore

Why Vernacular?

Vernacular architecture is the Viable, sustainable alternative– Evolved as a response to needs

– Connected to the system – complementary

– Longevity of system proven

Informal Settlements in Indian Cities-Impulses for Innovation in Architecture and Urban

Planning Education, 1st to 3rd September 2016, Faculty of Architecture, Karpagam

University, Coimbatore

• Constants both in methods of design, construction and architectural forms & solutions, which survived or could be rendered valid anew

• Suits and connected to the cultural context and value systems.

• Concrete design clues from the past which can give new housing its characteristic features.

• Continuities with the past to grasp local spirit

How Vernacular Architecture communicate?

Informal Settlements in Indian Cities-Impulses for Innovation in

Architecture and Urban Planning Education, 1st to 3rd September 2016,

Faculty of Architecture, Karpagam University, Coimbatore

It can ensure inadvertant/stressfree communication for the user/visitor and thereby converse freely.

Qualitative/quantitative scope/ analysis of Vernacular Architecture 1

1. Natural conditions of the environment:

• - climate • - soil • - topography • - vegetation • - water surface • - water surface

2. Developed conditions of the environment:

• - urban structure • - street grid • - parcel




Qualitative/quantitative scope/ analysis of Vernacular Architecture 2

3. Developed conditions of the enclosure

• - Materials used

• - Forms adopted and Specific features incorporated

• - Layout and Technology • - Layout and Technology employed


Architecture and Urban Planning Education, 1st to 3rd September

2016, Faculty of Architecture, Karpagam University, Coimbatore

Phenomenological aspects of vernacular space

• Vernacular architecture is that which we attribute to the unknown craftsmen of societies and places which have a certain identifiable presence.

Process of Production

Private experience, sense of place

History as geist,

Space is not a void

- it is a substance, subtle, quintessential substance

- perceptible sensorially




History as geist, cognitive schema

Creative acts

Inclusiveness and its implementation through Education; Issues and Challenges

• The quality of buildings and spaces has a strong influence on thequality of people’s lives

• Decisions about the design, planning and management of placescan enhance or restrict the sense of belonging that the individualor the family enjoys at such placesor the family enjoys at such places

• They can increase or reduce feelings of security stretch or limitboundaries, promote or reduce mobility, and improve or damagehealth

• They can remove real and imagined barriers betweencommunities and foster understanding and generosity of spirit




Inclusiveness and its implementation through Education; Issues and Challenges

• Although accessibility has improved over the last decade, and planning policy has shifted, with investment providing new facilities to once-excluded communities, the fact remains that poor and disadvantaged people are far more likely to live in poor quality environments. Eg: People living in Urban slums.

• Social, cultural and economic inequalities are still being literally built into new places, and planners and designers need to examine more closely the impact of their decisions.

• The built environment can contribute to a more equal, inclusive and cohesive society if the places where we live, the facilities we use and our neighbourhoods and meeting places are designed to be accessible and inclusive(CABE., 2006).

Informal Settlements in Indian Cities-Impulses for Innovation in Architecture and

Urban Planning Education, 1st to 3rd September 2016, Faculty of Architecture,

Karpagam University, Coimbatore

Inclusive design and its implementation

• Inclusive design aims to remove the barriers that create undue effort and separation.

• It enables everyone to participate equally, confidently and independently in everyday activities.

• An inclusive approach to design offers new insights into the way we interact with the built environment.

• It creates new opportunities to deploy creative and problem solving skills.

Informal Settlements in Indian Cities-Impulses for Innovation in Architecture and

Urban Planning Education, 1st to 3rd September 2016, Faculty of Architecture,

Karpagam University, Coimbatore

Vernacular Architecture; Dimensions of inclusiveness 1

• Dwellings and all other buildings : eg: a small hamlet that includes individuals' and community spaces together…where all activities go on.. Thus it concerns all types of buildings and thereby can add to the holistic feel wherever reinterpretable.

• Related to their environmental contexts and available resources e g; rustic houses in himachal, made of stones, feels resources e g; rustic houses in himachal, made of stones, feels warm and cozy in the harsh winter…Deep respect for environment. Thereby underline mankind’s equal right on resources and environment. Holds people responsible..

• Customarily owned or community-built: eg: Houses built by some of the tribes…Easy to own and maintain.. Thereby makes it easy to own one. Higher sense of belonging…




Vernacular Architecture; Dimensions of inclusiveness 2

• Utilizing traditional technologies: eg: mud based building blocks (adobe) technologies… Easy to build.. Higher sense of identity.. More climate and context sensitive..

• Built to meet specific cultural needs as well..eg: planned for • Built to meet specific cultural needs as well..eg: planned for wedding, get together, and even mourning..Linked to the past.. Deeper respect for community living. Consider man as a social being and adds to sense of inclusiveness..

In brief it accommodates the values, economies and ways of life of the cultures that produce them and thereby contribute to holistic inclusiveness…




Potential areas to focus in Vernacular Architecture: some result examples

Aspect wise…� Topography

� Climate

� Light

Element wise…� House form� Site Planning and design� Building orientation� Building envelope

�Where to lay Emphasis in Curriculum adaptation; Options




� Light

� tectonic form

� Building envelope � Form and fenestration� Spatial organisation� Permeability

Conclusions: Critical Issues in adapting vernacular principles of

aesthetics for present day urban buildings

• The challenge for designing today’s dwelling is to efficiently adapt relevant

vernacular ideas as suited to context.

• As sense of inclusiveness becomes elusive for the urban community at large, it is

crucial for us to redraft/interpret our ‘rules of the game’ and the paper highlighted

the valuable contributions vernacular architecture and its education can deliver. In

the search for a new paradigm, we need to adapt the existing vernacular principles

to suit this objective.to suit this objective.

• In conclusion, Ensuring equal life chances, Providing decent housing choice and

sports facilities, Protection and enhancement of social and cultural infrastructure,

Providing lifetime neighbourhoods and quality public spaces are the most critical

aspects of creating an Inclusive environment.

• Architectural and Planning pedagogy needs to emphasize these.

Informal Settlements in Indian Cities-Impulses for Innovation

in Architecture and Urban Planning Education, 1st to 3rd

September 2016, Faculty of Architecture, Karpagam


Thank you…




References• ‘Adapted vernacular principles as an alternate route to sustainable architecture and development: a

methodology framework’ presented at the 4th International congress of Environmental Research (ICER 2011), jointly organised by the journal of Environmental Research and development (JERAD) and Sardar Vallabhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), Surat, Gujarat from 14th to 17th December 2011.

• 14. Šuvaković, M., (2010). Diskurzivna analiza, Orion Art, Beograd, pp.69.

• 13. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge, [Online], Available: http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/M047

• Rapoport, Amos ‘Human Aspects of Urban Form: Towards a Man-Environment Approach to Urban Form

and Design’, 1977

• Widiastuti, “A study on Living Culture and Typo-morphology of Vernacular-Traditional houses in Kerala”, Department of Architecture, Institute of Technology Bandung, 2005

• Aesthetics of Vernacular Architecture , Comparative analyses of context aesthetics in Balkan region Milica • Aesthetics of Vernacular Architecture , Comparative analyses of context aesthetics in Balkan region Milica Jovanovic-Popovic1, Vesna Sunjkic1, Radmila Tomovska1 Plea 2012 - 28th Conference, Opportunities, Limits & Needs Towards an environmentally responsible architecture Lima, Perú 7-9 November 2012.

• Khayat , Ahmed and Khazandar, Binyad, “Formal characteristics of vernacular architecture in Erbil city and other Iraqi cities”. 2008.




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