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Architecture in Pre-Modern India Divya

Nishant GoyalAnurag Arora

Shivansh Agarwal

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Vernacular architecture

Latin word Vernaculus means domestic, native, indigenous.

Vernacular architecture is a category of architecture based on localized needs

and construction materials, and reflecting local traditions.

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Vernacular architecture is influenced by: Localized needs Local construction material Local traditionsHence, varies from area to area.

It is an epitome of place to which it belongs. Can not be imported

from elsewhere.

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Factors influencing vernacular architecture

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Climate Season wise

The material should remain hot in winter and cold in summer

Rainfall Example: Slanting roof and construct

dwelling on stilts in areas with high level of rainfall.

Winds Orientation of buildings such that they have minimal area to the direction of prevailing

winds.

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Effect of Culture on Architecture

Size of family unit- Joint family or nuclear family?

How is food prepared and eaten?

How do people interact? Local customs and beliefs.

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Materials Availability of forests implies high

preference to wood for construction purposes. And mud/stone otherwise.

Material used will depend upon the physical condition of that area. The area prone to earthquake would have different architecture than the one with floods.

Vernacular is sustainable and doesn’t exhaust local resources. Only those resources are used which are found in abundance and are non-exhaustive.

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Architecture inHimachal Pradesh

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Reasons to choose Himachal Architecture in HP is highly evolved and

functional. It is a cliché example of Vernacular Architecture.

(Grown out of the land, fulfilled local needs, uses local materials, drew on local culture)

Over the centuries, building methods had successfully discharged domestic, temporal and religious requirements.

The most elementary form of hill architecture is still found in the old temples. These temples are widely scattered everywhere all along the mountain slopes and in the valleys.

Layout plans and construction of buildings is much more complicated in hills is much more complicated than in plains.

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Major Challenges Frequent and Seismic Tremors. Problems of soil erosion and land slides. Suitable orientation on the hill slopes. Existence of tall shoddy trees and dense

forest area, which obstruct the winter sun required for the buildings.

Limitations on the height of the building due to earthquake risk.

High cost involved in the site development due to the cutting and the filling process.

Non-availability and transportation problems of construction materials

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Building Materials

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Deodar Wood Easily available, one of the strongest indian

conifers. Imparts stability to tall structures. This wood is insect and termite resistant

and even when untreated, can withstand long periods of weather corrosion.

Used in making posts, beams, window and door frames, shutters, roofs etc.

Soft wood, easy to work in absence of high tech tools.

Its properties were understood early and its texture and scent have been prized for ages.

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Mud & Stone Easy availability. Good insulation. Good binding properties. Either mud is filled into the wooden forms

and rammed into the place slowly building up the wall or sun dried mud blocks are used in the construction of the wall.

Hard Stone: Obtained from local quarries and used in building foundation and walls.

Slate Tiles: Metamorphic rock. Used in roofs of buildings. Has high quartz content, frost resistant, absorbs heat and provides moisture barrier.

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Traditional BuildersTraditional Artisans are employed.

There knowledge is transferred orally from master artisan to

apprentice. Mostly people procure materials from their surroundings and build houses with the help of relatives and neighbors. This has fostered an empirical knowledge

of construction material, tools and technology and all of these are reflected in traditional building

techniques.

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Planning Techniques

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Planning Techniques

Factors that govern the planning are climatic conditions, cultural influences, topography(heights),

More: orientation, traffic movement, available usable spaces, sources of water supply, natural drains and paths.

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Climate Influence Due to the cold climate, the

southern slopes are preferred. The orientation of the houses is to maximize the penetration of the sun rays.

The path of the sun, controls the height of building, as the sun is needed for each dwelling unit.

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Small window size and low ceiling height to prevent heat loss and keep the interiors warmer.

Site susceptible to high winds, storms, floods and landslides should be avoided.

Terrace in all around the building should have proper slope for efficient drainage, in heavy rain fall and snow fall areas.

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Cultural influence The house which constitutes many stores has

been built for storage of grains which formed the back bone of the agrarian family.

Generally cow-shed and kitchen forms a separate unit.

The Indian calendar months of Baisakh, Poh, Magh and Phalgun are regarded as auspicious for the start of construction.

Ideally, the main aspect of the house should face east and the rising sun.

As a general rule the houses  do not have a boundary wall.

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Topography

State falls in the region of high to very high seismic hazard.

Unlike plains, here a new dimension or a height variation to the ground poses additional problem.

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Mitigating Earthquake To counter the seismic forces, the

traditional structures usually stand on a high solid plinth, made up of dry dressed stone masonry. The huge mass serves as a dampener pad to the earthquake forces and the dry construction allows for vibration and hence faster dissipation of the energy.

In higher levels layers of wood and stone cage are constructed with rubble in between. It is non rigid and allows the building to flex with seismic waves and quickly dissipate destructive energy of earthquake.

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Slope of the ground should not be more than 30º as far as possible even in rocky reaches to avoid instability problems.

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Topography In the steep hilly zones, the stepped

terraces will be much beneficial environmentally and economically, as they result in the least hill cutting and disturbance to the hill stability.

Minimum clearance of 1.0 m to 1.5 m should be given between the hill face and the building wall to avoid dampness and also for proper light and ventilation.

Top hill surfaces near the buildings should be properly treated to make it impervious as far as possible, possibly by thick  vegetation or stone pitching.

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Constructing a house

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Statistics Agrarian family. Double storey house. Southern orientation (Reduce heat

loss). Linear arrangement of rooms,

connected by verandah/balcony in both the floors.

Timber and stone used, both have high thermal capacity and low conductivity.

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Plan Ground floor: Cattle shed and storage area

are provided. First Floor: Living Area along with kitchen. Low Height of the rooms (2.1 – 2.4 m),

keeps interiors warmer from heat released by individuals, also low surface to volume ratio reducing heat loss from surfaces.

Plinth area is 5m x (13.8+0.45)m Inner walls thickness is 4 inch and outer

wall thickness is 9 inch.

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Plan

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Walls Made of alternate courses

of dry stone masonry and wood without any cementing mortar.

This Kath-khuni style of layering and inter locking timber and stone provides strength, stability and flexibility (Earthquake resistant).

These heavy walls allow a very good thermal insulation by providing high time-lag of more than 8 hours. This makes the interior of the house cooler in summer and warm in winter for maximum part of the year.

Cliché example of Kath-khuni style.

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Walls (continued) Above the plinth walls are strong with

alternating stone layer, as the wall rises up it is only the wood frame that is stacked above another wood frame. This distributes mass optimally.

Interiors of wall are finished with mud plaster and lined with wood on account of its good insulation and binding properties.

Resist sliding or overturning during land movement.

Dry masonry construction allow stones to undulate within a flexible wooden frame work to allow energy of earthquake to disperse.

Tapering in buildings as they rise which prevents toppling during earthquake.

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Flooring

In the ground level mud & cow-dung were used for flooring above the plinth made of random rubble

masonry. The upper floors are made of timber planks and timber-

joists.

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Roofing Pitched roof with locally available

timber. Slate used for roof covering. Below the roof a ceiling is constructed with timber. This attic is used as a storage space and abode of the god.

The light-weight roof construction and the air between the roofing and attic-floor provided a very good thermal insulation against the passage of heat.

Low pitched roof provides a good solution to drain off the rain-water from the dwellings.

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Pitched slate roof with Attic

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…more Balconies: provide a good sun-

space or solarium.

Sunny courtyard to perform various activities during day time.

Kitchen made of mud, placed at center which helps in keeping the indoor warm.

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References1. Adaptive Climate Responsive

Vernacular Construction in High Altitude. Ar. Amitava Sarkar.

2. Traditional Architecture and Planning Techniques in HP. By M. Jain.

3. Details of Resistance. Indigenous Construction System in HP by Bharat Dave, Jay Thakkar and Mansi Shah

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Thank you!